Principal's Blog
February 7, 2012
Dear Parents and Families,
January was a very busy month!
A team of teachers and I began attending training sessions hosted by the Champlain Valley Educator Development Center (CVEDC) in the new Common Core Standards for Mathematics at the beginning of January, and we head to session 2 later this week. You can learn more about the common core standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. Meanwhile, all math teachers at FCS are engaging in ongoing math professional development on campus. During these sessions, we are analyzing standards for mathematical practices, and analyzing current units and lessons for depth.
We enjoyed a couple of great musical performances in January. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s acapella quartet sang for all of our students on January 20th.
On January 25th, we were treated to a terrific performance put on by the BFA fine arts department, featuring several Fairfield graduates! This is a favorite assembly each year, and we are proud of our students who are consistently commended for their audience etiquette by visitors.
Last week, the Fuel Up to Play 60 team helped organize a soup drive as part of “Souper Bowl” week at FCS. On Friday, classes cooked soups from scratch, with the help of the Outdoor Classroom, for our weekly school-wide snack. We collected 232 cans and packets of soup for the food shelf. Thank you for all of your support!
The Student Council continues to collect change for the Big Change Round-Up. You can learn more about this cause at http://bigchangeroundup.org/. WOKO visited FCS last Wednesday to raise awareness and provide more information about this cause. We are collecting change through March 12th.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
January 3, 2011
Dear Parents and Families,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday break, and is returning to school rested and ready to learn. The months of January and February provide many weeks of uninterrupted teaching and learning time. We are glad to be back!
We have some exciting events to look forward to in 2012. Ms. Carpenter-Henderson and I have signed Fairfield Center School up for a one-week Artist-in-Residence program with the Cirkus Smirkus program in early May. All students will have the opportunity to learn some fun new skills and put on a performance at the end of the week. We will be doing some fundraising to support this residency, so be on the lookout for more news about that. We will also be looking for one or two hosts to provide lodging for the artist for the week. If you would be willing to offer your home as a place for the artist to stay, please contact us at school! For more information on the Cirkus Smirkus school residencies, check out www.smirkus.org.
We had a couple calls before the break regarding bussing. If you have a bussing question, or need to contact a driver for any reason, please know that you can call First Student directly at 849-2800.
At the past couple School Board meetings, we have discussed the possibility of organizing a daily, after school program at FCS. At this point, we have only estimated potential costs and revenue necessary to design a financially viable and quality program for students. The School Board would like to know your thoughts! Is this something you would be interested in for your child? If so, please contact me to let me know if this is something we should pursue. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
December 16, 2011
Dear Parents and Families,
We've had a very busy month this December!
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our music program during our holiday concerts last week. The kids did a terrific job, and put on wonderful performances for us!
We are getting closer to earning our second school-wide PBiS celebration, and hope to enjoy this before the holiday break. Ms. Kelly met with student council representatives to get their feedback on our school-wide system as well as ideas for school-wide recognitions. We are using their feedback to make some changes and will keep you posted on some new ideas as we move forward.
The Outdoor Classroom has been very busy, and the high tunnel construction is very, very close to completion! We are very thankful to the committed volunteers who helped make this happen!
Teachers are busy assessing students in the Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment this month. We are reviewing students' progress and will be organizing SIT groups for literacy at the middle school level to begin after the break.
We are also proud of all of our students and staff who have helped make this season a little brighter for people in need. Operation Happiness has had support from our Student Council members as well as many staff members. We sent off all of the food items families sent in for our food drive this week as well. Thank you for your support!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Wood
November 16, 2011
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I have a few important messages for you this week:
Tomorrow, Thursday, November 17th is our Thanksgiving dinner at school. Thank you to all who have let us know you plan to attend; we are expecting close to 100 guests for this special meal! Given the high turnout, we are sure to experience a little bit of wait time between lunch periods. Thank you in advance for your patience and support. We will be directing parents to their students’ assigned tables. We know our students are looking forward to their lunchtime visitors!
Here are the times again for your schedules:
Grades 6-8: 11:25-11:45
Grades 4-5: 11:35-11:55
Grades K-1: 11:40-12:00
Grades 2-3: 12:00-12:20
A Very Important Message regarding pick up at dismissal:
Beginning Monday, November 28th, students waiting to be picked up by parents or caregivers will be waiting in the LIBRARY instead of the gym. The doors at the library entrance will be open at 2:40 for parents to enter to pick up their students. If you arrive a few minutes earlier than that time, and a library class is in session, please feel free to wait in the library vestibule until dismissal. Thank you!
Jamie West from Jeff’s has announced that “Jeff's Thanksgiving Brunch is going to be held on Sunday, Nov. 20 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. This is right before Thanksgiving and is an opportunity for folks to have a holiday inspired meal, compliments of Jeff's and local volunteers. This is open to all.”
Last but not least, thank you to all who have donated items for the Thanksgiving Food Basket drive this week. On Friday, our Student Government members and I will go to the Fairfield Community Center to distribute the food and help organize the baskets after our school-wide Food Pass.
Have a wonderful vacation week and Happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
November 7, 2011
Dear Parent and Guardians,
Happy November! It is hard to believe we are only two weeks away from the Thanksgiving break. We hope that many of you will join us for our Thanksgiving dinner at school on Thursday, November 17th. Adult meal prices are $3.50, and the times for the dinner are as follows:
Grades 6-8: 11:25-11:45
Grades 4-5: 11:35-11:55
Grades K-1: 11:40-12:00
Grades 2-3: 12:00-12:20
We are very proud of several of our middle school students who accompanied Ms. Dion, Ms. Scott, and Mrs. Jerose to present last Wednesday afternoon at the Farm-to-School conference at Swanton Elementary School. Students spoke about our gardening and maple sugaring units at Fairfield, and were well received by the attendees. We thank everyone who participated for representing FCS so well! Our school Food Advisory Council will hold its first meeting later this month. The topic for this meeting will be “healthy breakfasts.” If you have input for the council members on this topic, please let me know. We started a school-wide snack program last Friday. Once a week, all students will receive a nutritious morning snack. This program is being coordinated by Mrs. Jerose, and everyone received a crisp Vermont apple on the first day last week.
Our second year of PBiS implementation at FCS is well underway. Students earned their first school-wide recognition by the end of October, and were treated to popcorn and a movie November 1st. Our universal PBiS committee meets monthly to review behavioral data and school-wide progress. We are planning some new school-wide supports, and will keep you informed as we move forward!
In “Fuel Up to Play 60” news, we were thrilled to learn that a recent grant application written by Mrs. Howrigan and Ms. C-H was accepted and approved for the full amount of $3920.00! With this grant award, the Fuel Up to Play 60 team will be organizing taste tests of healthy snacks, and purchasing some exciting equipment for our P.E. program, including hula hoops and moveable bowling lanes! Our popular “Get Up and Get Moving” program begins next week, and will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the gym from 7:30-8:00AM. Students may be dropped off at 7:30AM on these days for fun activities to get their bodies moving and ready for the day.
This coming Wednesday evening is the official kick-off of our “school to home” component of our 1:1 computing initiative in the 4th and 5th grades. We are looking forward to seeing parents of 4th and 5th graders at this meeting, which will be held from 5:30-6:30PM in Mrs. B-C’s classroom.
Important Dates/Upcoming Events:
Thanksgiving Dinner: November 17th
School Vacation: November 21st-25th
December Concerts: Grades 6-8, December 7th, 6:30
Grades PreK-5, December 8th, 6:30
December Vacation: December 22nd-December 30th
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
October 24, 2011
Well, our NECAPs are all packed up and ready for shipment back to Measured Progress! Thank you for your support of our students and teachers during this busy month. Luckily, we have enjoyed some fun events along the way. Our Hay Day on October 14th was a great success. We couldn't be more grateful to Jamie Bedard for her fantastic organization, for the volunteers who ran workshops, and to the parents and community members who brought in snacks and supplies to make this day so special for our whole school!
Last Wednesday afternoon, I attended the 2011 Outstanding Teacher of the Year ceremony at the University of Vermont. Our own Rita Kalsmith was honored as our district's Outstanding Teacher of the Year at this ceremony alongside teachers form other districts across the state. Congratulations to Mrs. Kalsmith!
Parent-teacher conferences begin after school this Thursday from 3-7. We will also hold conferences during the day on Monday, October 31st. There is no school for students on the 31st.
Construction on the high tunnel behind the Fire Department building began last weekend. Check out our Facebook page to see a photo, or better yet, stop by to see it. We are excited about this garden expansion project!
Students at FCS earned their first school-wide celebration, with our last homeroom class earning their class apple on our school-wide board yesterday! We will have a surprise celebration to recognize them for their great work in following school expectations soon...
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
October 6, 2011
October 6, 2011
Dear Parents and Families,
Happy October! This is a busy month for our school. As you know, NECAP testing in Reading, Mathematics, and Writing began today for students in grades 3-8. We are providing a bagged breakfast (cereal or muffin, milk, fruit or juice) for every student taking the NECAP on testing days. We are thankful to Mrs. Shannon Kane for her help in organizing this, and to the Abbey for their extra work! We are reminding students to get a good night’s sleep, and to do their best on this assessment.
In other NECAP news, our 2011 Science NECAP scores were released last week. Students in 4th grade and 8th grade last year took this assessment last May. 62% of the 4th grade students achieved proficiency on this assessment, as compared to 52% of students across the state. 33% of last year’s 8th grade students achieved proficiency on this assessment compared to 29% across the state. We will be analyzing the release items to determine areas of focus for future instruction.
We do not have school tomorrow, October 7th. It is an inservice day for teachers. Thank you, and have a wonderful, long weekend!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
September 28th, 2011
Dear Parents and Families,
Our first month of school is almost through, and we are headed into the very busy month of October. Students in grades 3-8 will be taking the 2011 NECAP Reading and Mathematics tests. Students in grades 5 & 8 will also be administered the 2011 NECAP Writing test. Please call me if you have any questions about the schedule or the assessment.
The following is a list of upcoming events and important dates in October for your information:
October 6th: First Day of NECAP Testing
October 7th: No School (Teacher In-Service Day)
October 14th: Hay Day!
October 16th: PTO Harvest Dinner
October 20th & 21st: No School
October 27th: Fall Parent Conferences 3-7PM
October 31st: Fall Parent Conferences 8:00-3:30PM
(No school for students)
In other news, a few classes are enjoying various field trips and experiences in this first week of autumn. I was fortunate to join the 8th graders on their annual Sterling Pond hike this week. We had a beautiful day for it, and are grateful to Ms. C-H for her work in organizing this trip! Students in K-1 classes will visit Green Wind Farm this week, as part of our Outdoor Classroom programming. Thank you for your continued support of our school. Happy fall!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
September 14, 2011
Dear Parents and Families,
Oh, what a fun assembly we had last Friday! With support from local businesses, we were able to give out some great prizes to readers who participated in our FCS Summer Reading Challenge. A generous $500 donation from Bond Auto Parts helped us purchase 3 Nook e-readers for the top readers at grades 3-8, and a Leapster Explorer for the K-2 student who read and logged the most reading minutes this summer. Everyone enjoyed an ice cream treat at the end of the assembly. It was a nice way to end our week together.
Please remember that we are having an Open House this Thursday, September 15th, from 6-7PM. We will be having a mini “Resource Fair” in the gym during this time where various organizations and folks will be present to provide information and answer questions you might have. We hope to see you there! Also, we will be having our first 8th grade trip meeting on Thursday at 7PM in Mrs. Airoldi’s classroom .
Thank you to everyone who donated non-perishable food items to our food drive for those affected by Tropical Storm Irene. 8th graders helped collect the food from classrooms and pack my car. And it was definitely packed! I delivered the food to Collins Perley Friday afternoon, and it was brought to Hartford, VT after the football game Friday night. Thanks again for your support with our first school-wide community service project of the year! Mrs. C-H is still collecting hard cover children and young adult books to replace the collection lost in the West Hartford library in the storm. These can be brought in through the rest of this week.
With our new morning routines, we are working hard to maintain a safe and smooth traffic flow in the morning. We appreciate your support in helping us ensure an efficient morning transition by assisting us with the following procedures:
- Students should not arrive before 8:00 unless they are in Algebra or siblings of an Algebra student. All students should be in class by 8:15.
- Please enter from South Road for morning drop off. This will support a safe transition for students coming off the busses in the morning, as well as for kids being dropped off.
- Afternoon: If you pick your child up at the end of the day, please note that if you are parked inside the orange cones, we require that you wait to exit until the busses have left the school. Thank you very much for your cooperation with these procedures!
Did you know that our daily announcements are posted on our website? If you have other suggestions of things you would like to see on our website, please let me know!
Also, we sincerely appreciate your efforts in sending in written notes when your child’s dismissal plan has changed for the day. This has been a great help. Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you Thursday evening!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wood
September 2, 2011
Dear Parents and Families,
We’ve had a busy first three days of school! In addition to meeting their teachers and getting settled in new classrooms, students have also been reviewing our “HR3” expectations with staff across all settings in our school. This is our second year of implementing a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBiS) framework for teaching positive behavior at FCS. The beginning of a new school year is a logical and traditional time to discuss expectations about how we will work together so we can enjoy an optimal, supportive learning environment at Fairfield Center School. We have been re-teaching what “HR3” looks like in our classrooms, in the cafeteria, in our bathrooms, our hallways, on the playground, on the busses, during assemblies, and at arrival and dismissal times to all of our K-8 students. Next week, we will hold an assembly at which students will be reinforcing these concepts through a “charades” like game. We are looking forward to seeing how creative they are!
I am pleased to announce that we have hired Jennifer Hill to be our full-time technology integrationist at Fairfield Center School. We have accessed federal grant dollars to support the addition of this one-year position, but our long-term goal is to grow this position into a multi-year teaching post at FCS. As we all know, technology is rapidly changing our world and its implications for teaching and learning in 21st century schools have been articulated in many places for several years now. This position provides us an opportunity to take several strides forward in improving learning outcomes in these areas.
Important Dates/ Mark your Calendars:
- Food drive to Support Vermont towns affected by Tropical Storm Irene Friday, September 2nd -Friday, September 9th
- Hard cover book drive to support West Hartford, VT library, 9/2/11-9/911
- Fairfield Center School OPEN HOUSE, Thursday, September 15th, 6-7PM
- 8th Grade Trip Meeting, September 15th, 7PM
- Tuesday, September 20th, School Picture Day
Have a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend!
Sincerely, Mrs. Wood
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