View as Webpage here if having trouble seeing all images.

Hunter's Creek Middle School Community Brief Monday, February 12, 2024

Dear Mark,

Hunter’s Middle School students and teachers celebrated National Literacy Week in late January (Jan. 22nd-Jan. 26th). Our students, teachers, administration and staff participated in academically engaging and fun daily activities. Literacy is at best at HCMS every day of the school year!

As we enter the middle of February this week, we will continue to celebrate Black History Month through various lessons and activities highlighting the contributions of African-Americans and Black Americans to our country and to the world.

The third nine weeks progress reports will be available via Skyward on Thursday, February 15. Please review the grades with your student and contact their teachers with any questions or concerns. This is the time to take advantage of the tutoring opportunities and extra help to bring those grades up. Amnesty Wednesday will take place this month on Wednesday, February 21, and then March 6 and 27. 

Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful week!

Joumana Moukaddam

Principal

Hunter's Creek Middle School

** Picture above: We loved celebrating our Teacher of the Year, Ms. Angela DeLuca Limose, and Support Person of the Year (and OCPS Finalist!), Ms. Tatiana Cozzo, at the OCPS Annual Stellar Awards on the evening of Friday, Feb. 2! They deserve all the praise and celebration! **

Monday, February 12th: 

• School Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting 5pm, Freedom High School
• Home Basketball Game vs. Walker Middle's Vikings, 5:30pm - Scan for tickets below - Go Eagles!

Wednesday, February 14th: 

• House Spirit Day!
• Special heart-shaped chicken nuggets for Valentine's Day (and Bear drawing)

Make sure to join us for lunch this Wednesday and enjoy a “beary” special menu of Heart-Shaped Chicken Nuggets. We will also be giving away a plush teddy bear. Don’t miss out on this special lunch.

Thursday, February 15th: 

• National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day
• Jazz Band MPA

Friday, February 16th: 

• Band Solo and Ensemble begins

Monday, February 19th: 

• Presidents Day (No School) 

Wednesday, February 21st: 

• House Spirit Day!
• Amnesty Wednesday

Thursday, February 22nd: JERRY CRAFT DAY!!!

Friday, February 23rd: 

• House Meeting Day

Wednesday, February 28th:

• After School School Dance, 3:00-5:00pm

Thursday, April 11th:

• ANNUAL HCMS MULTICULTURAL NIGHT

7th Grade Students of the Week (announced 1/29)

Congratulations to all of our 7th grade Students of the Week!

Sofía Jara for Exemplifying Perseverance: She improves a little more every day, is committed to her learning and is always willing to work the extra mile to progress in all subjects. -Ms. Palma

Mhia Medina-Sojo for Soaring to Greatness: Mhia has been such a wonderful part of our class this year! I have loved seeing her work hard to achieve her goals and getting to watch her grow as a reader and learner. She made great improvements on her FAST test and Read180 diagnostic and I'm so proud. Keep up the great work! -Ms. DeLuca 

Rafaella Olegario Gerdulo for Giving Respect: Rafaella is a fabulous student and I have loved getting to teach her this year! She is kind, respectful, and a hard worker. I appreciate her positive attitude and how she always does her best. Keep being wonderful! -Ms. DeLuca  

Mia Fiddle for Excellence: Mia is an amazing student who exceeds expectations in every way. She puts 100% effort into every assignment, every quiz, every test, and in class participation as well. She is always prepared, always smiling, and eager to learn. She will have a lot of success in life, and I am very proud of her! -Mr. Onderick

Lina Belhadfa for Excellence: Lina is an excellent student with the most positive and sweet attitude. She puts others before herself, and is always eager to help in any way she can. She works hard to understand any new material, and is excited to participate to show what she has learned. She is going to succeed in life with her wonderful work ethic, attitude, and kindness. -Mr. Onderick

Angelica Dorta Oliveira for Excellence: Angelica has a 100% A for the 3rd quarter, the highest grade in my classes. -Mr. Putchinski

Kess Mae Sheba C Bascos for Excellence: I am nominating Kess for student of the week due to her exceptional sense of responsibility and respectfulness. She consistently demonstrates a commendable level of accountability in all her academic activities. -Ms. Khan

Pierre Jounes Tairouz for Excellence: This student has a great sense of responsibility, integrity and values. He helps his classmates, supports teachers and makes sure he always demonstrates his highest potential. -Ms. DeJesus

Rylie Burnett for Leadership: Rylie leverages her leadership skills to effectively keep both herself and her groupmates on task. She engages well with others when it is time to collaborate. -Ms. Khan

Nicolas Romero for Exemplifying Perseverance: Nicolas is nominated for student of the week for demonstrating perseverance! He has worked hard this quarter and made great gains from last semester. He continues to take advantage of all the opportunities and resources to be successful in Algebra. Way to go, Nico! -Mrs. Lebron

Heidi Diaz for Academic Integrity: Heidi has been an excellent student all year long maintaining an A average and making sure to stay on top of all of her work! I am so proud of the growth she showed on both her FAST and Read180 diagnostic. All of her hard work has paid off and she has shown huge improvements in her scores. Keep up the great work! -Ms. DeLuca  

Sofia Castillo Rosales for Exemplifying Perseverance: Over the past couple months, Sofia has really made great strides in my civics class. She comes to class prepared and she is ready to learn each day. She has also shown a commitment to success and is excelling in her efforts. Keep up the great work, Sofia! -Mr. Johnson

Keep up the amazing work!

8th Grade Students of the Week (announced 2/2)

Congratulations to our 8th grade Students of the Week!

Anabella Miranda-Carrero for Soaring to Greatness: Anabella always has a positive outlook in class. She not only works hard every day, but also works well with other students. Anabella volunteers to help wherever it is needed. She is an absolute joy to have in class! -Ms. Cecil

Elias Morales for Exemplifying Perseverance: Elias has matured tremendously since the beginning of the school year. He has been respectful and responds to redirection. Elias has been on task, and he has completed all his assignments. Keep up the great commitment! -Ms. Jarque

Andres Gayo-Dearing for Excellence: Andres is the student of the week in my Physical Science Honors class because he is an outstanding student in and outside of the classroom. Keep up the excellent job Andres! -Ms. Frontanez

Glorimar Palacios Rodriguez for Exemplifying Perseverance: Glorimar is nominated for student of the week for exemplifying perseverance! She also makes an effort to ask questions, come to tutoring, and participate in class to really understand the material we are doing in Algebra. She doesn't give up and tries to take advantage of all the opportunities provided to master the skills/concepts. Way to go, Glorimar! -Mrs. Lebron

Andelys Cortes for Exemplifying Perseverance: Andelys has taken responsibility for her work and achievement in math. She was having difficulty but has shown great perseverance by attending tutoring almost daily for many weeks. Her hard work is shining through in her current A grade in prealgebra. Keep up the good work Andelys - you've got this and I'm rooting for you!!! -Ms. Murray

Mariana Gomes for Excellence: Mariana is a delight to have in class! She consistently works hard, helps others, participates and excels in her assignments and assessments! I am so proud of her hard work this year! -Ms. Pratt

Lucia Rodriguez for Excellence: Lucia is a pleasure to have in class, she is polite, responsible, respectful and has such a positive attitude toward learning. She is always smiling, helping others and doing her best. She's shown a lot of progress in learning English and actively participates in the tutoring class to improve her English skills. So proud of nominating her as my student of the week. Buen trabajo Lucia! -Ms. Lemus

Christopher Jean-Baptiste for Excellence: Chris is always working to improve, and he accepts all opportunities to expand his learning. -Ms. Durgin

Elaine Barnes for Leadership: Elaine loves helping in the library, and I love having her with us TWICE a day! She is creative, wants to help, and just so enthusiastic--definitely someone worth having on our team! -Ms. Moye

Keep up the amazing work!

6th Grade Students of the Week (announced 2/9)

Congratulations to our 6th grade Students of the Week!

Ishani Majumdar for Excellence: I love to have her in my class. She is an amazing student, very respectful and does her work perfectly I am so glad to have her in my class! -Ms. Gramiscelli

Samantha Batignani for Excellence: Samantha is an exceptional student. She has strong work ethics and likes helping other in Life Science Adv. class. Keep up the excellent work Samantha! -Ms. Frontanez

Lorenzo Odena Toledo for Excellence: Lorenzo is always on top of assignments, participating in discussions, and asking thoughtful questions. He also tends to stretch what he can do with a project and go above and beyond! -Ms. Durgin

Miguel Pinheiro for Giving Respect: Miguel Pinheiro exemplifies what it means to be respectful and kind. He comes to Eagle Express in the morning for tutoring and this makes for a great start to my day. He is always conscientious, respectful, kind, and just an amazing human being. I wish that everyone could have a heart like Miguel. -Ms. Roberts

Sophia Wesolowski for Exemplifying Perseverance: Sophia has been doing an AMAZING job on the flute this year. She had a hard time at the beginning, but her perseverance has really helped and she sounds so great on her instrument. Keep it up! -Mr. Couret

Reagan Begonia for Academic Integrity: Reagan is always the top of her game in 7th period Advanced ELA class. She ensures that work is accurate and also thorough. When participating in class, she offers insightful input and creative strategies. -Ms. Ekblom

Xionelyz Bosch for Soaring to Greatness: I chose Xoe because she is always respectful, she is a good friend, accepts support with grace, she is very grateful, works hard and greets you in the morning with the same enthusiasm. She is a model student :) So proud of her. -Ms. Gregory

Antonella Jaramillo for Leadership: Antonella is nominated for student of the week for being an excellent example for others. She works on her assignments during class and helps other students. She helps translate for other students and is very helpful during class. -Ms. Spilker

Keep up the amazing work!

Thank you to Fun Spot America for providing the prizes for our

Students of the Week! 

Congratulations to the following students for being the top HERO Point earners at HCMS in the month of January! For their accomplishments, they each received a Papa John's pizza certificate (Thank you to our local Papa John's for providing the prize)!

Trinity Putriment, 8th grade

Sumaiya Siddiqui, 6th grade

Ethan Gano, 7th grade

Rylie Burnett, 7th grade

 Kimberly Boyd, 8th grade

Classroom Spotlight

Congratulations to our December/January Teacher of the Month: Coach Anthony D’orsa!

Here are some of the nice things students shared about him on the nomination form: 

● He is always nice and alway trying to have the most fun with his students

● He is a good person, he treats us very well and he is a good coach.

● Because he is always so much fun and is a great PE coach.

Support Person of the Month

Congratulations to our two December/January Support Faculty & Staff of the Month (there was a tie!): Ms. Tatiana Cozzo, Program Specialist, and Ms. Annikki Merritt, 6th grade school counselor. 

Here are some of the nice things students shared about Ms. Cozzo on the nomination form: 

● Because she is sweet and kind to anyone she meets and helps my mom when she needs translation.

● She was very helpful through all my years at HCMS

Here are some of the nice things students shared about Ms. Merritt on the nomination form: 

● I like to nominate her because she is kind to everyone and I just love her

● She is very nice and is caring to all the students at HCMS

Future Problem Solvers

First, Ms. Moye & Ms. Rokaw, the FPS coaches, want to congratulate the following students on placing in their division for their Global Issues Problem Solving Booklet AND qualifying for the state competition!!! (Just for scope, there were 49 competitive booklets on this day!)

● 5th place! Junior Team A:

• Judianna Becker, 6th grader
• Ishani Majumdar, 6th grader
• Nethuka Hewagama, 6th grader

● 2nd place! Middle Team B:

• Senuth Amarasekera, 8th grader
• Derrick Tayler, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Cooper Terrell, 8th grader
• Saskhi Tripathy, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)

● 11th place! Middle Team A:

• Nicholas Bonilha, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Amitai Garni, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Gabriel Griebler, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Emma Yu, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)

● 12th place! Middle Team C:

• Caeden Stockdale, 8th grader
• Derek Wallace, 7th grader
• Andres Bristol, 8th grader
• Connor Allen, 7th grader

● 3rd place! Senior Team A:

• Lisa Wojciechowski, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Minaya Amarasekera, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Kumar Chakraborty, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Linuka Hewagama, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)

● 1st place! Senior Individual A:

• Sharanya Chatterjee, 12th grader (HCMS alumni)

● 2nd place! Senior Individual B:

• Nitya Anthireddy, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)

Second, the coaches want to congratulate the following on placing in their division for their presentation of action plan:

● 3rd place! Junior Team A:

• Judianna Becker, 6th grader
• Ishani Majumdar, 6th grader
• Nethuka Hewagama, 6th grader

● 4th place! Middle Team B:

• Senuth Amarasekera, 8th grader
• Derrick Tayler, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Cooper Terrell, 8th grader
• Saskhi Tripathy, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)

● 1st place! Senior Team B:

• Maria Fareeduddin, 10th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Camilo Gutierrez, 10th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Eva Schischa, 10th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Katie Schischa, 10th grader (HCMS alumni)

● 2nd place! Senior Team A:

• Lisa Wojciechowski, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Minaya Amarasekera, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Kumar Chakraborty, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Linuka Hewagama, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Sharanya Chatterjee, 12th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Nitya Anthireddy, 11th grader (HCMS alumni)

And a round of applause for our other competitors as well—this process and competition is a beast, and we’re just so proud of their hard work!

• Emily Gutierrez, 7th grader
• Ethan Grafal, 7th grader
• Hennie Rion, 8th grader
• Evanka Sukhu, 7th grader
• Cloyd Thornton, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Amanda Suarez, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Ava Gutierrez, 9th grader (HCMS alumni)
• Dominic Zambrana, 7th grader
• Regi Inga, 7th grader

A big congratulations to all of these students!

We are so happy to recognize our SUPER School Counseling Team! THANK YOU for everything you do! 

Ms. Jarque

Kathy Rigling from Orange Audubon came last week to visit Ms. Jarque’s 8th grade science classroom to do a lab/activity with students about bird beaks which showed adaptations, survival of the fittest, and experimental design. This activity helps students see how to use the environment and sustainability to develop STEM content, knowledge, thinking skills, and teach all subjects in context & increases student awareness of environmental topics/issues.

Mr. Brett

On Monday, Jan. 29, Eagle Singers had a workshop from Shalisa James. Shalisa is the Producer, Arranger, and Vocal Director of Frog Choir, Ragtime Gals, Celestina, Blues Bros, and Grinchmas at Universal Studios Orlando as well as one of the CEOs of Entertainment Central Productions. The kids got to work with her on their MPA music and got to ask questions about the professional singing world!

Ms. Moye

The HCMS Library Student Literacy Leaders created posters promoting author Jerry Craft, his books, and his visit.

Created by: Anja, Caeden, Connor, Dhivya, Juliet, Leticia Z., Leticia R., Meghan, Nicole, Noelani, Ricardo, Sarah, Sofia, Susana, Trinity, Zohal, Zunaira, & Talia

The last week of January was Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida!, and HCMS had a wonderful week of celebrating literacy! 

Stop for Literacy

On Monday, to promote the Eagle Super Reader program, all students will read in their Language Arts & Reading classes all day. 

In Ms. Cecil’s class, her students cozied up with their books around the room, using flashlights and sunlight to illuminate their reading. 

Readers Represent!

On Wednesday, students and staff wore a book, character, manga/anime, or other reading related shirt!

Breakfast Book Swap

On Friday, the HCMS Library hosted our annual Breakfast Book Swap where students were treated to breakfast snacks and could swap their gently used books for new-to-them books from our Book Swap area!

Bookmark Contest

Congratulations to all students whose bookmark was chosen for the Literacy Week bookmark contest! 

The winner of the contest was Anani Ayala, #24!

The top five were rounded out by: 

Second place: #26 Mason Cramer; Third place: #14 Leannabelle Cruz; Fourth place: #23 Angelica Dorta; Fifth place: #1 Trinity Putriment.

Door Decorating

Our Literacy Week Door decorating contest was one of our best ever! 

The winner this year was Ms. DeLuca’s door with a decoration celebrating Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson!

2nd place was Ms. Moye & Ms. H’s door celebrating 'New Kid' by Jerry Craft (above) and 3rd place was Ms. Lemus’s door showing an allusion to Frankenstein by Gris Grimly (right) .

All of the doors this year were spectacular!

Doors pictured below: Ms. Ekblom, Ms. Pratt, Ms. True, Ms. Cecil, Kindness Club, Ms. Khan, Ms. DeJesus, Mr. Onderick, Ms. Durgin, Ms. Cozzo, Ms. Rokaw, and Ms. Toledo

Thank you Partners in Ed for Jerry Craft books!

Thank you to our Partners in Ed Addition Financial and SmileBliss Orthodontics for donating money to HCMS to buy copies of Jerry Craft books for our students to study in their ELA and reading classes! After these books are used in the classroom, these books will then be given to students who took part in Literacy Week events as prizes! Thank you for making this possible! 

February is all about honoring Black History and spreading love!

Library Stats for January 2024:

On January 26th, the first House Meeting of the semester was a huge success!

Europe’s meeting included an outdoor station with snacks, picnic baskets,

and games!

Asia taught students how to use chopsticks, took part in trivia games about Asia, then finished with fortune cookies.

Ms. Spilker led Antarctica students in a craft decorating pencil bags and bookmarks!

Basketball Season - Game Recaps

January 22, 2024

The most recent versions of the HCMS basketball teams were on display Monday afternoon as the Eagles took on the Innovation Phoenix in the first basketball games of the season. Coach Anthony D’orsa leads the boys team, and Coach Shatoya Coogle is at the helm of the Lady Eagles.

The boys played first and got off to a phenomenal start with a 12-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles, led by 7th grader Elijah Cole’s 16 points, went into halftime with a two point lead. At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, there was a lengthy injury delay, followed by a rising Phoenix resurgence. Innovation took the lead for good in the 4th quarter, and if not for 8th grader Gabriel Garcia’s 3 pointer at the buzzer, HCMS would have lost by six points. With the 35-32 defeat, the HCMS boys begin the regular season 0-1.

Coach Coogle’s girls game was a different story as the Lady Eagles dominated the entire way, winning by a large 36-20 margin. The HCMS floor leader, 7th grader Brianna Nolan, scored 70% of her team’s points (25) en route to the victory. 8th grader Yanethzy Salamanca added 11 points. The Lady Eagles begin the season with a “W” in the win column.

January 24, 2024

Both HCMS basketball teams won on Wednesday afternoon at Freedom MS. Coach Anthony D’orsa’s boys beat the Panthers, 38-29, and Coach Shatoya Coogle’s girls beat the Lady Panthers, 34-7.

The HCMS boys basketball team was led by a balanced scoring attack of 8th graders Gabriel Garcia (14 points, two 3-pointers), Sadi Shabazz (9 points), and 7th grader Elijah Cole (8 points). Coach D’orsa’s team now stands at 1-1 on the season.

The Lady Eagles cruised by Freedom, jumping to a 12-0 lead after the first quarter. Team leader Brianna Nolan (7th grade) was the game’s high scorer again with 19 points. 8th grader Yanethzy Salamanca added 6 points, and newly acquired 7th grader Rebecca Henen scored 5 points, including a 3-ball of her own. Coach Coogle’s girls run their record to 2-0.

January 29, 2024

The HCMS basketball teams traveled to Lake Nona MS on Monday afternoon to face the undefeated Knights, who remained unbeaten after taking the boys game, 51-10, as well as the girls game, 43-30.

The boys were led in scoring by 8th grader Matthew Resto who had 4 of his team’s 10 points. 7th grader Brianna Nolan scored 18 points for the Lady Eagles, who stayed within 8-10 points of the Lady Knights most of the game. The HCMS boys drop their record to 1-2, and the girls now stand at 2-1 on the regular season.

January 31, 2024

The Lady Eagles basketball team was victorious, beating the South Creek Wildcats 43-13, while the boys lost a close one, 32-29.

Coach Shatoya Coogle’s ever improving group ran their record to 3-1 on the season with a never-in-doubt outcome, winning by 30 points. 7th grade leader Brianna Nolan poured in 17 points to pace the Lady Eagles. 8th grader Yanethzy Salamanca added 14 points, and 8th grader Bria Zumbrum had a season high 6 points.

The boys dropped another close one, losing by a mere 3 points. 7th grader Elijah Cole led the Eagles in scoring with 12 points. 8th graders Gabriel Garcia, and Sadi Shabazz, added 7 and 6 points apiece. The HCMS boys record now stands at 1-3 on the season.

February 5, 2024

Coach Shatoya Coogle’s girls basketball team beat the Lady Stallions from Meadow Woods on Monday afternoon, 33-7. The Lady Eagles run their record to 4-1, virtually locking-in a playoff berth in the upcoming tournament. As usual, team leader in points was Brianna Nolan (7th grade) with 10, followed by Yanethzy Salamanca (8th) with 7. Forward Bria Zumbrum added 6 points in the victory, while Jemima Mathurin (8th) and Tatiana Speights (7th) each scored 4 points.

The HCMS boys team didn’t experience as pleasant an outcome as the girls, coming up on the short end in their game against Meadow Woods, 49-23. Point guard Gabriel Garcia (8th) led the Eagles in scoring with 9 points, including two 3-pointers. 7th grader Aaron Miller also added one from beyond the arc to chip in three. Coach Anthony D’orsa’s group falls to 1-4 on the season.

The next basketball date for HCMS is Monday, Feb 12 when the Walker Vikings come to HCMS for a 5:30pm start.

GO FAN Update

Starting with tomorrow's home basketball game, tickets for all home sporting events can be purchased digitally ahead of attending the game!

Scan the QR code to go to the website or download the Go Fan app.

Then search for HUNTERS CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL to see all HCMS events.

Finally, purchase tickets digitally to attend the sporting event!

We loved celebrating our HCMS Crossing Guards on Crossing Guard Day! We appreciate them every day as they keep our Eagles safe! 

Enjoy your week. Thank you for reading!

Mrs. Moukaddam, Principal

Hunter's Creek Middle School

Sunday, February 11, 2024

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