Friday Newsletter, Jul. 29, 22

Updates and Happenings

FCS Staff Update:

Wow, the summer is flying by! 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!

I have an update from Ms. Wertz, one of our MS science teachers. She has decided to accept a science teacher position in the public school system and will not be returning to Forcey Christian School this year. Ms. Wertz has been with FCS for 20 years. She’s been instrumental in defining our MS science curriculum and spearheading our STEM initiatives. She served as the MS team lead for the last school year. We will miss her expertise and presence in the building but are excited for this new opportunity for her. A note from Ms. Wertz:

Dear Forcey Family, 

FCS has been home for as long as I can remember, both as a student and as a teacher. I have taught and grown to love hundreds of FCS students and families over my twenty years at Forcey, so it is with a heavy heart that I say that I will not be returning to FCS in the fall. 

 God opened a door to a science position with HCPSS for the 2022-23 school year. While I am excited for what the future holds, I will also miss my FCS community terribly. You will always hold a special place in my heart. Sincerely, Timanda Wertz.

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

We are excited to welcome some new staff to Forcey Christian School this year.

New Staff Update:

• 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.

• Megan Foster will be joining Ms. Powell in the kindergarten team. Information about Mrs. Foster will come in our next newsletter.
• 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.

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

• Thanks to your generous donations and work to raise funds, FCS was able to raise $57,000 in the 2021-22 annual fund. We are so excited about all of the building upgrades that have taken place this summer which were paid for from allocated annual funds.
  • A beautiful new preschool garden area on our playground.
  • All ES and PreK classrooms were painted.
  • New cabinets, sinks, and solid surface counter tops were installed in all ES classrooms, the athletic office, and the health suite. Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for an inside look!
  • Desks were upgraded in all third and fourth grade classrooms.
• 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
• Uniform sale: August 4 and 8
• PreK and kindergarten parent orientation on Thursday, August 25
• 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

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