Newsletter
Issue 8: April 2020
I hope you and your family are healthy and doing well during this time. We miss seeing our scholars every day and look forward to when we return back to school. We understand that this time can be challenging for everyone and want to help make the transition to distance learning as smooth as we can for you and your scholar.
This newsletter is filled with important information to help with the transition to distance learning. Please be sure to check the FMS Distance Learning Site regularly. You can access learning and up-to-date information about FMS. This would be a great site to bookmark and check back often. It can be accessed by clicking here or the link below.
Most importantly, we are here for you during this difficult time. If there is anything we can do to support you and your family, please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or any of our student support service staff. All of the contact information for staff can be found on the FMS Distance Learning site.
We appreciate your partnership in helping support your scholar during this time. Together our students will continue to grow and learn. Check out this fabulous video from Fridley Public Schools - we are in this together!
Go Tigers!
Ms. Cochran
Principal
Mark Your Calendar
March 30: Distance Learning Launch
April 9: No School - Planning Evaluation Day
April 10: No School - Holiday
April 27: No School
Attendance during distance learning
Distance Learning: Role of Students
Students have two options to access Distance Learning:
Technology Based: ● Log into your Homeroom Google Classroom daily and complete the attendance activity ● Check Google Classrooms for all of your classes, see specific schedule below for your grade ● Participate in learning activities and complete work provided by your teacher(s) on a daily basis ● You may be invited, but are not required, to engage in real-time video class meetings with your teacher and classmates ● Contact your teacher or student support staff with any questions or needs you have
Non-Technology Based: Learning Boards will be posted, specific to grade level, for student access weekly. Learning Boards can be found on our FMS Distance Learning Site, picked up at FMS front entrance or received at one of the lunch drop off sites. Your child’s homeroom teacher will be in contact with you to discuss learning tasks and activities - at a minimum of 2x/week.
If you do not have access to technology, please let your homeroom teacher know. We are working to distribute technology to students as quickly as possible.
Check out the flyer below to help you remember what do to each day!
CONTENT- 5th Grade
The Distance Learning plan in fifth grade will include learning lessons and assignments that students can complete with some assistance from parents/guardians.
● Daily Content: Literacy: Reading, Writing, and Phonics/Word Work, Mathematics, Science/Individuals & Societies
● Weekly Content: Students will participate in Google Classroom activities on a weekly basis for encore classes. Teachers will have activities posted on Monday each week
● Learning Time frame: The described learning is designed to be 2 hours per day
How to Access your Distance Learning:
● Begin each day by accessing your Google Classroom
● Reminder: Students must be logged in to their Fridley Public Schools Google account (ending in @isd14.org)
5th graders will start by working on their IXL Diagnostic Assessment online:
When Students are working on their IXL Assessments please use the following guidelines. If you don't follow these guidelines you can find yourself continuing the assessment without an end.
IXL Diagnostic Assessment:
1) Students need to login to IXL.com and enter their username and password.
2) When the student is logged in, he or she needs to select the “Diagnostic” tab.
3) Once in the “Diagnostic,” there will be a green bar that says, “Enter the Arena.”
4) The student needs to click on this bar to begin the test.
5) The test is going to assess students in three subject areas at the same time: Math, Language Arts, and Reading. So it is not unusual for a student to answer a math question, and then the very next question, answer a Language Arts question. The assessment is very long. It might take up to 2 or 2 ½ hours to complete.
6) Students can work on the assessment a little at a time. It will save progress automatically.
Students are done when all of the subcategories have a “Circle with a star and one number.” As the students are taking the assessment they will notice that the subcategories will start to have different colored lines. At first the lines will be long, but as the student progresses through the assessment, the lines get shorter and shorter, until at last, the lines become a “Circle with a star with one number.” Once each subcategory has a “Circle with a star and number,” the student is done and should log off. The Diagnostic Assessment will go on forever if the student is not paying attention to their progress.
CONTENT: 6th Grade
Distance Learning Plan: The Distance Learning plan in sixth grade will include learning lessons and assignments that students can complete with some assistance from parents/guardians.
● Learning Experiences: Students will participate in Google Classroom activities on a rotating schedule. See schedule below:
For students on the RED and YELLOW teams:
Checking homeroom google classroom each day for attendance activity
Day A: Literacy (Funk, Pierce), Focused Math, MN Studies (Funk, Pierce)
Day B: Math (Rasmussen, Rifley), Focused Literacy, Science (Rasmussen, Rifley)
Weekly: ELL (if applicable) and Encore Classes
For students on the BLUE team:
Checking homeroom google classroom each day for attendance activity
Day A: Literacy (Kuss), Focused Math, Mn Studies or Science (Reiland)
Day B: Math (Garrison), Focused Literacy
Weekly: ELL (if applicable) and Encore Classes
● Learning Time frame: The described learning is designed to be 2 - 3 hours per day
Teachers are posting their office hours on their classrooms. If your student is having difficulties: EMAIL the teacher OR COMMENT on the classroom. Teachers have been rapidly responding and working to help students with their questions.
CONTENT: 7th and 8th Grade
The Distance Learning plan in seventh and eighth grade will include learning lessons and assignments that students can complete with little/no assistance from parents/guardians.
● Learning Experiences: Students will participate in Google Classroom activities on a rotating schedule- however, they should be working daily on coursework.
- Checking homeroom google classroom each day for attendance activity
- Day A = Hours 1-4 of academic schedule, plus homeroom activities (not including Encore)
- Day B = Hours 5-8 of academic schedule, plus homeroom activities (not including Encore)
● Weekly Content: Students will participate in Google Classroom activities on a weekly basis for encore. Teachers will have activities posted on Monday each week
● Learning Time frame: The described learning is designed to be 3 hours per day
Teachers are posting their office hours on their classrooms and have had changing hours due to student's questions and needs. If your student is having difficulties: EMAIL the teacher OR COMMENT on the classroom. Teachers have been rapidly responding and working to help students with their questions.
COVID-19 Information and Resources for Families
TECHNOLOGY & INTERNET RESOURCES
Families can access low-cost internet service to support student learning at home. In addition, low cost computers and laptops are also available to Fridley families through the district's partnership with Firefly. Please click here for more information on computers and internet access.
Meals For Students
Mental Health & Social Emotional Support
Mid-Term Scores
Grades will be up to date through March 10th. These can be found on parent portal.
We will not be sending out mid-term grades during this time. The high transitions taking place in our school due to COVID-19 makes this process unrealistic. However, please check parent portal for your students most up-to-date grades and contact their teachers if you have any questions or concerns.
Health Office
A message from Health Services... Hoping you are all staying healthy.
The Health Services office staff are available for questions or concerns.
Any medications that were brought to the school are now available at Fridley Community Center health office for pick up at your convenience, call the FCC health office at 763-502-5114 to schedule a time.
MCA Testing: CANCELLED
Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Education Heather Mueller said it has received approval from the federal government to scrap this year's Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments amid the ongoing COVID-19 school shutdown.
More information about the MCA tests can be found at Minnesota Department of Education’s website http://education.state.mn.us/mde/fam/tests/
Fridley Middle School Fundraiser
Yearbooks
Capture your middle school memories!
Order a yearbook for $18.00
Yearbook Updates: Yearbooks for the 2019-2020 school year are still for sale! Orders will close on April 27th. To order a yearbook, mail in your yearbook order form and payment to the middle school or use Fridley’s fee pay option.
ORDER FORM
Spring Sports
We hope you are all doing well. You are our number one concern during this mandatory time of separation. This week we began the process of refunding money to families for Spring Sports registration. This is not because the season has been cancelled. As a district we believe that it is only a small way that we can help our Fridley Families through this Pandemic. We are in this together! The MSHSL has ruled that there will be no contact through May 1, 2020. We will be following their guidelines.
If you paid using our FeePay system you should have already received a credit to the card or account you used to pay. Cash and check payments are in process via the accounting office. This process could take 2-3 weeks. Please know that we are doing the best that we can for you our families. If after that time you have not received your refund please feel free to reach out to Sue Hanson to get the issue resolved.
The decision to refund money was to help families who may now need that money for other purposes. We are hoping for a compacted season at the end of the quarantine but will wait for further information and direction regarding this from the Governor and the MSHSL.
Coaches are beginning to plan how they will reach out to students and connect about sport or activities. We are also hoping for inspiration from students and families about how you are dealing with and using sport or activity to help you get through this uncertain time. We would love to have you share ideas. Contact Sue or Dan with photos, videos, etc. that you are willing to share and we will post them here – Fridley-Tigers.com
If you were planning to participate on a team that is a 7-12 team, your coaches should be reaching out with information about the team(s) that you participated in. We want to have a connection. We are the Fridley Tigers!
Go TIGERS!!
Our plan for the future - Middle school only sports (Track & Field) will begin May 7th.
All 7-12 sports will resume May 4th.
We will continue to follow the guidance of MDH and the Minnesota State High School League.
We will not be collecting a participation fee for this shortened season.
Sign-ups for all sports are available on feepay. Please contact Josh Thurston at 763-502-5506 with any questions.
Aladin Jr.
Staff vs Student basketball game
We miss our scholars!
Fridley Middle School
Email: amy.cochran@fridley.k12.mn.us
Website: www.fridley.k12.mn.us
Location: 6100 West Moore Lake Drive Northeast, Fridley, MN, USA
Phone: 763.502.5400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FridleyMS
Twitter: @FridleyMSTigers