Foster Falcon Newsletter

• Refer to your email, portal or text messages on Monday afternoon for information about our upcoming ALICE drill
• Please click HERE for SPOT Vision Screening information. SPOT Vision Screening will take place at Foster on Monday, Oct. 5th. If you'd like to opt out of this screening for your student, please follow the directions in the pdf.

Buy some Falcon Gear in a light color and wear it to the Freddy Falcon's Color Run next Thursday!

SOCKTOBER is a 3rd grade lead fundraiser. Last year, as a 4th grade lead fundraiser, they donated one of their highest amounts yet...was it 300? 400? 500? Do you think we can beat it this year? What if we could get them to 600?

Start collecting now when the deals from back-to-school are still running!

Please register by Wednesday at 12:00pm so we can prepare for the number of families planning to attend.

We are so excited to share that Foster is partnering with the Building for Kids Children's Museum to open Curiosity Classroom, a permanent space in our building where kids get to explore, play, and create. It's the kind of hands-on learning the museum is known for, and it's becoming part of the regular school day.

As a leadership school, this is a perfect fit. In the Curiosity Classroom, students are in charge — they choose what to build, decide what to try next, and figure out what to do when something doesn't work the first time. That's leading your own learning, in the most hands-on way there is. Every class, kindergarten through fifth grade, will have regular time in the space each week, and every student will help care for a room that belongs to all of us.

We're only the second school outside of Chicago to open one. Our staff have spent the summer planning how our students will use the space, and Building for Kids is designing the room, ordering and installing the materials, and training our teachers.

None of this would be possible without two community funders who believed in the idea. Foster was awarded a Big Idea Grant from the Appleton Education Foundation and generous donation from SECURA Insurance, both for this project, and we are grateful to them!

The room opens later this fall, and we can't wait to invite you in for a ribbon cutting once it's ready.

Foster's on-site pantry is stocked by our families, for our families. It's there so that when a need comes up, help is already right down the hall — no forms, no waiting, no questions asked.

We're restocking for the school year and would welcome donations of:

Non-perishable food (canned goods, pasta, rice, cereal, peanut butter, shelf-stable snacks)

Cleaning supplies

Laundry detergent

Items can be dropped off in the front office anytime. Belonging at Foster means looking out for one another, and this is one of the simplest ways we do it. Thank you for taking care of our community!

Do you have working, corded headphones that are new or gently used, lying around? Consider donating to the office for students in need at Foster. The are required for testing and other device use.

Foster is a tuition-free public charter school within the Appleton Area School District. Being a charter means we operate under a contract (our "charter") with the AASD School Board. That contract gives us the flexibility to build our school around a clear mission: growing student leaders through Leader in Me, alongside strong academics.

For your family, this means your child gets everything a public school provides, plus a school community with its own focus and identity. Foster also has its own Governance Board, which works alongside school leadership to guide our mission, monitor progress on our charter goals, and oversee funds raised for Foster through grants, donations, and fundraising. Board meetings are open to the public, and families are always welcome.

Want to stay in the loop? Sign up here to get a monthly email with the latest Governance Board meeting agendas and approved minutes: https://forms.gle/9vHJHfE2tUzmeAJ46

The Fine Arts Department is now using IC to collect school instrument rental forms. If your family is renting a school instrument, please complete and submit the form. Only families who are renting school instruments need to respond. (Elementary families only: Filling out this form does not sign your child up for band or strings- please contact the school’s band or strings teacher for enrollment.)

Thank you FALCONS for all your support at Pizza Ranch on Wednesday night!

Sep 24.................... ALICE Drill

Sep 24.................... Freddy Falcon's Color Run 5:45pm (must sign waiver)

Sep 25.................... No School/Boys & Girls Club

Sep 30.................... BGC Talent Show 6pm

Oct 2...................... No BGC FRIDAY (No AM or PM club)

Oct 5...................... SPOT Vision Screening

Oct 6...................... Charter Board Meeting 6pm

Oct 7...................... Family Night @ Dairy Queen

AM SESSION- 7:00AM-8:10AM

PM SESSION- 3:20PM-6:00PM

AFTERNOON PICK-UP BEGINS AT 4:00PM

Please consider picking up your student early on Thursday, Sept. 24th so your family can participate in the Color Run and so our staff can assist with the event.

*Students must be with an adult during after-school events.*

Every Kindergarten though fifth grade student at Foster is able to have 1 free breakfast and 1 free lunch PER SCHOOL DAY for the 26-27 school year.

If your student has cold lunch, they'll need to purchase a milk, if they prefer milk with their meal. If your student already had one lunch but is still hungry (other than the extra veggies and fruits offered already), they'll need to purchase a FULL meal, in order to get another entree. Prices listed below.

You are more than welcome to send extra items with your student (like a cold lunch) to supplement the free hot lunch if they tend to be picky or a really good eater.

Milk w/cold lunch or Additional Milk........ $0.50

Additional Meal...........................................$3.10

The Foster Charter Board meets at 6:30pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, in the Foster LMC. This meeting is held in-person, however an online option is available via Google Meet at this link: https://meet.google.com/pyr-vtfj-jhr . If you have any questions for the board or would like to request childcare for an upcoming meeting, please email FosCharter@gmail.com. Would you like to learn more? Check out their page on the school website!

Foster Family Network (FFN) meets at 5:00pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, in the Foster staff lounge (103).SEE BELOW. If you have any questions for the group who creates a lot of the family based, after-school events, on and off school grounds, please email stephenfosterffn@gmail.com. Would you like to learn more? Check out their page on the school website or their Facebook page: Foster Falcon FFN-PTO!

Foster Family Network (FFN) is partnering with BGC @ Foster for 26-27 while looking for new leadership. If you think YOU could be that person, please email FFN. Meetings will be on hold until we can find parents/families to lead and fully support the group.

Unfilled positions:

*President (lead meetings, be a support for all, be a lead contact all while keeping the best interests of families and FFN in mind for current and future)

*Vice President (secondary support to the president, other leaders and FFN group)

*Treasurer (handle non-food purchases, returns, accounting for the group while maintaining the budget for current and future endeavors)

*Digital Guru (take the lead on the Facebook page, add/maintain new digital presence on other platforms, creating event information and posters)

*Foodie (handle organizing all food for in-house events such as conferences, staff appreciation week and large family events. this includes creating sign-ups, grocery shopping, catering orders and taking care of set-up/clean-up if no one has volunteered)

Filled positions: Secretary, Fundraising

Do you have a talent that's not listed? What can you bring to the group? The group needs background support as well! Families who are willing to pick up/drop off items, bake/cook, volunteer to clean up at the end of events, decorators, volunteer for sessions at an event...etc. Support in ANY form is appreciated! You may also stop in the school office and ask about Foster Family Network and how you can help.