FMS Update 9.3.23

Good evening, Trojan Families!

There is no school tomorrow in honor of the Labor Day holiday. We will see all our Trojan Scholars bright and early Tuesday morning.

We had a great first week of school! Thank you for being so supportive. As a reminder, our school day begins at 8:20 a.m. and ends at 3:20 p.m. 8:00 a.m. is the earliest drop-off time, and students must be picked up by 3:40 p.m. Students are late after 8:20, and the student entrances will be closed. Parents will need to park and walk late students in through the main entrance after 8:20 a.m.

This year, all middle schools began using entry scanners. The scanning system moved quickly last week, but as a reminder, please ensure students do not bring binders, umbrellas, or hard/metal eyeglass cases. Those items slow down scanning, and we would like to get students quickly through the entry process each morning. We ask that parents and students opt for composition books, notebooks, raincoats, and ponchos instead.

One Cards have been provided to every student and are required for student entry. Please remind your student to bring their OneCard daily.

6th Grade Updates

Our 6th-grade students had a great week! Together, we navigated the middle school schedule, changed classes with the support of teachers and staff,played get to know you games, and learned all about middle school! 6th graders received a treat at the end of the week for showing up as their best all week!

We look forward to being able to reward learning and excellent behavior all year long. We are delighted to have your students with us and look forward to having another great week.

🧑‍🎓6th Grade Parent Question of the Week

Ask your student this question to spark conversation at home.

"What is your favorite class and what do you like about it?"

-Mrs. Kinard and Ms. Sherrod

7th Grade Updates

We have completed our first week of school! Students received the a syllabus each of their classes that informs parents/guardians of what they are learning this year. Please be sure that you sign and return the parent/student agreement page. As we enter week two we will be holding grade-level expectation meetings for students. Students will receive important information about our school-wide expectations. Thank you for encouraging your students to make responsible choices at school!

8th Grade Updates

Our 8th-grade students got off to a great start last week. The 8th-grade team is looking forward to this continuing momentum into week two. Your students are being asked each week to arrive on time and meet all class and school expectations. Please encourage this as well. Your students are beginning to receive grades in PowerSchool, so please begin to monitor this and reach out to the teacher if you have any questions. Thank you again for all you are doing to make sure this year is a success for our 8th-grade students!

Seventh-graders are required by state law to get an updated Tdap vaccination if five or more years have passed since their last dose. They are also required to have an MCV vaccine. Your student will be asked to show proof of having the Tdap shot and MCV shot when they start school in August. If they don’t get the vaccine and show documentation of it, schools are required by law to suspend them.

To facilitate seamless communication and timely updates about your child's transportation, we encourage all parents and guardians to claim their PowerSchool Parent Portal account. The

PowerSchool Parent Portal will serve as a valuable resource to access essential transportation information for your child. By activating your account, you will have access to bus route details and detailed information about your child's designated bus route, including pick-up and drop-off times, bus numbers and route stops.

To get started with the PowerSchool Parent Portal, please follow these simple steps:

1. Visit www.gcsnc.com/Page/17246

2. Click on the "PowerSchool Parent Portal" link.

3. Follow the instructions to create your account or log in if you already have one.

4. Access the "Transportation" section to view your child's bus details.

In addition to the PowerSchool Parent Portal, we highly recommend downloading the "Here Comes the Bus" app, available for both iOS and Android devices. This user-friendly app will provide you with real-time tracking, allowing you to monitor your child's bus location and estimated arrival time conveniently from your smartphone, and will be available for tracking on August 28.

To download the "Here Comes the Bus" app, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).

2. Search for "Here Comes the Bus."

3. Install the app on your device.

4. Sign in using the same credentials as your PowerSchool Parent Portal account.

We are committed to ensuring the well-being and security of all our students during their daily commute. If you encounter any difficulties or have questions regarding the transportation process, please feel free to reach out to our Transportation Call Center at (888) 511-4GCS (4427). Thank you for your partnership in making this school year a successful and enriching one for our students.

Teachers will award each student ClassCraft points this year for meeting classroom and schoolwide expectations and showing Positive Attitude, Respect, Integrity, Dependability, and Excellence (PRIDE). PRIDE is our school wide acronymn for Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS).

ClassCraft points will allow your student to receive multiple incentives throughout the year. You, too, can award your students points when they are showing PRIDE outside of school and monitor your student behavior by creating a ClassCraft account. Please review the attachment to learn how to get started, or click on the image to receive video instructions.

The first week of school was terrific. Students were engaged and prepared to learn. We look forward to kicking week 2 off just as great.

⭐Helpful Tips for Students:

Middle school is a fantastic place to make new friends and get to know yourself better before deciding what to do with the rest of your life. Because so many aspects of your life change, it may also be challenging. New acquaintances are being made. There are additional options and choices to consider. You now have many teachers instead of spending the entire day in one classroom with one teacher. You must now switch between classrooms for each subject because you can no longer remain in one classroom all day. There will be additional demands placed on you.

Here are some pointers to help you make the move to middle school.

Do Your Homework:

You will have more homework.

Schedule your time wisely.

Allot a certain amount of time every night for homework and study.

Don’t wait until an assignment is due - start early.

Keep track of your homework assignments and their due dates.

If you are absent, check CANVAS for missed work and check in with your teachers the day you return.

Math Curriculum Information

Hello Ferndale Families. We had a great first week of Math last week and are excited to build on the Math Momentum for this week.

6th Grade Math, taught by Dr. Li and Ms. Spears, will continue to focus on the Area and Decomposing Parallelograms into Right Triangles

7th Grade Math, taught by Mr. Lee and Ms. Rudesill, will continue to focus on how Scale Factors Make Figures Larger or Smaller

8th Grade Math, taught by Ms. Clarke-Huie and Ms. Spears, will continue to focus on Math Transformations...Translations, Reflections, Rotations, and Dilations

Math 1, taught by Ms. Clarke-Huie, will continue to focus on Arithmetic and Geometric Sequencing.

Math 2, taught by Ms. Clarke-Huie and Dr. Cole, will continue to focus on Math Transformations...Translations, Reflections, Rotations, and Dilations

Thanks so much for your continued support.

Dr. Cole

ELA Curriculum Information

⭐ELA

Reading is like slipping inside a character's body and experiencing life from their perspective. Reading allows one to travel across time, experience the present more fully, and get a look into the future. Reading helps us better understand ourselves by gaining knowledge about and empathy for others. Students from all cultures and ethnicities need access to literature that reflect the many demographics and ways of life in our nation and throughout the world in order to read the world. This week 6th grade classes shared their thoughts regarding the current 6th-grade reading text (Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief). This has been an engaging text that the students have thoroughly enjoyed reading. Listed below are questions that you can share with your student to extend their learning at home.

1. Describe the setting for most of Chapter One.

2. What impression have you formed of Nancy Bobofit thus far in the novel? Why?

Parents, please join Ms. Price's 8th Grade Science class on Remind! This is a great way to stay connected with what is going on in your child's Science Class.

https://www.remind.com/join/4dd6f9?utm_medium=ios

10 Tips on Supporting Your Child's Success in School

As a parent, you can support your child to reinforce this important family-school partnership. To help prepare your children for school readiness to stay on track and expand their learning opportunities:

• Set up a daily family routine, including healthy eating and sleeping habits
• Provide a place and time at home for homework
• Check on assignments, homework and projects
• Talk each day with your child about his/her activities
• Promote literacy by reading to your child and by reading yourself
• Limit and monitor TV watching, gaming, social media and computer time
• Express high expectations and standards for your child’s learning
• Attend parent-teacher conferences, Open House and Back-To-School events
• Participate in decisions that affect your child’s education
• Tap into community resources with visits to a library, museum, zoo or theater and encourage participation in after-school clubs, sports and art activities

FMS Cheer

Congrats to our Ferndale 2023-2024 cheer team!

Practice will be Tuesday - Thursday 3:40 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

FMS Volleyball

Volleyball will host tryouts Wednesday (9/6) and Thursday (9/7) from 3:40 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

FMS Soccer

Soccer will continue with tryouts Tuesday (9/5) and Thursday (9/7) from 3:40 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

FMS Football

Football will continue tryouts Tuesday (9/5) - Friday (9/8) from 3:40 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

*Boys Soccer and Girls Volleyball games scheduled for the Septembet 11th have been postponed.

Students must have a updated physical to tryout and participate in sports. Students should bring a appropriate change of clothes and athletic shoes, water, and any other materials specified by the coaching staff.

Students will meet their coaches in the big gym when released at dismissal. Students will need athletic clothing and proper footwear. Students must have a current physical and concussion form to participate. Forms may be obtained by clicking the following link NCHSAA Participation Forms. If you have any questions, please contact Coach Hayes at (336) 819-2855 or email hayesm3@gcsnc.com.

🚘🚘All athletes should be picke-up at the gym entrance located on the Chestnut St. side of the school.

Website: https://www.gcsnc.com/ferndale_middle
Location: 701 Ferndale Boulevard, High Point, NC, USA
Phone: 336-819-2855
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FerndaleTrojanPride
Twitter: @fmstrojanpride