Falcon Middle School Check-In Days
July 21 & 22, 2021
NOTE: THERE ARE UPDATES & CHANGES TO THE DATES BELOW - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Students and parents will be able to complete various tasks to get ready for the 21-22 school year. We look forward to seeing you at FMS on one of these days!
This newsletter contains information related to all of the items that will be available to complete on these Check-In days. Please review the information contained below carefully, download and complete any forms, and bring these completed with you to expedite the process when you come to FMS.
Information Contained in this Special Edition:
- Mark your Calendars
- Welcome Back from our Executive Principal
- 21-22 Student Schedules
- Locker Information
- Updating Contact and Emergency Information
- Health Information
- Lunch Accounts
- School Pictures
- Student ID's, PBIS Rewards, Yearbooks
- PTSA
- Purchase your Firebird Gear
Mark your Calendars: **(recent updates made - read carefully)
- CHECK-IN DAYS: Wednesday, July 21st from 10am-5pm or Thursday July 22nd from 7am-12pm
- Monday, August 2nd: 6th Grade Students First Day at FMS 7:50am - 3:00pm
- Monday, August 2nd: Brand New 7th & 8th Grade Students 8:00am - 10:00am
- Monday, August 2nd: 6th Grade Parents & New 7th/8th Grade Parents Reception 8:00am - 9:30am
- Tuesday, August 3rd: First Official Day for ALL Students
- BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT: Wednesday, August 11th (4:00-5:45pm - Food Trucks available if you would like to purchase dinner), 5:45-7:00pm - Presentation and Class Rotations)
- Athletics Parent Information Meeting: Wednesday, August 11th - 7:10pm (after Back to School Night)
(Click here for the District 49 2021-22 School Year Calendar)
Welcome Back Firebird Nation!
Greetings Firebird Nation Families -
The 21-22 School Year is here! I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer and continues to do so over these next couple of weeks! The first days of school will arrive soon and we wanted to send this special edition newsletter to help everyone get ready for the big days!
I want to extend a special welcome to all of our new 6th grade students, as well as families that are new to Firebird Nation overall! Falcon Middle School is a special place. Our staff is truly the Finest Middle School Staff in the United States of America. We work hard to build strong positive relationships with our students and support them through their middle school years as we ready them for high school. I also want to welcome back all of our returning 7th and 8th grade students! You have worked hard over the past couple of years, especially through the pandemic, and we look forward to all coming together as one Firebird Nation Family to look out for each other and support each other as we continue on our educational adventure together.
We are committed to working with YOU! At FMS, we want to know how to best support our students, our families, and school community. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or positives to share, then we want to hear from you! Each grade level has a grade level administrator and counselor that work together to lead their grade level. This team follows their group of students beginning in 6th grade all of the way up through 8th grade. So, they really get to know their class of students. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us if we can help in any way. It takes an entire school community to communicate and work together as we help our students navigate these middle school years. Below, I have included contact information for each of our administrators and counselors so that you can reach out to us if you have any questions.
Please make sure to read through this special edition newsletter very carefully. We have lots of details included for our Check-In days and other information that will help you and your student(s) start the year strong. We look forward to seeing all of our 6th grade students and students brand new to FMS on August 2nd. We will then see all students (including all 7th and 8th grade students) on August 3rd! I hope everyone continues to enjoy their last few weeks of summer break as you get ready for another awesome year at Firebird Nation! Let's continue to RISE Together!
Sincerely,
Brian Smith
Executive Principal
Falcon Middle School
Elena Forehand
FMS Athletics & Activities Director
Tim Scheck
Assessment & School Safety Administrator
Joy Kovanda
Special Education Administrator
Lisa Murdock
Carrie Clay
Amber Villani
Pick Up your 21-22 Class Schedule
Schedules will be available for pick up at the Check-In days from your grade level counselor. You will also be able to download or view a copy through your PowerSchool Student Portal or Parent Portal beginning July 21, 2021 as well. Schedules will not be finalized until the Check-In days begin, so anything that is viewed through the portal prior to these dates is likely incorrect. Counselors spend a great deal of time their first few days back looking over each student's schedule to ensure they are scheduled in classes that will best meet their academic needs.
Please remember that students are all assigned a grade level team. This year, we will have 2 teams at each grade level (Red and Gold). Teams are assigned randomly. For our incoming 6th grade students, we work to jumble all students from all four of our elementary feeder schools onto the these teams to help students meet many new people. It is our goal that we bring all four schools together as one new Firebird class of 6th grade students.
Teams have a Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies teacher that all share the same group of students. Teams work to plan interdisciplinary units and develop common classroom policies to help students get used to expectations. Due to our limitations toward balancing class sizes and meeting student needs, we are not able to accommodate team switches at this time. Remember that everyone in the grade level shares a common lunch time and our Explore classes are composed of students from both teams. This helps students to be able to meet lots of new people, while also having some time to see friends from past years as well.
Explore classes are classes like Art, Music, PE, Spanish, etc. In 6th grade and during the first two quarters of 7th grade, our counselors work to help students take all of the different offerings so that they can see what classes they like. Band is an exception to this as this class is a full year long class in all three grade levels. After students have an opportunity to experience all of the different offerings in 6th and the first part of 7th grades, they will then be able to choose which Explore classes they would like to take for an entire semester. Counselors work with students during the later part of 7th grade and all of 8th grade to determine which specialized explore classes would best enrich their future academic study.
For Advisory, students will be assigned a class with a teacher for the entire year. This class serves as a "homeroom" and focuses their time on relationship building and social-emotional health. Students participate in activities geared towards developing resilience, solving problems, and supporting others.
If you have any questions about your schedule, please talk with your grade level counselor.
Lockers
Lockers are Optional for the 21-22 school year.
Families may choose if they would like their student to have a locker to store their belongings or if they would just like for students to keep their belongings with them during the day. We found as we navigated the pandemic over the past year, that many students preferred just keeping their belongings with them versus dealing with a locker. So we wanted to provide this opportunity again this year, but also allow for students to have a locker if they choose.
Remember that having a locker is a responsibility and a privilege. It is the student's responsibility to take care of their locker and use it appropriately. Lockers can be taken away for misuse. Each grade level administrator supervises the lockers for their grade level. Our Teams will also work with students on the appropriate times that students should be using their lockers.
Please complete the online form through the button below if you wish to obtain a locker for the 21-22 school year. During the Check-In days, we will look for this form submission and assign you a locker at that time so that you can see where it is and practice your combination!
Health Office Information
Please print and bring the Annual Health Information Form for 21-22 with you during your Check-In. We will have additional blank copies available at the health table as well if needed. It is important for our Health Office Team to have the most up-to-date information for your students.
During Check-In, you can also turn in updated vaccination records, check in medications, and talk with members of our Health Office Team.
Lunch Accounts
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School Pictures - Yearbook Photos
If you are not able to attend one of the Check-In days, then we will have a retake photo opportunity on September 22nd. It is highly important that all students have their picture taken on either the Check-In days or on retake day so that the picture is included in the yearbook and for students to receive their Student ID.
Student ID Cards
Firebirds RISE!
Parents - We will be sending out information for the parent app later so that you can connect and see the points your student(s) are earning as well. Watch for more information soon!
Updating Contact and Emergency Information
If the changes you need to make include a mailing address or name change, you must provide proper documentation to the school in order to make the changes.
You can also contact us at that email if you need help with logging into Parent Portal.
PTSA (Parent, Teacher, Student Association)
We want everyone to get involved! PTSA is a great way to help out the Firebird Nation Community. Would you like to volunteer at the school? Would you like to help out at athletic or special events? Want to help problem solve issues that arise or create new programs at the school? If you answered yes to any of the questions and/or you just want to know what all is happening at FMS...then PTSA is for you! Our Principal really values the partnership with our PTSA and wants to continue to network with this group to continue to improve FMS. We hope you will join this important community group at our school.
Looking for Firebird Gear?
Falcon Middle School
6th Grade Assistant Principal/Athletic Director: Elena Forehand
7th Grade Assistant Principal: Tim Scheck
8th Grade Assistant Principal: Joy Kovanda
6th Grade Counselor: Lisa Murdock
7th Grade Counselor: Carrie Clay
8th Grade Counselor: Amber Villani
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FMS Summer Office Hours (July 19-28)
8:00am-2:00pm
Normal FMS Office Hours (starting July 29)
7:15am-3:30pm
Email: fms@d49.org
Website: https://www.d49.org/fms
Location: 9755 Towner Avenue, Peyton, CO, USA
Phone: 719-495-5232