Falcon Flyer
Fall Creek Intermediate
March 1, 2015
HSE Snow Make-Up Day is May 29th.
Daylight Savings begins March 8th-Spring Forward one hour!
ISTEP update
Our students have been taking the ISTEP practice tests this week. These have been instructional tests which help to prepare students for the operational, applied skills testing which will happen next week. The Applied Skills ISTEP tests will be given in the mornings at FCI on Tuesday, March 3 and Wednesday, March 4 for grades five and six students in language arts and math. Grade six will test in the afternoon on Thursday, March 5 for science. (Note: ISTEP Part 2 (online assessment) will begin at the end of April.)
Please avoid appointments and unnecessary absences during these test days/times. Encourage your child to get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and to give his/her best effort on the assessments. Our students and staff have prepared well, and we all look forward to a productive testing window.
HSE Transition Nights Announced
Reminder---Your Opinion Matters-- 1:1 ipad Program Survey
Now that we are one semester into our 1:1 iPad program we would like to get your feedback on how it is going and how we can improve for the future. We have a brief survey that we kindly ask you to take a few minutes to complete. The survey will close next Tuesday at 11pm.
Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q33MHTX
Thank you!
Intramural Volleyball at FCI
Intramural volleyball is coming to Fall Creek Intermediate in March! Intramurals are open to 5th and 6th grade boys and girls of all ability levels. The 5th grade will practice after school March 2-12 and the 6th grade practices will be March 16-26. All interested students need to complete and return the permission slip by Wednesday, February 25. Please direct questions and completed forms to Mrs. Mockler at jmockler@hse.k12.in.us. Permission slip is on the website.
Get Ready to Run!
Chess Club
Rook to A-8, Checkmate!! Attention FCI 5th or 6th grade students interested in learning or practicing the game of chess. Chess club will be meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning March 3rd in Mr. Gray’s room. If you are interested, please pick up a permission slip outside Mr. Gray’s room, room 608. Permission Slips are due March 2nd.
ASL (American Sign Language) Club
Have you ever wanted to learn a second language? American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, complex language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body. Currently, Hamilton Southeastern School District recognizes, and provides, ASL as a foreign language to high school students.
The club activities will be presented in a fun, educational, and supportive atmosphere i.e., games, stories, skits, songs etc. Space is limited. Permission Slip with dates is on the website.
Activity topics will include:
• Deaf Culture
• ASL Basics
• Finger Spelling
• Numbers
• Words
• Basic Sentences
Club picture day----Thursday, March 12th, 2015
Important ISTEP Technology reminder - iPAD
All Junior Highs Physical Night Scheduled @ Fishers JH
- 6:30-7:00pm Fishers JH
- 7:00-7:30pm HSE JH
- 7:30-8:00 Riverside JH
- Anytime for Fall Creek JH Student Athletes
Please bring a IHSAA Physical form with pages 1 & 4 filled out, and $25.00 cash or check. See our website for more details. IHSAA forms can be found on all the JH websites.
Destination Imagination-------- Tournaments are Scheduled
Find out about Destination Imagination and see what 21st Century Learning Looks Like. What a great way to support our FCI and district teams!
Destination Imagination Regional
Creative Problem Solving Competition
Hamilton Southeastern Freshman Building
12001 Olio Rd. Fishers 46037
March 14 from 8-2p.m.
Free Admission
Come see what 21st Century Learning Looks Like
Destination Imagination Affiliate Finals
Creative Problem Solving Competition
Riverside Junior High and Intermediate School
10910 Eller Rd. Fishers 46038
April 18 from 8-3p.m.
Free Admission
Parents in Partnership-------------March 2nd, 2015 @ 6:00pm FHS
Teens & Depression
Parents in Partnership Joins the Peyton Riekhof Foundation for Youth Hope to Host
Comedian & Mental Health Activist Kevin Breel for Second Year in a Row
(Fishers, IN) – Parents in Partnership and the Peyton Riekhof Foundation for Youth Hope are shining the light on teens, depression, and the very real issue of mental health facing our community. At 6:00 p.m. on March 2, 2015 at Fishers High School, the Peyton Riekhof Foundation for Youth Hope proudly presents “Stand Up for Mental Health with Hope, Help and Community,” featuring comedian and mental health activist Kevin Breel and a community panel.
See our website for more information.
PTO Positions available for 2015-2016
Expanded YMCA Program for Junior High Students
Please know that no changes will occur to any elementary YMCA Before & After School programs. A minimum of 15 students is required per site to guarantee junior high programming. Deadline for registration is May 15, 2015. Registration forms must be turned in at the respective school.
Flyers for each school are on our website.
International Night March 27th, 2015
International Night 2015
The HSEHS World Connections Club is hosting its 7th annual International Night on Friday, March 27 at 7:00pm in the Leonard Auditorium. Cultural entertainment will be followed by food and fun in the Annex Cafeteria. Tickets are $4.00 in advance, available during all lunches at HSEHS the week of the show or $5.00 at the door. Individuals, families, groups, and organizations are all welcome to set up a cultural booth for this event. Display your culture through food, games, photos, artifacts, and more. Please contact Vickie Lazaga at: vlazaga@hse.k12.in.us to sign up for a booth or for more information. Join us for a spectacular evening of sights and sounds from around the world- International Night 2015!
Flyer is on the website.
HSE Foundation Game Day
PTO Box Top Update
Here are our official updates as of 2/26/2015. Way to go teachers and students!
5th grade:
Lowell 188
Jahn 134
Smith 126
Analco 103
Willey 92
6th grade
Auger 649
Gwin 365
Knerr 160
Hufty 154
Fritsche 153
Additionally, we will counting and accepting Box Tops up until Friday, May 1. Then we will be doing our final count to reward the top 5th and 6th grade classrooms with a pizza party and the top two students in each grade level with a $25 iTunes gift card!
What's Happening @ the Creek
Monday, March 2nd, 2015 Rot. C-1
2:50-3:50pm Int Volleyball - 5th
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015, Rot. C-2
ISTEP - all school a.m.
3:00-4:00 - Spring Choir
2:50-3:50pm - Chess Club
2:50-3:50pm - Int Volleyball - 5th
Wednesday, March 4th, 2015, Rot. C-3
ISTEP - all school a.m.
7:10-7:45am - Yearbook Club
2:50-5:30pm - Engineering for Kids
2:50-3:50pm - Int Volleyball - 5th
Thursday, March 5th, 2015, Rot. C-4
ISTEP - 6th grade only p.m.
2:50-4:00pm - ASL Club
2:50-3:50pm - Chess Club
2:50-3:50pm - Int Volleyball - 5th
Friday, March 6th, 2015, Rot. C-5
ISTEP - makeups only
10:00-11:00am - PTO Meeting
Monday, March 9th, 2015, Rot. I-1
ISTEP - makeups only
2:45-3:45pm - FCI Connect
3:00-4:00pm -Spring Choir
Tuesday, March 10th, 2015, Rot.I-2
ISTEP - makeups only
6:30-7:30pm - Spring Choir Concert
2:50-3:50pm - Chess Club
2:50-4:00pm - ASL Club
2:50-3:50pm - Int Volleyball - 5th
Wednesday, March 11th, 2015, Rot. I-3
ISTEP - makeups only
7:15-7:45am - Student Council
2:50-5:30pm - Engineering for Kids
2:50-3:50pm - Int Volleyball - 5th
Thursday, March 12th, 2015, Rot. I-4
8:00-12:00pm - Club Picture Day
2:50-3:50pm - Chess Club
2:50-4:00pm - ASL Club
2:50-3:50pm - Int Volleyball - 5th
Friday, March 13th, 2015, Rot. I-5
FCI Yearbooks
Keyboarding Skills
Dear Parents and Students:
Below is a recommended site for intermediate students to utilize to learn and improve keyboarding skills prior to entering junior high school. Please consider working on these skills outside of the school day since keyboarding is not a course offered at the intermediate level in HSE Schools. Below are points to consider which have been offered by Dr. Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education for HSE.
http://www.typingweb.com/tutor/ -Students try the free tutor sessions, games and basic tests
Rationale for Keyboarding at Intermediate Levels
· Word processing is a basic skill that should be mastered before the JH level with proficiency before poor habits are established
· Students will experience more success and ease with written response and publishing in all content areas as skills increase
· JH students who demonstrate proficiency when entering grade 7 would be provided with other opportunities beyond basic keyboarding yet to be determined
Keyboarding Instruction and Practice
· Parents will monitor progress at home, encouraging daily practice and keyboarding habits with typingweb.com
· On recommended website students will progress through Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced courses following a sequence of lessons and practice games
· Students will take assessments on website to monitor progress at home
Stephanie Loane
Director of Elementary Education
Hamilton Southeastern Schools
13485 Cumberland Road
Fishers, IN 46038
317.594.4100
Social Media - Parent Involvement
We know many of you are aware of and discuss appropriate social media use with your children. However, it is worth noting again at this time as there are increasing social media situations involving FCI students finding their way into the classroom environment negatively impacting focus and interaction. Should this occur, there may be a need for school administration to be involved. Please take some time to discuss appropriate use of social media with your child.
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE!! --- Pick-up/Drop-offs
Transportation Changes and Doctor Appts---A Note from the Office
Save the Date for FALCON FEST
SAVE THE DATE
FALCON FEST 2015
Friday, March 27th
6:00-8:30pm
A night of games, activities, music, food and FUN for all FCI students. Registration packets and additional information will be sent home at the end of February. Contact We're using VolunteerSpot (the leading online signup and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming activity.
Please sign up for Falcon Fest 2015!
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/P1MZMh
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!
Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.
Everyone needs a current background check and watch the Anti-Bullying Video to be a volunteer. So please plan early to make sure they are processed on time. It takes 7 to 10 days to process.
Melissa Schulman
mkdpm@yahoo.comMary Kate Myers jmkmyers@att.net with any questions. We need lots of volunteers for this event. See volunteering information included in this newsletter on how to sign up.
The Falcon Fest Packet is on the website.
HSEJH PTO is Calling all Volunteers!
>
> PTO Board Meetings are scheduled from 9:30-10:30am at the HSJH on the following dates: Jan 16, Feb 13, Mar 13, Apr 17, and May 8. If your child(ren) will be attending HSJH (on Cyntheanne Road) next year, please consider attending one of our meetings to learn how you can get involved.
HS Marching Band Fundraising
DID YOU KNOW??? If you attend Colts Games (& a few other LOS events) you can easily support FHS/HSEHS Marching Bands?
FHS/HSEHS Marching Bands would love for you to stop by our concession stand to say “hey” and show your support by purchasing concession from us! In a joint effort to help parents/students earn funds for their Marching Bands students accounts, FHS/HSEHS Marching Bands joined together to staff booth 136 at Lucas Oil Stadium. We are there all Colts home games and a few other LOS event (MonsterJam, Supercross, NCAA Semifinals, NCAA Championship). Every dollar you spend on concession at LOS can help support your FHS/HSEHS Marching Bands students. We would love to see our friends, neighbors, parents and students come to cheer us on and help support us as we work for our marching bands students! Or if you are a Band/Guard Parent looking for a way to add money directly into your Students Band account, please contact us asap regarding signing up to work an upcoming LOS event!
For more info on how you can support FHS (http://fishersband.org/boosters/) or HSEHS Marching Bands (http://www.hsehsbands.com/ ), contact the booster clubs for each organization. Hope to see you there!
Technology Awareness - Vshare Alert
It has come to our attention that some of our students have chosen to download Vshare to their iPad. We would like to share important information regarding this site as it could be detrimental to the functioning of your child’s iPAD and the function of the site is inappropriate. If you see this on your child’s iPAD, please delete ASAP. Below is detailed information about this site if you would like to learn more:
Vshare and other installous alternatives are programs that:
- promise free apps or free games
- are designed to bypass the app store
- seem to allow the user to download apps without paying.
They entice the user with something for free then install invisible, sneaky, insidious tracking add ons. These sites are actually browser hijackers. Once downloaded they track and record all browsing habits, sites visited, apps used, time on sites etc. They redirect the user through the site’s own search engine which controls the user’s search results. They capture credit card and other personal and confidential information from the user’s activity. As the user buys a legitimate app from the App Store(or any other online purchase) the Vshare invisible tracker captures the user’s account information. Wherever it may be based it is bypassing the US COPPA laws.
Important items to be aware of:
- Apps gone free is NOT an example of an installous alternative. Apps Gone Free is a legitimate app through the App Store. There are agreements between the developers and Apps Gone Free to offer the apps for a limited time.
- We have seen iPads with slow performance while other schools have students who are seeing instances of crashed and disabled iPads and apps that no longer function due to students attempting to use Vshare to illegally download apps.
- Vshare will not show up as a purchase notification on your family iTunes account since it does not come through the app store. Parents will have to look at their child’s iPad to see if it is there.
- Vshare voids the Apple warranty because installing Vshare is considered jailbreaking the iPad.
- Repairs that might have been covered by the warranty will not be covered if you have downloaded Vshare.
- Having Vshare or a similar program on an HSE district iPad violates the acceptable use policy. Turning in an HSE iPad with Vshare on it is considered turning in a non-operational iPad.
- The iPad with Vshare on it cannot be given to anyone else because it will not function properly.
- Anyone turning in an iPad with Vshare will be charged the full amount to replace the iPad.
If you find Vshare on an iPad:
- Check online to find a way to delete Vshare from the iPad. This is not something we can do at school.
- Delete Vshare
- Backup the remaining legitimately purchased apps to a cloud account (there are free cloud accounts) so that you do not lose everything legally on the iPad
- Restore the iPad to factory settings
Links for assistance:
- http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201252
- http://ipad.about.com/od/iPad_Guide/ss/How-To-Wipe-Your-iPad-And-Erase-Data.htm
There is no guarantee that this will work. If it does not return back to factory specifications/settings after a reset – this still voids the warranty. If an HSE rented iPad does not reset to factory default settings then when your child turns in the device in May you are responsible for full replacement of the device as we would consider it to no longer be operational for future use.
We will be speaking with all of the students to tell them to not download Vshare or any similar sites. If they already have done so they will be told to tell their parents and go through the restore steps at home using the iTunes account set up by the parent.
Have a collection you would like to share?
FCI Collection Case
The Collection Case at FCI is a fun way for students, families, and staff to share their personal collections with everyone at FCI. The Collection Case, located in the main hallway between the Nurses's Office and the Library, is highly visible and students love to look at the case and see the collections that have been displayed. Any school-appropriate collection would be great for the Collection Case. Last year, some of the items/collections that students and families shared were: Legos, soccer jerseys from around the world, M&M wrappers from around the world, a large hornet's nest, memorabilia from foreign countries, rocks and minerals, Pokemon cards, and WWII-related items.
If you would like to share a collection with the students and staff at FCI, please fill out the attached Collection Case Form and return it to school marked "Attn: PTO Collection Case." Contact Charron Wright at gcwright91@aol.com with any questions about the Collection Case
Keeping Focused
In an effort to keep instructional time as free from distraction as possible, students have been reminded of the following:
- Absolutely NO texting/personal emailing during the school day (7:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m.) to students OR parents via any type of program/app/etc. Consequences will be given should this occur.
- If students receive texts/emails during the school day, they should immediately notify their teacher or staff member.
- We realize there may need to be communication between students working collaboratively during the school day. However, it should only be done at teacher direction/approval.
- Texting/emailing that does occur outside of school is a parental approval issue. However, if content of texting/emailing outside of school negatively impacts/affects the school environment, there may be consequences that are imposed at school.
As always, if you need to get a message that is a change for your child, please call the office at 915-4220. All other situations should be resolved outside the school day.
District Happenings...
Check out the FCI website (http://www.hse.k12.in.us/FCI/news/) for more activities in the district such as:
- IUPUI Summer Reading Program
- Fishers Parks & Recreation Heart Hike
- Southeastern Swim Lessons
- All JH Physical Night
- Durbin Classic Run Flyer
- Fishers Parks & Recreation Summer Camps
- Spring SPORTS Information
- HEPL Library Programs
- Falcon Fest Packet 2015
- intramural Volleyball Form
- International Night Flyer March 27th, 2015
- Fishers Parks & Recreation Softball League
- Keep Fishers Beautiful-Opportunities to Help
- Fishers Freedom Festival Royal Court Information
- HSE Family Resource Center Parent & Family Nights @ SCI
Student Transportation
Student Drop-Off:
Students must be accompanied into the building and signed in by a parent any time after 7:55 a.m.
Student Early Dismissal:
Parents must come inside the building to sign out their child. Parents must ring the buzzer and indicate that they are picking up their child. Photo ID is required to be provided to office staff every time students are signed out.
Student Transportation Changes:
A note must be sent to the office with any student at the beginning of the day to detail transportation changes. These will be recorded to assist with dismissal. Please do not send emails for changes.
All About FCI
Asst. Principal - Mrs. Kim Day (kday@hse.k12.in.us)
Website: http://www.hse.k12.in.us/FCI/home.aspx
Location: 12011 Olio Road Fishers, IN 46037
Phone: (317)-915-4220
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fall-Creek-Intermediate-Falcons/536020973132615
Twitter: @FCI_Falcons