FAPS #WeAreFenton Community Update

Happy New Year! As we embark on a brand new year filled with promise and opportunity, I am writing to extend my warmest wishes to all of you on behalf of the entire FAPS team.

The start of a new year is a time for reflection and renewal. We look back with pride on the accomplishments of the past year, and we look forward with excitement to the possibilities that lie ahead.

In the coming months, we will continue our unwavering commitment to providing our students with a high-quality education that prepares them for success in college, career, and life. We will continue to focus on:

• Prioritizing the well-being of our students and staff.
• Adding opportunities for students in all areas of enrichment, extra-curricular, and academic areas.
• Strategic plan initiatives including bond construction.

We believe that strong partnerships between families and schools are essential to student success. We encourage you to stay involved in your child's education by:

• Communicating regularly with your child's teachers.
• Attending school events and activities.
• Supporting your child's learning at home.

We are incredibly grateful for your continued support of our schools. We look forward to working together to make this year the best one yet!

Sincerely,

Heidie E. Ciesielski

Superintendent of Schools

Our 2023 Facilities and Safety and Security Bond are moving along nicely, and our bond executive team meets every other week to ensure the projects are staying on target. Our partners in the bond AUCH Construction and our two architectural firms Gazall, Lewis & Associates and Kingscott help prepare a bond executive report for our board of education as well as for me to share with the community. I reviewed this at our most recent board meeting, and I thought that our community may like to see how we are progressing on our current projects, and where we are with our upcoming ones. Take a look at the photos below, and the executive report linked.

Again, we can't thank our community enough for supporting the bond and these legacy facility changes that will help keep our students safe as well as desperately needed facility updates.

During second semester our district has started the process of adding additional security features to our schools including, high visibility placards, emergency pull stations in student areas as well as linked security lighting in our buildings. The implementation is taking place between now and February, and we will be having training with our staff, students and administrators as well as educating our community on the importance of these features and what the use for them is. Below is a picture of a smart classroom with some of the features that we are adding to help keep our students and staff safe. If you'd like to learn more about these added features please take a look at the link to the LockOut USA - https://lockoutusa.com/

Free Books for Genesee County Children Birth to Age 5!

Flint and Genesee Literacy Network Announces:

As a community, we want all children to enter kindergarten healthy and ready to read. We can now offer a great opportunity for Genesee County parents to get free books for their children!

Parents of children residing in Genesee County can sign up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that sends a book each month to the home of each registered child (birth through five years of age) at no cost to the family. Children of different ages receive different titles; the books are carefully selected and are the children’s to keep.

Sign up online with the link below.

Our school board held the regular monthly meeting on January 6, 2025. Please find the link to the board's work located on our new easy to navigate BOE website page here:

https://www.fentonschools.org/page/board-of-education

Welcome to Laura Setzke, our newest elected board trustee. She joined us for her first meeting of her elected seat on Monday. Also, congrats to Dana Jones on her reelection!

Our board conducted their organizational meeting and our 4 current officers of the board will remain in their roles for the 2025 calendar year:

Emily Rossmaessler - President

Matthew Welch - Vice President

Renee Juhl - Secretary

Mike Pearce - Treasurer

January is also School Board Member Recognition Month! If you see one of our 7 board members out and about please thank them for their service to our district and our students!