October 14, 2019
Dear Fairmeadow Families,
While the classrooms and playground lay quiet during last Friday’s non-school day, Fairmeadow teachers and staff engaged in a full day of professional learning. Our work was spent at Gunn High School with other PAUSD elementary sites, focusing on a plethora of conference style professional development. The day included a wide variety of teacher-led sessions that deepened the understanding of Common Core State Standards Content in reading and math, promoted methods that build inclusive schools and classrooms, and provided strategies to engage and inspire our students with the new science standards! The idea behind the whole day was for all elementary staff members to learn from each other and outside experts and then bring their newly learned knowledge back into classrooms. One of the many highlights of the day was listening to an inspiring keynote speaker, Jonathan Mooney. Jonathan is an award winning writer, entrepreneur, and activist, who will also be presenting at CHC (Children’s Health Council) in Palo Alto on October 29th where he will be speaking about his new book, “Normal Sucks”. For more information, please visit, https://cacpaloalto.org [1].
With a blink of an eye, our annual fundraiser is quickly approaching! The Fairmeadow Walkathon 2019 theme is “Walk the Rock” this year. Rain or shine, I hope you and your family will be able to join us on Sunday, October 20th from 11:00 AM- 3:00 PM. Please check out this website for more information and ways YOU can support our school: https://fairmeadow.walkstarter.org [2]. Just like last year, there will also be a “Principal’s Challenge” where if we have at least 300 student participants at the Walkathon, then there will be a whole-school popsicle party in the spring!
Let’s make it orange and come together to send a powerful message that bullying should never be part of childhood on October 23rd. This year marks the seventh anniversary of PAUSD’s district-wide participation in Unity Day. While this event has typically been associated primarily with Bullying Prevention, its broader goal is to accomplish that by promoting kindness, acceptance and inclusion. We continue to partner with PTAC, site PTSAs and CAC to make this day an impactful event for students. Students, staff, and community members are encouraged to wear orange, the Unity Day color, on Wednesday to show a commitment to this important message. There will also be activities for students throughout the day to reinforce the Unity Day message.
Warm Regards,
Iris Wong
Principal
