School Hours 7:30am-1:50pm

Wednesday Dismissal

@ 12:50pm

The building is open from 7:00am to

3:00pm.

Pillar of the Month: January —Respect

January 18 MLK Day Student/Teacher Holiday January 25 Second Quarter Ends January 25-29 Pennies for Patients Week January 27 Early dismissal 12:50pm (new time!) January 29 Teacher Planning Day Student Holiday February 15 Presidents Day Student/Teacher Holiday March 17-19 Spring Break

“ H O M E O F T H E F L Y E R S ”

Fruit Cove Middle School

“THE PILOT”

3180 Racetrack Rd 904-547-7880

January 15, 2021 Bi-Weekly Newsletter

Fruit Cove Middle School will inspire in all students a passion for lifelong learning, creating educated and

caring contributors to the world.

Mission Statement

Important Dates

Principal’s Corner

Hello FCMS Families!

As we head into the final week of the 2nd quarter, I want to encourage our students to finish strong. We have been on quite the journey this first half of the school year given all the changes we have endured while focusing on how to best keep our students and staff safe and healthy. We are thankful for the support we receive from our families and community. We have no school on Monday as we honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope you enjoy a long weekend and I look forward to beginning our new semester when we return on Tuesday. I am excited to welcome many of our distance learners back to school on Tuesday. We are here to support our families, especially in times of transition. Please be sure to reach out to one of our school counselors if you have any questions or concerns. Welcome new seventh grade School Counselor, Dr. Cynthia Edwards, to the FCMS family. Dr. Edwards brings nineteen years of public school experience (nine years in the classroom and ten years as a school counselor) and two years in higher education. She has already made a positive impact on our students in the short time she has been with us. Kelly Jacobson Principal

Testing News

PE end of course exams for 8th Grade Distance Learners will be given at school on January 20, 2021 at 1:15pm. Coaches will let students know what room number to report to when they arrive on campus.

Pennies for Patients Week

PENNIES FOR PATIENTS ACTIVITY WEEK JANUARY 25-29, 2021

This is a fund raiser the National Junior Honor Society sponsors every year. It is to benefit the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. Each homeroom will collect $$ from Monday through Thursday of this week. The homeroom with the highest amount will win an Olive Garden lunch! Second and third place winners will receive a special treat for their classrooms.

MONDAY = This is “DECORATE YOUR MASK” day! Be as imaginative and crazy as you like, HOWEVER, it must be school appropriate. Make sure to turn in all your pennies and nickels on this day

TUESDAY = BLING DAY!!! Dress up in your favorite bright colors and/or accessories. Accessories must be school appropriate as well. Remember to bring in all your bright and shiny dimes!

WEDNESDAY = A new idea = FLANNEL DAY. Let’s all wear a flannel shirt, jacket, or vest and keep ourselves warm and cozy!! NO SLEEP PANTS OR SHORTS ALLOWED PLEASE. Also, bring in your quarters and keep the $$$ coming into your homeroom

(Teachers, you may have to explain what flannel is to your homerooms.)

THURSDAY = Everyone’s favorite, TEAM COLORS DAY!!! Wear your favorite teams’ colors and support the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society by bringing in ANY DENOMINATION of $$$. All amounts and types accepted

We hope to have a fun filled week and raise lots of $$ for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. Help stomp on cancer!!!

https://forms.gle/rw9XBHyCGRZWfUBg6

Yearbook News

Library News

The library works a little differently this year!

Overdue book notices are sent by email every Wednesday at 9:00am. Please be aware that all returned books are “quarantined”

for three days before they are checked in. If you receive an overdue notice for a book that was returned, just ignore the notice.

Thank you for your understanding!

Students may still join the Sunshine State Young Readers

Please check the Media Center homepage for updates and visit our new Virtual Library!

Search for the hidden links to book recommendations, special topic slideshows and more!

EAR BUDS NEEDED FOR COMPUTER USE

Parents, students will be using school computer labs this year for diagnostic testing, online practice, testing, and more. Students will need to use ear buds.

Teachers will not be able to provide students with ear buds because of safety. We are asking each student to bring a pair of ear buds to school to keep in his/her backpack. Ear buds do not need to be expensive and can be something that costs less than $5.00.

The Flyer Store will be opening virtually from Tuesday, January 19 at 2:00pm to Wednesday, January 20 at 8:00pm. 1. Go to the Fruit Cove Middle School website 2. Make sure you are on the ‘Links for Students’ page 3. Click on Clever 4. Log into your Clever using your SNumber & password 5. Click on the PBIS Rewards app icon

This is what should appear on your screen:

6. Once you are on your account, click on the stores button, then click on Flyer Store, click on the image/picture to make sure you know what it looks like and any description for that item.

7. A ‘Buy’ button will appear next to items that you can purchase based on how many points you currently have. Remember, you may only purchase ONE item at this time.

Flyer Store

Sports Information

Fruit Cove Basketball 2021 2021 Girls Basketball Team: Kaitlyn Arodi, Caroline Cottrill, Chelsea Curzio, Alyssa Gibian, Morgan Grisel, Aszara Hamilton, Nicole Levy, Nadia LoChe, Brie McCoy, Yasmim Polastri, Brianne Pollock, Eve Vallas, Maggie Vick, Sara-Beth Walters, Ella White

2020-2021 Fruit Cove Boys Basketball Team Garren Blaylock, Daniel Carter, Arya Ebrahimi, Josh Howell, Andrew Jenkins, Tyler Jenkins, Aiden Limburg, Wyatt Lucas, Luc Oliver, Aryan Patel, Konley Pius, Isaiah Richardson, Cameron Swanston, Aaron Tsataros, Bryce Van Fleet

Practice Information Practice started January 14 and is held every weekday (except game days). Girls will practice 2:00-4:00pm and the boys 4:00-6:00pm. On early release days, practices will start earlier (exact time TBD).

Game Information Girls games start at 5:30pm Boys games start at 6:30pm

Feb. 2 Away Gamble Rogers Feb. 4 Home Mill Creek Feb. 9 Home Palm Valley Feb. 11 BYE Feb. 16 Away Sebastian Feb. 18 Away Swiss Point Feb. 23 Home Valley Ridge Feb. 25 Away Pacetti Bay Mar. 2 Home Landrum Mar. 4 PLAY OFF TBD Mar. 9 SEMI TBD Mar. 11 FINAL TBD

School Website

<http://www-fcs.stjohns.k12.fl.us> Visit often for up-to-date information about our school!

Don’t forget to check the Peachjar

for eflyers about community events.

FCMS WEB NEWS

Check out our new Instagram Pages @ FCMSWEB!

Students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles to school each day. Although they cannot drink directly from the water fountains, they can fill their water bottles there. Please do

not send students to the clinic for water. With sick or hurt students in the clinic, we cannot have students waiting for water. Thank You.

Student Water Bottles

PTO NEWS

Reserve your spot for Virtual Trivia Night! Bored with your normal Friday night routine? Join us for a fun evening of trivia and meet some other FCMS families virtually! Sign up now for Virtual Family Trivia Night on Friday, January 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m! Families and students can form teams. The top three teams will win prizes. Space is limited. The cost is $25 per family. Reserve your spot for this fun community-building event at:

https://fcms-virtual-trivia-night.cheddarup.com Order online or on the Marco's Pizza mobile app on January 22 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. using the coupon code Fcmstrivia and get 20% off your total order! Customers can get delivery, carry out, walk-in and curbside pickup.

Submit your recipes for the FCMS Cookbook Have a favorite family recipe? Have a favorite COVID recipe? Enjoy sharing recipes for some good eats? The Fruit Cove Middle School PTO is gathering recipes for the FCMS Cookbook! Share one or many of them with us, reach out to friends and family so they can contribute their favorite goodies, too. Login to http://www.typensave.com. The user name is FruitCove and the password is lettuce723. Click on "Add Recipe" and type it in. It’s as easy as grillin’ a hot dog! Recipe submissions are due February 12th. FCMS Cookbooks will be available for pre sale at $10.00 each Pre-orders: my.cheddarup.com/c/fcms-favorite-recipes-cookbook-pre-order.

Fun Pasta Fundraiser We are excited to be partnering with Fun Pasta Fundraising! Shop now and order some creative, fun and delicious pasta shapes. You'll love the selection - great for gifts, any special occasion, or just for fun. They come in sports, college teams, holidays, animal shapes and more. The “Eat Your Heart Out” pasta would be fun for Valentine's Day! Your order will ship directly to your home. Order yours at: https://funpastafundraising.com/shop/fruit-cove-middle-school-

Mark Your Calendars for the Next PTO Meeting

You are invited to join us for the next PTO Meeting which will be held on Zoom on Thursday, February 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. If you would like to learn more about the PTO and school activities, please participate in this meeting. Email fcmsptocommunications@gmail.com to request the Zoom link for the meeting. Thank you.

PTO NEWS

It’s Not Too Late to Join the FCMS PTO Please take the time to join the FCMS PTO. The PTO provides so much for Fruit Cove Middle School's staff, teachers and our children. Memberships are available for $20, $40 and $100. Families who join at the $100 Blue Angel Level receive:

• Personalized brick for school entrance commemorating your child’s participation at FCMS

• DriFit Spirit Shirt or 8th Grade graduation sign at the end of the year

• 2 Vouchers for tickets to attend Jacksonville Icemen Hockey Game

• FCMS License Plate or Magnet Free Curbside Kona Ice - Date TBD

Your PTO membership and involvement provides many events, items and programs throughout the school year, including:

· Support for programs such as WEB Leaders · School enhancements including classroom laptops · Pilot Points Rewards for students · Book fairs and supplies for the library · Dances and events · Special gifts, awards and events for 8th graders · Teacher and staff appreciation meals, treats and gifts · Opportunities for parent involvement, and more

You can join the PTO at https://www.fcmspto.com/join-the-pto. To learn more about other programs supported by the PTO, please join us at our monthly meetings.

Together we can make a difference!

Book Fair Chairperson or Co-Chairs Needed

The PTO is seeking a Scholastic Book Fair Chairperson OR Co-Chairs to start in Spring 2021. This is a great opportunity to get a peek into our wonderful school and interact with students and teachers. The Chair or Co-Chair must be able to commit one full week volunteering on campus in the fall and in the spring. Otherwise, all coordinating can be done from home. The current Chairperson is available to consult in Spring 2021 to help ease the transition. If you’re interested in learning more, please email fcmsptopresident@gmail.com.

Thank you to our 2020-2021 Blue Angel Partners in Learning: Fast Signs, Joy Orthodontics, Promotional Presence, and Smiles by Glenos!

2020-2021 Instructional Materials Adoption English Language Arts (ELA)

St. Johns County School District curriculum department representatives and adoption committee members have completed the review process for the Instructional Materials Adoption for English Language Arts (ELA). On January 26, 2021, the School Board will conduct a public hearing to receive comment from the community regarding the final list of recommendations for instructional resources for this adoption. The public is invited to attend this hearing. Committees composed of teachers, district content experts, parents and community members compiled the lists. The hearing will be held at 9:00 a.m. in the auditorium of the District Administrative Building located at 40 Orange Street in St. Augustine. Please Click Here to view the final recommended selections. Click here for links to the selections. If you would like access to available printed materials or require assistance reviewing the online resources, please call the Instructional Resources and Media Services office at 904.547.3947. Materials are available for review from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. when district offices are open. Board action on the final recommendations for English Language Arts instructional materials is expected to take place at the School Board meeting in February.