Fair Haven Union Middle School

Dear Families,

As we wrap up fall of the 24-25 school year, we celebrate the exciting and busy time it's been for our middle school students. Fall sports, drama productions, and music programs have been in full swing, providing many opportunities for our students to shine and grow.

Fall Highlights:

• Fall Sports: Our athletes have shown great dedication and team spirit. From cross-country to soccer, our students have worked hard and demonstrated impressive skills.
• Drama: The drama production was a hit! Our talented students took to the stage with confidence and creativity, putting on an amazing show.
• Music: The music department has been actively preparing for winter performances, with students excelling in band and choir.

We will soon have a well-deserved break for the holidays.

Please note that school Chromebooks will not be going home over the break. There are no assignments requiring the use of Chromebooks, and we’ve found that many students use their devices for non-school activities such as gaming, watching YouTube, listening to music, or social media. As a result, students often return to school with devices that have drained batteries, making them unusable for schoolwork.

To avoid this, we will expect that all Chromebooks are left in the charging docks in students' advisory classrooms before the break begins. This will help ensure they are fully charged and ready for use when school resumes.

We remind you that Friday, December 20th is our last day before break and it is a half day for students. The schedule is as follows:

• Period 5 ~ 8:10-9:00
• Period 6 ~ 9:03-9:53
• Period 7 ~ 9:56-10:46
• Period 8 ~ 10:49-11:40 *This period will be a Middle School activity period. We thank Middle School Student Voice and their advisor, Mrs. Annie Crumb for the planning and implementation of this activity period.
• Students are dismissed and can pick up their bagged lunches in the lobby at 11:40.

We return on Thursday, January 2. When we return, teachers will take time to review classroom routines, expectations, and goals to ensure students are ready for the remainder of the year.

We wish you a healthy and enjoyable break!

Jennefer Paquette

FHUMHS Co-Principal

Our latest group of Project Build students created custom mailboxes for the 6th grade classrooms at FHGS. Last week, the four students, accompanied by Mr. Stanton, made a special trip to FHGS to deliver the mailboxes. During the visit, each student had the opportunity to speak with the current 6th graders at FHGS about the Project Build program and share insights into life at the Middle School. We are grateful for Mr. Stanton’s continued dedication to our students, particularly in fostering valuable skills like hands-on projects, public speaking and storytelling, which enhance their overall experience.

Design student are studying Archimedes’ Principle and learning why things float in preparation of building a future city that could be built on the water.

Students are encouraged to bring in a few pieces of clean recyclables to use when they start building their cities. For more information, on this national competition please visit https://futurecity.org/. The Future City unit is available in the Design Google Classroom.

Please take some time to review the 2025/2026 FHUMHS Program of Studies. This document outlines important information, including graduation requirements, Dual Enrollment, Early College opportunities, and provides summaries of all the classes offered at FHUMHS.

Although middle school students are not yet choosing classes or electives, it’s never too early to start discussing their future academic path. Having conversations now will help you and your child plan for high school and graduation. The transition from 8th to 9th grade is a significant step. While we hold middle school students accountable for completing assignments, preparing for assessments, and staying connected with teachers through PowerSchool, eligibility checks, and report cards; high school brings a shift in focus. In 9th grade, students start earning the credits required for graduation. Failing a class in high school can have a larger impact than simply making a student ineligible for a period of time.

Students in grades 8-11 will begin meeting individually with their counselors in January to discuss and plan their course schedules for the upcoming school year.

After a 10 year break, Mrs. Haley is traveling back to Honduras with a New Hampshire Rotary Club. Mrs. Haley started traveling to Honduras when she was 17 years old, as a senior at FHU. She has been to Honduras on 7 different Rotary trips and is excited to travel there again in 2025! While there, she will help provide medical and dental care to residents of remote villages, work on a construction project (generally a school) and install water purification systems in Honduran homes. This year's trip is from January 25th - February 2nd and over the course of the week the team, of about 30 members, will see well over 1,800 patients, complete as much of a build as possible and install many water filters serving dozens of families.

Join us on Facebook or at our next meeting! Thank you all for supporting our Slater Middle School Students! If you have any questions about the Middle School PTO, or their events, please reach out to the individuals listed below.

NEXT MEETING IS December 19th.

Officers:

President: Kim Lemois, berlyJay06@comcast.net

Vice President: Ashley Bruce, Abruce86@icloud.com

Treasurer: Nicole Rice, nicole.rice1515@gmail.com

Secretary: Amanda Crowningshield, galvin1110@yahoo.com

Participate virtually through this link: FHMS Monthly Meeting Link

The 2024-2025 Sports Registration (on Formreleaf.com) is open for the Fall 2024, the Winter 2024-2025 and the Spring 2025 athletics for grades 7-12.

Please be aware that all athletes MUST have an UP TO DATE Physical form on file. Slate Valley School District recommends a yearly check up, but the VPA rules are every two years.