I want to thank the House 1 Team Leaders Ms. Daly, Mr. Antoniello, Ms. Green, and Mr. Matro for conceiving of this picture which so beautifully captures the diversity of our community and the need for unity and peace in all communities across the globe. In addition, I want to thank all of our teachers for the experiences they planned for our students on FMSCommunity Day, which was held the day before Thanksgiving. In addition to celebrating the academic success and citizenship of our students during grade level awards assemblies, students also participated in community building events such as organizing food drives for struggling families and writing notes of appreciation to all of the support staff (bus drivers, cafeteria workers, etc) that make up our school community. It was very inspiring for me in my first year at FMS to see such a sincere effort by the FMS teachers and counselors to create a special and meaningful day for our students.
The photograph is also a reminder that with the recents events in Paris and in San Bernandino, many of our students, families, and staff may be experiencing anxiety about their safety and security in our school. I want to assure the parent community that the school district and the school have very effective safety procedures in place which we review and practice monthly. By state law, we must have one fire drill and one emergency drill each month. Emergency drills include unannounced non-fire building evacuations and lock-downs. We will be talking to students in the coming weeks about these emergency drills so that we can review the procedures with them, and so that we can hopefully minimize their anxiety when we do hold them.
In addition, I want to remind you of important steps we need you to take to ensure the safety and security of our building. They include:
- Whenever you visit FMS, we need you to enter the building only through the main entrance doors. Please do not attempt to enter through the doors near the gyms or any side or rear doors.
- When you buzz in, be please patient with the secretaries as they ask for the following information:
- Your name and the name of your child.
- The purpose of your visit.
- Once you are buzzed in, report directly to the main office. It is critical that you check in at the Main Office to sign in and obtain a visitor’s pass before you go to the Nurse’s Office or anywhere else in the building.
These simple steps will help us create the secure environment we all desire for our students.
On a more uplifting note, I hope many of you are able to come out to our Band Concert this Wednesday night, December 9th at 7:00 pm. Our musicians have been working incredibly hard with Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Ocasio all Fall, and if the last week’s Orchestra Concert is any indication, you are in for quite a performance! I hope to see you there.
Finally, I wish a very peaceful and joyous start to the holiday season today for all of our students and families who celebrate Hanukkah.
In partnership,
Mr. Uglialoro
iReady Weekly Update:
- Our iReady student usage numbers were down a little bit this past week. I want to encourage you to set a goal with your child to complete 45 minutes of iReady Online Instruction each week at home. As I have shared with you, the online instruction is tailored to the specific learning needs of your child, and provides valuable opportunities for reinforcement and practice. In the Reading Online Instructional Lessons, there is a particular focus on developing academic vocabulary and improving comprehension of informational texts. These are two areas of literacy that are critical to student success in middle school and beyond. The iReady program is most effective in improving academic outcomes when students complete 45 minutes or more of online instruction each week.
- Students simply need to go to login.i-ready.com to log in. Their user name is their school email address, and their password ispassword123. Give it a try.
FMS Word of the Week: Summarize
- Definition: 1) To give a brief statement of the main points of something; to sum up.
- Example: In her closing argument, the defense attorney summarized the key evidence that proved her client was innocent.
Pillar of Character for December: Trustworthiness
This week we will focus on how a critical aspect of being trustworthy is having the courage to do the right thing.
Quote of the Week on Trustworthiness:
“The time is always right to do the right thing.” – MLK