Fairfield Public Schools

Due to Fairfield hosting JH Mass Band, there will not be Little Eagle volleyball that day.

Congratulations to Guerna Becker! Yesterday, she officially signed her letter of intent to do track and field for the NCAA Division III SUNY Cobleskill Fighting Tigers. We are all proud of Guerna's accomplishments so far and will be cheering her on from a distance in the future.

Please find attached information regarding the vaccination clinic that the Teton County Health Department has scheduled to take place at our school on Wednesday, April 10. Additionally, I have posted flyers around the school to raise awareness about the event. It is crucial to note that after high school, many colleges and employers may require individuals to have some or all of these vaccinations and the appropriate records. Therefore, it is essential to determine what is required beforehand. This vaccination clinic offers a convenient and cost-effective way to fulfill these requirements ahead of time. I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and take the necessary steps to meet your vaccination requirements. Please let us know if you have any questions.

REMINDER THAT MISSOULA CHILDREN'S THEATRE TRY OUTS FOR K-8TH STUDENTS ARE TOMORROW, TUESDAY, APRIL 2ND AT 3:45 TO 5:45.

Parents and Students, Missoula Children’s Theatre week is upon us. We will be performing the play, Robin Hood this year. The week will begin with an audition session on Tuesday, April 2nd from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Please send a snack for your child for after school. After this session, the cast will be selected. Please know ahead of time that the show typically casts between 45-60 parts. This may mean that your child may not get a part depending on auditions. All parents need to come to the gym or have communication with their child after the auditions. This will either mean that parents need to be at the school by 6 or a phone conversation will happen. Some may continue to have practice and others may need to be picked up. If your child is not scheduled to practice, they need to be picked up even if they have a sibling at a different practice time. A participation fee will be $10 per participant (max $20/family). Scholarships are available. We look forward to another fun year hosting Missoula Children’s Theatre and a great week! Thanks, Mrs. Clark lclark@fairfield.k12.mt.us

Ms. Jenkins' Applied Science class is hard at work building guitars again this spring. Part of the assignment is for them to document and write about the process. The students wanted to publish some of their progress pictures and blog posts. I will be sharing them here from time to time as I receive them. The following is an excerpt from senior Myles Allen's blog post, "Week 6 This week I continued to sand the head stock of the guitar and shape it with 60 grit sandpaper which is a rougher grit. Once it was shaped and the deeper scratches removed from the wood I used a higher grit to make the sanding finer and worked all the way up to 220. I made sure to make the neck super smooth and I learned that it is much more efficient to use a lower grit to get out deep gouges than using a high grit. "

FAIRFIELD KINDERGARTEN SCREENING The Fairfield Public School will be holding a Kindergarten Screening on THURSDAY, APRIL 4 starting at 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the large gym. The screening is open to all children who will turn 5 before September 10th. Areas screened are vision, hearing, speech, fine motor, gross motor and concepts. Any parents having questions regarding the screening or to arrange an appointment please call Terria Arps at 467-2425.

A representative from Jostens will be at FHS on Wednesday, March 20 to give students the opportunity to purchase jackets and/or class rings.

Fairfield Community and School Stakeholders, The Fairfield School is gathering input through a variety of brief surveys in an effort to promote community engagement and help set strategic goals as we move forward into the future. The school district values your input and we want our parents, staff, students and local businesses to help us make decisions that ensure we are providing a quality education in a safe and healthy environment. We sent the parent link through our school messaging system that should have come as a text message with a link to the applicable survey. If you did not receive a link and/or would like to provide input, please contact the school and we will make it available. Completed and Active Surveys Include: Parents Students: 5-8 & 9-12 Certified Staff Classified Staff School Board Business Partners This process is called an Community Needs Assessment (CNA) and is part of our Integrated Strategic Action Plan (ISAP). This will be an ongoing process and will ensure we are working on our weaknesses and building on our strengths. Respectfully Dustin Gordon, Superintendent and Fairfield School Board

There are tables set up in the big gym lobby with various clothing items that have been left on the floor in both the boys' and girls' locker rooms over the course of the past several months. When there are items left on the floor, the custodial staff puts it in a big plastic trash can so that they can clean the floors. Sometimes students will get their things out of the trash cans, but most of the time they do not. When the trash cans get full, we bag up the items to make room for more. Every year, there are THOUSANDS of dollars worth of clothing items left lying around on the locker room floors that are never claimed. Feel free to stop by the school over the next few days if your child is missing something. Anything not claimed at the end of the day on Friday, March 15 will be donated to those in need.

We have been having issues with our phone service this afternoon (Tues.) and have been unable to make or receive any calls. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. We have contacted 3 Rivers, and they are helping us come up with a solution as soon as they possibly can.

THANK YOU CLASS OF 1966, On behalf of the Fairfield School District and the students who have benefitted from former teacher Ms. Gertrude Weishaar, thank you for the donation to her memorial scholarship in the names of JoAnne Evans Weingart and Terrill Beck. The school and our recipient students appreciate your continued support of this memorial scholarship fund.

POSITION OPENING The Fairfield School is accepting applications for Kitchen Help position. Wages are DOE The District is always looking for applications for the following positions: • Activity Trip Bus Drivers • Substitute: Teachers, Kitchen Staff, and Bus Drivers Applications can be found online at: www.fairfield.k12.mt.us under the "Employment" Tab. Or, you can contact the school office at 467-2528 during regular business hours. Denise Grant - Business Manager Dustin Gordon - Superintendent Fairfield is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Wages and Salaries are DOE

We are still trying to assess the road conditions for bus routes tomorrow. I spoke to the Teton County road department. They are doing some plowing today and will be out early tomorrow to try to get as much of our routes done as possible. We plan to run as much of the routes as possible but may need to take alternate routes to get children picked up. If your road is not passable in the morning, please contact the driver to let them know. I will update everyone as soon as possible if anything changes overnight.

FYI - Starting on Monday, February 19, we will be consolidating the 5 bus routes we have down to 4. Most of our riders will not be affected, but some will be riding on a different bus with a different driver. If your student(s) will be affected, the drivers will contact you before then to keep everyone updated. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at the school or via email at pwilson@fairfield.k12.mt.us.

Local Robotic Prodigy Robyn Mathison, a Member of Sun River Valley Robotics Club, Earns Dean's List Semifinalist Recognition at Montana's FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship Sun River, MT – [2/4/2024] Sun River Valley Robotics is delighted to announce the outstanding achievement of Robyn Mathison, a junior at Fairfield High School and a proud member of the Sun River Valley Robotics Club. Robyn has been recognized as one of two Dean's List Semifinalists at the Montana FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship, held in Bozeman on February 2, 2024. Robyn is an integral part of Sun River Valley Robotics Team #724, known as "ReDNeK Robotics Wun," and her exceptional skills and leadership have played a crucial role in the team's success at the state championship. The FIRST Tech Challenge is a highly regarded competition that challenges students to design, build, and program robots to tackle various tasks, fostering a passion for STEM fields. Chuck Merja, mentor of ReDNeK Robotics Wun, expressed his pride in Robyn's accomplishments: "Robyn's dedication and enthusiasm for all things STEAM have been truly inspiring. Her leadership on Team #724 has been instrumental in our success, and I am thrilled to see her recognized as a Dean's List Semifinalist. This achievement is a testament to her commitment to excellence and her ability to inspire her teammates and broader community." As a Dean's List Semifinalist, Robyn Mathison will progress to the next phase of the competition, where she will have the opportunity to further showcase her leadership qualities and passion for STEM education. "We are incredibly proud of Robyn and her accomplishments. Sun River Valley Robotics is not only a club but a community that encourages students to excel in STEAM, and Robyn embodies the spirit of our organization," said Merja. "We extend our congratulations to Robyn and wish her continued success in her robotics journey." For more information about Sun River Valley Robotics and Team #724, please contact: Chuck Merja chuckm@3rivers.net 406-799-5955

January 24, 2024 RE: Infinite Campus Fees and Parent Portal Parents, the portal is incorrectly showing “Due” amounts or “Prior Year Due” amounts. You do not owe these amounts. The only amount that you would owe is what you have selected and put in your “Cart”. We are working with Infinite Campus to correct this issue, so until then, be assured that you do not owe for any fees that you have not put in your Cart. Due to a programming issue within Infinite Campus, we have to set our fee schedules so that it hits All students, even though all fees are not applicable to all students. This is the issue we are working on with Infinite Campus to correct. We will keep you updated on our progress, thank you for understanding. Sincerely, Fairfield School District 21

Dear Fairfield Parents and Community, We were made aware this morning that school officials across the state received threatening messages. These messages were not targeted at Fairfield Schools or specific districts. We have been in contact with local, state, and federal law enforcement on this issue and will take measures as a precaution, but we do not believe there is any abnormal threat to our school. We have had the school facility searched by local law enforcement and at this time we are planning on having school as normal today with all necessary precautions in place. Superintendent Dustin Gordon

JH Volleyball practice is canceled for today (1/11) and tomorrow (1/12. Also, due to several factors, the jamboree scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.

Extracurricular Information / Update... Due to the extreme cold, there are changes to the HS Basketball and JH Volleyball. Friday HS Basketball in RB: C Game has been cancelled. Start time has been moved up to 12pm to get teams home by early evening. We will be sending 2 buses for safety and they will travel together. Saturday in Shelby Forecast temps rise all day. No C games. Start time is 1pm again getting teams home early evening. 2 buses for safety. JH Volleyball Saturday has been cancelled. We will continue to monitor the weather and cold, which could potentially result in a cancellation. We will update through various media with any changes. Thank you,