Falcon Focus - FHMS Weekly Newsletter

Home of the Falcons!

"Fountain Hills Middle School empowers students to learn, to care, and to succeed."

Principal's Message April 19, 2019

Wow! In just over a week it will be May and the focus will shift from AzMERIT testing to final exams and 8th grade promotion. During the next 23 days, the campus will host a parent night for our future 4th graders, an introduction to 6th grade for our current 5th graders, registration for next year's classes for all our students, the end of the Spring sports season, a Spring band concert, 5th grade C5 & 4th grade Wax Museum, induction of our newest NJHS members, a parent night on "Bullying Awareness," an 8th grade promotion dance, final exams, an 8th grade trip to Camp Surf, and finally Promotion itself. Despite all the potential distractions, students and staff will remain focused on finishing the year committed to academic success.

AzMerit testing wraps up next week with all tests and make-ups completed by April 26th.

Our 4th grade teachers are preparing to host a "Future 4th Grader Parent/Guardian Night." Parents of 3rd graders should look for a letter coming home with your child the week of April 29th.

The current 5th grade teachers are working with our 6th grade to set up "a day in the life of a 6th grader...." Hopefully, we will alleviate any lingering concerns your student may be having.

Registration forms for next year's classes will be in the students' hands at the start of next week. Parents/guardians will need to sign-off on their students' choices. 4th and 5th grade will be registering for regular and/or honors ELA, Math, and/or Science.** 6th - 8th grade will be registering for regular and/or honors ELA, Math, and/or Science** and their elective choices.

Spring sports wrap up with the championship game on April 29th. I'm looking forward to both our girls and boys teams bringing home the trophy!

Our middle school bands have been working hard to prepare for the Spring concert (May 2nd from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.)! If you have not heard our students play, stop by, we have some amazing talent at FHMS!

The 5th grade will be conducting their annual C5 community interviews on May 2nd and holding their C5 Market Day on May 17th.

The 4th grade will open their living wax museum on May 15th from 1:10 - 2:10 p.m.

On April 25th NJHS will hold an induction ceremony for its newest members at 7:45 a.m. Honoring the hardwork and dedication of these students is one of my most treasured duties as principal of FHMS!

Dept. Mike Brooks has arranged for representatives from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to provide parents with a bullying awareness presentation ("Stand Up to Put Downs") on May 14th from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the FHMS Cafeteria. Parents from the entire town of Fountain Hills are welcome and encouraged to attend.

STUGO will host an 8th grade promotion dance on Friday, May 17th from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. We are in need of parents to help plan and chaperone the dance. We also need donations to pay for games and prizes. If you can help, please email Ms. Baca (abaca@fhacademics.org) or Mr. Carrick (jcarrick@fhacademics.org) ASAP. The more parent participation, the more memorable experience we can provide.

The 8th grade trip to Camp Surf is scheduled for May 20th - 22nd. There will be a parent meeting on May 1st from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Contact Mrs. Schultz with any questions (pschultz@fhacademics.org).

8th grade promotion will be held in the FHMS gym on May 23rd from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. (Promotion rehearsal will be that morning, so it is important that all students be in attendance on that last, half day of school.) We will have one student speaker (all 8th graders who are eligible to participate in promotion may submit a speech for consideration - directions will be handed out next week to all 8th graders and speech submissions are due to the review committee by May 7th).

** Honors Placement Requires Three (3) of the Following Four (4) Criteria: Teacher Recommendation, Proficient or Highly Proficient on AzMerit (2019), 97th Percentile on the COGAT, and/or Previous Enrollment in Honors/Gifted Class Earning an 80% or Better.

Special Announcements

See what is happening at our schools

Kiwanis Falcons Leaders

Congratulations to the Kiwanis Falcon Leaders for the month of April: 8th graders Iris Lochner and Steven Reed. Way to go!

Save the Date!

Please join us on Tuesday, May 14th at 6:00 p.m. here at FHMS for a very important "Bullying Awareness for Parents" presentation from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office called, "Stand Up to Put Downs."

8th Grade Camp Surf Trip

We are very excited about our 8th grade trip to Camp Surf at Imperial Beach, CA, which will take place May 20-22, 2019. The balance of any payments is due on or before April 30, 2019. Installment payments can be made until that date. As a reminder, the total trip cost is $300 per student. If you are not sure of your balance, please call the office at 480.664.5411 for the amount due.

A parent meeting will be held Wednesday, May 1 at 7:00 pm at Fountain Hills Middle School. At that time, parents will be given important forms and additional information in regards to the trip to the San Diego area.

In the meantime, you can always visit the Camp Surf website for additional information about this wonderful experience:

https://www.ymca.org/camps/camp-surf/outdoor-education-and-leadership-surf

FHUSD Dance Concert

FH Parks & Rec Open Gym

FH Parks & Rec Middle School Madness

Sports Physicals On Thursday, May 16 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., Spooner and Shaft PT is offering sports physicals for the upcoming school year. Physicals are only $25 a will be good for the entire 2019-2020 school year. INCOMING FHHS FRESHMEN ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A PHYSICAL PRIOR TO STARTING FALL SPORTS! Please see the attached FLYER for more information.

Looking Ahead

View upcoming events of the week ahead


04/25/2019	NJHS Induction Ceremony 7:45 a.m. in the 7/8 team room
05/01/2019	Camp Surf Parent Meeting 7:00 p.m. in the 7/8 team room
05/02/2019	Spring Band Concert 6:30 p.m.