Lake Oconee Academy Middle School

SEPTEMBER DATES:

• September 4: Student Holiday (no school)
• September 7: Labor Day (no school)
• September 8: First Robotics Meeting (more information below)
• September 9: Science Olympiad Interest Meeting (more information below)
• September 10: Business Club - InVenture Prize Interest Meeting (more information below)
• September 22: Middle School Family Engagement Night - Technology (more information to come)
• September 29: LOA Blood Drive (more information below)
• September 29: Hispanic Heritage Night
• September 25: Homecoming Parade
• September 30: Homecoming "On Wednesdays, We Wear Pink" (w/ uniform bottoms)
• October 2: Homecoming Blue/Gold Spirit Day

SAVE THE DATES:

• October 5 - October 9: Fall Break (no school)
• October 23: Virtual Learning Day & Parent-Teacher Conferences

Welcome to Dr. Anderson's Candy Laboratory!

Mrs. Hiter's students collecting pond samples to analyze!

Students Building Robots in Mr. Jiang's Class!

🏈 Middle School Football

The Titans opened the home portion of their middle school football season with an exciting battle against last year’s first-place league champion, Lincoln County. LOA took the game down to the final seconds before falling in a heartbreaking 22–16 finish. We are incredibly proud of the effort, toughness, and determination our Titans showed from start to finish!

Offensive Players of the Game: John Farkas, Rae Harris, and Mac Fordham
Defensive Players of the Game: Angelo Siffert and Ricky Wells

🥎 Middle School Softball

The Titans have gotten off to a strong start in league play, picking up wins over Greene County (13–6), Washington-Wilkes (8–0), and GSIC (10–6). LOA is currently 4–1 in league play and 8–3 overall!

A special shoutout to Kate, who has been outstanding in the circle with 67 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched. She is also leading the team with an impressive .455 batting average.

Coach Copeland also did an amazing job hosting the Battle at the Lake tournament at LOA on August 22. The Titans came out on top, finishing as the tournament champions against three other schools!

🏃 Middle School Cross Country

Our middle school cross country teams continue to make us proud! The Titans took home the boys' and girls' meet titles at Lincoln on August 28 and brought home the 2nd place trophy at a competitive meet at FPD on September 1. LOA also tied for first place at the previous weekend's meet in Bleckley County. Way to run, Titans!

🏐 Middle School Volleyball

The middle school volleyball team has been making some noise on the road and at home! The Titans traveled to ACAD and came away with a win, then followed it up with another victory over Westminster at home last week. Keep it rolling, Titans!

This year, we launched a new PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program to recognize and celebrate students who consistently demonstrate the behaviors and values we want to see throughout our school community. Students can earn PBIS points from staff members for making positive choices, showing respect, demonstrating responsibility, being prepared, helping others, and living out our ONE TITAN values.

Our goal is simple: recognize the good! We want students to know that their positive choices matter and that we notice the ways they contribute to making our school a great place to learn and grow.

Each month, we'll highlight the students who have earned the most PBIS points in each grade level. Congratulations to this month's top point earners!

🏆 5th Grade: Knox
🏆 6th Grade: Blakely
🏆 7th Grade: Jesslyn
🏆 8th Grade: Bailey & Charlie

Congratulations to our overall winners, tied from the 8th grade, Bailey and Charlie!!

Do you work in healthcare or have a career in the healthcare field? We would love to connect with you! Our Healthcare Science students would benefit tremendously from hearing about real-world experiences and learning about the many exciting careers available in healthcare.

If you are a Titan family member who works in healthcare and would be willing to visit our class as a guest speaker, please reach out to Coach Jorie Flores via email! We would love to have you share your experience, career journey, and expertise with our students.

Jorie.Flores@lakeoconeeacademy.org

Reach out to Mr. Jiang with any questions! (Xuechao.Jiang@lakeoconeeacademy.org)

Reach out to Mrs. Mancill with any questions! (Tabitha.Mancill@lakeoconeeacademy.org)

Hey 8th Graders - Do you love science, solving problems, building, or working as part of a team? Science Olympiad is a great opportunity to put your knowledge and creativity to the test through exciting hands-on events and competitions! Students interested in joining the team should attend the interest meeting on Wednesday, September 9 after school in Dr. Anderson's room. Come learn more about the events, competition, and what it means to be a Titan on the Science Olympiad team!

Reach out to Dr. Anderson with any questions! (Scott.Anderson@lakeoconeeacademy.org)

Reach out to Mrs. Delgado with any questions! (Nomy.Delgado@lakeoconeeacademy.org)

We are excited to host Atlas Mentors on Fridays during lunch! They also invite our students to participate in their after school program. Check out their message below.

THR!VE is a mentorship program designed to help middle school students navigate these important years with the support of caring, consistent adult mentors.

Through weekly gatherings, small groups, activities, and intentional mentorship, students have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with trusted adults who encourage them, challenge them, and walk alongside them.

Our goal is to help students:

• Build confidence and character through intentional mentorship
• Develop healthy relationships with peers and trusted adults
• Discover their strengths, interests, and unique gifts
• Develop leadership skills and learn how to positively influence others
• Build resilience and navigate challenges with confidence
• Have a safe place to ask questions, be themselves, and grow

THR!VE is more than an after-school activity. We want to know your students, invest in them, and walk alongside them during a formative season of their lives.

We believe students thrive when they have consistent adults who believe in them, encourage them, and help them recognize their potential as they grow into confident, capable young people.

Parents & Guardians — we need you!
Please join us in supporting this lifesaving mission by donating blood at our upcoming Lake Oconee Academy Blood Drive.

Drive Details:

• Tuesday, September 29 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Lake Oconee Academy - Lower School Gym
• Reach out to Kris Stevens with any questions! Kris.Stevens@lakeoconeeacademy.org
• Donors must be 16 years or older and bring ID with them to the drive.
• Click HERE to sign up!

Our sixth through 8th grade students will be participating in Signs of Suicide (SOS) presentations during their Social Studies classes at the end of October. These presentations focus on promoting mental health awareness, recognizing warning signs of suicide, and encouraging students to seek help for themselves or a friend. We are also sharing the SOS resources provided to us so families can learn more about the program and continue these important conversations at home. We appreciate your partnership in supporting the well-being of our students!

SOS Letter

SOS Information (English)

SOS Information (Spanish)

Do you have an idea for an app that could solve a problem, help others, or simply be fun to use? The Congressional App Challenge is an opportunity for middle and high school students to turn their ideas into a working app and showcase their creativity and coding skills.

Students can participate individually or in teams of up to four and can create virtually any type of app using any programming language, platform, or technology. Apps can include games, websites, mobile apps, robotics projects, AI tools, and more. No prior experience with a specific coding language is required - the goal is to create, explore, problem-solve, and learn!

The 2026 submission deadline is October 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ET. Students interested in participating can learn more and register through the official Congressional App Challenge website.

Students are expected to dress out in the official P.E. uniforms. Remember, this is 25% of their grade in the course. If you have already placed your order, please reach out to the Armory for pick up. If you still need to order a uniform you may do so HERE. Please reach out to jorie.flores@lakeoconeeacademy.org or brian.volz@lakeoconeeacademy.org with any questions or concerns.

We encourage our athletes to proudly represent their teams by wearing their uniform tops on game/match days and Fridays, with approval from their coach. It’s a simple way to celebrate our athletes, build school spirit, and show support for the hard work and dedication they put into their teams. Let’s see those Titan colors around campus!

As we settle into the school year, we’d like to remind families of a few dress code expectations that help our students look and feel ready to learn. Students should wear belts daily, ensure skirts and shorts are an appropriate length, and wear collared shirts Monday-Thursday.

We appreciate families helping students start each day prepared and in dress code! If a student arrives out of dress code, they will need to sit out of class until a parent/guardian can bring the appropriate item or make the necessary adjustment. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our school day running smoothly!

As a reminder, Squishies, NeeDohs, toys, and similar items should stay at home. These items can easily become distractions during instruction and can take away from our students’ ability to stay focused and engaged. Thank you for helping us keep classrooms focused on learning!

Remember that water is the only beverage permitted in classrooms. Please leave drinks such as Alani, Dunkin’, Starbucks, sodas, and other flavored or specialty beverages at home.

Students are not permitted to chew gum during class. Please help us keep our classrooms focused and campus clean!