Forks Middle School

Welcome to Forks Middle School.

Principal Letter:

August 24, 2022

Dear Families and Students,

The 2022-2023 school year has arrived.  Our faculty is ready to welcome students back to school on August 31.  We are prepared to continue our mission by collaborating and communicating with students, families and colleagues to provide an equity-based holistic approach to empowering students to succeed.  We want students to experience academic and social-emotional success as they demonstrate respectful, responsible and safe behaviors. 

This year we have strengthened our systems of support by adding some key positions.  Mrs. Echeita will be our intervention specialist who will facilitate different levels of academic, behavior and social-emotional support based on student needs. Mrs. King is our new assistant principal who will be shared with the high school and will support behavior plans. 

The following bullet points will provide information that will help you start the year strong. 

• We will continue to implement our comprehensive counseling program  led by Mrs. Huggins.  A letter explaining her services along with contact information is included in this packet.

• Students will be re-assigned the same chromebook they had last year.  If your student did not return theirs please ask them to bring it on the first day of school.  We will continue to ask that students charge these overnight to ensure that they are ready to use in class the next day.

• This year we will continue to implement Breakfast After the Bell.  All Forks Middle School students, grades 5th-8th will begin school at the times indicated below. Both Breakfast and Lunch will be offered to all students for free.

  • 7:45 Doors Open- Breakfast will be offered in the cafeteria.

  • 8:00 Breakfast/Warning Bell- Students can take their breakfast to their first period class.

  • 8:10 Tardy Bell Rings- Students eat breakfast in their first class of the day.

  • 8:20 Transition to Instruction in first period (second period on Early-Release Wednesdays)

  • Students who arrive at school late will be offered breakfast up until 8:45.

• The forms included in this packet  are important for us to have in order to have the most up to date information for communication and other state requirements..  Please complete and return these forms as soon as possible.  

• Parent/Visitor check in location will be in the FMS Annex building located at 191 Spartan Ave.  Please use this office to check into the building at all times. 

• Parent/Teacher Handbooks will be reviewed with students the first week of school. Your student will take a copy home on Friday, September 2.  The handbook will be posted on the district webpage. 

• We offer the following sports and activities at Forks Middle School: Students interested in joining any of these activities can ask for more information in the office.

  • Yearbook Club- year round

  • Band Club- year round

  • Prevention Club- year round 

  • Drama Club at the High School- 7th and 8th grade only

  • 7th Grade Class Officers, 8th Grade Class Officers- Elections will take place in September.

  • STEM Club- year round

  • Football, Volleyball, Cross Country- Fall Sports

  • Wrestling, Girls Basketball, Boys Basketball- Winter Sports

  • Track- Spring Sport

• Grades will be posted on Skyward Family Access.  If you need your login information please contact our office.  If you have any concerns about grades please reach out to the teacher for the class that you have questions about via email or voicemail.

One of our main focuses this year will be to improve our communication with families.  We will be mailing monthly newsletters and continue to make ConnectEd calls every two weeks when progress reports are sent home with students.  FMS information will also be posted on the Forks Middle School PTO Facebook page.  In addition, we will implement the Remind App that sends text messages to families (more information on that will be mailed home in September).   We know that in order to help students navigate these transitional years it is imperative that we partner with families in order to have more leverage on their success. 

We are excited to work with families this school year and encourage you to contact our office with any questions or concerns. A contact list with phone extensions is included on the next page in this packet.

Sincerely,

Elena Velasquez, Principal

(360) 374-6262 ext 359

elena.velasquez@qvschools.org