More pajama day pictures! Check out Lukas, Luella and Mattison!
Pajama Day--Virtual Learning Style
Join us in our Virtual Learning Spirit Week as we kick off week 4 of virtual learning! Take a picture showing your school spirit each day and email it to Mrs. Mathes at jmathes@usd310.org or Mr. SanRomani at dsanromani@usd310.org. We will post your pictures on the school's Facebook page!
Fairfield High School wishes to congratulate Kaylyn Bauman as an NHS Scholarship recipient. Kaylyn was chosen from nearly 7,000 applicants. Recipients are chosen based on their demonstrated work to support the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Join us in congratulating Kaylyn and her accomplishments!
FAIRFIELD BOARD HOLDS APRIL MEETING
The USD #310 Board of Education met on Monday, April 13th, 2020. Board Clerk Amy Riggs and Technology Director Scott Flaming were the other people in attendance, as the meeting was projected on an online platform so patrons could also be involved.
Besides the normal monthly consent agenda items, the board discussed and took action on two major items. First was the expansion of the Fairfield Daycare. Based upon the need and demand for more spots in our current daycare program, the board voted 7-0 to move our daycare from a level one to a level two. The children will still be in one room but will now have two adults present. In addition, more children can be served. The Fairfield Daycare remains focused on meeting the needs of our staff first as a way to help recruit and retain staff. Additional spots not used may be filled by community members, using a waiting list format.
The second major decision made by the board included the 7-0 approval of a new track and asphalt underlayment. On our current (original) track, the top surface along with the underlayment is cracked and unusable for competition. The board approved a bid from Beynon Sports for the BSS 200 track system ($ 136,026.03) and also a bid from Apac ($ 108,507.45) for the underlayment asphalt milling and work. The work is projected to be finished by the time school starts for the 2020-2021 school year.
Other business discussed included an update on the progress of the district’s Continuous Learning Plan and reports from the principals. The administration is contacting parents of students who are behind in their online work and grades are being posted. Teachers are also in contact with parents and students. It is a different format of learning entirely, but it is working.
Tonight's Board of Education meeting can be streamed live from the following link: https://youtu.be/QMyvfUfGB6g
Attached is the agenda for the meeting.
The District Office will be closed April 10th in observance of Good Friday.
Parents:
Is your tween or teen found suddenly in charge of helping to take care of other children? Help them feel better prepared with activities, snacks and information with our program “Suddenly in Charge!”
👪 ksre.k-state.edu/families/suddenly-in-charge
https://spark.adobe.com/video/uNwtZYQb2i5gS
Kinzley Pickett, daughter of Adam and Jessica Pickett and FES student, won first place in the Ft. Larned Old Guard Art Contest. She also won several books and $50. Kinzley’s teacher is Mrs. Radke. Congratulations!
FES student Georgia Fry was awarded second place in the state Ft. Larned Old Guard Art Contest. She was notified of the award by mail this week. Georgia also received 4 books and $50.00 cash. Georgia is the daughter of Scott and Patti Fry; her Social Studies teacher who coordinated the project for Fairfield students was Mrs. Radke. Congratulations!
We have created a family check-in for all Fairfield families. Please let us know how you are doing and if there is any thing we can do to help by filling out this form!
https://forms.gle/28e3aK72vmzZedKRA
Thank you and we hope you are all doing well. We miss seeing you!
Hats off to Jaqui Conrad and all of those who helped her deliver 316 meals today!
A Stay At Home Order was approved today by the Reno County Commission.
THE SADNESS IS REAL: An open letter to teachers
Grief means you loved well. By Tricia Lott Williford, 3-26-2020
“What’s keeping you awake at night?” A friend of mine asks this question when she wants to get to the heart of what’s on the minds of the people she loves. The worries that keep us awake at night can point to the core of who we are.What’s on my mind tonight? The teachers. It’s 3:00 in the morning, and I can’t get you out of my mind.
You didn’t plan on this. And let’s be honest: teachers are planners. This is one giant curveball. You were gearing up for spring break – that’s all the time off you needed. One week off, and then you had plans to head into the homestretch of the school year, the weeks we’ve all been waiting for. The most fun units that you save for springtime. The sentimental traditions. The finish lines. That last stretch where your team rounds third base and heads for home plate.
And now this, the closure that was one week, then two, and now four, probably eight, but who really knows? I taught kindergarten and third grade, and the thought of someone taking my kiddos away from me in those last weeks? Well, it has me awake tonight, feeling so very sad for you.
I would have worried for the kids who were hungry – for food, yes, but also for soul care. For eye contact. For morning hugs and high-fives and secret handshakes. There’s so much you can learn by looking at your students, by the way they slump over their desk during a spelling test and the way they hold the book too close or too tight when they’re in the reading corner. You have spent months, weeks, days, and a million moments with them. Your heartstrings are tied to them, and now your heart feels stretched in so many directions that it’s frayed down the middle.
A kindergarten teacher I know lined her kiddos up for the “last day,” and one of her students said, “Well, I hope I see you again.” Oh, bless it all. That’s too much. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. In beginning literacy, we teach them that every good story has a beginning, middle, and an end… but your ending just got interrupted.
I get you, teachers.
In a week’s time, you’ve gone from being overlooked and underpaid, to now finally being recognized as some of the most important players who keep our world spinning. You’re the glitter and the glue.
And I hear you saying, “Right. We knew that, actually. Now can everybody just follow directions so we can get this virus under control and I can have my students back? We’ve got work to do.”
I hear you, teachers. I get you. You can call it work, but really it’s love. You had more loving to do this year, and you thought you had more time. I can’t fix it for you. But I know a thing or two about grief, and there’s a lot to be said for naming what is sad and letting it be sad. So I can sit in the space with you, I can lie awake at night with you on my mind, and I can get up to tell you this: the grief is real and valid and yours. Grief means you loved well. Thank you for loving our kids this hard, this much, this well.
From: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/sadness-real-open-letter-teachers/story?id=69798658&cid=clicksource_4380645_22_big_feature_bf_related
Today's Reno County Health Department states we now have five confirmed COVID-19 cases in Reno County.
Good Afternoon Fairfield Families!
Just a reminder that online/remote learning will begin on Monday, March 30. Most students have received their materials and personal belongings. Families who do not have internet service at home have been contacted and arrangements have been made for your students to continue learning. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the district office or your child's teacher.
Last night the USD #310 Board of Education approved a Continuous Learning Plan for Fairfield students that is set to launch on Monday, March 30th, 2020. PK-3 parents will be contacted by their teachers (either by phone, email, or a packet sent home today with the child's things) and 4th-12th grade students need to check their previously established emails, Google Classrooms, or DOJO accounts. They may also have packets sent home with their things today that have instructions on where to begin. If you have questions (students or parents) please don't hesitate to email teachers.
To: Fairfield Parents/Guardians
From: Scott Flaming, Technology Director
Thank you for your help during this unprecedented time by assisting in the continuation of your child's learning. We are here to help your child get the resources they need in order to keep them on a successful track for their educational studies. Part of those resources will include a laptop they would normally be using at school. Your student's laptop has filtering that was designed for use while on school premises, and it's important for you to know that the filtering probably won't work correctly off-site, especially for elementary students. These chromebooks do, however, have a history in the chrome browser designed not to be erased by the student.
Some suggested practices may include having the student complete work on their laptop in a common gathering area of a room like the kitchen or living room. Parents can also periodically check the history of the browser. If you need technical assistance, please feel free to contact Scott Flaming at sflaming@usd310.org.
Parents and Students:
If you have school library books at home, please feel free to return them tomorrow when you pick up all of your belongings! We will have someone here to collect them!
Thank you!