Thank you to the Whitehall Elks Club for providing dictionaries to our 3rd grade since 2003!
The Elks Club of Whitehall continues a long-standing tradition of providing each of our 3rd grade students with a dictionary.
Students in Ms. Grenier’s kindergarten class made good luck cards for the student athletes starting playoffs at Fair Haven Union Middle and High School! The cards were delivered to coaches with copies on display at FHGS. Go Slaters!
Today, FHGS had the Emmy Award winning TIGER from Plymouth State University here performing and sharing their positive messages about real life social issues that students face. They do this through music, theatre and dance! It was a wonderful performance. Thank you TIGER!
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Red Ribbon Spirit Week continues at FHGS! Monday is the day to dress as your Favorite Book Character!
Each day begins with Principal Ms. Infurna and Assistant Principal Ms. Paquette sharing morning announcements with students, faculty and staff by livestreaming into the classrooms. The recording takes place in the school's new makerspace area and is the brainchild of both Ms. Infurna and Ms. Paquette. The goal is to transition the daily announcements into a student led activity. What a wonderful way to connect as a school community! (Photos were taken on hat day during Spirit Week at FHGS)
Dear Slate Valley Families,
I always try to be as transparent as possible about the issues our schools are faced with so we can work together to solve issues. We all want to ensure a safe, welcoming environment for all of our students. As we emerge from the pandemic we have seen a steep rise in the student misbehavior in our school district. The severity of which varies from school to school. Although we are not the only district dealing with these types of issues in the state or country, it is concerning. This coupled with decreased staffing is putting a great strain on our system.
Some of our students and families are really struggling. In the last several years we have increased mental health support throughout our schools, but there is more that needs to be done. Staff are working tirelessly to meet the needs of our students. However, the needs that exist are more than our system can bear at times and there are few resources outside of the school. The schools have been asked to solve all of the problems in our communities and we lack the capacity to do this despite our very best efforts.
In the coming weeks you will receive communication from your school principals on new code of conducts, reminders on expectations, and what the school is doing to teach and reteach those behavior expectations. We would ask that you help us by reviewing these expectations with your children. We would also ask that if you receive a call from the school about a student behavior that you assume good intentions regarding the school staff. Our staff is very dedicated and they all want the very best for our students. While it is okay to question and be frustrated by something, it is never okay to be disrespectful towards our staff. We are always happy to have a conversation with you regarding your child. We are all on the same team.
I often speak about a community caretaking approach. Now is the time for us to come together and support one another. What does it mean to be part of Slate Valley? Some of the behaviors we are seeing in connection to the school do not, and should not, represent what it means to be part of the Slate Valley community. We have many proud Slate Valley traditions, let's all work together to continue the greater good that our district truly represents. We need your support!
Best,
Brooke Olsen-Farrell
Superintendent
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Silly sock day!!
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FHGS students enjoying our Red Ribbon Spirit Week! Get out those silly socks for Wednesday!
Join Our Team!
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Kindergarten students proudly displaying their ‘Build a Bug’ in library with Ms. Nadler.
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Monday, October 24th marks the beginning of Red Ribbon Spirit Week at FHGS!
Dear Slate Valley Community, Thank you for your participation in our recent ThoughtExchange on school budget priorities. We had over 400 participants with 125 thoughts shared and over 5,000 ratings for those thoughts. On Monday night, the top thoughts were shared with the school board. They were as follows: Continuation of free breakfast and lunch in our schools. Enrichment opportunities for students. Further addressing student behaviors throughout the system. Addition of a wood and metal shop 7-12. Staff retention. The board and administration plan on taking all of this feedback into consideration as we build our FY24 budget this fall. - Brooke Olsen-Farrell
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