Week 0 Family Newsletter 26-27

Dear Mustang Families,

Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year at McNair Middle School! I hope you and your family have had a wonderful, restful summer filled with fun and relaxation. Our team is incredibly excited to welcome our Mustangs back into the building and kick off an amazing year ahead together.

As we prepare for the start of school, here are several important details and upcoming dates to keep in mind:

📩 Pod & Advisory Assignments

Keep an eye on your inbox this week! Your child’s Advisory teacher will be emailing you directly to introduce themselves, welcome your student, and let you know which pod your child will be in this year.

📅 Upcoming Dates & Events

• Wednesday, August 5 – Open House

  • 6th Grade: 4:30 PM

  • 5th Grade: 5:15 PM

  • Come explore the school, meet teachers, and get ready for day one!

• August 18–20 – Pod Parties on the Playground

  • We are hosting playground get-togethers for each pod!

  • Pod teachers will be selecting a time slot—either 8:00 AM or 1:30 PM (one pod at a time).

  • Parents are warmly invited to join in! This is a fantastic opportunity to mingle, get to know your child’s pod team, and connect with other families. Stay tuned for your pod’s specific date and time slot from your teachers.

• Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 PM – Curriculum Night

  • Join us at 6:00 PM to learn more about the middle school experience, academic expectations, and what your child will be learning in their pod this year.

We are honored to partner with you in your child’s education and look forward to an inspiring year of learning, growth, and community—Lead with Heart: RUN with Purpose! 🐎💙

Go Mustangs!!!

An email was sent to all Guardians listed in the Guardian 1 slot Wednesday, July 22nd. Please take action once you receive that email on the online enrollment forms. You will need to follow the instructions in the Back to School Check-In section. Also, please complete the free & reduced lunch forms that have to be completed EACH YEAR (Next Section). These are tremendous saving for school lunch. This online registration form closes on August 8th so please don't wait; complete it once you receive the email.

If you don't see the email, please check the spam and/or junk folder in your email. The email will NOT come from Fayetteville Public Schools but rather you should be looking for "PowerSchool Enrollment" in your email.

This is/was Tax FREE Weekend!

Click here for the list.

As you prepare for the school year, it is always great to remember the following items for dress here at middle school:

• No hats or hoodies are allowed to be worn over the head
• No wireless earbuds are allowed at anytime.
• No open back shirts - no undergarments or midriff/back can be exposed

This is/was Tax FREE Weekend!

Click here for the list.

As you prepare for the school year, it is always great to remember the following items for dress here at middle school:

• No hats or hoodies are allowed to be worn over the head
• No earbuds are allowed at anytime...classroom sets of headphones are in place to use
• The bottom of all shirts must touch the top of the pants/shorts worn at all times
• No open back shirts - no undergarments or midriff/back can be exposed

This year, EVERY student will again receive one FREE breakfast everyday! All they have to do is go through the cafe line and enter their lunch code and it is free!

For lunch to be free or reduced, each family MUST fill out the meal form. This is the link to apply for free/reduced meals: https://www.myschoolapps.com/

And lastly, to add money to your student's meals account: www.MySchoolBucks.com

One of the most stressful times for middle school families in Fayetteville is finding out what pack/pod/nest that their child is in for the year. Some students have been in the same school for 5 years in a row and this transition brings on unknown topics for families that deal with social and school familiarity...let alone the new academic pressures.

We want you to know that we are aware of that and will work hard to make middle school the best experience and work hard to reduce those anxieties that come with these changes.

We have a process that is used that includes teacher comments, individualized education plans, and social/emotional needs of the students entering McNair. The master schedule also begins to be different in middle school as we have full inclusion for math and ELA...which means that 99% of our students receive grade level instruction AND it also means that scheduling is a tight process.

Middle school is also a place where students begin to have new friendships and interests. All of the Mustangs will be in a club this year and will also begin rotating to as many as 6 different teachers everyday. You can trust that we have the best interests of your student in mind, and if they are not in a pod with their known peers or if they are not in a preferred pod, we will continue to attend to them and make sure they are doing well with the change this transition brings.

This year's schedule and pods will be shared with you the week of August 3rd. Please honor the Pod selection process. We fully believe that after the first few weeks, all students will settle in and that they will be 100% behind their pod and team!

Thank you for your consideration in this matter! We have wonderful pods and teachers and cannot wait for you to get to know your team!

This year we will continue to follow state law regarding personal electronic devices (which include cell phones, smart watches, and earbuds), and we will implement the new updated screen time guidelines from the district which limits the use of Chromebooks to 90 minutes each day. The Chromebook will NOT be used as a reward and we will focus the use of technology for enhancing the learning experience. The following will be implemented starting the first day of school:

• Student assigned Chromebooks will stay at school and charge in carts
• Per state law, cell phones, smart watches, and wireless earbuds are prohibited from bell to bell. These personal electronic devices will be placed in Yondr Pouches during advisory and placed in the student's locker all day. Students will "unlock" the Yondr Pouch at the end of the day, and the pouch will either be stored in their Advisory classroom.
• We will instruct the students on the use of the Yondr Pouch during our "RUN WEEK" when students begin school on August 12.

Again, per state law, there will be no access to personal electronics during the day. Thank you for your understanding and support as we remove these from use throughout the school day!

If you need to contact your child with important information, you can call the school office at (479)527-3660.

Last May and June we asked everyone to let us know if your child needed bus transportation. Many of you filled that out (THANK YOU!), which leads to efficient bus routes. We will be using the NEW Student ID Cards (that will be given out the first day of school) to "Badge ON and OFF" the buses for all K through 6th grade students.

If your child signed up to ride the bus, you will receive correspondence from the Transportation Department. If you have not previously signed up your child for transportation, contact your building’s administrative assistant to sign up. It will take up to two weeks from the time you enroll in transportation for you to receive an assignment.

Carline information can be found here. AM carline starts at 7:10 in the front and approximately 7:20 in the back (after buses have cleared). PM carline is front only. At 2:30, we will go to a double line to be able to load more cars at a time (Students will be dismissed at 3:00, but we have to scan ID barcodes prior to dismissal). This means that it is almost impossible to get into the parking lot to check out after 2:30, so please complete all check outs before 2:30. This will make your life a lot easier!!!

Walkers, scooters, and bike riders can enter through the front or back. Please remind them to use the crosswalks!!! and They must WALK their scooters and bikes if they are in a drop-off or pick-up area.

This year we will continue to follow state law regarding personal electronic devices (which include cell phones, smart watches, and earbuds), and we will implement the new updated screen time guidelines from the district which limits the use of Chromebooks to 90 minutes each day. The Chromebook will NOT be used as a reward and we will focus the use of technology for enhancing the learning experience. The following will be implemented starting the first day of school:

• Student assigned Chromebooks will stay at school and charge in carts
• Per state law, cell phones, smart watches, and wireless earbuds are prohibited from bell to bell. These personal electronic devices will be placed in Yondr Pouches during advisory and placed in the student's locker all day. Students will "unlock" the Yondr Pouch at the end of the day, and the pouch will either be stored in their Advisory classroom.
• We will instruct the students on the use of the Yondr Pouch during our "RUN WEEK" when students begin school on August 12.

Again, per state law, there will be no access to personal electronics during the day. Thank you for your understanding and support as we remove these from use throughout the school day!

If you need to contact your child with important information, you can call the school office at (479)527-3660.

Here is the phone number to reach the school and get a message to your student: 479-527-3660. Please add this number to your contacts so that if your child calls you, you recognize the number and answer. :-)

Emails

Principal - lynn.faught@fayar.net

6th Grade Assistant Principal & 504's - randy.oxford@fayar.net

6th Grade Counselor - tiffany.finder@fayar.net

5th Grade Assistant Principal & Testing - stephanie.anderson@fayar.net

5th Grade Counselor - lauren.willis@fayar.net

SPED Designee - colleen.powell@fayar.net

Nurse - marcie.griffin@fayar.net

Admin Assistant - mary.kyle@fayar.net

Registrar - shannon.arcana@fayar.net

Front Desk & Attendance - erin.combs@fayar.net

Translating the School Website

• Do you speak another language other than English?
• Would you like to see the information on our website in another language?
• Follow these steps.

Go to www.fayar.net

In the Google Chrome Web Browser:

• Click the three dots in the upper right corner.
• Select Translate.
• Click the three dots in the new pop-up
• Choose "Select another language" and pick your preferred language.

Espanol

¿Hablas otro idioma que no sea inglés?

¿Quieres ver la información de nuestra web en otro idioma?

Siga estos sencillos pasos.

Visita: www.fayar.net

En Google Chrome:

• Haga clic en los tres puntos en la esquina superior derecha.

• Selecciona Traducir.

• Haga clic en los tres puntos en la nueva ventana emergente.