Panther Pulse
A Fairbanks community newsletter
Welcome!
Welcome to the first issue of Panther Pulse!
Fairbanks Local Schools have amazing stories to share about the work our students, staff, families, and community members do every day. Our hope is to provide as many avenues as possible to connect with our community and share the great things happening in Fairbanks that are tied to our mission:
"Pride in our Past, Passion in the Present, and Preparing for the Future"
To help us share our story, please share this with your family, friends, and neighbors. They can also sign up to receive this quarterly newsletter.
March 11 through March 15 is our State of the Schools week. Each day we will release a video that highlights areas of the school district. You can find these videos on our district website, social media sites, and district email. Check out our first video here:
Once again, welcome to Panther Pulse! My hope is you continue to see all of the work that makes Fairbanks Local Schools unique and share our pride in being part of this very special community.
Go Panthers,
Adham Schirg
Fairbanks Local School District, Superintendent
Kindergarten Round Up
We are excited to plan for the 2024-2025 school year. If you have a child that is age 5 by August 1, 2024, please follow the steps on our website to complete the online form by March 15th. This provides us with some basic information and is your RSVP for Kindergarten Round-Up in May.
Kindergarten Round-Up is an orientation hosted at FES that will help familiarize both you and your child with Fairbanks and is the first step to begin the enrollment process. It is important that you complete this step by March 15 so that you can schedule your appointment for Round-Up.
FHS Scheduling & Postsecondary Options
Incoming freshman and high school students have already started scheduling classes for the 2024-2025 school year. FHS offers several postsecondary options in addition to traditional HS courses. If you missed the meeting in February or have questions, please reach out to our HS guidance counselor, Melissa Gonglik at extension 1302.
Transition from Elementary to Middle School
As the school year starts winding down we begin planning for some big transitions. Moving from elementary to middle school comes with mixed emotions of excitement, curiosity and for some, anxiety. To help ease the transition, 5th grade students will tour the middle school as well as meet with MS Counselor, Mrs. Hooper and MS Principal, Mrs. Goins. They will discuss schedule options and have their questions answered. The tour will be during the school day and is planned for sometime in May. We hope that the MS tour sparks some good dinnertime conversation in your family and helps ease any concerns for both students and parents.
High School Service
HS students used their math skills to create a budget and shop for food items to assemble 76 sack lunches for the homeless. This is part of their authentic learning lesson with Mrs. Santuzzi.
Additionally, 2 HS students sold festive socks to raise money for the "We Help Two" organization helping children born with deformities in third-world countries.
Elementary Students Give Back
Pictured are elementary choir students caroling at local nursing homes to spread holiday cheer this past season.
Fourth graders gave back by collecting supplies to support the military through the Troop Care Box Program.
Thank you Darby Township!
Darby Township saw a safety need for local residents. With the help of grant money and Eubanks Electric, Darby Township Officials and District Leaders are working to install a tornado siren on campus. This will help to alert local residents in the event of an emergency. Thank you Darby Township!
Wizard of Oz Performance 4/19-4/21 at Vets Memorial
Drama Club will perform their spring musical of The Wizard of Oz at the Union County Veterans Memorial Auditorium located at 233 W 6th St in Marysville. Check the Events Calendar on our district website for performance times on April 19, 20 and 21.
Facilities - Phase I Progress
Phase I of our master facilities plan is moving along. The 6 classroom addition is scheduled for completion by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
Pictured here are our elementary students making their mark on the addition by signing their names to an I-Beam that will be installed.
FES Drama Club
Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Phillippo, and the FES Drama club, which consists of 32 talented 4th & 5th graders have been working extremely hard on their spring production of Alice in Wonderland. All FES students had the opportunity to travel by bus to see their peers perform at The Avalon Theater in Marysville. As a community outreach, the group also invited residents from four local assisted living facilities to view the performance. It is such a treat to watch these budding actors perform!
A special thanks to The Darla Hall-Barrett Foundation and the FES PTO for their support in this annual event.
8th Grade ROX Self Defense
This school year, 46 eighth grade girls have been participating in ROX (Ruling Our eXperiences). As part of the 20-week curriculum, we recently completed two-weeks of self-defense training. The girls learned that the first four levels of self-defense have nothing to do with physical engagement with another person. We practiced being AWARE of our surroundings, understanding our INTUITION, communicating what we want and don't want with BODY LANGUAGE and using our VOICE. We also learned self-defense moves that included no-contact air strikes, remembering that physical engagement with a potential attacker is a last resort.
Our girls are learning a lot from ROX, and I am more confident than ever that this class of eighth grade girls is determined, ambitious and strong. There is no doubt that they will change the world.
It is a joy and privilege to serve our students everyday, and I am especially grateful to this district for going above and beyond in supporting the unique needs of young people through programs like ROX.
- Ali Hooper, MS Guidance Counselor
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to the Fairbanks Middle School spelling bee winners!
6th place - Hadley Premuda, 5th place - Owen Cutler, 4th place - Lucian Wilson, 3rd place - Arlie Beekman, 2nd place - Mason Meznarich, and the 2024 Fairbanks Middle School Spelling Bee champion is Jake Sorg. His next step in the competition is an online test in February. Best of luck to Jake!
Letters to Authors
There was a lot of excitement in class as many of the students received letters back from authors like Lisa Thompson, Columbus based Margaret Peterson Haddix, and as far away as J.K. Rowling in England.
Eclipse Fair
Union County is in the path of totality for the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th. A total solar eclipse is very rare, Ohio won't experience another event like this until 2099!
Our HS science teachers, Mrs. Tebbe and Mrs. Keller-Cook have been working with freshman and sophomore students to educate the younger grades through an Eclipse Fair. The fair will feature stations for K-8 students to rotate through, learning from the high school 'Eclipse Experts'.
Freshmen and sophomores will also present to upperclassman, teaching them how to safely view the eclipse on April 8th. The Eclipse Fair is the culminating event for their authentic learning project.
Standing Room Only
It was standing room only at the high school boys' home basketball games on February 9th. Varsity boys beat West Liberty 50-36 to pull off a tie for the OHC Championship. You can stay current on all of our MS and HS athletics here.
Authentic Learning at it's Best
HS teachers have been asked to engage students in an authentic learning experience. Lessons have ranged from using appliances for Life Skills students to internships at local companies. These lessons have been a great way to engage students and provide real-world experiences, helping them prepare for the future.
Fairbanks FFA
Fairbanks FFA members received several awards this past month at the state and national levels. Treasurer, Hannah Sullivan and Secretary, Julie Headings received a gold rating on their officer books and Reporter, Julie Headings received a silver rating.
Members, Riley DaRe, Addison Grant, Kadence Kise, and Hannah Sullivan earned their State FFA Degree. This is the second-highest degree in the FFA and will be awarded at the 96th Ohio State FFA Convention in May.
Several of our members earned the highest degree available to FFA members. 2024 American Degree recipients include Evan Blumenschein, Emma Greve, Madeline Headings, Sam Johnson, Elaina Lahmers, Christian Miller, Leah Nicol, and Drew Rausch. These awards will be presented at the 97th National Convention in Indianapolis, IN in October.
Additional awards will be presented at the 96th Ohio State FFA Convention in May as follows:
Evan Blumenschein - top 4 in state in beef production placement
Julie Headings - top 4 in the state for dairy entrepreneurship
Hannah Sullivan - top 4 in state for 3 categories: Accounting, Vet Science placement, and Sheep Production placement
Elementary, Middle & High School Robotics Updates
Robotics continues to provide an excellent opportunity for Fairbanks students. Our teams have had a great season so far. In the elementary school, Tina Hall’s Pantherbots competed at the Kalahari Classic which is a signature event with teams from all parts of the country participating.
Our middle school just received a grant from Google which will allow us to expand our program and begin to compete in a larger division. The middle school also hosted a competition at Tolles Technical Center on February 19th and now has 4 teams qualified to go to States on March 2nd in Marion.
In high school, Kaitlin Hawkey had one of her high school teams qualify for the state tournament when they won a tournament at Highland. The high school team also joined a league this year as robotics has brought home a few awards for the tournaments they have participated in.
We are proud of all the awards and achievements that our teams have achieved. However, the process and growth towards these goals remains our most important accomplishment. It is amazing to see our students grow from elementary through high school in their abilities and use of technology.
The Fairbanks Band Program has had a busy year so far with over 170 students grades 5-12 participating in a band class or marching band (42 of them are in 5th grade)! Our marching band had an incredibly successful season, as they chose to compete in OMEA Class A (2 classes higher than the previous year) and earned a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place award at various competitions throughout the season. The FMB was also the closest that it has recently been to qualifying for State Marching Band Finals, missing the cutoff by just a couple of points.
A number of our students have also been selected to participate in local honor bands. Middle school students Paxton Briggs, Lanay Sommers, Craig Ervin, and Sadie Schalk were chosen to perform in the OMEA District 15 honor band in November. High School student Brandon Watts performed in the OSU Honor Jazz Band in the fall, and Kennedy Knurek and Nina Graber-Nofziger were selected for the OSU Honor Concert Band earlier in January. In February we had students participating in OMEA Solo & Ensemble and additional honor bands held through the OHC conference and Ohio Wesleyan University. Our 6-12th grade band students next perform together on March 5th at 7:00 pm in the HS Gym.
