FTMS West Flashes
May 2016
May Dates to Remember
May 3rd-Spring Orchestra Concert, 6:00 PM @ West
May 9th-Spring Choir Concert, 6:00 PM @ FCHS
May 13th-8th Grade Balloon Launch and Field Day
May 13th-4th Quarter Celebration for 6th and 7th Grade
May 14th-Kings Island Trip
May 14th-Fast Flash 5K/2K @ 8:00 AM, FCHS Track
May 16th, 17th, 18th-5th Grade Visits during the day
May 18th-6th Grade Parent Night, 6:00 PM
May 19th-Spring Band Concert, 6:00 PM @ West
May 20th-8th Grade Balloon Launch and Field Day (RAIN DATE)
May 20th-4th Quarter Celebration for 6th and 7th Grade (RAIN DATE)
May 24th-Locker Clean Out
May 25th-Awards Day 8:00 AM-10:30 AM @ West
May 25th-Last Day for Students 7:10 AM-2:15 PM
Additional Information about Upcoming Events
Event Schedule:
7:30-9:45 Balloon Launch Activities
9:45-10:30 Lunch
10:30-1:45 Field Day Events
1:45-2:15 Return to West
*Students must provide and wear their own sunscreen
*Students are permitted to capture Field Day memories by use of their cameras, including cell phones. However, any inappropriate use of such devices will result in the appropriate consequences. Neither FTMS West nor its staff is responsible for the safety of the student devices. Students are not to use the devices during Balloon Launch activities.
*Students are expected to follow all dress code expectations.
*Students may not chew gum during the balloon launch (due to tennis court surfaces)
*Water is provided during Field Day to students
4th Quarter Celebration for 6th & 7th Grade:
On May 13th, 6th and 7th graders will enjoy a 4th quarter celebration. They will have an alternate schedule for classes that day, so they may enjoy some activities in the afternoon.
Locker Clean Out:
On Tuesday, May 24th, all students will clean out their lockers for the year. Once their locker is cleaned out, they will not be permitted to use it again. All locker items will be brought home on May 24th.
Awards Day:
On May 25th, Awards Day will be held in the gym from 8:00 AM until 10:30 AM.
News From The Clinic
The end of the school year is drawing near. Here are some housekeeping notes from the school clinic. No medicines will be sent home with students. Any medicines not picked up by a parent or guardian by 3:30 PM on May 25th will be destroyed. No exceptions. Thank you for your understanding.
Also please remember that if your student has a specific diagnosis or medical condition which requires special accommodations at school, we will need a new doctor’s statement upon returning to the new school year. This would include things such as asthma, diabetes, food allergies, urinary conditions, seizures or for any reason that a doctor states is pertinent during the school day. We must have a new doctor’s statement each year, as they expire at the end of every school year. Forms can be sent home from the clinic and will be available during the summer break in the front office for next school year.
And lastly, we had a few Epi-Pens sent in this year which have expired. You may want to check them over summer break so you can have time to get a new, unexpired one.
It has been a challenging year in the clinic this year at West but we made it! I wish you and your children a safe and healthy summer break! Enjoy the sun, but don’t forget the sunscreen : )
West Robotics--Ms. Shiflet
News From The Guidance Office
This year we will be hosting a stress awareness week at Franklin Township Middle School West from May 9th through May 13th! We have seen many students struggle with anxiety and stress due to many different situations and factors. Some are too overwhelmed with all the activities they are in, some have test anxiety, some feel stressed about homework. Whatever it is, middle school is a very stressful time in a person’s life and we feel it is important for students to learn positive and beneficial coping skills, information regarding stress, and ways to reduce stress. Coping skills are tools students can use through their life and can have a significant impact on their future. So help us in welcoming this awareness week by talking to your child(ren) about positive coping skills; such as meditation, deep breathing, time management, journaling, prioritizing, learning to not catastrophize situations, etc.
The stress awareness week is called Stress free, Better me and we will be focusing on a different topic/theme every day. The themes were picked and developed by the peer facilitators (7th and 8th graders) by what areas they felt were most important.
The themes will be:
Monday, May 9th - Comfy Clothes
Tuesday, May 10th – Neon Tuesday (show your bright side!)
Wednesday, May 11th – Wonderful Word (learning about appreciation and post-its with kind words will be given out)
Thursday, May 12th – Teacher’s Day (letters of appreciation will be handed out to teachers from students, everyone needs some affirmation once in a while!
Friday, May 13th – High 5 Friday (we will be having a challenge for students to try and give at least 5 high 5's to students they do not know)
We will also be having a Mandala Art Contest, facts about stress during the morning announcements, and information regarding stress during lunch hour.
The PTO will hold our next meeting on Tuesday, May 17th at 6pm in the Media Center. We would love for you to attend. Elections will be held this evening. All officer positions are up for election each year, including President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. All committee chair people are appointed by the president shortly after the May meeting. Please contact one of the people on our nominating committee if you are interested in serving as an officer or if you would like to nominate someone for a position. Our nominating committee is:
Mr. Matt Vandermark – matt.vandermark@ftcsc.k12.in.us
Mrs. Julie Hippleheuser – Julie.hippleheuser@ftcsc.k12.in.us
Donna Price – donna.price@comcast.net
Here is a description of each officer position from our current bylaws:
ArticleV - Officers and Their Duties
The elected officers of the PTO are as follows: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
1. The President shall preside at all meetings for the PTO and shall be an ex-officio of all committees except the nominating committee, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the PTO.
2. The Vice-President shall act as an aide to the President, and in the absence of that oificer, assume the duties of the President in the event of resignation or inability to act by the President and perform such other duties as maybe assigned by the President.
3. The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of all PTO meetings and present written minutes at each meeting, as well as perform other duties asssigned by the President.
4. The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the PTO and deposit the monies within five (5) working days. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of deposits and expenditures with receipts. The Treasurer shall pay out funds only as authorized by the PTO. The Treasurer shall present a financial statement at every regular meeting of the PTO. All checks shall be signed by the Treasurer. In case the Treasurer is absent or unable to sign the President shall be authorized to sign checks. Final record shall be read for presentation at the first PTO meeting of the new school year. The Treasurer's accounts shall be available annually for examination for audit.
Teacher Appreciation week starts May 2nd. We love our teachers and want to do something special for them that week.
We will be doing breakfast on Monday, Subs on Wednesday and Taco Day on Friday. We are asking for your support through donations for these special days. Please send in all items by the morning of, or if you need to send in the day before please email Tammy Just so she can go pick them up. Thanks for your help in this! Sign up now on VolunteerSpot:http://vols.pt/KPRKgr. Any questions, please contact Tammy Just at tammy.just@ftcsc.k12.in.us.
Keep Calm and Glow On at the 8th Grade Celebration on May 13th, 6:00 to 8:00 PM! There will be games, pizza, dessert, drinks, music, prizes, yearbook signing, and more. The best part is, it's all FREE and just for our graduating 8th grade class! Students are encouraged to wear neon/glow in the dark items. They may also bring a t-shirt from home to decorate with highlighters which will glow on the dance floor. Please note, if a student brings a white t-shirt, undergarments may not show through the shirt. So, please have them plan to wear something underneath. The Dollar General is a great place to find cheap neon shirts and accessories in our area and the Dollar Tree is full of cheap glow in the dark items.
As always, the PTO is looking for parent volunteers to help from 5:30-8:00 the night of the party. Please email Jennifer Taylor at jent814@gmail.com if you are available. Thank you for your continued support! :)
Box Tops - Our final competition of the year will be for a chance to win a Summer Time Prize Basket in May. It’s our last Box Top contest for this school year. However, we have saved the BEST for last! The last contest will be a raffle for our “SUMMERTIME BASKET”! The basket will be raffled off on May 20th during pride and it will contain everything you need to have fun during your summer break!
Our last contest is a little different from the previous ones we have had this year. Students will still need to place their trimmed Box Tops in one of the two (2) collection boxes in the designated areas (Cafeteria~collection box is on the “lost and found” table or in the Front office~collection box is behind the front desk). Box Tops will be collected weekly by the Box Top coordinator. All students turning in Box Tops by each deadline will receive their raffle tickets during lunch on those deadline days. (4/29 & 5/20)
As stated above, this time we are going to have TWO (2) deadline dates.
1.) All Box Tops submitted from February 15th thru April 29th, 2016 will earn DOUBLE TICKETS (10 Box Tops = 2 tickets) towards the Summertime Basket Raffle.
2.) All Box Tops submitted after May 2nd thru May 20th, 2016 will receive SINGLE TICKETS (10 Box Tops = 1 ticket) towards the Summertime Basket Raffle.
The Summertime Basket will be on display starting May 16th in the display case outside the cafeteria.
Just a reminder to trim your Box Tops neatly around the dotted lines put them in a baggie, write your students name, grade level and the amount of Box Tops on the outside of the baggie. Baggies may contain more than 10 Box Tops but should be multiples of 10 (Example: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50,…100). Thank you for all of your support this year!
The Color Run fundraiser has been canceled for this year. Most parents are concentrating on end of the school year activities, grades and preparing for next year. Because of this, the PTO will be having our Color Run fundraiser in September, 2016. Thank you!
West Staff finds ways to Keep Exercising!
Franklin Township Summer Camps
Click on the link below to get information on summer camps in Franklin Township. Camps offered are:
* Girls Basketball Camp
* Soccer Camp
* Boys Basketball Camp
* Football Camp
* Volleyball Camp