FMS @ a Glance
September 26-30, 2016
FMS HOMECOMING 2016
THIS YEARS OPPONENT WILL BE THE ROCHESTER JOHN MARSHALL ROCKETS
Dress Up Days
Monday- Class color day (Different each team)
601- Blue 602- Red 701- Neon 702- Gray 801- Black 802- White
Tuesday- Sportswear Day (Any sports teams)
Wacky Wednesday- Dress as odd as you can, mismatch, backwards...
Thursday – Super Hero Day
Falcon Friday -Wear Green and White
Lunch time Activities (STAFF-COME OUT AND JOIN STUDENTS)
Football Toss - Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday
Soccer Kick- Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday
Plunger Races- Wed/Thurs (Who will win the golden plungers?)
Obstacle Course- Friday
Basketball Hot Shot - Tuesday and Friday
Four Square Tournament- Prelims on Monday. We will have 1 winner as a rep from each team and of those finalist we will have a School-Wide championship crowned on Thursday who win the golden dodgeball.
Team Door Decorating Contest
Team hallways and exploratory doors and areas around the door will be judged and averaged out. Judging will take place at 12:45 on Friday by 5 anonymous judges. Judges will be looking for student work, creativity, school spirit, originality and some kind of theme. It would be great to be able to keep up your door for conferences to show school spirit and cover up the red doors. We are hoping to eliminate some of the waste of all the paper rolls that we use up just to cover up the walls.
Pep Fest for all students is Friday in the gym from 9:35-9:55 (Class Release schedule coming later. 7th and 8th grade band students will be released 20 minutes prior to 1st release group…)
Parade Slips are to be handed out early next week. Please return with parent signature if you plan to attend. Dismissal will be at 1:40 for those attending the parade.
Overall Spirit Award Awarded to Team with highest average scores in the following areas:
% of students dressed up per team on each dress up day, (counted in 1st hour class/2nd hour for 602) 5x
Pie Eating Contest Results (Teacher rep @ Pep Fest)
4 Square Tourney Results
Hallway Decorating Rankings
Guess the Score of the Game- Win your choice of either a football/Soccer/ Volleyball for the closest prediction of Fridays Homecoming Football game between the Falcons and the Rochester John Marshall Rockets (3 winners total). A jar and paper slips are located in the office. One guess per person. Multiple guesses will be invalid.
Homecoming is one of those memorable times. Please have some fun with the kids. We would love to see you dressed up and out doing lunchtime activities with us. Last year Team 802 was our Homecoming Spirit winner.
Thanks in advance for your support and participation. Please see our advisor Mr. Hawkins with questions.
*** Remember Falcon Fun Friday is neither a Green Day or a White Day - the alternating schedule will continue from Thursday to Monday.***
A note from our Technology Coordinator.
Staff,
New Technology Schoology Support Group!
I have created a new group in Schoology for Technology support. I will post updates and news items to the resources in this group throughout the year.
If you select "Resources" you will see different categories as they relate to technology. The goal is to have one place you can go to throughout the year to review tutorials, get how to's or just find info you can use throughout the year.
The code to join is:
BVRZ5-VSTC4
Maria Hanson, District Technology Coordinator
710 17th Street SW Faribault, MN 55021
507-333-6065
A word from Assistant Principal Mrs. McDermott:
I have updated the weebly site as best as I can. If you have any information that needs to go on it please let me know. I have the monthly calendars as well as the SOAR calendars on there. The months of September and October will be placed in your mailbox.
Don’t forget to fill out this quick Google form so we can start the “You’ve Been Mugged.” It would be great to get all staff on board! Check out the mail room for slips for staff shout outs, great ideas, and more SOAR slips.
So far we have 23 responses. We’d like to start next week.
https://goo.gl/forms/gNQHvHydmZq18K1L2
Fire Drill follow-up:
We had many doors unlocked during the drill. Please remember to lock your doors. We also noticed many doors being propped open. We should not be propping doors open. There are enough key fob readers so this shouldn’t be a problem. Remember, we want to keep a safe building for all. Thank you for your cooperation on this.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day!
Thank you,
Kelly
Remember this from last week?
A wonderful sight to see - maybe not wonderful for everyone.....
We Day
Homecoming Pep Fest schedule
8:10a Leave FHS
8:25-8:45a Jefferson Elementary
9:00-9:20a Lincoln Elementary
9:35-9:55 Middle School
10:10-10:35 Roosevelt Elementary
11:00-11:20 Nerstrand Charter
11:50 Return to the HS
TECHNOLOGY News
Technology Secretary- Coordination of iPad repairs/replacements, insurance billing/tracking, new student device issues, all fee collections and money handling. Students and parents may also make arrangements by appointment at our District Office.
Our secretary will have weekly set hours in the buildings to accomplish above tasks. She will be working directly with a technician during this time. This is also a good time to send students to the media center tech office with any technical issues.
(Note: hours may change to accommodate needs)
Monday – Middle School 10:30 – 11:30
Tuesday - High School 12:30 –1:30
Wednesday – Middle School 10:30 – 11:30
Thursday- High School 12:30 – 11:30
Friday – ALC 10:30 -11:30
Skylenn on stage at WE DAY!
Submission from Mr. Sesker:
The Leader September 20, 2016
Athletes who refuse to stand for national anthem
By Cathy Miller, MSBA Director of Legal & Policy Services
The wave of protest against racism that has manifested with NFL players who sit or kneel down during the national anthem may reach school districts soon. If so, how should teachers, coaches, and administrators respond?
The first reaction may be that this form of protest is unpatriotic and student athletes should be encouraged to be patriotic. Many members of the community may agree with this reaction. A response must take more into consideration than a first reaction. One consideration is the law, and the protesters have legal rights.
The main legal right involved is free speech. School personnel must recognize this form of protest is covered by the constitutional right to free speech and efforts to stop the protest and/or force participation in singing or standing for the national anthem could be met with lawsuits for infringing on those rights.
This situation brings to mind the famous quote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” attributed to English author, Evelyn Beatrice Hall.
The courts would almost certainly find that an athlete’s refusing to participate in the national anthem before a game is a form of symbolic speech covered by the protections of the First Amendment. This kind of symbolic speech was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) in Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503, 89 S.Ct. 733 (1969), when students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War and support a truce. The Court found the school district had no right to discipline the students for ignoring a school ban on the wearing of black armbands because this protest was protected speech and did not create a material or substantial disruption. A controversy was not enough to allow the school to ban wearing the armbands. This was true even though the country was at war and anti-war protests arguably were unpatriotic.
Those members of the school community who choose not to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance when the Pledge is said at school have the right to this choice. School personnel and other students must respect this choice even if they do not agree with it. The MSBA/MASA Model Policy 531 describes the balance between encouraging national pride and recognizing free choice found in M.S. 121A.11. The choice to sing or not sing the national anthem is similar, and school districts would be wise to treat it in the same way, by allowing free choice and protecting students from retribution regardless of their choices instead of imposing discipline or taking away playing time if students refuse to sing or stand for the national anthem.
If the protesters go beyond quiet nonparticipation in the national anthem and cause a disruption or encourage others to disrupt the national anthem, then school personnel can take action to stop the disruption and discipline the students who cause it.
Even if this protest does not reach your school district, the opportunity for a teachable moment has been created. School personnel are wise to take advantage of this opportunity to teach and remind students about why the national anthem is important, what it means to be an American citizen, why we practice patriotic exercises like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the national anthem, the many reasons we have to be proud of our country, and the sacrifices so many have made to make sure American citizens have the freedom of choice.
In the United States, individuals may disagree with each other and still live peacefully together. While some may disagree with the form of protest used by athletes who choose to sit or kneel during the national anthem, they do have the right to protest.
Special Education announcement:
From Mrs. Rotchadl:
Last year, many of the special ed teachers ordered the Unity day shirt and wore it on Unity day. This year, Unity day is being observed on October 18th. The "official" day is 10/19, but we have conferences that day.
There was some interest by staff to order the shirt that SPED teachers had so attached is the link to this year's shirt. I did a group order last year and but people can also order individually if they want to. Just wanted to let you know about the link in case you have an interest in pursuing it with a group or on your own. If the link doesn't work, just google Unity day 2016 and you can get there.
Updating Your User Profile
Your user profile is an important area to fill out and update as necessary. The process is quick and painless and should take less than 5-10 minutes to complete. Accessing your profile is as easy as logging into the district website and following the instructions below. The user profile is important to all staff, but if you are a teacher, your profile is actually linked to the Teacher Directory of your school’s website. The photo you upload will be linked to the directory and to your school email. With this in mind, whenever another staff member, student or parent needs information from the staff directory, they will find it. It’s always good to include the photo of yourself so they can put a face with a name.
Steps to update your user profile:
· Open the district website
· Click “Login” (upper right, left of the Translate box)
· Enter your computer username and password, Click Login
· You will now see your name in this same location
· Click on your name
· You will see a new box open up with 3 tabs: View User, Edit User, and Transcript
· Click “Edit User” tab
· A new display will show with 4 tabs, Click “User Profile” tab
· The USER PROFILE DETAILS box will open up.
· Enter in your “job title”. Example: 2nd Grade Teacher (2-3)
· “Self Description” is a place to say a few things about yourself: education, hobbies, family, etc.
· The “Personal Message” area is a great place to do exactly what it says, leave a message! You can update parents and students with daily, weekly or monthly messages or newsletters. It can be as brief as a couple words, or as long as a few paragraphs. Although Schoology is the location where homework and other primary school items should be entered and accessed, the personal message area is a place that can be viewed by all.
· The Social media, work address, home address are all optional
· The work phone number is recommended, but the other phone numbers are optional
· Moving back up to the top and the “User Photo” tab, you can browse to a photo of yourself on your computer, flash drive, etc. Then just click the “upload” button.
See, just like I said – quick and painless!
Make it fun! Have a contest and see what group or what school can update the most user profiles in one week.
Fundraiser Info:
Sales dates - October 7th thru October 23rd
Committee is being put together to discuss prizes and incentives. Mrs. Bisping is heading the Fundraising Committee.
T-shirts are still available in the office if anyone is interested in purchasing one. Long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts will be available through the online sales.
Apple Classroom
New this year from Apple is a classroom management program called Apple Classroom. The tech team has been researching this new app and linking the information with our campus data. At this time this is in beta test phase. Any teacher that would like to try this can download the classroom app from the app store. This will only work for teachers. It requires course and student rosters.
After the download the app you should see your classes and sections. Before you use this with your class, Students must have Bluetooth enabled on their iPads for you to view their devices.
Have students swipe up on the bottom of the iPad to view the control center and select the Bluetooth icon. No need to disconnect anything when students move from class to class. With the Bluetooth feature students will automatically connect to the teacher in the classroom they are scheduled in.
Here is a video explaining the features of Apple classroom http://www.apple.com/education/products/#ipad-assistant
Note the apple TV and airplay feature shown in the video will not work in our district.
Please also note this is in beta testing only.. Please do not enter a work order for any support with this program at this time. We are making it available for staff who would like to test/try the program. More information and training will be provided at a later date.
Please send me your feedback ! Thanks!
From the desk of Nicole Yochum:
Good Morning,
Suicide prevention is a topic we are beginning to see more and more about state-wide. In fact, the state of MN has put together a comprehensive suicide prevention plan which will be implemented between 2015-2020. As a part of this plan, we will be required to become more educated on suicide prevention.
A training via your Safe Schools account has been added to address our part of the implementation plan. The requirement is for us to have an annual training effective with the 2017/18 academic year; however, we are taking a proactive approach for this serious and important topic. The due date on your account has been set out to December so that everyone has time to take it when it is convenient for each individual.
This same training module has been added to all teachers’ Safe Schools accounts giving them the same message as we do – so that we can all move in the same direction for doing our part in helping to prevent suicides in youth.
Please emphasize the importance of the training with your teachers.
Thanks,
Nicole Yochum | Director of Human Resources
Weekly Calendar
HOMECOMING WEEK
Monday, September 26th
NWEA Math Testing
2:00 pm PST meeting
3:30 pm EL Meeting with MDE (at theHS)
Tuesday, September 27th
7:00 am FMS AVID Team meeting
2:50 pm New Teacher meeting
Wednesday, September 28th
TEAM PLC
Thursday, September 29th
9:00 am Principal PLC w/Colleen C.
3:30 pm Middle School Model meeting
Friday, September 30th
FALCON FUN FRIDAY
7:30 am FMS Tech Committee meeting
Upcoming Events:
Oct. 3 Middle School Model meeting
PTO meeting
Oct. 4 Grading Workshop
District Tech Committee meeting
Oct. 5 Grading Workshop
Para meeting
EARLY OUT
Oct. 6 District Office Open House
SSS Team meeting
Oct. 7 Fundraising Kickoff