December 11, 2015
Math Team News!
Spelling Bee Finalists!
Robotics!
Semester Exam Calendar!
December 16 - Analytic Geometry EOC (Abbott)
December 17 - Final Exams - 1st and 2nd Academic Periods
December 18 - Final Exams - 3rd and 4th Academic Periods
Winter Class Parties!
Attention 8th Grade Parents!
Now is the time to buy an ad in the yearbook for your 8th grader! You can spotlight your child, a special friendship, or both. This year, you have the opportunity to design and personalize your own ad and submit more than one photo! An instruction sheet is available on the FFMS website and at Balfour.com. If you'd like us to design your ad, here's the form to submit along with $30.00 (cash only) and one photo. If you'd like to submit a digital photo, please send it to the email listed below. For best results, please make sure the photo is taken or scanned as a digital jpeg format. Photos will be returned in January. All ads are 1/4 page and cost $30.00. The deadline to purchase an ad is December 31st! If you have questions, please call Cindy Bloodworth, 770-736-4521, or email her at cindy_bloodworth@gwinnett.k12.ga.us.
Rising 9th Grade Calendar!
2/1/16 - Rising 9th Grade Parent Night, 6:00pm, BHS Theatre, (Parents Only)
2/5/16 - BHS Peer Leaders Visit with FFMS 8th Graders
2/8/16 - Open Forum Q&A on Registration and Course Placement, 6:00-8:00pm (drop in anytime), BHS Commons
2/9/16 - Registration Forms Due to FFMS
3/25/16 - Course Verification Sheets Sent Home with Students
3/28/16 - Rising 9th Grade Activities Night, 6:00-8:00pm, BHS Commons and Both Gyms
5/18/16 - Carnegie Unit Presentation/Q&A, 6:30pm, BHS Commons (for Parents/Students with Questions
TBA - Carnegie Unit Forms Due to FFMS
STEAM at FFMS!
Talent Show Rescheduled!
Bidding for Good!
Parents, please support our Brookwood Cluster by participating in the "Bidding For Good" fundraising auction! Funds generated are used to make improvements to our cluster schools and to help purchase valuable equipment and technology to provide rich and engaging lessons for students. Click here for a link to the online auction! We appreciate your support!
Spiritwear on Sale!
We Love Our Five Forks Family!
FFMS Wrestling!
Our FFMS Wrestlers include Jeffrey Bardales, De'Mon Dawson, Charles "CJ" Hickmon, Fredrick Hill, Tad Logan, Ethan McCoy, Luqman Muhammad, Javatae Pena, Preston Shaffer, Arya Sripadrao, Cam'ron Starks, Michael Swift, Juan Torres, and Larry White. Way to go, Broncos!
BHS Cheerleader for a Day!
Scholars Bowl!
Clip Away!
Every month we will have a collection contest. You can help your child's homeroom win parties by simply turning in the labels. Each homeroom will be competing with their grade level to win a classroom party. Thanks for your support!
Saturday Opportunity School!
What's New This Week!
Top 20 Parents!
The Frame: What You SEE Is What You GET
Everyone wants to get what’s important to them. Top 20s know what to do when they are not getting what’s important by using the Frame. The Frame is a tool that creates awareness of the connection between how we see and the results we get.
The Frame suggests that:
- The way we SEE things (our beliefs about situations, other people, or ourselves) affects how we FEEL.
- How we FEEL affects what we DO (our behavior or actions).
- What we DO affects what we GET (the results).
- What we GET tends to reinforce how we SEE or our beliefs.
The frame helps us find solutions to problems, see things in a different way, change our responses, and get what is important to us. The act of seeing differently is called Reframing. When we reframe we get a different perspective/point of view, attitude, or way of approaching something.
Here’s an example: A child screaming and crying in front of the candy display at a store
Bottom 80 Frame:
See - brat
Feel - angry, embarrassed
Do - yank child, yell, threaten
Get - more tantrum, more misbehavior, bad experience
Top 20 Reframe:
See - toddler who is hungry and tired, a 2 year old acting like a 2 year old
Feel - empathy for child’s age and situation
Do - sympathize, offer a healthy food alternative, redirect child’s attention
Get - child claims down, child gets interested in something else, less stress
The way we see the child will likely make a difference in the results we get.
For those interested in reading Top 20 Parents in its entirety, follow this link to order a copy for yourself: Top 20 Parents Book.
Clinic News!
Counselors' Corner!
The Counselors this year are Rachel Kusher and Laura Ross. Mrs. Kusher works with all 8th graders and the 6th grade team of Watson, Glenn, Hicks, & Buschell. Ms. Ross works with all 7th graders and the 6th grade teams of Coston, Seay, McGraw & Byrnes and Kuny, Byrd & Branam. Both Ms. Ross and Ms. Kusher may be reached by phone or email to set a phone conference or face to face appointment. Our contact information can be found on the FFMS Counseling Department website: http://fiveforkscounseling.weebly.com/
Career Day Sign up!
This year the FFMS Counseling Department has set a goal to provide Career Day for all grade levels, but we need your help! Please consider volunteering to present informative, interactive sessions for our students at our FFMS Career Day. Currently, it is scheduled for Friday, March 18, 2016. If you are interested in being a career day presenter, please complete the form at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Pp5JpGNiCV5hCqiBAbvVCimAlCYxoOXdmeQm9xgGEMM/viewform?usp=send_form
Thank You!
FFMS Counselors
Cafeteria News!
Once again, our fabulous cafeteria has received a '100' on its health inspection! Congratulations to Cafe Manager DJ Jackson and her entire staff!
If you qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch status and have not applied this school year, please note that you must apply every school year. Click here to apply online. Thank you for your cooperation.Yearbooks on Sale!
School Store!
Our Media Center operates a School Store for any last minute school supply needs. Students may stop by any time. Click here for an inventory sheet and price list.
GCPS E-Newsletter!
Click here to sign up for GCPS News, the school district's e-newsletter. It's a quick, easy way to learn more about Georgia's largest school system. In it, you'll find stories on teaching and learning, school leadership and governance, and the partnerships that make Gwinnett County Public Schools successful.
GCPS also publishes an online magazine, Communique, with new items added each week. Here's a link.
Join Today!
The PTSA welcomes all our new Five Forks families and would like to encourage you to become a member for only $6.00. We are striving for 100% participation and hope you'll take advantage of this easy way to get involved in many different PTSA-sponsored activities throughout the school year.
If you have not yet completed and returned a communication form, please fill one out next time you visit FFMS. This will help us keep you informed via email about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.
Absence Reporting Procedure!
Dress Code!
Attention, Broncos: Shorts and skirts must be no shorter than 8" from the bottom of the knee to be worn in class. Also, no bare shoulders or see-through blouses. No holes in jeans or shorts above the knee and no droopy drawers are allowed. If a student is found to be in violation of the Dress Code, parents will be called to bring a change of clothing for their child. If a parent is not readily available to bring an appropriate change of clothes, students are sometimes able to borrow clothing articles from the Clinic. We ask that clothing borrowed clothing from the Clinic be returned at your earliest convenience so that others may have this same opportunity. Thank you for your assistance.
As a reminder, detailed and specific dress code information is located on pages 7 and 8 of your student's agenda book. We hope you will take a moment to review this with your child. We appreciate your cooperation.
Car Rider Reminders!
- Car Rider Pick-Up/Drop-Off is only at the rear of the building adjacent to the blacktop - no other doors.
- No morning drop-off in front of the building or in the side parking lot
- No drop-off prior to 8:15am except on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:00am; pick-up is at 4:00pm and the cut-off time is 4:15pm; we do not have staff on duty to accommodate students outside of these times; if you need resources for early morning or late afternoon care for your child, click here for available options.
- Students should not use electronic devices while waiting but be actively watching for their cars.
- For the safety of our students, we ask that parents refrain from using electronic devices while driving in the car rider lane.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation.
Transportation Changes!
BHS Activities Link!
Remind Text Alerts!
Community Activities Link!
Milestones Results!
1) Log into the Parent Portal
2) Select the Test History tab located on the navigation bar
3) On the right-hand side is a widget titled "Assessment Reports"
4) Under "Assessment Reports" click on "2015 Spring End of Grade Individual Student Report."
In addition to the individual student report, a parent guide is listed below the report to help explain the report and your student's achievement.
GSMST Lottery Process!
Dates To Remember!
12/11 - 8th Grade Orchestra Side-by-Side Concert with BHS, Commons, 6:00pm
12/12 - Saturday Opportunity School, 9:00-11:00am, Media Center
12/12 - Basketball vs Bay Creek, 9:00am, Grayson HS
12/12 - Regional Robotics Tournament, Creekland MS, 9:00-3:30pm
12/12 - PAGE Gwinnett Scholars Bowl Qualifier, Duluth MS
12/14 - 6th Grade - Junior Achievement Biz Town Field Trip - Byrnes and Evans Teams
12/15 - 6th Grade - Junior Achievement Biz Town Field Trip - Hicks Team
12/16 - 6th Grade - Junior Achievement Biz Town Field Trip - Coleman Team
12/17 - Basketball vs Trickum, 5:00pm, Parkview HS
12/21 - Winter Break - through 1/5/16; School resumes Wednesday, 1/6/16
Five Forks Middle School
Email: five_forks_middle@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Website: fiveforksmiddleschool.org
Location: 3250 River Drive Southwest, Lawrenceville, GA, United States
Phone: 770-972-1506
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BuckyConnects
Twitter: @BuckyConnects