The Firebird Flash
November 11, 2022
NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Principal's Update
- Message from Zone Superintendent
- Mark your Calendar
- Mini Courses Reminders
- Tutoring Available at FMS
- EmpowerFZ Updates
- Check Lost & Found!
- Hat Day
- Support the Firebird Band Program
- Girls Basketball Info
- FHS 8th Grade Showcase
- Toys for Tots
- Order your FMS Yearbook
- Firebird Nation Campus Expansion Update
- From Nurse Nelda - Important Tdap Information
- PTSA
- Purchase Firebird Gear
Updates from our Principal
Happy Friday Firebird Nation!
This has been very busy week at Falcon Middle School.
Mini-course fee and waiver/permission slip continued this week through Wednesday. A huge shoutout to our entire office staff, counselors, and library para. They met with students all week to collect fees and forms. We also met to sew up all the loose ends with mini-courses to ensure all documentation was turned in. Please remember: Any mini course requiring a waiver must have those completed and submitted by end of day Monday, Nov. 14th
This month students will be participating in a "book tasting" activity with their reading class in the Learning Commons. Students sit at a table where Mrs. Wiley has selected 8 books of differing genres and topics. Students select 5 of the 8 books to sample. They read each book for 5 minutes then rate their level of interest in the book on a scale of 1-10. Students also record what happened in the book they sampled and whether they are interested in reading more. By the end of the activity, students will have been exposed to award winning fiction, memoirs, poetry, and graphic novels. Students that have already participated in the "book tasting" have really enjoyed the activity.
Art club met this week and created Explosion Books. Anime club met and created masks this week. Our after school theatre program continues to work on the upcoming play.
Our wrestling team took first in the Black and Blue Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, November 5th. Wrestling season has one more week culminating, November 19th in our league tournament. Stay tuned to see how they do. Both girl’s and boy’s basketball are preparing for their upcoming seasons by offering students open gym opportunities. This allows students a chance to not only meet the coaches, but build relationships with potential teammates.
Today was our Veteran’s assembly to honor both our Veterans as well as current services members. The band and the choir performed. We had the honor of having the FHS color guard and the ROTC commander, Major Wise, as our keynote speaker. It was amazing to have the collaboration between the high school and the middle school. Thank you to Major Wise and the color guard.
This coming week is mini-courses. Again, I encourage all students to keep close watch on grades and behaviors. We definitely want to end this week before Thanksgiving break on a high note as our Firebirds Rise!
Have a good weekend!
Elena Forehand
Principal
Falcon Middle School
From Zone Superintendent - Brian Smith
Greetings Falcon Zone Families -
I am excited to be writing to you in my new role as the Falcon Zone Superintendent in District 49! I transitioned to this role, effective November 1st, upon the retirement of our previous leader, Mrs. Sue Holmes. I am extremely grateful to Mrs. Holmes for her strong leadership to our zone along with the mentorship and support she has provided me over the past several years. She will truly be missed!
District 49 and the Falcon Zone have been my home for the entirety of my educational career. I began as a first year Chemistry teacher at Falcon High School 21 years ago. I taught Chemistry and AP Chemistry, started and advised the Link Crew program, served as announcer for the Falcon Football Team, and was the Science Department Chair. In 2009, I moved to Skyview Middle School as an Assistant Principal where I began my journey as an administrator. After two years, I saw the opportunity to return to Falcon and was selected as the Principal of Falcon Middle School. I have been honored to serve the Falcon Zone Community in this role for the past 12 years, working with an outstanding staff, to help elementary students learn and grow to high school students. I enjoyed the opportunities that I had to connect with Falcon Elementary, Woodmen Hills Elementary, and Meridian Ranch Elementary as we transitioned our 5th grade students to middle school. A few years ago, I was presented with the additional challenge of helping to design, open, and oversee Bennett Ranch Elementary as I transitioned to the role of Executive Principal. This added another group of Elementary students that I was able to work with and help transition to FMS. In my years at Falcon Middle, I always took pride in getting to know and supporting our students as we prepared them for High School, Falcon High School, where I started my career.
Now, I am excited to step into this new challenge as Zone Superintendent. Falcon Zone is an exceptional place for students, staff, and community. We care about the relationships we build with each and every member so that student learning is at the forefront. Our staff works incredibly hard to ensure that learning is personalized for our students so that they can demonstrate their achievement through what they know and can do. Each school is dedicated to excellence and success so that our Hawks, Tornadoes, Bulldogs, Bulls, Firebirds, and Falcons are ready for that next step in their life journey. I am committed to serving each of our schools, supporting our teachers and staff, prioritizing student achievement, and ensuring that each and every student becomes an Empowered Learner. Falcon Zone provides Engaging Environments, Enhanced Opportunities, and Elevated Instruction each and every day to empower our learners and propel them towards their future. That is what EmpowerFZ is all about and it is making a difference for our students.
I look forward to our collaboration together as a Falcon Zone Community in the weeks and months ahead. It is my plan to provide some updates either through the school newsletters or through a zone newsletter, periodically, to keep you all informed. This will be especially important as we get ready to host a national educators conference in February! Over 400 teachers, administrators, and district officials are coming to the Pikes Peak region to see the Falcon Zone! It’s going to be awesome and we will provide updates on this soon!
Thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve this amazing community! I look forward to seeing you around our zone schools at various events in the coming weeks. Please don’t hesitate to come up and introduce yourself to me; I look forward to meeting and getting to know our community better!
Sincerely,
Brian Smith
Interim Falcon Zone Superintendent
District 49
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Mark your Calendar
November
11: Veteran's Day Assembly at FMS
16: Hat Day at FMS!
17-18: Mini Courses at FMS!
21-25: Thanksgiving Break - No School
December
2-9: Scholastic Book Fair
7: 8th Grade Choir Concert @ 5:30pm
8: FHS 8th Grade Showcase @ 6pm - 8pm
12: 8th Grade Fall Play @ 6 pm
14: 6th & 7th Grade Choir Concert @ 5:30pm
15: Band Concert @ 6:00 pm
16: Early Release @ 12:00pm
19- Jan. 3: Holiday Break - No School
Check the FMS website calendar often for the most up-to-date information.
All dates/events are subject to change.
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Mini Courses Reminders
Not Attending Mini Courses?
If you still need to notify us that you are not planning to attend mini courses on Thursday, November 17th and/or Friday, November 18th, then please contact the Attendance office by email or phone at 719-495-5232
Attending Study Hall Due to Grades?
If these students do not attend on Thursday, they will be removed from their chosen mini course and required to attend Study Hall on Friday, November 18th. If these students planned to attend a paid mini course on Friday, no refund will be given.
Would you like to Chaperone a trip?
Once you have completed this process, please email our registrar, Michelle Lang to let her know of your interest. If there is a particular course you are interested in, please let us know this as well. We will follow up with you on your request as soon as possible.
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Tutoring Available at FMS
We wanted to reach out to all of of our Firebird Families as we continue our way through this 2022-2023 School Year at Falcon Middle School. We are spending more time working with all grade-level Firebirds on the mastery of their core contents. Due to this, FMS will continue to offer after-school tutoring and subject help.
FMS will be offering a 1-hr 15-min tutoring window on Mondays through Thursdays from 3:15-4:30 pm. These times will be used to:
· Master current standards and concepts
· Master former standards and concepts
· Work on current learning plans/Guided Support
If you are interested in attending a tutoring window, please fill out the following Google Form. Once you have signed up, we will look forward to seeing you at the tutoring session!
Any attending students ARE REQUIRED to have a plan for being picked up at 4:30 pm.
Please feel free to reach out to either of us or your child's teachers if you have any concerns or questions,
Corey A. Bates
8th Grade Gold Math Teacher
Falcon Middle School
cabates@d49.org
Carrie Clay
8th Grade Counselor
Falcon Middle School
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Our teachers continue to personalize learning for their students in awesome ways. This week, we'll highlight the great things our Explore teachers are doing to provide students with more voice and choice. In PE, students are working through a standard per week with a focus on a different skill each day. On Fridays, they get to choose which skill they want to practice again. In Band, students have a learning plan that allows them to review skills at home that they need more practice with. Our theater students have a variety of choices on their learning plans that relate to performance, voice, and movement. And our Engineering students are working hard to record their knowledge about STEM in their digital data notebooks.
Data notebooks give students ownership of their learning by giving them a place to include class notes, a portfolio of their best work in a class, and pre-assessment and post-assessment scores so that they can easily see how much they've grown from the beginning of a learning plan to the end. Watch the video below to learn more about how Ms. Brundage's 7th grade Engineering students record their learning in data notebooks.
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Support the Firebird Band Program
The Firebird Bands are working to raise funds for a set of chimes through Donors Choose. This would really help enhance our Band Program and expand the musical selections we are able to provide our students. We still need help reaching $5,000 by Nov. 29th. We would be grateful to anyone who shared our project link via social media and/or donated. Every contribution helps! Thank you for your support!
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Girls Basketball Info
See below for information on open gym, the official start date, and tryouts for Girls Basketball!
Official Start Date:
Wednesday, Nov. 14th
(Please remember students must have a
current physical uploaded to rSchool by the season start date)
Tryouts:
Monday, Nov. 14th - Wednesday, Nov 16th
Check out our FMS Athletic webpage for Girls Basketball for full details.
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Yearbooks may be ordered at www.jostensyearbooks.com or by calling 1-877-767-5217.
Supplies are limited, so order and secure your 22-23 FMS Yearbook Today!
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Firebird Nation Campus Expansion
Our Construction progress on the Firebird Nation Campus continues at Bennett Ranch Elementary! Exterior finish work is continuing. The stucco is ongoing on the west and north sides of the building. Interior framing is wrapping up with the new gym locker rooms. One of the interior areas has
begun the painting process! We are definitely still on track to have this addition completed by the end of this school year. We are in the middle of the furniture ordering process so that all of the items arrive on time to furnish the building.
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from Nurse Nelda
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Your Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) has close to 100 members and is looking to engage additional families in our awesome organization!
Don't miss out! Join now for only $10 using the following links or get a form from the office to use cash or check:
Parent/Guardian: https://falconmsptsa.memberhub.com/store/items/105273
Staff: https://falconmsptsa.memberhub.com/store/items/104029
Student: https://falconmsptsa.memberhub.com/store/items/105101
Community: https://falconmsptsa.memberhub.com/store/items/104034
PTSA Meeting Schedule
We are looking for volunteers on Fridays to help with the PBIS store during lunches at the school. Use this link to sign up.
More opportunities for concessions will be posted soon on Signup Genius.
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Looking for Firebird Gear?
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Falcon Middle School
6th Grade Assistant Principal: Joy Kovanda
7th Grade Assistant Principal/Athletic Director: TBD
8th Grade Assistant Principal: Tim Scheck
Dean of Students: Patricia Kelly
6th Grade Counselor: Amber Villani
7th Grade Counselor: Lisa Murdock
8th Grade Counselor: Carrie Clay
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FMS Office Hours
7:15am-3:30pm
Email: fms@d49.org
Website: https://www.d49.org/fms
Location: 9755 Towner Avenue, Peyton, CO, USA
Phone: 719-495-5232
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FalconMiddleD49
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