The Fancher Flyer

We are thrilled with how our school year is off to a fantastic start! Our students have been actively engaging in learning, building positive relationships, and contributing to our vibrant school community. This month, we are focusing on the Capturing Kids’ Hearts theme of “Self-Direct”. This theme encourages students to take ownership of their learning, make positive choices, and develop the skills to manage themselves both academically and socially. By practicing self-direction, students learn to set goals, follow through on commitments, and reflect on their personal growth—skills that empower them to be responsible, confident, and independent learners.

If you need support in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our amazing staff for assistance. We are also looking forward to connecting with you during Parent-Teacher Conferences and encourage you to join us for our upcoming parent workshop series sessions, highlighted below.

Please use the following link to review the breakfast and lunch menus provided by Southwest Food Services: Breakfast & Lunch

Friday, October 10th - Sparking Success: Understanding MTSS at Fancher (See Below)

Thursday-Friday, October 16th-17th - Elementary Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, October 17th - NO SCHOOL

Monday, October 20th - NO SCHOOL

Please ensure that you login to your Final Forms account and complete the yearly documents and update your information. Green boxes mean everything is All Set and you are good to go!

https://mtpleasant-mi.finalforms.com/

The Central Michigan University National Science Teaching Association Student Chapter will be hosting a Family Science Night at Fancher Elementary on October 14 from 6:00-8:00pm. Doors will not open until 6:00pm. Three will be three sessions in first floor classrooms, as outlined below. Please enter through the 4th grade entrance off of Kinney Avenue (Door 9).

The Float Your Boat and Bionic Animals activities are based on Picture Perfect Science books. Students from the CMU chapter of NSTA will be facilitating the sessions.

Float Your Boat

This session highlights forces such as gravity and buoyancy, as well as engineering principles. Students will build a boat out of aluminum foil to see how many pennies their boat can hold before it sinks. After testing their boats, students will discuss factors that contributed to the success of their boats.

Largest Structure

This session highlights engineering principles. Students will be given supplies to choose from and tasked with building the biggest building that they can. Then, the students will discuss what did and did not work.

Bionic Animals

This session highlights the story of Winter the Dolphin. Winter injured her tail and was helped by prosthetists. The students will build prosthetics for wind-up toy animals. Then, they will discuss their findings.

Beginning this October, we invite you to join Mr. Aquilina and attend “Grounds for Growth”—a casual time designed for parents and caregivers to connect, learn, and grow together as a school community. Each session will last about 30 minutes, may occasionally feature guest speakers, and will be structured as a focused conversation rather than an open forum with Q & A.

Sessions will be held at 8:45 a.m. in the Fancher Elementary Cafeteria on the following dates. You are welcome to drop your child(ren) off at 8:40 and then join us right afterward. Coffee and baked goods will be provided as we come together to learn more about Fancher, partner together, and strengthen our community for our kids.

Complete the following RSVP should you wish to attend our first session on October 10th, entitled Sparking Success: Understanding MTSS at Fancher. RSVP Link - Due October 7 at 9:00pm

Here’s our tentative schedule of topics for the year (subject to change, with any updates shared in The Fancher Flyer):

October 10 – Sparking Success: Understanding MTSS at Fancher
Learn about the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) we use to support both academic growth and behavioral success.
November 14 – Brewing Belonging: Building Our Fancher Community
Explore how Capturing Kids’ Hearts and other practices help us create a culture of belonging and strong relationships at school.
December 12 – Holiday Blend: Celebrating Learning Together
A lighter session before break, highlighting how we celebrate learning and community at Fancher.
January 9 – Special Education Spotlight
Overview of the Special Education services offered at Fancher and how we support diverse learners and their families.
February 13 – Growing Hearts: Social-Emotional Learning at Fancher
Learn more about how we teach and support social-emotional skills, including strategies from Capturing Kids’ Hearts.
March 13 – Pouring into Progress: Academic Curriculum at a Glance
A closer look at what students are learning in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies across grade levels.
April 10 – Brewing Bright Futures: Preparing for Transitions
Tips and strategies to help students successfully transition to the next grade level and keep learning strong through the summer.
May 15 – A Toast to Community: Parent Voice & Partnerships
Reflect on the year together, share feedback, and discuss ways to strengthen our parent-school partnership for the future.

Our Literati Book Fair is now live online and will also be open in the Fancher Library from October 13–17 during student library times and throughout Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Families can shop online anytime by visiting:

👉 Fancher’s Online Book Fair

Or, head to literati.com/store, click “Connect to School,” and search for Fancher Elementary to link your purchases to our fundraiser.

This is a great way to build your child’s love of reading while also supporting our school library!

To ensure consistency in our procedures and maintain a safe environment, we ask that parents and guardians do not join students waiting in their drop-off lines. If you would like to watch your child enter the building, you are welcome to do so from the sidewalk area along Kinney Avenue. Alternatively, your child may stay with you near the sidewalk until their grade level is called to enter.

Interactions with students other than your own should remain solely positive and cordial. If you have any questions or concerns about another student's behavior, please locate a staff member or call the front office (989) 775-2230 and we will be happy to help resolve any issues. This expectation applies during both morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. Any negative interaction with students on campus other than your own will result in a directive for alternative drop-off/pick-up procedures.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us provide a safe and structured start and end to the school day.

Fancher Families: As foggy mornings arrive, please note our new 3-hour delay schedule. Check the attached photos for start times, drop-off info, and class adjustments. Thank you for helping keep our students safe!

Over the next few weeks, our school will be practicing important safety drills with students. These include fire drills, tornado drills, and “green vest” drills (ALICE safety protocols). ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate, and it provides age-appropriate strategies for keeping students safe in the unlikely event of a dangerous situation at school.

We want to give families a clear understanding of what this looks like for students:

Barricading – Students and staff may practice placing items (such as desks or chairs) in front of a door to help keep the classroom secure. In addition to barricades, our district also utilizes night locks on classroom doors to provide an extra layer of security.
Countering – This does not mean fighting. For our students, countering practice may look like making noise, moving around the room, or learning how to distract an intruder as a last resort.
Evacuating – When it is safest to leave the building, classes will practice exiting quickly and quietly. By September 30th, each class will practice leaving the school and walking together to our off-site rally point.

Students were also informed that during these drills, Mr. Aquilina may wear a green vest to simulate someone on campus and that a police officer may be present to ensure proper protocols are followed.

Our goal in practicing these drills is the same as with fire and tornado drills: to build confidence, preparedness, and safety awareness in a calm and age-appropriate way.

If you have any questions about these safety protocols or the steps we take to keep students safe, please feel free to contact Mr. Aquilina directly.

We are excited to bring back Popcorn Days for the 2025–2026 school year! Popcorn will be offered every other Friday. Each bag of popcorn will be 50 cents.

To make this tradition possible, we rely on the help of parent volunteers. Each popcorn day, we’ll need 2–3 volunteers to pop and distribute popcorn. Volunteers should plan to arrive at the school around 7:45 a.m. so everything is ready before our 3rd grade lunch.

Please use the form linked below if you are interested in volunteering.

Volunteer Form

Here is the schedule for this year’s popcorn days:

3rd Grade

Sept. 12 – Michelle French
Sept. 26 – Shawn Gaughan
Oct. 10 – Amanda Hutchins
Oct. 24 – Samantha McDonald
Nov. 7 – Maddie Pischea
Nov. 21 – Audrey Stout

4th Grade

Dec. 5 – Kendra Asher
Dec. 19 – Dani Formsma
Jan. 16 – Missy Groves
Jan. 30 – Michelle Rupe
Feb. 13 – Andrea Stevens
Feb. 27 – Angie White

5th Grade

Mar. 13 – Alecia Dorcey
Mar. 26 – Kelly Faber
Apr. 10 – Shaeler Mallory
Apr. 24 – Aubrey Patchin
May 8 – Hannah Price
May 22 – Wing-Brenner

We’re looking forward to another fun year of popcorn and smiles! Thank you in advance to all of our amazing volunteers who make this tradition possible.

Student Attendance is important to us. If your child is sick, please call the school Office at 775-2230 before 9:30 each morning to let us know.

For safety reasons, families will soon begin receiving a phone call by 9:30 am for any student that is marked as Absent each morning in PowerSchool. You can deter getting that call from our system by calling us in the morning to let us know of your child's absence and their reason for the absence.

Our codes we use for absences are:

UA-Unexcused Absence

Any absence that has not been reported by a parent or guardian and/or any absence that is not listed as an Excused Absence in Board Policy.

AV-Verified Absence

An absence that the parent verifies or explains. Example: (1) The student doesn’t feel well, and is staying home, but is not visiting the doctor. (2) The family is taking an extra long weekend, vacation, etc.

EA-Excused Absence

Absences that meet the definition of an Excused Absence based on MPPS Board Policy.

*Illness or professional appointments with a doctors note *Death of a relative

*Observance of Religious Holidays

Below are images related to our attendance policy.

The Mt. Pleasant Sex Advisory Board is has an opening for a Mt. Pleasant parent.

Please complete this application if you are interested.

SEAB MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

During the first week of school, students reviewed expectations for various areas of the building with their teachers. On the first day, all students participated in assemblies led by Mrs. Morgan and Mr. Aquilina to review our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) framework and the incentives available for positive behavior. Students were encouraged to ask questions during and after the presentations to ensure clarity and understanding.

At Fancher, we hold high expectations for all students and truly believe every child can meet and exceed them. Our PBIS system is designed to reinforce positive behavior and includes several recognition opportunities, such as:

Class Dojo Points: As in previous years, students earn points for demonstrating expected behaviors. These points can be used at the school store twice per month or saved for larger rewards—like the chance to dunk Mr. Aquilina in a dunk tank on the last day of school!
Falcon of the Month: Each teacher nominates one student per month who consistently models our school-wide expectations, similar to a traditional “Student of the Month.”
Positive Office Referrals: Staff may refer students to the office for exemplary behavior, where they will be recognized by an administrator.
Falcon Feathers: These are used to acknowledge positive behavior during unstructured times (e.g., recess, lunch, hallway transitions) and serve as an alternative to Dojo points in those settings.

Along with reinforcing positive behaviors, we also strive to address behavioral concerns in a consistent, supportive manner. Students were informed of our school-wide process for addressing behavior that does not meet expectations.

Initial Support: Teachers play a critical role in guiding students through redirection, reflection, and relationship-building using our Capturing Kids’ Hearts philosophy.
Behavior Interventionists: For lower-level or first-time behavior concerns, our Behavior Interventionists are typically the first point of contact. Their role is to help students reflect and re-engage in appropriate behavior.
Student Support Specialist: For recurring or moderately concerning behaviors, Mrs. Morgan, our Student Support Specialist, may work directly with students to provide additional support and intervention.
Administrator Involvement: Mr. Aquilina typically addresses higher-level behavior concerns or repeated issues that have not been resolved through previous steps.

Teachers may submit a formal referral, known as a “Blue Slip,” if a student has been unresponsive to classroom interventions, is significantly disrupting the learning environment, or requires immediate escalation. Blue Slips always result in communication with a parent or guardian.

Our PBIS expectations and supports serve as Tier 1 interventions, which are effective for the majority of students (typically about 80% of our population). However, some students may require additional individualized support through behavior plans, 504s, IEPs, or other formalized interventions to meet their needs and ensure success at school.

This handbook includes information about our programs, policies, and procedures. Our hope in sharing this information is to build a strong partnership with all our families. Please review this information with your child. If you have questions about any of this information, please contact your child’s teacher or the school office at (989) 775-2230.

Fancher Student Handbook

The Fancher Facebook page is intended for one-way communication to highlight all of the great things happening at the school, as well as providing school and/or district updates. Should you need assistance, please contact your child's teacher directly via email or call our front office at 989-775-2230. Thank you!