Originally delivered on 5/3/2021 11:21 am

SUBJECT: End of Year Information from Your PTA

Message from Sally Mills, Principal

Thank You!
More than ever, thank you for your support this year! We started the year with many unknowns regarding Covid, but with your partnership, we were able to keep our students and families healthy and safe. We were successful in minimizing quarantines so that our students were able to mostly be in-person in the classroom with their classmates, which we all think is best!

Moving forward, we are planning a more typical year for 21-22. We’ll keep the communication coming so everyone will know what to expect as we go through the summer and prepare for August!


Goodbyes and Hellos!
We are celebrating our staff retirees – Terri Rogers (4th grade), Andi Johnson (Digital Teacher Librarian), Gwen Nickerson (Instructional Coach), and Mike Alcorn (band teacher). Although we will miss each of them, we are so excited for these folks to begin the next, well-deserved chapters in their lives! We will also miss several of our staff members who are moving or changing jobs. Good luck to Natalia Simoni (art teacher), Joe Weseloh (primary music teacher), Denise Grobarchik (5th-grade para), Suzie Fink (library para), Rona Pantano-Schwartz (ESL), and Kristin Arnold (clinic aid).

We will be welcoming the following new staff members in August: Morgan Davis (Instructional Coach), Todd Walsh (ESL), and Alyson Simon (4th-grade teacher). Other changes: Ted Bakanec will be moving to 4th grade, Niki Pardoe will be moving to 3rd grade, Kim VanOcker will be moving to kindergarten, and Amanda Roche will be moving to 2nd grade. Darci Smerchek will be back next year for P.E., Mark Griffin will be back for art, and Chris McGarry will join us for primary music.

Summer Is Coming!
Everyone at Fairmount wishes to thank our fabulous families for a successful school year! It has been our passion and pleasure to work with you to help our students grow in so many ways! We hope everyone has a happy summer vacation! This is a great time for everyone to play, relax, and spend time with family and friends.

The school office will be open until June 11th and re-opening on July 20th for our next school year. Summer office hours are from 9:00 a.m. – noon. As always, if you have a question, comment, or suggestion, please call the office, stop by, or email me at smills@jeffco.k12.co.us

Please join us in celebrating the following educators who have dedicated their careers to teaching our children! We will miss you and wish you a happy, healthy, and relaxing retirement! 


Thank you to Mrs. B who worked with the following students to write tributes to our wonderful teachers who will be greatly missed!

Farewell Mrs. Johnson

By Greyson Donaldson
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” - A.A. Milne. This quote relates to Mrs. Johnson perfectly based on her personality and career in teaching. Mrs. Johnson has been teaching for 22 years. She has made many people feel very comfortable and joyful where they belong. She is a teacher that will be missed very much. Mrs. Johnson became interested in becoming a librarian because of all of the kids she would get to meet and with all of the books she would read. Furthermore, her brothers and sisters helped her get much practice in the teaching community. It was an extremely tough decision to know when Mrs. Johnson was ready to retire, and she will miss all of the kids she has taught at this school and her teacher friends. Additionally, Mrs. Johnson has impacted many of the little children at Fairmount, and she will be missed dearly by everyone she has come across here. 22 years, a very successful robotics team, and many books read later, Mrs. Johnson is retiring. Thank you, Mrs. Johnson.

Goodbye Mrs. Rogers

By Dylan Hufford
After 26 years, thousands of students, and too many broken pencils to count, Mrs. Rogers is retiring. Mrs. Rogers is an admirable and caring teacher, but sadly she is moving on. A fun fact you might not know about Mrs. Rogers is that her first name is Terri and her husband's name is also Terry, (luckily, their names are spelled differently). Also, she has four kids named Sam, Leah, Taylor, and Alec, and she is going to be a grandmother in August. Two things Mrs. Rogers will not miss about teaching include the fact that she does not have as much freedom to have fun as she used to, and she does not have as much flexibility in the curriculum. Finally, this quote fits Mrs. Rogers the best, “People will forget what you say, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou.

So Long Mrs. Nickerson

By Nieve Hooyer
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” -Fred Rogers. 24 years and countless report cards later, Mrs. Nickerson is ready to retire. After she departs, she and her husband Troy are going to travel and follow the NHRA, Nascar, and The Outlaw Sprint Cars Series. Mrs. Nickerson also said, “My retirement house is on wheels. That way I can go on a trip and come back home whenever I feel like it!” Mrs. Nickerson has taught K-6, and her favorite subject to teach was 5th grade Social Studies. To add, Mrs. Nickerson said, “My least favorite thing about teaching was report cards because you can’t say everything that needs to be said with a few numbers and letters.”  Previously, Mrs. Nickerson told me a little about her family and said, “I have a wonderful family including my husband Troy, my daughter Breeze, a soon to be son-in-law Chris, my son Carson and a soon to be daughter-in-law Brittany. They are another reason I am retiring so that I can spend time with them!” To end, Mrs. Nickerson defines herself as “an empty nester waiting to be a grandma.”

Hello Ms. Davis

By Cassia Crowe
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." — Milton Berle. Since Ms. Davis was a child, she had always longed to be a teacher. Eighteen years, 4 grade levels, and many hand-raising questions later, opportunity knocked for Ms. Davis and she is joining the lovely community of Fairmount Elementary School as an Instructional Coach. In her words, “I love being a teacher's teacher, making sure that teachers grow just like they make sure students grow. Teachers deserve that, too!” She grew up in Lakewood, Colorado, and throughout her career, has taught 3rd through 6th grades. She taught a total of 9 years, and in addition, she has been an instructional coach for 9 years as well. Her favorite things to do in her free time are read, write, and go on hikes. She is looking forward to meeting new people and seeing teaching through the eyes. Her most treasured part of working with children is that she admires watching them persevere through problems, and watching them light up when it finally "clicks."

Proud parent of a Mindset Master? You can download a print version here.

Last Chance for Firebird Chase!

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

Staff Appreciation Week is Here!

PTA has an exciting week planned for our special superhero staff at Fairmount and welcomes your child's participation!

Here is the schedule:

  • Monday (5/3): Assessment Day – Students attend school by appointment
  • Tuesday (5/4): My Teacher is Super Because...Download here
    All staff members would love a little note from your child! Feel free to encourage students to include all teachers (classroom, specials, STEM, SPED, paras, library) and other staff members (cafeteria, office, and custodial staff)! If you can’t print this at home, have your child stop by the office for a copy.
  • Wednesday (5/5): Wear Your Teacher's Favorite Color Day
  • Thursday (5/6): Dress Like a Superhero
  • Friday (5/7): Assessment Day – Students attend school by appointment


Looking for Gift Ideas?

Not sure what to get your Fairmount staff? Check out their Favorite Things List and get them something they love! 

Congratulations 5th Graders!

We are so proud of our 5th graders and wish them well in their next chapter! We will miss you!

We have a fun day planned to celebrate their last day at Fairmount, including a Ninja Nation challenge course, red carpet parade, and outdoor ceremonies for each class. More info to come for 5th-grade families.  

Thank You Volunteers

As this school year comes to an end, the PTA Board would like to thank EVERYONE who volunteered and supported the PTA with your time, talents and treasures throughout the year. We could not operate without all of you, and want you to know how much we appreciate all you do for your kiddos and the school! We look forward to seeing everyone again in the fall! 

Open PTA Positions

As each year wraps up, we have new PTA positions open up. If you've ever thought about getting involved in the PTA or have wondered how much commitment it takes, please reach out to us. Many positions are a "work from home" type where minimal work is required. 

Open Positions:

  • Co-Treasurer to work with the current PTA Treasurer to manage the budget, books, and reports. 
  • Editor to work with Fairmount staff, PTA coordinators, and board to get information out to parents on a monthly basis.
  • Sponsorship Coordinator to help us manage relationships with Fairmount's generous sponsors
  • Talent Show Coordinator to help us manage the spring 2022 Talent Show
  • External Enrichment Coordinator to coordinate our external enrichment programs (the before- and after-school activities). This coordinator could work with already established programs and/or bring in new partners
  • Restaurant Night Coordinator to help coordinate fundraising nights with local restaurants


If you're interested in helping us, please contact PTA VP, Laura Warren for more information. 

Last PTA Meeting of the Year!

Join us on our last PTA meeting Zoom call at 4 pm on May 4th. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Meeting ID: 249 897 8768
Passcode: 9hF63A 

Thank You Families!

Thank you for your participation in our King Soopers Community Rewards program! Mark your calendars for the next redemption period this summer, July 10th-31st. We currently have 361 Fairmount families enrolled in the program and have earned over $20,000 in the past year! Thank you, Fairmount Families!

If you aren't signed up yet, participating is easy and FREE! Click here to learn how.

Lunch Menu
Cafeteria Menu

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.

Library & Media Center Updates

Brian Yanish spoke virtually to all Fairmount students on Friday, April 9. He was a big hit! He spoke about what it is like to be an author and illustrator, how he comes up with his ideas, and reuse junk to create projects. He even created toilet paper tube parachute monsters which our students were anxious to replicate. Some of our 1st graders created Shape Monsters after his inspirational talk. Kindergarten and 1st-grade students could connect his presentation to Earth Day since Brian demonstrated how junk could be ‘rethunk!’ 

We want to thank our Fairmount PTA for funding this virtual author visit to reward our school community, exceeding the Books With the Birds Read-a-Thon goal. 


Jeffco Public Library Summer Reading Program Virtual Presentations
On Thursday, May 13, every Fairmount student will watch 1 of 3 virtual presentations about the Jeffco Public Library Summer Reading Program. A representative from the Golden branch will be virtually presenting to your children. Reading is an important activity to help reduce the summer slide. Students will receive information on how to register for the program, track minutes read, and learn about the available incentives. Adults can participate too. What a great way to model being a lifelong reader and encourage your child(ren) to be the same! 


One School, One Book
Our school will participate in a special community-wide shared reading event this summer through the One School, One Book program. Each family will receive a copy of the book The World According to Humphrey and will be asked to read it together as a family over the summer. We are in the process of planning some fun, optional summer activities that go along with our book, and students will have the opportunity to participate in more fun activities when we come back to school in August. Our goal is to create a community of readers at our school.

Please watch for more information to come! 


Digital Citizenship

Our students have been learning digital citizenship skills all school year. We feel that all students need these skills to fully participate in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Our topics this year have included:

  • Student Expectations and Device Care

  • Digital Footprint and Identity

  • Cyberbullying

  • News and Media Literacy

  • Privacy and Security

  • Media Balance and Well-Being

  • Relationships and Communication

Please continue to have conversations with your children about balancing the amount of media in their lives, how to stay safe online, and keeping their personal information private. 

You can also access these great resources from Common Sense Media through the links below.

Family Resources: 

Ratings & Reviews for Families (TV, Movies, Video Games, Apps, etc.)
Parent concerns
Living and Learning in a Digital World
Homework & Learning with Tech
Social Media & Devices
Media Balance & Well-Being
Online Privacy & Safety
Cyberbullying
Resources in Spanish

What's Happening in STEM

1 – “We’re Walking on Sunshine.” After reviewing what they already know about the sun and adding a few more facts, first graders experimented with three different types of homemade solar ovens, comparing the heat generated by each of them. While marshmallows melted in solar ovens, students experimented with UV beads. The sun seems a lot less mysterious these days!

2 – Second graders are getting their driver’s licenses. Don’t worry! These students are only authorized to drive Dash robots. Tech-savvy students had to complete a series of challenges proving their competence with coding. The results were impressive, and most groups even made it to the more complicated optional challenges.

3 – Third-grade engineers used what they learned about weatherproofing homes to keep an ice cube from melting. The objective of the experiment was to stop, or at least slow, the transfer of heat. By the end of the testing period, students compared their control ice cube to the one in the insulated box they built following the design process.

4 – Which materials are conductive? This question was answered by 4th-grade scientists using their Chromebooks, a Makey Makey set, and a variety of different materials to test. After finding patterns in the conductive materials and making generalizations on what else is likely conductive, students used at least one conductive material to play a computer game without even touching their keyboards, a hard habit to break!

5 – Fifth-graders continued working on their new designs for their hydrogen fuel cell cars. Using a caliper for precise measurements helped with the sketch and building process. From basic Styrofoam material to 3D printed chassis (designed in Tinkercad), no material was off-limits during this process. Imaginations were running wild within the confines of engineering.


Check out the STEM website for more information and photos!

Jeffco is Hiring!

Fairmount is in desperate need of a night custodian at school (2:30-10:30). You can get more information and apply by May 3rd for our position (Job #10754) at Jeffco Public Schools Job Board.

Jeffco Food & Nutrition Services is looking for enthusiastic individuals to work with us! We offer hourly and salaried positions and you can work where your kids go to school! Contact (303) 982-6747 or email at Dianna.Garcia@jeffco.k12.co.us.

Upcoming Events - Select Calendar(s) to be presented
Monday, May 3
No School--Student Assessment Day by Appointment
Staff Appreciation Week Begins
Tuesday, May 4
4:00p PTA Meeting via Zoom
Friday, May 7
No School--Student Assessment Day by Appointment
Staff Appreciation Week Ends
Thursday, May 27
Last Day of School
Thank You Sponsors

Please join us in thanking our 2020-2021 Sponsors. When you visit their business please let them know you are with Fairmount Elementary! Interested in sponsoring? Let us know!

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