French Middle School

• September 7th-- No School/Labor Day
• September 17th-- PTO @5:45
• September 23rd-- TPS Family Fitness Night at 5:30 @ Hummer Sports Park

USD 501 is committed to providing an educational environment conducive to learning and free from unnecessary distractions by promoting the responsible use of technology by all individuals. The purpose of this policy is to create a focused and distraction free learning environment by prohibiting the use of cell phones and other personal electronic communication devices. Personal electronic devices are not allowed to be used in USD 501 school buildings from the beginning of the school day bell until the end of the school day bell. Personal electronic devices must be powered off and stored out of sight during the school day; devices are not to be seen or heard.

"Personal Electronic Communication” Devices (ECD's) is any wireless electronic communication device that provides for voice, text, or video communication including, but are not limited to mobile, cell phones, including smart phones; smart watches; tablets; student owned computers; accessories such as headphones, earbuds, speakers, and other AV or technology equipment; text messaging device or personal digital assistant communication device that provides for voice, text, or video communication and all other personal communication devices.

MIDDLE SCHOOL Policy-Grades 6 – 8

• Cell phones and personal Electronic Communication Devices are to be powered off from the beginning of the school day bell until the end of the school day bell. Personal devices are to be stored in the student's locker.

• Consequences

• A first violation will include the device will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.

• The second violation will result in the device being confiscated until a parent picks it up.

• A third violation will result in the device being confiscated and a parent meeting will be held.

• Additional consequences may be assigned including suspension and cell phone and other campus privileges revoked

In addition, wireless headphones are not allowed at French Middle School. If brought to school they will be confiscated and a parent will be required to pick them up. Students may bring their own headphones as long as they plug into their chromebook.

Topeka Public Schools is excited to introduce ParentSquare, our new districtwide communication platform. ParentSquare provides one secure location for classroom, school, district, athletics, and activity communications, making it easier than ever to stay informed and connected.

In accordance with new Kansas legislation regarding electronic communication with students, TPS has identified five Board-approved platforms for staff who work directly with students and families: ParentSquare, Synergy, Google Classroom, Seesaw, and SchoolMessenger. These platforms support safe and consistent communication across the district.

Staff and families have received emails from Topeka Public Schools with instructions for accessing ParentSquare. Through the platform, users can receive messages by email, text, mobile app, or web browser, communicate with teachers and staff, customize notification preferences, and automatically translate messages into their preferred language.

ParentSquare will continue to roll out in phases during the first semester, beginning with secondary coaches and activity sponsors, followed by teachers and other staff. We encourage staff and families to activate their accounts and watch for additional information and training resources in the coming weeks.

If you would love to help a staff member with items requested through Donors Choose, just click the link below. A couple of the grants will double your donation! Thanks for supporting our staff.

Stock the Staff Room

Building Connections: Badminton, an inclusive PE program for every student (donations doubled)

Help us bring soccer to every student (donations doubled)

Topeka Public Schools no longer uses the app to track buses.

Transportation

We are using VERSATRANS MY STOP app to track Kansas Central buses this year.

Once the app is installed, you will log in and the app will connect your phone number automatically to the number in Synergy and your students are automatically connected. Your user id is your student's ID number and your password is their birthdate in mmddyyyy format.

If you have questions about your student’s bus route or if your student is not picked up, please contact Transportation at 785-295-3910 or 785-588-0433.

Check back next month for bus expectations.

As a reminder, our school hours are: 7:50 AM - 2:45 PM

During 5th hour students are claimed by teachers that need a little extra time with them. The extra time could be to make test corrections re-teach a concept finish missing work, practice skills that are still shaky or it could be for something else. Since this is a dedicated part of our day, it doesn’t take away from any other classes, it allows, athletes or bus riders an opportunity to get a little extra and teachers are able to build it into the school day. At this time students only choose for a few special activities, they can always request that a teacher claim them.

Students will always know who has claimed them and where to go by checking the student support time software in clever. We have spent the first couple weeks in advisor base completing beginning of the year tasks and will begin moving about to other teachers on September 9.

French started using this model last year and it has continued to grow and develop into a really powerful part of our day. We had one teacher say there were more As and Bs in his classes due to the extra time to complete labs, tasks and quizzes during WIN time. Another teacher said out of all of his students, only 1 earned an F because he was able to “track them down during WIN time.”

In addition to our core content priority days, there are special groups that are meeting during this time too. These include spelling bee, SUM Day, Lego League, an Art/Media collaboration, yearbook and a mentorship program with our students. Be sure to ask your child about WIN time today!

We are fortunate that El Mezcal is partnering with us for our 8th grade career internship program again this year. All 8th graders will learn how to write a resume, how to prepare for a job interview, and then will interview with our counselors for a chance to “work” at El Mezcal. If selected for the internship students will shadow an employee at El Mezcal and learn the skills needed to work in a restaurant. Students will gain real world work experience, learn interview skills, and learn what it takes to keep a job. Each 8th grade Advisor base will have a turn to participate in this excellent career program. If you have questions about our career program you may contact our school counselors.

Easily pay School Fees online! Create your free MySchoolBucks account to conveniently and securely pay for your student’s school fees online or with the mobile app. With MySchoolBucks you’ll be notified when fees are due, and make payments from anywhere!

Get Started Today:

1. Go to myschoolbucks.com or download the mobile app

2. Create your free account and add your students using their school name / student ID

3. Add school items or invoices to your cart

4. Check out using your credit / debit card or electronic check

If you need assistance with your account, you can find helpful how-to videos and answers to commonly asked questions by visiting myschoolbucks.com. Or, you can contact MySchoolBucks directly by logging into your account to start a chat conversation or give them a call at (855) 832-5226.

If your student walks to or from school, please remind them to take the most direct route and to exit campus in a timely manner when school is dismissed. Please encourage your student to cross the street at designated crosswalks or street corners. *Our expectation is that all students are off campus by 3:05 pm unless they are participating in an extracurricular activity. Siblings are not allowed to wait around for brothers or sisters that are participating in extracurricular activities.

If you need a safe place for your student to go before or after school, you can contact the Y or the Boys and Girls Club.

All student walkers or are car riders to school enter and exit the building from the front. The back parking lot is for bus drop off and pick up only. In order to keep the traffic in our front drive flowing before and after school, we ask that cars do not stop in the center lane. Car drivers should pull over to either curb to drop off or pick up students. This allows the center lane to remain open for cars to move through. It also allows for students to safely enter and exit their cars.

The transportation department serves the students of Topeka Public Schools by ensuring they are safely transported to school every day.

Students must be at least 1.75 miles from their home school address to receive transportation. The eligibility for bus services is determined by the student's home address, not a relative or a daycare provider.

If your student(s) qualify for transportation, bus information will be available on August 7 in Synergy.

Go to PARENT VUE, Under STUDENT INFO, scroll down to the bottom and BUS INFORMATION is the last section.

This is also a great time to make sure we have at least one EMERGENCY CONTACT.

We will have an app to track the bus (similar to Here comes the bus), however this will tie to your email address and phone number in Synergy and automatically connect to your child’s bus. As soon as we have details, we will share them with you!

If you have a question regarding transportation, please contact

Topeka Public Schools Transportation Office

785-295-3910

Kansas Central

785-233-2009

Students should always be at their assigned bus stop 15 minutes prior to their pickup time.

Bus Conduct Policy

Topeka Public Schools U.S.D. #501 is committed to excellence in its transportation program and considers appropriate bus conduct essential to the safe transportation of students to and from school and on activity trips.

The district believes that all students can behave on the bus, and have a responsibility to behave in a manner which allows the driver to concentrate on operating the bus in the safest possible manner.

The district believes student conduct should be maintained with procedures that will advance the purposes of safety while remaining consistent with applicable state law and established

Board of Education school policy.

Parents can assist a great deal in maintaining proper discipline on the school bus by insisting that their children seat themselves promptly in their assigned seat, stay seated while on the

bus and conduct themselves in such a manner that the school bus driver can devote his or her time to the task of driving a bus.

If a student is not following the rules and directions from the bus driver, the following steps are taken:

Step 1- Student will receive a warning that details the inappropriate behavior. The student will meet with the assistant principal to discuss the writeup and a phone call home will be made.

Step 2-Upon a second writeup, the student will meet with the assistant principal to discuss the behavior, a phone call to home and 1 day suspension on the bus.

Step 3-Should a student receive a third bus discipline writeup, they will be removed from the bus for 2 weeks. Contact with home will be made by the school administrator.

Step 4- Student will be removed from the school bus for the remainder of the semester.

Step 5-Student will be removed from the bus for the remainder of the school year.

If your student is issued a discipline referral from the bus, the steps above may be expedited depending on the severity of the infraction.

🏐🏈 6th Grade Tailgating Events Are Coming!

Get ready to cheer on our FMS teams! Nest Builders is hosting two fun 6th Grade Tailgating Events this September. Both events will take place immediately after school and include temporary tattoos, concessions, games, and plenty of school spirit! Pick up will be at 5pm in front of the school.

🏐 Volleyball vs. Jardine — Sept. 2
The volleyball game is $3, with $1 off for 6th graders. Come hang out with friends, enjoy some treats, and cheer on our Lady Falcons!

🏈 Football vs. Landon — Sept. 8
Admission to the football game is FREE! Bring your school spirit and get ready for an afternoon of fun and Falcon pride!

Eligibility Reminder: 6th graders must be passing all classes to participate.

Come join the Nest Builders and make some memories while supporting our FMS teams! Let’s go, Falcons! 💚💛

At French Middle School, we are committed to providing a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for every student.

What Is Bullying?
Bullying is repeated, intentional behavior that causes physical or emotional harm to another person.

Our Approach:

• Prevention: Students receive lessons on empathy, respect, communication, and positive relationships.

• Reporting: Students and families are encouraged to report concerns to a teacher, counselor, administrator, or through our online reporting form.

• Response: All reports are taken seriously and investigated. Appropriate interventions, consequences, and support are provided based on the situation.

Our Commitment:
Creating a safe school takes all of us. By speaking up, showing respect, and supporting one another, we can help make French Middle School a place where every student feels safe, valued, and ready to learn. For more information you can visit our website for the matrix of consequences for bullying behavior or call your student’s counselor or social worker.

The French sports teams are off to a great start again this year. We made it through the early heat days and hopefully it is the last for the season. Thank you for the flexibility in your schedules as practice times were altered. Our first games start the week of August 31st with games, matches and meets weekly through Mid October. Game prices are 3.00 for middle school and above and no charge for younger kids.

Cross Country

Exciting to announce that currently French has 42 runners, with some doing 2 sports- French will be able to enter all meets with a complete team in every grade level, which increases our chances for awards.

Volleyball

The volleyball team has a large number with 45 out and should compete for the top of the district once again. Our Varsity and JV has many returning starters from last year's team, as well as some new athletes. Our B team is practicing hard every morning at 6:30 getting better every day. We are excited to see the first matches.

Girls Tennis

The 7th and 8th grade girls tennis team is 15 girls strong. They have been getting better each and every day we have been able to get on the courts. We have a lot of new tennis players, who by the end of the season will be coming home with medals from tournaments.

Football

The football team has been hitting it hard, and are overcoming the early heat and the pains of full pad contact. We currently have 45 boys out who practice daily after school from 3-5:30. The weekend practice and scrimmage were much needed to beat the heat and get into full pads and full contact before the quickly approaching first game.

Info for Athletics:

We, in Topeka Public Schools, are in position to utilize athletics as a part of a total educational program. We encourage all young people to learn the fundamentals of each game and to participate in each sport to the limit of their abilities. We further encourage all young people to learn and understand the rules of the game so that they may enjoy athletics in the future, as well as the present, as good spectators. Athletes and spectators are an important part of the game and should at all times conform to accepted standards of good sportsmanship and behavior.

Requirements for athletics:

Must pass 5 classes the previous quarter to be eligible.

Must have an updated physical signed by a licensed physician and head concussion sheet signed by parents.

Must have eligibility points left for the current quarter, each student starts with 10 points.

Must participate in practice to participate in games.

Must follow the coach's rules and guidelines to be in good standing.

Must be passing all classes the week of a game to be eligible to play in that weeks game.

Ineligible to attend and play in games if in ISS all day, limited time if ISS an hour.

Practice times

Cross Country- 300-4:30

Girls Tennis- afterschool from 3:00- 4:15

B VB- 6:15 AM- 7:30 AM

Varsity& JV VB- 3:00 PM- 5:00 PM

Varsity &JV FB- 3:00 PM- 5:30 PM

Head Coaches-

Cross Country-Ms. Ryan- jryan@tps501.org

Tennis- Mr. Renfro- drenfro#tps501.org

Varsity VB- Mrs. Hirt- thirt@tps501.org

Varsity FB-Mr. Hamilton - nhamiton@tps501.org

All questions to be addressed by the head coach or the athletic director Tim Wilson- 438-4162 or twilson@tps501.org

Please see our school website for more detailed information as well as a calendar of events.

Sportsmanship

We would like to remind spectators that French Middle School is a member school of the Kansas State High School Athletic Association (KSHSAA) and is governed by their rules. One of those rules which, we completely support is Rule 52 which states:

ALL ACTIONS are to be FOR, NOT AGAINST; POSITIVE, NOT NEGATIVE or DISRESPECTFUL

Section 1: General Regulations (apply to grades 7-12)

Art. 1: SPORTSMANSHIP is a general way of thinking and behaving. The following sportsmanship policy items are listed below for clarification:

a. Be courteous to all. (Participants, coaches, officials, staff and fans)

b. Know the rules, abide by and respect the official’s decisions.

c. Win with character and lose with dignity.

d. Display appreciation for good performance regardless of the team.

e. Exercise self-control and reflect positively upon yourself, team and school.

f. Permit only positive sportsmanlike behavior to reflect on your school or its activities.

We hope that you can attend the games this year to cheer on the Falcons!

First Meeting September 17, in the library, it is open to ALL adult family members. Information about school enrollment and events is shared in addition to teacher reports from each grade level and the related arts department.

Join us at Hummer Sports Park for the 16th annual Topeka Public Schools Family Fitness Fun Night at 5:30 PM on September 23!

This event provides information to families and the community on education and healthy living in a positive and fun atmosphere for all ages in a safe and socially-distanced setting.

Attendees can visit various booths to learn about nutrition, fitness, and mental health and participate in fun games and activities. We can't wait to see you there!

Boys & Girls Clubs of Topeka is still actively enrolling members for the 2026–2027 school year, and many of our locations have expanded capacity available.

As we continue to connect families with before and after school services, we would appreciate your help reaching those who may benefit. If your school has opportunities for us to share enrollment flyers, receive referrals, or connect directly with families who need services but may have financial limitations, we would love to partner with you.

Financial assistance is available for qualifying families, and our goal is to make sure cost is not a barrier for families who need safe, reliable before and after school care.

Please feel free to share any opportunities or families we should connect with. We are happy to provide flyers, enrollment information, or additional details for your staff and families.

Thank you for helping us connect more youth and families with Club services!

BULLYING POLICY

French Middle School will not tolerate bullying of any kind. Bullying is defined as any ongoing verbal or physical mistreatment where there is an imbalance of power, and the target/victim is exposed repeatedly to negative actions by one or more students. Bullying can be direct (physical or verbal), or indirect (exclusion, cyber-bullying, emotional). In order for everyone to feel safe and secure at school, every Topeka Public School has adopted the following rules against bullying. “I will not bully others. I will try to help students who are bullied. I will do my best to include students who are easily left out. When I know somebody is being bullied, I will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.” Students, staff, and parents should report any bullying that they are aware of to administration through the on-line bully report link on the French website. Students who bully others will receive consequences. Our counselors will be visiting 6th, 7th and 8th grade classes in August and September to remind students what bullying is, what we can do to prevent bullying, and what students should do if they or someone else is being bullied.

NOTICE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION

The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program or activity provided by the school district. The Title VI and Title IX compliance coordinator is the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching/Learning/Administration. The Section 504/Title II compliance coordinator is the Coordinator of College and Career Ready Services. For employment, the EEO/AA officer is the General Director of Human Resources. All compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3045 or by writing to 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294.