FCMS EXPRESS

I have a lot to be thankful here at FCMS. Each day I get to see our students make

choices. Those choices they make help define who they become. That goes for our

staff too. I am surrounded by a dedicated team committed to student success and a

supportive school culture. Our staff creates engaging lessons, celebrates

accomplishments of others, and fosters a caring atmosphere. It seems as though with

every trial and tribulation, our staff becomes more supportive towards others. With that

being said, we have another positive role model joining our team.

I would like to introduce Jana Ball who is currently working on her administration license

and will begin working at FCMS as an administrative intern. She is a 2003 graduate of

Franklin County High School and graduated from Ball State University in 2007 with a

Bachelor's in Social Work. Mrs. Ball came to Laurel Elementary School during the 2015-

2016 school year as a special education paraprofessional and has worked in a behavior

room and as a math interventionist. She became a classroom teacher during the 2020-

2021 school year during the COVID-19 pandemic. She went on to complete her

transition to teaching in 2021 and earned her Master's in Elementary Education in 2022

from Ball State University. She is married to Matt Ball and has two children, Bryson and Carolina. Bryson is a freshman at FCHS and is involved in Band and FFA. Carolina (Cara) is a sixth grader at

Laurel Elementary School and is involved in cheerleading, Christmas play, and basketball.

Please welcome Mrs. Ball to our FCMS family. We are grateful she will be working with

our staff and students here at FCMS.

November

• 27th-29th - Thanksgiving Break, NO SCHOOL

December

• 5th - FCMS & FCHS Band Concert @FCHS 7:00

• 5th - Little Caesar fundraiser order pick up 2-5pm

• 11th - Early Dismissal, PLC

• 11th - Academic Team Meet @ 3:30 in FCMS Library

• 12th - Choir Christmas Concert @FCHS 7:00

• 20th - End of Second Grading Period Q2

• 20th - End of First Semester

• 23rd-January 3 - Christmas Break, no school

This week's staff spotlight shines on Mr. Sells. Mr. Sells is the 7th-grade Language Arts teacher at FCMS.

Mr. Sells has been teaching for 8 years at FCMS. He attended Indiana University and majored in English Education, and he said he minored in Mario Kart (ha.ha.).

Mr. Sells says his favorite games, right now, are Dark Souls and Legend of Zelda. His favorite gaming system of all time is the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. But right now, it’s between Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. His favorite movie is Mean Girls, he said, “YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US!.” He said he wasn’t into the boy band era, but he’d have to go with the Backstreet Boys if he’d have to choose. As a teen, he went to punk and metal shows, so he said he thought he was “too cool” for pop music. If Mr. Sells wasn’t a teacher he would want to be a skater or a writer. He said that his favorite season is fall.

Mr. Sells always has fun and treats everyone with respect. He makes people feel welcome in his class.

Jordyn Drew--Journalism

Monday November 25

7/8th grade basketball @ Batesville, 5:30-AWAY

The newest 8th-grade members of the FCMS Junior Honor Society were inducted on Monday, November 18th. The 24 members of the graduating class of 2029 had to maintain a GPA of 3.75 and also showed previous leadership and good citizenship. These students represent the best of Franklin County Middle School.

The 2024 FCMS Honor Society Members are as follows:

Cameron Arnold, Macyn Bowman, Dana Brennan, Anthony Cox, Kodie Cox, Alexis Feller, Steeley Gaylen, Savannah Garrett, Evelyn Grimmeissen, Lane Hunter, Aeriana Larson, Cora Lienesch, Jaydon Richardson, Emily Robinson, Teagan Schatzman, Colton Seale, Sarah Smith, Brooklyn Spradlin, Cayne Stewart, Lance Stoecklin, Aylah Taylor, Alexis Werner, Gabriel Wesolowski, Sophia Williams. Mrs. Beth Brown is the sponsor of the society.

Guest speakers included principal, Trent Liggett, FCHS National Honor Society President, Lane Wuesterfeld, Franklin County Community Foundation Executive Director and Tri-Kappa President, Shelly Lunsford.

Mrs. Noah's classes enjoyed listening to two of our foreign exchange students from the high school this week. The girls were from India and Serbia and presented about their countries and cultures. Both girls shared snacks with the students from things they normally eat at home. Both girls are in America for ten months on scholarship, and our students and Mrs. Noah were very grateful for the opportunity to listen to and talk to them.

Mrs. Riffle's 7th grade Exploring Ag class have been studying wildlife and this week they dissected owl pellets to learn what they ate for that meal and relate it to the food chain. Owl pellets are the undigested fur, feathers, teeth and bones that are coughed up by the owl about once per day. They discovered bones from a variety of rodents and other small animals. Many of them were skeptical about the assignment, but ended up loving it.

On Friday, Mrs. Osborne's Applied Skills class worked on social skills during a trip to El Reparo for lunch. Students practiced reading menus, ordering meals, and maintaining positive behaviors in a restaurant setting.

The 6th grade enjoyed a chemical reaction experiment, "Elephant's Toothpaste", let by students Addi Stone and Lacey Doherty!

Everyone survived and had a little fun!

With the colder weather, our 6th graders are moving recess inside. Mrs. Ratz, Mr. Sherwood, and Mr. Liggett are working to make sure the 6th graders are having a fun and engaging cafeteria recess.

Mrs. Ariens’ 6th grade ELA students worked on a Thanksgiving-themed digital escape room -Catch the Turkeys! They practiced recognizing key ideas, sequencing, inferencing, central ideas, and perspective. This was a great activity for the last Friday before Thanksgiving break! 🦃

On Wednesday night, Mrs. Mitchum held an informational meeting regarding the 2026 Washington DC trip. This trip is for current 6th and 7th grade students. If you missed the meeting and need the information or have any questions you can contact Mrs. Mitchum at amitchum@fccsc.k12.in.us.

Thanks to all those who helped sell or purchased items from the Little Caesar's fundraiser. The top sellers were as follows:

1st Place: Dane Brougher and Mason Slayback

2nd Place: Adam Owens

3rd Place: Abby Donathon

Congratulations, students, on a job well done!!!

Little Caesar's orders will need to be picked up on December 5th between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

All concerts are free, however donations at admission are accepted and appreciated.