• Families and guests will be allowed to enter the cafeteria at 9:30am. Due to limited space, any celebration items such as balloons, flowers, etc. should not be brought to the celebration event, but shared with students following the event at the picnic. 
• WCPSS Security will assist families with parking and direct cars to the back field of the school when the parking lots are full. 
  • Important Note! During our K-4 assemblies today, many of our guests chose to park innappropriately in our neighborhood and blocked driveways or street access. The Cary Police was called by our neighbors to issue traffic tickets to families parked illegally or creating a hazard. PLEASE park on our field (it's also easier to get your picnic from there) if at all possible, but if you park in the neighborhood be sure you are aware of the Town of Cary Parking Laws. We do not want you to end your time at FWES with a parking ticket! 
• The ceremony will begin promptly at 10:00am and guests arriving after the ceremony begins will need to enter at the back of the cafeteria entrance to avoid any disruption to the program. 
• The ceremony will last about 80 minutes, as each child will be called to the stage to be recognized. 
• 5th Graders and their families are invited to bring a picnic to the courtyard following the ceremony to enjoy and get some final pictures and hugs. Students may be signed out by a parent at the end of the picnic with the child's teacher. Report cards may be distributed to students after 11:30am. 
• Students should dress nicely for the event. All students must dress within WCPSS Dress code so sundresses, halters, spaghetti straps, etc. should not be worn unless covered by a sweater or with a shirt underneath. 
• The PTA will have a photo area set up for families to capture the 5th Grade Celebration- so get your camera's ready and we'll share more at the conclusion of the ceremony. 

Thank you for being part of our FWES Family! We wish your child all the best in the future and know they will continue to strive to be a life-long learner who works to make the world a better place! 

With love to all of our students and families! Winston Pierce 

·        Bring water bottle, hat, sunglasses and wear sunscreen- apply at home- may not have bottle at school.

·        Wear tennis shoes- no flip flops!

·        If you are  VIP- bring a plain t-shirt to tie dye if you wish

·       9:30-11:00 ID Mod II, 4^th/5^th; 11:30-1:00 Pre-K, K/1^st; 2:00-3:30 ID Mod I, 2^nd/3rd

• 3rd-5th graders need to arrive on time- late arrivals will not be able to begin testing and will have to participate in make up testing
• free breakfast for all 3rd-5th graders will be available in the cafeteria- please arrive by 9am to participate
• 3rd-5th graders may have a water bottle under their seats for use during testing breaks and a book to read if they finish early- the regular testing window is 180 minutes, however, students may take up to 240 minutes to complete testing. Students not finished after 180 minutes will be given a supervised lunch break and then be allowed to continue working for up to 240 minutes. 

• Tomorrow, January 5th is Kindergarten Registration for the 2017-18 school year. We will register in our lobby from 9:30am-3:00pm tomorrow and after that from 10:00am-12:00noon daily. Magnet families must register rising kindergartners at their base school and apply for a magnet seat in order for the sibling to attend FWES as a magnet student.  
• Friday, January 6th is January Walk to School Day. Bundle up and meet Mr. Eller at Kildaire Plaza to get your blood pumping and oxygen flowing for learning!
• Please review the Winter Weather information sent home in Monday Folders on the website in the event there is any weather this weekend that would impact the school schedule.  

• 2nd Grade is collecting school supplies to help Knuckles Elementary that was flooded in Lumberton, NC. They are very short of the donations they need to prepare a school supply kit for each of the students in the school-so please see the flyer in today's Monday folder and send in items tomorrow to help!
• Friday of this week, December 2nd is an Early Release- students will be dismissed at 1:15pm.
• Also today, around noon, the fire alarm sounded at school. Students evacuated safely and the fire department responded quickly. The fire fighters investigated and determined the alarm was caused by a faulty sensor. Students returned to class and the schedule was adjusted to allow for ample lunch time. Than you to all our staff and students for demonstrating the IB attitude of cooperation! 
• Looking ahead to next week- please be aware that our school will be in the process of having our server upgraded. It will mean that staff may have limited access to internet throughout the week and we are planning for no internet from Tuesday around lunch through Thursday around lunch. Please make sure any information you need to share with school staff is done through handwritten notes, as email will not be available.

Wednesday, November 2^nd

Tomorrow is our Global Fun Run!!! Thanks so much to our PTA for their hard work organizing this event- we look forward to a great day! Students should all wear running shoes tomorrow and be dressed to walk or run for the full 25-30 minutes of the run. Parents are invited to watch the run on the field, but are asked not to visit classroom prior to the run or after the run- as classroom schedules will remain the same. K and 4^th will run at 9:50am; 2^nd and 3^rd will run at 10:40 and 1^st and 5^th will run at 11:30.

Thank you for your support of this primary fun raising event for the PTA and our school!

If the weather is not cooperating, the rain date is Friday, November 4^th.

Thursday, October 27^th

PTA will help you with dinner tonight- visit them at the Chick Fil A at Crossroads between 5-8pm for a Farmington Woods Spirit Night!

Don’t forget to continue to find sponsors for your Fun Run participation next week- the raffle drawings are continuing with some great prizes! Remember the top earner for the event will get to be the Principal for most of the day!

Monday, October 31^st was supposed to be a Teacher Workday but is the make up day for October 10^th and there is a regular school day planned for Monday.

Monday, October 24^th

We got excited today about the FWES Fun Run with an exciting Pep Rally! Please check folders for important information from the PTA about the Fun Run and how your child and your family can participate in a fund raiser where all funds go directly to the FWES PTA! .

There will be daily drawings for prizes from local sponsors for those students who have gotten sponsors for their run- the drawings start tomorrow! The money for the sponsorship must accompany paper sponsor forms to be entered into the raffle. Remember this year it is not based on lap count but a flat sponsorship to support the student in running/walking for the whole 25 minute event.

2^nd Graders will be taking a trip to the IMAX on Wednesday

5^th graders will go to the IMAX on Thursday and the rest of our 1^st grades will be visiting the Rock Quarry (White, Pinder, Edwards)

We hope you will join us on Thursday for FWES Spirit Night at Chick Fil A at Crossroads from 5-8pm!

Tuesday, October 18^th

Two more field trips are planned this week for both Kindergarten and 1^st grade on Thursday. Kindergartens go to Ganyard Farm and 1^st graders will be visiting Wake Stone Quarry. Due to these two field trips, all classes will be eating lunch in their classrooms- so we will not be allowed to have visitors for lunch on Thursday.

Please make sure your calendar is marked that Friday, October 21^st is an Early Release for students who will be dismissed at 1:15pm. Our specialists will be collaborating with our 5^th graders throughout the day on Friday. 

Also a few back to school reminders for all families:

·         Thank you for your cooperation with our dismissal procedures. They are designed to maintain the safety of all of our students at the end of the day. Please remember that last minute walk in changes of transportation should be only in emergency situations and not re-occurring and any other changes must be given to the teacher with a written note. We cannot take a child or parent verbal notice but it must be in writing. Note- Email is not a timely tool for sharing that information as there are days when teachers cannot check email until after dismissal- a note to the teacher in the morning with arrival is what is needed.

·         If you have a carpooler- we are very pleased with how students are following our procedures and processes. If your child has been struggling at carpool, please help you child learn his/her carpool number as it will help speed up the process as we move forward. In the meantime, we are dismissing over 300 students each afternoon through carpool in about 30 minutes- that’s about 6 seconds per student- a pretty good rate for the first month of school!

·         If you are a walker family- please remember that the streets and neighbor’s yards surrounding the school should not be used for parking. Cars should NEVER park on Hampton Valley Road during dismissal as the regular and carpool traffic cannot flow appropriately. Please don’t forget that the church at the corner of Seabrook and Cary Parkway will allow its parking lot to be used during arrival and dismissal for easy and safe in and out parking.

·         Healthy Students- please make a note that we are working to comply with healthy guidelines for all students and reduce students sugar intake during the school day. All cafeteria items comply with federal guidelines and families are encouraged to review and send healthy snacks if students need a snack during the school day. As we enjoy celebrating students’ birthdays- please try to select a low sugar alternative if you would like your child to celebrate at school- such as the birthday book in the inquiry center option, pencils for classmates, PE equipment for the classroom supply or just a small bite-sized sweet. Large cupcakes, cakes or cookies are not aligned with the work of our parents, students and teaching staff on our healthy students leadership team. Thank you for helping us to support our students’ healthy brains and healthy bodies!

Wednesday, September 21

Tomorrow, all 2^nd-5^th grade club applications are due by 3:30pm to your child’s teacher. The club lottery will take place prior to the school day on Friday, September 23rd so no late applications will be accepted. Notification will be sent home with students on Monday, September 26^th. 

Reminder that PTA spirit wear and Go Play Save orders are all due to the PTA mailbox by Wednesday, September 21^st. Please return all items to the blue PTA mailbox in the school lobby. Information about Club opportunities for the current school year is going home with students today. Applications for the club lottery are due by 3:30pm on Thursday.  

Reminder to all families that we want to see you on Thursday night at our Curriculum Night Event. K-2 will be from 5:30-6:30pm and 3-5 will be from 6:30-7:30pm. This event will give you information on the curriculum expectations for your child’s grade level and a chance to visit the classroom and learn more directly from your child’s teacher. Specialists and special areas teachers will also be available throughout the evening in room on the Green and Red Hallways. Signs will be posted to direct you.  

Hello 3^rd grade families- All 3^rd graders in the state of NC participate in the Beginning of Grade test of reading standards at the start of the school year. This test aligns with the Read to Achieve state law that requires all 3^rd graders to be reading on grade level by the end of 3^rd grade as an initial assessment of students who may be at risk of not passing the End of Grade Reading test in the Spring, 2017.

3^rd graders at Farmington Woods will take the Beginning of Grade Test on Wednesday, September 14^th. The test is from 9:30am-1:00pm- so students should make sure they arrive on time and they will not be allowed to leave a testing setting until the conclusion of the 180 minute test. Please make sure your child is well rested and has a good breakfast to best prepare them for this lengthy test. Students who arrive after 9:20am will not be allowed to enter the testing settings and will have to make up the test on another school day. Thank you for making sure your 3^rd grader is on time to school and ready for this assessment.  

A reminder that tomorrow is an Early Release for all students. School will be dismissed at 1:15pm. Please make sure that you have made the appropriate dismissal plans for your child based on this dismissal time.

Make a note on your calendar that next Thursday, September 15^th is Curriculum Night at Farmington Woods. K-2 grade levels will offer information to parents from 5:30-6:30pm and 3-5 will offer information to parents from 6:30-7:30. Our specialists and special areas teachers will also be available to share information throughout the evening. Please plan to join us so you will know how to best partner with your child’s teacher throughout the year!

Happy Labor Day! What a great 1^st week of school we had with our students! We were pleased with our daily dismissal and as the bus routes become more familiar to drivers and students; and students learn their new carpool numbers we expect both dismissal processes to continue to improve. We will welcome all of our new kindergarten students tomorrow and can’t wait to have them- however, it will be that we can expect a few more delays at dismissal as they learn the procedures, bus stops, carpool #s, etc. We thank you for your patience and support as we help our youngest IB learners settle in-

A few reminders moving through the week-

Friday, September 9^th is an Early Release- Students will be dismissed at 1:15pm- please make sure you have made arrangements for your student based on this time change. Remember that any changes to their usual transportation must be made in writing to the classroom teacher on Friday morning.

2^nd-5^th graders who have not yet paid $3 for their agenda should send in $3 for the PTA no later than Friday of this week. The $3 can be put in an envelope with the child’s name and teacher on the outside and placed in the PTA mailbox.

This week is also the last week to join the PTA and get a free ticket to the World Dance in March. All families are encouraged to have a voice in our school through membership in the PTA. There will be a membership link in the electronic folders that go out tomorrow.

Go Play Save PTA fund raising books were sent home with 1^st-5^th last week and will go home with K this week. If you are interested in keeping the book- send your $30 back to school for the PTA. If you do not want the book, it will need to be returned to school.