F.M.S. Student Services

The school counselors will be visiting each 6th grade classroom for another round of “guidance lessons”. This month we are focusing on stereotyping and prejudice; this is a nice tie in to our emphasis on respect and appreciation of differences.

This is timely with our celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday and the national “No Name Calling Week” which is Jan. 23-27. The Civil Rights Team will be involved in these school wide efforts and be going into each lunch to ask students to sign pledges regarding no name calling.  You can see more about this program on their website: nonamecalling.org

Again, if you have any questions about the school counseling program at Falmouth Middle School, please call Dawn or Pat. 

It has been a busy fall here at FMS.  We have settled into our school routines and are still getting used to a  school without fifth grade.  Student led and parent teacher conferences are finishing up this week.  Students did a great job reflecting on their work and creating goals for the year.

We (Pat Wright and Dawn Girsch) will be going into all 6th grade classes on a monthly basis to talk about bullying and harassment.  Our goal is to encourage them to think about this issue in a broader sense and to come up with strategies that would work here at FMS.  Getting a consistent message to the whole grade is important in that they will have the same language and experience to refer to when issues come up.

As always, please feel free to contact either of us with any questions, concerns or comments you may have.  We wish all of our students and their families a happy holiday season.

We hope you were all able to enjoy the beautiful Maine weather this summer and you are ready to return to Falmouth Middle School for a beginning of another school year.  So much has changed around here.  All portables are gone, new parking lots are being paved and the new school is complete and open for business.  We are a true middle school with grades 6,7 and 8.  There are a few other changes this year.  We will all begin our days in Dock Time for 10 minutes three days a week.  These groups are small (9-11 students) allowing for some individual time between advisor and student.  We are hopeful that taking a few minutes these mornings to preview the week, answer questions and take some time to relax and focus before starting our busy days will be beneficial to students and teachers alike.  Another change is the distribution of students between the two School Counselors.  Pat Wright will work with 7th grade and 6th grade students (L-Z).  Dawn Girsch will work with 8th grade students and 6th grade students (A-K).  Dawn will be meeting with students in small groups to introduce herself to them and get to know them right away.  We are looking forward to all that the year holds for our “new” Middle School.

On another note, NECAP testing is coming up during the first three weeks of August.  Please try to plan to have your students in school for this testing.  All students need to take these assessments so if they are not here for the testing day, they will need to take it another time and may miss academic time.  We will share the schedule with you as soon as it is set.

Welcome back and as always feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Dawn and Pat

This song rang through the halls of Falmouth Middle School on the last day of school.  There was much excitement as students said goodbye to their teachers and met their new teachers during step up time.  Our 8th graders are moving onto the high school ready for the next chapter in their academic career.  Here at FMS, we are definitely in a state of transition.  Our 5th grade teachers are packed up and ready to move to the new building as soon as they can.  All teachers who called the portables their home base are moving into the building any day now.  Many teachers are moving classrooms for many reasons.  The halls are filled with furniture and boxes.  Change is in the air!

We look forward to all the changes the 2011/2012 school year will bring.  Please check the FMS website for school supply lists.  Our first events planned for the new school year include open houses.  The 6th grade open house is September 8th from 6:30-7:30.  The 7th grade is on September 15th from 6-7.  The 8th grade open house is also on September 15th but from 6:30-7:30.  There will be a new student orientation on Thursday, September 1st from 2-3.

Enjoy your summer and see you in September,

Dawn Girsch and Pat Wright

Thinking about students saying goodbye to one class &  teacher and hello to another on Step Up, I decided that “Aloha” would be a good word of the day. According to Wikipedia:  ”Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting to say goodbye and hello.”   

One word with a variety of meanings that can be applied to the last day of school; looking backward and forward at the same time.  Hello & goodbye, simultaneously.  Of course this creates stress and some confusion…even positive, healthy change causes some discomfort or unease! Juggling the feelings of separation and leaving the familiar while looking ahead with anticipation and excitement can leave some students in tears on that last day. As parents we are called upon to offer support and encouragement to our children at these times. Even if we, too, are filled with similar discomfort or unease, it’s our job to role model the tools needed to handle change successfully.

When your child comes home on the last day of school, think about how you can listen and support them in framing the changes inherent in moving on to the next grade level in a positive and upbeat way. Encourage them to think about the many similarities in the next grade and school year; what will the next year’s special field trips and activities include? If they don’t have a “best friend” in their class on step up day, please remind them that this was only one class and that there are many other opportunites for them to be in classes with friends. Lunch, recess, and the UAs will continue to be times where they will be mixed up with other students. You can also help by encouraging your child to see a new classroom as an opportunity to make new friends. Perhaps there will also be opportunities for you to help your son or daughter connect with some of their “new” classmates over the summer. 

Finally, perhaps you can look up the many definitions of aloha and share it with your child.  May you share the feeling of aloha together and have a wonderful summer…see you next year!! 

Hello students and parents: our third and final Trimester has started!  With the final Trimester comes plans for 8th grade graduation and high school registration. Online registration begins the week of March 14th and the high school counselors will be speaking with our students in smaller groups that week to answer any questions. 

With planning for high school, the arrival of spring and all the activities that occur, it can be very difficult for students to stay focused on school work.   Additionally, we often see more interest in social events and realtionships come spring. Just a reminder that the last Trimester is usually very challenging academically and it isn’t a good time to procrastinate with homework or studying for tests! 

As always, if you have any concerns or issues regarding school, please don’t hesitate to call on your school counselor. We also have a school counseling intern from USM (Kayla Warren, a Falmouth graduate!) who is working in our office through May and will be providing more individual and group counseling services.

Reminder: Dawn Girsch works with 7th  & 8 th graders; Pat Wright with 5th and 6th graders.

For students:  Our first trimester comes to an end in the midst of holidays and busy fall celebrations. Good organization and time management play key roles in keeping up with in and out of school demands. You can get creative with the type of calendar and reminders that you use; whether they are electronic or hang on the wall!  Sticky notes are useful and come in all kinds of colors; folders and file systems are important for us all. 

Please make sure to eat well balanced meals, sleep at least 8 hours a night, and get some daily exercise.  Staying healthy and dealing proactively with stress will help you do your best at school and enjoy your holidays to their fullest! Remember that you can check in with Mrs. Girsch or Mrs. Wright for more tips on organization or dealing with school. Report cards are coming out soon!

For parents: both counselors have been busy with classroom activities in each grade level aimed at meeting the mandate from the Maine Department of Education that we educate our students about the issues of alcohol use. The following is taken directly from this directive. 

“Alcohol Awareness Day, the first Monday in December, shall be observed
by studying, for at least 45 minutes, a constructive approach toward the use of alcohol and the problems and dangers of alcohol abuse upon the individual, the family, and society. Alcohol Awareness Day will be December 6, 2010 as part of Maine’s Alcohol Awareness Week, December 6-10, 2010. Many civic groups and alcohol service agencies, along with schools, will be sponsoring Alcohol Awareness Week activities. Through this law, the State of Maine
recognizes the need for schools and community organizations to address
alcohol issues.”

We hope that our efforts have lead to increased dialogue at home around the entire issue of drug use.  Students have been very engaged and insightful, leading to some wonderful class discussions. We have added links to the right that lead to some good resources for students and parents around this important issue. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Girsch ( grades 7 & eight) or Mrs. Wright ( grades 5 & 6).

Mrs. Girsch ( Grade 7 & 8 counselor) and Mrs. Wright ( Grades 5 & 6) look forward to the start of a new school year and greeting students next week.  We will be in school and available all week if you have any questions or concerns. Be sure to stop by and say hello during the 5/6 “drop in” time on Monday ( August 30th, from 1:30 to 2:30 pm).  Julie Mercer, our office secretary, has been busy most of the summer enrolling over 20 new students to our school!  We are sure to recieve a few more registrtations through the beginning of September. If you are one of these families, welcome, & don’t hesitate to call our office with any questions you might have.  Jean Barbour, our school nurse, will be starting on Monday as well.  The Student Services Office is located in the back of the school on the sixth grade wing and we will be here during the upcoming “Open Houses” that each grade level will be holding in September. Please drop by and say hello!

Summer is here and the halls of Falmouth Middle School are quiet.  We hope all of our students and their families enjoy this time to play, relax and rejuvenate.  The first day of school is Wednesday, September 1st.   The new student orientation will take place on Monday, August 30th from 10-11..  New students who are registered will receive a phone call or e-mail about specifics.  Student Services will reopen on August 16th.

Enjoy your summer and see you in September!

Mrs. Girsch and Mrs. Wright

We are in the home stretch of the 2009/2010 school year.  Many of our students and families are busy this time of year with sports, music concerts and  academic projects.  It can be a difficult time of year for students to focus.  They are distracted by the spring sun and warm air and can become restless wanting to get outside and enjoy it.  Thoughts of the next school year can be worrisome.  Some students may feel anxiety as they leave the familiar routines of their current classrooms and the relationships they have built with their teachers and their classmates.  Most students, even if excited about moving onto the next grade, fear the unknown and worry about the demands of the next grade.  So, what can we do assist our middle school students this spring?  We can continue to provide structure by sticking to the usual sleep, eating and homework routines.  We can allow for some down time.  This time of year it is easy to schedule every waking moment.  When the opportunity arises, leave the free spot on the calendar free.  Here at FMS we will be providing transition activities for students to help ease their worries (see below for details).

Spring is busy in the Student Services office.  We will be visiting all 6th grade classrooms with 7th grade students to answer the many questions our 6th graders have about next year.  The 4th graders from Plummer-Motz will be visiting the first week of June for a thoughtful introduction to FMS.  All students 5th through 7th grade will “step up” for about an hour on the last day of school, June 17th.   We are also busy setting up shadow days and tours for prospective students/families.  Student Services has partnered with Junior Achievement for the spring.  A volunteer will be working with Mrs. Girsch’s  7th R.O.C.K. classes for 6 sessions.  The program is titled Economics for Success.  It explores personal finance and students’ education and career options based on their skills, interests, and values.  We are very excited about Junior Achievement’s return to FMS!  Finally, the MEA science test will be administered to the 5th and 8th grade between May 10 and May 21st.  Final dates will be set soon and can be found in the Principal’s Notes.

Please feel free to contact Mrs. Wright or Mrs. Girsch at any time for specific concerns or questions regarding your student.

Happy Spring!