Mr. Wolf

  • FAMS Families, 

    It is an honor and privilege to serve as Fort Atkinson Middle School’s principal. I am a middle-school educator through and through. I have fifteen years of experience teaching at the middle school level, four years of experience serving as the associate principal at our middle school, and am now starting my fourth year as the principal of FAMS. What an amazing start to the year it has been! I am truly honored to be part of such a caring, compassionate, and hard-working school community.

    Our middle school staff were very excited about returning to school this year! They have been spending time over the summer working on their own professional development in order to make the learning experience the very best it can be for all of our students.

    In July, a team of teachers, coupled with our building and district administration, closely examined our academic data along with the data from our student and staff culture and climate surveys in order to develop a plan with detailed goals for the year ahead. 

    FAMS has earned a reputation for academic excellence through the hard work of our students, teachers, parents, and staff, and we were recognized as a school that "Exceeds Expectations" on the last DPI school report card. FAMS is a place where exceptional teaching and learning are the norm. We are proud of these accomplishments, but we also know that we have room to grow.

    This year we set an achievement goal with an academic focus in the areas of literacy and math and a growth goal that we will have more students feeling connected to our school and feeling like a valued member of our learning community. We have a schoolwide focus on building relationships, and promoting positivity and kindness, as we feel this, along with handwork, are the important foundation blocks that we will need to build upon to achieve our goals.

    We strive to have our students attending school each day. Our hope is that, as parents and families, you will join us in working to regain the sense of routine that comes from attending school every day and being in school all day. Of course, we do not want students to come to school when they are ill, but we recognize that some absences may be due to students feeling somewhat anxious about school. If that is thecase, our staff can help find strategies to address those concerns, and we understand that some anxiousness at the beginning of the year is normal and anticipated. We know the benefits of regular attendance include strong academic learning, improved social interactions with peers, and a sense of belonging and accomplishment for students.

    As your principal, I promise to keep students at the forefront of every decision we make as a school. We will strive to teach and provide students with the knowledge, skills, and mindset necessary to have a successful future. 

    I look forward to another amazing year!

    Matt Wolf, FAMS Principal

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  • ILA  

    Welcome to the Fort Atkinson Middle School website!

    Our mission statement provides us with clear direction for our work with students, parents, and colleagues.  We are committed to children, committed to our larger community, and committed to excellence!

    Fort Atkinson Middle School will guide students toward educational excellence by providing a positive and safe learning environment which fosters respect, responsibility, and cooperation among students, their families, and the community.

    We are proud to be the home to over 500 energetic 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students.  Our staff adds their expertise, experience, and special training about early adolescent learners to ensure we offer rich and engaging learning opportunities to our students.  Just like our students, our staff continue to grow and learn as well.

    TEACHER TEAMS ARE AT THE HEART OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL

    Every student belongs to one of grade-level teaching teams. These teams consist of teachers who collaborate and communicate to support learning in the core content areas of English language arts, math, social studies, and science.

    Teacher departments are also very important.  Teachers of like courses and subject areas meet regularly to collaborate on curriculum, delivery of instruction, assessment, and many other subjects.

    Please explore the website for more information on each of our teachers.

    Students are also assigned to a homeroom that meets at the start of every school day.  Homeroom provides students with the opportunity to establish powerful, positive, relationships with their teachers and one another. These relationships focus on the students’ academic and emotional needs and can provide the safe learning environment each student needs.

    SUPPORTING STUDENT INTERESTS

    In addition to core content area teachers and specialists, our students learn from a variety of teachers with expertise in the following exploratory and elective content areas: art, band, chorus, orchestra, general music, business education/computers, technical education, careers, health education, agriculture, physical education, and Spanish. All students participate in physical education every other day. You can discover more information about each of these classes on our website.

    OUR SCHOOL DAY

    Our students participate in eight class periods a day. Classes are 43 minutes long with four minutes of passing time between classes. Two class periods are dedicated the English language arts and mathematics in both sixth and seventh grades and one and a half class periods in eighth grade. All students have a 30 minute lunch period with their grade-level peers during which they typically enjoy playing a variety of games or visiting with friends.

    CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

    We are proud of the large numbers of students who take advantage of the extensive co-curricular programs offered at our middle school. Students can select jazz band, musicals, show choir, student council, yearbook, robotics, volleyball, wrestling, archery, art club, math league, track and field, basketball… and many more! We strongly encourage students to be involved in school-sponsored, structured and supervised school activities. We invite you to visit the co-curricular information on the website to learn more.

     

    CONNECTING WITH OUR PARENTS

    We invite parents to partner with us.  Parents can view attendance and grades online through Power School. Additionally, teachers keep parents well informed through postings on their websites, e-mails, progress reports, and formal grade reports.  We know that our students’ success depends on encouragement and support from parents and staff members working together.  Join us as part of our Parent Advisory.  This important group meets five Mondays each year for an hour to discuss all things FAMS.  Check out our calendar for more details.

    PBIS

    Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a specific, research-based state and national approach to teaching and supporting positive behaviors while meeting the needs of ALL students. This school-wide approach to discipline focuses on building a safe and positive environment in which all students can learn.  PBIS at FAMS builds on the behavior programming in place in our elementary schools.

    Below are some components of PBIS that we have begun to incorporate at FAMS:

    1. A matrix which explains behavior expectations in each school setting
    2. Direct teaching of the expectations
    3. PBIS celebrations– students, classrooms, staff, and school-wide
    4. Behavior monitoring systems to record and address inappropriate behaviors
    5. Character education- ‘Building Sharks’ through homeroom activities

    PBIS Logo

    The foundation of PBIS at Fort Atkinson Middle School is the three building wide expectations:

    Be Respectful       Be Responsible       Be Safe

    • Students can be respectful by using appropriate language and appropriate voice levels, following directions from teachers and staff in all settings, and using good manners.
    • Students can be responsible by being on time and prepared for classes, following classroom directions, and keeping areas clean.
    • Students can be safe by remaining in designated areas, keeping hands and feet to self, and walking at all times. 

    THANK YOU! PLEASE COME AND VISIT!

    Thank you again for visiting Fort Atkinson Middle School’s website. We are extremely proud of the success our students and staff members demonstrate. Together, our students, staff, family, and community members make Fort Atkinson Middle School a special place to learn. Everyone at our school learns and grows together in a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment.