Dear Parents of 6th Grade Students:

It is a pleasure to welcome you and your sixth grader to the Middle School and to a most important educational experience - Family and Consumer Sciences (FaCS). This is not only a new subject area for your 6th grader, but also for parents; it may be a new name. In April 1994, our profession changed its name from Home Economics to Family and Consumer Sciences. What is this all about? Our response is: Empowering Individuals, Strengthening Families, and Enabling Communities.

FaCS is a hands-on course designed to provide exciting and challenging opportunities for the adolescent learner. The program is divided into four different teaching-learning units. Foods instruction will emphasize reading and interpreting recipes. Accuracy in both written and cooking activities will be stressed. Working in a group and sharing responsibility will be expected. Students will practice following directions, cooking techniques, and making practical application of math, science, and reading skills.

A unit on Nutrition will emphasize healthful food choices through the guidelines provided by the Food Guide Pyramid. Instruction on how to read and interpret food labels is included.

Our Exploring Childhood unit studies the various developmental stages for children from the ages birth through four years. It allows students to practice handling emergency situations which could occur in the home or on the job as a babysitter. Skills needed for babysitting are learned and practiced.

During our Sewing instruction, students will learn the basic skills in using the sewing machine, hand sewing, and techniques in the construction process. Responsibility for handling equipment will be stressed. Reading directions, reasoning, and many problem-solving techniques will be utilized in a way that will be new to most students. The expected benefits will be much more than just their finished product; more importantly, they will experience the learning process. The requirements are one completed project plus good use of the time remaining in completing community service projects.

In the past, many 6th graders have expressed a sense of satisfaction from successful accomplishment of a task they were not sure they could handle. This is an opportunity to experience the rewards of patient and persistent effort on a challenging task.

This class will meet every day, same class period, for a nine-week block. Your 6th grader will be scheduled to come to FaCS in either September, November, January,or April. Some homework and projects will be assigned and students are expected to have their FaCS folder and a pencil or pen every day. The school is furnishing all necessary supplies for FaCS in 6th grade except for the pencil or pen!

It is a privilege to introduce your child to Family and Consumer Sciences. We encourage you to become involved in what your child is learning and to share our concern that the students make every effort to do the best work he/she is able to accomplish in this subject area. If you have any questions or concerns, please call us. We are looking forward to meeting many of you at the Open House in September.

Sincerely,