Fairfield Middle School?

FAIRFIELD November 2015 MIDDLE SCHOOL Newsletter

Reminder about school start times

Reminder that school starts at 8:25. Please have your student at school 10 minutes or so prior to these times so they can take care of any business prior to class starting. Please see the student handbook for detailed information on our tardy policy, as it is our goal to minimize tardy events. Also, when the buses are out front (north side of FMS) dropping off students, please drop your student off on the west side of the building. Thanks for your cooperation!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Conferences will be held on November 10 and 12 from 5:00 -8:30. These are Tuesday and Thursday evenings, respectively. Please make every effort to attend and chat about your child’s progress! We all know that communication between school and home is important for a student’s success. 5 th grade parents must sign up for a time. Please see this website for a video tutorial on how to accomplish this: http://www.fairfieldsfuture.org/vnews/ display.v/ART/525fffaa8b14a

5th grade parents may also contact the office at 472 -5019 for help in scheduling.

There is also additional information available on this website for 6 -8 parents as well.

FMS Celebrates Red Ribbon Week!

From October 26 to October 30, FMS celebrated Red Ribbon Week (RRW). RRW is a national campaign that encourages students to live drug free. The red ribbon traces its ancestry back to the brutal murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena by Mexican drug traffickers in 1985. Camarena’s friends and family dawned red satin badges to honor his commitment to eradicating illegal drugs in the United States. In 1988, the National Family Partnership, an organization once chaired by Nancy Reagan, began sponsoring the Red Ribbon Celebration and it continues to do so today.

This year, FMS had many Red Ribbon Week activities. The student council organized theme days for each day of the week and passed out small gifts during homeroom. Theme days included Future Day, Neon Day, Pajama Day, Mix -up Day, and Red Day. The school also held an assembly sponsored by the Fairfield Elks on Friday that featured a trivia game led Mr. Flattery, the FMS health teacher, and a talk by Ray Lozano, a nationally renowned drug and substance abuse specialist from California.

Below are pictures from the assembly last Friday, 10/30.

Box Tops, Pizza Ranch Wagons, and Pop Tabs

What can you do to help Fairfield Middle School?

By Lisa Greenig

Collect Box Tops . Each box top is worth 10 cents cash!

PLEASE trim on the dotted lines! PLEASE check the expiration dates. Expired box tops are thrown out. Turn in to your homeroom teacher. The homeroom that collects the most each month will earn a small prize.

Also, visit the website www.boxtops4education.com for money saving coupons, earn e -box tops for our school, and enter sweepstakes for chances to earn bonus box tops for F.M.S. Last year we submitted approximately $1200 worth of box tops. Please help us exceed that dollar amount this year. Ask relatives and neighbors to save box tops for you. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]

Did you know the wagons on Pizza Ranch large pizza boxes and chicken boxes are worth 25 cents cash for our school? Collect the wagons from Pizza Ranch boxes and turn in to homeroom teacher. Each wagon is worth 25 cents for our school. This is a simple way to help F.M.S. raise money for projects and trips without having to sell anything. So easy to do! Ask Mrs. Greenig if you have any questions.

Aluminum Pop Tabs : Save aluminum pop tabs. Turn in to your homeroom teacher. The class that brings in the most weight in grams will earn a small prize each month. At the end of the first semester, the homeroom with the most total weight will earn a FREE catered lunch from McDon- alds. Last month's winner was Mrs. Gookin's class.

FMS Scholastic Book Fair

By Dee Ann Lantz

The Fairfield Middle School will host a Scholastic Book Fair from November 9 – November 12, 2015 in room 102. Throughout the week, all FMS students will have the opportunity to visit the book fair during reading or GOAL class. It will also be open each day before and after school. If you are interested in volunteering at the book fair, please contact Dee Ann Lantz, FMS Librarian.

The book fair will be open during Parent/Teacher Conferences on Tuesday, November 10th and Thursday, November 12thfrom 5:00 -8:30 pm. Please come to the book fair and view the wonderful selection of books! Many times there are best sellers for adults as well as many books for students.

If you are unable to attend the book fair, you can also support our school by shopping online. All online book orders will be shipped free to FMS. The online fair will be open from Nov 2 -Nov 20th. The online fair can be accessed at: http://tinyurl.com/fmslibrary11 .

FMS is participating in the "One for Books" program during the book fair. Students and parents can donate loose change and bills to help raise money for the school library. Money raised will not only benefit our library but will benefit national organizations such as Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Kids in Distressed Situations and the National Center for Family Literacy. Scholastic will match all money raised here for the national organizations. Parents can contribute books to classroom library too. A bookplate will be added to the inside front cover of every book donated to the class- rooms. Don't miss this chance to light up a reader’s face with a good book! For more information contact Dee Ann Lantz, FMS Librarian at 472

Water Bottles For Sale at FMS

We have just raised money for a water bottle refill station here at FMS, with the hopes of obtaining more stations. We now al- low students to carry and use translucent water bottles filled with water. We did this in response to growing research that shows that 3 out of 4 Americans are chronically dehydrated. We are selling a 22 -ounce water bottle for $10. It’s BPA free and

6th Graders Introduced To New Technology Tools by Justin Copeland

Students in 6th Grade Social Studies were introduced to Canvas this week. Canvas is a learning management sys- tem that allows the teacher to simplify teaching and learning by connecting all the digital tools teachers use in one easy place. The students used Canvas to learn about the 5 Themes of Geography. In 6th Grade Social Studies we like to use a wide variety of technology tools. Students were introduced to a website called Quizalize. Quizalize allowed us to study for our quiz by creating review questions and putting them in to a game format that allowed the class to compete with each other. The students did an amazing job of learning the new technology tool, studying for a quiz, and having fun all at the same time! (See Picture attached)

Speaking of technology, if you haven't connected with FMS on Social Media here is your chance. It is a great way to see the great things that are happening here at FMS!

You Can't Hide That Trojan Pride!

Like Us On Facebook - www.facebook.com/FMSTrojanPride

Here’s a pic of the 6 th graders using Quizalize:

News From the Art Room:

8th Grade Digital Photography Project Wraps Up

As the first quarter came to a close the 8th graders wrapped up the digital photography project. This project teaches the students about different ways to compose professional looking photographs and gets them thinking like a photographer. Kids consider different types of photography like family photography, nature or wildlife photography, and sports photography. Then they choose subject matter to photograph based on what type of photography interests them the most. To end the project, students learn about different ways to edit and enhance their photographs editing software or applications. This year the kids used Pixlr, which is a free online web tool. This is always a fun project for the students and they really enjoyed getting to be outside taking pictures. The weather this fall was awesome for picture taking days! Many students took cameras home to take photos or used a camera from home and were able to come up with some very beautiful and amazing photographs. Ask your 8th graders about his or her photos. The students can access photos in their school gmail accounts. Here a couple of great student examples:

Ella Phillips Harper Fiske

Lindy Kaska

8th Grade Science by Mrs. Shirk

We are getting into our chemistry unit and looking at different properties of matter. One of the first properties we explored was densi- ty. Students were given 50 grams of clay which does not float and were challenged to make the clay float for 30 seconds. The two rules they had were they could not alter the mass of the clay or use any other objects to help the clay float. After students were able to make their clay creation float and explain why their creation could float, students were challenged to make a clay creation that could hold up to 140 grams of weight and float for 30 seconds. Students could change their designs as many times as needed and were asked to reflect on their designs and their design process. Through this activity students also explored concepts like buoyancy, water displacement, weight distribution, surface tension of water, as well as, work on skills such as teamwork, perseverance and problem solving. Here are some pictures of the groups at work!

FMS Gets visit by Adrian Branch, who delivers a great message to our students!

By Justin Copeland FMS had a visit on October 8 from Motivational Speaker and NBA Champion, Adrian Branch. Mr. Branch brought with him a message of making the right choices. His main quote from his message was, "You're not born a winner. You are not born a loser. You are born a chooser!"

Adrian Branch - Bio

Adrian Branch joined ESPN in 2007 as a college basketball analyst. He is a former guard/forward and second -round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls after a successful collegiate career at the University of Maryland. During his four seasons in the NBA, Branch played for the Los Ange- les Lakers, with whom he won the 1987 NBA championship, as well as the New Jersey Nets, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After his NBA career, Branch spent time playing in Europe for teams in Australia, Spain, France, Israel and Turkey. He has since devoted much of his time to speaking with students, youth groups and collegiate and professional sports teams. He has been considered one of the top 10 most requested speakers for school assemblies and youth organizations.

In 2004, the Charlotte Bobcats named him television color analyst for the team’s 60 games on Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television. Before that, he was a studio analyst and college basketball analyst for Comcast Sportsnet in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He also ap- peared on Wizards Post Game Live as a commentator for the Washington Wizards.

One of the highlights of his broadcast career was as an analyst at WUSA -TV in Washington, D.C., during Maryland’s championship season in 2001 -02.

Branch, named an ACC Legend in 2004, attended Maryland and was the third all -time leading scorer during his time there, which included a run to the ACC championship in 1984. He averaged 16.4 points and 74.8 percent on free throws through four seasons with the Terps. In his senior season of 1984 -85, he had career highs of 671 points 45 steals in 37 games. He also was a two -time All -America honorable mention and led the Terps to the Sweet 16 in 1984 and 1985. Branch played high school basketball at the same time as Michael Jordan, and the two played together in the McDonald’s All -American game, for which Branch received the MVP award.

FMS 6th Graders Saving Seeds

By Mr. Klehm

Over the last two weeks students in 6th grade science have been learning how to save seeds from various native prairie plants and garden produce. After learning about the process, the students have applied this new knowledge to action outside in the FMS rain gardens and in the classroom with garden produce.

The students saved over 100,000 seeds during the week and included things such as Echinachea, Compass Plant, But- terfly Milkweed, Yarrow, Nodding Onion, Pink Brandywine Tomatoes, popcorn, sweet banana peppers, and Okra. These seeds will be distributed to the students for planting at home as well as growing plants in the classroom under the grow lights for spring planting. For more information on this ask a FMS 6th grader or Mr.Klehm. Below are some pictures of the experience. Drama Club By Mrs. Edlin

Drama Club: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays from 3:40 -5:00; theater games, improv, comedy, creativity, performing, and fun!

Art Club By Mrs. McDow

Meets: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 3:45 -4:30pm

On going activities: Individual projects such as painting or drawing, Peace Poster Contest, large canvas painting for display at FMS, FMS themed panel painting for display at FMS. Students decide what to work on and can use art club supplies (most donated from Fairfield Lions Club) or bring their own.

To join: Pick up an information sheet from Mrs. McDow outside the art room.

**Peace Poster Contest posters are due in November 2nd to Mrs. McDow for judging.**

Opus Honor Choir By David Owen

This year, Fairfield Middle School had eight vocalists try out for the Opus Honor Choir. We were fortu- nate to have three students selected for the 7 th and 8 th Grade Treble Choir. 8th grade students Maya Gottshall, Megan Higgins and Devika Pharasi were recently selected for participation in the thirtieth an- nual Opus Honor Choir Festival. Megan (Alto 2) and Maya (Soprano 1) are first time performers with this choir. Devika (Alto 1) was selected for the second straight year. Maya has been selected as a solo final- ist for her voice part. She will audition on the day of concert.

Over 3,000 students were nominated by their directors for 720 positions in the four Opus Honor Choirs, grades 5 through 9. Selections were made by means of a recorded audition. Julie Schnieders, Retired choir director from Indianola High School, will be conducting the 7/8 Treble choir. The 2015 Opus Honor Choirs will perform at 4:00 p.m. November 19th in C.Y. Stephens Auditorium in the Iowa State Center in Ames. The Opus Honor Choir Festival is under the auspices of the Iowa Choral Directors Association, Inc.

Thanks to all the students that took the time to learn the audition parts for this year. Good luck to our three performers as they take their Trojan Pride to Ames.

FMS Honor Roll As first quarter ends, we would like to communicate honor roll requirements. Students will be recog- nized for Straight A honor roll 4.0, A honor roll 3.5 -3.9999 (this includes A -), and B honor roll 3.0 - 3.4999.

President's Education Award Every spring, 8th graders who qualify, receive the President's Education Awards for Educational Excel- lence. To be the recipient of this prestigious award the student must have maintained a 3.5 grade point average through the first five semesters of middle school and scored at the 85th percentile or higher in math and/or reading using national norms on their 8th grade Iowa Assessments. A letter beforehand notifies parents so they can be in attendance at the awards ceremony.

Behavior Data comparing last 4 years, 1 st quarter

’11 -’12 1 st Q. ’12 -‘13 1 st Q. ’13 -‘14 1 st Q. ’14 -’15 1 st Q. ’15 -’16 1 st Q

191 events 320 events 247 events 126 events 120 events

70 students 126 students 116 students 81 students 59 students

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) seems to be helping us at FMS having a good trend this year compared to last year. We have lowered the number of behavior events by 6 and the number of students involved by 22, when comparing 1 st quarter this year to 1 st quarter last year. It is our goal to teach specific expectations, and to hold students to that standard. In addition, we have many interventions for students, such as small groups, check in/check out, check and connect, social lunches, and mentoring. We have 12 total staff members trained in check and connect, and they mentor a total of 22 students. For more information, please contact Matt Jones at FMS at 641 -472 -5019. FMS Band “Notes” By Mrs. Andersen

The marching band season has come to a close, with the final parade on the streets on Halloween afternoon in Liber- tyville. The FMS 7th and 8th grade band students had a GREAT season, with 116 students participating. They received a 2nd place finish from the judges at the Ottumwa Oktoberfest parade, and one of their highest inspection scores in school history, with the judge saying the brass instruments were "literally, well -oiled machines!"

Concert and jazz band begins in November, with chair placement exams taking place in lessons - where each student plays 2 minutes of scales and a short etude ("study piece") to show their skill. Students are ranked and placed in a seat- ing order for concert band part assignments. Jazz band will rehearse on Thursday mornings beginning November 5. Rehearsals run from7:15 to 8:10. The first performance is as the traditional opening act for the FMS talent show. In- terested students can sign up in class prior to the first rehearsal.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming winter concert, which will be held in the FMS cafetorium on Monday, December 21 at 7:PM.

We have had a GREAT marching season, and I'm very pleased with how much the students have improved. We did some sight reading this week on some challenging and fun music for our December 21st concert that I know the students and I will enjoy working on, and I know you will enjoy hearing at our concert. I look forward to an equally wonderful concert band as we continue into 2nd quarter!

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Andersen via email: [email protected] or call the school at 641 -472 -5019

Fall Sports Recap

7th Volleyball:

The 7th grade volleyball girls had a challenging year. All of the girls were all willing to give it there all and try to get better every day.

Winning our awards were: Most improved: Lilly Huff, Trojan Award: Abby Schaefer, Olivia Jones, and Sophie Wallerich, MVP: Sophie Wallerich, Hustle Award: Olivia Jones, and Coaches Awards: Lauren Kraemer, Addison Pohren, and Makiya Sisk.

Their records: A: 5 -14 B: 5 -12 C: 1 -17 D: 4 -2

As an 8th grader they are going to know the basics and be very knowledgeable of the game of volleyball. Good luck in 8th grade volleyball! –Coach Buch 8th Volleyball: We had a slow start to our season with starting school a bit later than normal and a few heat days that prevented us from practicing but the girls stepped up and had a fantastic season. We had 22 girls out for volleyball, which allowed us to form 3 teams for large amounts of playing time for all girls. ALL of the girls made huge improvements from beginning of the season to the end. The high school program will be very lucky to have these talented ladies next year. – Coach Witzenburg

7th Football: The 7th grade football team finished on a high note to end the season defeating Aldo -Leopold 36 -6. 36 players finished the season. Great to see so many young student/athletes participating!!!!!!! – Coach Flattery

8th Football: The 8th grade football team ended the season 1 -5. After a rough start in the first two games, they went on the road to defeat Ottumwa in game 4, which was a big turning point for the team. They learned how to celebrate the good plays and believe in themselves and their team- mates. The progress they made from the beginning to the end of the season is greater than I've seen in my 14 years of coaching middle school football. If they keep improving that much each year, they will have success at the varsity level. –Coach Allison

7th and 8 th Cross Country: Cross -country season ended on a positive note. All athletes made personal records throughout the season, improving with each meet. We had a large number of seventh grade students and look forward to them returning and building our team next year! –Coach Freeman

Winter Sports Upcoming 8th grade girls and 7 th grade boys basketball participates from the middle of October until Winter Break. Wrestling goes from November to February. After Winter Break, 8 th grade boys and 7 th grade girls will play basketball. 7th Boys Basketball has 34 boys out, and their first home game is November 3 rd vs. Ottumwa. 8th Girls Basketball has 13 girls out, and their first home game is November 5 th vs. Washington. Cheerleading By Ms. Slechta Our basketball cheerleaders have already begun working very hard for this season. We have several returning eighth graders as well as some new faces in seventh grade! This season we hope to try out some new routines, participate in fundraising for new uniforms, all while bringing more Trojan PRIDE to our community! We will be cheering for the seventh grade boys and eighth grade girls this season. Games are typically on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights, so come out to support! Go Trojans!!

Love and Logic Article

Our FMS staff took “Love and Logic” on two work days after the 2014 -2015 academic year concluded. It was an outstanding class with important points that can be used at home and school. Here’s an article from Love and Logic:

It’s OK to Catch Your Teen Doing Something Right By Jim Fay

It may come as a surprise for some parents to learn that most teens are suffering from a strong case of self -doubt. In fact, a person’s self -concept is usually lower during the teen years than at any other time in life.

Self -doubt in teen is normal. It usually stems from the enormous social, emotional, physical and hormonal upheaval they are experi- encing. Over a period of time, parents can help turn these feelings of self - doubt into healthy feeling of self -worth.

We should not only see our teens but hear them

Telling teens they are good won’t help them build self -confidence. They will always discount what we say.

It’s better to find your teen doing something right. Then say, “I noticed how good you’re getting with the computer,” or “I’ve noticed you’ve really improved at softball.”

Then, listen to your teen. Ask why he or she thinks things are turning out so well. When teens actually say what they did to achieve success, it helps them build a stronger self -image.

Whenever possible, look at your teen’s school, chores and other activities. Say, “You’re getting good at this! I bet that feels good.” The self -concept problem will go away – eventually.

Focus on what’s right, not what is wrong

Many of us are programmed to react instead of thinking, thus we end up being overly critical with our teens. This contributes to their self -doubt, by focusing on the negative. Ask yourself, “How can I come across in a more positive way?”

One way is to ask questions in place of giving orders. That doesn’t mean interrogation. Ask a question and then say, “Is this what you mean?” or “Thanks for sharing that.”

Long periods of silence between questions, and asking incomplete questions that give your teen the chance to fill in the blanks, can also be helpful.

Never take away what a teen can do well

Maybe your teen is not a great student, but is talented in sports. Wise parents encourage their teen to go after what they’re best at with all they’ve got. This recharges their batteries and gives them strength to try things they’re not as good at.

Treat your teen like a good friend

It’s amazing how we treat our family and loved ones sometimes. We often show our friends much more consideration and respect! When in doubt about how you’re responding to your teen, ask, “How would I treat a good friend in this same situation?”

Adopt and open “mind -set”

If we develop the mind -set that teens are tough to work with, we’ll probably miss all the joys they offer – their creativity, sense of humor and the fact that every day is just a little bit different!

For more information, visit https://www.loveandlogic.com/articles -advice hw.loveandlogic.com/articles -advice