Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Transitions

Summer school is at the mid-point and I am learning my way around Twin Lakes Academy Middle School. It's great to meet the faculty and staff that make this one of the premier middle schools in Duval County. We are proud to be an "A" school again this year and owe our success to our students and our learning communities.

The scheduling process is nearly complete and we look forward to opening school next month. Teachers and staff report back the week of August 17th. We will have student orientation on Saturday, August 22nd. Please follow the schedule below:

6th grade    8:00 – 10:30 (pick up schedule and textbooks, meet your teachers and tour the school)

7th grade    11:00 – 12:00 (pick up schedule and meet your teachers)

8th grade    12:30 – 1:30 (pick up schedule and meet your teachers)

The PTSA and the SAC will have information and memberships available; students are also encouraged to join the PTSA. This is a great time to sign up for before and after school care; see Mr. Soud for details. Students' first day is Monday, August 24th.

If you are new to our area and have not registered, please visit us Monday – Friday from 9:00 – 3:00. Avoid the rush, register before August 17th.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Looking Ahead

Celebrations

Fletcher Middle School continues to be "The Best at the Beach". Our students excelled academically, artistically and athletically. As you walked the halls, student artwork was on display. Several student pieces were entered in shows at the District level this year. The Band received Excellent rating s at the annual Music Performance Assessment and we can boast of several winners in the PTSA Reflections competition this year.

In addition, 67 eighth graders were honored at the District wide Scholar Awards ceremony in May for maintianing at least a 3.5 GPA each of their three years in middle school. We have continued the tradition of honoring our straight A studens each quarter with a special luncheon and our A/B honor students with treats during lunch on campus.

9 students and their teachers celebrated their success on FCAT Writes at Dave & Buster's. We are still busy calculating our "best guess" at our school grade since our FCAT scores came in last week. Students should receive their individula results with report cards, which will be mailed home on June 9th.

Once of our crowning achievements this year was being selected to receive the "Keep Jacksonville Beautiful" award. We had a wonderful ceremony in the courtyard as the culminating event. You can view images of the event below. Additional pictures are on the city website at www.coj.net. under Keep jacksonville Beautiful, photo sharing. Or you can simply visit our campus to see how the students and staff have worked to make it beautiful and tranquil.







Summer School

Summer school will be available on a limited basis to students who need credit recovery to promote. If you are eligible, you will receive a letter from our guidance department inviting you to apply adn outling the locations and procedures. If you have questions, call our guidance counselors at 247-5929, ext. 2130 or 2032. Information is also available at the district website (http://www.duvalschools.org/). Click on Learn More under Summer Offerings.

FMS will host ESOL summer school this year. Eligible students have already been notified.


Transportation Changes

Duval County has changed the guidelines for bus rider eligiblity for the upcoming school year. You must live 2.0 miles fromthe school in order to be eligible to ride the bus. Please visit the dcps website (http://www.duvalschools.org/) and click on the transportation link for details and new bus routes. In addition, the Beaches are changing bus contractors. Details should be available in July at the school and on the dcps website.


6th Grade "Fun Day"

We look forward to hosting our second annual 6th Grade "Fun Day" on Tuesday, August 11th. Rising 6th grade students will receive invitations; sessions will be scheduled according to last name. The planned activities will include your ID picture, learning the art of combination locks, touring the campus, relay races and more.


Farewells

The school year has ended and we must say farewell to many of our Fletcher middle School family. Several of our teachers are moving on to new positions in the District. Mrs. Lacey and Mr. Kyne can be found at JWJ next year; Mrs. Wright has moved her science labs to Ribault Middle; Mr. McCrary is heading west to Ed White HS; Mrs. Rohrbaugh is headed to Ft. Caroline MS; Mrs. Conover and Ms. Butler will become Knights at Southside MS; Mrs. Schuppert will land at Landmark; Ms. Jones can be found among the timberwolves at Twin Lakes Academy MS; Mr. Waddell will be enjoying his retirement anywhere he chooses.

Finally, it is with mixed emotions that I write this as I must also say farewell to the Fletcher family. I will be transferring to Twin Lakes Academy Middle School effective July 1st. It has been a priviledge and an honor to have served the Fletcher community for the past three years. I have learned a great deal and formed many bonds that I will hold in my heart. Our students' succcess relies on a strong partnership between the school and the community...you have emboddied that spirit. Thank you for all that you have done to make these past three years rewarding for our students and for me.











Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Is 50th Good Enough for Your Child?

In today's times of instant news, instant messaging and instant access to crises around the world, we need look no further than our own backyard. Our community faces a crisis from which we may be unable to recover. The Duval County Schools are currently facing the worst budget crisis in more than 30 years! A shortfall in excess of $150,000,000 for the 2009-2010 academic year is around the corner and there is NO WAY to trim enough money without impacting our classrooms and our students.



There are many items being considered that could directly impact your child's school; electives like art, music and PE could be affected (or eliminated at the elementary schools). Our ability to buy materials and supplies could disappear, field trips and athletics could be eliminated or drastically reduced.



This crisis is not only impacting Duval County, it is statewide! The news today reported that Clay County schools are considering eliminating 450 staff positions; 270 of those people are expected to be teachers. These stories can be heard across all of Florida.



Ask yourself this: What can I do?

You can contact your legislator to tell them that 50th is NOT good enough for your child.



  • Ask them to allow flexibility in using capitol funds as general revenue.

  • Ask them to suspend unfunded mandates such as transportation, testing and curriculum requirements, safety nets and staffing requirements.

  • Ask them to allow flexibility in using categorical funding such as SAI, Class Size, Instructional Materials and Safe Schools.

  • Ask them to consider a limited time, one cent sales tax to directly fund K-12 education and reduce the shortfall.

  • Ask them to uphold the Florida Constitution which states..."It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for … a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education …."

As voters, it is our responsibilty to make difficult decisions and to live with the consequences of those decisions. Do not take this lightly. Take the time to educate yourself on the facts of our current situation. Read about the various ways this shortfall will directly impact your child's classroom. Write to your legislators and hold them responsible for the decisions they are making. Be active in your community, let your voice be heard. Together we can make a difference!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

News and Notes for January

Spelling Bee Finalist

Mrs. Davis and I are very pleased to congratulate Kelly Burke as a finalist in the Duval County Spelling Bee. Kelly will compete in the oral portion of the Spelling Bee on January 27th at Julia Landon Middle School. I know Kelly will represent FMS well!


Reflections Winners

Once again this year FMS was well represented in the PTSA sponsored Reflections contest. Finalists from FMS are:
Dance Choreography: Bianca Enriquez
Film Production: Fiona
Robertson
Music: Tyler (TJ)Willson

Fiona is not new to this competition as she was a state finalist last year. Congratulations to each of these talented students and good luck in the next round!


Parent Conference Night

Thursday, January 22nd is our annual Parent Conference/FCAT Night. I hope you will be joining us between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. for either a conference or one of our informational sessions on FCAT. In addition, we will be hosting sessions on Internet Safety and "Bullyproofing" your student. Look for a flier or check out the school website for more details.


Looking ahead...

Report cards will be sent home with students on January 28th. Please make sure your student has returned all overdue library books so you will not have to pick up the report card from the school.

FCAT is "write" around the corner! Eighth graders will take this portion of the FCAT in February. We have been writing all year, in every grade level, so I expect to see strong scores again this year. Last year we celebrated our students scoring a level 6 with lunch at Dave and Buster's. I hope to take twice as many students this year!

Please visit guidance to give us your email address (or update the one on file). As we move toward the online grade book program and an automated parent communication system, your email address will be vital. Additional details will be sent out as the spring semester progresses. We hope to be fully deployed with both systems in August.

Boy's basketball, girl's soccer and boy's soccer are now in full swing. I hope to see you at one of our sporting events, cheering on our young Senators.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

New Year News

It is with a heavy heart that I write this update. We lost a wonderful teacher on January 1st. Ms. JoAnne Jennemann, graphic arts teacher, passed away as a result of a tragic boating accident.

Ms. Jennemann taught at FMS for many years and touched our lives in more ways than can be listed. Here I must borrow from the words of Ms. Hermansen, who captured the essence of Ms. Jennemann.
Ms. Jennemann "was an extremely grateful person for all she had in her life. First, she was grateful for her son, Justin, and all of his accomplishments. She was also grateful for the short time she shared with her daughter, Sonya, who was tragically taken from her in an accident. She always knew that she would see her "little angel" in heaven. She was grateful for her talent. She loved children...she loved life...and she loved the people that she worked with."

Ms. Jennemann's family will receive guests at Arlington Memorial Funeral Home on Monday, January 5th from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. at St. John's Cathedral.

Grief counselors will be available at school on Monday for students and staff. Please keep her family and our FMS family in your thoughts and prayers.


Monday, December 1, 2008

Lots of Activities at FMS
Welcome back from Thanksgiving break! This has been a busy time for all of us and December will offer many activities for you and your students. We are well into our routine at FMS and students should be familiar with our programs and prcedures. We celebrated nearly 100 straight A students with a luncheon at Joe's Crab Shack in November. Let's see if we can add 50 more to that number second nine weeks. You'll get a sneak peek when progress reports are sent home with your student on Thursday, December 4th. I encourage you to challenge your student to earn that Blue or Gold card!

We host our school spelling bee on Friday, December 5th at 3:20. Good luck to all participants! Saturday, December 6th, our students will be competing in Math Field Day. This is the first year we are competing and our team would love to see you at Julia Landon to cheer them on. The competition begins at 8:30 a.m.

The Student Senators and the PTSA are hosting a school dance on Thursday, December 18th from 4:20 until 6:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale next week for $5.00. All students must be picked up in the bus zone at 6:00 p.m.

This year our winter break runs from 12/19 - 1/4. We will welcome all students back on Monday, January 5th.


Teacher of the Year
Fletcher Middle School is honored to announce this year's Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Sharonette Shaw! Mrs. Shaw makes math both fun and realistic for the 6th grade Menehune Team. Her students will be cheering her on as she enters the next round of competition at the District level. Congratulations Mrs. Shaw!


National Board Teachers Named
Fletcher is proud to have many wonderful teachers on our campus. The results are in and we have three additional teachers who have been recognized as National Board Certified Teachers. Congratulations to:
Tonya Davis
Lindsay Layendecker
Sharon Silver


News in the Arts
It is with mixed emotion that we say farewell to Ms. Annette Jones who taught 3-D art at FMS for many years. She plans to travel and try her hand at loads of new activities as she continues her personal art activities. At the same time, we welcome Ms. Tammy Woehle to our staff. Her background in sculpture will bring many new and exciting projects to our students.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Fletcher Middle School

Fall has arrived! The cooler weather has been a welcome relief as our students and teachers travel to and from classes. Our fall sports are in full swing now and the students are truly enjoying themselves. I hope you can stop in for one of our games. Check the school calendar for dates and times.

Today we celebrated our PTSA members. PTSA hosted a BBQ at lunch for all studenta and staff members. It was a great day for a picnic in the courtyard. Thank you to all the parents who helped with serving and supervising. Thank you also to John Heidecker, form Prosperity Bank, who manned the grill for us!

The next ACE meting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14th at kernan Middle School. The meetings are scheudled to last form 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. these are very informative and open to the public as they discuss all options for addressing the needs of our school facilities and enrollment.

The District will host a visiting accreditation team next week. Team members will be visiting many schools throughout the District, including Mayport Elementary, Neptune Beach Elementary, Mayport Middle and Fletcher High School. As the team reviews documents and visits schools, they will be looking for evidence that we are making significant progress in the areas of student achievement. Specific information on the District’s Strategic Plan, vision and mission can be found on both the District and FMS websites.

PTSA will met agian on October 28th at 7:00 p.m. in the media center. SAC will meet on October 7th at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room. These meetings are open to the public and all are invited. I look forward to seeing you soon.

We are also hosting "Splash into Science" on Wednesday, October 22nd from 6:00 - 8:00. Many local organizations will be here to help bring scinece to life for our studetns and families. Please come share the experience with us! Fliers will be distributed with additional details.

You can also support our school by visiting Chick-fil-A at Beach and Hodges. They are offering a terrific chance to win quality seats to the Florida Georgia game and support the schools at the same time.