Friday Newsletter, Aug. 5, 22

Updates and Happenings

FCS Staff Update:

The FCS office is hard at work preparing for the upcoming school year. We want to welcome all our new families to the FCS Community and welcome back our returning families as we look ahead to another school year!

We are excited to welcome some new staff to Forcey Christian School this year. Currently, we still have one open staff position for middle school science. Feel free to pass on this information to qualified individuals you might know https://fcs.school/employment.

New Staff Update – new additions are at the top!

• Megan Foster will be joining Ms. Powell on the kindergarten team. Mrs. Foster is excited to join the incredible team at FCS!  She received a BS as a Teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped from Elmira College and has taught second grade students at Lanham Christian School. In addition to earning her degree, she met Jesus and the man of her dreams at college. Mike and Meg just celebrated 20 years of marriage and have 6 amazing children, ages 10-17. In 2018, they moved to MD where Mike serves as the lead pastor of Forcey Bible Church. The last 17 years have been full of mothering, homeschooling, ministry, and childcare. She was blessed last year to substitute teach at FCS and teach in the MDO program. She is excited to inspire learning and continue learning herself in the kindergarten classroom. This image reminds her of her love of sheep and need for the Good Shepherd!

• MS Bible Update Mr. Wong will be teaching both 7^th and 8^th grade Bible classes this year. Ms. Ritsema will continue to teach our 6^th grade Bible students.

• Mr. Robert Leon has been hired as one of our new MS science teachers. Bob is a Project Management Professional (PMP) with an M.A. in International Commerce, a B.A. in International Studies and a B.A. in German.  He worked for 20 years in the chemical industry, daily interacting with the chemists responsible for product development and field service. After the chemical industry, he did economic development work in Latin America and Africa.  In 2020, he accepted a position at a local school, where he taught math, science and economics.  He speaks (in order of fluency) German, Spanish and French.  He has been married for 37 years to Lori, whom he met in Silver Spring.  They have 10 children. We are excited to welcome Bob Leon to the FCS Community!

• Aryn Coby will be joining Ms. Dishong on our first-grade team.

• Mrs. Hayes will be moving to fourth grade and join Mrs. Hall on the fourth grade team.

• Belen Dadicho will be joining our MS team in 6^th grade language arts. Ms. Dadicho has been teaching for the past 3 years at another private faith-based school. She was born and raised in Ethiopia and moved to America in 2008. She is passionate about teaching. She wants to ensure that each child has the opportunity and support they need to live up to the calling on their lives. She is super excited to join the Forcey family and see what God does during the 2022-2023 school year.

• Nurse Judith Bickell has been hired as our new school nurse.

• You can find archived FCS News Friday newsletters at https://fcs.school/category/newsletter/

PTO Update:

• Have gently used uniforms that you don’t need anymore? Donate them to PTO for the Summer Used Uniform Sale. Drop uniforms in the bins in the school lobby. The gently-used uniform sale will take place on Thursday, August 4 and Tuesday, August 8. It’s a great event to pick up uniforms at discounted prices!

From the FCS Office:

• If you are currently using the older RenWeb Home App, please download the new FACTS Family App from the Apple/Android App store. The RenWeb Home App will no longer be available for parents after August 15.
• All About Lunch Update- Please note the attachments regarding our lunch program with All About Lunch!

Click Here

Around the Building

• Parents, it is so important that you screen your students for illness each day before sending them to school. If a child has a fever, stomach issues, unusual cough, congestion, etc, keep them home and notify the school nurse at judith-bickell@fcs.school.
• Distance learning communication. FCS is an in-person learning facility. We’ve accommodated distance learning in the past due to the critical nature of Covid-19 but will be focusing our efforts on in person learning for the upcoming school year. As a rule, distance learning will not be offered. Exceptions may apply for extended mandatory quarantine requirements, on a case-by-case basis, approved by administration, with consultation from the nurse.
• Be sure and like or follow our Facebook and Instagram pages for the latest pictures and video of happenings around FCS!

Mark Your Calendar

• Keep up with important dates on our website calendar all year long at https://fcs.school/calendar
• Gently used uniform sale: August 8, 4-6:30 pm
• PreK and kindergarten parent orientation on Thursday, August 25 beginning at 6:00 pm
• Student open house on Friday, August 26 from 1-3.
• First day of school is August 29
• ES and MS parent orientation is Thursday, September 1 beginning at 6:00 pm

Our theme for the 2022-23 school year is Press On! Over the last 2 years, while we navigated educating students in a global pandemic, there were times when we felt more like a health institution than an educational one. As we begin to learn how to normalize life with Covid, we return to focusing our energies on education, critical thinking skills, problem solving, and equipping our students to mature in their devotion to Christ. This refocusing of our energies will aide us in carrying out our vision to educate students in their lifelong journey for the glory of Jesus Christ. We are ready and excited to Press On with the start of the 2022-23 school year!

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 3:14