FCMS
NEWS
AND
UPDATES
October/November issue
| Principal Zach Dillavou
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Have You Downloaded the SchoolMessenger App?
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Hopefully, you know that we rolled out a new communication app over the summer called SchoolMessenger!
Here are links to a couple of communications that have already been distributed about how to sign up as well as some frequently asked questions about the app.
We encourage you to contact Kristin Heidemann, Communications Director, with any questions so we can ensure you are not missing important messages:
641-585-2323 x2207
In addition to this app, we have another new app (look for it in your app store...it's called Forest City CSD). This app has the daily calendar, staff directory, lunch menus and more!
Click here
for a comparison of the two apps...you need both!
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On December 19, the 8th graders will be participating in Discovery Day hosted by NIACC. During this time, students will travel to NIACC and will be exposed to a variety of career paths and speakers.
In preparation for Discovery Day, NIACC reps will be at the middle school on October 15 to administer a career interest assessment. This assessment will match student interests with corresponding career paths and speakers available on their December 19 visit to NIACC.
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History Club Sets Sights on June Washington D.C. Trip
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By: Mr. Bang
641-585-4772
The Forest City Middle School History Club will again be focusing on a trip to Washington D.C. The trip will provide students the opportunity to see firsthand the sites and history of our Nation’s Capital with the June 2020 trip marking the 30th trip for FCMS History Club. A presentation has been made to the 7th and 8th graders and registrations are now being accepted for the 2020 trip. The trip will be a 3-day, 2-night tour of Washington D.C. and is scheduled for
June 3-5, 2020
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Fundraising will be a big part of the preparations for the trip and will help to make the trip financially feasible for many of those planning to go. Our first community fundraiser kicked off on Tuesday, October 15. The fundraiser campaign focuses on frozen pizzas, cookie dough, Cabin Coffee and dessert items. Any student who plans to go on the 2020 or 2021 trip may participate in this years fundraising campaigns to earn money for the trip.
Contact Mr. Bang at the school as soon a possible for information and materials.
The support of the community in making this trip possible for many of our district’s middle school students is greatly appreciated!
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Baking Cookies For A Cause
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By 7th Grade student Ty Dillavou
Our seventh-grade math class has been partnering with the Winnebago Relay for Life to raise money for the University of Iowa Cancer Research Center. On Monday we continued our fractions unit where we used baking, especially cookies as an example to represent our fractions. We continued to work on fractions Tuesday and Wednesday preparing us for making these cookies. Then on Thursday, we started our fundraising events with a guest speaker, Mr. Steve Lovik. He talked to us about ways to avoid cancer in our future. Mr. Lovik spoke about how he beat cancer and his fight against this horrible disease.
On Friday all four of Mrs. Ziesmer’s math classes made the cookie dough. We partnered with Mrs. Lambert's high school foods class to make the dough. Making the cookie dough was a great opportunity to practice our fractions and help a great cause. We made enough cookie dough to make about 850 cookies on Friday. Each student was in a group of 3 to 4 people with a kitchen supervisor, making it easy for all the students to participate. We had a checklist of all the ingredients (solids and liquids). This was an easy way for the students to get the right amount of ingredients in.
When we resumed school on Monday all four of the math periods took out their dough. The students put the dough on cookie sheets and baked them. Not only did we make cookies but it was a good opportunity to learn about some cooking skills from our second guest, Mrs. Lorie Pruisner. After baking them we bagged the cookies and were ready to sell. After school on Monday, 7th-grade students and FCMS Student Council members sold cookies to students and staff members for $1 each. They sold 775 cookies. Along with generous donations, $801 was made to donate to the American Cancer Society.
Baking and selling cookies were not the only way we raised money, we also had a hat day and a pajama day! Each student or staff member paid $1 to participate. This was an awesome way to donate a good amount of money to an amazing organization. Our goal was to raise $1000! We hope to get there by the end of the week. We are all really excited to make even more money for the same cause when we do our Cancer Mini Relay for Life in May. We enjoyed having Mr. Lovik and Mrs. Pruisner come speak to us. In conclusion, this was an awesome way to teach us about fractions while being a part of a service learning project.
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We love to plan events for FCMS students and staff to have fun with one another.
Shown to the right, are photos of many activities that took place during Homecoming week.
Shown below, students and staff show their support for the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes!
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Upcoming Event Highlights
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FCMS will take a stand against bullying by wearing orange on October 23
This fall we will once again recognize Unity Day. This is the signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month. Unity Day will be held on Wednesday, October 23, and all students and staff are encouraged to wear
orange
to show a united front for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. The Unity Day symbol will remind everyone that bullying can be prevented when we all come together and are united in supporting one another.
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Rylee’s Run for PCD
Tuesday, October 22
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Come out and support 5th grade student Rylee Eastvold and his fourth annual fundraising run!
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Mrs. Reece's 5th grade ELP students had a ton of fun working with Rubik's Cubes. The district rents 225 cubes for six weeks. Here are some of the awesome things they worked on:
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The students worked together to complete this Jackie Robinson mosaic from a template
Holden Reynolds, Peter Wilson, Cooper Blaser and Aiden Frascht
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Next, they designed their own templates and voted on the winning design. Peter Wilson's NFL design was chosen.
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Then, they solved the cubes as they took them down from the design!
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New Careers Exploratory Class
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FCMS introduced a new nine-week exploratory class for 6th grade students this year. The focus of the class is on goal setting and understanding how daily choices impact our lives. Students have been identifying their interest areas and skills, so they can match those to possible future careers. The focus has been on understanding the importance of enjoying what you choose to do for a career so that their futures can be satisfying and successful.
One of the lessons that the students learned about is the
"domino effect" where one positive or negative action can begin a domino effect of the same type of actions. Students demonstrated this topic by setting up a domino maze.
Click here
to check it out!
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Elissa Hanna spoke to students about her business, Happy Sweet Cupcakes
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Eric Kingland of Kingland Construction Services talked about careers in the construction industry
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Check out this article that talks about "Digital Drama"
Excerpt From Common Sense Media
Facebook, Instagram, and Social
How can I help my kid avoid digital drama?
To adults, digital drama and cyberbullying may seem one and the same. But to kids, there's a difference. Unlike
cyberbullying
, which involves repeated harassment of someone, digital drama is the everyday tiffs and disputes that occur among friends or acquaintances online or via text message. A guy may change his relationship status to "single" immediately after a fight with his girlfriend to make a statement. A teen may post a comment about someone else knowing that people will see it, friends may chime in, and people will talk about it. In the same way that the word drama describes a performance, kids usually engage in online drama with an audience in mind.
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Please join us in welcoming Chris Throne, Samantha Butler and Annika Andrews to FCMS and the district!
Chris Throne teaches 8th grade Social Studies. He is a graduate of Buena Vista University. When asked why chose education as a career he said, "
I chose to enter the education field for the simple fact of being able to try and better young students lives even if it’s just for the 45 minutes they are in my room." He enjoys spending time with his three children and also likes to cheer on his favorite sports teams.
Samantha Butler joins FCMS as the 8th grade Science teacher. She went to UNI and entered education because she loves to watch students grow academically and as a person. In her free time, she likes to spend time with family and also likes to shop and travel.
Annika Andrews also graduated from UNI and is our 6-12 Vocal Music teacher. She said she entered education for a lot of reasons, but the most simple one is that it's something she always wanted to do. She loves the people she gets to meet and the students she gets to work with. She loves shopping the dollar section at Target, singing, playing the piano and watching Netflix.
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Follow our Teacher Twitter Accounts
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Teacher Twitter accounts:
@fcms_read_gal
@zdillavou
@FCMSOlsonK
@ELPFC
@helgesont
@dcbang
@tegesdal
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FOREST CITY MIDDLE SCHOOL
www.forestcity.k12.ia.us
641-585-4772
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