Return to Headlines

Mr. Clark's Bengal Message for the week of 09/03/2023

 

Good Evening Bengal Family, this is Mr. Clark, Principal at Fuquay-Varina Middle School, with your weekly Bengal Message. 

 

 

 

New Announcements

 

We had a great first week with our students.  It was so great seeing our hallways filled with smiling faces and the sound of laughter and joy as our students went through each day.  Our students received a lot of information last week about expectations and procedures.  Please take some time over the next week to review this information with them.  Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have any questions or need clarification about something.  You may also contact your child's grade level administrator if you have a question.  Their email is listed below. 

 

6th Grade Assistant Principal: Mr. DeVane - edevane@wcpss.net

7th Grade Assistant Principal: Dr. Vega - dvega@wcpss.net

8th Grade Assistant Principal: Ms. Elliott - pelliott@wcpss.net

 

No school on Monday, September 4th

The school building will be closed on Monday, September 4th in observance of Labor Day.  We look forward to seeing all of our students on Tuesday, September 5th.  

 

Arrival/Dismissal

Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we worked through the first week of school with arrival and dismissal.  We had a great week overall.  Here are a few reminders about morning arrival and afternoon dismissal;

    1. Please do not drop students off prior to 7:45 am.  We do not have staff in place to monitor students when they come onto campus prior to 7:45 am.  In addition, please do not stop on N. Ennis St. to drop students off.  
    2. Please do not come up Woodrow St. from Academy St. to access the carpool lane. Our buses and special transportation vehicles access this route and this prevents them from being able to drop students off, if this route is backed up.  Please follow this Link for carpool procedures.

 

Athletics

Football, Girls Soccer, Volleyball, and Cheerleading tryouts will occur this week.  Please contact the coach listed below if you would like more information about tryouts.  

 

Football - Coach Bellucco: tbellucco@wcpss.net

Girls Soccer - Coach Oates: aoates@wcpss.net

Volleyball - Coach Chiha: cchiha@wcpss.net

Cheerleading - Coach Colecchia: scolecchia@wcpss.net

Athletic Director - Coach Umphrey: vumphrey@wcpss.net

 

PTA Announcements

 

ARE YOU A MEMBER, YET?

We are excited for another great year of serving our FVMS students and community! We can't do what we do without YOU, our school parents and families. If you have not joined the FVMS Parent Teacher Association for the 2023-24 school year yet, please take a moment to do so online. If you prefer paper, you can print off this form and send it, along with your annual dues (cash only, please), in a sealed envelope to school with your student and they can turn it in to their homeroom teacher. 

Joining is not the same as volunteering, so don't panic! By just joining, the PTA is able to utilize your annual dues to fund all of the amazing things they do for students and staff. If you want to take the next step and get involved with PTA, we'd love to have you and you can fill out our short survey to get started. We will be in touch!

 

Our fall membership drive ends on October 31st. All those who join during our membership drive will be entered into a raffle for a sweet prize pack!  

 

Membership Type - Parent_Guardian 2022-23 (1).jpg

 

 

DONATIONS NEEDED

PTA is providing Jersey Mike's and Amazon gift cards to help celebrate staff birthdays and recognize Staff of the Month. We need financial donations from Bengal families to help purchase these items. If you are able to contribute towards this staff recognition program, please visit our online PTA Spirit Shop. Thank you so much for your generosity! 

 

PS - While you are in the spirit shop, consider purchasing a PTA membership for the current school year! 

 

image.png

 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

PTA will have it's first General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, September 19th at 6:00pm in the school library (media center). This meeting is VERY important, as we will be presenting the proposed annual budget for the 2023-2024 school year. All PTA members are encouraged to attend as we will need to meet quorum to vote. This is also a great time to meet other parents and staff, as well as learn about what PTA does at the middle school level. We strongly encourage in-person attendance, but a virtual option will be made available and the link included in the Principal's Message the Sunday prior to the meeting.

 

PTA will have a virtual working board meeting on September 5th at 7:00pm. This will be a quick, 30 minute planning session to prepare the budget for the General Membership Meeting. 

 

PTA meeting.jpeg

 

 

STAY IN THE KNOW

PTA is the oldest and largest advocacy organization for children. FVMS PTA aims to serve all students, support the staff, and connect school families. We encourage you to check out all of our resources by visiting and subscribing to our Linktree. 

 

 

 

Ongoing Announcements

 

Dress Code

We have modified our Dress Code for this school year.  Students will not be permitted to wear or bring the following items to school;

    1. Hoods (Students are still permitted to wear hats)
    2. Pajamas
    3. Blankets/pillows

If students wear or bring the following items to school, they will be asked to remove them or change into something else. 

 

Cell Phone Policy

Our cell phone policy will remain the same this year.  Teachers will ensure cell phones are secured in the classroom once students turn them in.  Students will be permitted to use their cell phones during lunch and dismissal. 

 

Door Dash/Uber Eats

Students are not permitted to receive mobile food orders from Door Dash, Uber Eats, and etc.

 

SB 49

Senate Bill 49 requires school staff to notify parents if their child would like to be called by a different name other than their legal name listed in PowerSchool.  This also pertains to students that go by a shorter version of their name. For example, if a student's name is William and they would like to be called Will or if a child's name is Rebecca and they would like to be called Becky, school staff will need to notify parents.  In an effort to eliminate teachers having to notify several families throughout the first week and parents receiving several emails from teachers, if your child would like to go by a different name other than their legal name listed in PowerSchool, please complete this Google Form.

 

Bengal Swag

You may order Bengal Swag at the following LINK.  1st Place Spirit Wear is running a 30% sale, so hurry and order before the sale ends.

 

Career Conversations

We will be hosting Career Conversations for our students to learn about careers within our area.  If you would like to share your work experience with our students, please volunteer using this link.  Please contact Ms. Elkins, pelkins@wcpss.net, if you have any questions.  

 

 

HBCU - You Know Club

Are you a graduate of an HBCU?  If so, we would love for you to come and share your experience with our club.  You can sign up for a date using this link.  Please contact club sponsors, Teketa Wynn, twinn@wcpss.com, or Angela Bean, abean@wcpss.net, if you have any questions or concerns.  

 

Volunteer Registration

Volunteers no longer need to register to be a volunteer at a WCPSS school.  You may now register at this LINK to become a volunteer at our school.  If you plan to serve as a volunteer during the school year, please complete the registration form. 

 

Bengal Pride Wednesday

Wednesday's will be dedicated to Bengal Pride time this coming school year in which our students will be given 30 minutes after 1st period to participate in a club, their houses, and get extra help with school work.  The first and third Wednesdays are dedicated to House activities. These will include building rapport with their peers and enhancing the climate and culture of the school. The second Wednesday of the month is dedicated to clubs. Students will have over 30 clubs to choose from, some for the year and others for the semester. The last Wednesday of the month is dedicated to Career Conversations where students will have the opportunity to meet area businessmen and women and learn about the various career opportunities in the area.

 

Mark your Calendars

Below you will find dates and times to our upcoming events that take place at the beginning of the school year. More information may be found below for 6th grade summer camp and Walk your schedule.  

    • August 24th - Walk your schedule/Open House: 12:30 pm - 7:30 pm
    • August 28th - First day of School
    • September 20th - School Wide Fundraiser Kick-off
    • September 25th - Parent/Teacher Conference Day
    • September 29th - Deadline to submit documentation for Tdap and Meningococcal vaccine (7th Grade students only) 

 

7th Grade Immunizations  

All 7th grade students must provide documentation that they have received the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccine.  We must receive this documentation by September 29th.  Failure to do so will result in your child being excluded from school.  You may bring your child’s updated shot records to the school between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, email them to Ms. Donna Lanham at dlanham@wcpss.net or fax them to 919-670-4397.   

 

Only Medical and Religious exemptions are accepted in NC. For more information about exclusions, please visit http://www.immunize.nc.gov/schools/ncexemptions.htm 

 

2023-2024 School Calendar

You may view the 2023-2024 school calendar at this LINK.

 

 

Upcoming Holidays/Teacher Workdays (No School)  

  • September 4: Holiday - No school for students
  • September 25: Teacher Workday - No school for students

 

 

 

Stay Connected with what’s happening at FVMS