Pence Elementary School

Every February the American School Bus Council invites students, schools, and educators to highlight the important role of the yellow school bus in their communities and to show appreciation for the school bus drivers who safely transport more than 25 million children to and from school every day (lovethebus.org). These are pictures of artwork created by Washington & Pence students to show their love to Fairfield school bus drivers.

FCSD is looking for substitute school bus drivers. Click the following link for more information. https://www.fairfieldsfuture.org/vnews/display.v/ART/620559d563f77

This week shout out is Alexys Forman https://www.fairfieldsfuture.org/vnews/display.v/ART/6203e46174384

SIAC Highlight The School Improvement Advisory Committee met on 2.3.2022. Committee highlights from the meeting College options for Students One-Third of the classes offered at FHS are opportunities for college credit. Fairfield High School students have the opportunity to receive both high school and college credits in 68 classes. They are able to choose from 201 high school courses one-third of which are college level. Some of the college credit courses include Construction Technology, Welding, Basic Anatomy and Physiology, Business Law, Children’s Literature, Advanced Horticulture, and Advanced Animal Science. Students can also take health exploration and nursing essentials. This school year, students have taken 735 college credit classes. Watch for future highlights from the SIAC Committee.

For information on Iowa WIC and the nutritional assistance they can provide, click the following links for a flyer with lots of great information. In English: https://5il.co/15cz7 En Español: https://5il.co/15cz8

Early Out days for students and teacher work time in classrooms The following Fridays were approved for 1:30 student early dismissal. February 4 February 25 March 18 April 8 April 29 May 13 Teachers will use these scheduled hours as work time in their classrooms.

Mask Update Information with the recent Arc of Iowa 8th Circuit Ruling- Ahler’s Law Firm The Fairfield CSD is dedicated to continuing its educational programs in a safe and supportive environment. The recent Arc of Iowa 8th Circuit ruling regarding mask mandates has created more uncertainty for our community amidst a record wave of illness and infection spurred by the omicron variant of the coronavirus. As of January 25, 2022, our District had 176 of staff and student absences due to illness. This is concerningly high – even for the time of year. As these numbers continue to climb, it threatens our ability to remain open and deliver the quality educational programs that are essential to our students and our community. We continue to strongly recommend and encourage ALL students and employees to wear masks based largely on the CDC’s strong recommendation that face masks be worn in schools, regardless of a person's vaccination status, as well as the guidance provided to our District by state and local public health experts. Furthermore, our obligation to persons in our community and school buildings with certain disabilities and conditions requires us to take the pragmatic approach at this time of record illness and community spread. We will continue to monitor our COVID-19 data and coordinate with public health experts. As a District we will make adjustments to our health and safety protocols as the circumstances change. We appreciate your continued support and collaboration in keeping our school community safe. Bottom line: The district strongly recommends the continuation of masks for the safety of all.

Check out this Staff Shout Out for Hannah Baker!! https://www.fairfieldsfuture.org/vnews/display.v/ART/61e98bb0bf14b

Due to anticipated temperatures, Fairfield Schools will be on a 2-hour delay for Thursday, January 20th.

The Fairfield Community School District Food Pantry will not be open on Friday January 14th. If you are in need of a food box please contact Matt Smith at 641-472-2655 or matt.smith@fairfieldsfuture.org. The Pantry will be open Friday January 21st from 4pm to 5:30pm. Thank you

Community Support Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 12th @6:30 PM

Due to predicted morning temperatures, Fairfield Schools will have a 2-hour late start on Friday, January 7th, 2022.

Please click the following link for information to an announced national TikTok threat and our local response. https://drive.google.com/file/d/13sQenXJUIKplu-Q7PMTceLasv0teqAcR/view?usp=sharing

Due to predicted wind gusts, FCSD will be releasing 2 hours early today at 1:30 PM.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is forecasting significant wind gusts throughout the day on Wednesday, Dec. 15th. According to the NWS, “travel will become extremely difficult in the afternoon and evening especially for high profile vehicles (extreme danger to semis, buses, etc).“ Accordingly, FCSD will be monitoring the weather throughout the morning on Wednesday. This communication is to let you know that if the wind gusts develop as predicted, we may need to dismiss classes early to get students home and buses off the roads. In the event we dismiss early, we will use our regular one or two hour early out schedule as needed. Thank you for your understanding, Sincerely, Dr. Laurie Noll District Superintendent

FCSD is excited as we are working on a new and fresh website and mobile app. Watch for changes in the next couple months!