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.

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.