The FAST Flyer

If you have seen Ms. Miller any time over the past few months, you may have noticed her wearing a wrist brace. She will be out next week recovering from surgery to repair the repetitive stress injury that has been the source of the problem. We wanted to be sure that everyone knows who to contact during her absence. As always, your child's teacher should be the first point of contact for any concerns in the classroom. During Ms. Miller's absence, if you have questions regarding curriculum, please contact Ms. James (anesha.james@fastk8.org) for Kindergarten-5th grade or Ms. Walker (demetria.walker@fastk8.org) for 6th-8th grade. Please contact Ms. Cadogan (gail.cadogan@fastk8.org) for discipline concerns. We are wishing Ms. Miller a speedy recovery and hope she's back to embroidering soon!

The results are in and, once again, FAST has brought home the medals! We are so proud of all of the students who competed in December. Special shout out to those who placed in their grade/category. Best of luck to our first place winners as they advance to the Georgia state competition.

And the Winners Are.....

Lorelei Barr, 1st place, Audio Production

Jacqueline Perez, 1st place Digital Photo Production

Nirwaan Kayastha, 1st place Device Modification

Mary Okugbeni, 2nd place Animation

Avia Nandipati, 2nd place Audio Production

Sarayu Chatakondu and Ridhi Mirchandani, 2nd place Video Production

Rayaan Charaborty, 3rd place Internet Applications

Akshath Karthik, 3rd place 3D Modeling

If you have not already responded to the Intent to Return Survey, we ask that you do so as soon as possible. You only need to complete this once, but it is important for us to understand how many seats we have to offer in the lottery.

ALL siblings who do not currently attend FAST this year but would like to attend FAST next year MUST apply for the lottery. Siblings are not guaranteed a spot at FAST and must enter the lottery in the event that we have more siblings than available seats. We will attempt to ensure that all families with a sibling who will enter FAST next year follow the process correctly, but it is up to the parents to enter their child in the lottery. Currently enrolled students DO NOT need to enter the lottery.

If you have questions about the re-enrollment process or the lottery, please reach out to Marie Emerson at marie.emerson@fastk8.org. She will be happy to answer your questions or to ensure you followed the process correctly.

Library Volunteers Needed!

Library Volunteers are also needed. Please email library@fastk8.org if you would like to be added to the library volunteer email list.

The FAST Library is accepting donations for the most requested book titles and genres. The students have been making book requests over the past few months and are excited for the refresh. Let's fulfill their requests and continue to foster their love of reading! Help us add some new books to the FAST library for students to enjoy for years to come.

Things to Note:

*Gently used and new books are welcomed

*Hardback are preferred, but paperback are fine too

*Please use this sign up to select a book or books that you will donate so that we can keep track of donations

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D4FAEAD2FA5FD0-47054523-newbooks

*Please note that the FAST library has limited space, therefore we can only accept books from the list at this time. Thank you in advance for your donations.

• You are encouraged to write a short note in the front cover of the book that you donate to add a personal touch. Students and teachers who check out these books, this year and future school years, will cherish the personal connection. Example: "We hope this book inspires your creativity- Donated by The Smith Family 2024"
• Please place book/books into a plastic grocery bag with a note stating "library donation". You can place (or have your child place) the bag into the grey bin by the front door of Innovation Hall. It will be checked daily.

Questions? Please email the volunteer parent coordinator, Courtney Lee, at library@fastk8.org

One of our most popular fundraisers in the fall is back for a spring session. We love Freckled Flower Photography! Sign up here:

https://freckledflowerphotography.bigcartel.com/product/fast-family-mini-session-fundraiser

School begins at 7:40am every day. Students who arrive late are not only missing instructional time, but may disrupt the rest of the class when they come in after class has begun. We have historically allowed students who arrived by 8am to go directly to class without being signed in. Effective immediately, all students who arrive after 7:50am will need to be signed in at the front office by a parent. Please be sure that you arrive on campus early enough to navigate carpool so that your student can be in class on time.

With cold and flu season upon us, please help us prevent the spread off illness throughout the school by keeping your student home if they are not feeling well. You can contact the school nurse at victoria.murray@fastk8.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Please keep in mind that our students have outdoor PE and recess everyday unless it is raining or below freezing. It is important that you are sending your student to school with the appropriate attire for the weather (i.e. pants and jackets). We understand that some students prefer wearing shorts every day, but it may not be the best choice when the temperatures begin to plummet.

The school day begins at 7:40am Monday-Friday. All students are expected to be in their classroom ready to start the day by 7:40am. Please allow for enough time to navigate carpool for your student to get to class on time. All students arriving after 7:40 are considered tardy.

All students are expected to be in proper uniform every day. Repeat violations of uniform code will result in a call from the front office with a request to bring the appropriate clothing for the student. FAST uniform includes FAST logo polo or spirit wear, khaki or navy bottoms (or black for middle school). Shirts without the FAST logo are not considered proper uniform.

All questions or concerns you have regarding your student should first be directed to their teacher. Please allow up to 48 hours for a response. If the teacher is unable to provide resolution, you should contact the Assistant Principal for your child's grade. On the off chance that you still have not been able to reach a resolution after contacting the teacher and the AP, you can contact Principal Mary Miller at mary.miller@fastk8.org. Our communication and escalation policy can be found on our website.

While under the auspices of Fulton County Schools, we are governed by our own governing board. Sending your issues directly to Fulton County rather than following the FAST communication chain will cause a delayed response as they will only defer to FAST and forward the issue back to us to address.

FAST is a smoke-free environment. Whether you are in the building, in your car, or anywhere else on campus please refrain from smoking or vaping at all times.

We cannot release students for early dismissal after 2:40pm Monday-Thursday and 1:40pm on Friday as this is too disruptive to our afternoon dismissal process and end of day activities. If you are picking up your child after those times, you must go through the carpool lane which begins at 3:15pm. As a matter of student safety, all students leaving before the end of the school day must be signed out in the front office by an authorized person. Please do not call or text your students for early dismissal. Students are not permitted to have their cell phones during school hours.

Please keep these times in mind when scheduling afternoon appointments and plan accordingly.

Please remember to send your child to school with lunch every day or order through Ordo at ordo.com. Ordo orders must be placed by midnight on Friday for the following week. Lunches must be nut free and ready-to-eat (we cannot microwave lunches).

As a reminder, all visitors - including parents - must check in at the front desk in Innovation Hall upon arrival. No one is permitted to enter Student Hall without having first checked in at the front desk. Parents are not permitted to walk their student to their classroom. We have staff available during morning drop-off to ensure students are attended to.

FAST leverages various means of communications to keep our families up to date with what is happening at school. Since most people are on social media, we post to different platforms to keep you up to date. If you aren't already following us, check us out on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Jan. 22-26: School Choice Week

Feb. 12-16: Kindness Week

Feb. 16: Lottery Day for 2024-25

Feb. 19: President's Day (school closed)

Feb. 20: Professional development day (students off)

A printable version of the 2023-24 school calendar can be found HERE

To keep up to date with the most recent information available from our district offices, please click on the image below.

Email: info@fastk8.org
Website: www.fastk8.org
Location: 11365 Crabapple Road, Roswell, GA, USA
Phone: 678-321-1100
Facebook: facebook.com/FASTK8.School/
Twitter: @fastk8charter

The FAST Flyer is the electronic newsletter at FAST. Feedback is always welcome. If you have any questions, please call the school (678-321-1100) or email the FAST Communications Director at marie.emerson@fastk8.org.