French Middle School
March Newsletter 2022
Upcoming Events
- March 4-- Late Night in the Nest for 7/8 grade only from 6:30-8:30pm
- March 9-- School Musical @ 7pm
- March 10-- School Musical @ 7pm
- March 11-- End of 3rd Quarter
- March 13-- Daylight Savings Time--Spring Forward
- March 14--March 18--No School: Spring Break
- March 21-- No School--Grades Due for Quarter 3
- March 22-- Spring Sports Practice Begin
- March 23-- Quarter 3 Grades Posted in TylerSIS
Happy March Falcons! When March arrives we know that spring break and 4th quarter are just around the corner. Our spring break falls March 14-21. Students return to class on March 22nd to begin the final quarter of the school year. Shortly after we return from spring break, we begin our state assessments. Look for our assessment article in this newsletter to obtain testing dates and tips to help your student be prepared.
As we move toward the end of the year it is so important to continue to ensure your student is in school daily. Please stay in regular communication with staff so you can support your child in finishing the year on a positive note. Check our school calendar on our website for any upcoming events. We look forward to flying into spring with your Falcon!
8th Grade Trip Worlds of Fun
It is our plan to take our 8th grade class to Worlds of Fun, Saturday May 7th. This is an event that has been a French Falcon tradition for many years. This trip is a reward for all 8th graders who have demonstrated Falcon PRIDE throughout the 4th quarter. The cost of the trip will be $40 per student.
Eighth graders wishing to attend are expected to meet the following criteria in order to attend: No office referrals, no out of school suspensions, and no tardy detentions. Students must also have at least one eligibility point. The criteria will begin on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 and will continue until Friday, May 6, 2022. Students who purchase a ticket and become ineligible or ill after we ordered tickets, will NOT be reimbursed for their ticket as it is non-refundable through WOF.
Students will need to be at French by 9:45 AM on the day of the trip. We will need time to load the buses. Students will be given ample time to explore the park independently with friends. They will be required to appear at two mandatory “check point” times. Students will need to bring money for lunch. Students will return to French around 7:00 p.m. We will leave and return from the back parking lot at French MS.
Money collection will begin on March 23- April 13th. Payment for the field trip must be paid in advance. Checks should be payable to French Middle School. Please remember that this is a reward for students who meet the criteria, not an absolute for every 8th grader.
If you have further questions, please call your student’s Advisor Base teacher at 438-4150.
***The trip relies on transportation. If we can not secure busing, unfortunately the trip will be cancelled.
After School Program- FAME
We are starting session 5 of our after school program on March 1-31st. Each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday over 100 students continue to enjoy clubs such as football/critical thinking, arts and crafts, legos, Sum Day and Girls on the Run. We also continue to partner with the YMCA and offer swimming two days a week.
Session 5 will conclude March 31. After a few weeks break, our final session will be April 19-May 5. You can find the sign up link on the French Middle School website.
Contact Mrs. Wagner at awagner@tps501.org with any questions.
Parent Teacher Conferences
We concluded our winter parent teacher conferences Feb 16 and 17th with an average attendance rate of 82%. Conferences were conducted via zoom. If you missed meeting with a teacher/teachers, please contact them via email to schedule a time to meet. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the teachers of your student or the office.
Test-Taking Tips
Standardized testing is a significant part of your child's education, typically beginning in 3rd grade. These tests are crucial not only to you and your child, but also to the teachers, administrators, and school your child attends. The stakes can be extremely high for schools as they are given a grade based on how well students perform on these assessments.1
Teachers at French Middle School are dedicated to teaching students the educational standards outlined for each of their content levels by the state of Kansas. Throughout the year, students are checked for learning, and teaching is adjusted to support the needs, as evidenced by those checkpoints. February through April, Kansas assessments bring the challenge to students to show what they have learned, including the KELPA (Kansas English Language Proficiency Assessment) for English language learners, the KAP (Kansas Assessment Program) test, and Scantron Performance Assessments.
This spring’s testing schedule is as follows:
KELPA--February 7-11
KAP Science, 8th Grade--March 28-31
KAP Reading--April 5-6
KAP Math--April 19-20
In order for a student to perform at his or her optimal level on assessments, parents need to ensure that the child gets a decent night's sleep and a good breakfast before taking the test. Failing to get a good night’s rest or good breakfast can cause them to lose focus quickly. Additionally, keeping the stress levels at home to a minimum before taking the assessments will help.
The following test-taking tips can be used to assist your child to perform well on the test. Discussing the importance of these tests with your child will push them to do their best and following these tips can aid in their performance.2
Regarding Directions
Remind students to read and listen to all directions carefully so they understand what is expected of them. Be sure students are familiar with concepts and vocabulary that are traditionally included in directions.
Tackling Multiple Choice Questions
Advise students to read all the answers and to answer any question to which they know the answer immediately.
If they don't know the answer, explain how to eliminate wrong answers and to make educated guesses by using context clues and recognizing detractors--things that are not necessary for answering correctly..
Dealing with Reading Passages
Discuss the merits of reading all the questions associated with a passage before actually reading the passage. Point out that doing so usually helps test-takers focus on relevant points.
Encourage students to highlight or underline key words, phrases, ideas and to go back to the text to find evidence or clues to support the answers.
Remind them to utilize text features — captions, graphs, charts, and illustrations enhance the text and present relevant details.
Approaching Essay Questions
Train students to use graphic organizers, webs, outlines, and/or bulleted lists to help them organize information.
Remind them they can use scratch paper to jot down ideas.
Advise them to read the question carefully so they are sure to target the response appropriately. Their topic sentence should restate the question in some way.
Taking Account of Math Questions
Make sure your child is familiar with basic math-related terms that may appear on the test—area, volume, radius, circumference, sum, product, quotient, etc.
Students may use scratch paper for figuring or drawing diagrams that could help them solve the problem.
Understand that math word problems may provide information that isn’t needed to solve the problem. Seek the information needed and ignore the rest.
In some cases the correct answer can be recognized immediately. In others, estimation can be used.
Remind them that questions may have more than one part and to answer all of them.
Rainbow Fish The Musical will be held at French MS on March 9 & 10 at 7:00pm. Tickets will be $5. This musical features a variety of charming school and sea-creature characters who admire the famous Rainbow Fish, the most beautiful fish in all the ocean. When Rainbow Fish refuses to share their vibrant, shimmering scales, the whole ocean seems to turn against the vain creature. Unhappy that no one adores them anymore, the Rainbow Fish seeks out the wise Octopus. Octopus helps the young fish learn that it’s far better to be admired for being kind than for being beautiful.
Food Service Award
Two kitchens within the district are selected each month to receive the food service award for TPS. Nominations are based on the number of positive things said about each kitchen within buildings. We are very proud of the kitchen staff at French Middle School for receiving the award for the month of February. They accept any challenge asked of them and have pulled together as a team during this difficult year. Our kitchen staff serve our students and staff with a smile each day and strive to feed our students the best quality food they can. The French kitchen staff also provide meals for 3 other elementary schools and one parochial school each day. We thank each of them for their dedication and commitment to Topeka Public Schools and French Middle School.
First Root Project
We are excited to announce that our 7th grade FACS classes will be participating in a new program called First Root. It’s a participatory budgeting program. Through the program students learn about financial literacy. Students will develop ideas for a school improvement project and will choose ideas for our school to vote on. Advisor’s Excel has donated money to fund this project. Students will use an app called First Root where they will get to share ideas and get feedback from others about potential projects. Students will then vote on the project ideas and then work to implement the winning ideas. All students will have a chance to vote for the winning idea through the First Root app. An email will be coming to you soon for you to opt in or out for your student to use the First Root App. If you have any questions please feel free to contact our school counselors, Ms. Barnett, Ms. Ryan, or FACS teacher, Ms. Middleton.
Daughters of American Revolution Winners (DARS)
A big congratulations goes to three of Ms. Schmitz’s ELA students for winning the Daughters of American Revolution essay contest. The topic was “The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”. “November 11, 2021, marked the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Imagine that you had a brother who lost his life on the battlefields of France during World War I. You and your family attended the November 11, 1921, dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C. Describe what this meant to you and your family. Why is it important to remember those who gave their lives to serve our nation?” The chapter winners were 8th grade - Austin Purcell, 7th grade - Elijah Franklin, and 6th grade - Tayla Goodman. The essays were then sent off to State and Elijah Franklin and Tayla Goodman also won the State competition. Congratulations!
Boys Tennis, Boys and Girls Track and Girls Soccer will start March 22nd, the day the students get back from Spring Break. There will be a sign up at lunch and information will be handed out prior to spring break. Students wanting to participate need to be passing 5 classes and have all eligibility points. A sports physical signed by a doctor also needs to be on file before any participant may practice.
Head Coaches-
Boys Tennis- Mr. Ritter (sritter@tps501.org)
Track- Mr. Mellen (bmellen@tps501.org)
Girls Soccer- Ms. Light (tlight@tps501.org)
Requirements for athletics:
Must pass 5 classes the previous quarter to be eligible.
Must have an updated physical signed by a licensed physician and head concussion sheet signed by parents.
Must have eligibility points left for the current quarter, each student starts with 10 points.
Must participate in practice to participate in games/meets.
Must follow the coach's rules and guidelines to be in good standing.
Must be passing all classes the week of a game to be eligible to play in that week's game/meet.
General reminder:
French is a member school of KSHSAA and must follow and abide by the rules and guidelines set by the governing body of KSHSAA.
KSHSAA RULE 22 : A student who is a member of a school athletic, scholars bowl or debate squad effective Tuesday following Labor Day through Friday preceding Memorial Day may not participate as a member of an outside team or as an independent competitor in the same sport, scholars bowl or debate activity.
Athletes in the spring sports of tennis, soccer and track must know and abide by this rule.
All questions to be addressed by Tim Wilson- 438-4162 or twilson@tps501.org
Please see our school website for more detailed information as well as calendar of events.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING DAY IS MARCH 26
At its core, social and emotional learning (SEL) is self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationship skills. The ability to understand and label feelings helps students to communicate their needs and build resilience.
Children are constantly seeing new behaviors in their world, and SEL helps them develop empathy and understanding when others have big feelings too. It also helps children to develop problem solving skills that are necessary for both academic and personal success.
WHY IS SEL IMPORTANT?
Academic learning is a social process, especially in the early years of life. From small group play to explicit instruction time, learning is a social process that requires skills to engage with others. SEL teaches those positive and productive competencies. Effective social and emotional skills have a profound impact on children’s academic and personal success. Studies have shown these skills are linked to academic success and increased positive attitudes towards themselves, peers, and school.
SUMday Math Competition
FMS is excited to have 8 Falcons compete in this year's SUMday math competition. Students will have the opportunity to put their math skills to the test against other 6-8 graders from the Shawnee County area. Practice for the SUMday competition will start March 1st and continue every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday until the competition on Saturday, March 26th. The contest includes 2 tests per grade level: Problem Solving and Geometry. Good luck Falcons!
Chromebook Tips
Some people do spring cleaning around their homes each year, so maybe it would be a good time to do a little cleaning up on our devices too? Here are a couple areas that you might be able to polish in your free time.
Get rid of old emails. Some people do this daily, but if that’s not you, take a few minutes to clear out old emails from your account. You can move items to your trash and still have access to them for 30 days, or you can go ahead and empty the trash and be done with them altogether.
Clean up your bookmarks. Do you have bookmarks that are still on your account from elementary school? The purpose of a bookmark is to make it easy to find something, but if your bookmark list is a mile long, it’s not so easy after all. Just right click on the name of the unwanted bookmark, then scroll down and click on “delete.”
Delete old projects from your Drive. Go to your Google Drive.
GraceMed
GraceMed will be at French Middle School, providing dental cleanings during the school day on Friday May 6th, 2022. If you would like your student to be seen by a hygienist, please complete the following link. A representative from GraceMed will contact you directly with more information. https://gracemed.org/dental-consent
Hearing and Vision Screenings:
Yearly required screenings have now been completed. Any student who did not pass either the hearing or vision screen on the first attempt was screened a second time. If your student did not pass the second attempt, a referral has been mailed to you. Students who do not pass the vision screen are referred to either an optometrist or ophthalmologist for further evaluation. Students who do not pass the hearing screening are referred to an audiologist. The district has an audiologist who can follow up with your student at no cost to our families. If you received a referral, please follow up with Nurse Besenyi as soon as possible. Copies of screening results will be sent home with your student in the near future.
Immunizations for Upcoming 7th Graders
Students who will be entering 7th grade in the 2022/2023 school year are required to have updated immunizations including: Tdap (tetanus booster) and MCV (meningococcal). If your student has already received these immunizations, please send documentation to the nurse at this time. Students will be required to provide proof of immunization within 30 days of the start of school in the fall.
Medications At School
Students are not allowed to carry medications with them during the school day. All medication including prescription and over the counter need to have proper paperwork in place and be kept in the school nurses clinic. (This includes cough drops.) Please contact the school nurse for appropriate forms. Medical Forms and Health information can found at: https://www.topekapublicschools.net/Domain/70
Due to the volume of exposure in our county, all COVID student exposures being reported to Topeka Public Schools are to be reported online by going to TopekaPublicSchools.net. This process will allow us to address the current parent COVID needs and allow nurses to carry out their regular school duties and meet daily student needs. Please click on the link labeled Reporting a COVID-19 Exposure, which is on our main web page. Based on the information parents provide, an emailed response will be given informing you of the date your child can return to school and your child's school principal and nurse will be notified.
Families are asked to complete the self-reporting form for any COVID exposure. If a parent does not have internet access, they can call the COVID-19 reporting line at 785-438-HELP (785-438-4357) to report a COVID exposure. Schools will redirect families to the form on our web page or to the number to call.
If a student is experiencing any ONE or more of the symptom listed above they must:
Students must have a negative PCR test before they can return to school
Negative antigen tests will not be accepted. (Negative home tests will not be accepted)
Covid “Rapid Antigen” tests and “Rapid PCR” tests are now available for students through the Test to Stay, Learn, Play and Participate program. Before a student can be tested, a completed Consent form must be on file with the school nurse. These tests can be performed at school when supplies are available. (Please call before sending a student to be tested by the nurse to assure testing supplies are available at that time.) Forms can be signed electronically through Tyler SIS Parent Portal or a paper copy can be obtained from the school nurse. Parents will be contacted prior to any testing being done.
One consent form per student per school year.
Type of test will be determined by symptoms, exposure or individual situation.
Students with a negative test result may still need to be excluded from school based on symptoms and exclusion policy (i.e. fever, vomiting, etc.)
Shawnee County Testing Partners
For a complete list of testing options in Shawnee County and more information on how to schedule a test, visit : https://www.snco.us/HD/testing_options.asp#
KDHE has set up two COVID-19 community mass testing sites in Shawnee County. The following Sites are operational Monday – Friday during the hours listed below and closed on holidays: Please refrain from any food or drink (including water) at least 15 minutes before your test to avoid inconclusive results. All tests administered at these sites will be QuickSal Oral Rinse PcR tests.
Former Slumberland Furniture Store - 1800 SW Wanamaker Rd
Hours: 7:00am - 6:00pm
Click Here to Complete Online Registration
This location is an indoor walk-up testing location.
Southwest Publishing - 4000 SE Adams St
Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Click Here to Complete Online Registration
This location is an indoor walk-up testing location.
Appointments are not necessary, but are recommended. Individuals can complete the online registration process prior to arrival by clicking the site links above.
French Middle School
Kendra Besenyi, LPN
Ph: (785) 438-4156
Fax: (785) 271-3609
Email: kbesenyi@tps501.orgBullying Policy
French Middle School will not tolerate bullying of any kind. Bullying is defined as any ongoing verbal or physical mistreatment where there is an imbalance of power, and the target/victim is exposed repeatedly to negative actions by one or more students. Bullying can be direct (physical or verbal), or indirect (exclusion, cyber-bullying, emotional). In order for everyone to feel safe and secure at school, every Topeka Public School has adopted the following rules against bullying. “I will not bully others. I will try to help students who are bullied. I will do my best to include students who are easily left out. When I know somebody is being bullied, I will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.” Students, staff, and parents should report any bullying that they are aware of to administration through the on-line bully report link on the French website. Students who bully others will receive consequences. Our counselors will be visiting 6th, 7th and 8th grade classes in August and September to remind students what bullying is, what we can do to prevent bullying, and what students should do if they or someone else is being bullied.
NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program or activity provided by the school district. The Title VI and Title IX compliance coordinator is the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching/Learning/Administration. The Section 504/Title II compliance coordinator is the Coordinator of College and Career Ready Services. For employment, the EEO/AA officer is the General Director of Human Resources. All compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3045 or by writing to 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294.