Little Falcons Preschool

Hello Little Falcon Families!

The preschoolers are getting ready for Christmas. They made ornaments for their families, painted wreaths, made and played with gingerbread men, decorated stockings and candy canes, sat around the fireplace, and read many books. The preschoolers have been working on their songs for their performance at Fountain View Village on the 20th at 10:00 am.

Kindergarten Round Up will be on Tuesday, December 19th, 9:30 am @ MMES. If your preschooler will be going to kindergarten next year, please stop by to tour the campus with Dr. Jagodzinski, meet the principal and see our amazing kindergarten teachers in action. It won't take long, so you can head over to the class parties after to enjoy your littles celebrating the season. Hope to see you there!

The preschoolers also love having specials. Here is Mrs. Matus' class operating the robot in STEM with Mrs. Cooper. 

Dr. J sharing playground info with the Preschoolers.

Sneak peek…everyone is very excited for the new playground opening in January 2024!

Important Dates

Kindergarten Round Up - Dec. 19th 9:30 am @ MMES

Class Parties - Dec. 19th

Visit to Fountain Village - Dec. 20th 

Early release at 11:15 am - Dec. 20th

Winter Break - Dec. 21, 2023 - Jan. 3, 2024

School Resumes - Jan. 4, 2024

Wishing each of you Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!

Leah Gleason

Director of Early Childhood Education

Little Falcons Preschool

McDowell Mountain Elementary School

Hello Falcon Families!  

Please find important reminders and information for MMES below. 

Kindergarten Round Up

Kindergarten Round Up will be on Tuesday, December 19th @ 9:30 am. If you have a preschooler that will be going to kindergarten next year, please stop by to tour the campus with Dr. Jagodzinski and see our amazing kindergarten teachers in action. Please spread the word to friends and neighbors too! We hope to see you here!

Wednesday, December 20th - 12:30pm Dismissal

Just a friendly reminder that MMES will dismiss at 12:30pm on Wednesday, December 20th. Students will return from winter break on Thursday, January 4th. 

Also, we kindly ask that you notify the MMES office one hour prior to dismissal with any changes in transportation for your child. Our front office team is down one person so providing us additional time to notify students is greatly appreciated. 

3 days left of our 14 Days of Christmas

We are in our final days for MMES staff and students to participate in our, “14 Days of Christmas,” spirit days. Each day up until the last day of school (Wed, 12/20), we will have a Christmas theme that staff and students can participate in by dressing up. Please see the calendar for each day's theme.

Camp Invention

The nationally acclaimed Camp Invention® comes to McDowell Mountain Elementary School from June 17, 2024 to June 21, 2024 for one week of creative, hands-on STEM adventures for kids in grades K-6! Register using GIFT35 by 12/31/23 at invent.org/mylocalcamp to save $35! You can check out this year's programs by watching this video: Illuminate Your Child's Imagination with Camp Invention 2024. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Brooks at sbrooks@fhacademics.org.

MMES Yearbook - Now on Sale

The 2023-24 MMES yearbook is now available to purchase online. If you are interested in purchasing, please click here. The price will go up in January so if you would like the discounted price, please purchase before January 1st; 

Early Bird Care (Before School)

Just a friendly reminder that If you would like to start using Early Bird Care which is free to all Falcon families, please sign up by using this link. You can drop your student off anytime from 7:00-8:20am in the cafeteria. We do ask that you park and walk your child inside to sign them in. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please find the map for Early Bird drop-off here for your reference. 

Early Release Wednesdays

A list of all our Early Release days can be found here. Our next early release day at MMES is Wednesday, January 10th, 2024. 

MMES Site Council - 3rd Grade Parent Needed

The MMES Site Council team is looking for one 3rd grade parent to serve on this committee. Site Council meets once a month and its mission is to provide all stakeholders an opportunity to meet, share information, and discuss ideas or concerns as a proactive team. If you are interested in serving, please contact Mr. Wilkinson (kwilkinson@fhacademics.org) 

Upcoming Important Dates @ MMES

• Kindergarten Round Up - Tuesday, December 19th @ 9:30 am
• Kinder Winter Concert - Tuesday, December 19th @ 2:30 pm in the courtyard
• ½ Day (12:30 dismissal) - Wednesday, December 20th 
• Winter Break - Thursday, December 21st - Wednesday, January 3rd
• Students Return - Thursday, January 4th

Pictures this week from MMES

Kiwanis Terrific Kids winners this week take a picture with Mr. Jerry and Mr. Wilkinson

Boo's Crew led by counselor Ms. Smart takes a picture with Boo and the food bags they deliver to students for the weekend.

Students in Mrs. McAloon’s class used their 5 senses to make candy cane observations. After writing sentences about it, they got to eat them :)

A group of 3rd grade students pose for a picture last week at the local theater. Sunset Kiwanis sponsored this event for our students to see, “Elf Jr.” 

Kindergarten & 1st grade students playing on the new Kindergarten playground that opened this week!

The courtyard playground is still under construction but the first piece has been installed. Pieces two and three will be done over winter break. The planetarium is still in phase one of construction with a completion date of February 9th. I will send pictures this week of the progress made thus far. 

Have a great weekend. 

Kevin Wilkinson

Principal

McDowell Mountain Elementary School

Fountain Hills Middle School

Hello FHMS Students and Families, 

You know you are having fun when the month of December flies by and winter break is around the corner. With that being said our winter break runs from Thursday, December 21, 2023 through Wednesday, January 3, 2024, with school resuming Thursday, January 4, 2024. Enjoy this break with your family and friends. 

On December 1, 2023, we celebrated our 6 - 8 grade students who earned Honor roll list with a 3.5 GPA and Principal list with a 4.0 GPA. Congratulations and way to go Falcons!!!

Our FHMS National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is looking for more members. Students who have earned a 3.5 or better grade point average are invited to join in on this club. If you're interested in joining the club please email Mrs. Schultz at

pschultz@fhacademics.org and see the letter below. 

Our NJHS and STUGO have teamed up to see candy canes for a cause. During December 9 - 19 members are selling candy canes to students before school, between classes, and at lunch time. Cost is $1.00. Money raised will go to a women's shelter and support center called Hope Women’s Center. Goal is to reach $500 in candy cane sales. So far $317 has been raised. We are so close to reaching our goal. 

For the month of December we have honored and celebrated the following students and staff for the following: 

• Falcons of the Month Mr. Gary Fenili, our Security Guard and 6th grader Vivian Thomas
• Kiwanis recipients were 8th graders Braxton Wuertz and Grace Herman
• Stellar Students through the Town of Fountain Hills are 8th graders Bella Montheard and Brody Skouson

CONGRATULATIONS!!! 

FHUSD PTO is so generous to our students, staff, and community. We are so lucky to have an awesome PTO!!!

Our teachers in the F Building are showing their school spirit!

Next Week is Spirit Week

• Monday the 18th - Holiday Socks 
• Tuesday the 19th - Holiday Hat 
• Wednesday the 20th - Holiday PJs 

Let’s continue to BE RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, SAFE & KIND! 

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

• December 20, 2023 is Half Day - Dismissal at 11:55AM
• December 21, 2023 - January 3, 2024 - Winter Break / No School 
• School resumes on Thursday, January 4, 2024 
• We encourage you to send your child to school on time so that they don’t miss out on valuable learning opportunities. ATTENDANCE is key! 
• 3 Tardies in a school week your student will earn a lunch detention on the 3rd day. 
• Lost school ID will cost you $5.00. 
• Please check your child’s lunch account balances. You are welcome to come to the school and pay the balances and add money to their account. 
• Sport Season Information - If your child is interested in participating in a school sport please make sure to get required paperwork submitted through REGISTERMYATHLETE.COM and pay FEES. 

FHMS would like to wish our students, families, and community a very merry holiday season!

Let’s continue to make FHMS a great place to be! 

Dr. Kimberly Weeldreyer

Principal 

Fountain Hills Middle School

Fountain Hills High School

Hello Everyone!  

I want to wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday break.  Remember to recharge, relax, and spend time with family and friends.  Please come out to the High School Main Gym on Tuesday 12/19 for our Band Concert at 7pm and continue to support our Performing Arts and Winter Sports in 2024. Thank you for your support, collegiality, and positive attitudes during what was a calendar year  full of changes and sometimes uncertainty.  It’s awesome the way many members of this community come together for the betterment of our students.  Thank you for your continued support of them and The Falcon Way.  We are all in this profession because we love kids and want the best for them.  Remember that our last day of school is 12/20/23 (noon release) and students return on Thursday 1/4/24.  I wish everyone a great break and healthy Holidays!

Chris Hartmann

Principal

Fountain Hills High School

Academic Success at FHHS

All our students and staff work hard each and every day. We are proud and thankful for their dedication. It’s because of this that we have been awarded an A Letter Grade from the Arizona Department of Education!

Furthermore, this week we were able to celebrate the academic success of our highest achieving students who made it onto the Principal’s List for Term 1. We are extremely proud of their hard work and dedication. We had 132 students achieve this honor. In addition, we had 47 Honor Roll students for Term 1. Congratulations to them all!

Wednesday, December 20th - Half Day Schedule

Testing

We are excited to announce that our school will be participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on March 1, 2024. This is known as The Nation’s Report Card. A group of seniors will join thousands of other students across the country to help everyone learn more about what students are learning in school. This gives FHHS the opportunity to make a difference in education. Those students who were randomly chosen to participate will receive a letter in the mail soon that gives more information. 

In April our district will complete the standardized state tests for the freshman and juniors, while our sophomores will complete the Pre-ACT test in order to give them a glimpse of what it will look like to take the test the following year. Be on the lookout for more information. 

Counseling Corner

Please make sure to check in on the counseling corner so you can make sure you have the most up to date information about scholarships, PLP classes, and winter break. 

Come to the Corner!

Adaptive Dance

Mrs. Wilson was able to take her Adaptive Dance Class on a field trip to see "Elf Jr." The Musical at the Fountain Hills Youth Theater! The students had an amazing time getting to see a live performance and then enjoyed a picnic at the park. It was extra special to see some FHUSD students perform in the play as well! 

Holiday Fun

This month our staff and students had the opportunity to decorate their doors for our Annual Door Decorating Contest. There were some great doors this year! Students also decorated the hallways for the season. Additionally, Mrs. Mecom and the Hospitality committee put together a wonderful holiday party for our staff. The PTO graciously donated to the party to help us celebrate our staff and the holidays. 

Kiwanis Pacesetter Award Recipients

Kaitlyn Smout

Gannon Young

Each month we will celebrate a student and a staff member from each site, as well as one staff member from the district office, transportation and warehouse combined. These amazing students and staff best represent the Falcon Way with their exemplary display of Accountability, Discipline, Excellence, Integrity, Professionalism,

Respect and Responsibility.

Thanks to our partnership with PTO, and their generous donations to our district, each recipient will receive a certificate and a $50 gift card.

Congratulations to our well deserved winners for this month!

Betsy Boyle has been a phenomenal addition to our staff. Her kindness and professionalism since day one, with staff, students, and community has been a welcome addition to a position that has had a lot of turnover and is essential to a school. Betsy combines her professional skills, bedside manner, and parental instincts to make the Health office a safe zone for students. She is dependable, flexible (especially in her job interview). She is excellent at assessing student health issues and informing parents, as well as sending students back to class when appropriate. She gets compliments abound from all staff and students and we hope she is at FHHS for a long time!

Ryan Miller is a delight. She lights up any room that she walks into and is well known on campus as a nice person and highly involved. As a member of the swim team, sophomore class president and school announcement anchor extraordinaire, Ryan balances all of this while maintaining straight A's and a 3.9 GPA. Ryan is the perfect example of what it means to be a successful, highly involved student. We are looking forward to watching Ryan continue to flourish at FHHS and beyond.

Gary Fenili, FHMS Security Guard, is one of our greatest assets. He came to us with all the right tools! He is well experienced and both mine and Ms. Reichler's right-hand man! He is always there when we need him. He's extremely dependable and very proactive and prioritizes FHMS's safety. Apart from all the "important and more serious" things that Security Guards do, Mr. Gary is fun, well liked by both students and staff and is often found participating in PE activities like running laps, playing football and/or volleyball during lunch recess. Everyone needs to get to know Mr. Gary, he is more than a co-worker, he is a loyal friend and one with a great sense of humor too! "Gary is good with the students. That is an important component of the job and the kids respect him. Gary is personable and stops by my classroom regularly to check-in and see that everything is going well. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is easy to get along with. Thank you Gary!" 

Vivian Thomas has always been a high-achieving and gifted student who is curious about how the world works. She has excellent problem-solving skills, loves to research and learn in class and on her own, and is very interested in the subject matter.

She is a hard-working student, she is confident and well-spoken. Vivian is kind to everyone, always respectful and responsible in her actions and words. She is very outgoing, always in a good mood, and a joy to be around! We can't wait to see what amazing future lies ahead. Vivian is a wonderful role model and represents FHUSD in the most perfect way!

Aidan Wood shows integrity by helping those in need without ever being asked! He is an amazing role model for those around him by showing kindness and respect. He makes our classroom a better place!

We need you!

Considering volunteering at your child's school. Just complete the volunteer app and background check and we'll be happy to find a good fit for you.