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!