Fort Dodge Middle School

Newsletter TOGETHER WE RISE: Raising the Bar, Closing the Gap, Believing All Kids Do Well If They Can

February 2017

A Note from Mr. Birnbaum’s Office:

Changes… As you may be aware by now I will be retiring from my position as principal of the middle

school effective the end of the school year. Mr. Johnson will also be retiring from his assistant principal

position. These past four school years contain some of the best experiences we’ve had in our years with

the Fort Dodge District. Dr. Van Zyl is in the process of filling our positions and our replacements should

be determined and publicized soon. On behalf of Mr. Johnson and myself, we thank you for all your

support.

Thank you and Reminders…There are a few items we would like to thank parents for and a few areas

we would like to offer reminders. Thank you for your attention to detail during drop-off and pick-up

procedures before and after school. We want to remind parents that with school dismissal at 3:25,

children that are not picked up by 3:45 are likely to wait for a ride without adult supervision.

“How was your school day?”….Such a frequently used question by parents across the United States is

met with the infamous response, “fine.” While teenagers and pre-teens may never flood us with

information about their day, here are a few items you can specifically ask about and hopefully dig for

some useful information:

Tell me about the best part of your day.

What was the hardest thing you had to do today?

Do you think (choose subject) is too easy or too hard?

Can you show me something you learned today?

What questions did you ask your teacher??

Looking Ahead… on the calendar, Parent/Teacher Conferences and Iowa Assessment testing are both

coming up in the month of March. Look for more information about both of those important items as they

get closer.

Communication…Hopefully all families have received 2nd

term report cards from their children. Any time

you would like communication on your child’s academic progress, please feel free to contact your child’s

teachers via phone, e-mail , in person or by checking the Infinite Campus Portal. It is our job as educators

to keep parents informed of academic success stories and struggles as your child moves through middle

school.

Respectfully,

Middle School Administrative Team

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Feb. 2017

Dates to Remember

FEBRUARY

1st Professional Development EARLY OUT @ 1:10pm

15th Professional Development EARLY OUT @ 1:10pm

17th NCIBA Middle School Band Clinic

20th President’s Day - WE WILL HAVE SCHOOL (snow makeup)

21st Middle School Spring Pictures

A look ahead…

MARCH

3rd Teacher Workday - NO SCHOOL

7th PreK-8 Conferences EARLY OUT @ 1:10pm

9th PreK-8 Conferences

13th-17th Spring Break *NO SCHOOL*

22nd Professional Development EARLY OUT @ 1:10pm

29th Last Day of the 3rd Quarter

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Featured Team

7 Orange - Imagine

In language arts, we put word power and organization to work in writing Haiku. Students then took them to final form by using color, picture and form to represent a theme in the Haiku. Finished products make our classroom a gallery for a poem walk. Our next unit will include types of expository writing. We’ll start with a comparison/contrast paper focusing on works of fiction.

In reading, we have just finished up a unit on Guilt and Innocence. Students read articles and short stories about various crimes and shared their ideas about whether or not the person was guilty or innocent. They had to use text evidence to support their answers, which made students really think in depth about the story and what happened. We had many discussions and debates during this unit; we will have quite a few great lawyers in the future! Our next unit theme is Overcoming Challenges. Students will be reading about a variety of people and how they overcome challenges faced in his or her life.

In Social studies we are currently learning about the continent of South America. Students have been learning about animals that live in various regions of the continent and beginning to explore, understand, and learn, what characteristics each region has that makes it unique and a region. Following our South America unit, the students will be traveling to Europe and exploring the Five Themes of Geography and how the continent of Europe satisfies MR. HELP (an acronym we use to remember the 5 Themes).

7 Orange team article continued on the next page...

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Featured Team

7 Orange - Imagine Expressions and equations have been our major focus in math over the past few weeks. We have been working at gaining mastery in solving equations and using equations to solve real-life problems. Students have been charting their progress towards reaching mastery and competing against the other math classes. Students are assessed over each learning target and need to have a 2.5 or higher out of 4 in order to gain mastery.

In pre-algebra, the students worked on a ratios, rates, and proportions project where they had to increase the serving size of a recipe in order to have a serving size that fed our entire class. The students had to create a presentation of their work to give in front of the class and they could make and share their recipe with the class if they chose to.

Science has provided opportunities for all students to guide their learning with relevant and meaningful activities/discussions using questioning and wondering that help them to negotiate their understanding. We have been working through the Next Generation Science Standards: characteristics and needs of living things, how living things are arranged from cells to organ systems, and cell processes that have to take place in order to live. The following picture is of students dissecting a frog and comparing and contrasting the anatomy of a human to that of a frog.

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Feb. 2017

New Staff Spotlight

Radney Roosa - 5th/6th Grade Health

Dear Students and Families, My name is Radney Roosa and I am teaching 5/6 Health at Fort Dodge Middle School. My experience so far in Fort Dodge has been wonderful. I look forward to continuing to making an impact in this community. To help you get to know me a little bit better I would like to share a few things about myself. My hometown is Eagle Grove, IA. I have multiple siblings including: four brothers and two sisters. One of my favorite things is watching them grow and having a major impact in their lives. After high school I signed with Iowa Central to play football, but later changed my mind so I could begin coaching and finish school. It took me one year at Iowa Central then I graduated with my Associates Arts and Coaching endorsement. I then moved to Cedar Falls, IA where I went to the University of Northern Iowa to receive my Bachelors in Physical Education with a Health minor. After graduating college I spent time teaching and coaching in Estherville as well as New Hampton. In my free time I like to watch the Vikings, exercise, read, and spend time with my family. I am very grateful for the opportunity to teach in the Fort Dodge community. If you have any questions please ask! I hope to see you around the community. Also follow the 5/6 health page on Facebook to see what we are learning. (Mr. Roosa’s 5th/6th Grade Health) Sincerely, Mr. Roosa

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Feb. 2017

New Staff Spotlight

Amanda Charlet - Nurse

Hello everyone!

My name is Amanda Charlet and I am new to the

district this year as a nurse. My duties include the

middle school and the high school. I have also just

started assisting with teaching the CNS class at the

high school. I have been a nurse for 12 years. My

experience includes pediatric nursing, clinic,

geriatrics, home health and I last worked at the

mental health center. I am super excited for the

opportunity to work in this school district and to

help the students and the staff. My door is always

open!

I have two children Tucker 21 who attends ICCC and

Kelsey 15 a sophomore at FDCS. I also have two bonus children, Drew is 17 and a

junior at FDCS and Dana who is married and has 2 children. I have 2 miniature

Dachshunds , Lilly and Deuce. In our free time we love to ride motorcycles and camp.

This school year my hope is to learn more about how school nursing can help the

students and the staff.

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Feb. 2017

Attendance Office It is important to call your

son/daughter in absent if they are

going to be late or miss a day of

school. Please call the number

below when your child is unable

to make it to school.

ATTENDANCE LINE: 574-5711

Restock the Pantry Project Through the district-wide Rachel’s Challenge initiative all FD schools

will be collecting food items for the Lord’s Cupboard. Items can be dropped off at any FD school

building or the FD Administration Building anytime from February 1st-24th. Details will be made available

in individual buildings.

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Feb. 2017

Special Grand Prize Winner

Clubs Choice Fundraiser

— Avery Knudson —

Breakfast & Lunch Prices 2016-2017 Breakfast (PK-12) $1.55 Reduced Breakfast $.30 Adult Breakfast $2.00 Lunch Prices (PK-4) $2.45 Lunch (5-12) $2.55 Reduced Lunch $.40 Adult $3.50

FDCSD SCHOOL DINING CHARGING PROCEDURE

We use several communication tools to send out daily reminders to parents that their

dining account is getting low: email, text message, letter and voice message. If you are

not receiving low balance notifications, and would like to please contact the Food Service

Department at 515-574-5677.

Upon reaching the $20 charge limit per family, the following rules will apply:

Students will not be able to purchase breakfast.

Students in grades 9-12 will not be allowed to eat school lunch.

When a family’s account balance is zero, students will not be able to charge ala carte

items; this includes milk that would be purchased if a student brought their own

lunch from home.

We feel that every child should have the opportunity to have school lunches. If you have

a student(s), and are making no attempt to pay a negative balance, the Fort Dodge Com-

munity School District reserves the right to interrupt your child’s meal service. If inter-

ruption should happen, a letter will be sent to the home address, requesting you to pro-

vide a "sack" lunch for your student. To ensure your child does not have interruption in

their meal services please call Food Services to make arrangements to bring your ac-

count up to date.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

No money is accepted during lunch service. Money must be in the kitchen area by 9:15

a.m. to be deposited into the family account for that day.

Send money to school with your child. If sending money to an elementary

school please put the cash/check in an envelope with the child's name on it.

Mail money directly to our office at 104 S 17th Street, Fort Dodge

Pay online using Infinite Campus at: https://campus.fort-dodge.k12.ia.us/campus/

portal/ftdodge.jsp

Please keep an eye on your family dining account. Once the family dining account reach-

es a -$20.00, interruption of meal service is possible. If you are having difficulties in pay-

ing for school meals, please stop by or call 574-5677.

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Feb. 2017

Check the FDCSD Virtual Backpack! Our Virtual Backpack contains flyers and information on school and commu-nity activities for your family and student. Many of them are free! The Fort Dodge community offers kids so many great opportunities – make sure you are aware of the activities your kids can participate in. Check the Virtual Backpack today and regularly as new flyers are added often.

http://www.fdschools.org/index.cfm?nodeID=85024&audienceID=1

FDCSD Offers Something for Everyone Open Enrollment Deadline is March 1

Our mission at the FDCSD is to provide quality learning experiences and build

relationships that develop productive citizens ready for their futures. A child’s educational

experiences including coursework, activities and relationships, will prepare him for his future; what his

post-secondary experience will be and the career choice he will make. With our variety of classes and

activities, we truly offer a place for everyone!

If you know someone whose child currently does not attend our schools but who could benefit from

what we have to offer, please share this information. The open enrollment deadline for the 2017-18

school year is March 1st, 2017. The application can be found at http://www.fdschools.org/en/

student_registration/ or is available in the superintendent’s office at the Central Administration

Building.

The Behavior Doctor is in. A free workshop for parents

All parents are invited to attend a free session with the Behavior Doctor, Dr. Laura Riffel. The workshop will offer tools and strategies to help with behav-ior at home. Dr. Riffel will show parents how to take a targeted behavior and determine what is the trigger of that behavior and what your child is trying to communi-cate by having that behavior. She will also show you how to develop a plan to magically make the behavior disappear. Free child care will be offered. Registration is needed to assist with planning and coverage for this. More details, including registration, available here. The event is jointly sponsored by Fort Dodge Community Schools and Prairie Lakes AEA.

Preschool registration for the 2017-18 school year has started. To be eligible to attend preschool in the fall of 2017, children must be four years old by September 15, 2017.

To register a child for preschool at Riverside Early Learning Center, please visit the Central Administration Building, 104 South 17th Street, or call 574.5679. A completed registration form and $50 non-refundable deposit are required to hold a child’s spot in the program.

Newsletter Fort Dodge Middle School

Feb. 2017

District Compliance

It is the policy of the Fort Dodge Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ancestry, age, gender, sexual

orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, physical attributes, religion, political party preference, political belief, socioeconomic

status, veteran’s status, actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, services, and employment practices. If you have

questions or grievances related to this policy, please contact Marcy Harms, Director of Student Services, Central Administration Building, 104 S.

17th St., Fort Dodge, IA 50501, 574-5678; or United States Office of Civil Rights, U. S. Department of Education Office, 500 W. Madison St., Suite

1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544. The District’s Compliance Coordinator for Affirmative Action is Robert Hughes, Assistant Superintendent, who can

be reached at 574-5657 or 104 South 17th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. The District’s Designated Investigator of Physical/Sexual Abuse of

Students by School Employees is Marcy Harms. She can be reached at 574-5678 or 104 South 17th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. The alternate is

Corey Moody. He can be reached at 5 74-5469 or 819 North 25th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501. The District’s Officer for Harassment Complaints

and Allegations is Marcy Harms, Director of Student Services. She can be reached at 574-5678 or 104 South 17th Street, Fort Dodge, IA 50501.

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You can find information on our schools, news stories, data, contacts and more on the FDCSD website: www.fdschools.org.

Has your address or contact information changed

since school started?

If so, call 574.5679 to update it.