
FMS SMORE PARENT NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 21 - JANUARY 31 EDITION
ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR CALENDAR
FOR BASKETBALL GAMES PLEASE CHECK WITH THE SCHOOL OR YOUR CHILD - GAMES ARE CHANGING DUE TO COVID/WEATHER!
JANUARY 21
- NO SCHOOL - INCLEMENT WEATHER DAY
JANUARY 24
- NC CHECK-INS - SCIENCE (8TH GRADE ONLY)
JANUARY 25
- BASKETBALL FMS @ BUTNER STEM
JANUARY 27
- BASKETBALL HOME GAME VS HAWLEY MS
- ACCESS TESTING FOR ESL STUDENTS
JANUARY 28
- ACCESS TESTING FOR ESL STUDENTS
FEBRUARY 1
- BASKETBALL HOME GAME VS BUNN MS
THANK YOU FMS PARENT GROUP AND PARENTS WHO DONATED SNACKS!
WHAT A SUCCESS! THE STUDENTS WERE SO HAPPY TO GET SNACKS AFTER TESTING!
OMICRON IS ROLLING THROUGH FRANKLIN COUNTY - LET'S KEEP EVERYONE SAFE!
- FCS covid parameters change - the nurse is the final word on what to do if an FMS student or their family member tests positive for covid.
- If an FMS student tests positive or a family member living in the same household tests positive, please report it immediately to the school.
- We will send the information to the nurses.
- Someone will call you to let you know what your next steps are according to FCS parameters.
- Please remind your child to ALWAYS wear their mask correctly, covering their nose and mouth.
- Thank you for working with us to keep the school open and students learning!
TESTING MAKE-UPS
- Any students who did not complete either I-Ready testing or NC Check-Ins will be pulled to test over the next two weeks.
- As always, have those Chromebooks charged and ready to go, bring a charge cord just in case, and don't forget to bring earbuds/headphones!
OUR FMS PARENT GROUP IS DOING A STUDENT DESIGN CONTEST FOR SPIRIT WEAR!
BUSING WILL CONTINUE TO BE AN ISSUE :(
- expect wierd pick up and drop off times for buses
- we will continue to keep you updated if there will be significant delays
- MORNING RUNS WILL CONTINUE TO RUN LATE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE
REMINDER TO WEAR MASKS WITH FIDELITY AT ALL SPORTING EVENTS
Let's keep it fun and safe! Wear that mask!
SCHOOL COUNSELOR - MS. GILBERT
Ms. Gilbert’s Google Site: click here
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)
SuicidePreventionLifeline.org (or call 800-273-8255)
National Alliance of Mental Illness/NC (or call 800-451-9682)
Cardinalinnovations.org (or call 800-939-5911)
How to Contact Ms. Gilbert:
Complete and submit this form: Counselor Request Form
Or send email to: marygilbert@fcschools.net
8th Grade Students and Parents!
Our 8th grade class will have a virtual meeting with staff and students from Early College High school on Wednesday, 1/26 during their elective period. Students will learn about the program, application process, etc. Applications are online and can be submitted between now and later in March. There will be a parent Open House at Early College in March.
FMS IS STARTING A NEW PROGRAM IN FEBRUARY!
Learn more at secondstep.org
8TH GRADE TEAM UPDATES
MR. DOWNUM - SOCIAL STUDIES
I would like to start off with a big good luck to all of the students on NC Check-Ins this week. Have a good breakfast and get plenty of sleep so that you are all at your best this week!!! Please make sure that your ChromeBooks are charged for the test, you will need them first thing. There is an incentive going on for the students that gives them the opportunity to take part in a pizza party and fun time. The students only have to go up 8% in all of the tests. That is only two questions better than they did on the first check ins. I know that you guys have this and the eighth grade has this. For Social Studies We will be covering the first part of Westward Expansion for the next couple of weeks, which we will finish up after The Civil War and Reconstruction.
MS. HEAD - SCIENCE
This week we have been working on a few mini-lessons about how life has changed over time while we are on the testing schedule. We are planning on taking the science check-in on Friday. It will be on the topics of hydrology and Earth history. I know if everyone takes their time and reads the questions, we can show growth. Students showing growth of 8% or more from the total of all tests will be rewarded. Our next unit will be on molecular biology including topics on photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and nutrition.
MR. HURD - MATH
Remember we have NC Check-ins this week, and if the students do about 2 questions better than their last one, they will be able to attend a pizza party. I believe they can do this, and I hope that everyone can enjoy the pizza party after completing these tests. If anyone did not finish the iReady diagnostic, they can finish this the week after NC Check-ins and is also available for those who need to retake the iReady diagnostic. Beyond that we are finishing the topic of slope and understanding functions.
MS. FROST - ELA
Fresh Start! We are entering the 3rd nine weeks, and I appreciate all your support to ensure your child is putting 100% into academics. And, it is yet another opportunity to show growth. After testing this week, students will begin our second novel study. The novel is titled, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai and students can access this book at home through our online library (SORA). We will continue to work with informational texts to build background knowledge specific to the novel and skills unique to reading informational texts.
Important Reminder: It is an expectation that your child works on their Learning Pathway in I-Ready for 45+ minutes per week with an average of 75% or higher on lessons completed. 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).
7TH GRADE TEAM UPDATES
MS. NEUJAHR - SCIENCE
This week we wrapped up Chapter One of the Human Body Systems. This system was the Integumentary System. Students are asked to stay on task with their sketchbooks in class because it is a massive grade(s) for the third quarter. Refusal to do the sketchbook would result in a student failing. Please ensure your students are doing their I-Ready every week to stay caught up with all of their classes. Next week, we will be learning the Skeletal system and soon be getting into class dissections. Please be on the lookout for a permission slip on allowing your student to do dissections on FROGS and Sheep Brains.
MS. JENKINS - MATH
We made it through the second I-Ready Diagnostic and NC Check Ins-2. Great Job! This week marked the beginning of Quarter 3. The students have been encouraged to put forth their best efforts to start the new quarter on the right track. We will pick up with I-Ready classwork assignments next week, so be prepared to complete your time. Next week we will also continue our work on combining like terms with variables. Keep up the good work!
MR. LEMONS - SOCIAL STUDIES
Over the next couple weeks, we will be talking about the First World War. We will be talking about poetry and what it was like to fight during the war. Students will also be working on a research paper. This paper will be due at the end of the quarter.
MS. BAECHLE - ELA
The next two weeks we will officially be jumping into Unit 2: Frederick Douglass and Slavery. There will be a strong focus on analyzing text (excerpts) with annotating (skittles color-coding method), and utilizing several different forms of graphic organizers, while making cross-curricular connections to Social Students and specific events in History.
Please remind your students that completing I-Ready weekly for both ELA and Math for at least 45 minutes, and having one passing lesson is essential. We have already seen a solid amount of annual growth in lexile and overall comprehension from many and are very pleased. In addition, make sure to check Powerschool on a regular basis throughout Q3 to ensure you are up to date with your work and pleased with your grade.
Just a reminder that students will be introduced to their Q3 project next week. It will include utilizing their Social Issues topic from Q2 to write a research paper/Google slides presentation. This project is a compilation from Q2 and we will work on a section each week. Students will be following a checklist in order to ensure a weekly-timely completion. A project link for the rubric is attached:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KQ4IeawxQN6T0xYZ5kGePOdlwAdZKYIT9BNVMK4YwoY/edit?usp=sharing
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns at kimberlybaechle@fcschools.net
6TH GRADE TEAM UPDATES
MS. DOWNUM - SCIENCE
We finished our unit covering Matter and will hopefully be on Monday the 24th if the weather cooperates. We are starting a unit called Earth’s Systems and Processes, it is the largest unit we cover. As a result I split this unit into two parts I call these ESP (Earth’s Systems and Processes) Part 1 and ESP Part 2. The first part of the unit will cover tectonic plates and branches out to cover volcanoes and earthquakes. The second part covers rocks, minerals, and soil. Both parts of the unit can be fun and exciting. I have rocks for the students to investigate and determine what type of rocks they are and we have plans for building earthquake proof buildings. I do not have a date yet for the first test. I will teach ESP Part 1 and then test the students' knowledge on that before moving on to ESP Part 2.
Students will be starting a Social Emotional Learning program that the school is implementing in my classroom on the 2nd of February. This will tentatively happen on Wednesdays and Fridays but will stay very flexible as schedules change. This will happen after science instruction is done during the second half of class. This will include slides with discussion prompts and will help the students navigate through the tricky years of middle school and build confidence in themselves. I am excited to begin these lessons with the students and look forward to the conversations that will result from the lessons.
MR. MITCHELL - MATH
Grades are in and tests are finished! After a long 2 weeks of testing, we are finally getting into some more content surrounding decimals. Students will be having data talks coming up soon regarding their grade level placement so please feel free to ask them about it. With the start of a new quarter, I would like to reiterate that late assignments will still not be accepted this quarter unless excused absent, but iReady is still offered as extra credit for any students willing to participate in the 45 minutes and 1 lesson passed. Last quarter, we had many students take advantage of that opportunity and it really showed during test time. As always, please reach out if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks! brandonmitchell@fcschools.net
MS. BROOKS - SOCIAL STUDIES
We are on the last lesson of ancient Greece. This lesson is about Greek culture. Next week we will cover information about Greek gods and goddesses, Greek philosophers, and Greek arts and literature. Also, we will have our unit review and test on ancient Greece towards the end of next week. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at jericabrooks@fcschools.net.
MS. MCINTOSH - ELA
We will begin our novel “Bud, Not Buddy” by Christopher Paul Curtis
New i-Ready for ELA: I-Ready is now a grade starting the week of January 24th.
Get at least 45 minutes and 70% passing rate in two reading lessons in order to get full credit.
Please see email for new grading procedures for ELA, 3rd quarter.
We will start small groups to help students feel comfortable asking questions and understanding ELA standards and “I can” statements.
ELECTIVES TEAM UPDATES
MR. SMITH - BAND/CHORUS
**If you have any questions, please contact me: jimmiesmith@fcschools.net. **
Band 6: Today, we reviewed our Foundation Warm-up, looking specifically at "Steady Air" and " 5-Note Patterns". I also passed out a piece of music entitled "Midnight Mission" that we will be diving into next week. This piece may be perfomed for our Spring concert. Please encourage your child to practice over their music.
Band 7: Today I passed out our Spring concert opener entitled "Falcon Fanfare" We will be diving deep into this piece next week as it will likely be a challenging one. I will be uploading the recording for this piece and the other that we will be going over this semester as well. Please encourage your child to practice over their music.
Band 8: Today I passed out our Spring concert opener entitled "Falcon Fanfare" We will be diving deep into this piece next week as it will likely be a challenging one. I will be uploading the recording for this piece and the other that we will be going over this semester as well. Please encourage your child to practice over their music.
Vocal Music 6-7: Unfortunately, we have not been able to meet this week. When we do meet again next week, we will continue with our vocal warm-up. We will also talk about potential concert music for our Spring concert. I received music for All-County Chorus! We will definitely be looking at that music in preparation for the All-County Chorus rehearsal and peformance.
**2022 FCS ALL-COUNTY CHORUS: Before winter break, we were informed that the FCS All-County Chorus will take place the week of March 21. Students who register for Vocal Music for the spring semester will be expected to attend the rehearsals and performance for this event. More details will be available in the coming weeks.**
Music Appreciation 8: Welcome to Music Appreciation 8! Unfortunatley, we have not been able to meet for class yet. This semester, we will be focusing exploring the music of various cultures/regions around the world. There will be guided notes for each region. We will discuss the different instruments and genres of music. I will distribute the code for Google Classroom when we are finally able to meet.
MS. HATTEN - DRAMA
It’s a new semester, and that means new students in the Drama classroom! WELCOME to Drama! (no, not that social drama nonsense, THEATRE!)
We will be taking time to get to know each other these first few weeks. Parents, I will be happy to add you to our Google Classroom once it gets up and running next week. I have already sent out invitations to students to join the classroom online. Students should see an email inviting them to the class.
We will be learning about Shakespeare and his plays, Percy Jackson, the Great Depression, theatre history, musicals and so much more! I look forward to getting to know both you and your students.
MS. FAULKNER - MEDIA CENTER / STEAM LAB
At this time the plan is to have a face to face competition for Battle of the Books.
The only thing I need is a team!!
Please encourage your students to participate!!
**We now have copies of all the titles.
Your students have been very busy this past month creating monsters using their knowledge of genetics in the Science 2 Students Virtual Lab, “breaking” out of a digital breakout, making replicas of plant and animal cells, learning about programming and coding using Wonder Workshop Cue robots, learning the ins and outs of SORA while doing a scavenger hunt and competing against staff in a volleyball tournament after school!!
WE ARE HIRING SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS!
The new requirements:
- High School diploma or higher
- At least 21 years of age
- Complete an application on TeacherMatch (click here)
- FCS will need to complete a criminal background check
- Completion of the FCS effective substitute training (click here to do the training)
Once you are hired you will be able to work in any school in the district. We hope you choose FMS! Being a substitute teacher is not for the faint-hearted, but it's also not as scary as some people think it is. Call the district office for information on the pay rate.
FCS IS HIRING BUS DRIVERS!
WE NEED A PARENT ON OUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAM
Meets every 2nd Tuesday of the month from 3:30-5:00pm
Need at least one parent on the team - more than that are welcome!
Works on implementing the school improvement plan
Deals with big picture FMS initiatives and changes (years long)
Interested? Email heidiboardman@fcschools.net
THE FMS STUDENT ATHLETE CONTRACT
DPI ELIGIBILITY (added so there is no confusion about eligibility vs FMS eligibility)
Eligibility to become a member of an athletic team hinges on the DPI rules for eligibility.
Regardless of the school organization pattern, a student who is promoted from the fifth grade to the sixth grade automatically meets the courses passed requirement for the first semester of the sixth grade.
Regarding academics, DPI states “the student must pass at least one less course than the number of required core courses each semester and meet promotion standards.” This means passing 3 out of 4 core classes with at least a 60%.
DPI also states, “if an athlete is academically eligible or academically ineligible at the beginning of any semester, that status is retained through the full semester.”
That means that fall sports and winter sports eligibility is based on the second semester final grades from the previous year.
That also means that when first semester report cards come out, athletes in winter sports can become ineligible to play during the season.
Spring sports eligibility is based on the first semester final grades.
Note from DPI: an athlete becomes eligible or ineligible on the first day of each new semester.
FMS ELIGIBILITY
FMS strives to maintain high academic standards for athletes, paired with support for athletes to make sure that they are successful in both sports and academics.
Grades will be pulled three weeks before the end of each quarter.
When grades are pulled, if a student is not passing at least 3 out of 4 core classes and at least 1 out of 2 Elective classes, that student will be put on academic probation. *Exception: when first semester final grades are in, students will automatically become ineligible for the remainder of the year if they are not passing 3 out of 4 core classes and eligible if they are passing 3 out of 4 core classes.
Any student on academic probation will have two weeks to get their grades to FMS eligibility standards. If they prove that their grades are going to meet standards for that quarter, they are fine until the next grade pull.
Students are encouraged to ask their teachers to go to the Alternative Learning Center to get help from Ms. Perry to get caught up.
At the end of two weeks, if a student on academic probation has not pulled up grades to meet the standards, the principal will recommend dismissal from the team unless there is a firm plan in place to address academic concerns.
This ensures that our athletes are supported with the goal to be eligible year-round for any sports they are interested in.
ATTENDANCE & PAPERWORK EXPECTATIONS
If the athlete is out of school for the full school day, they may not attend a practice or game scheduled for that day.
Being in quarantine means the athlete can't engage with the team until the full quarantine is completed.
Every athlete should have a physical exam on record clearing them to play.
Every athlete should be up to date on immunizations.
BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS
ISS or minor referral Alternative Learning Center (ALC) Time Out:
1st and 2nd referral resulting in serving at least one full day in ALC or ISS: no practice/game any day that the student is serving a full day.
Third referral resulting in serving at least one full day in ALC or ISS: the principal will recommend dismissal from the team.
Major referral with Out of School Suspension (OSS):
Immediate dismissal from the team.
GRADE PULL DATES FOR THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR:
December 10
February 28
May 9
The May 9th grade pull will be a general pull to remind students interested in participating in athletics next year that they need to focus on finishing the year as eligible to participate in athletics in the fall and winter.
R - Respectful
A - Accountable
M - Motivated
S - Safe
C - Character
H - Honor
O - Opportunity
I - Inclusivity
C - Compassion
E - Excellence
FMS MISSION:
FMS is a vibrant and caring school that empowers students to become lifelong learners and responsible citizens who are college and career ready.
FMS VALUES:
- All children, regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic circumstances, or cognitive level, can grow and achieve.
- Strong collaborative teams with a shared vision can reduce achievement gaps and raise growth levels for all students.
- Forging strong relationships between the school, the parents, and the community is crucial in achieving a well-rounded education that addresses each student’s needs.
- A learning environment based on trust, integrity, and commitment is vital for student success.
- Discipline, safety, and accountability are important parts of a school culture that reflects intellectual, emotional, and social growth.