Fairview Family Newsletter

Dear families,

February is a short month, but it is packed with exciting learning and schoolwide events at Fairview. In addition to Valentine’s parties, Parent Teacher Conferences, the Book Fair, and Trivia Night, we are wrapping up our winter iReady assessments. Students are already showing solid growth, and teachers are using this data to form new RTI groups that will begin soon and provide targeted support and enrichment.

There is a lot of important information in this newsletter, so please be sure to read it carefully and refer back to it throughout the month.

Thanks, as always, for your continued and unwavering support.

Sincerely,

Dr. Simmons, Principal

Our second round of Parent Teacher Conferences is quickly approaching. Twice each school year, we invite families to sit down with their child’s teacher to discuss how their student is learning and progressing. These conversations allow families and teachers to work together, celebrate growth, and identify next steps to best support each child.

This spring, conferences will take place on Tuesday, March 3 and Thursday, March 5. As we did earlier this school year, we will offer a combination of virtual and in person conferences to provide flexibility for families.

Before we can schedule conferences, we need to know your family’s availability. Please complete the Google Form linked here so we can begin the scheduling process. Fairview teachers will confirm your child’s conference date and time by February 20th.

Important: Please submit a separate response for each child you have attending Fairview. We value strong communication and partnership with families, and conferences play an important role in supporting student success.

Our next PTA meeting is Monday, February 9th 5:30-6:30 in the media center. Please join us, if you're able!

*Please note the later start time for this month's meeting!

Date: Friday, February 20th. Doors open at 6:00PM, and Trivia starts @ 6:30.

The 4th annual FVE Trivia Night is coming up! Sponsored by the PTA, join us for some fun with other Fairview families, teachers, staff, and community members. This is an adult-only event. Bring snacks and your beverage of choice. Cost is $25 per person, with teams of 8 max. CPS employees are only $20. Register your team here.

The second week of February is my favorite week of the year—Fairview’s annual Kindness Week!! Students will hear announcements each day, teachers will have supplemental lessons/activities/resources to address kindness in their classrooms if they choose, and we will have some school-wide opportunities to focus on the ways we can spread kindness to others AND show kindness to ourselves. Here is an outline of the spirit days that will help us celebrate this fun week:

Date: Thursday, February 12th

Time: 2:00-2:50

*We will begin dismissal after parties, so please be cognizant of where you park your vehicle. It's best to avoid parking in our front circle drive and along Yorktown Drive (where our busses park). Thank you for your consideration!

Join today! Fairview Elementary Girls on the Run will practice on Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30-5:00pm. The season starts: Tuesday 2/17.

The 5k Celebration is on Saturday, May 9th Stephens Lake Park, 2001 E Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201.

During the month of February 5th graders will have the opportunity to attend an “Instrument Enrollment Night.” Instrument Enrollment Nights are evenings in which you can actually enroll to participate in band or orchestra during your 6th grade year. The events of Instrument Enrollment Night will include time for you to play and try out instruments, receive advice regarding the various instruments you might play, and specific details about the school band/orchestra programs. You may attend ANY of the below events regardless of what middle school your child will be attending.

LANGE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Thursday, February 5, 2026

6-8pm

JOHN WARNER MIDDLE SCHOOL

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

6-8pm

WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL

Thursday, February 12, 2026

6-8pm

Please join us in congratulating FV's Teachers of the Year (as voted by our amazing staff members):

• K-2 Teacher: Ms. Kayla Cue
• 3-5 Teacher: Mr. Tyler Allee
• Teacher in a Specialized Area: Dr. Gahan Fallone

We will be submitting these 3 teachers to the Board Office so that they can be considered for the district-level award in their respective categories, but we need your help! We're accepting letters of support for each teacher, and if you feel compelled to write one, you can email it to Mrs. Salas. Thanks, in advance, for helping us support these 3 incredible educators!

Kindergarten Open House for 2026 will be held March 12th from 4:00-6:00 pm at Fairview.

To be eligible for Kindergarten in 2026-27, a child must be five years of age by August 1, 2026

. The following are required for enrollment:

• Official Birth Certificate , passport or Visa
• Proof of Residence (current electric, water or gas bill, lease/house contract)
• Record of Immunizations

Please be on the lookout for more information as the date approaches, and share this information with families you know who have children in this age range. Thank you!

Transfer requests must be filed with the Student Services Department by April 1. Decisions on transfers will be made by May 1 and parents will be notified by mail.

Here are the links for the Elementary Transfer Request Form and

Secondary Transfer Request Form. Simply compete, print, and send to the following address:

Columbia Public Schools
Office of Student Services
1818 West Worley Street
Columbia, MO 65203

Exception: Students cannot transfer into one of the district's lottery schools. Please click here for more information on the CPS lottery.

Varsity Sports Reminder: Under MSHSAA regulations, any high school or middle high student who chooses to attend a school other than the school in their home attendance area shall be eligible only at the sub-varsity level in all sports for 365 days from the date of transfer approval.

If your family has moved/will move, please inform us by filling out this Google form. Tracking our students who are moving helps us plan accurately and appropriately for next school year. We greatly appreciate your cooperation!

We’ve been finishing up mat movements with all grade levels and playing Sailors and Sea Creatures with grades 2-5. And now we’re working on station rotations and getting into basketball skills. Ask your kiddos how it’s going!

Please check their A,B,C,D schedule and get those tennis shoes on. Unfortunately, that schedule is ever-changing so give it a look! It’s always attached at the end of the Fairview newsletter. If they don’t have them, they may not get to participate in all of the day’s activities. There have been some situations where kids have had to sit out. Please help them be successful. It’s a real bummer if your child must sit and watch because they forgot tennis shoes.

Finally, if you’ve been in the gym lately you might have noticed the pictures on the bulletin boards. They are of our kiddos in action!! If you wish, send me a photo of your child doing something active or being outside and I’ll get it up on the board. You’re welcome to send in a hard copy pic or email me one and I’ll get it up! Thank you to those of you who have sent in pics!

Sincerely,

Mr. Wright

anwright@cpsk12.org

January has flown by and students have finished up some great Portrait projects that should be making their way home. You can always see what your child has created with access to their digital portfolio in Artsonia, just send me an email and I’ll get you set up. All classes will be starting our Sculpture unit which is a favorite among students each year! Each grade level will learn the basics on sculpture and 3D art along with learning about clay. This unit takes time with the firing and glazing processes, but the end projects are always amazing! Please reach out with any questions.

-Mrs. Robb

In the music room, students have been busy singing, dancing, and playing instruments! Our 4th–5th graders are beginning their journey on the recorder, while 2nd–3rd grade students have been exploring unpitched instruments and enjoying a variety of music games. Kindergarten and 1st grade students have been singing and moving to songs all about snow and ice.

Looking ahead to February, we’ll be adding Valentine’s themed songs and may even begin some electric piano playing. We’ll also kick off our annual March Music Madness toward the end of the month which is always a student favorite!

-Mrs. Dexheimer

Reading is SNOW much fun! This cold weather provides a great opportunity to snuggle in a read together. Talking about what you’re reading is a great way to build reading excitement. During library checkout time, we have been focusing on Non-fiction. Older grades learned about the 5 types of non-fiction (browsable, traditional, expository, how-to/self-help, and literary) so they can be thinking about their reading preferences. Middle grades have looked at biographies and how they are inspiring books. Our youngest grades have looked at traditional and literary non-fiction on the same topics. Our final book fair of the year will be here soon! It will be open during conferences on March 3 and 5th, 3:30-7:00. It is a great chance to find books will last through summer reading for your students.

Thanks,

Mrs. Harre

February is always full of excitement for the counseling team and this year is no exception!

First, Mrs. Ridgeway had her baby and is out on maternity leave until after spring break. We wish her well and are excited to welcome Ms. Smith as her substitute.

I am honored to have the opportunity to help students amplify their potential by proactively teaching social, emotional, academic, and career readiness skills and reactively helping students strengthen those skills to be successful learners.

Kindergarten: Growth Mindset, Respecting Differences

1st grade: Growth mindset, Respecting Differences

2nd grade: Listening, Respecting Differences

3rd grade: Multiple Intelligences (Positive self-concept, Growth mindset)

4th grade: Coping strategies, Time management

5th grade: Testing Tips, Organization

As always, if there are ways our counseling team can support your student or family, please let us know!

Lillian Hoell

lhoell@cpsk12.org

It was nice to be back and settled in for the month of January. To start off the month all grades covered another digital citizenship unit. Then, kindergarten and 1st grade students worked in the clips app to create a video about themselves and the things they like and are interested in. They turned out very cute! 2nd through 5th graders learned/revisited the Canva app to create name signs and posters, etc. We all love this app and all the different features it has. There are just so many things you can do and create in the Canva app. I hope you all stay warm this winter!

Annette Kemble

• Check the school district website at http://www.cpsk12.org.
• Tune in to CPS-TV on Mediacom 81, CenturyLink 97 or Charter 985 or view lived and on-demand streaming on the CPS-TV Web site at https://www.cpsk12.org/cpstv. CPS-TV is also available on Roku, AppleTV and FireTV.

As cooler weather approaches, we encourage our families to dress their students accordingly. At this time of the year, it is hard to predict the weather, so dressing in layers is always prudent.

Fairview has adopted a new expectation for coat-wearing.

See below:

Please help us avoid unnecessary congestion on Fairview Road during morning drop-off. Your cooperation keeps everyone safe and on time!

✅ Do:

• Continue straight to the roundabout at Fairview & Rollins if the circle is full.

• Re-enter the circle by heading south on Fairview to pull in safely.

• Unload quickly and carefully to keep cars moving.

❌ Don’t:

• Stop northbound traffic by waiting to turn left into the circle when it’s full.

• Block the flow of cars already unloading in the front circle.

Thank you for helping us make morning drop-off safe, smooth, and efficient for all Fairview families!

Many of our students need a new pair of wired headphones for the second half of the year. We loaned over 200 pair of headphones while student were taking their iReady tests over the past few weeks. Please check in with your child regarding the condition of the headphones that they use at school.

At the end of the school year, we will once again raffle off prizes to students who show growth on their iReady assessments. We did this last year, and it was wildly successful. Students were highly motivated, excited, and incredibly proud of their progress. We have been talking this up all year, and it has continued to encourage students to give their very best effort each time they take an assessment.

We are asking families to consider donating small items that we can use as raffle prizes during the last week of school. Unlike our larger Fairview Fever Festival prizes, we are aiming for fun, high interest items that students love. Ideas include, but are not limited to:

• New packages of Pokémon cards

• Magnatiles

• Gift cards in the five to ten dollar range

• New bubble sets

• Sidewalk chalk

• Outdoor play toys such as footballs or basketballs

• Full sized candy bars

Thank you in advance for helping us celebrate student growth, effort, and learning. We truly appreciate your continued support of our Fairview Falcons.

If your child will be absent for the day, please call and report their absence or email jhouston@cpsk12.org. If we do not hear from you, we will call to check on their wellbeing.

Email: jhouston@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Domain/16
Location: 909 South Fairview Road, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: 573-214-3590
Facebook: Follow us here!
Twitter: @FVEFalcons