Top 5 Things to Know this Week

Top 5 things to know for the week of December 9-13, 2024

You won't want to miss the FPS Winter Dance Concert on Friday, December 13

The Winter Dance Concert is this Friday, December 13th, 7pm. We hope you can join us!

The show will feature all students enrolled in the dance program from FHS and NFHS. The Harrison Dance Company will debut several guest artists' works, including the work of Ray Mercer (dancer/giraffe in The Lion King on Broadway). We will also highlight four dynamic pieces choreographed by students Sophia Vella (FHS), Jacqueline Brown (FHS), Brooke Crutcher (NFHS), and Elise Scott (NFHS). I know the students would love to see you in the audience.

Visit Fpsdance.com to purchase tickets.

Winter weather is upon us!

School Closing Information

The first snowfall often brings thoughts of snow days dancing in children’s heads! You may start to see them wearing their pajamas backwards or putting a spoon under their pillows as they head to bed, hoping that these actions will help to cancel school.

While these may help, we do have very specific things that we look for as a district when making the decision to close schools due to inclement weather. First and foremost, the safety and wellbeing of our students, staff, and families are paramount in any decision to close schools. When a “snow day” or “inclement weather day” is called, it is done as early as possible after much deliberation among District officials who monitor road and building conditions throughout the night; in consultation with area school superintendents; and with expert advice from a national meteorologist.

The weather conditions and issues taken into consideration in closing schools due to inclement weather include:

The amount of snowfall and its impact on roads, parking lot conditions, and the ability to safely transport students to school.

The timing of a storm and the ability of local road crews and District personnel to clear roads and parking lots in time for the safe transport of students to school.

Dangerous temperatures or wind chills that carry a high risk for frostbite in a short period of time (30 minutes or less). To close school based on cold alone (rather than in conjunction with concerns about road conditions, bus issues, or other safety considerations), the actual temperature combined with wind chill considerations would be greater (colder) than -20 to -25 degrees below zero. This figure is based on the range of temperature/wind chill that carries a higher risk of frostbite at the thirty minute threshold (for exposed skin.)

Building problems caused by weather conditions such as loss of heat, power, or water service.

Ways that school closings are communicated:

Finalsite Mass Notifications (phone, text, email)
The District’s Facebook Page and Instagram Account
The District and Schools’ Websites
Local media outlets (WJBK-TV (FOX 2), WDIV-TV (Local 4), WXYZ-TV (Channel 7), WWJ-TV (CBS Detroit), WKBD-TV (CW50), WWJ News radio 950 and News/Talk WJR-AM 760.)

We want to thank you for your continued support and understanding as we navigate all that our Michigan winters have to offer!

Professional Collaboration results in new learning experiences for FPS students

High School ELA teachers continue their work to design the new 11th and 12th grade semester courses students can choose. Choice needs to be a part of our future and we are starting now.

To make this happen, we are investing in professional collaboration time for our teachers and teachers are reading a lot of books (as seen in the picture) to consider. A 12th grader recently asked his teacher, “Can we see the units we are going to do next semester?” This is a good sign!!!

The new courses under construction are: Film Analysis, Mystery: Fiction and True Crime, African American Literature, Sports Literature & Composition, Graphic Novels & the Visual Narrative, Ideas that Shape the Modern World, and Global Voices.

So many holiday concerts showcasing our talented students going on this week

The holiday season is a great time for students to show off their talents. This week alone we have an FSA Orchestra Concert, North and Warner Combined Band Concerts, Power Choir Concert, East Winter Band Concert, the Warner School Musical and the Winter Dance Concert! If you have time to attend one of these events, you won't be disappointed!!

The combined high school marching band started us off on Saturday, December 7 by participating in the annual Light Up the Grand Parade. We are grateful to Scott Cole, Band Director at Farmington STEAM Academy, Director, FUPE, and the Assistant Band Director at FHS, for spearheading this combined band!!

SAVE THE DATE: TEDxFHS Youth Event coming on January 30

We only have two weeks left before we end our ticket sales for the first annual TEDxFHS Youth event! Tickets are $25 and only 100 are being sold. We are about halfway to being sold out, so buy your tickets now!

The event will take place on Jan. 30, 2025 from 5 - 8 PM at the Farmington High School auditorium. Food will be provided by the lovely Chive Kitchen.

In an effort to make the process easier, we have set up a way to purchase tickets online via efunds at Farmington Public Schools. All you need to do is email cooper.franks@fpsk12.net with the following information:

1. Name of attendees

2. Occupations of attendees (i.e. student, parent, engineer, teacher, etc.)

3. Email addresses of attendees.

You can then go to the following link to purchase tickets.

Select the pay for TEDxFHS. (You may need to create an account, or you may continue as a guest).

Finally, if you are interested in the talks that will be in the event, find us on Instagram at tedx_youthfhs as we are starting to reveal our speakers!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to cooper.franks@fpsk12.net.

DECEMBER 9, 2024

Farmington Public Schools www.farmington.k12.mi.us

info@fpsk12.net