Fairfield Public Schools

"https://www.youtube.com/embed/qScICrTE99c Click on this link for K-6 Destiny information...

This is SPIRIT WEEK! EVERYONE! We are going to give COVID-19 a BEATDOWN! Tuesday We have a bright future together day. (Wear neon colors and sunglasses)

MENU FOR APRIL 20TH - 24TH MONDAY 20TH GRILLED CHEESE - CREAMY TOMATO SOUP APPLESAUCE CUP - MILK TUESDAY 21ST CHEESY CHICKEN & RICE PEARS - CELERY STICKS - ROLL - MILK WEDNESDAY 22ND COLD TURKEY SANDWICH CHIPS - FRUIT/VEGGIE - MILK THURSDAY 23RD SPAGHETTI - GARLIC BUN GREEN SALAD - MILK - BROWNIE FRIDAY 24TH FISH STICKS - LOADED MASHED POTATOES FRUIT / VEGGIE - MILK - ROLL

So...how many lunches? The Fairfield Food Service Team began serving curbside lunches starting on March 17th . In 22 school days, they have served 2647 student lunches and 530 staff lunches. Thanks to our Food Service Team and thanks for the community support! Starting today a tag-a-long breakfast will be served on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. These breakfasts accompany the lunches - curbside or on the bus. Take care!

We have been shorted a few experiences this year, but don't let your memories be one of them! Final call for Yearbooks.

Hello there! School Board Meeting tonight at 7:00. Please go our website www.fairfield.k12.mt.us and get the information on our school calendar to be able to access the zoom meeting link. Please check out what is on the agenda as well!

How was everyone's 'spring break'? Hopefully the time you are spending with your family is good and you are using this time to communicate and bond. Also hope some of you escaped by going on a virtual field trip to some place cool! It's always hard to get back into the swing of school after an extended break and Tuesday morning will not be an exception, but look on the bright side, you only have to go from 8am to 12pm and you don't have to drive! I would like to ask all parents and students to please continue where we left off. Attendance has been excellent and school work has been pretty good. We have to power through now and make the best of this together. We are all grateful for the words of encouragement many of you have sent. We will continue to work hard to get through this and provide the best education we can. Thank you, Mr. Gordon

Hello all! A couple more items: 1) A reminder that we will continue to have spring break starting on Thursday, April 9th and concluding Monday, April 13th. 2) Governor Bullock provided a directive today that extends school closure until Friday, April 24th. 3) There is much speculation regarding when schools will reopen or if they will reopen. All we know is that we will go forward with what we have been doing until the 24th. Anything we provide other than that would be pure speculation on our part. Please, have a great evening let's buckle down for one more day before getting a couple days off!

The sun is out, the grass is turning green and we are ALL relieved to get to the weekend. As we ALL take one step closer to the end of this... whatever this is, be sure to take a little time to find some positives and build on them. *First, it is absolutely amazing what has been accomplished in the past two weeks from the school standpoint. Other than a few normal 'excused' absences and a few tardies in grades 7-12, we have had 98% attendance for the first two weeks! And I believe the EK-6 participation is about the same! Wow!! (Perhaps the teacher shortage in the US will change after this spring and some of you will decide to join our profession on a more permanent basis!) *The 'pickup' plan today went well and it looked like just about every student/family was able to pick-up and drop-off work, books, and supplies. Super! *We are now at almost 200 'hot' lunches between curbside pick up and bus delivery. Thank you for the systematic communication and thank you for meeting our people at the designated stops/times. We have been almost perfect for lunches made vs received with no waste. That's great! *Teachers and students are becoming more proficient every day on interactive technology. Even though we are all stuck in our houses, teachers are letting their students know, live and in person, that they care about them. We are all still here at school every day working hard to provide them the education they need and deserve. Rockstars! So, we would like to recognize all of you helping the school keep this education train rolling down the track so effectively. It is amazing that every teacher is doing live class for almost every period, and more amazing that all our students are making sure they are in every class every period, every day for an abbreviated regular schedule. We also want to let you parents know that your hard work, although necessary, is very appreciated. All this effort is to be rewarded. We have three days of school next week (M,T,W) then a much needed Spring Break for students, parents and just as importantly, the staff... they have been absolutely grinding. Spring Break will be Thurs, April 9 - Mon, April 13th as originally scheduled. We looked at staying in school for a couple of those days, but ultimately decided we ALL needed a few days so we can finish this thing strong and meet the challenges still to come. (And I feared for my life if we didn't) So, lets keep up the good work for the three days next week and please help us get back into the groove after the break so we can ALL finish as strong as we have started. Thank you Fairfield, Mr. Gordon

Book Care Tips

Ebooks Available for all students grades EK - 12 Good News! Since Fairfield Public Library is in the Montana Shared Catalog system, our students can get a library card online. The link below will sign you up for an MSC library card that will allow access to online resources that the library offers such as MontanaLibrary2Go. Please visit this online registration form. https://mtsc.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/MTSC/search/registration/$N?pc=MTLIB2GO Sign up, write down your card number and go to MontanaLibrary2Go. https://montana.overdrive.com/ You may search or browse, select a book and then download. There are two apps that work the best: Kindle or Overdrive. I also use the filters on the left hand side, particularly the “Available Now”. If you already have a library card at the Fairfield Public Library, you may use your number to access MontanaLibrary2Go. Please remember these tips https://docs.google.com/document/d/10sGarCwmzIBPnFFV9AYVBp4GvcJmnxnS9gqcJ_Xmmj4/edit about helping your child select an appropriate book.

Library books - Checking out and returning Grades 7-12: Search for a book in Destiny - https://ffschoolmt.follettdestiny.com/common/welcome.jsp?context=saas25_2500556. Email Mrs. Bremer dbremer@fairfield.k12.mt.us with the title, author & call #. Books will be placed in the big gym entryway. Grades K-6: Students are allowed to put 2 books on hold We will pull those books and place them with your student’s Friday packet Please return any library books you are not using to the library book plastic bin near packet pick-up areas or on the lunch bus. If your student would like to put a book on hold: Watch the video - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w1ky0pEWkSZnCvq0fM0XXY4vlx84p6vK/view Here is the Destiny Quest website - https://ffschoolmt.follettdestiny.com/quest/servlet/presentquestform.do?site=100&context=saas25_2500556&alreadyValidated=true

Policy Committee Meeting at 6:30 and Special Board Meeting at 7:00 tonight. Both meetings can be accessed by going to our school calendar on the website. www.fairfield.k12.mt.us - Hope to see you there!

Reading at Home This week we will be sending out information regarding ebooks or interactive books online. We encourage all parents and guardians to be involved in the selection of ebooks & library books by their student(s). Please help them find suitable, age appropriate books. Here are a few guidelines to help. (taken from books4yourkids.com) The Fear Factor - know your reader’s sensitivity The Maturity Factor - know the maturity and comprehension level of your child The Animal Factor - let’s face it - some animal books can be really sad Book level range- This is a good opportunity to let your student enjoy a book deemed “too easy” or allow them to challenge themselves with a harder book they really want to read. A helpful site to check for age appropriateness that we use at school is common sense media. (www.commonsensemedia.org). You can search for book, movie & TV, games, and app reviews. Wondering if a book has an AR quiz? Go to AR Bookfinder. First up try ABDO providing free access through June 2020: (not all are AR - check AR Bookfinder) --Elementary Digital Bookshelf: PreK-8 --Secondary Digital Bookshelf: Grades 5-12 --ABDO Zoom Online Database: Grades PreK-2

GRADUATES! Scholarship Reapplications are due! TUESDAY, APRIL 1ST! And that is no foolin!

Governor Bullock's Announcement... Good Evening Everyone, As you probably know, Governor Bullock expanded the previous extended business and school closure by implementing a "Stay at Home" or "Shelter in Place" for the state to start at 12:01am Saturday. This excludes a variety of "Essential Services", which includes education and our school lunch service. "Educational institutions—including public and private pre-K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—for purposes of facilitating remote learning, performing critical research, or performing other essential functions consistent with prior Directives on school closures and the continued provision of certain services, provided that social distancing of six-feet per person is maintained to the greatest extent possible. This Directive is consistent with and does not amend or supersede the March 24, 2020 Directive closing non-residential public schools through April 10, 2020;" Essentially, we can continue as we have already been mandated to do by the Governor and the County Health. Schools will all continue to implement their "Distance Learning Plan" We know that the elementary has an important pick-up day tomorrow and we are ok to proceed, but we all need to observe safety precautions and distancing. Packets and books will be available outside the building. Returning materials including books and homework will need to be carefully placed in appropriate tub containers that will be quarantined for 72 hours before addressing contents as directed by the CDC. Your and your students are doing a great job of helping us make this work to the best of our ability in a safe, yet productive manner. Thank you,

Tune in tonight at 6:00! Log onto www.eaglestreaming.com and watch the State of the School!

Health Masks! Mr. Rogers and the 3-D printer have been rolling to provide masks for our health care providers! #FairfieldBlue!

Office of Public Instruction, Montana University System Announce Free ACT Opportunities for Students HELENA—The Office of Public Instruction and Montana University System announced today that Montana juniors will have the opportunity to take the ACT free of charge this coming fall semester of their senior year. Normally, current juniors would take the ACT in the spring as Montana’s statewide standardized test for federal accountability. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and Montana’s pending waiver request from standardized tests, it is likely that juniors will not be taking the ACT this spring. “In this time of uncertainty, Montana students, families, and educators should be focused on their health and safety not fulfilling standardized test requirements,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen said Tuesday. “I am pleased that Montana high school students who wish to take the ACT in pursuit of post-secondary education will have the opportunity to take it free of charge this fall.”

State of the School Address! Wednesday, March 25th at 6:00 pm. Log onto www.eaglestreaming.com. We will discuss where we were, where we are, and where we are headed. Please join us as we try to update the navigation of this new adventure. Thank you!