Admiral's Log Nov. 16, 2020
Admiral Strong - Honor, Courage, and Steadfastness
Farragut Intermediate Celebrations and Recognitions
PTA Corner
Grounds Clean Up Day: Saturday, November 21st from 9am – 12pm
The FIS PTA could really use volunteers to help us make our school look beautiful! We will be picking up trash, pulling weeds, and cleaning up our common areas! Volunteers are welcome to come as a family and stay as little or as long as they can. Meet in front of the school in the circle at 9am. We will provide trash bags and water and light snacks. If you can bring your own gloves, rakes, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, and/or any other useful tool that would be very helpful! Contact the FIS Grounds Committee with any questions at grounds@fispta.org.
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Project Giving Tree:
FPS, FIS & FMS Joint Blaze Spirit Night on November 19th! Covid-19 constraints have caused changes for our annual Project Giving Tree program. This special program, a joint effort by all Farragut schools, supports students and families right here in our Farragut community. Fundraising proceeds from this Blaze spirit night will go directly to Project Giving Tree to meet as many needs as possible. See attached flyer & use code 1144A on the app or at blazepizza.com for curbside, carry out or pickup! Please see info below for details on how to give this year!
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From Knox County PTA: Please see details below on A Night at the Drive-In
Tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-night-at-the-drive-in-tickets-125171636735
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Tennessee PTA Reflections: “I Matter Because”
See attached flyer below for the details. All Reflections entries due to FIS PTA or school office on or before January 6, 2021 to qualify for State.
FIS Spirit Wear
See attached flyer below for ordering. The flyer was also sent home with students. The deadline for ordering is Nov. 18th.
FIS Giving Tree
Farragut’s Project Giving Tree is underway! It will look different this year, but we are grateful to still offer gift assistance to our Farragut families in need of extra help this holiday.
Due to COVID protocols, we will not conduct our traditional tag distribution and gift collection. Instead, we aim to collect 500 gift cards to cover the costs of an outfit and toy or gift for each child in our program. In 2019, we served over 80 families with nearly 240 children. We expect to serve as many families this year, if not more due to the financial impacts of COVID in our community.
Our Giving Tree collection will run until December 4th. The sooner you give, the better opportunity we have to create our Giving Tree gift bags. Our Giving Tree families will receive a mix of gift cards and purchased gifts if private shopping becomes available.
We understand COVID has impacted everyone, so please consider giving as you are able. Every gift makes a difference!
Three easy ways to give!
1. In-person students: Simply send in gifts cards with your student to turn in to his/her homeroom teacher in an envelope marked GIVING TREE. We recommend/request a $25 gift card to local stores such as Kohl’s, Marshalls, and Old Navy, but gift cards of any denomination and to other local stores are all appreciated.
2. Virtual and in-person families may give online via Venmo @FISPTA. FIS PTA will collect and administer funds to either purchase additional gift cards or shop directly for our Giving Tree families.
3. In addition to gift cards:
In-person FIS students may also turn in colorful socks or wrapping paper/bags in a collection box OUTSIDE FIS at drop off each morning from Nov. 9 - Dec. 4. Please remember we serve children from birth to age 18, so a variety of sock sizes and styles are needed.
Questions? Please email farragutgivingtree@gmail.com for more information. Thank you from the Farragut Giving Tree Team!
Christy Davis & Nikki Hickman, FIS Giving Tree Co-chairs
Tech Tip
Now more than ever, families are finding it helpful to access their Aspen Portal. Aspen is a critical link between home and school. If you have never been logged into Aspen, now is the perfect time to start.
What is Aspen? Aspen is a secure, web-based school information management system. It helps school districts track all types of student data—from attendance to conduct, grades to schedules.
Is my child’s information secure? Aspen protects your student's information with the same advanced technology your bank uses to protect your financial accounts. Rest assured that all Aspen users only have access to the information they need, and nothing more. The Family and Student portals have been carefully configured to ensure that your student’s information is confidential and can only be retrieved by you—the parent/guardian—authorized school personnel, and the student him- or herself.
How do I access the portal? You can log on to Aspen's Family portal from virtually anywhere—all you need is an Internet connection. This means you can be connected at home, work, or wherever you happen to be. You can even access the portal from your smartphone or another mobile device. As a parent/guardian, you only need one login to securely access the information for all of your children. 1. Open your browser to connect to the Internet. 2. Go to the URL provided by your school. 3. Enter your Login ID and Password. 4. The first time you log on, you will be prompted to change your password.
What is a portal? For each student, Aspen stores thousands of pieces of data. Only their teachers and school administrators have access to this data. The Family Portal is a part of Aspen that lets parents and guardians see certain information about their own children. The Student portal is where students see information about themselves. Use your computer, smartphone, or mobile device to access the following:
- Family contact and emergency information: This can only be viewed, not edited. Notify your child’s school to correct any errors.
- Academic information: Get real-time access to your child’s assignments and grades. You can even see progress reports and report cards.
- Conduct, grades, attendance, and health visit information: Sign up to receive email notifications when new information is available.
Do you have any training videos? There are a number of videos (under five minutes) you can watch to get an overview of what the Family and Student portals have to offer. The Aspen Student and Family Video Series teaches basic skills that are helpful for both parents and students, such as Subscribing to Email Notifications and Checking Grades.
Dates to Remember
Nov. 21 - School Grounds Cleanup, 9-12
Nov. 25-Nov. 27 - Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 2 Interim Reports Go Home
Dec. 18 Report Cards Go Home, 1/2 day for students
Dec. 19-Jan. 1 Winter Break
FIS Office Hours
Office Phone: 865-966-6703