WEEKS AHEAD

June 21, 2022

As you know, report cards are available through the Family Portal beginning today. Please take the opportunity to open the portal and review your child’s progress through this school year. Please note all comments and consider how your child needs to focus this summer and as he or she begins the next school year. Congratulations may be in order! And careful, constructive criticism may be required, as well. But, please look for opportunities to celebrate, and ensure that your child has many enriching activities in which to engage over the next few weeks.

We have many items left-over from classrooms, hallways, the gymnasium, playing fields and other areas in school. These items include clothing, outerwear, books, electronics, and other materials. We will offer one more opportunity for parents to collect these items before sending them to Goodwill or another organization. Please connect with the office by this Friday if your child is missing anything that you will retrieve; otherwise, we will be donating or discarding all of these items.

And, your child may have additional items that belong to the school or our district. Please hunt around for computers, chargers (with all parts), hotspots and other items that belong to school. Be aware, if these items are not accounted for, families may accrue fees associated with repair or replacement. In addition, look for books and other items that belong to your child’s teachers or our media center and send them to school so that we may collect them and return them to inventory or to the classrooms where they belong.

Finally, this may be the last message that I will be sending from Fruitland Intermediate School to the entire school community. Thank you for the opportunity to serve your children these last dozen years. Indeed, especially as I watched older siblings come through, I have known or have seen many of these students for almost a decade or more. Thank you for entrusting me and our school with your children; it has been my pleasure to serve the community for such a long time. We leave it in good hands as Ms. Tara Parsons becomes principal & captain of the Fruitland Intermediate Skipjack, and Ms. Valerie Folsom continues in her role as assistant principal. I wish them well as they continue to build upon our successes.

 SUMMER

OPPORTUNITIES

Please check out the many fun and free opportunities for your child to read and be actively engaged this summer!

• Home Base Scholastic Summer Reading- Read full books, write, play games, interact with friends and favorite book characters.
• Earn a FREE book at Barnes & Noble- Read and record 8 books in your journal and return to B&N to select your FREE book from their list of titles.            English    Spanish

• Wicomico Public Library Oceans of Possibilities Summer Reading-Kickoff June 18th from 3-5 @Pittsville Branch 
• Events Calendar 
• Makerspace Activities  

Register for FREE

Swim Lessons at the YMCA

Drowning can happen nearly anywhere with standing water. As a parent or
caregiver, you can’t keep your kids sidelined. Equip your children with the tools
they need to be confident in and around water. YMCA Swim Lessons help make
sure youth learn essential water safety skills, opening up a world of
possibilities for them.
***If your child qualifies for Free and Reduced meals through Wicomico County
Board of Education, he/she can participate in this program.

Print and return this  FORM to the Henson Family YMCA to register your child.

Wicomico County Schools Superintendent! 

The Wicomico County Board of Education at a special meeting Wednesday, June 8 appointed Dr. Micah C. Stauffer to serve as Wicomico Superintendent of Schools for four years starting July 1, 2022.

Dr. Stauffer was one of the Board of Education’s three finalists for the position of Superintendent of Schools. He has served as the school system’s Chief Finance and Operations Officer since 2019, and prior to that was the Director of Secondary Education (2014-2019). He has served as principal of Parkside High and Mardela Middle and High, and assistant principal of Mardela Middle and High and Wicomico Middle. He taught science and coached at Parkside High. Dr. Stauffer is a graduate of Wicomico High School.

For more details, please see the announcement on the website for Dr. Stauffer’s bio.

“I’m invested in this county,” Dr. Stauffer said in his finalist video interview. “I went to schools in this county and grew up here. My wife graduated from WiHi, as did I. My son recently graduated from James M. Bennett and is doing well now at West Point, in college, and my daughter’s a freshman at James M. Bennett, doing well in her activities and in school. The reason I want to be superintendent is because I’m invested in this county and I believe I have the strengths and the leadership skills to help us move forward together as a team.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donna Hanlin informed the Board in November that she would retire June 30, 2022. The Board of Education brought in the expertise of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) superintendent search service for conducting the search process. MABE gathered community input into the search process through an online stakeholder survey on characteristics for the position of superintendent and key points to keep in mind about the school system and the county. This input helped shape the advertisement for the position of Wicomico Superintendent of Schools, for which applications were taken in February and March.

Applicants were evaluated, interviews were held with some applicants, and in early May the Board’s three finalists were announced. A biography and a video interview were posted for each finalist, and community input was again taken through an online survey about the three finalists for superintendent. Board members considered all of the input, carefully reviewed the three finalists, and on June 8 voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Stauffer as the next Superintendent of Wicomico County Public Schools.

“Finding a new superintendent is one of the most important tasks of the Board of Education,” Board Chairman Gene Malone said. “This has been a carefully and conscientiously conducted search process with expert support from the Maryland Association of Boards of Education and with input from the entire community. Each finalist’s video interview was viewed approximately 1,100 times, and many, many people then shared their input on the finalists through a survey. We’re confident that any one of our three finalists would have been an excellent leader for Wicomico County Public Schools. We’re proud to announce that Dr. Stauffer will be the next Superintendent of Wicomico County Public Schools.”

FIS ART CLUB

Our FIS Art Club creation!

Amazing work! 

Updated 2021-2022 School Calendar

Please review the updated 2021-2022 school calendar to note changes for your child.  These changes have been updated as of 2/11/22. Early dismissal days and snow makeup days are included.

Hello FIS Families!

Please see our Car Riders' Procedures document regarding student drop-off and student pick-up. 

Car Riders' Procedures

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FIS School Counselor Website

Select the picture to check out the many resources for students and families offered on our School Counselor website.

A permanent link is also located on our For Parent page. 

 Destiny At Home Resources

Our FIS Media Center Destiny home page has lots of at home resources.  Check out the many links to help engage your child in learning experiences at home.  

Select the Catalog tab, then Destiny Discover and log in with student computer login to access our database of over 100 ebooks.