The FAST Flyer

We are looking forward to welcoming your children back to school for another exciting academic year! As the summer winds down, our anticipation for the upcoming year has only grown. We have been hard at work all summer, planning and preparing to ensure a fantastic and enriching experience for every student.

Below you will find information that will answer a lot of questions - particularly if you are new to FAST - and serve as reminder if you are a returning family. Whether you are new to FAST or returning, please read through this newsletter in its entirety to help you prepare for the return to school.

Monday, August 5 is FAST orientation day for all students. Students whose last name begins with A-K are invited to attend between 9-11:00; those whose last name begins with L-Z are welcome between 12:30-2:30pm. This is a drop-in event so you may arrive any time within the window for your name. We encourage all students to attend orientation day and will be taking attendance.

This is the time that you will receive your child's teacher assignment/schedule and carpool tag. Schedules are not considered final until this time. You will also be able to drop off school supplies in your child's classroom, and receive spirit wear orders. After school clubs and activities will also be on hand.

*Check out the attached guide to orientation day for more details.

Classes will begin on Tuesday, August 6.

Morning carpool begins at 7:05am. Please do not drop students off before carpool as begun. This is for student safety.

Students must be in homeroom by 7:40am each day. After 7:40, they are considered tardy. Please be sure that you are allowing time to navigate carpool and your student to get to class on time. If you arrive after 8am, you will need to come into Innovation Hall to sign in your student.

If students are late because the bus is in running late, they will not be marked tardy.

Early dismissals are not permitted after 2:40pm (M-Th, 1:40pm Fridays). If you need to pick up your child for any reason, please plan accordingly.

We understand how significant the first day of kindergarten is for both students and parents. In order to help ease into things, our kindergarten students are allowed some flexible timing for the first few days. On Tuesday-Wednesday (August 6-7), kindergarten students may arrive as late as 9am. On Tuesday only, parents may park and walk their students in rather than going through carpool.

Tuesday (August 6) through Thursday (August 8) kindergarten parents are invited to pick up their student as early as 2:30pm. You will still go through the carpool queue, please don't park. This helps students can learn where to go for dismissal before the rest of students are released.

FAST is a uniform school. All students are expected to be in uniform every day beginning Tuesday, August 6. FAST uniform consists of approved shirt with FAST logo (found at Lands' End ) or spirit wear from PTO and khaki or navy bottoms (middle school may also wear black). Students should not be wearing anything over their uniform unless it has a FAST logo (e.g. FAST fleece jacket, or FAST hoodie for middle school). Bottoms may be purchased anywhere. Skirts and shorts should be at least mid-thigh in length. Pants and shorts may not be cargo or athletic styles. Students may not wear open toe or sling back style shoes nor may they wear crocs. It is not permissible to have our logo embroidered on clothing that has not been purchased through Lands' End.

All students should have at least one cobalt blue polo style uniform shirt for picture day, field trips, and other events that may come up.

In addition to the uniform options on Lands' End, spirit wear ordered from the PTO may be worn every day. The last Friday of the month is an "out of uniform" day for students at which time they are not required to be in uniform but should still be dressed appropriately for school.

If your admission was late this summer and your uniforms have not arrived by the first day of school, your child may wear a solid color polo style shirt until they do. The full uniform policy can be found on our website at: https://www.fastk8.org/fast-apparel-and-supplies/

As a reminder, FAST does not have a kitchen for school lunch. All students are expected to bring their lunch (and snack as needed) or you may order lunch through Ordo at ordo.com. Lunch orders must be placed by no later than Friday night for the following week.

All food sent to school should be ready-to-eat. Staff will not be able to heat food for students. If your student will be going to school for the first time this year, consider having them practice opening their lunch packages at home to make it easier when they get to school.

Students should not be receiving food deliveries at school from anywhere other than Ordo. Please do not order UberEats, DoorDash, etc. to be delivered to your child.

FAST is a nut-free school. Please do not send any foods that contain nut products with your student.

Registration for after school care (ASPire) is now open. You can find the link and pricing on our website at: https://www.fastk8.org/after-school-program/

The after school enrichment clubs for fall semester are posted on our website. Clubs will begin the last week of August. You can find the full schedule of clubs including how to register on our website at https://www.fastk8.org/after-school-vendor-clubs/. Many of the vendors for our enrichment clubs will be at orientation on August 5 to answer any questions you have.

As a non-traditional school, more FAST students arrive at school by carpool than bus. Over the years, we have worked to streamline our carpool process to get our families through the line as quickly as possible while adhering to protocols that ensure student and staff safety. If you are new to FAST, please take a minute to watch the carpool animation video so you have an idea what to expect. (Note that we will have cars pull into a single lane rather than 2 lanes as seen in the video).

We encourage families to carpool together when possible. The fewer cars in the queue, the faster it goes for everyone!

Please bear with us the first few weeks of school as carpool will be slower than usual. It will get better as everyone acclimates. Following the rules and tips below will help keep the queue moving!

• Follow all staff directions. Please be courteous with our staff and adhere to all of their directions. They will be out in the sweltering heat, freezing cold, and torrential downpours working to keep your students safe.
• Dismissal begins at 3:15. This does not mean you must be here by 3:15. You may arrive as late as 3:45 without issue (and likely less of a wait).
• Please do not arrive prior to 3:10pm (2:10pm on Fridays) for pick up. Parents who arrive on campus earlier than this contribute to back-ups on Crabapple Rd. We cannot move cars until students are dismissed. If the lot is full prior to dismissal, our overflow causes gridlock in the surrounding area. Help us be a good neighbor.
• Right turns only out of the lot. We usually have a police officer directing traffic, but even if he isn't there left turns are not permitted. (After you turn right, please do not use the turn lane at Chaffin Rd. for a U-turn as you may cause an accident.)
• Please have your carpool tag visible in your window when you arrive for pick up in the afternoon. You will get your carpool tag at orientation on Monday, August 5.
• All students should enter and exit vehicle on the passenger side. Please plan for this when getting your children in the car. (This is a safety issue.)
• Students should not retrieve items from the trunk during drop off. (This is a safety issue.)
• If you are issued a FAST pass, please only use it when you are picking up 4 or more students.
• Pro-tip: help your younger student recognize your car in the carpool line by adding a unique magnet on the passenger side of your car!

Each year we create an optional database for parents to connect with one another for the purposes of carpool. We do not carry over information from prior years so if you are looking for a family with whom you can share the drive, please add your information here:

https://forms.gle/vi9BED8snWxPN1NJ8

Only families who have added their information to this list will be granted access to the list of other families. While this is optional, we encourage all of our families to carpool if possible. Not only is it good for the environment, it helps reduce the number of cars in the carpool line which makes carpool faster for everyone.

We are actively working with Fulton County Schools transportation to increase our available transportation and hope to accommodate more students than previously expected. If you have requested bus transportation, please keep an eye out for information from Ms. Cadogan. If you have not yet requested bus transportation, but would like to, please email Ms. Cadogan directly at gail.cadogan@fastk8.org to confirm if there is room at your preferred stop.

In addition to bus or carpool, families occasionally rely on private shuttles for transportation at FAST. Trusty Transporters has reached out to FAST asking that we let our parents know they are available to transport our students. They can be reached at 770-679-7074.

https://www.trustytransporters.com/

getaride@trustytransporters.com

School supply lists can be found on our website at https://www.fastk8.org/school-supplies/ They may be purchased anywhere. The grade for each list is in the upper right corner of the page. Any school supplies that are to be left in the classroom, may be dropped off in your student's classroom on Monday, August 5. If you ordered school supplies through that were delivered to FAST, they will be in your child's classroom when you arrive on Monday.

Mr. Hendry has requested that all students in 3rd-5th grade have a composition notebook to use as a music journal. This item was not included in the list of school supplies. Students may continue to use theirs from last year if they still have it.

As a reminder students are not permitted to use their cell phones or bluetooth devices throughout the day. Students who have a cell phone out after school begins at 7:40am through 3pm will have their phone confiscated for the day. Please remind your students of this policy so that you will not have to come to the office to retrieve their phone.

Per our charter, all students who attend FAST must reside within the Fulton County School district (FCS). Residency is verified at various points of enrollment. If your student will be in 6th grade in the 2024-25 school year, we will require verification that you still reside within the FCS district. You may find a list of acceptable documents on the FCS website: https://www.fultonschools.org/Page/660

Documents should be emailed to alexandra.hernandez@fastk8.org. If you are not able to provide the necessary documents, please contact Ms. Hernandez as soon as possible.

Georgia Certificate of Immunization Form 3231 is required for all students registered for school. In order to ensure that these are up to date, parents/guardians of 7th grade students must provide a current 3231 form for their student. We will require this information by no later than September 30. Please email completed forms to: alexandra.hernandez@fastk8.org.

Hello FAST families!

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful summer. Please remember that if you’re child needs daily medications or has a medication for me to store in the office I will need the SHS1 form signed by parent and doctor. The doctor does NOT have to sign for over the counter medications. If your child needs a prescription medication, the MD signature is REQUIRED by law. No exceptions can be made. Please read and follow the directions on the form. You can access the form at the Fultoncountyschools.org website under the student health services tab under forms.

As always, I am happy to serve your children and will continue to make sure everyone is happy, safe and healthy. If ever you have questions or concerns please reach out to me. Victoria.murray@fastk8.org. You may also call the office and dial extension 120.

In order to help prevent spread of illness to other students and staff, we ask that you keep your child home if they are sick or could be contagious. Please use the chart below for reference if your child is not feeling well. If your child becomes ill while at school, we may ask that you come pick them up. If that is the case, we ask that you arrive as soon as possible (preferably within the hour).

Absence excuses including from doctor visits can be emailed to attendance@fastk8.org.

Our PTO Membership Drive has started for the 2024-2025 school year! Please join us in making a difference in our FAST school community. By becoming a member of the PTO, you can become an important part of supporting our school. PTO memberships raise funds that support FAST students and staff. This includes programs like field day, our learning garden, school assemblies, teacher grants, staff appreciation events, and more! This annual membership drive is our main fundraiser for the school year.

The FAST Family PTO is a non-profit organization, composed of volunteers, focused on supporting the educational experience of all FAST students.

The second round of Spirit Wear is now on sale! The sale ends on August 31st. Spirit Wear will be distributed two weeks AFTER the sale ends in the student's homeroom classroom!

The new school year is quickly approaching and we need a few great volunteers! Please reach out by contacting pto@fastk8.org to find out more.

What's a PTO volunteer? ANYONE who can help out within their capacity. We are looking for parents who can lead projects to parents that can volunteer an hour here or there. There is something for everyone!

Why volunteer? You are providing valuable support and building the FAST community! Be a positive impact to our school by clicking below to learn more.

August 5: First day of school 2024-25 (ORIENTATION DAY)

August 6: First day of classes

August 19-22: MAP assessments

Sept. 2: Labor Day (SCHOOL CLOSED)

Sept. 3-4: Professional Development (STUDENTS OFF)

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.

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.