The FAST Flyer

Next week there is an event at North Point Community Church that will prevent us from using that location for bus drop off and pick up. Between Monday, April 29 and Friday, May 3, the bus stop will be temporarily located at 915 North Point Pkwy, Alpharetta (the former Golden Corral restaurant). There will be no change to the times. This location is about 1.5 miles away from the usual stop.

If you weren't at FAST yesterday, you missed our annual Innovation Showcase. Our innovation team and specials teachers spearheaded a wonderful event. The Innovation Hall was decorated with student designed banners depicting the design thinking process. Parents and students alike had a great time exploring all of the displays which included student designed video games and carnival games, a drone obstacle course, a performance from our cheerleaders and many other projects on display.

The Roswell Fire Department was on hand for the egg drop. Ms. Miller was lifted 100' in the air to see if the eggs would survive the fall. Several of our students' egg drop projects were successful! Check our our Facebook page for many more pictures!

Thanks go to our innovation team and specials teachers for putting together such a great event and special thanks to our parent volunteers who helped with executing their vision.

End of year exams have begun. It is extremely important that ALL students arrive to school on time during testing - whether or not they are testing that day. We cannot permit anyone in and out of the building during testing windows so if they arrive late, they will have to wait quietly in the lobby until testing is over for the day. The full schedule of exams can be found HERE

For our families in the Alpharetta area, we wanted to pass along some information we received from the City of Alpharetta. The annual Taste of Alpharetta event will be happening on May 9 and with that comes several road closures. Please be mindful of these closures so you can get your student to school on time which is particularly important as this occurs during our end of year testing. The city has provided a detour map which is attached below.

Road closures will begin at 5am Thursday, May 9 through 5am Friday May 10 and include the following streets: Milton Ave. (closed between Hwy 9 to the 92 Milton Ave parking deck entrance); Old Roswell Street (completely closed); Old Canton Street (closed to through traffic); Roswell/Canton Street (closed from Old Milton Pkwy to School Dr. Access to School Dr. on Canton St. from Mayfield Rd. for residents permitted); Commerce, Market, N Broad and S Broad (completely closed); Marietta St. (closed from Roswell St. to the Publix parking lot); Hwy 9 (closed from Academy St. to Old Milton Pkwy).

8th grade parents please refer to the email sent on 4/16 and complete the survey regarding graduation. We will need some information from you to plan the ceremony. We also ask that you send some pictures of your child for the graduation slide show. Details can be found in the aforementioned email. .

Kindergarten parents, please refer to the email from your student's teacher in March with information about caps and gowns and pictures for your students' ceremony.

All of our student performers did a great job at the talent show last week. Every act received votes from the audience, highlighting the supportive and encouraging atmosphere of our school community. We announced the winners of the show, but the real winners were everyone who got to enjoy this memorable event. Congratulations to Avantika, Unnati, Avia & Mithra (3rd place); Charlie & Grayson (2nd place); Kayla, Miller, Khyir & Kamari (1st place).

Parents with students in FCS schools may have seen a notice from FCS that May 21 will be a remote learning day due to the election. FAST will have a normal school day. Both our kindergarten graduation and 5th grade bridging ceremonies are scheduled for that day.

April 22-May10: EOC exams

May 10: Field Day

May 10: Middle school dance

May 20: Class parties

May 21: Kindergarten graduation

May 21: 5th grade bridging

May 22: 8th grade graduation

May 23: Last day of school (half day)

School begins at 7:40am every day. Students who arrive late are not only missing instructional time, but may disrupt the rest of the class when they come in after class has begun. We have historically allowed students who arrived by 8am to go directly to class without being signed in. Effective immediately, all students who arrive after 7:50am will need to be signed in at the front office by a parent. Please be sure that you arrive on campus early enough to navigate carpool so that your student can be in class on time.

The school day begins at 7:40am Monday-Friday. All students are expected to be in their classroom ready to start the day by 7:40am. Please allow for enough time to navigate carpool for your student to get to class on time. All students arriving after 7:40 are considered tardy.

All students are expected to be in proper uniform every day. Repeat violations of uniform code will result in a call from the front office with a request to bring the appropriate clothing for the student. FAST uniform includes FAST logo polo or spirit wear, khaki or navy bottoms (or black for middle school). Shirts without the FAST logo are not considered proper uniform.

All questions or concerns you have regarding your student should first be directed to their teacher. Please allow up to 48 hours for a response. If the teacher is unable to provide resolution, you should contact the Assistant Principal for your child's grade. On the off chance that you still have not been able to reach a resolution after contacting the teacher and the AP, you can contact Principal Mary Miller at mary.miller@fastk8.org. Our communication and escalation policy can be found on our website.

While under the auspices of Fulton County Schools, we are governed by our own governing board. Sending your issues directly to Fulton County rather than following the FAST communication chain will cause a delayed response as they will only defer to FAST and forward the issue back to us to address.

FAST is a smoke-free environment. Whether you are in the building, in your car, or anywhere else on campus please refrain from smoking or vaping at all times.

We cannot release students for early dismissal after 2:40pm Monday-Thursday and 1:40pm on Friday as this is too disruptive to our afternoon dismissal process and end of day activities. If you are picking up your child after those times, you must go through the carpool lane which begins at 3:15pm. As a matter of student safety, all students leaving before the end of the school day must be signed out in the front office by an authorized person. Please do not call or text your students for early dismissal. Students are not permitted to have their cell phones during school hours.

Please keep these times in mind when scheduling afternoon appointments and plan accordingly.

Please remember to send your child to school with lunch every day or order through Ordo at ordo.com. Ordo orders must be placed by midnight on Friday for the following week. Lunches must be nut free and ready-to-eat (we cannot microwave lunches).

As a reminder, all visitors - including parents - must check in at the front desk in Innovation Hall upon arrival. No one is permitted to enter Student Hall without having first checked in at the front desk. Parents are not permitted to walk their student to their classroom. We have staff available during morning drop-off to ensure students are attended to.

While we manage morning and afternoon carpool every day, now and then we like to remind our families of some of the rules. It is important that you adhere to the carpool process and follow staff directions as they are there (in all kinds of weather!) to keep our students safe and get you through carpool as quickly as possible.

• Students should only enter and exit vehicles on the passenger side in the carpool area. They should never be walking between cars. This is a safety issue.
• Students should not be retrieving their backpacks from car trunks during drop off or pick up. Please be sure they have access to all of their belongings without having to step between cars. This is a safety issue.
• Please do not navigate around the cones in the carpool area. They are placed there for a reason. This is a safety issue.
• No one should be dropping off or picking up students in front of Innovation Hall unless they have been issued a FAST pass. All other vehicles should go through the carpool queue.
• There are no left turns when leaving campus during carpool - whether or not there is an officer directing traffic.
• If your student is a bus rider that will be picked up at carpool, please be sure to inform your student's teacher as well as the front office.

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these rules for the safety of both the students and staff.

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.

A printable version of the 2023-24 school calendar can be found HERE

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.