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Happy New Year, Middle School Families!
I hope you all had a restful and joyful winter break. It has been wonderful seeing our students back in the hallways, refreshed and ready to tackle the second half of the school year.
As we jump into the 2026 calendar year, we have a very important date approaching: Friday, January 16th marks the end of the second quarter.
Finishing the Semester Strong
With the quarter wrap-up just around the corner, now is the perfect time for students to take ownership of their progress. I encourage all families to log into Skyward regularly to stay up to date on current grades and any potential missing assignments.
To ensure a strong finish:
Check Skyward today: Identify any missing assignments and prioritize getting them turned in. Don't let missing work hold back your overall progress. Work with your teachers: Have those conversations now! Ensure your final grade is truly reflective of the effort and growth you’ve put in this semester.
New Year, New Goals
The transition from one semester to the next is a natural "reset button." I challenge the students to use this time to think about how they want the rest of the year to go. Whether it’s improving in a specific skill or content area, staying more organized, or showing more perseverance, setting clear goals now will pave the way for a successful spring.
We are excited to see what our students will achieve in this new year. Let’s make the rest of the school year our best yet!
Justin Hoffacker
MS Principal
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🏆 Knights of the Month 🏆
The Knights of the Month are selected by their teachers for best representing
the qualities of a Knight, by being Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn!
🎉 Congratulations to the following students! 🏰
We are proud to recognize these students for being selected as December Knights of the Month!
These outstanding students were chosen by their teachers for consistently demonstrating what it means to be a Knight — by being Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn each and every day.
👏 Keep up the great work, and thank you for being shining examples for your peers!
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🌟 Fairfield Knight Recognition 🌟
Nora Gastley
Nora is the epitome of a Knight of the Month. She is a self-motivated student who consistently strives to do her very best in every subject. A true role model for her peers, Nora is always willing to help a classmate—whether they are struggling with a challenging assignment or facing a personal difficulty. She treats others with respect and demonstrates responsibility in her actions, her materials, and her behavior. Nora has all the qualities we value most and sets a great example for our school community.
Jordan Eichenlaub
Jordan exhibits the qualities of a Knight by being consistently respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. He works well both independently and in groups, and he is always willing to help his classmates. Jordan comes to class prepared with his assignments and materials each day, and he serves as an excellent role model for his peers. He is genuinely caring and kind to his friends, and he shows respect to both students and teachers.
Jordan also demonstrates a strong readiness to learn by always striving to do his best. We are very proud of him for his hard work, positive attitude, and his wanting to always do his best.
Mateo Angeles
Mateo has been consistently polite and has really turned around his performance in math! He has been respectful during this month and has gotten his work done, showing he is ready to learn! Thanks for being an awesome knight, Mateo!
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🌟 Fairfield Knight Recognition 🌟
Archer Welty
Archer demonstrates the qualities of a knight by being respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. Archer shows respect as he communicates with adults and peers. He advocates for himself and others in a mature manner. He shows empathy and understanding for others’ struggles and different perspectives. He demonstrates responsibility by completing his assignments diligently and to the best of his ability, even asking the teacher to check over his work and provide feedback before turning it in. He shows he is ready to learn by participating often in class discussions, taking accurate notes in class, and engaging in focused discussions with peers during group work. We are very proud of Archer and his hard work this month!
Oaklyn Christman
Oaklyn demonstrates the qualities of a knight by being respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. Oaklyn shows respect for the teacher by obeying quiet signals, following directions, and utilizing active listening skills during instruction. She shows respect for peers in the words she chooses when talking out disagreements. She shows responsibility by following classroom routines, arriving promptly to class prepared with all necessary materials, never needing to disrupt class to fill a water bottle or retrieve a forgotten item from her locker. She shows she is ready to learn by taking learning seriously, applying constructive feedback from teachers towards her assignments, and often going above and beyond what the directions are asking for. She participates regularly in class discussions and peer conversations. We are very proud of Oaklyn and the example she sets for her peers!
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🌟 Fairfield Knight Recognition 🌟
Mia Gastley
The 7th grade team is proud to nominate Mia Gastley as one of our two knights of the month for December. Mia is a delight to have in class and well liked by all of her teachers and peers. Mia comes to class quietly and respectfully. She demonstrates by her words and actions that she is ready to learn by being prepared for class. Mia always puts her best foot forward by completing her work and always asks for help if she needs it.
Atley Harbaugh
Atley is a wonderful student and her teachers are happy to nominate her as the other 7th grade knight of the month. Atley has impressed her teachers from the start with her work ethic and ability to focus on the task at hand. When other students may choose to socialize, Atley chooses to work hard and do her best. Atley is a role model for perseverance for her peers because she never gives up!
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🌟 Fairfield Knight Recognition 🌟
Reese Heath
Reese is an amazing student who is always fully engaged in class and willing to volunteer. Her contributions to class discussions provide momentum for continuous exploration of whatever topic we are covering. Reese is not only the first student to arrive in class, but she invariably has all of her materials ready to go. She is conscientious, cooperative, polite, and a pleasure to have in class. For all of these reasons, Reese is a stellar Fairfield Knight of the Month.
Joshua Paddock
Joshua is an excellent student who is not only highly intelligent, but also conscientious, polite, and pleasant to be around. His respectful demeanor and active participation in class serve to enhance the academic atmosphere for everyone. Joshua’s cooperative work ethic exemplifies his readiness to learn and respect for the learning process, therefore making him a role model and a Fairfield Knight of the Month.
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January 9th & 12th Teacher In-service
No school for Students
January 16th - End of Second Marking Period
January 19th - District Closed No School
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Lost and Found
Please remind your student to check our Lost and Found for any items they may have misplaced. We’ve gathered quite a collection and it's growing. We’d love to reunite these belongings with their owners!
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Each morning, Mrs. Mentzer and her students kick off our day with the morning announcements—what an awesome way to begin!
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Our 5th graders recently attended a special assembly to complement their Smart Futures lesson, “Steps to Creating a Good or Service,” focused on starting a business. The guest speaker was Mr. Marc McLean, a FASD high school teacher and the owner of Mr. G’s Ice Cream in Gettysburg, PA. Mr. McLean shared his real-world experiences, including how he purchased the business, how decisions are made about hiring staff, and how new products are developed and marketed to the community. Students were excited to connect their classroom learning to a real business, and were even treated to free ice cream cards to enjoy as a sweet ending to the assembly.
This spring, grades 6-8 will also get to enjoy real-world opportunities to learn about different career paths, from more guest speakers, to job site visits, as well as technical school and college campus visits.
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Social Studies
This month in 8th grade Social Studies we finished up our unit on the American Revolution. The students learned about our Founding Fathers and the creation of our nation. The students participated in a debate where one side made arguments that supported the Federalists whereas the other side made arguments that supported the Anti-Federalists. Also during this unit the students created raps, poems, or essays about a Founding Father of their choice.
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Science
Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their break. As we jump into 2026 we are continuing our focus on electromagnetism. In this unit we are designing, building, and testing electromagnets, both digitally and physically. We are discovering how electromagnets work, why magnets have poles, and how to increase the strength of magnetic fields. This unit will conclude with us creating hoverboards. Don’t worry, we won’t be riding them!
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Math
Welcome back! In December we were working on Fraction and Decimal operations. We just concluded this unit and next, we will begin learning about unit rates, ratios, and proportional relationships. These topics will help students see how math connects to everyday life. Since my start in December, I have enjoyed my time with all of the students and am excited for the rest of the school year!
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Science
Students have enjoyed rotating through different locations in the “TWIG Science Hospital” to learn the practical applications of our science content related to body systems, types of cells, and cell organelles. As this module comes to a close, students are excited to soon begin an engineering design challenge where they will collaborate with peers to design and construct a 3-D prototype of a piece of assistive technology for someone with a physical disability.
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Math
In the New Year, the 5th graders will begin our fraction journey! The 5th graders have already conquered the obstacles of finding the least common denominator (LCM), and the greatest common factor (GCF) between unlike fractions. In the following months they will continue the fraction journey and learn to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers! Please join and guide them along the way, sometimes the journey can be challenging. Thank you for your guidance and support at home:)
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Science
We are busy in science learning about patterns in the sky and the sun. With the first of the year we have also been reviewing rules and expectations. The second marking period is quickly coming to an end, please make sure students are turning in work and completing assignments.
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Our month of December was extremely busy. There were many loose ends we needed to complete so that when we return in January, we can accept Mr. Hoffacker’s challenge and tackle it head-on. Mr. Hoffacker has asked all students, upon their return, to use this time to think about how they want the rest of the year to go. Whether it’s improving a specific skill or content area, staying more organized, or showing greater perseverance, setting clear goals now will pave the way for a successful spring. I think this is a wonderful New Year’s goal, and when we return, we will take time to think about specific individual goals as well as goals for our classroom.
Right before we left for Winter Break, we completed our AimsWeb middle-of-the-year benchmark testing. I am pleased with the growth shown by all of the students. Their hard work and dedication during the first half of the school year already demonstrate a strong growth mindset and provide a clear picture of the learning taking place in our classroom. As we move into the second half of the school year, we will reflect as a group, reflect individually, and review the Profile of a Graduate. We will then accept Mr. Hoffacker’s challenge and move forward strong—like the Knights that we are.
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The Student Council is currently planning two dances for February 12, 2026. This year, there will be a dance for grades 5–6 and a separate dance for grades 7–8. Themes, decorations, snacks, and activities are all in the planning stages.
In addition, a winter door decorating contest will take place in February.
Student Council meets every other Wednesday from 3:00–4:00 PM. Any student interested in joining Student Council should contact Mrs. Kozack.
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Our 5th graders blended literacy with engineering in a Storybook Maker Challenge! After a read aloud of Colleen Monroe’s A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree, students were tasked with building their own trees using only plastic cups. The catch? No hands allowed! To succeed, teams had to use craft sticks, clothespins, and teamwork. It was a fantastic lesson in:
Communication: Giving clear directions to teammates. Structural Engineering: Building wide, stable bases to support height. Resilience: Rebuilding with a smile when a "tree" occasionally tumbled!
We were so impressed by the patience and teamwork displayed by all our architects.
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Festive Makerspace
This week Mrs. Mickley and Mrs. West hosted a festive Makerspace for the students. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to step away from their screens and dive into a hands-on project: engineering their very own pop-up Christmas cards. Students used paper, scissors, glue, markers, stencils, pipe cleaners, crayons, pencils, stickers, and more to push their creativity limits to create seasonal greeting cards. They were not only challenged in their creativity, but also their problem solving skills to get their cards to ‘pop.’ As expected, the students were successful - their cards were crafty, seasonal, and small works of art of their own personalities and imagination.
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6th grade students became Crime Scene Investigators when a holiday crime scene was staged in the library, and it was up to our junior reporters to uncover the truth.
Students carefully processed the scene, identifying key clues and gathering evidence to piece together the sequence of events. Once the "who, what, when, and where" were established, students transitioned into journalists, drafting breaking news articles to inform the public.
During this investigative lesson, students practiced:
Click here to read a special news report featuring three of our students' articles from this engaging lesson.
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Middle School Cheerleaders
Our middle school cheerleaders are a powerful source of energy and positivity, proudly supporting MS basketball at every game. Their dedication, teamwork, and school spirit bring an exciting atmosphere that energizes our students and unites our school community.
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Basketball has not been going as well as we hoped this year, but I believe that this team can win some games going forward. Most of our struggles are because we have zero freshmen on our team and we have only three 8th graders, even with this I have seen some of my teammates grow into better basketball players because of the extra playing time they are getting. This also makes it so all the 7th graders play against 8th graders and two or three of them play with our 8th graders against 9th graders. Also, because of the number of 7th graders, the 8th graders don’t play in the 7th and 8th grade game. Even though we are a very young team compared to other schools I still believe that we can win some games in the future.
-Benjamin Benford
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Congratulations to Robin Brown for winning the Rock, Paper, Scissors staff tournament held in December! Other activities staff participated in included a holiday sock exchange, a cookie share, and an after-school get-together.
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Our art teachers, Ms. Sanders and Mrs. Holmes, organized a Holiday Card Making Contest to showcase our students’ creativity and select the holiday card that will be distributed to district staff. 🎨✨
After reviewing all submissions, the cards were narrowed down to ten finalists. From there, Mr. Haupt and Mr. Taylor selected the top four designs.
Congratulations to Cater Joyner and Layla Putt for being named our Middle School winners!
We are so proud of your talent and creativity! 👏🎄
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If your child has come home with a school ice pack, please return it to the office.
We’ve loaned them all out and haven’t received many back.
Your help returning them will ensure we can continue to care for all our students. Thank you for your help and support!
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Our district has amazing faculty and staff that deserve to be celebrated! 🎉
Please take a moment to nominate an outstanding Fairfield Area School District employee!
Do you know a teacher, staff member, or colleague who goes above and beyond? Whether you're a coworker inspired by a fellow employee, a parent impressed by your child's teacher, or a student impacted by a dedicated staff member, we want to hear about them!Nominate someone today for the Shining Knight recognition and help us celebrate those who make a difference every day! ✨
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Please use the tab above for nomination form to nominate any FASD employee.
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📣 Meet Our New Attendance Coordinator – Miss Sites!
We’re thrilled to welcome Miss Sites as our new Attendance Coordinator for Middle School and High School! She will be your primary point of contact for all things attendance-related.
Whether you’re:
Miss Sites is here to help!
Welcome to the team, Miss Sites — we’re so glad to have you!
📝 Need to Send a Note? It’s Easy!
Option 1: Go old-school
Handwrite a note and send it in with your student. ✍🏻
Option 2: Send an email
📩 Email Miss Sites directly at: sitesc@fairfield.k12.pa.us
👉 Be sure to include the reason your student was absent or late.
⏰ A Few Friendly Reminders:
Thank you for helping us keep attendance on track. We’re looking forward to a great school year!
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Going out of town? A Family Vacation?
You'll need to complete an Educational Journey Form. Students are allowed 5 educational journey days per year. Please submit your Educational Journey Form online or send in with your student. Please try and get it in at least 10 days prior to your trip.
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