Congratulations, Mrs. Tanisha Lee!
We are so proud of Mrs. Tanisha Lee, 5th-grade teacher! She was awarded the Past President’s Award for Excellence in Literacy Instruction by CCIRA. Congratulations!

Spring Break
Spring Break is March 29rd-April 2nd. We hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable break with your family! We will see everyone back in-person and on-line on Monday, April 5th.

The Fairmount Elementary School PTA is once again offering the $1000 Campbell-Deane Scholarship to a high school senior who was enrolled at Fairmount Elementary School for three years or more and has a satisfactory grade standing, good citizenship record and community service experiences. For more information, click here.

All students, friends, and family of Fairmount are encouraged to participate in the Fairmount Firebird Virtual Run week. Even your furry friends are welcome! The "race" will be open between May 9, 2021, and May 15, 2021, and can be completed however you like. Choose from among the 5 events or do multiple. Register today! 

The PTA is gearing up for Staff Appreciation Week and needs your help! If you or your company wants to donate funds, goods, or services to help make this week special for our fearless superhero-like leaders, please email us! Thank you in advance for showing your support to our hardworking staff! 

While child sexual assault is one of the most difficult subjects to talk about with your kids and caregivers, it is one of the most important conversations you could ever have—and one that is much easier to have before a sexual assault takes place. The Parenting Safe Children workshop gives you all the tools you need to talk with your children’s caregivers and children to build your Prevention Team.

In the Parenting Safe Workshop, you will learn:

• What makes children and their families vulnerable to sexual assault
• Grooming behaviors that precede the sexual assault
• Language to talk with your children about sex and sexual development
• Language to speak with your children’s caregivers about body safety
• Body Safety Rules every child should know to decrease vulnerability
• Why forcing your child to hug a grandparent or loved one could make them more vulnerable to sexual assault in the future
• How to build a Prevention Team of caregivers

Upcoming Dates for workshops: March 6 & 13, April 11 & 18, and April 17 & 24. 

We are looking for a Sponsorship Coordinator to help us manage relationships with Fairmount's generous sponsors, as well as a Talent Show Coordinator and volunteers to join our Virtual 5K planning committee. If you're interested in helping us, please contact Laura Warren for more information. 

Please consider joining us for our monthly PTA meetings. We welcome all parents and friends of Fairmount. Your voices are important and needed! Our PTA meetings will be held on the following dates and times via Zoom:
-March 2nd - 9:00 AM
-April 6th - 6:30 PM
-May 4th - 3:45 PM

Fairmount's Got Talent will only be available through March 15th. Thank you to all of the families who participated this year.  We have enjoyed watching all of our talented firebirds! View main portfolio and additional entries 1, 2, 3, 4. 

Check out this month's menu. As a reminder, students who choose hot lunch will come to the cafeteria to pick up their selection and return to the classroom to eat.

Spelling Bee Update
Hannah Dill, Emmett Blackwell, Shriya Chakraborty represented Fairmount at the virtual Area Spelling Bee on Tuesday, February 16. All 3 students advanced to the 12 round when only 9 students remained! Hannah placed 3rd overall. We are so proud of our students!

Colorado Children’s Book Award
All students at Fairmount have voted for their favorite Colorado Children’s Book Award (CCBA) books. Here are the results:

Picture Book: 1st Place, Llama Destroys the World; 2nd Place, The Good Egg; 3rd Place, The Way Home For Wolf.

Chapter Book: 1st Place, Guts; 2nd Place, Words on Fire; 3rd Place, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.

Remember if you purchase any of these books online, shop at Amazon or with Amazon Smile "ON" in the Amazon shopping app, so the school earns .05% of each purchase, at no additional cost to you!  

Battle of the Books
The Fairmount Battle of the Books competition was held on February 24th. 17 teams of 5th-grade students tested their knowledge of 10 different books. Congratulations to our top two teams representing Fairmount in the Jeffco district Battle of the Books competition on March 2nd.

1st Place - Hannah Dill and Rebecca Dill

2nd Place - Teagan Peters, Marty Eckert, and Tyler Alcock

Digital Citizenship
During March, students will be learning about Online Privacy and Security. Students will be taught how to protect personal information and gain a deeper understanding of their data privacy rights so they can advocate for themselves and others.

March Family Letter With Resources

Mrs. B needs your empty 2-Liter bottles for STEM projects. Please send them to school with your child any time this week! 

1- First graders are making playgrounds a safer place to play with a redesign project! Following the design process, students have either selected a piece of recess equipment to improve or have created a new piece of equipment and are learning both the art of prototyping and using models to make their idea a reality. The final test made sure the equipment was sturdy enough to withstand the wind. After troubleshooting issues and reinforcing their structures, each group was successful!

2 – Second graders continue learning about the earth’s surface in Science. These scientists engineered a windbreak using specific materials. They then tested their windbreaks against the Colorado wind (read: fan or hairdryer). The goal was to prevent as much sand as possible from hitting their dog houses. Students experienced success in preventing wind erosion, and their dogs are grateful!

3 – Severe weather alert! Third graders dug into severe weather and tools and actions that could prevent homes' damage during one of these storms. Students tested their knowledge in a computer-simulated activity where they weatherproofed various homes from various powerful weather events.

4 – It’s all about energy! Fourth graders used their circuitry knowledge to create an original, one-of-a-kind, light-up paper circuit card using a 3V battery, conductive copper foil tape, and an LED light. Science and art collided for a cool end product that will hopefully literally (and figuratively) brighten the recipient’s day this Valentine’s Day!

5 – Alternate fuel exploration has begun with the fifth grade as students learned about hydrogen fuel cell cars. These engineers just scratched the surface as they built and tested their hydrogen fuel cell model cars.

Check out the STEM website for more information and photos!

Check out Fairmount's Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health website for many resources from crisis intervention to supporting unique learning styles. There are also pandemic-specific articles and activities.

If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call the Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-8255 (TALK) or 911. The Colorado Crisis Line is staffed by very kind and professional counselors who can help you and your loved ones through the darkest times.