FMS Parent Information SMORE

SEPTEMBER

9/25-9/29 Mid-quarter - grade alert forms go out this week to students who are failing at least one class. Parents, check your email throughout the week.

9/25 HOME Volleyball and Soccer vs Cross Creek MS

9/26 FCS Semi-Annual Parent Summit (by invitation only)

9/26 AWAY Football vs. Vance MS

9/27 AWAY Volleyball/Soccer vs. Butner Stem

9/28 HOME Volleyball/Soccer vs. Vance MS

OCTOBER

10/2 School Custodian Appreciation Day

10/3 AWAY Volleyball/Soccer N. Granville MS

10/4 FOOTBALL FMS vs. Cedar Creek at FHS football field

10/5 HOME Volleyball/Soccer vs. Bunn MS

10/10 FALL PICTURE DAY *more information below

10/10 Volleyball/Soccer AWAY Cedar Creek MS

10/11 Football HOME vs. N. Granville MS, Volleyball/Soccer AWAY vs. Wake Prep

10/12 EARLY RELEASE

10/13 TEACHER WORKDAY - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

10/17 Volleyball/Soccer HOME vs Terrell Lane

10/19 SPORTS PICTURE DAY

10/25 NC CHECK-IN #1: SCIENCE (grade 8 only)

10/25 Football AWAY vs. Bunn MS

10/26 NC CHECK-IN #1: READING (grades 6-8) *testing schedule

10/27 Assembly at the end of the day with the National Theater

10/31 LAST DAY OF QUARTER ONE

10/31 Football HOME vs. Hawley MS

10/31 Halloween - stay safe!

NOVEMBER

11/5 Daylight Saving Time Ends

11/7 Election Day - go vote!

11/7 Football AWAY vs. Wake Prep

11/10 NO SCHOOL VETERAN'S DAY

11/13 Fall Picture Day Makeups

11/13-11/17 School Psychologists Appreciation Week

11/14 Football AWAY vs. Vance MS

11/15 NC CHECK-IN #1: MATH (grades 6 & 7 only)

11/22-11/24 THANKSGIVING VACATION - NO SCHOOL

11/27 NC CHECK-IN #1: MATH I only

DECEMBER

12/4 CHECK-IN #1: MATH (grade 8 only)

12/6 EARLY RELEASE

12/18-1/1 WINTER BREAK - ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!

https://strawbridge.fotomerchanthv.com/clients/franklinton-middle-school/fall-pictures-10-10-2023-49/optIn

This link will allow parents to sign up to receive updates via email regarding their child's school portraits. These updates include promotions, additional deals and the ability to order more pictures at a later time.

*When entering student information, parents should be sure to enter the student's name as it is on file at the school.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE FORM

• or come into the main office and sign while you are right there
• or ask your child to request a form in the main office, sign it, and tell your child to drop it off in the main office

The Franklinton Women's club donated clothing for our clothing closet.

*we are always looking for new or gently used clothing for students, especially athletic wear, bike shorts, leggings, shorts, coats, and hygiene products.

UPDATE: Ms. Faulkner, our Media Coordinator and Digital Literacy Coach, will now be at FMS Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday. Check-outs are available when she is in the building.

Policy Code: 4318 Use of Wireless Communication and Other Electronic Devices

The Board recognizes that cellular phones and other wireless communication devices have become an important tool through which parents communicate with their children. Therefore, students are permitted to possess such devices on school property as long as such devices are not activated, used, displayed or visible during the instructional day or as otherwise directed by local school rules or school personnel.

Search of Wireless Communication Devices

In accordance with Policy #4342, Student Searches, a student's wireless communication device and its contents, including, but not limited to text messages and digital photos, may be searched whenever a school official has reason to believe the search will provide evidence that the student has violated or is violating a law, board policy, the Code of Student Conduct or a school rule. The scope of such searches must be reasonably related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the nature of the suspected infraction.

Liability

Students are personally and solely responsible for the security of their wireless communication devices. The school district is not responsible for the theft, loss or damage of a cellular phone or any other personal wireless communication device.

Ms. Gilbert's Virtual Office

Helpful Resources

NC211.org (or call 211)

Food Finder (FoodBank of Central NC)

Hope4NC (or call 1-855-587-3463)

TransitionsLifeCare.org (or call the Grief Line 919-719-7199)

National Domestic Violence Hotline (or call 800-799-7233)

SuicideCrisisLifeline.org (or call 988)

National Alliance of Mental Illness/NC (or call 800-451-9682)

Vaya Health (or call their Behavioral Health Crisis Line at 800-849-6127)

How to Contact Ms. Gilbert:

Complete and submit this form: Counselor Request Form

Or send email to: marygilbert@fcschools.net

Or call FMS at 919-494-2971 ext. 298

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

All month, mental health advocates, prevention organizations, survivors, allies, and community members unite to promote suicide prevention awareness. There is no single cause for suicide, but there are risk factors and warning signs which may increase likelihood of an attempt. Learning them can save lives. Please click here for more information about risk factors, protective factors, and warning signs.

Reaching out for help has been made easier. Just call 988 and you’ll be connected with a mental health professional at the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Expectations are the same school-wide. This poster is in every classroom.

SCIENCE: MS. DOWNUM

Good evening parents! Your students are doing great in science class. Last week we had a flower dissection that the students got to do. There will be pictures below for you to see them in action. A quick reminder that if you were sent an email this morning to turn in the technology form I passed out to your student today. Computers will be shut off on October 2nd if this isn’t completed.

We are finishing up our very first unit Structures and Functions of Living Organisms (Plants) with the test tomorrow. There are many supports in place to help your young scientist to do their very best. I will do 1-2 days of review to refresh everything taught. I provide a study guide for each test to help guide their studying. In addition I tell them to look at the quizzes they didn’t do well on to guide them on which topics they need to focus their studying. I will also give them 10-15 minutes to review their notes prior to class. If your scientist isn’t doing well on tests make sure they are using those supports and that they are keeping up with notes, vocab and classwork as all of those provide practice with the information to help them do their best. In addition to this there is a great extra created by NCDPI in my canvas page called Take Two. It is for students who need more practice with a particular topic.

We will be starting our Ecosystems unit on Wednesday. I do not have a test date set for that yet but it will be about three weeks from Wednesday give or take. I will have the date in the next smore for you. Have a great rest of your night.

MATH: MR. MITCHELL

Hello families and thank you for reading! I’ve broken up the material into a couple different sections so please see the information below:

Content:

We are still in Unit 1 but it is coming to an end. We will be testing early this week and all students will be sent home with a test review sheet that they can use to study for the upcoming test. If time permits, please take a second to sit down and go through this review with them. They will benefit greatly from your assistance.

Also, as we work towards EOGs, students are given about 12 questions from last year’s 6th grade EOG to take home and study at the end of each week. Please ask your students about these papers. They are called ‘From the Jump’ assignments and all students should be taking them home to study. The better they get at these questions, and questions similar to those, the better they will do on the EOGs.

Grades:

Students need to be completing iReady minutes and lessons. 60 minutes and 2 lessons passed are required each week.

Behaviors:

The classroom has been a place of peace and learning since day one this school year and I want to thank all of you for assisting me in holding your students accountable. Learning cannot happen without the necessary environment so thank you for your assistance in keeping the classroom a place of learning.

As always, thank you for all of your support and please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions at brandonmitchell@fcschools.net

Thank you for reading!

ELA: MS. CRUDUP

Greetings Family, We are still enjoying our Novel Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We have gotten into the last lessons of the Unit where we are learning the Hero's Journey. There are three acts to the Hero’s Journey and we have covered the first one which was Departure. This week we will cover Initiation and Return. We will be writing an informative/explanatory text soon. We are now preparing. Homework is to read at home. We will not be able to read in class daily, time won’t allow! Please speak with your student about reading the assigned chapters at home with the SORA app or by using their books if they have one.

Things are still running smoothly for the most part. Students are doing collaborative work in ELA. They are expected to work or at least discuss with a partner. That partner will not always be their friend. I am working to ensure that they understand they do not have to necessarily like every person they work with but they must respect them. Thank you for your help in assisting me ensure that class runs as smoothly as it can. Any questions please reach out to me at sharondaperry@fcschools.net

MATH: MS. JENKINS

We have reached the mid-quarter review and are making good progress. We continue to work on Unit 1 - Proportional Relationships. The students have learned how to identify scale factors, create scale copies, and calculate area using scale factors. This week we will focus on understanding scale drawings and then take a quiz to check for understanding. The students have been reminded to follow all of the non-negotiable rules throughout the entire school day. Grade reports will be distributed at the end of the week. If your student is missing assignments they will have the opportunity to make up the assignment. If a student turns in late work, they should email a notification that the assignment is complete.

Things to remember:

• Attendance is important.
• Be on your best behavior. Remember the school and classroom rules.
• Bring your materials (Chromebooks(charged), notebooks, and pencils) to class daily.
• Get a good night's rest and come to class prepared to work..
• Math I-Ready assignments are important. You are expected to complete 45 minutes of I-Ready study with two passing lessons each week.
• Believe in yourself, you can do it!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at litishajenkins@fcschools.net.

SOCIAL STUDIES: MR. JONES

Hello Parents and Guardians! This week we are starting our Renaissance and Reformation unit. Last week we finished our studies of global economies, religions, and governments. Students know they have a project due this Friday, September 29th, unless they have already turned it in. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me at hunterjones@fcschools.net

SCIENCE: MS. BRACKETT

Hello parents! We are finishing the Structures and Functions of Living Organisms and will begin Human Body Systems next. We’ll be learning about Human Body Systems until the end of the quarter. Please contact me at sherrybrackett@fcschool.net if you have any questions or concerns.

ELA: MS. BAECHLE

Happy Fall students and families! We continue quarter one with a strong focus on Rigor. Student focus, consistency, and accountability of their work will ensure a year full of growth and obtaining several academic skill-sets.

Syllabus/Expectations: Please refer to the link below for daily student behavioral and academic expectations. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xSPXqCGT-eRwFetl5G4LwMO_Lf-gkuBjNAL5V310PxY/edit?usp=drive_link

Curriculum: We continue to dive into our first text “Lyddie.” Topics discussed include: poor working conditions, survival, unfair wages, poverty, child labor, independence, and individual rights.

Students are currently working on: annotation color-coding skills, analyzing text with textual quotes, in-text vocabulary, and content anchor charts. Students are expected to read the text both in class and at home on the Sora app, which can be located on the fcschools bookmarks and in Classlink with other helpful apps. Reading at home will be expected on a weekly basis and must to occur in order to be successful with activities in class.

Homework: Students should expect homework two to three times weekly in order to continue to develop their skill-sets and to see growth. Please ask your child what work they have for homework, or have not completed on a regular basis to help keep them on track. Work will also be updated regularly for access on Canvas.

Grades: Student grades will be present on Canvas, and are currently up to date. Students are expected to check their grades on a regular basis and reach out to their teacher for make-up work or additional time to complete an assignment if they have been absent. I allow a one week timeframe to make up work before an assignment becomes a zero. In addition, I will take any late work until the week before the end of a quarter in order to allow ample time for grading and feedback.

Grade Update** “Grade Alert Forms” will be emailed home by your students homeroom teacher by Friday, 9/29. This is to provide an update on what classes may need to be focused on more with work completion in order to be successful by the end of Q1. Quarter one ends on Tuesday, October 31st.

I-Ready: Is a proven and resourceful data-driven program that allows teachers to see tri-annually where a student is at in their comprehension level by grade lexile. It also allows teachers to view the data and see where students have mastered a skill, and what areas need additional practice. It is significant that starting next Monday, September 18th, students are completing two passing lessons and 60 minutes of their I-Ready pathway for both Reading and Math each week, as it will count as a graded assignment.

Project(s): Students should have already selected and working on their Q1 Project. The majority of the project will be completed at home. The project will be due October 27th. The project rubric is linked below: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ey4PRCrPqOy3T2Dm-2oCVhLqjM_vI6rFVXFqaKHPnF0/edit?usp=sharing

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at any time with any questions or concerns: kimberlybaechle@fcschools.net.

SCIENCE: MS. HEAD

For science, we are finishing up with the Periodic Table and moving into physical and chemical changes with balancing chemical equations. Our next vocabulary quiz will be Wed. Sept. 27th. For the second step lessons, we will be writing about harnessing our strengths to overcome roadblocks to pursue our interests. Thank you for your support. Please let me know if any questions come up. nadinehead@fcschools.net

English Language Arts: Ms. Frost

Important Reminder (I-Ready): It is an expectation that your child works on his or her Learning Pathway in I-Ready for 45+ minutes per week with an average of 75% or higher on 2 lessons. Students will not earn credit if both expectations are not met. Because the program is customized to your child’s reading level based on the diagnostic assessment, this is an attainable goal (100% test grade per week). For the past two weeks, participation is low and I greatly appreciate your support to encourage your child to meet this expectation.

We just finished a “Resiliency Tournament” where students read a number of informational texts about people who demonstrate resilience. Lessons focus on using context clues to make sense of unknown words, making inferences, and analyzing character development. We will continue to work with informational texts to build background knowledge specific to the novel Unbroken and skills unique to reading informational texts.

Anchor Learning Goal for Novel Study: Based on actions, ideas, and events on the part of the main character, identify character traits and provide text evidence to analyze the character using CER (Claims, Evidence, Reasoning).

Please contact me at annafrost@fcschools.net

MATH: MS. CUNNINGHAM

We tested on unit 5a on 9/19th, which was returned on 9/22nd. We have since moved into our next unit of Reasoning with Exponents/Scientific Notation this week, where students are using exponent properties to identify and create equivalent expressions involving positive, negative, and zero exponents. Secondly, they are learning to use scientific notation to express and perform operations with very large or very small quantities using powers of 10 and scientific notation.

We practiced the product property by competing in teams. The students had fun learning!

We could use some boxes of tissues if anyone would be willing to send a box or two in for our room. Thank you in advance.

Grade Update** “Grade Alert Forms” will be emailed home by your students homeroom teacher by Friday, 9/29. This is to provide an update on what classes may need to be focused on more with work completion in order to be successful by the end of Q1. Quarter one ends on Tuesday, October 31st.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. My email is michellecunningham@fcschools.net

ART: Mrs. CLIFTON

We have just finished our lessons on Contour Drawing. Our artists have worked so hard and I am super excited with their final projects. Fridays are “Journaling Fridays”, artists can use several different media to create. Coming up in October our artists will work with a team on constructing a 3D “Spooky” House. This house will be made mostly out of cardboard. Artists will be allowed to bring in supplies to decorate their homes if they would like. This will be a competition and the top 3 houses (out of all the grades )will receive an award.

Please contact me at angelaclifton@fcschools.net

DRAMA: MS. HATTEN

Students have completed their Vision Boards and we have begun looking at grades and how students are working towards their goals.

8th grade students have begun their first design project, creating a character and a costume design and will begin making their mannequins this week! Look for them around FMS throughout the year.

7th grade students are learning about character and story analysis. We are watching Peter Pan, the musical, and students have their choice of one of 4 characters to analyze for their assignment. This lesson will culminate with a full character biography based on the analysis that students write in class.

6th grade students have begun their costume design unit. We will be reading the book “Sock City” in class and students will choose a character from the story to create a unique costume design based on a sock. Stay tuned for some really fun pictures of clothing and sets created for this unit!

BAND: MS. BROWN

All students have instruments now and are making beautiful music!!

8th graders are working on the Star Spangled Banner and pep tunes in preparation for the upcoming FMS Homecoming game that we get to perform at! Be on the lookout for more information regarding that opportunity. Additionally, all 8th grade band students have the opportunity to perform with the FHS Marching Band on October 13th at the high school football game to get a glimpse of what high school marching band is like. It will be an awesome opportunity. Music Appreciation students are learning about music terminology and taking songs they listen to on a daily basis and creating a visual representation of it.

7th graders are also working on the Star Spangled Banner and pep tunes for the homecoming game. There are quite a few students who are in 7th grade but were not in band next year who are playing their instruments for the very first time! These students are really rising to the occasion and doing such a great job. We are approaching our first playing test this week for B-day students and A-day students on October 2nd. Students are being encouraged to practice at home and use the time in class as a way to practice putting music together as a whole group, not just practicing individual parts.

6th graders are rocking their instruments and impressing me with their drive and desire to learn. We have been working on the first five notes (B-flat through F) and also explaining the different parts of their instruments. Students have been exploring the way their instrument makes sound and also how they manipulate their air to move up and down the range of their instruments. We are focusing on not only knowing what notes and sounds we are making but being sure that the sounds we are producing are of great quality.

As you may know, practice makes perfect and my goal by the end of the year is for you to be surprised and shocked by the progress your student has made on their instrument and general music knowledge. Thank you for being a part of this process and encouraging your student along the way. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have!

Anna Brown

annabrown@fcschools.net