What's Happening @Faiss MS
Important information for members of the Faiss MS Commuity.
Faiss Families
Dear Faiss Community,
Faiss Flyers, we will finish SBAC testing this week on Monday, Period 3, Tuesday, Period 4, and Wednesday, Period 5.
Remember to bring your Chromebook every day, CHARGED and READY!
Testing will begin promptly at 8:00 am. Please remember to be on time for school. If you arrive late to school or are absent during testing, you must make up any missed testing. (Make-up testing will take place each day until May 3rd).
Students MAY NOT have access to their cell phones, earbuds, or smartwatches during testing. They must be in a backpack or bin at the front of the room. Students may not keep their devices in a pocket. This may result in a testing irregularity and void your hard work.
Remember that the testing environment is very strict. Any disruption to the testing environment (talking, misbehavior, noises, etc) may result in removal from the classroom and disciplinary action, including a suspension from school and Parent Conference. This may also result in testing irregularities and void your hard work.
Students can only take one restroom break at a time and will require an escort. Please be sure to use the restroom before testing.
There is to be no food or drink in the testing room.
If you have questions, comments, or compliments, please feel free to reply to this email or contact the school at 702-799-6850.
Important Dates for Future Planning...
APRIL 26: NO SCHOOL for Contingency Day
MAY 20: HALF DAY DISMISSAL @ 11:30 am for Last Day of School
MAY 21: START SUMMER BREAK
AUG. 12: FIRST DAY OF THE 2024-2025 School Year
HEALTH AND SAFETY TOOLS (Public Service Announcement)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1clLUwk9s4SyNYpmWdya4U7ICYX-IM_VeU3C6WE2b96M/edit
Dream...Believe...Soar to Achieve!
Roger West, Principal
Melissa Giannantonio, Assistant Principal (Curriculum/Testing/Attendance/MTSS)
Amanda Skrogstad, Assistant Principal (6th grade/School Safety/Activities)
Joe Vespo, Assistant Principal (7th Grade/Athletics/Facilities)
Shirley Cunningham, Assistant Principal (8th Grade/Special Education/Transportation)
On-Line Registration for the 2024-2025 School Year. Required for ALL students
Register Your Child for the 2024-2025 School Year
Dear Faiss Families,
We are excited to announce that online registration for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year is now open!
It is crucial that all students enrolled in CCSD complete their online registration annually. To facilitate this process, please ensure you can access the Infinite Campus Portal. If you encounter any issues with logging in, our team is here to assist you at 702-799-6850.
Please take note of the following important information:
- Registration Steps:
Step One: Begin your registration process online by visiting CCSD Enrollment Portal. Once logged into Infinite Campus, navigate to the top-left menu, click "MORE," and select "ONLINE REGISTRATION PARENTS ONLY."
Step Two: After completing your online registration, kindly provide the Faiss front office with a paper copy of your current power, water, or gas bill displaying the service address. For registration purposes, you must verify your primary residence address is within the Faiss MS zone. Please contact Faiss MS at 702-799-6850 if you have any inquiries regarding this process
Thank you for taking the time to look into this matter. Your cooperation ensures a smooth registration process for the upcoming school year. If you have any more questions or need help, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
It's warming up...please be reminded about CCSD Dress Code
As the weather heats up, we wanted to remind Faiss Flyers and their families to review the CCSD dress code policy. (LINK)
The Dress Code policy includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- All clothing must be sufficient to conceal any undergarments. No skin will show between the bottom of a shirt or blouse and the top of pants or skirt at any time.
- Sleeveless shirts must have straps at least 3 inches wide.
- All shorts, skorts, skirts, and jumpers/dresses must be at least fingertip length.
- All jeans, pants, trousers, and shorts must be secured at waist level, and sagging is strictly prohibited.
- Jeans, pants, trousers, and shorts are not to have holes, rips, tears, or frays above the knees.
- Hats and Hoodies are not allowed to be worn once a student arrives on campus.
Remember, communication is the key to preventing most dress code issues. If you have any concerns or questions about the dress code, please get in touch with us at Faiss Middle School at 702-799-6850.
4th Quarter Progress Grades
Progress Report Grades—These are now available in the IC Parent/Student Portal. Please remember that these are just snapshots of the grade as of Friday, 4.19. Continue to monitor grades by looking at the quarter grade.
UNLV Summer Camp
My name is Jason Steffen, I'm a physics professor at UNLV. I wanted to let you know about our astronomy summer camp for middle school students that we hold at UNLV each year. The camp has four sessions, each for one week from 9am through 4pm. It is open to students who have completed 5th grade and have not started 9th grade (graduating 8th graders are welcome).
We ran Camp Cosmos last summer and had a great response from the participants. If you think that any of your students, faculty, parents, or clubs might be interested, please share this information with them. The camp website is: www.campcosmos.space
Tutoring/Classwork Assistance Schedule
Please see this link for our schedule. Please know this is a live document and may change.
Faiss MS Tutoring Schedule or you can go to our 5 Star program as well and look under the tutoring schedule. https://www.5starstudents.com/faissms
After School Clubs and Activities
Faiss MS 23-24 Clubs/Activities List
Questions, please contact Ms. Skrogstad at skroga@nv.ccsd.net or 702-799-6850 Ext. 4500
Social Media Issues and Concerns
Parent and Students...social media is an incredible force in our society today. It can and is used for so much good, but can also be incredibly dangerous and abused, especially by young people that are not aware of how addictive and controlling it can become mentally and physically. We urge families to monitor their children's use of social media/texting/messaging. See what and who your kids are talking to and what they are talking about. Below is some infomation and resources we wanted to share. If you see something inappopriate on social media, you can report it and get it removed.
Social Media Concerns and Issues
* From CCSD in Las Vegas LINK (May 20, 2023) Link
The internet, both the greatest invention and biggest threat for society today. One population that is mentally affected more than any other are our children. That’s why Thursday, CCSD and the Clark County School Board of Trustees voted to approve lawsuits with social media giants TikTok and Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta in its crosshairs.
At the board meeting Thursday, they gave the greenlight for law firms to go after the social media giants.
Why is CCSD clearing the way for these lawsuits?
This is not a decision that CCSD came to on their own. Nationwide, multiple school districts, cities and states have taken aim against the industry. Between unrelenting bullying that happens on the platforms, algorithms that (inadvertently, perhaps) put some of the worst content into the minds of our kids and more. In “the day,” bullying would stop when your kid walked into their home. Now? Not quite. Terrible body images advertised at the check out counter would stay at the grocery store. Now they follow your kid and bombard them with swipe after swipe, falling deeper into the algorithm that makes the services more addictive than nicotine.
The CDC points to data that shows from 2011-2021, the average female in particular has seen a rise in considering attempting suicide. In 2011, that number was a mere 19 percent. By 2021 that had risen dramatically to 30 percent. Obviously COVID and shut downs didn’t help, but the numbers in 2019 were a fairly large jump. Suicidal thoughts for boys stayed flat from 2011-2019, with a slight uptick by 2021. Thoughts of hopelessness also rose dramatically between both boys and girls during the same eight year time frame.
Mental health issues that arise from social media use result in kids acting out in school, which makes it near impossible for educators to educate effectively.
What happens now?
Now law firms will be free to seek lawsuits against the social media powerhouses, like dozens of districts before them, to see not only a monetary award but potentially significant and meaningful change to the service as a whole. It is worth noting CCSD has dealt with social media issues as recently as last week that had the district and CCSDPD scrambling.
Chromebooks at Faiss
Chromebooks at Faiss Middle School
Reminder students must bring Chromebooks, Chargers, and Case everyday to school.
If a student looses their Chromebook please notify the office immediately and/or complete the lost device form so the Chromebook can be locked.
Student activity is monitored using Go Guardian.
Failure to bring their Chromebooks to school everyday will result in progressive discipline.
Lunch Options at Faiss MS
For the 2023-2024 school year, breakfast and lunch are available at no cost to all students.
The Clark County School District participates in the Community Eligibility Provision of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act districtwide and will provide free school meals to all students during the 2023-2024 school year.
Other options for lunch:
- Students can bring lunch from home
- Student store has snacks/drinks for sale, cost is between $1-$2 per item. There are also vending machines that sell snacks/drinks that take cash/card/mobile pay.
- Mondays we see Chick-Fil-A sandwich for $5, Wednesdays we sell Panda Express Bowls for $7, and Fridays Canes 2 finger combo for $7.
- We accept cash and card at the student store. Cards require a minimum $5 purchase.
Faiss MS and CCSD Student Conduct Expectations
On Tuesday 8/8/23, our grade level administrators and teachers spent time reviewing our student handbook with students. Here are just a few important reminders for students after being away on summer break, especially concerning cell phones/earbuds/headphones and dress code. The CCSD Code Of Conduct is availabe for review by all CCSD members at this LINK.
Cell Phones/Headphones
CCSD policy requires that students be allowed to use cell phones before school, during lunch, and after school. This year at Faiss, we are going to stick to just those times. Though phones can serve as a powerful tool for providing quick access to information, they have also equally proven to be a major distraction. The focus of their time at school will be instruction and learning the important content and conversational skills necessary to be successful in our ever-changing economy and world.
If a student is caught using their phone or listening to music between classes, their phone/headphones will be confiscated by a Faiss staff member.
The student will be allowed to pick up their item after school. After the third offense, a parent/designated adult will have to pick up the item.
We understand that schedules, pickup, and family emergencies happen. Though we do not deliver personal messages to students, if an emergency occurs, we are happy to call a student down to the office to contact their parent.
We also know that many students do not have a cell phone, please remember that you can also email your child on their CCSD account if you have a reminder to share with them.