Happy Sunday 'Yotes! This will be the last Coyote Connection for the 22-23 school year.

This week is full of many fun events including a 6th grade field trip, quarter 4 celebrations, yearbook distribution, locker clean-out, field day, and our 8th grade recognition program. Be reminded that Wednesday and Thursday are half days of school. Lunches are not served and school is dismissed at 11:35am. Please be patient these last two days regarding buses as they are often late for afternoon dismissal. As we close out year 2 @ the Creek, I want to thank everyone for their continued support as we worked together to make FCMS the best school ever! An extra special thank you goes out to all of the staff and parent volunteers who helped make our 8th grade dance a huge success Friday! Our 'Yotes looked fantastic and couldn't have been more excited to attend! It has been a privilege to serve as the Principal at Forest Creek Middle School. I hope you all have a fantastic summer.

Go 'Yotes!

Christine McNeil

Last weekend, Mrs. Pruett (school counselor) and I ran the Detective Doty Memorial 5K Race:

About this event - from (www.runsignup.com/Race/SC.FortMill/DetectiveMikeDotyMemorialRun)

Detective Michael “Mike” Doty, who served the York County community for 12 years, was one of four deputies shot searching for a domestic violence suspect in York on January 16, 2018. A day later he passed away. He was an investigator with the York County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit and was the Law Enforcement Officer Narcan (LEON) Program coordinator for the sheriff’s office. He was also a member of the YCSO SWAT Entry Team, as well as an associate advisor for the York County Explorer Post 1786.

Your participation in this race will directly benefit Keystone. Keystone was established in 1969 as a private, not-for-profit organization that serves as the Act 301 (1973) substance abuse authority in York County, South Carolina. Keystone offers nationally accredited and licensed services including education, prevention, and treatment (both outpatient and inpatient) -- to meet the needs of individuals, families, and groups in York County and surrounding areas experiencing alcohol and/or drug-related problems.

At the conclusion of the event, Mrs. Pruett and I visited some of the vendors. Something that stood out to me was these two pencil pouches showing how easy it is for students to hide their vape devices in plain site. I asked if I could take photos of them to share with our families. So...Can you spot the vapes? Not only are these vapes marketed to teens with their fruity flavors, but their colorful packaging makes them appealing to teens and easy to hide from the adults in their lives who care about them.

Want more info: https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/02/vaping-rises-among-teens

Talk to Your Teen about e-cigarettes: https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/documents/SGR_ECig_ParentTipSheet_508.pdf

Monday - True FLEX

Tuesday - Character Strong #34 (Final Lesson)

Wednesday - None. HALF DAY SCHEDULE & Field Day

Thursday - None. HALF DAY SCHEDULE & 8th Grade Recognition Program

Congratulations to our final Coyotes of the Month. These students were chosen as students who spread joy wherever they go! Pictures will be on our FCMS webpage soon.

• Event parking will be our outer lane of the car rider line along with the athletic parking areas. Please be sure not to block the entrance/exit to the athletic area (baseball parking).
• Overflow parking will be in the front lot where our staff parks and our bus lot. The bus lot will not be open for parking until the outer car rider lane and other areas are filled.
• We will open the doors to the gym (door 17) for parents and guests at 8:30am. All parents will enter at the gym doors (door 17) facing the front parking area which includes a sidewalk. Parents may line up there for entrance. Do not use the main entrance.
• Both sets of bleachers will be available for seating. I would like for everyone to be seated and not standing in doorways for safety reasons.
• The program will last roughly an hour.
• I am respectfully asking parents/families not to clap, shout, or otherwise make noises of any kind while we read our students’ names during the ceremony. These disruptions delay the program and often prevent the audience (specifically parents/families) of the following student’s name to be heard. There will be a time to applaud and celebrate our 8th grade students at the end of the program.
• Please be considerate of elderly guests/grandparents/those with disabilities that might struggle using bleacher stairs and give them the opportunity to sit on the front row. There are some designated wheelchair areas at the bottom of our bleachers.
• Student dress for this event is "business casual." Often, our students will wear school appropriate informal dresses, khakis/dress pants, collared shirts, dress shirts (tucked in), and not blue jeans. Some students will wear sports coats with ties, but that is not necessary.

May Installment (Part 2): SUMMER READING

Reading over the summer is absolutely critical when it comes to helping your student retain the information they’ve learned over the course of the school year. And that is why ALL middle schools in the Fort Mill School District require students to read! Please see the following slideshow with important summer reading information:

FCMS and CRHS SUMMER READING INFORMATION (2023)

Because these books may be difficult to find at the library, you may want to try SORA, Libby, or Hoopla (you will need a library card for Libby and Hoopla) so your student can grab their first-choice book! And don’t wait until the last minute- some of the titles are super popular and already have a bit of a waitlist.

Once your student reads their book, have them fill out the Google Form (for FCMS ONLY, NOT Catawba Ridge students) so we can give their ELA teachers the information they need. There is no other summer assignment for the book (except reading). Instead, ELA teachers will have students complete an activity during the second week of school.

One of my favorite things to do is grab an audio version of the book from one of the apps listed above and listen to it in the car with my kids! It becomes a fun family event! Just remember this list is for middle school students- there is another list for elementary age kiddos!

Happy summer reading!

Melissa Grupp

Literacy Specialist

Forest Creek Middle School

Please use the link below to vote to approve next year’s PTO board!

Thank you for supporting the Forest Creek Middle School PTO this school year!

You should have received an email with the link for re-registration for the 23-24 school year. Please be extra careful reviewing your emergency contacts. Be sure to remove any that you no longer need and verify that you have the correct phone number for those you are using. We do not need mailing addresses or emails for your emergency contacts.

IF you have moved during the school year, please make sure you submit your correct proof of address to the school.

IF you know you are moving over the summer, please fill out the FCMS withdrawal form and email it to me at madsenm@fortmillschools.org so that I have it on file.

Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Mrs. Madsen

Email: madsenm@fortmillschools.org

Summer School will be held at Fort Mill Middle School. The dates are June 5-8 and June 12-15. Students needing only one subject will attend 8am-12pm. Students needing to complete 2 subjects will attend 8-12pm and 12:30-4:30pm. In order to be promoted to the next grade level, students must pass all four core subjects.

For our rising 6th graders, Band is the only related arts class that is specifically chosen by the student/parent. All other related arts courses are assigned randomly for a 9 weeks period with the exception of PE, which is 18 weeks, and is taken by all students every year. The other related arts courses include Theater, Chorus, Spanish, Computers, FACS, Art, and Gateway to Technology.

Please view This Presentation with your Coyote to help decide if Band is the right choice for your student.

Please complete the google form that is found at the end of the presentation related to your student choosing to participate in Band or NO BAND next school year. We need this form completed for every rising 6th grade student.

You can access that form here as well as in the presentation: Rising 6th Grade Band Registration Form

We need this form completed for every 6th grade student by tomorrow!

May 23 - Yearbook distribution / 8th grade Recognition Practice

May 24 - Field Day (Half-Day)

May 25 - 8th grade Recognition Program (FCMS gym) @ 9:00am (doors will open at 8:30am) / Half-Day

August 3rd - Run with the P.A.C.K (Optional Summer Transition Program for Rising 6th Graders [9am-12pm] $20 in Pay Fees

***August 16 - Meet the Teacher Night @ FCMS 6-7:30pm***

August 21 - First Day of the 2023-2024 School Year

1) If your child has medication in the health room this year, please remember to pick up the medication by the last day of school. School district policy is that any medications left in the health room will be properly disposed of if not picked up. They will not be stored over the summer.

2) Rising 7th graders need to have a Tdap booster shot on or after their 10th birthday to attend school per SC DHEC. Please check with your child’s doctor to make sure that they are up to date with all of their immunizations. Please provide an updated immunization record to the school nurse if you have not already done so. You may email immunization records to Nurse Donna at hassends@fortmillschools.org

Christine V. McNeil, Principal

Website: https://fcms.fortmillschools.org/
Location: 2212 White Road Fort Mill SC 29715
Phone: 803-396-3450
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forestcreekmiddleschool

Click image to the left to take you to our 2022-2023 SIC Report to Parents.