Falcon Newsletter
December 2023
From the Principal
Happy December, everyone!
First, I'd like to thank you for making the time to meet with us last month for parent teacher conferences. I'm happy to share that we met with more than 94% of our families during the month of November! Discussing student growth and achievement is always a highlight of our school year, and knowing that we have your unwavering support means the world to us! Be sure to mark your calendars for our second round of conferences. Most of them will take place on February 27th and 29th.
The weeks leading up to Winter Break are always an exciting time here at Fairview, and this year will be no different! The month is jam-packed with themed dress-up days, assemblies, field trips, class parties, and high levels of teaching and learning! Please don't be afraid to reach out to any of us if you have questions about any of this month's happenings.
Happy Holidays!
Dr. Simmons, Principal
FVE Kindergartners put on a schoolwide Thanksgiving Parade on Tuesday, November 21st
PTA Meeting
Our next meeting is Monday December 11th at 4:30 p.m. in the Media Center/Library. Please join us.
Building School Improvement Plan
At the November PTA meeting, Dr. Simmons and Mrs. Salas presented Fairview’s School Improvement Plan for the 2023-24 school year. You can find a PDF of the slides that they presented here.
Holiday Charity Drive
Fairview has a yearly tradition of adopting 6 local charities during the month of December. These charities benefit directly from the generosity of our students and their families, but more importantly, we believe that endeavors like this teach our kids the importance of giving, empathy, and supporting OUR place/community. It brings me great joy to inform you that we will continue the tradition this December!
Below, you can find the charity that was adopted by each grade level. Your child's teacher will send home specific information about their chosen charity, the types of items that they will collect, and when they will be prepared to collect items. All donations need to be brought by Friday, December 15th.
- Kindergarten: City of Refuge
- 1st Grade: True North
- 2nd Grade: Ronald McDonald House
- 3rd Grade: Food Bank
- 4th Grade: Humane Society
- 5th Grade: Coyote Hill
Order Your 2023-24 Yearbook!
Click here to order your yearbook. Use code: 81947H. Be on the lookout for order forms in Friday Folders.
Except 5th graders - PTA buys all 5th graders a yearbook .
The deadline to order is January 15th, 2024.
Teacher Gifts
Winter break is coming up, and we’ve received a few questions about Teacher Appreciation gifts.
If you’d like to give a gift to a teacher or staff member and you’re looking for ideas, look no further than the “favorite things” list for teachers and staff.
If you’d like to make a monetary donation for specialists (Art, Media, Music, PE, Classroom Aides, ELL, Special Education, etc.), you may send cash or a check to the office or use Venmo (@Fairview-PTA, verification code 0409). Please mark your gift as “Teacher Appreciation.” PTA volunteers will use the donations to shop for the specialists in the coming weeks.
Please make your donations by Friday, December 15, so PTA volunteers have time to shop before winter break. And of course, while gifts are appreciated, they are not expected!
Thanks for your help,
Colleen Luley
Fairview PTA
Winter Break
Choir Concert for 4th and 5th Grade Students and Families
When: Thursday, December 14, 2023
Location: Fairview Gym
Call Time: 6:10pm
Performance Time:
- 6:30pm Concert for 5th Grade Families
- 7:15pm Concert for 4th Grade Families
What to Wear: Black pants and Yellow Choir T-Shirt (short sleeved shirt)
We will provide 2 performances on December 14. All choir members will perform for BOTH concerts. We are simply splitting the audience to ensure enough seating for our families.
Winter Spirit Calendar - ‘Twas The Three Days before Winter Break!
Winter Parties on 12/20/23
Our Winter Parties will take place on Wednesday, December 20th from 1:15-2:00. If you signed up to lead your child's party, You may show up 15 minutes early to begin setup, but please coordinate with your teacher.
From the Nurse's Office
All Kindergarten students will receive a vision screening on Tuesday, December 5th at Fairview Elementary by KidSight.
KidSight uses a portable, automated vision screener that can detect common causes of childhood vision problems. The device takes a photo of the child’s eyes from three feet away and a KidSight screening technician is immediately given a “pass” or “refer” result. The child does not have to say anything and the screening only takes a few seconds.
All result forms will be sent home to the parent/guardian.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this screening please contact Nurse Rachel at
214-3590 or rwillenberg@cpsk12.org
Monthly Update from Fairview Specials Teachers
From the Gym
With all grade levels we’ve started working on Tumbling Skills. These range from balances, animal movements, rolls, cartwheels, and round-offs. We get the mats out and take off shoes. This unit is a lot of fun and kids enjoy moving their bodies in ways we normally wouldn’t. Ask your kids what they’ve been doing!
PTA has given the green light to proceed with the traverse rock wall!! I can’t tell you how excited I am for this opportunity for our kids. We’re still working on details as far as ordering and installation goes. I’ll keep you posted!
Although we take shoes off for our Tumbling unit please check the A,B,C,D schedule and continue wearing tennis shoes.
Finally, if you’ve been in the gym lately you might have noticed the pictures on the bulletin boards. They are of our kiddos in action!! If you wish, send me a photo of your child doing something active and I’ll get it up on the board. You’re welcome to send in a hard copy pic or email me one and I’ll get it up!
Thank you for your support and all the best to a great year!
Sincerely,
Mr. Wright
From the Art Room:
Hello families! In Art students have worked hard to finish their Landscape projects. Everyone seemed to enjoy the unit, ask your student about their work, it should have already come home! Students are starting our Portrait Unit where they will be creating artworks of people and/or animals. Please reach out with any questions, thank you for encouraging your student to be creative!
Lindsay Robb
From the Media Center
Thank you for your support of the Book Fair! It is always wonderful to see how excited students and families are about books. Thanks to your support of the book fair, we are getting lots of new books for everyone to enjoy! We have focused on non-fiction books, new and favorite series, library organization and book finding skills. Winter and holiday books are always favorites for students to checkout and read. Hope you can enjoy some great books together!
Valerie Harre
Technology Specials
Kindergarteners have been learning how to log onto the computer using their username and password. They are getting pretty good at it! 1st graders have been refreshing their log in skills and learning the keyboard. Kindergarten and 1st also made some great name signs in pic collage. 2nd through 5th have been working in Google Docs, with 2nd and 3rd learning more of the basics. 4th and 5th have been collaborating and working with a partner to create a Thankful poem together in Docs . All grades have been doing the Great Thanksgiving Listen, where we have been talking about really listening and asking questions to people around us, especially older people. We have listened to interviews from Story Corp and recorded ourselves interviewing our friends. You may see your children taking an interest in the people around them by asking about their lives. We also continue to have lessons on how to be a good digital citizen. Enjoy your holidays!
Annette Kemble
From the Music Room
In music, we have been singing, moving, and playing instruments. All grade levels sang about Suuuuuuper Turkey and watched a video about Super Turkey’s shenanigans while we’re away from school! Check it out HERE. During the month of December, we will be singing a ton of songs about winter and other holidays, as well as exploring music from the Nutcracker ballet. This is always a favorite among students because we dance with ribbons, paper plates, and the parachute!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @FVEFalconsMusic and check out the music room website found at www.fvemusic.com Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @FVEFalconsMusic and check out the music room website found at www.fvemusic.com
Counselor News:
December:
This month classes are learning about-
K: Feelings, Friendship, Conflict Resolution/Problem Solving
1st: Conflict Resolution
2nd: Coping Strategies, Conflict Resolution
3rd: Coping Strategies
4th: Cooperation, Conflict Resolution (point of view)
5th: Peer Pressure, Organization & Planning
Mrs. Doenges and I are starting a round of small groups focused on building and strengthening different skills such as social skills, resiliency, self-control, and problem solving. We are looking forward to spending time with these groups now and in the new year!
Lillian Hoell
Dressing for Winter
Winter Weather Reminders
- Check the school district website at http://www.cpsk12.org.
- Tune in to CPS-TV on Mediacom 81, CenturyLink 97 or Charter 985 or view lived and on-demand streaming on the CPS-TV Web site at https://www.cpsk12.org/cpstv. CPS-TV is also available on Roku, AppleTV and FireTV.
- Download the free CPS mobile app on iTunes or GooglePlay. Search for Columbia Public Schools (link: http://www.cpsk12mo.org/App ).
Upcoming Dates in December and Early January
- Wednesday, December 20th through Monday, January 1st: Winter Break, NO SCHOOL.
- Tuesday, January 2nd: Teacher Work Day: NO SCHOOL.
- Saturday, January 13th: Fairview Day at COMO Rocks, 10:00-1:00. More information will be in next month's newsletter!
Attendance
If your child will be absent for the day, please call or email to report the absence. Please email jhouston@cpsk12.org and your student's teacher on the same e-mail . If we do not hear from you, we will call to check on their well-being.
Contact or follow us
Email: jhouston@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Domain/16
Location: 909 South Fairview Road, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: 573-214-3590
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FVEFalcons/
Twitter: @FVEFalcons