Coyote Connection
Volume 1 Issue 5
No School Monday, September 6
Students Return to Face-to-Face Instruction Thursday, September 9
Please send your student with a refillable water bottle each day!
Saturday, September 11, 2021
This Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As a school community, we feel that it is essential to learn about and commemorate the events of this fateful day with our students in a safe way. Therefore, students will participate in special programming through their ELA and/ or Social Studies classes on Friday, September 10th. We will also hold a schoolwide moment of silence for the victims and heroes of September 11th. If for any reason, you do not want your student to participate in our special programming, please notify your student’s ELA teacher via email as soon as possible so that an alternate assignment can be given.
Sincerely,
Christine V. McNeil
Patriot Day, September 11, 2021
On September 11, Patriot Day gives all of us time to reflect on the devastating terror attacks that took nearly 3,000 lives. We commemorate those who we lost and give thanks to the brave first responders who put their lives on the line. Take a moment today to consider what we stand for as a nation and how we can work together to make the world a better place for all.
Patriot Day is recognized worldwide, and many people participate in the moment of silence at 8:46 am Eastern Time, but it is not considered an official holiday in the U.S.
Know Someone Who would Be GREAT at Serving on Our FCMS School Improvement Council?
We need nominations for our first ever School Improvement Council. Form will close September 10.
Please use this form to nominate a parent/guardian to serve on our FCMS SIC.
Parent Support Tech Site
Interested in the FCMS PTO?
PTO Announcement - Spirit Night at Topper's Pizza (September 7)
Counselor's Corner
Coyotes of the Month - Student and Staff Recognition Programs
For the month of September, our school-wide character trait focus will be respect. Respect means to show honor, consideration and value to people, property, the environment and yourself. It means to treat others well even if they look, act or believe differently than you do. We will focus on teaching students the definition of respect and different ways to apply respect in your everyday life. Your student will learn about respect through guided lessons, weekly quotes and a wrap up challenge at the end of the month provided by our amazing counseling department.
COVID -19 Mitigation Strategies Update From Mrs. McNeil
Dear FCMS Families,
At this time, FCMS is implementing the district mitigation strategies as designated by our school district:
High/Middle School Mitigation Strategies
The district is maintaining a number of mitigation strategies in accordance with CDC and SC DHEC guidance at the middle and high school levels, including, but not limited to:
· 3ft social distancing where possible.
· Additional lunch periods and available areas of the school to allow for distancing during lunch periods.
· Hand sanitizer stations throughout the school.
· Isolation room for any individual displaying COVID-19 symptoms at school.
· Water bottle fillings stations in place of water fountains.
· Limiting the number of outside visitors during the school day.
COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies - Update (and Additions)
Due to the increase in positive cases within our district, we want to limit exposure and traffic in the building, when possible. Therefore:
- We do not permit items to be dropped off in our front office. This includes food (school lunches are free- students will not go hungry), books, homework, instruments, or athletic equipment.
- Visitors and volunteers are not allowed in the building at this time.
- Field trips that are out of the district and not for competitive purposes are suspended at this time. Competitions including athletics are currently allowed. Athletic competitions fall under the guidance of the SCHSL.
- Special events such as pep-rallies, open houses, or other large gatherings are not allowed at this time.
- Masks are highly encouraged by the FMSD for students and staff but are not mandated.
Use of Masks
While the CDC and SC DHEC currently recommend the use of masks indoors for all persons regardless of vaccination status, mask use will be optional for students and staff in school buildings, facilities and buses without the need for an opt-out form per the Governor’s order, along with Proviso 1.108 adopted by the General Assembly and recent information from the South Carolina Department of Education. Click here to read the S.C. Department of Education memo provided to school districts regarding mask use.
Bus Mitigation Strategy Update
Masks are now required on school district transportation. (Read more in last week's newsletter or in the FMSD email that was shared with parents.)
Other
Because masks are not mandated by the school district for use in our buildings, we will not be enforcing or specifically assigning masked students to group or partner work with only other students who are masking. We will not be creating seating charts based on which students are masking or not masking. We are limiting group work and partner work at FCMS. We are moving our individual desks out of the grouping configurations to create greater space between all of our students within the classrooms. We are asking our students to bring individual supplies to each class (markers, pencils, scissor, colored pencils, etc.) versus relying on teacher class (shared) materials when we return on September 9. We have delivered sanitizing wipes to all of our classrooms as well as provided Lysol to our teachers. Our school has been deep cleaned and sanitized since switching to virtual. Additionally, each night our classrooms are getting spray sanitized and this is being monitored by our cleaning contractors. The district has received our additional water bottle filing stations, and we hope to have those installed at FCMS soon. In the meantime, we still have our water bottle filling station functioning in our cafeteria and we will be delivering donated waters to our teams for use as needed for those students who forget to bring a filled water bottle or who need a drink, particularly after lunch/blacktop time. We have created assigned tables in our cafeteria which will allow us to keep our teams of students within homerooms together for tracing. We have 10 outdoor picnic tables now that students may use to eat their lunch. We are also investigating ways to limit the number of students at lockers during the day within the teams.
It is our hope that these mitigation strategies will help keep our Coyotes healthy and in school!
Sincerely,
Christine V. McNeil
Covid Information / FMSD Dashboard
Nurse's News
Girls Basketball News
Girls Basketball Interest Meeting Details
Interest Meeting Details
Basketball conditioning sessions will be held each week starting on September 13th.
PHYSICAL REQUIRED BEFORE CONDITIONING
Typical days will be Monday, Wednesday & Saturday.
Dates subject to change. ALL sessions are OPTIONAL.
Depending on volleyball’s game schedule we will either condition outside at the black top AFTER SCHOOL or inside the gym on VOLLEYBALL AWAY GAMES.
Please bring your OWN water bottle. Hydration is VERY important when it comes to conditioning.
We as coaches are looking for individuals that want to compete, are coachable and showcase heart!
Key things to help you moving forward:
- At least 10 minutes of dribbling with a purpose, DAILY.
- At least 15 minutes watching women’s college or WNBA basketball 3x per week.
- Either shooting basketball with a purpose or playing with a purpose as often as possible.
- Individual workouts/cardio (Abs, Wall-Sits, Running, Biking)
Basketball Conditioning Sessions
Monday, September 13th 3:30pm-5pm (in gym)
Wednesday, September 15th 3:45pm-5pm (blacktop, meet in cafeteria first)
Saturday, September 18th 10am-11:30am (in gym)
Monday, September 20th 3:45pm-5pm (blacktop, meet in cafeteria first)
Wednesday, September 22nd 3:45pm-5pm (blacktop, meet in cafeteria first)
Saturday, September 25th 10am-11:30am (in gym)
Monday, September 27th 3:45pm-5pm (blacktop, meet in cafeteria first)
Wednesday, September 29th 3:45pm-5pm (blacktop, meet in cafeteria first)
Saturday, October 2st 10am-11:30am (in gym)
Monday, October 4th 3:30pm-5pm (in gym)
Wednesday, October 6th 3:30pm-5pm (in gym)
Saturday, October 9th 10am-11:30am (in gym)
Monday, October 11th TBD
Wednesday, October 13th TBD
Saturday, October 16th 10am-11:30am (in gym)
Monday, October 18th 3:30pm-5pm (in gym)
Wednesday, October 20th 3:30pm-5pm (in gym)
Saturday, October 23rd 10am-11:30am (in gym)
Monday, October 25th 3:30pm-5pm (in gym)
Wednesday, October 27th 3:30pm-5pm (in gym)
Looking for More Athletics Information? Please use our FCMS Athletics Website.
Go 'Yotes!
Christine V. McNeil, Principal
Website: https://fcms.fortmillschools.org/
Location: 2212 White Road Fort Mill SC 29715
Phone: 803-396-3450
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forestcreekmiddleschool