Happy April Fairhaven Friends and Families,

April means spring, which in middle school means two big things—transitions and assessments. In terms of transitions, our 8th graders and families are beginning the exciting process of selecting classes and learning more about life as high school students. Over the past few weeks, our high school counselors have visited Fairhaven, our high schools have hosted family welcome events, and in the coming weeks our students will be traveling to their respective schools to learn more about life as a Mariner, Bayhawk, Armadillo, or Storm. With middle school being a time of transition, we are also working with our elementary schools to welcome our incoming 6th grade students. This month, our counselors are traveling to our feeder elementary schools to begin welcoming students, with more visits scheduled for early next month. We are so excited to welcome our new Grizzlies and wish our 8th grade students and families success in their coming adventures.

Beyond transitions, this month we begin our annual round of Smarter Balanced Assessments. These state assessments are taken every year, and help us all monitor our progress and direction as a building and district. Our goal is to make sure these assessments are given just the right amount of attention—not to little to miss their importance, but not so much that they become a distraction. Please be looking for more information from your child’s teachers via Parent Square or reach out to our front office with any questions.

Finally, thank you all for your continued help, support, and partnership. Next week we celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Week and I want to be the first to extend my deepest appreciation to our many volunteers—PTSA members, club advisors, chaperones, and classroom helpers to name a few. We couldn’t do the great work we do as a school without the collaboration and support of you, our community. Thank you from all of us here at Fairhaven.

My best,

Steve Ruthford, Principal

Smarter Balance State Testing starts next week. Students will be taking a variety of tests over the course of the next month. We encourage students to charge their computers each night so they will not run out of power during the tests. Please reach out if you have any questions, please contact the main office.

A Grizzly Receiving Recognition (GRR) award recognizes students who go above and beyond. GRR awards are a way to publicly recognize a student for their excellence, exceptional effort, kindness toward others, or other significant contribution to our FMS community. Students chosen this Month were:

JIREH ARDON-CENTENO

BRIDGER BUHL

ALIEAH DUNNE

LIAM ERB

RAHA GHARAEI

ANDREA HERNANDEZ VILLANUEVA

JAYDON HINDS

DARREN KIM

HARLY MCDERMOTT

AVERY NELSON-KING

BRILYNN SIMMONS

TYNAN TATU

CHASE THOMPSON

MITCHELL VODOPICH

AVA WILSON

EZRA DISTEFANO

BAILEY HARRIS

JAEDEN HEIL

LUCEY WOODS,

GUNNAR ANDERSON

HAYDEN BRYAN

RYAN CASEY-RAPER

JONY GARCIA-MAGANA

AVERY KINGSLEY

Wednesday April 19thth

Zoom

7:00 PM

Click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81259990322?pwd=cHhvdnUwRnRDR3N6bzlCeFpxVVcxdz09

Another reminder! We have OPEN positions for officer roles for Co-Presidents (2) and Secretary for the remainder of 2023, and Fundraising for 2024. We will ask for nominations or volunteers at every meeting, so please give us a shout if you have questions or want the inside scoop. Jump in now if you have a 6th or 7th grader and want to seize the opportunity to be mentored by this year’s PTSA board – who are acting in the interim until someone claims the “hot seats” - before our kids move out of middle school next year. 😉

HEY – We are especially looking for a PTSA Bookkeeper!!

• Is your check book always balanced?
• Are you unafraid of Quickbooks?
• Do you do your own taxes?

This position takes no more than an hour or so each month, and is responsible for creating a budget report for the monthly meeting. It is budgeting light, trust us – there are few transactions each month, and reconciling them takes very little time. But, this position is critical to us for keeping our oversight obligations! You’ll have a “Treasurer Buddy” who writes all the checks and sends you the information (not an elf, sorry). You also get to file our taxes, but again – super simple. The previous position-holder is available to train you.

Join the PTSA:

Questions? Email PTSAFMSMembership@gmail.com or FairhavenPTSA@gmail.com

Your membership helps provide:

• Teacher Grants
• Staff Appreciation
• Sports Uniforms
• 8th Grade Celebration
• Sponsoring Special Events (Masquerade Ball, Parent Education) and more

If you have ANY questions or wish to volunteer, please email fairhavenptsa@gmail.com