Husky Headlines - First Edition
2026-2027 School Year
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Hello Husky Nation & Welcome to the 2026-27 School Year!
I sure hope you are having a great summer and that you and your child have been able to rest, get outside, and video gamed yourselves to be ready for the start of school...just WEEKS AWAY!
That's right, Tuesday, August 11 is the first day of school! We open our doors at 7:10am with our tradition, the Red Carpet Rollout! Your teachers will be lining the walk into school whether by bus, car, walking, or bike! We can't wait to see them and we can't wait to have a great year ahead!
As you may have heard by now, Themed Programming will be SCHOOL-WIDE for the first time ever here in the Husky Nation! We are expanding the Science Explorers to the ENTIRE school this upcoming year! We are so excited to be bringing experiential learning to the whole school and community! You can expect us to have your kiddo learning more about careers, making real-world connections, and hands-on learning with our theme, Science Explorers!
Please mark you calendars for our Open House on Wednesday, August 5 from 4:30 to 6pm. You will be able to head to the pack areas and meet your advisor, see friends, and head to the cafe for several partners including our PTO with a picture booth! We also have scheduled our Pack Information/Title I Night for Tuesday, August 25th at 6pm followed by the PTO Family Night in the Library at 7pm, and Scouting USA Informational night at that same time in the Cafeteria.
As a reminder, here are the most important times each day for our middle school this year:
7:10am - Building opens for entry
7:40am - Tardy Bell for school to begin
3:00pm - Dismissal Bell for school to end
We are looking forward to bringing back the following practices as they were very effective last year with our student's success:
- Traveling school rewards store, PAW-Mart
- 20 minute recess at lunch
- Rollin' with the Huskies fundraiser
- Clubs
- Spirit Stick
- 5th and 6th grade field experiences
We have so many great things planned for the 2026-27 school year and the wait is almost over!
The first thing we need you to do is read through this entire newsletter as it has so much information to stay up to date with and items to be aware about for your child's success.
Again, we are super excited on the upcoming school year and look forward to see you soon!
We are Partners United in Learning and Life,
Matt Morningstar
Principal
Student ID Badges for 2026-27
Fayetteville Public Schools will be providing NEW Student ID badges & a NEW Lanyard for all 5th & 6th grade students this year. We will be using these throughout the day and we will activate the use of these to enter and exit the buses for student tracking this year! If you still have last year's ID, PLEASE do not use (you may destroy it) is as it will not work for badging as they all have a unique RF ID imbedded in them.
Online Back to School Check-In with the Power School OPENS July 22nd!
An email will be sent to all Guardians listed in the Guardian 1 slot Wednesday, July 22nd. 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 breakfast and 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.
Meals at School
This year, EVERY student will receive one FREE breakfast everyday as a new law for the entire state of Arkansas! 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
Pack Selection Process
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 Holt. 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 Huskies will be in two clubs this year and will also begin rotating to as many as 6 different teachers everyday. I want you to trust us that we have the best interests of your student and that if they are not in a pack with their known peers or if they are not in a preferred pack, that we will continue to attend to them and make sure they are doing well with the change this transition brings.
This year's Pack assignments & advisors will be shared with you the week of August 3rd. Please honor the Pack selection process and keep change requests until the end of the first nine weeks. I do think by then that the students will settle in and that they will be 100% behind their pack and team!
Thank you for your consideration in this matter,
Matt
Lunch Times & Last Name Assignment
Technology Update
- Student assigned Chromebooks will stay at school and charge in carts
- Cell phones, Smart Watches, and Wireless earbuds will be placed in Yondr Pouches during advisory and placed in the student's locker all day...an exception will be for students who need it to monitor a health information device. That must be pre-approved prior to school starting. They will "unlock" the Yondr Pouch at the end of the day and the pouch will either be stored in their locker or their backpack.
- We will instruct the students on the use of the Yondr Pouch during out back to school Basecamp Days which are the 1st three days of school.
Just to reinforce what has been stated above, 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!
Please read the next section to know how to contact the school for any reason.
Contacting the School
Here is the phone number to reach the school and get a message to your student: 479-527-3670. We will also set up a plan for students who need to call home by using the office phone. We know that this is a little different but we will work hard to gain and keep your trust in communication.
Emails
Principal - matt.morningstar@fayar.net
Vice-Principal & 504's - richard.guthrie@fayar.net
Vice-Principal - brandon.craft@fayar.net
SPED Designee - becky.williams@fayar.net
Counselor - mary.brunk@fayar.net
Nurse - destiny.brown@fayar.net
Admin Assistant - amy.bond@fayar.net
Registrar & Front Desk - katie.jackson@fayar.net
Bus Transportation
If your child signed up to ride the bus, you will receive correspondence from the Transportation Department and receive a hard copy of that during Open House from your advisor. 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.
A transportation representative will be at Open House, on Wednesday, August 5th, from 4:30-6pm to help answer questions.
As ALWAYS...we will have a shuttle bus to Holcomb everyday. They do not need to sign up for this but we will get a list of the students the first week of school when they ride it. It will be the very front bus by the street everyday.
Dress Code Reminders
As we head into Tax-Free weekend next week August 1st & 2nd, 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
