Olivia Johnson
As we relax and enjoy our summer, its hard to believe that the school year is just around the corner. I am looking forward to the start of a great school year at Fern Ridge Middle School. Just a brief update and reminders:
Fern Ridge Middle School Registration will be Tuesday, August 21st from 11:30 AM to 7:30PM; Wednesday, August 22nd from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM; and Thursday August 23rd from 8:00 AM to Noon. New students need to bring proof of residency (rental agreement, utility bill, etc.) At registration, you will be able to update your student’s information (emergency contacts, transportation, etc), purchase a P.E. shirt if needed, and purchase a yearbook if you want one. Students will also pick up their student planners. There is a $10 student fee for all students. P.E. Shirts will be $6. Yearbooks will be between $15 and$16.
Student Planners: This year students will be expected to use their student planners in each class to keep track of their assignments. We have ordered an upgraded student planner to help with this. More information about planners and how parents can use them to help keep their child on track for success will be available during registration.
School Supply List: We have updated the school supply list for 2018-19. There is a link on the right hand side of this website that says 2018-19 School Supply List. You can also get there by clicking here: FRMS School Supply List. Thanks!
New Staff: We are happy to announce two new editions to the FRMS staff. Sarah Wartenbee will be our half-time Assistant Principal this year. We have also added Kathleen Pizzola and Ronda Gardner to our teaching staff. Ms. Pizzola will be teaching math and science classes. Ms. Gardner will be teaching in our Bridges classroom. We are excited to have all three of them on our staff.
First Week of School: Sixth Graders Only Report on Tuesday, September 4th. Seventh and Eighth Graders Only Report on Wednesday, September. The first day with all students (6th, 7th, and 8th) will be Thursday, September 6th.
Thanks and Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Olivia Johnson
FRMS Principal
Here is the schedule for Monday, June 11th:
8th Grade Promotion Practice: 9:15 to 10:15
10:45: 8th Grade Students Board Buses
11:15: 8th Graders eat lunch at the park
12:00 to 2:00: Boat Races
2:00: Return to school- If you are planning for your child to go home directly from the pool (either you or someone else is picking them up), please contact the office by 9:00 on Monday and let us know.
5:30 8th graders should arrive and go to the choir room
Promotion Starts at 6:00 PM
Promotion Dance for FRMS 8th grade only starts at 7:00 PM
Dance Ends at 8:30 PM
Dress: Casual
On Monday, students will be given three tickets- one ticket gets them a soda during the dance and two tickets for two slices of pizza. In addition to there will be bottled water, cookies, candies, and other refreshments available. The dance is free and there is no charge for any of the refreshments.
We want to thank the parent volunteers for their efforts in planning, organizing, and putting on this year’s promotion.
Thursday, May 31st at 6 PM. EHS Fly Up 8th graders and their families will get a chance to meet EHS staff, see the school, and ask questions.
Friday, June 1st: Tom Sawyer Celebration for 8th graders with Mr. Davis and Mrs. French. All library books are due.
Tuesday, June 5th 6:30 PM Last Parent Group Meeting/Promotion Planning 
Thursday, June 7th: Elections for 9th Grade Class Officers
Friday, June 8th: Gold Card Pizza Lunch for 8th Graders who have had no detentions or referrals this quarter. Lockers must be cleaned out.
Monday, June 11th: Promotion Practice/Yearbook Signing in the morning; 11:30 lunch at the park; 12:00 Boat Races at Veneta Pool; 6:00 Promotion; 7:00ish 8th Grade Students Only Dance
First Note: We will need parents to help set up and decorate the gym and commons for promotion. We will also need parent volunteers to chaperone the dance and help clean up afterwards. Please let the office know if you can help out on the 11th or come to our planning meeting on the 5th.
Second Note: The dance is for current FRMS 8th grade students only.
Final Note: If you have not yet done so, please email Mrs. French with your 8th grader’s photo for promotion.
Thank you!
We are excited to announce that the FRMS will be adding a math/science teacher to our roster next year. This teacher will teach some core math classes and some elective math/science classes. Because we are adding math/science electives to our schedule, we will be asking current 6th and 7th grade students to redo their forecasting forms for next year.
On Thursday the 23rd, 6th and 7th grade students will get their forecasting forms and their course descriptions from their language arts teacher. These should be completed, signed, and returned to the office by Thursday, May 31st.
Below is a link to the forecasting form and to the course descriptions. We will be reviewing with students in their language arts classes on the 23 how to fill out their forms, but if you have any question or concerns please feel free to email us or call.
Beginning Monday, May 21st FRMS will have a drop-off lane!!! To help keep our parking lot from getting too chaotic and too crazy in the mornings, we will be putting in a drop off lane. The drop-off lane will lead from Territorial to the drop-off point (click below for a map). We are asking parents to follow the drop-off lane and to not let students out of the car until you get to the drop-off point. It’s important that parents pull all the way forward before stopping the car and letting students out. By pulling forward and only letting students out at the drop-off point, we are helping to ensure that we don’t back traffic up and block Territorial.
Once they are let out, students should use the marked crosswalk to cross the bus lane to get to the sidewalk and then into the building.
Thank you to the district administration and the school board for their support. Thank you as well to the parents who participated in the planning of our drop-off lane and gave feedback.
The drop-off lane is intended to be used only for dropping students off at school in the mornings. It is not for dismissal or picking students up after school. We will continue to work towards a solution of the dismissal problem. Thank you.
Click here for a picture of the FRMS parking lot that shows where the new drop-off lane will be.
Fern Ridge Middle School will hold their last all student* dance of the school year on Friday, May 18th. Doors open at 6:30 and the dance ends at 8:00. Cost to get in is $4. This dance is open to all students, 
however students who do not attend school on May 18th cannot come to the dance. The dance is also only open for Fern Ridge Middle School Students. Parents who would like to chaperone the dance should contact Mr. Chambers.
Leadership students will be selling concessions at the dance. As a special recognition of their perfect punctuality, every FRMS who has no tardies as of 5/17/18 will get a coupon for a free treat at the dance.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact the school office. at 541-935-8230.
*** There will be a dance after promotion on June 11th but only for FRMS 8th grade students.
May 7th through May 11th is Teacher Appreciation Week. Please join us
in thanking and celebrating the amazing teachers we have here at FRMS. Our teachers are dedicated, talented, hard-working, committed, caring, and just plain wonderful. Each of them puts in countless hours, time, and energy into a job that can be incredibly difficult one day and incredibly rewarding the next. We are thankful beyond words for each and every one of them. This week thank you to Serra Lafferty, Alan Merrill, Martha Pryor, Ryan Brummett, Jesse Light, Brad Davis, Marian French, Kyle Humphrey, Whitney Davis, Kevin Rodemack, Cameron Siegal, Susan Petty, James Stoe, Justin Peeler, Collette McBride, Tyll Parker, Deb Levinson, and Simone D’Aubigne.
Take a few minutes this week to thank a teacher for all that they have done and all that they will continue to do to help our children learn and grow.
We have approximately 40 copies of the 2017-18 for sale on a first come, first served basis. Yearbooks are $15 each. Have your child bring $15 cash or a $15 check made out to FRMS to the office to get their copy. 
Yearbooks will be distributed the last week of school.
Once we have sold our remaining copies we will not be able to order any more.
Just a couple of reminders/announcements for 8th Graders and their families:
EHS Cheerleading: Any student interested in trying out to for the Elmira High School Cheer Team needs to plan on attending practices 4:00 to 5:30 on May 22nd, May 24, and May 29th at EHS. The try outs themselves will be Thursday, May 31st at 4:30. Students should bring athletic clothing that is comfortable, comfortable shoes, water bottle, and a positive and enthusiastic attitude. No jewelry or false nails. For more information contact coaches Becky Dube’ and Michelle Cook.
Strong Start: There is still room in the Strong Start program this summer. Is your 8th grader organized? Are they good at prioritizing and decision making? Do they know how to set goals and work towards them? If the answer to any of these is no or if they just need a head start on their high school experience, enroll them in the Strong Start program. This fun and lively program goes from July 30th to August 2nd from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM each day. Students who have done the program in the past agree that it was both fun and a fundamental reason behind their own high school success. There is no cost for this program. If you are interested in signing your eighth grade student up or would like more information, contact Stu Burgess at Elmira High School- sburgess@fernridge.k12.or.us
Promotion Pictures: For our promotion celebration, we would like a picture that tells us about your 8th grader. Whether its playing sports, or holding the family pet, or sitting under their favorite tree, or reading their favorite book or about to hit the trail on their dirt bike or planting their garden ….. we want the picture that shows us who your 8th grader really is when they aren’t sitting in a classroom. Please no pictures where your child is seen from a long distance. Email your picture to mfrench@fernridge.k12.or.us. If you have a picture you want to send but don’t have access to a scanner, bring it to the office and Casey or Stacy will be happy to scan it and send it to Mrs. French for you. If you’re stuck for a picture, contact Mrs. French for help. Mrs. French’s email is mfrench@fernridge.k12.or.us Don’t forget to save the time/date for promotion- Monday, June 11th at 6:00. There will be a dance for FRMS 8th graders only following promotion. If you would like to help with promotion, contact the school office for more information.
Soccer– 8th grade students interested in playing soccer at the high school next year needs to see Mr. Chambers about upcoming open fields and a June 6 v 6 tournament.
6th grade students will be exploring the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest for their field trips this spring. Each sixth grade science class will go on a separate day according to the following schedule:
April 27th: Whitney Davis’s 3rd period class
May 4th: James Stoe’s 7th period class
May 10th: Whitney Davis’s 5th period class
May 11th: James Stoe’s 5th period class
HJ Andrews is located near Blue River and is about a 90 minute drive from FRMS. Students will have a hands-on, experiential learning experience including the opportunity to climb trees under the guidance of the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute. In order to allow students a full day in the forest, they will be returning to school at 5 PM. Parents will need to pick them up from school at 5 PM. If someone else is going to pick up your child or you need to change your child’s regular after school plans on that day, please let the office and the classroom teacher know.
Two very important documents will be coming home soon. The first is a permission slip for the field trip itself. The second is a waiver form that families need to complete if they want their child to be allowed to participate in the tree climbing part of the field trip. Parents with an approved criminal history background check on file who would like to volunteer to chaperone should contact their child’s science teacher directly.