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October is here, and our building has settled into its rhythm! Routines are now firmly established, and students are acclimated to their daily schedules and classroom expectations. It has been great to see our middle schoolers deepening their connections with teachers and diving into collaborative hands-on learning, autumn projects, and classroom discussions across all grade levels.
As we move through the fall season, keeping strong lines of communication between home and school is essential to your child's success. Continue to check student agendas for upcoming assignments and Skyward to stay on top of their grades. Remember, our first evening of Parent-Teacher Conferences is Wednesday, October 8th. Look for communication from the teachers to schedule your timeslot. Our next round of conference times will be held in early November. Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to discuss your student's academic progress, daily routines, and social growth.
If you ever have immediate questions or concerns about your child's performance or upcoming projects, please do not hesitate to reach out directly to their teachers via ParentSquare or phone. Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we work together to help every student thrive!
Thank you,
Justin Hoffacker
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Parent Teacher Conferences by appointment - 10/8/26 3:00pm-7:00pm
Teacher Inservice, No school for students - 10/9/26
Teacher Inservice, No school for students -10/12/26
Middle School Homecoming Week - 10/13/26 - 10/16/26
Smile Dentist - 10/14/26
Picture Make-up - 10/28/26
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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! 🏰
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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👏 Taylor Millstein
Taylor exhibits the qualities of a Fairfield knight by being consistently respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. She is respectful of other students in group work and is always willing to help her classmates. Taylor is always prepared for class with her assignments and materials, and works hard on all classwork and homework. She demonstrates readiness to learn by always striving to do her best, and she will ask questions for clarification. She is an excellent role model for other students and she has made an excellent transition to middle school. We are very proud of Taylor and her hard work this month.
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👏 Cole Dove
Cole exhibits the qualities of a Fairfield Knight by being consistently respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. Cole is always prepared for class with materials and completed assignments. He asks questions, works well in a group, and works well individually. He is an excellent role model for other students both behaviorally and academically. Cole is extremely mannerly and respectful - He will alway say please and thank you and ask you about your day. We are very proud of Cole for being chosen as our Knight of the Month.
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👏 Briella Picarelli
Briella demonstrates the qualities of a knight by being respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. She demonstrates respect in the words she chooses when interacting with adults and classmates. She shows responsibility by arriving to class on time, completing assignments in a timely manner, and keeping her materials organized. She shows she is ready to learn by participating in class, taking an active role in group work, and being willing to take risks. We are very proud of Briella and the example she sets for her peers.
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👏 Zachary Weatherly
Zach demonstrates the qualities of a knight by being respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. He demonstrates respect by obeying quiet signals in class and using active listening skills when others are speaking. He shows responsibility by completing his assignments on time and following classroom routines without needing reminders. He shows he is ready to learn by frequently offering to read, participating in discussions, and being willing to try new things. We are very proud of Zach and his hard work this month!
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👏Vivien Fry
The 7th grade team is proud to nominate Vivien Fry as one of our two knights of the month for September. Vivien is a kind student that always brings a smile to class! She demonstrates that she is ready to learn by being on time and bringing what she needs everyday. Vivien works well with all of her peers and always puts her best effort into her work. She asks questions when she needs help and demonstrates responsibility by putting her schoolwork before socializing with her peers. Vivien is a caring and thoughtful student, and we are happy to have her in the 7th grade class this year.
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👏 Owen Sherman
The 7th grade team is also happy to nominate Owen Sherman as the second knight of the month for September. Owen is a friendly and outgoing student that always comes to class ready to learn about the world around him. Owen asks good questions in class and demonstrates responsibility by making sure that he always understands the assignment to be completed. When given the opportunity in class, Owen participates appropriately with his peers when tackling discussion questions and research projects. He is considerate of others and makes other students feel welcome in his groups and the class as a whole. Owen maintains a positive attitude when receiving constructive feedback about improving his work. We are happy to have Owen in the 7th grade and are proud of his accomplishments so far in the 7th grade.
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👏Marissa Brent
Marissa’s maturity and commitment to high-quality work elevate the level of scholarship in our classroom. She consistently demonstrates respect for both herself and others. Her quiet intellect provides a solid foundation for any learning environment, benefiting the entire class. For these reasons, Marissa is a true Fairfield Knight of the Month—embodying respect, responsibility, and readiness to learn.
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👏 James McCleaf
James models what it means to be respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. He is always prepared for class and consistently participates to the best of his ability. His contributions to class discussions offer valuable insights that deepen learning and build positive momentum for the entire class. James is a prime example of a true Fairfield Knight of the Month.
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During this month in Social Studies, we have begun covering the English colonies during the 1600s and 1700s. Students have learned about the settlements of Jamestown, Roanoke, and Plymouth Rock. Students also participated in an activity about the Salem Witch trials and learned the importance of how it affected the court system that we have in the United States today. Students also learned about the Constitution this month and the important amendments in it and how they still apply today to us all.
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We are currently focusing on building multiplication fact fluency through the 12 times tables. Please encourage your student to practice their multiplication facts at home a few minutes each day to improve both accuracy and speed. Short, consistent practice using flash cards, timed quizzes, etc. makes a big difference and will help students feel confident when we use these facts in more complex problem solving. My goal is for students to be able to do this simple math mentally instead of always reaching for a calculator to find the answer.
I'm proud of the effort and growth we saw this past month as students worked hard to learn and apply new equation-solving skills, including solving single-step equations, tackling multi-step equations, working with variables on both sides of the equation, and rewriting equations to isolate specific variables. These are challenging skills and students showed persistence, collaboration, and improvement. Seeing their "aha" moments and willingness to try different strategies was a highlight.
In addition to these skills, Algebra students went a step further and worked to solve absolute value equations. This proved to be more difficult, but with practice and determination they continued to work at the skill until they mastered it. Their hard work and tenacity is something they should definitely be proud of.
We are grateful for your ongoing support in reinforcing skills at home and for the encouragement you give your child each day as your involvement truly strengthens their learning. Thank you again for working with us. I look forward to continued progress and to sharing more celebrations soon. 🎉
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October is an exciting month of transitions in 7th-grade ELA! As we wrap up unit 1, students will illustrate their understanding with a creative mini-project choice board. They’ll be making insightful connections between our novel study, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, and the short stories explored in our textbook. Later this month, we’ll dive headfirst into unit 2 with the introduction of Buried Onions by Gary Soto. — Mrs. Dusenberry
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World Cultures & Geography: I am thrilled to share the incredible growth our 7th-grade geographers showed during Unit 1: Foundations of Physical Geography! Across all four class blocks, our students made remarkable academic progress, raising our overall class average from a pre-test baseline of 48.9% (29.3 out of 60 points) to an impressive post-test average of 86.4% (51.8 out of 60 points). This 37.5-percentage-point jump reflects just how hard our students worked to master these foundational skills. Throughout the unit, students learned to navigate global grid systems using latitude and longitude, distinguish between short-term weather and long-term climate patterns, and identify key landforms like peninsulas, deltas, and plateaus. They also analyzed how physical features act as natural barriers or trade corridors, helping them understand why early human civilizations grew along coastal bays and fertile river basins. Lastly, students showed the ability to label all seven continents and five major oceans on a blank world map. As a first-year teacher, working with such a dedicated, curious, and energetic group of kiddos has made my start at this school truly special, and I could not be prouder of their hard work and achievements!
Building directly on these physical geography foundations, our 7th graders have now jumped into our second unit focusing on the Mediterranean region. Students are applying their map-analysis skills to explore how the region's unique landscape, deserts, mountains, and coastlines shaped trade networks and historical development. Our classes are currently examining how physical geography influenced major cultural contributions, including the historical origins of the Abrahamic religions and the ancient government systems of Greece and Rome, such as democracy, republics, and oligarchies, that still influence modern governance. The students have shown impressive maturity, great curiosity, and thoughtful engagement with these big historical topics every single day. Thank you so much for your ongoing partnership and support at home as we guide our students through world cultures!
-Mr. Diaz
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Our 7th grade mathematicians have been working hard as we finish up our review of the Number System. Over the first part of the year, students have strengthened their skills with integers, decimals, and fractions, with an emphasis on performing operations accurately and applying those skills to real-world and multi-step problems.
As we move forward, we are beginning to transition into pre-algebraic skills. Students will start working with algebraic expressions, variables, equations, and inequalities while continuing to use the number sense skills we have developed throughout the year.
These next few units are an important step toward preparing students for more advanced mathematics. As always, students are encouraged to show their work, take their time, ask questions, and give their best effort. We are excited to see their continued growth as we make the jump from working primarily with numbers to thinking algebraically!
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This month in ELA, students will continue working on reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and critical-thinking skills. We will continue our daily Reading Kickoff and work on finding text evidence, making inferences, identifying theme, and explaining our answers. We will also continue our Holes novel study and practice punctuation and grammar skills. Students will also begin working on their Book Report Project. I am excited to see our students continue to grow as readers and writers this month!
-Ms. Grinder
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We have officially wrapped up our first unit, Whole Number and Operations, and have stepped into our second unit, Integer Operations! Students are beginning to explore negative numbers and how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide with integers. We will also be working with graphing on a coordinate plane and making connections to how integers are used outside of the classroom in real-world situations. I’m excited to see students continue building their understanding and confidence as we move through this new unit!
-Ms. Gibbons
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We are working on our Create-A-Country project in social studies, which is a fantastic way for students to apply their geography knowledge in a creative, hands-on way. Our fifth graders are proving to be remarkably imaginative! Students will also be presenting their countries to the class, giving them another valuable opportunity to build public speaking confidence.
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In science class, we have been tracking daylight and shadow length by taking measurements of a plunger at different times throughout the day and repeating our observations each week. Students have been looking for patterns and noticing how the Sun’s position affects the length and direction of shadows. Soon, we will graph and analyze Fairfield’s shadow data to look for patterns and use our evidence to explain what we have observed.
This month, we will continue to “Shine More Light on STARS!” ⭐ We will explore fascinating facts about constellations in the Milky Way and learn about the incredible number of stars found in the billions of other galaxies throughout the universe. We will also investigate Earth’s rotation and how it helps explain the patterns we observe in the sky. Finally, we will explore gravity and how this force affects objects on Earth and throughout space. Get ready to observe, measure, graph, question, and discover as we continue exploring Earth and the universe beyond! 🌎🌞⭐
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In ELA, we have been learning how to construct a well-written paragraph with an appropriate opening sentence, several supporting detail sentences, as well as a closing sentence. This will transfer over to the letter essay, which the students learned how to write at the end of September. Our fifth-grade classes have enjoyed going to the library and becoming acquainted with all that our facility has to offer. In addition, the fifth graders have begun diving into our new reading series learning about the author's purpose, (different reasons authors write books), as well as ways in which we as readers connect to books. Book talks have been presented by several students and thus far they are doing a fine job with public speaking! - Mrs. Shaffer
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Happy Fall! The students have settled in and we are now into our daily routine. At this point of time we have been Benchmark Testing in Aimsweb and reviewing concepts from last year. I am so proud of how much the students have retained. The growth that has happened since many of them stepped into my room last year has been phenomenal. My students who are new to me this year, well let’s just say, you would not know that this is their first year with me. I am proud of all the hard work and effort that takes place when they are in this classroom. Just a few reminders; students are now using their agendas and I am asking that they read for 20 minutes and study their Math Facts which should take only about 10 minutes. They are also getting a weekly Spelling Test so looking over the words a few times before Fridays would be something that they could do as well. In Math we are moving forward with working with Fractions and Decimals. In ELA, we are analyzing text passages and pulling text evidence out when answering comprehension questions.
This is just a reminder that I have sent out my October 8th Conference sign up sheet in Parent Square. I hope to see everyone that evening. Enjoy the beauty of Fall watching the trees change colors and all the other magic that comes along with it.
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⚔️ News from the Knight Nurse ⚔️
Reminders:
A few important health reminders as we begin the school year.
6th Grade: All 6th-grade students are required to have a physical examination and an updated immunization record on file with the school health office. Please be sure your child’s immunizations are up to date, including the required Tdap and MCV (meningococcal) vaccines.
7th Grade: All 7th-grade students are required to have a dental examination completed. Please be documentation of your child’s dental exam is on file in the health office. If your child does not have a dentist, they can be seen by the Smile Mobile Dentist on October 14th or 15th. You can register your child using this link: https://www.myschooldentist.com/FCFAPA_schsrm.
Physical and dental forms are available on the school website under Medical Forms. Completed forms can be returned to the school health office. If you need a blank copy of the physical or dental forms, click here: Physical & Dental Forms.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to Nurse Kristi at ebaughk@fairfield.k12.pa.us.
Thank you for helping us keep our Knights healthy and ready to learn!
💚⚔️ Nurse Kristi
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Mrs. Mills - Music/Chorus
The Middle School band and chorus started the past month. We are excited for our groups and our upcoming performances. See the Knight time calendars below for October.
Knight time 5th and 6th Band & Chorus October Calendars - click here
Knight time 7th and 8th Band & Chorus October Calendars - click here
Upcoming music fundraiser:
Band and chorus students, grades 7-12 - Look for information to come out soon about our upcoming fundraiser in October/November with the Freckled Moose selling butter braids and cake rolls. The fundraiser starts on 10/11, and orders and payment are due on 11/11.
Select Chorus
Congratulations to the following who auditioned and made the cut for the Select Chorus 26-27 school year:Congratulations to the following who auditioned and made the Select Chorus; Cassie Click, Brady Crum, Jenna Daron, Serenity Forsythe, Kira Highsmith, Jake Holler, Christiana McGlaughlin, Gabby McKenrick, Addelynn McMullen, Cali Paulus, Helena Rodgers, Casen Topper, and Ellie Yost. The Select Chorus is a select group of singers who get to learn more advanced music and have the opportunities to perform for several community events throughout the year.
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October is a busy month for PBIS initiatives! We will be selecting students to participate in an exciting teacher-versus-student inflatable kickball game. Participants will be drawn at random using the tickets they’ve earned, and all other students will get to cheer them on during the game on October 31st.
We will also be presenting our Principal’s Challenge award this month. Students with no disciplinary actions, unexcused absences, or missing assignments will enjoy a breakfast donut delivered directly by Mr. Hoffacker himself!
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Mrs. Mills - Music/Chorus
6th Grade music class are working on their very own STOMP compositions. STOMP is a musical group that uses everyday ordinary items, such as brooms, trashcans, etc., to create musical rhythmic composition skits. Mrs. Mills is excited to see their final presentations on these compositions.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mrs. Cline - German
🇩🇪 7th Grade WIN German Class Update! 🇩🇪
Our 7th grade WIN German students have been studying and practicing German greetings. They put their new language skills into action by recording their first German role plays using the One Button Studio in the library and the High School TV Studio. 🎥🎬
After recording, we came together as a class to review the finished products and participate in peer evaluations. Students had the opportunity to reflect on their performances, celebrate their successes, and identify areas for improvement.
📚 Next on the agenda: Students will explore the history and meaning of the German National Anthem, gaining a deeper understanding of German history, culture, and national identity.
🇩🇪 Learning German is more than learning words—it’s opening a window into another culture!
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Student Council is busy this October planning Homecoming activities and our first fundraiser! We will be hosting a hallway decorating contest during Homecoming week (Oct. 13 – Oct. 16), alongside a fun Spirit Week:
Monday: No School Tuesday: Pink Out (Wear pink for Breast Cancer Awareness) Wednesday: Class Color Day — Green (8th Grade), White (7th Grade), Gold (6th Grade), Black (5th Grade) Thursday: School Spirit Day (Wear school colors for the pep rally!) Friday: Pajama & Lounge Day
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We are excited to welcome Cheri Ford to our school family!
Mrs. Ford will be serving as our Attendance Secretary for both the Middle and High School and in our Middle School Office.
We are so happy to have her join us and look forward to all she will bring to our school! 💙
Please join us in giving Mrs. Ford a warm Fairfield welcome! 🏫✨
📧 Email: fordch@fairfield.k12.pa.us
📞 Middle School Office: 717-642-2005
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Middle School and High School!
We have exciting news that will make those early morning calls to the school office a thing of the past!
We are thrilled to introduce a convenient new feature in Skyward Family Access that allows you to submit and track your student's absence requests online. No phone call needed! Whether it’s a sudden illness or a pre-planned appointment, you can now quickly and easily inform us of an absence right from your computer or smartphone.
Whether you’re:
The Benefits of Online Submissions:
24/7 Access: Submit a request anytime that is convenient for you. Speed & Accuracy: Directly enter all the necessary details, ensuring the information is accurate and immediately logged in our system. Easy Documentation: Attach doctor’s notes or other supporting documents directly to your request You can even upload photos of your documents! Stay Informed: Easily track the status of your request (e.g., Pending, Approved, etc.). Go Mobile: Whether you're at your kitchen table or on the go, the power to submit a request is in your hands!
Where to Find the Feature:
This feature is available through both the full desktop version of Skyward Family Access and the handy Skyward Mobile Access application on your smartphone.
Desktop: Log in to Skyward Family Access and look for the Attendance tile or menu option. Mobile App: Open the Skyward Mobile Access app, navigate to the menu, and find the Attendance section.
Quick Video Tutorials: How to Submit an Absence Request
To ensure a smooth transition, we've compiled a few brief video tutorials to walk you through the process step-by-step.
🖥️ For Desktop/Web Browser Users:
📱 For Skyward Mobile App Users:
Additionally, once logged into Skyward, you can also view step by step, written instructions through this Skyward Knowledge Hub article.
We believe this enhancement will significantly streamline the attendance process for both you and our school staff, giving you one less thing to worry about on a busy morning!
If you have any questions about using this new feature or for specific questions about a student's attendance record, please contact your school's office.
⏰ A Few Friendly Reminders:
Students are allowed 10 parent notes per school year for absences. Doctor’s notes are best whenever possible — they help ensure absences are excused properly! Be sure to include the reason your student was absent or late.
Thank you for partnering with us to make school communication efficient and effortless!
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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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