Transition Information

For all INCOMING 7th grade families...

This year has just flown by, hasn't it! I cannot believe we are weeks away from finishing up the 17-18 school year. We are so excited to have your child join us in the fall.

If you missed our recent incoming 7th grade parent transition meeting. Please check out the presentation attached here so that you can have some of your questions answered in regards to your child transitioning to the middle school.

So far this year, your child and family have had two opportunities to begin the middle school transition. Mrs. Wulff went to the elementary school in the middle of April to discuss transitioning with students, and many students also attended the parent transition night hosted in late April.

One final opportunity your child has before the end of the year is coming up on Friday, May 18th. Transition Day is a day when our middle school students all transition up to the next grade level for the day. The 6th grade students will head over to the middle school around 9:00am and have a full day of fun and learning getting to know their teachers for next year, practicing combinations on lockers, and even getting a chance to eat lunch in our cafeteria! If your child would like to eat lunch in the cafeteria they need to plan on bringing their own money or having money put into our Meal Magic website prior to this date. Students are also able to bring their own packed lunch if they prefer.

If you have any questions about any of the transition opportunities for your child, please let Mrs. Wulff know at wulffr@freelandschools.net

For all INCOMING 8th grade families...

Our 7th grade students are in for a great treat on Friday, May 18th as they spend a day being 8th grade students with their teachers. Our 8th grade teachers have a morning of leadership activities planned for students as they get to know the teachers and learn about what it means to be a leader here at Freeland Middle School. In the afternoon, after lunch, students will load buses and head to over 20 different sites around Freeland to engage in a community Service Learning Project. Students will be in small groups of 5-15 with chaperones guiding them through the work that needs to be done at each location. If you are not wanting your child to attend this Service Learning Project please complete this form and turn it into the main office by Thursday, May 17th. Students will come back to school around 1:00pm on Friday and will end their day with an ice cream social to celebrate their transition day work together.

For all INCOMING 9th grade families...

Our 8th grade students will be going to the 9th grade for the day on Friday, May18th. Students should have received a letter in the mail recently outlining the days activities that will take place at the high school. Students will engage in activities throughout the day that explain and go over all the things that they can expect when they are Freshman in high school. Additionally, students need to make sure they report to the cafeteria right after 1st hour on Friday, and they need to bring a writing utensil to the cafeteria because their initial activities will involve writing tasks and activities.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day on Friday and enjoys all the days activities as our students begin to think about the transition to the next grade level!

Homework Strategies for our Teens

Below is an article that one of our high school counselors, Mrs. Townsend, passed along to me as a guide to help parents manage and support teens with their homework. Enjoy!


One of the hardest things in parenting is helping kids stay focused while doing homework because of all the internal distractions, like dread of working on certain tasks, or the desire to check in with friends, and the many external technological distractions that live right on the same device they are using for homework. In a study by research psychologist, Larry Rosen, he found that “students studied less than 6 minutes before switching to technological distractors.” In this same research, he found that students who had study strategies were able to stay on task longer.

After looking into research on the topic, and working with my teens on this, here are some suggestions for helping your children stay focused while doing their homework.

1.      Spend several nights validating how hard it must be for children and adolescents to stay on task when doing homework given all the various tech distractions like Snapschats, texts, games etc. right on their homework device. Acknowledge that it is hard for you to stay on task when you are doing your work, taxes, etc. online because the pull of more fun activities is just one tab away.

2.     Ask your kids what has worked for them and what has not?  Help them understand that you are not concerned about the short term of tonight’s homework, but how this is an important skill that will serve them well throughout their life.

3. If they own a cell phone or other personal device besides the screen they are working on, talk about how important it is to put it out of site for extended periods of time. For my teens, they try to make a habit of putting their phones in another room during study time and then they check it about every 30 minutes for a break. I know many adolescents will be very opposed to not having their phone by their side. Try an experiment with them—have them keep their phone nearby and study for 15 minutes, and then have them put the phone in another room for 15 minutes and study. Then, talk about the experience.

3.     Use a timer. This can be very effective—an old-fashioned kitchen timer is ideal. Have them set a goal to study uninterrupted for a certain amount of time on a subject, 15 minutes for example. A set study interval lets the brain know an end is coming.  This can help increase motivation to delve into a subject. The timer can be set for even 10 minutes or less.

4. Encourage them to start their homework with their most dreaded assignment by saying to just spend five minutes on it. It may be that after the five minutes they want to continue. My son took an online course called “Learning How to Learn” where he discovered that the brain experiences the thought of doing work it does not want to do as physical pain. That's why it feels relieving in the moment to distract yourself with something else—otherwise known as procrastination. However, just a couple minutes into starting the feared task, that sensation of pain dissipates.

5. Breaks—spend time talking about them. In Daniel Pinker’s book, Drive, he writes about how breaks were traditionally frowned upon in high performing work settings, but are now seen as critical to productivity. Breaks are particularly effective when they contain these elements: movement, fresh air, social interactions  (so checking in with friends via social media counts for this—but ideally it would not be the only break students go to).

Spring Student-Led Conferences

On Thursday, April 12th, our Freeland Middle School students and parents will experience their second student-led conferences of the 2017-2018 school year.

In preparation for the student-led conferences this year, our teachers have put together several helpful documents so that our students and parents understand how these conferences are structured.

If you are interested in a snapshot of what our student-led conferences look like, please watch this video which is a great example of how a student walks his/her parents through the conference to showcase strengths and weaknesses throughout the grading period.

For our second student-led conferences, the focus will be on transitioning to the next grade level. Students will complete a transition and reflection goal sheet prior to the conferences to provide them a guide for talking about their progress this marking period as well as goals as they transition to the next grade level. Additionally, on the night of conferences, they will utilize a student-led conference checklist to make sure they do not miss anything that needs to be discussed with parents. Finally, included in the student-led folders will be top ten lists for 8th grade and Freshman year to prepare for success in the next grade level.

This year, we have also created parent preparation documents to help all of our parents better understand their role in the conferences, and to help prepare for how they can support students as they walk parents through their work. We ask that parents review the parent checklist for student-led conferences prior to April 12th to better prepare for how to help your child with the student-led conference process.

We are once again excited to partner with parents and students throughout the rest of the year, and hope that you enjoy the process of student-led conferences as we begin to talk about transitioning to the next grade level. If you have any questions in regards to the conferences please contact Mrs. Wulff at wulffr@freelandschools.net or 989-692-4032.

PSAT Information and M-Step Reminders

Okay FMS, be prepared for a longer post here! I wanted to make sure to update all of you on all things testing as we enter our spring testing season. Recently, our 8th grade students received their Fall PSAT scores back and there is a lot of information that can be gained from these. Please read below for more information. For any questions on the M-Step testing process in the middle school, scroll past the PSAT information and you will find all things M-Step! 

Happy Spring Break!

PSAT

Parents of 8th grade students, below are some very important tutorials and announcements in regards to your child's PSAT 8/9 reports!

Did you know your child took the PSAT 8/9 in the Fall of 2017 this year as an initial way to prepare for the SAT they will take in their 11th grade year? The PSAT and ACT replaced the Explore ACT and ACT testing that Michigan use to use as their college readiness assessment. What we love about the PSAT is the fact that there are many ways for your child to prepare and practice for these high stakes college and career readiness assessments.

Mrs. Tomsich, our College and Career Advisor and Mr. Duley our K-8 Counselor  recently met with all 8th grade students to get them connected to their College Board account and their Khan Academy account which are both available for free to all students who have taken the PSAT or SAT. Students are able to utilize these reports and practice sites to help guide them throughout the next three years as they prepare for the SAT. Below is a short tutorial for all of you that provides a summary of what Mrs. Tomsich and Mr. Duley presented to our 8th grade students earlier this month.

PSAT - College Board and Khan Academy Tutorial 

Additionally, your child was given a paper copy of their reports. This paper report provides basic information on their readiness level for the PSAT and SAT assessments. All students will take the PSAT as an 8th, 9th, and 10th grade student to help be as prepared as possible for the SAT their 11th grade year.

If you are confused on how to read your child's paper or online report please use this document as a guide. It goes over the basics of how to read and analyze the report that the PSAT provides for each student who takes the PSAT.

We know navigating through these tests can be confusing, so feel free to contact us at any time.

• Mrs. Wulff - wulffr@freelandschools.net
• Mrs. Tomsich - tomsichl@freelandschools.net

Or contact our K-8 Counselor:

• Mr. Duley - duleyp@freelandschools.net

We hope that this provides you some good information as you continue to learn about the PSAT and SAT testing your child will take. In the next few years expect more tutorials and information to come out in regards to how you can continue to support your child as they practice for their SAT testing that will take place in 11th grade.

M-Step Reminders

Below are several reminders for the M-Step Spring 2018 testing:

• Please make sure you are in attendance during testing times. Contact Mrs. Wulff if you will be absent at wulffr@freelandschools.net or 989-692-4032.
• Headphones are required for portions of the M-Step. Please bring your own headphones with you if you have them. 

M-Step Schedule

8th grade
April 9th

• Math Tests from 8:30-9:30am and 11:00-12:00pm 

April 16th 

• English tests from 9:15-10:18am and 12:30-1:34pm

April 18th 

• Social Studies test from 8:30-9:30am
• Science Field Test from 11:00-12:00pm *field test is based on the new Next Generation Science Standards

7th grade

May 2nd 

• Math tests from 8:30-9:30am and 11:00-12:00pm

May 3rd 

• English tests from 9:15-10:18am and 12:30-1:34pm

Important Documents

To continue to keep all stakeholders well informed, the Michigan Department of Education has put together a bank of parent/student resources on all assessments that students take as they continue their education. Below are a wide variety of resources in regards to Michigan assessments. 

• Parent information sheet regarding assessments
• How to prepare your child for state assessments
• State Assessment: What it means, what it is, what it offers
• Parent MDE letter 2018
• National PTA: Parent Guide to Michigan Assessments
• Video on Michigan Assessments

It's time to spring forward.

First off, I have to apologize for the radio silence over the last month. It has been a month of ups and downs for the middle school, and I am just finding some time to sit down and write for a bit about the various happenings in the middle school right now. The strength our school and community has shown in the last month has been incredible, and I am so proud to be part of a community that continues to come together and support one another regardless of what is going on in our community, country, or world.

Recently, our middle school parents have been engaged in a middle school parent cohort on Tuesday nights. We are entering week five (out of seven) of our cohort and it is going great! We have had various experts come in each week to talk about the development of our teens and pre-teens. So far, we have had presentations on brain development, 21st century learning, healthy life style and nutritional needs, and social emotional health and development. This week, our focus will be on social media - the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you are interested in being a part of this cohort, we are running our second session in April, and there is still time to sign up! Follow this link and sign up by March 23rd and we will make sure you get a spot in our next cohort.

Speaking of social media, it is that time of year when I tend to give my PSA on social media trends for our teens right now. Recently, I have learned of three new apps or add-ons in apps that I think that we should all know about and make sure to talk to our teen about!

• House Party - this is your typical video chat application, and it has been very popular with our teens this year. Much like Skype, students can go on and video chat with one another. The difference is that with House Party you can chat with up to 8 people at once creating a true "party" feel. More information about House Party can be found by reading through this article about what all parents should know about the app.
• My Eyes Only - Somehow I missed this one! I am being told by our teens that it has been around for a year, but I never caught wind of it. It is an extension to the app Snapchat. It allows students to hide snaps on their Snapchat file by using the "My Eyes Only" extension. To get into this part of Snapchat you even need a separate code. This is definitely one to have a family conversation about as it is a hiding place for all images/videos that go on with Snapchat. 
• Sarahah - If you are familiar with the now outdated ASKfm, this is very similar. It is an anonymous app in which students have been using it to say mean things to one another. It is meant to be a "friendly" app where strangers say kind things to each other, but I believe it is being used in a negative way with many of our teens. Good news though, looks like Apple and Google have dropped this app, or are at least getting some pressure to do so due to the bullying issues! Check out this article for more information on that.

And to go along with the trending apps PSA, it is also important as we "spring forward" to continue to have the conversation about appropriate exchange of digital images. So many of our teens do not realize the consequences of sending an inappropriate (ex. nudes) picture of themselves to others, and I cannot stress the importance of continuing to have family conversations about this. Not sure what to say to your teen/parent about the pressures there are out there to text in inappropriate ways? This article is a great starting point for conversations for both parents and students. I know many of our teens are pressured regularly to engage in various forms of "sexting", and continual reinforcement of what to do when this situation arises is vital to keeping our students safe in the digital world.

Finally, we recently had a Crisis Incident Management community session that brought about some great discussion with our middle school parents about how we can continue to provide the safest possible environment for our students at FMS. Due to discussions at this meeting, we are adjusting our visitor check-in procedures a bit. Please read below for details if you have not already received the email about this: 

• In order to make certain our students are in a safe/secure environment when you buzz in from now on you will be asked to give your name, the student you are wishing to see (if applicable), and why you are coming into the building. Once buzzed in, please come directly into the main office and have a photo ID ready to present to the secretary. Additionally, we ask that every person entering the building buzz in. Please refrain from letting others into the building who have not buzzed in yet. Thank you for your help and support with making sure our building is safe and secure for students.

Be on the lookout for another blog this week in regards to our 8th grade PSAT. We have lots of parent and student information in regards to individual PSAT scores. Recently, Mr. Duley provided all results to students, and got them connect to Khan Academy and College Board, and we know there may be some questions as students and parents begin to look into these results. Later this week, I will be posting an entire blog dedicated to all things PSAT! 

Have a great week!

Student Qualifies for State Geography Bee!

Marcus Bader is one amazing student. Early on in his educational journey he discovered that he loved Geography, and he happened to be really good at it too! Since his elementary school days, Marcus has spent time learning about the world. He is interested in studying the world, learning facts about different parts of the world, and remembers just about everything he learns!

Last year, Marcus was our only student to qualify for the state level Geography Bee put on by National Geographic. This year, with the help of Mr. Schwedler who hosted the bee, Marcus once again qualified for the state bee. He took the state level test last week, and we should get the results for this test sometime in early March.

Marcus, and all students who participated in the bee this year, congratulations on all of your hard work!

Second Semester - Changes and Updates

We have arrived! Our students persevered through their first semester of the 2017-2018 school year, and today starts their second semester. This is an opportunity to reflect on how things went first semester, make necessary changes to better our school environment, and keep on doing great things here at Freeland Middle School.

Some changes you will see second semester, and some additional updates are below...

Technology Changes

We have noticed some concerns with academic dishonesty on technology devices that we need to address. We are showing this video to all students in 7th and 8th grade this week just to continue to reinforce academic integrity and what that means here at FMS.

Additionally, we have many Chromebooks that have been damaged due to misuse this year. We are showing this video to all 7th grade students to reinforce Chromebook care. Starting next week, if our students have broken hinges on their Chromebooks, they will spend time during lunch helping our tech support team fix their hinges. This is a great life skill for these students, and also shows our students how much work it can be to fix these devices! We hope that this will reinforce care for our 1:1 Chromebooks.

Finally, our building is struggling with device misuse, and we need to make sure we clean things up when it comes to how our 7th and 8th grade students use their devices. Please make sure you watch this video or view this PowerPoint presentation to understand our expectations moving forward. If our students get sent to the office for technology misuse they will be looking at after-school detentions. This will take some coordinating for our parents, and we appreciate your support with this. We want to make sure we are teaching students skills for success when it comes to technology, and right now, we are seeing many of our students not understanding how to use their devices appropriately at school.

Cafeteria Changes

I am sure you have heard frustrations about our cafeteria when it comes to days when we have to "lock down" the cafeteria and not let students move due to cafeteria messes and overall behavior in the cafeteria. For second semester, we want to try to change things up a bit. We are going to be running a "Clash of the Cafeteria Clans" competition in our cafeteria. This will be a fun and positive way to reinforce appropriate cafeteria behavior. Please take a look at this presentation to better understand the game we will be playing with our students this marking period! 

Honor/Merit Roll

This is the week our students will find out if they made the Honor/Merit Roll. Honor/Merit Roll lists will be printed Thursday morning and posted in the halls for students. On Friday, anyone who made the Honor/Merit Roll or is being recognized for being a Student of the Marking period will attend a dessert banquet in the cafeteria during our assembly schedule time at the end of the day. For students who did not make the Honor/Merit Roll this semester, we have set up some goal setting time for them so that they can set themselves up for success second semester! Review this presentation for all information on our Honor/Merit Roll recognition at FMS.

Have a great start to second semester!

Semester Exams

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of first semester. To better prepare for semester exams, below are several exam study tips, presentations, and videos.

Semester Exam Schedule - January 17th-19th

Wednesday, January 17th        7:40-7:55 1st hour exam review

                                                            7:55-9:30 1st hour exam

                                                            9:30-9:40 Break

                                                9:40-10:38 report to 2nd hour to review for

upcoming exams

                                                            10:38-11:13 Lunch

                                                            11:13 -12:47 2nd hour exam

                                                            12:47-12:53 break

                                                            12:53-2:28 3rd hour exam

Thursday, January 18th 7:40-9:20 4th hour exam

                                                            9:20-9:35 Break

                                                            9:35-11:15 5th hour exam
Student Dismissal at 11:15am

Friday, January 19th         7:40-9:20 6th hour exam

                                                            9:20-9:35 Break

                                                            9:35-11:15 7th hour exam
Student Dismissal at 11:15am

Exploratory classes not giving an exam and do not have a test/exam to provide will have a regular day of instruction.

Semester Exam Supports

Here are some of the resources you can utilize to prepare for exams.

• Exam Study Resources
• Exam Study Tips Video

Finally, to help students prepare for their exams, our Falcon Parent Support Organization (FPSO) will be hosting their 4th annual Exam Cram. Below you will find details for this event:

• When is it? Friday, January 12th from 2:30-5:00pm
• Where is it? Freeland Middle School (starts in the cafeteria)
• What is it? A great space for students to have 20-30 minutes per class to study with peers in a fun but productive way!
• Where do I sign up? Sign up by Wednesday, January l0th in the main office
• What if I have questions? See Mrs. Wulff, or email her at wulffr@freelandschools.net

Additional Announcements

• Our parent/teacher conferences will take place on Thursday, January 25th from 4:30-7:00pm. 
• Our Middle School Parent Survey is still open - we appreciate your feedback!
• If you are interested in joining our middle school parent series please check out the information below - this is a great opportunity to meet once a week for seven weeks to learn more about how our middle school students grow, develop, and learn! 
• Middle School Parent Cohort Series Description
• Middle School Parent Cohort Series Registration

Reflections at the start of a new year.

Although this break was a bit more chilly than I would have liked, it was still a great time to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends. I hope that all of you also had some much needed time to rest and relax with your families. With the start of the new year, I took time to reflect on how things are going at the middle school, and am so proud of the work we have done this year.

When it comes to reflections, it is very important that our parents and students also provide us feedback on how they think the year has gone. Click on this link to access a simple 5 minute survey we are asking parents to fill out to give us valuable feedback about your thoughts with how we are doing serving your child this year. We know we aren't perfect, and we want to do whatever we can to continue to improve our student experiences  here at school! If you don't have time to fill it out right now, you can always access the link on our Freeland Middle School district page - it is labeled "parent survey" on the right hand side of the page. Our students will also be filling out a student survey in their English classes sometime during the month of January.

Our students continue to SOAR above the line at school in both behavior and academics. With the honor roll and merit roll recognition coming up quickly, I am proud to say that our students continue to work hard and take school seriously, and know that we will, once again, have the vast majority of our students with a 3.0 or above for the first semester of the year. If you would like information on how we run our honor roll at Freeland Middle School, make sure to check out this presentation.

As we continue into the new year, I think it is also best to reflect on some of the greatest highlights we have had so far. One of my favorites is definitely the 3rd annual Feliz Navi-Dodgeball tournament that we hosted right before break. This event is by far one of my favorite events of the year, and is chalked full of fun for all students whether playing in the tournament, or watching others participate. We had a great year once again, and a huge thank you goes out to our middle school student council and their advisor, Mrs. Gotts, for putting on this tournament for us!

Below are a few pictures from the dodgeball tournament, but if you want to check out all of the pictures we took just click on this link!

And of course, a big thank you to our teachers for once again participating.... and once again, losing in our dodgeball tournament. Maybe one day we will actually beat our students. :)

Some of my other favorite memories so far this year include all of the times we have gathered together to do something great for the community. Recently, we ran our giving tree program and our donations were used to provide Christmas presents to those in need in our local community. In addition to this, we also sent our Choir to Baynes Apple Farm to carol the night away for visitors at the apple farm. Finally, we wanted to celebrate our students right here at FMS, so we wrote each other Christmas grams to post all over the school, and recently had a locker elf visit clean lockers to give candy canes away to any student that kept their locker clean for the marking period.

What a great semester to reflect on; we cannot wait to see what 2018 brings to FMS! Happy New Year!