FMS BLAST
January 10, 2022
Dear Parents:
Well, it didn’t take long for us to be bombarded with the omicron variant here at FMS. We anticipated this but were, of course, hopeful we wouldn’t have been hit so hard and so soon! Please continue to pay attention to the information being sent out by the district and school on the Covid updates as information is continuously changing. We will do our very best to keep all families informed with the information that is needed.
We know that your child having to miss school due to illness and/or quarantining is stressful. We are committed to doing our best to keep them from falling behind in their academics. Remember their health is the foremost concern. Teachers keep the assignment information updated on their teacher websites or on Google Classroom for those teachers who use this format. Have your student access these means for assignments. Please reach out to your child’s teachers and counselor if you have any questions about assignments so your child isn’t too far behind when they return.
As some of our staff is starting to contract omicron, too, we will be doing our best to keep coverage for absent staff. This can prove to be difficult depending on the number of staff members who could possibly be out at one time. Keeping this in mind, we ask that all guardians and parents be patient with our office staff as they are working extremely hard to keep up with the demand. We will get through this surge but, until then, we will work together with families to support your children if they do succumb to the illness. We will remain hopeful that the surge will be quick and the restrictions that are back in place will help to alleviate the continuance of restrictions in the future.
Please feel free to reach out for any questions. I am committed to working with all stakeholders to make this difficult time as smooth as possible.
Warm Regards,
Dr. Terri Daniels
****Winter i-Ready assessments are taking place on campus this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please, if your child has earbuds or headphones have them bring them to school on these days for the testing. Your help with this is greatly appreciated. More information on the assessments is below under SCHOOL MATTERS.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ELAC) MEETING: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12TH AT 6:00 P.M. VIA ZOOM
Please join us this coming Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. for our next ELAC meeting. The FMS ELAC focuses on the needs of our students who are designated as English Learners. If you are a parent of an EL student, we encourage you to attend for important information that impacts your child. Please utilize the link below to participate in the meeting. Mark your calendars. We hope to see you (virtually) at the meeting.
VERY IMPORTANT PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT COMING TO FMS (UPDATED INFORMATION: PLEASE READ) THIS MEETING WILL NOW BE HELD VIA ZOOM!
The danger of fentanyl is very real, and our children are not immune to this risk. In fact, they are ripe for the possibility and the threat is affecting more and more middle and high school students in America. We want to make sure parents and students are aware of the dangers and how prevalent this issue is in our area. DON’T THINK IT ISN’T HAPPENING. BE INFORMED.
Please plan to join us for a parent information night with the Didier’s* on Tuesday, January 25th at 6:30 p.m. NOW VIA ZOOM. This meeting is geared toward PARENTS ONLY. Plan to zoom in without your children present. We will be holding future opportunities on campus to inform students of the dangers of fentanyl AFTER the parent night. Please mark your calendars. This is an extremely important message to hear.
*Chris and Laura Didier lost their 17’year old son, Zach, to fentanyl in 2020. Their mission is to share the message of the dangers of fentanyl on our youth and to help parents to be aware and informed. Please watch this short video shared by the Didier’s and plan to join us for the parent informational night on January 25th.
UPCOMING PARENT CHAT WITH THE PRINCIPAL
This is an opportunity for parents to ask administration any questions that may be on your mind. We understand there is still so much uncertainty as we are starting semester 2 with stricter Covid restrictions and there are a lot of questions about upcoming activities. We will be glad to answer all questions as best we can in this format. Plan to join in the zoom on February 8th!
WINTER i-READY ASSESSMENTS THIS WEEK
All students will take their reading and math i-Ready assessments on Tuesday (1/11) and Wednesday (1/12) in their advisory classes. (THAT IS THIS WEEK). These are districtwide assessments that students take 3 times a year to provide important information to help measure their academic progress. Please help us out by making sure your child is in attendance, if possible, and on time to their advisory class on these dates.
IF YOUR CHILD IS OUT ILL OR DUE TO QUARANTINE, WE WILL HAVE THEM MAKE UP THESE ASSESSMENTS WHEN THEY RETURN TO CAMPUS.
Please encourage your child to do their best on these assessments. These are not graded but we do use the results as a measure of their competency which does affect their class placements for the following school year, even as our 8th graders leave for high school, the results are important. WE DO ASK THAT STUDENTS BRING THEIR OWN EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES FOR THE ASSESSMENTS, IF POSSIBLE. THANK YOU.
UPDATE ON STUDENT COVID TESTING KITS
Testing kits (one for each student) were sent home with your child if they were present on Friday 1/7/22 in their 7th period class. If your child was absent that day, we will make sure they receive their kit. WE RECEIVED EXACTLY ONE KIT FOR EACH STUDENT. Due to this, we are being very vigilant on how we pass these kits out as we need to document that each student had the kit in their hands. This is the reason why we did not allow parents to pick up the kits or siblings to take an extra kit, etc. We recognize this made some parents concerned on Friday if their child was not on campus. For those students we will have an organized means of distributing their tests. This is to ensure we do not overlook ANY student. The distribution on Friday went extremely smooth and we want to ensure that the same happens with the students who did not receive theirs. Please be patient as the office staff is directed on how to effectively do the distribution. They are following protocol and we appreciate your understanding and kindness with them as they are doing their job efficiently.
UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING CLUBS ON CAMPUS!!
Please note there will be no clubs meeting in-person on campus until further notice due to the increase in Covid cases. It is up to the advisor if the meetings are completely cancelled or will be moved to online during this period. Please make sure your student is aware of what the advisor of the club plans to do. We hope this will be a short- term circumstance.
EXCEPTION: THE T/TH HOMEWORK CLUB WITH MISS IRENE AND MISS NANCY AND THE TUTORING WITH THE VDL STUDENTS ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOONS WILL MOVE FORWARD AS IS. THESE GROUPS WILL CONTINUE TO MEET IN PERSON UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTIFIED.
***As of now, our sports program is still moving forward. This could be subject to change, and we will inform athletes if this should happen. Thank you.
If your child is going to be on Independent Study at any time it is important to read the following:
Independent Study is a contract! It is extremely important that the protocols are followed in the contract. Before signing, the parent and student should READ the contract. Independent Study is audited by the state and, if not followed according to the contract, it becomes null and void.
One thing that is CRITICAL is that if the student returns to campus before the final date of the contract, all work done during the Independent Study becomes void and they will not get attendance credit. So, if you return from a trip, etc. prior to the date on the contract, your child SHOULD NOT RETURN TO CAMPUS UNTIL THE DATE INDICATED. So many parents this school year have sent their child back early. We know this is not something that parents may have known, but in doing so the contract is then null and void. Doing so is something we cannot adjust at our level.
SO PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT AND DO NOT SEND YOUR STUDENT BACK EARLY. If you have any questions about this, please contact Dr. Daniels. She is happy to explain in more detail. Again, this is a state requirement. We are not at liberty to make any changes to this regulation. Thank you for your attention to this if your child will be accessing Independent Study at any time.
*YOU NEED TO RETURN THE INDEPENDENT STUDY PACKAGE IN FRONT OFFICE ON THE DUE DATE!
FMS 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR REGISTRATION WILL START ON jANUARY 10TH
PLEASE SEE ATTACHED INFORMATIONAL LETTER AND RETURNING STUDENT REGISTRATION FORM FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
NEW STORE ON CAMPUS
The Equality for All Club is opening a store on campus in which students will have the opportunity to shop for clothing and shoes for free. The store will be called The JagRack. Our Club is asking for age appropriate clothing and shoe donations to help get The JagRack up and running. Please bring gently used clothing or shoes (no permanent stains or holes) to room 107 (right next to the office). We’ll be collecting clothes year round. Any further questions, please email the Club Advisor, Heidi Staggs hstaggs@fcusd.org.
Topic: January PTO Board Meeting
Time: Jan 10, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time
Meeting ID: 843 2076 8212
Passcode: 047308
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FOLSOM MIDDLE SCHOOL
Website: www.fcusd.org/fms
Location: 500 Blue Ravine Road, Folsom, CA, USA
Phone: 916-294-9040
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fms.pto