The FAST Flyer

The Innovation team has been busy! Between last week's Design Thinking Competition and the upcoming Innovation Showcase, FAST is taking every opportunity to demonstrate design thinking in action. Students claimed several prizes at the competition last week including one middle school team who received a series of perfect scores from the judges! Their project on repurposing abandoned shopping malls went beyond the expected, covering all bases and leaving judges nothing to wonder about. You can read more about all the medals received below.

The innovation team has also been working to create a spectacular conglomeration of highlights and events for the upcoming Innovation Showcase planned for April 26. Be on the lookout for a vintage gaming theme - think old school meets innovation; Minecraft meets Mario, Fortnite meets Tetris. Unique projects from all specials including music, art, and coding will be on display. Projects and artwork which have progressed throughout the school year will be on display across campus. You don't want to miss this event!

Last Saturday students from all over Fulton County met at Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs for the Design Thinking Competition. FAST was well represented by 14 teams several of which brought home medals including best overall for middle school. These students embraced the design thinking process that we work to embody here at FAST.

🥇Artificial Intelligence:

• 2nd place - Byte Busters (Prem Gazaala, 6th grade; Brandon Bailey, 6th grade; Ashrit Talluri, 6th grade)
• 3rd place - Innovate Illuminati (Ruth Owusu, 7th grade; Suhana Panwar, 7th grade; Kkecia Herbert, 7th grade)

🥇Mobile Learning:

• 1st place - Mind Benders (Nikitha Sudhakar, 6th grade; Saania Solanki, 6th grade; Aadil Rahuman, 6th grade; Melanie Hellrung, 6th grade)
• 3rd place- Dryer Sheets (Shiloh Taylor, 6th grade, Aditya Mirchandani; Aadi Jaiswal, 6th grade; Barrett Rixey, 6th grade; Corina Brewster 6th grade; Ishita Yadav, 6th grade; Ryan Kuntz, 6th grade)

🥇Best Overall Middle School: Mind Benders

Last week, we had the honor of naming our teachers and professional of the year. Ms. Shaloo Sawhney was named elementary teacher of the year, Ms. Amy Abramson was named middle school teacher of the year, and Ms. Malinka Kelly was named professional of the year. We could not be more proud of these dedicated professionals. Their hard work and innovative teaching methods inspire and shape the minds of our students every day. Please help us congratulate them on this well deserved award.

FAST's Got Talent: Elementary School will be held on April 19. More than 100 students auditioned for the show. There were singers, dancers, artists, musicians, and more. It was so much fun to see the enthusiasm students had to show off their talents. We narrowed down the contests to 20 acts who will perform at the talent show in April.

End of year exams will be here before you know it. All students in grades 3-8 are required by the state of Georgia to take the exams. The subjects tested vary by grade level. The full testing calendar is below. Please make every effort to avoid scheduling appointments for your student during the testing window. If a student arrives late to school after testing has begun, they will be required to sit quietly in the front office until testing has concluded. We may not have visitors on campus during testing. This includes parents and volunteers. We appreciate your cooperation in helping prevent testing irregularities.

You may have heard that there is an eclipse coming soon. Based on the timing of the event, the FAST governing board has approved an early release on Monday, April 8. Students will be released at 12:30pm that day. After school care will be available for parents who may not be able to accommodate the early dismissal.

The competition is heating up for the Kids Heart Challenge. Donations can be submitted through March 29. Click Here to Register. or download the AHA Schools app. To date, we have raised over $6,500

so far for the Kid's Heart Challenge! Below is the updated top 5 classes:

#1- Naarding $1559

#2 Jackson $895

#3- Addison $888

#4- Brown $753

#5 Haines $498

The annual Innovation Showcase is scheduled for April 26, 2024. This annual event is the highlight of the innovation program allowing students to display projects they have been working on throughout the year. At FAST, innovation isn't just a buzzword; it's a way of life.

What’s everyone's favorite time of the school day? Why, recess, of course! The Student Council wants to provide each grade level with their own recess box, full of grade level appropriate activities. Help support our endeavor! The Student Council is sponsoring a raffle of student friendly gift cards!

Ticket sales run from March 18-28. Raffle tickets are $1 each and will be for sale in Innovation Hall each morning before announcements. Tickets will be drawn on March 28 and winners will be announced March 29, 2024.

Thank you for being a RECESS CHAMPION!

It's time to order your yearbook! Orders can be placed at: https://shop.memorybook.com use school code: 246825M.

Orders must be received by March 29, 2024.

March 28: American Heart Challenge

March 29: PBIS Celebration

April 1-5: Spring Break

April 8: Early release: 12:30pm dismissal

April 12: Arts Festival

April 19: Elementary Talent Show

April 22: EOC exams begin

April 26: Innovation Showcase

We need volunteers to help organize this event.

Please sign up here to help on one of the committees.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094FA8AE2AA4FCC52-47614017-international

A wishlist for the Silent Auction has been created on Amazon to make it easier for you to donate items. You can either buy items from the wishlist instantly or use it as a guide to donate items you already have. All items from the wishlist will be shipped directly to the school. Please ensure that your purchases arrive by March 29. After making your purchases, kindly email ptofundraising@fastk8.org with your name and the items you purchased so that credit can be given for your donation. All families who contribute will be entered into a raffle to tour the Roswell Police Department.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1OKZT53WSPE1J?ref_=wl_share

We welcome all donations! If you wish to any other items, please use the donation form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFTdOBpIhTKIOYCvfn4IPuYbbSgVeAJil7xUltIS-jC-WSoA/viewform

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.

While we manage morning and afternoon carpool every day, now and then we like to remind our families of some of the rules. It is important that you adhere to the carpool process and follow staff directions as they are there (in all kinds of weather!) to keep our students safe and get you through carpool as quickly as possible.

• Students should only enter and exit vehicles on the passenger side in the carpool area. They should never be walking between cars. This is a safety issue.
• Students should not be retrieving their backpacks from car trunks during drop off or pick up. Please be sure they have access to all of their belongings without having to step between cars. This is a safety issue.
• Please do not navigate around the cones in the carpool area. They are placed there for a reason. This is a safety issue.
• No one should be dropping off or picking up students in front of Innovation Hall unless they have been issued a FAST pass. All other vehicles should go through the carpool queue.
• There are no left turns when leaving campus during carpool - whether or not there is an officer directing traffic.
• If your student is a bus rider that will be picked up at carpool, please be sure to inform your student's teacher as well as the front office.

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these rules for the safety of both the students and staff.

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.

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.