FRMS Elective Courses
Weekly Course Agenda & News
Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year!
Parents & Guardians:
Please note that some elective courses vary in length, depending on students' needs, grade level and course structure.
This week we will introduce each elective teacher below and include information about courses they teach. Information shared this week may include more details than our future updates in order to share new school year information.
Music
Mr. Cervera - Orchestra Aide
Mrs. Schlesener - Band annaschlesener@usd475.org
Mrs. Rourke - Choir/Guitars ryanrourke@usd475.org
Top Row L-R:
Ms. Conrade - Orchestra amandaconrade@usd475.org
Ms. Cole - Music Aide
Elective Hall
Ms. Smith - Reading 180 rolindasmith@usd475.org
Mrs. Coughlin - Art catherinecoughlin@usd475.org
Ms. Gonzalez - Spanish/World Cultures/AVID elainegonzalez@usd475.org
Mrs. McConnell - Every Day Teen Skills marymcconnell@usd475.org
Back Row L-R:
Mr. Whaley - Math 180 michaelwhaley@usd475.org
Mrs. Ricard - Math 180 pamelaricard@usd475.org
Mrs. Schwartz - STAR natalieschwartz@usd475.org
Mr. Norton - Computer/CSMI/App Design ryannorton@usd475.org
PE
Mrs. Hayden PE joanhayden@usd475.org
Mr. Micheel PE matthewmicheel@usd475.org
AVID [Brandmahl, Hall, Gonzalez]
AVID 101
Monday – Intro to Learning Logs
Tuesday – All About Me posters
Wednesday – Time Log Reflection
Thursday – Mingle Bingo
Friday – Intro to Focused Note Taking
AVID 7th Grade
Monday – Study Buddy Contracts and Social Contract
Tuesday – Social Skills
Wednesday – Portfolio’s
Thursday Mingle Bingo
Friday – Team Builder
8th AVID
· Monday: Time management
· Tuesday: Goal Setting
· Wednesday: Bio Poem Preparation
· Thursday: Continuing Bio Poems
· Friday: Present Bio poems
Language! [Smith]
Course Information:
- This course is designed to work on building reading and writing skills for struggling students.
- The first two weeks of school will be for conducting screener and/or assessments to find base-line data and placing students in the correct course level.
LANGUAGE ! Placement screeners are being completed and students will be placed in the correct levels this week.
Students in all English Language Arts classes have been given Oral Reading Fluency tests to determine a base-line score to measure student progress. The students have also been given a spelling inventory to gauge their sound-letter correspondence. Students will also take a MAZE screener which will assess their comprehension. The SanDiego Quick Assessment of reading is another quick measure of the level of student independent vocabulary level.
Spanish [Gonzalez]
6th grade Spanish:
· Monday: Greetings Quiz
· Tuesday: Numbers
· Wednesday: Continuing Numbers
· Thursday: Number Quiz
· Friday: Body parts
7th/8th Spanish
· Monday: Continuing Greetings
· Tuesday: Continuing Greetings
· Wednesday: Starting Skits
· Thursday: Continuing working on Skits/ Presenting them
· Friday: Finish Skits/ Review what we learned during the week
STEM [Hall]
6th Grade STEM Exploratory
Monday-Communications/Cryptography
Tuesday-Communications/Cryptography
Wednesday-Introduction to Telecommunication
Thursday-Introduction to Telecommunication Continued
Friday- Communication Test (open note)
7/8th STEM Lab
Monday-Introduction to Expeditions
Tuesday-Expedition Orientation/Pre-Test
Wednesday-Orientation
Thursday-Orientation
Friday-Orientation/Post Test
Robotics [Hall]
Monday-Problem Solving
Tuesday-Problem Solving
Wednesday-Engineering Process
Thursday-Web Design
Friday-Introduction to Coding
Math Strategies- 180 - Navigators [Ricard & Whaley]
This coming week in Math Strategies:
Week of 8-20-18
Math 180
Monday- Take the MI
Tuesday- Finish MI
Wednesday-Do Day 1 & Day 2
Thursday- Do Day 8 & 9
Friday-Do Day 10 and Mindset test
Navigator class
Monday- Beginning Place Value Lesson 1
Tuesday- Beginning Place Value Lesson 2
Wednesday- Beginning Place Value Lesson 3
Thursday- Beginning Place Value Lesson 4
Friday- Beginning Place Value Lesson 5
STAR- Strategies to Achieve in Reading [Schwartz]
Course information...
STAR-Strategies to Achieve in Reading
The goal of this elective is to develop skills in the area of reading including decoding and segmenting multi-syllabic words and improving fluency. We are currently completing testing to finalize placement in this group.
This week in STAR...
Course outline for the week of August 20th- Monday & Tuesday- Create interactive notebook and finalize decoding surveys, spelling inventories and other basic assessments.
Wednesday-ORF leveling and guided reading; students will select a book and audio that they can use during independent reading time Thursday-Introduction to History of English
Friday- Introduction to the Four Part Processor
Strength & Conditioning [Micheel]
- Fitness pre-test
- Introduce heart rate monitors
PE [Hayden, Micheel, Miller]
PE Course info:
- PE Uniforms will be required starting on September 3rd. Until then students need to bring a change of clothes (Shorts, T-shirt, and athletic non-marking shoe). Uniforms can be bought at The Screen Machine, 115 East 7th Street, Junction City. (785-762-3081)
This week in PE...
- Fitness pre-test
- Introduce heart rate monitors
Band [Schlesener]
White and Blue band made our first sounds today, they have been assigned numbers in the book to practice over the weekend.
Red bands have finished mouthpiece testing and are being assigned instruments. Parents wanting to rent an instrument can go to Glenn’s music
in Manhattan this weekend. Glenn’s Music in JC is staying open late on Tuesday August 21st for parents wanting to rent instruments.
Red band students will NOT need to bring their instrument to school until Tuesday August 28th. We will be working on music fundamentals and theory
So they are ready to go when we start playing.
Choir [Rourke]
Course Information:
October 10: All Choir, Guitar, Blue Orchestra, Red Band, 6:00 pm at FRMS
November 8: USD 475 Choral Festival, 7:00 at JCHS
December 11: All Choir, Guitar, Band, 6:00pm at FRMS
(Concert dates are subject to change, should they change information regarding new dates and times will be sent out ASAP)
Concert attire for any student involved in Choir or Guitars.
Concert attire for the men- nice dress slacks (black, khaki, or other darker color), polo or button down shirt, dress shoes.
Concert attire for the ladies- nice dress slacks (black, khaki, or other darker color), blouse, dress shoes (ballet flats, heels may be worn). OR dress (knee length or below), OR skirt (knee length or below) and blouse
Please refrain from wearing t-shirts, jeans, tennis shoes, flip flops, snow/rain boots, and any very brightly colored clothing that would be distracting to the audience such as hot pink, neon yellow/green.
If there are any questions please email Ryanrourke@usd475.org
Guitars [Rourke]
Course Information:
October 10: All Choir, Guitar, Blue Orchestra, Red Band, 6:00 pm at FRMS
November 8: USD 475 Choral Festival, 7:00 at JCHS
December 11: All Choir, Guitar, Band, 6:00pm at FRMS
(Concert dates are subject to change, should they change information regarding new dates and times will be sent out ASAP)
Concert attire for any student involved in Choir or Guitars.
Concert attire for the men- nice dress slacks (black, khaki, or other darker color), polo or button down shirt, dress shoes.
Concert attire for the ladies- nice dress slacks (black, khaki, or other darker color), blouse, dress shoes (ballet flats, heels may be worn). OR dress (knee length or below), OR skirt (knee length or below) and blouse
Please refrain from wearing t-shirts, jeans, tennis shoes, flip flops, snow/rain boots, and any very brightly colored clothing that would be distracting to the audience such as hot pink, neon yellow/green.
If there are any questions please email Ryanrourke@usd475.org
Orchestra [Conrade]
Course information:
- For our beginners, we will be trying out each of the four orchestra instruments. This will include the violin, viola, cello, and bass.
- I am excited to be here at Fort Riley Middle School and cannot wait to begin rehearsing with the orchestras. If you have any questions, please email me at amandaconrade@usd475.org.
Red Orchestra:
· Monday, August 20: Students will begin working on how to hold their instruments properly and the labels of different parts of the instrument.
· Tuesday, August 21: Students will continue working on posture and begin locating the where the A and D string notes are on the music staff.
· Wednesday, August 22: Students will begin learning about how to hold the bow.
· Thursday, August 23: Students will take a pre-test to see what they know about music theory.
· Friday, August 24: Students will begin to play using the bow.
White and Blue Orchestra:
· This week we will spend time sight reading music and reviewing posture, bow holds, and where the notes are on their music staff. We will take a music theory pre-test on Thursday, August 23 to see what they already know about music theory.
JAG [Walker]
The primary mission of the Middle School Program is to help 6th to 8th graders to transition more successfully from middle to high school. Specialists will provide an array of counseling, skills development, career association, and experiential learning experiences that will improve their academic performance, school behavior, attendance, confidence, participation and self-esteem. Middle School participants will improve their skills in leading and being an effective member of a team.
The Middle School Program is committed to increasing the potential for success in high school by preparing middle school students for a successful transition into high school. Middle School students participate in the following:
o Visits to their respective high school
o High school shadowing days
o Guest speakers from the high school, i.e., counselors, administrators, teachers, High School Scavenger Hunt
o Sporting events and Concerts
Computers [Norton]
· Monday – Intro to Keyboarding
· Tuesday – PowerPoint elliments
· Wednesday – PowerPoint
· Thursday – Keyboarding Skills
· Friday – Keyboarding Skills
App Design [Norton]
· Monday – File Management Unit
· Tuesday – File Management Unit
· Wednesday – Assessment File Management Unit
· Thursday – Book Lesson 1.1
· Friday – Book Lesson 1.1
CSIM - Computer Science Innovators & Makers [Norton]
· Monday – File Management Unit
· Tuesday – File Management Unit
· Wednesday – Assessment File Management
· Thursday – Book Lesson 1.1
· Friday – Book Lesson 1.1
Every Day Teen Skills [McConnell]
8th Grade (6th Hour)
Focus - Personal Development
Monday- Paradigms & Perceptions, What is personality?
Tuesday- Developing personality, Individuality & Uniqueness
Wednesday- Personal Bank Accounts, Self Esteem, Personal Bank Account Log- (Will be due on 8-29-18)
Thursday- Being Proactive vs Reactive, Circle of no control
Friday- Overcoming setbacks, Can do attitude, Proactive vs Reactive Log- (Will be due on 8-27-18)
7/8th Mix Class (3rd Hour)
Focus - Personal Development
Monday- Signed Syllabus is due, What is personality?, What makes you unique?
Tuesday- Personality Tests, How do all of our personalities work together?
Wednesday-Self Esteem, Personal Bank Account Log- (Will be due 8-29-18)
Thursday- Circle of no control, Passing Blame, Personal Responsibility
Friday- Comparison trap, Fair isn’t always equal, Wants vs Needs
7th Grade (1st Hour)
Focus - Personal Development
Monday- What is personality?
Tuesday- Personality Types & What they mean
Wednesday- Self Esteem & how it impacts personality
Thursday- Building a positive self-esteem
Friday- Comparison Traps, Wants vs needs
6th Grade (2nd & 7th Hour)
Focus - Communication & Personal Development
Monday- Communication Skills, Team Work
Tuesday- Team Building Exercises
Wednesday-What is personality?, Character Traits, Quiz Review
Thursday- Personality Tests, Individuality
Friday- Quiz on active listening, communication, & Personality
Art [Coughlin]
Explorations in Art Grade 6
Art 7-8
· Monday 8/20: Complete Micro Project, Pre-Assessment (All classes)
· Tuesday 8/21: Elements and Principles
o Introduction to (Explorations 6)
o collaborative project presentation (Art 7,8)
· Wednesday 8/22: Elements and Principles
o 1st Project Prep & Make (Explorations 6)
o collaborative project presentation (Art 7,8)
· Thursday 8/23: Elements and Principles
o Group Presentations (Art 7,8)
o 1st Project Completion, 2nd Project Prep (Explorations 6)
· Friday 8/24: Elements and Principles
o 2nd Project Make (Explorations 6)
o Group Presentations (Art 7,8)
Multimedia [Keating]
Aug. 20: Class norms, Focus notes on designing great documents, rubric & grading form, make folders for class info
Aug. 21: License Plate Assignment
Aug. 22: License Plate Due, talk about copyright, G drive, practice saving something, do a pp, sway, smore telling about yourself. 10 slides Due Monday
Aug. 23-24: work on projects in library
Fort Riley Middle School
Website: http://frms.usd475.org/
Location: 4022 1st Division Road, Fort Riley, KS, USA
Phone: 785-717-4500