CALENDAR DATES
NOVEMBER 17
- NC CHECK-IN TESTING GRADE 6 & 7 MATH (AFTERNOON)
- FOOTBALL HOME WAKE PREP 6:00
- *HOMECOMING / 8TH GRADE RECOGNITION
NOVEMBER 21
- FOOTBALL AWAY VANCE MS 5:00
- Board of Education meeting 6pm Riverside Campus (53 West River Rd, Louisburg)
NOVEMBER 23-25
- THANKSGIVING VACATION - NO SCHOOL
DECEMBER 1
- Franklinton Winter Parade
DECEMBER 6
- NC CHECK-IN TESTING GRADE 8 MATH (afternoon)
DECEMBER 7
- Early Release - Students released at 12:30 pm
- FMS Parent Group meeting 5:30pm Rm 204
DECEMBER 19-JANUARY 2
- NO SCHOOL - WINTER VACATION - HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
ACADEMIC RULES FOR ATHLETES
- Athletes must adhere to the academic standards put in place by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
- If your child has been accepted on a sports team, they must prove that they are eligible under DPI rules.
- For fall and winter sports that means that their report card for the 2021-2022 school year semester 2 (S2) must show that they passed at least three core classes with a 60% or higher.
- That also means that they must be passing 3/4 core classes at the end of this quarter, which will be the end of semester one. On the report card, they must show that they are passing at least three core classes with a 60% or higher under "S1" on the report card and in PowerSchool. If they are not passing at least three core classes, they will be pulled from the team.
- Once coaches have selected their team, their academic history will be checked and those students who are not academically eligible will be let go.
- For spring sports (baseball, softball, track, girls soccer) students must be passing three out of four core classes at the end of this quarter, which will be the end of semester one. On the report card, they must show that they are passing at least three core classes with a 60% or higher under "S1" on their report card and in PowerSchool.
Threatening other students
Parents: please talk to your middle schooler about communicating threats. In the world that we live in, the school has to take every threat VERY seriously! This results in consequences greater than what you as a parent would have gotten when you were going to school. We don't just tell students to knock it off. That behavior is likely recorded in the system and there can be severe consequences, up to long term suspension. Let your child know that communicating threats is serious, and that they need to choose other ways to communicate their frustration or joke with other people.
The Benefits of Gratitude
Science is proving that giving thanks, expressing gratitude, for something or someone, or something someone has done, can make you happier! Have you genuinely expressed gratitude today? Gratitude can help build stronger relationships at home, at work, and in the community. Making other people feel appreciated is so important to the spread of positive psychology. Try it with your spouse, your kids, your friends and family, your colleagues at work, and your neighbors.
Practicing Gratitude Daily:
improves physical health
improves psychological health
improves sleep
increases empathy & reduces aggression
builds social connections
enhances self esteem
improves mental strength
opens the door for new or improved relationships
strengthens family relationships
reduces materialism
makes us happier
Article: Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier!
Article: The Benefits of Gratitude
Family Projects to Practice Gratitude:
Make a gratitude jar: www.primroseschools.com/blog/gratitude-jar-craft/
Keep a gratitude journal: ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/gratitude_journal
Get a gratitude rock: www.the-benefits-of-positive-thinking.com/gratitude-rock.html
Make a gratitude tree: youtu.be/WcNoq8GL6tY
DOWNLOAD THE NEW FCS APP!
- View grades
- View attendance
- View bus info
- View the lunch menu
- Access school and staff info
- Receive important alerts
- View news stories
- View calendar info
IT'S EASY! GO TO THE FCS WEBSITE, LOOK FOR THE AD FOR THE APP, CLICK ON THE LOGO FOR THE APP STORE YOU USE FOR YOUR PHONE, AND DOWNLOAD THE APP. EASY!
*ONCE YOU ARE IN THE APP, CLICK ON THE PARENT PORTAL ICON, PUT IN YOUR PHONE NUMBER THAT YOU HAVE IN POWERSCHOOL, AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR CHILD'S GRADES AND ASSIGNMENTS. EASY!
ELA: MS. MCINTOSH
Notes for the week:
We are still moving forward with i-Ready lessons weekly. We are compelling the students to spend an hour and pass 3 lessons for 70% or higher every week. i-Ready helps close the academic gaps for all students. Please continue to encourage your students to complete their lessons for a grade.
We will continue to read chapters 14-19 of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief this week. So please read in Sora (our online library). Corresponding assignments will be added to Google classroom.
We began our FFMs (first five minutes of class) assignments. This gives students extra practice with inferencing and finding the central idea of a text. This gives the students an opportunity to get additional points towards their grade.
If you have any questions please email at chasitymcintosh@fcschools.net
Have an awesome fall break! Read, Read, Read!
SCIENCE: MS. DOWNUM
Good afternoon. The students have been working on our Waves unit. We have completed the first quiz and students were able to make corrections for up to 70% credit if they did not pass the quiz. The tentative test date for this unit is December 13th and the cow eye dissection is December the 15th. As a reminder for the cow eye dissection students need to have all of their work completed as the practice leading up to the lab is very important. Students are expected to be following all lab expectations so that I can ensure their safety. Students are excited about this lab and it’s a really cool experience for them to see a close up of the parts of an eye that we will have learned about.
SOCIAL STUDIES: MS. BROOKS
In social studies, students are learning about the first civilization of mankind, Ancient Mesopotamia. We just completed our unit on the Early Humans. Students are to complete their Early Human project if they have not submitted it. If you have any missing work for this new nine weeks please complete the assignments and turn it in. If you have any questions, please email me at jericabrooks@fcschools.net.
MATH: MR. MITCHELL
Hello everybody and happy holidays! There are a few things I would like to mention before we depart for holidays, so please bear with me.
Grading:
From the Jump Quiz - This is an assignment given every Friday that is based on our ‘From the Jump’ assignment completed for the 1st five minutes of every class. ‘From the Jump’ is reviewing previously taught material and I provide the students with notes on how to solve the problems, as well as, the answers to the problems we are working on. When we take the quiz, the exact same problem or a problem that is solved in a very similar way is given to the students. They are able to use their notes from the week to assist them in solving the problems on the Quiz. This Quiz makes up a large percentage of their grade, and they are provided with the necessary materials to get a good grade on this Quiz on a weekly basis. If you see in PowerSchool that the FTJ Quiz grades are not doing well, please ask your students how they are spending the first five minutes of class or if they are using the materials they are provided as they have everything they need to be doing very well on them.
iReady - Going forward, iReady is a weekly grade. The requirement is 60 minutes and 2 lessons passed and the students have from Monday - Sunday to complete their iReady Pathway. The minutes and lessons passed are reset after every week and iReady makes up a large percentage of student grades. Class time is given to complete their pathway, but, if time is not used wisely, iReady can and should be completed outside of school if they can not get their minutes and lessons completed during school hours.
Math Club:
We will begin a remedial math club beginning the week after Thanksgiving break. This time will be spent reviewing 4th and 5th grade mathematics and will be used to freshen up skills that may have been forgotten throughout the summer. If you think your child will benefit from something like this, please encourage them to join the math club. The results will most definitely enhance their understanding but you will hopefully also see their grade in math class increasing over time.
Contact:
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. My email is brandonmitchell@fcschools.net and I will do my best to get back to you as quickly as possible. If I do not hear from you before the break, enjoy your Thanksgiving!
ELA: MS. BAECHLE:
Happy Holidays all!
The next two weeks we are in the Remediation process as we review the standards and skill-sets we can improve upon from Check-in one. We are focusing on the standards listed below including:
-RI.1: citing textual evidence
-RI.4: analyzing interaction among individuals, events, and ideas
-L.4: determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words
We will address and strengthen overall comprehension and growth in these areas by: focusing more on: context clues, denotation vs connotation, vocabulary in several contexts, and assigning some I-Ready lessons based upon more challenging standards.
Upon returning from Thanksgiving break we will begin reading our second text of the year entitled, “A Long Walk to Water.” Besides being my favorite text to teach, we will deep dive into several themes such as: survival, lack of resources, family, war, religion, education, etc, as well as the significance of symbols, water vs. steps as we follow both a nonfiction and fictional character on their journey towards survival and individual growth.
In addition, Students will have their Q2 project due on January 19th with check-in dates to show progress. The rubric will be discussed in depth in class and is attached below: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dci8wOcaZtDCYwrbwGHNYoWgcYd22Q2Lrj25WkP_CZE/edit?usp=sharing
As a reminder, students, be sure you are completing 45 minutes of both ELA and Math in I-Ready on your pathway each week. You MUST have a minimum of 45 minutes and two passing lessons to receive credit. This is counted as a weekly grade. I am excited with the work and growth I have seen thus far this school year and I know we will only continue to improve and excel!
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns at: kimberlybaechle@fcschools.net
MATH: MS. JENKINS
Happy November! The first two weeks of the second quarter have been very productive. Our students completed Unit 1 and began preparation for the first Math NC Check-Ins. Math NC Check-Ins are Thursday, November 17th. Please encourage your students to be well rested and ready to test. We are now working on Unit 2, Reasoning with Rational Numbers. Students have learned the rules of operations for integers and will soon apply this understanding to rational numbers. Unit 2 will require students to recall their knowledge of decimal and fraction operations. After completion of Unit 2 students will be able to solve real-world and mathematical problems involving numerical expressions with rational numbers using the four operations.
Things to remember:
-Bring your materials (Chromebooks(charged), notebooks and pencils) to class daily.
-Get a good night's rest and come to class prepared to learn.
-Math I-Ready assignments are important. You are required to complete 45 minutes of study time with two passing lessons each week.
-Believe in yourself, you can do it!
Our students are working hard to master these concepts. Keep up the good work. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at litishajenkins@fcschools.net.
SCIENCE: MS. HEAD
In Science, we are jumping right into Hydrology with the first vocabulary quiz 11/21. In the Second Step lessons, we are working on recognizing bullying and harassment. Please let me know if any questions come up (my email: nadinehead@fcschools.net). Thank you!
SOCIAL STUDIES: MR. DOWNUM
We are finishing up The American Revolution and the first unit Birth of a Nation. The next unit we will be covering Government and citizenship. We will be looking at the growing pains of a new nation and how we started putting together a semi-functioning government that we still have today. I hope you all have a restful Thanksgiving break and come back refreshed and ready to learn.
ART: MS. CLIFTON
We are working on Color Theory, primary and secondary colors. We paired the color wheel with a lesson on how to draw and shade an eye. Then students added a writing element to their images.
PE/HEALTH: MR. HARTSFIELD
Students will continue their volleyball unit. 8th grade will be learn how to officiate games.
6th and 7th grade will continue to play modified volleyball.
CTE: MS. DAVIS
Students will continue working on either Unit 3 for eighth grade and Unit 2 for seven grade to be completed for a notebook check on each section. I will begin with 3.4 and 2.6. Once grades are recorded from notebook check, students will work on 3.5 and 2.7. In keyboarding, students will complete keyboarding ideas and be ready for a presentation and once completed students will begin 3.5 and 3.6 in TypeTastic.
DRAMA: MS. HATTEN
All Classes: I am updating grades in both PowerSchool and in Google Classroom to reflect work that has not been completed or turned in and is past due. Please make an effort to get your work turned in. It would be helpful if the work is late, that you email me and let me know that you have turned it in so I know to check it and grade it. Until it is turned in, you will not be given a grade other than a 0.
I have tried to be lenient and give students time to work on on late work in class, but we are almost a month behind at this point in most classes due to students not doing their work. We will be moving on after Thanksgiving break and any work past due and not turned in at that point will be given a 0 for the grade and will not be accepted.
Please talk to your student about their work and if you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to contact me. I am available after school for parent conferences, or can speak to you by phone between 10:00 - 10:50 am during the week, or you can set an appointment by sending me an email and I will do my best to accommodate your request.