Thank you for the Support!
We appreciate everyone’s support from the Firebirds on the Fairway Golf Tournament and auction! It was so much fun having lunch on the roof with the auction winners - Zach, Travis, Graham, Luke, Gauge, and Jack! This fundraiser is supporting money that goes directly to classrooms and the purchase of new Mimio Boards. We have been able to purchase the first year’s installment, which is 10 classroom boards. Thank you! Thank you!

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.

During the 2021-2022 school year, we will be stocking the staff lounge with treats and drinks for our treasured Fairmount faculty. Each month families of a designated grade level will be invited to participate. This month, we welcome our 2nd-grade families to sign up to bring in an item(s) to help stock the lounge. Items will be due on the 1st of December and collected by the main doors from 8:40 am-9:00 am. Sign up here!

Thank you to our 3rd, 4th, 5th-grade families who already donated treats for our staff this year! We appreciate your generosity!

Note: this is a new program. We welcome any feedback, questions, or suggestions.

For more than 50 years, the students at Fairmount have been sharing the joy of the holidays with Mountain Vista Senior Living Community in Wheat Ridge by "adopting a senior" and spreading holiday cheer to the elderly residents.

When you choose to adopt a senior, you'll receive their name and wish-list items. Most ask for very little and are generally needs-based requests. Residents also enjoy receiving drawings and cards from students. For some residents, these gifts are the only gifts they will receive all year.

We will send information to sign-up and due dates later this week. Once you're assigned a resident, you'll complete your shopping and return the wrapped and labeled gifts to the school. In addition, Mr. DeWinkle and the 5th graders will record a music program for residents to view since students visiting the facility is not an option this year.

If you have any questions about this program, please contact Michelle Henriksen. Last year we were featured on 9News! Read the article here. 

Meetings are at 6:30 pm on the first Tuesday of every month in the Fairmount library/Zoom. Come to listen, come to learn, come to share your opinion. All are invited and welcome to attend!

Join us for our next meeting at 6:30 pm on 11/2. We welcome Michele DeAndrea Austin, principal at Bell Middle School (BMS), as our guest speaker. She will be available to answer questions parents may have about BMS and middle school in general. Read more here.

Yearbook packages and individual items are now available online at Fairmountpta.org through Friday, April 1, 2022.

Yearbooks are distributed at the end of the year and can be signed by classmates. Purchase now, as you must preorder for end-of-year distribution.

5th Grade Baby Pages
Baby pages are on sale and a great way to commemorate continuation to middle school. Submissions are due by 12/23. Space is limited, reserve now! Check out more details here. 

Join us from 11 am-8 pm on November 17 at Bob's Atomic Burgers in Golden for restaurant night. They are graciously donating 15% of their sales for the day to Fairmount PTA.

1310 Ford Street
Golden, CO 80401

 Open Positions:

• Fairmount 5K Committee to help organize our spring 5K fundraiser. No running experience is necessary! 

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

Please mark your calendars for the deadlines this year:
January 10, 2022-January 31, 2022
April 10, 2022-April 31, 2022

Please send your screenshots to groceryreimb@fairmountpta.org. If you aren't signed up yet, participating is easy and FREE! Click here to learn how, or download the flyer. Thank you to Amy Kline for managing the program! 

We will meet Wednesday, 11/17, at 7:40 am for tag games. Meet in the hallway outside the gym and dress warmly as we head outside to the track for lots of fun. Sign up here.

Fit Fun Club meets once a month for fun-filled fitness. Each month has a different focus: running, dance, obstacle courses, yoga, Zumba, and strength-based exercises. One or two volunteers are needed for a 30-60 minute time commitment each month. If you would like to teach a class, please email Laura at 1laurakaufman@gmail.com.

If you're shopping on Amazon this holiday season, make sure you're using Amazon Smile! Amazon donates 0.5% of your purchase back to Fairmount PTA at no additional cost to you. Learn more about Amazon Smile.

View the menu here. Please call Leanne Alton, Cafeteria Manager at 303-982-5393 if you have any questions.

Does your child struggle to get organized, started, and stay on task? Do they get frustrated and give up easily, even though they are capable of completing tasks? These challenges may be a sign your child could use support with Executive Functioning. Karie Phillips, School Social Worker, has put together a  downloadable resource for you, with videos to grow these skills.

Book Fair – A Huge Success!
Many thanks for supporting our Scholastic Book Fair! It was fabulous to see students have fun picking out new books to read. Thank you for supporting our literacy goals and raising money for our school. We raised over $5,800! This critical fundraiser allows us to purchase new books as well as technology resources like PebbleGo. We also purchased $400 worth of books for our sister school, Lawrence Elementary, with the funds from your donations. Many thanks!

Battle of the Books
Many of our 5th-grade students are preparing for our school’s Battle of the Books competition, which will occur in late February. Battle of the Books is a trivia-based literacy program. Students read from a list of ten books from different genres and then compete against other teams to answer questions about the books. Teams will battle each other in friendly competition within the school, and we will send our top two teams to a Final Battle between other teams around the Jeffco school district. 

November Digital Citizenship 
During November, our students will engage in digital citizenship learning related to Privacy & Security. These lessons will introduce students to the concept of online privacy and the potential implications of sharing private information with friends, the public, app providers, and more.  

At home, you can assist your student in understanding Privacy & Security in various ways, especially when creating online profiles with gaming websites, social networking apps, and other sites. When supporting your child in setting up an online account, consider the following:

• Use a family email address for your child’s first accounts. It will ensure the account can be monitored and managed by an adult in the family. 

• Username - Do not use full names or first for usernames, and do not use someone else’s name. Usernames should not include personal information. 

• Create a secure password - Passwords need to be easy enough for kids to remember but not easy for others to guess. Use at least ten characters, use both uppercase and lowercase letters, and use a number too. 

• Choosing a profile picture - If a site offers avatars, it is best to use them. When using an actual photo, make sure the image does not reveal personal information like a school shirt, street address, or other identifying elements in the background. 

Privacy & Security Family Activities: Kindergarten, English; Grade 1, English; Grade 2, English; Grades 3-5, English and Spanish.

Kindergartners experimented with new technology as they brought their drawings to life using the Quiver app. Firetrucks were spraying water, birds were eating worms, and rockets were blasting off the paper. Minds blown!

First graders will be studying waves in Science class. Students made a string phone and tested different variables that made it possible to hear their partner on the phone. Don’t be surprised if they recreate this at home and discover how long the string can be until the phone doesn’t work! Students also explored engineering. Communication, collaboration, and compromising were key in the success of their final product.

Second graders stayed with the plant theme in STEM. Science meets technology! Using a video game design, students shared information about a specific type of plant and included all components necessary for survival within their game. Their plants (or character) needed roots, stem, and leaves. Collecting sunlight, water, nutrients, and oxygen was a goal along the way. 

Third graders specialized in just one simple machine last month. This month, they explored them all! After constructing models of simple machines, third graders analyzed the data and compared models. The hands-on building has increased knowledge of pulleys, levers, gears, wheels, and axles! 

Fourth graders have been learning about extreme weather in Science. Students had to build a structure that could withstand a simulated earthquake. These student engineers followed the building requirements and had to troubleshoot issues using the design process. 

Fifth graders were tasked with inventing the “It” toy of the season. This time instead of sketching their design, students used the Tinkercad program to design a 3D Toy. Who better to design a new toy for kids than kids? Stay tuned to see which toys will make the final cut!

Check out the STEM website for more information and photos!