Fair Haven Union Middle School

Dear Middle School Students & Families,

It is almost time for the school year to start! At this point, you should have received an informational email from Erin Haley, Middle School Administrative Assistant, as well as a summer mailing. The email went out on August 12th and the mailing was put in the mail on the 12th. The content of both was similar. If you have not received the mailing, please reach out to Mrs. Haley at ehaley@svuvt.org.

This evening marks the first official event of the year for Fall Sports:

Grades 7-12 Fall Kick Off....Wednesday August 20 @ 6pm at FHUMHS ~ Booster Club Sponsored

*Healthy Grab & Go snacks and water provided by the booster club in the cafeteria at 6pm.

*Informational Meeting in the gym @ 6:15

*Athletics Overview, followed by Team Info meeting with families

We hope to see you all at our MS Open House on Monday, August 25th from 5:30-6:30. We ask that you try to arrive at about 5:15. We will start in the HS gym as a whole group. Students/families will then have time to tour the middle school space, walk through student schedules, find lockers and meet teachers.

We have two new teachers in the Middle School this year:

Alex Chirgwin, 7th Grade Math

Alexandra Foley-Bowen, Health 7-12 ~ Alexandra has been a nurse in this district and while new to this particular position, she is not new to Slate Valley or the Fair Haven Community.

Additionally, we will have two new faces in the nurses office at FHUMHS, Angela Allard and Claire Officer. Both have been nurses in the district prior to this year. They are new to FHUMHS but not new to Slate Valley.

Teachers are back this Friday, August 22nd and we have three days of professional development to prepare for the arrival of students. We are excited for the year and to continue some of the things that make middle school unique: Rafting, Lifetime Activities and Student Led Conferences to name a few.

We remind you that Wednesday, August 27th is a day for just 7th and 9th grade. It gives the students in those two grades a day to settle in. Thursday, August 28th is the day that ALL students are back in session.

Please reach out with any questions,

Jennefer Paquette

FHUMHS Co-Principal

This year, we continue to ground our work in the 3 C’s, which guide our approach to teaching and learning:

Curiosity: Nurturing students’ natural desire to ask questions, explore ideas, and seek understanding through wonder, investigation, and meaningful challenges.

Connection: Ensuring learning reflects students' interests, cultures, and goals—so they see themselves in the curriculum and feel valued in the classroom.

Community: Building strong, trusting relationships between students, staff, and families to create a school environment where everyone feels they belong and can thrive.

Locker update: We’ve made a few changes to our locker setup to create more space and help students stay organized. 8th graders will have lockers in the hallway outside the library and around the corner into the main hallway. 7th graders will have two lockers in the MS hallway — a top locker for school supplies and a bottom locker for personal items. Locks have been removed to simplify transitions. We see this as a positive change that will take some time, support, and guidance to fully adjust to. Our staff will provide students with guidance and support as students adjust to this new locker system.

Morning Routine: We are updating our morning routine to provide clarity, consistency and structure. Our goal is that students start their day in a predictable and calm manner. This year, when students arrive, they’ll:

1. Go to their lockers first, drop off personal belongings and gather academic materials for the day.
2. Head to the high school cafeteria for breakfast if needed, students will eat breakfast in that space.
3. Go to the high school gym and remain there until the first bell at 8:07 AM, when they’ll head to Advisory. *Phones are not allowed at this time.

Staff will be supervising in both the gym and hallways to support a smooth, structured, predictable start to the day. We remind you that the first bell rings at 8:07 and the second bell at 8:10. If students are not in their period 1 classroom by 8:10, they will be marked late. This does impact participation in extracurricular activities. Being on time is important.

The rafting trip started years ago (15 +/-) at FHGS as a middle school team-building activity. It weathered the transition to a district middle school and after reflection and input from students and staff last year, we decided to keep it, but only for the new 7th grade students as a way to 'kick off' middle school. 7th Grade Students will be going rafting on September 12th. More information to come.

We provide numerous eligibility checks. These eligibility checks do not result in removal from an extra-curricular. However, if a student is failing (less than 2.5) two or more classes, at the time of the eligibility check, they will be expected to attend Academic Success for 8 days in order to continue participating in the extra-curricular. Our goal is to support student participation while placing a priority on academics. There is more information in the Athletic and Co-Curricular Handbook (linked below).

The dates of the Eligibility Checks are: Sept. 26th, Oct. 31st*, Dec. 12, Jan 23rd*, March 6th, April, 3rd*, May 8th and June 15th*. The four dates with asterisk's are the end of Quarter 1, 2, 3, and 4. You will receive a MS Report Card in the mail shortly after the end of a Quarter. We will remind you, and students, of these as they come up. However, it it important to get this on your radar early.

We want to help students develop the consistent habits and routines that allow them to maintain a steady level of success. We hope to avoid the "let it slip and then scramble' when an eligibility check is coming up.

Academic Success is a program offered to all students. It is a supervised space after school where students can get school work done. This year it will be supervised by Chris DeSimone. It will be offered M-F from 3:15-4:30 in the library.

The FHU Middle School PTO will be meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 5pm in the FHU library. All Middle School parents are invited to join! The PTO fundraises in various ways to be able to support our Middle School in a variety of ways.

In the 24-25 school year, the PTO:

sponsored and chaperoned middle school dances,

provided support, materials and time to help decorate the MS hallways for Slaterbration,

recognized teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week in May,

provided funds to support our 8th Grade trip at the end of the year.

The first meeting is September 9th at 5pm in the FHU Library.

Be sure to add the Slate Valley App to your phone if you haven't already. It is a great tool to help you stay informed about what is going on in our district and various schools as well as extracurricular events!