View as Webpage here if having trouble seeing all images.

Hunter's Creek Middle School Community Brief Monday, May 27, 2024

Dear Mark,

This is the last edition of Eagles’ View for this academic year. It is my pleasure to acknowledge our outstanding students, faculty, staff and parents of Hunter's Creek Middle School. As your principal, I can't be prouder of all that we have accomplished this year. My heart is full! You will know why as you read all the information included below.

We have been very busy with our end of the year events making sure that all of our Eagles' final 2023-2024 middle school days would be an experience to remember forever. Eighth grade students had fun at Gradventure and at their 8th grade formal. All HCMS students participated in field days this past week and had the best time participating in the many planned activities.

We always tell our students, “Once an Eagle, always an Eagle!” We were extremely happy to see so many of our graduating seniors come back to visit HCMS at the First Annual Senior Middle School Reunion. I also had the chance to be up and close at the Freedom High School graduation to give them hugs and congratulate them as they walked the stage. What an amazing sight it is to see our Eagles as successful young men and women leaving high school to pursue higher and technical education, military service, or private sector careers as they continue their lives’ journeys.

Principal Moukaddam at the moment she was recognized on stage during last week's Freedom High School graduation ceremony. Congratulations FHS Class of 2024 and good luck! Once an Eagle, always an Eagle!

Our Evening of Champions awards ceremony took place at Freedom High School on Wednesday, May 22. We are so proud of the 214 Eagles who received end of year awards! It was a great evening of student recognition.

8th grade Eagles! 

"May you always have a dream to inspire you, wisdom to guide you, and good friends beside you." ~ Unknown

Sixth and seventh graders!

Enjoy your break, read and read some more. Also, don't forget to do your math packet. We will see you in August!

Your Very Proud Principal, 

Joumana Moukaddam

Proud Principal

Hunter's Creek Middle School

** Pictured above: Hunter Creek's 14 Triple Crown Scholars! These students achieved straight A's for all 3 years of middle school! **

Summer BreakSpot Meals

May 27: Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, Hunter's Creek Middle School joins a grateful nation in remembering all of those fallen defenders who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. 

May 31: Start of Summer Office Hours 

July 29: Schedule Pick Up

August 8: New Student Orientation

August 8: ESE Orientation

August 12: First Day of School - OCPS 2024-2025 CALENDAR

8th grade: Luis Otavio Souza

7th grade: Sara Barrera

7th grade: Elena Gil

7th grade: Davi Borges (not pictured)

6th grade: Christian Adle (not pictured)

HERO Top 8th Grade Students of the Year

Congratulations to our 8th Grade HERO Students of 2023-2024!

Anja Kosmerlj

Deborah Wang

Leticia Riberio

OCPS School Board Recognition

Hunter's Creek Future Problem Solvers

The Hunter’s Creek Future Problem Solvers who qualified for the Future Problem Solvers International Competition in June at Indiana University were honored at the May 14th OCPS School Board meeting. Congratulations and good luck at Internationals!

Pictured: OCPS School Board and Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez and others with FHS’s principal, Mr. France; FHS Senior, Sharanya Chatterjee; FHS Freshman, Sakshi Tripathy; HCMS 8th grader, Senuth Amarasakera; Neocity Freshman, Derrick Tayler; FPS Co-Adviser, Ms. Rokaw; and HCMS Principal, Ms. Moukaddam (Not pictured: FPS Co-Adviser, Ms. Moye & HCMS 8th grader, Cooper Terrell)

Future Problem Solvers’ Global Issues Problem Solving Competition utilizes the six-step creative problem-solving process to analyze a futuristic scenario; determine challenges, including the largest challenge; figure out solutions to the challenge; use criteria to rank the solutions; and write an action plan for how to solve their challenge. All of this is done in a 2-hour block where beforehand the only thing known is the process and the topic. Students use creative and futuristic thinking along with research to complete the competition.

Students being honored from the Hunter’s Creek Future Problem Solving club, coached by Ms. Kellee Moye & Ms. Shannon Rokaw and supported by Principal Joumana Moukaddam, either placed first in their division or qualified for the International Competition at the state of Florida Affiliate competition where they focused on solving challenges surrounding autonomous transportation. FPS Internationals, focusing on the future of air quality, will be held in Indiana during the summer.

Evening of Champions!

On Wednesday, May 22nd, we were honored to celebrate our Evening of Champions at Freedom High School’s Performing Arts Center. 

At this ceremony, we celebrated: 

● Outstanding ESOL Students

● Two-Way Dual Language Achievement Awards in Spanish & Science

● Graduating Two-Way Dual Language Students

● Graduating Latinos in Action

● Latinos in Action Awards of Recognition

● Spirit of Excellence Award, ESOL & TWDL

● Spanish Spelling Bee

● English Spelling Bee

● Athletes of the Year

● Performing and Visual Art Students of the Year

● SSYRA List Completers

● Top Eagle Super Readers

● Graduating Student Literacy Leaders

● Resiliency Award

● Soaring Eagle Award

● Student Government Student of the Year

● 6th Grade Straight As

● 7th Grade Straight As - 1 year

● 7th Grade Straight As - 2 years

● 8th Grade Straight As - 1 year

● 8th Grade Straight As - 2 years

● 8th Grade Straight As - Triple Crown Scholars

Congratulations to all students honored! We are so proud of you!

OCPS Early Career School Psychologist of the Year

Ms. Karly Mendoza

Congratulations to Ms. Karly Mendoza (center), HCMS School Psychologist, in being recognized as the OCPS Early Career School Psychologist of the Year! She is an integral part of our HCMS family and Student Services team. Karly is a dedicated professional who always puts the best interest of the students and HCMS first. We greatly appreciate her.

Happy Nurse's Day!

Happy Nurse’s Day to our school nurse Ms. Labiosa–we greatly appreciate you!  

Summer Assignments

Information at: https://hunterscreekms.ocps.net/students/summer_assignments__reading___math_ 

READING

Preventing the Summer Slide:

Reading for pleasure this summer:

OCPS Summer Reading Challenge! (Remember to log into Beanstack all along!)

Use the hashtag #OCPSReads when discussing summer reading (or reading throughout the year) on social media!

MATH

To help reduce the summer slide in math, HCMS assigns a summer math packet to keep students' math skills sharp over the summer. 

All incoming math classes, except Algebra, will have a summer packet to complete, and they can be found on our Summer Assignment page on the website (linked above). 

Hunter's Creek Year-End Tradition - New Library Ceiling Tiles!

Each year, students can sign up to decorate a ceiling tile to be displayed forever in the HCMS Library. Here are the new tiles that were added this year: 

By Melanie Luzardo Diaz; Emily Caudle, Sumaiya Siddiqui, Madeline Moist, & Samanta Ferre; Sammantha Moncada, Luciana Sanchez, & Valeria Fajardo; Isaac Mello; and Luan Dos Santos

By Aditi Shukla; Louis Garriott, Ethan Grafal, Keerthivasan Praveen Kumar, & Mason Cramer; Luiza Nogueira, Neriyah Barwenko, Maya Dragoiu, & Sophia Pineda; Celeste Rossi; and Dhivya Royam & Emaan Habib

By Azuri Valero; Alondra S. Velez Vega; Sarah Diedrich & Sofia Anderson; Zean Oukassi & Azan Usman; and Samanta Ferre

By Alejandra Reyes (2023); Noelani Music Hawkins; Landry Braymer; Ramon Diaz, Trinity Putriment, & Bria Zumbrum

8th Grade Two-Way Dual Language Breakfast

On, May 21st, HCMS celebrated the 8th grade Two-Way Dual Language students for completing 3 years in the magnet program with a breakfast, hosted by HCMS administration with Ms. Dominguez Lozada and sponsored by FoxTail Coffee!

Congratulations to all students for another awesome school year at HCMS–look at all of these points earned this year by your positive behavior! Extra congratulations to our winning houses (Asia, Antarctica, Europe, & North America) for each nine weeks and to Antarctica for winning the year! 

Thank you again to our local Partners in Education who supported our Houses by providing prizes for the winning 2023-2024 Houses: 

Infographic can be viewed digitally at: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGF-3pDjqk/u1XBVgRIfx-ml2M7kLVDbQ/edit?utm_content=DAGF-3pDjqk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton 

Food Rescue Data

This school year, HCMS was able to donate unwanted food from lunch and breakfast to the Salvation Army to give to those in need. Thank you to all students who participated in this program and to our Student Literacy Leaders in 1st and 5th period for running the Share Table, donation fridges, and Salvation Army Pick Up!

On Thursday, May 23rd, the Hunter’s Creek Junior Thespians Troupe #89184 presented the 2024 Final Bows Awards Finale with a farewell to the 8th grade Junior Thespians including live performances, special features, awards, a goodbye video, and the Junior Thespian alumni reunion. 

Field Day Highlights (May 23 & 24)

On the last two days of school, our students took part in field day and had THE BEST TIME! 

Thank you to: 

● Ms. Rokaw for figuring out ALL of the logistics;

● Ms. Moukaddam & admin for supporting;

● Hunter's Creek Soccer Club for the soccer station;

● Bahama Bucks for coming out and selling delicious sno-cones;

● PTSA for selling pizza, popcorn, and lemonade;

● SAC for the funds to purchase ice popsicles for every student as well as various field day materials;

● SGA for purchasing water cups and water coolers to keep everybody hydrated 

● NJHS and SGA for providing volunteers to help the event run smoothly;

● all the wonderful parents and families that donated bottled water to our students;

● And to all teachers & staff for helping make the event happen!

After reading Laurel Snyder’s books in the HCMS Lunch Book Club (6th, 7th, & 8th grade read Orphan Island and 6th graders read Bigger than a Breadbox as well), Ms. Moye set up a virtual author visit with Laurel Snyder for Ms. H and her book club to be able to ask questions. The visit was so much fun and informative–thank you to Laurel for sharing her time with us!

One of the cherries on the sundae of 8th grade is our Formal. This year, our PTSA took our students to PARIS! Thank you to all of the hard work of our PTSA for making this magical night happen! Everyone looked beautiful, and we’re so glad everyone had fun!

The PTSA wanted to also extend heartfelt thank yous to all who helped make the night a success: 

● Alessandra Bauman

● Cleber Correa

● Alanni and Alberto

● Sarah Rodriguez Terrell

● Coralie Knudson

● Quiriana Matos

● Marzena Batignani

● Kellen Brodella

● Trish Waidler Karaktin

● Gail Quintero

● Maria Grafal

● Crystal Allen

● Michelle Perkins

● Eduardo Avila

● Dunya Sekulic

● Stephanie Klamer Dexter

● Gavin and Austin Dexter

● Dasha Cabeza

● Luz Quintero

● C&N High Standards

● Natasha Cabeza

● Rick Dexter

● Yolanda Sanchez

● Tatiana Vega

● Leidyn Felix

● And, of course, our PTSA president: Natasha Llavaneras 

This year, we are so excited to have hosted the First Annual Senior Middle School Reunion!!! We invited our graduating high school seniors back to visit HCMS, say hi to past teachers, look at some yearbooks and photos from their time at HCMS, enjoy some treats, and allow us to congratulate them. It was such an amazing afternoon!

Congratulations to all of our Class of 2024 graduating Eagles! 

This past week, students from Freedom High School graduated, and we have much to celebrate because our past Eagles were REPRESENTED at the graduation. We are so proud of each and every one of them, whether they graduated from FHS or elsewhere.

We did want to highlight some of our Class of 2024 graduating Eagles: 

First, congratulations to Sebastian and Jesus for being Valedictorian and Salutatorian!

Second, we wanted to congratulate all of the Freedom High School Super Scholars who attended Hunter's Creek Middle School: 

● Mateo Bodon

● Jesus Caraballo Anaya

● Sharanya Chatterjee

● Miguel Palacios

● Sebastian Santa

Third, we want to give special recognition to Sharanya Chatterjee! In addition to being 3rd in her class and a Super Scholar, she is one of only 161 high school seniors who have been named 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars by President Biden. 

Additionally, during Sharanya's time at HCMS, she was the top reader for all 3 years; completed middle school with straight A's; won the HCMS spelling bee, geography bee, and oration contest; was 8th grade band student of the year; qualified twice for the Scripps National Spelling Bee; qualified for Future Problem Solvers with her team in 6th grade and place 10th in the world; and received the HCMS Hall of Fame award for her numerous accomplishments. 

Then at FHS, she has had numerous accomplishments including perfect scores on both the SAT and ACT; a National Merit Scholar; a three-time winner of the Gold Presidential Volunteer Award; a two-time National Gold Medal winner for the nation’s highest score on her Royal Conservatory of Music woodwind instrument exam; and qualifying for the Future Problem Solvers International Conference in 2021, 2023, and 2024. She earned a 5 on at least 15 AP exams, and she’s been recognized by the College Board for perfect scores in AP Calculus BC, AP English Language and Composition, and AP Computer Science A Exam.

Check out her interviews on Fox 35 (https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/florida-high-school-senior-achieves-perfect-scores-on-sat-act) and WESH (https://www.wesh.com/article/orlando-senior-chosen-as-us-presidential-scholar/60855717)!!

Sharanya was also our speaker at the 2024 Evening of Champions. Her speech was so inspirational and gave 4 pieces of advice to our scholars: Branch out, don’t get caught up in the numbers game, always appreciate the people around you, and don’t forget to have fun! 

Copy of Sharanya Chatterjee's Evening of Champions Speech

"Now, to all the eighth graders here, I know a lot of you are probably coming here to Freedom next year. And I just want to tell you that you are in the best hands possible. Every single teacher I’ve had here and every class I’ve taken has taught me so much, and I’m so grateful to be a Freedom graduate. You can be confident that the next chapter of your life will be amazing. And even if you’re not coming to Freedom, I know you’ll be amazing too—just make sure to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way." 

"And to all the 6th and 7th graders: treasure the years you have left at HCMS and make the most of them. I can tell you for a fact that you go to the best middle school ever. You all have incredibly bright futures ahead of you."

~ Sharanya Chatterjee

HCMS alumnus, Freedom High School Class of 2024, and

OCPS Super Scholar

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

You’ve made it! Summer is finally here! It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the end of the school year. Here is a reminder about the Summer at Your Library and the reading challenge:

* Summer at Your Library begins June 1!  

* There will be many fun and interesting classes and events across all OCLS branches!

* Goodie Bags for this summer are packed with lots of fun items. Once readers (ages 0-18) log 300 reading minutes, they can pick up a goodie bag at any branch starting July 13, while supplies last.

* OCLS amazing Grand Prizes for our reading challenge! Readers (ages 0-18) who log 600 reading minutes by July 28, will be entered into the virtual drawing for a chance to win a grand prize.

* All 15 library locations will host events to celebrate summer adventures and reading!

* Visit ocls.info/summer for details on the reading challenge, live events, grand prizes, and more!

Please also check out this short video for the Summer at Your Library! 

We are very excited to announce the 2024 Florida Future Chef Student Cook-Off, a National School Lunch Program competition! This prestigious student cooking competition showcases Florida commodities and talented young chefs statewide. In fact, our 2023 Florida Future Chef Champion, 10-year-old Remy, is currently a finalist on Master Chef Junior Season 9! This is an incredible opportunity for young student chefs, and we encourage you to share this event with your elementary and middle school principals to help ensure every interested child has an opportunity to enter and win!

Who is eligible? All students between the ages of 7 and 13 are invited to submit a video of them preparing their favorite dish.

Timing: It’s on! Entries can be submitted now through July 12. Three finalists will compete in Tampa September 9-11, 2024, for the title of “2024 Florida Future Chef.”

How to apply? For all contest rules and to apply, students visit https://floridafuturechef.com to submit a two-to-five-minute video showing their preparation of a favorite dish, using in-season Florida commodities.

Prizes: Prizes include Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans for all top three contestants, complimentary accommodations for the contestants and their parents at the Epicurean Hotel in Tampa, and much more!

Check out last year’s competition highlight video! Florida Future Chef 2023 on Vimeo

Mondays with Maria presented by Addition Financial: Special guests help recap a great 2023-24 School Year!

It's the final episode of Mondays with Maria for this school year! Dr. Vazquez is joined by special guests to recap some of her proudest accomplishments.

* "Mondays with Maria" is presented each week by Addition Financial Credit Union.

Thank you for faithfully reading The Eagles' View this school year. Have a wonderful summer!

Mrs. Moukaddam, Principal

Hunter's Creek Middle School

Monday, May 27, 2024

Memorial Day

Principal: Joumana Moukaddam joumana.moukaddam@ocps.net

Assistant Principal of Instruction: Jane Mabra jane.mabra@ocps.net

Assistant Principal: Debra Vereen debra.vereen@ocps.net

8th Grade Dean: Joquetta Carter joquetta.carter@ocps.net

7th Grade Dean: Shatoya Coogle shatoya.coogle@ocps.net

6th Grade Dean: Dominic Golia dominic.golia@ocps.net

8th Grade Counselor: Kelly Armstrong kelly.armstrong@ocps.net

7th Grade Counselor: Madison Brady madison.brady2@ocps.net

6th Grade Counselor: Annikki Merritt annikki.merritt@ocps.net

ESOL Compliance & Dual Language Coordinator: Joley Dominguez elyse.dominguezlozada@ocps.net

Staffing Specialist: Lynne McGregor lynne.ripleymcgregor@ocps.net

SAFE Coordinator: Alejandra Camacho alejandra.camacho@ocps.net

Social Worker: Suzette Fonseca suzette.fonseca@ocps.net

Testing Coordinator: Allison Nicosia allison.nicosia@ocps.net 

MTSS Coordinator: Karen Godwin karen.navarro@ocps.net  

Librarian: Kellee Moye kellee.moye@ocps.net