Fairfield Elementary | Month in Review

The Year Begins

Welcome
Back!

Welcome to Fairfield Elementary’s
Month in Review.

Each month, this newsletter will highlight important work happening throughout our building, share updates about school priorities, and look back at the events, accomplishments, and memorable moments from the previous month.

My goal is to help families stay informed and connected to the learning and experiences taking place at Fairfield. So while this newletter won’t be a guide to every upcoming event on our calendar, it should be a helpful tool to share the “why” behind how we’re approaching instruction as a building.

– Mr. Hammer

First grade students participating in an activity during a library visit — 1st Grade
Takes a
Trip to the
Library!

Inside This Newsletter

Arts & Letters

How whole books, explicit foundational skills, knowledge building, and integrated writing work together.

Master Schedule

How protected core blocks improve focus, continuity, and access to grade-level learning.

Interventions

How small groups and individualized supports now fit around core instruction.

Great Minds - Arts and Letters

A New Chapter
For Literacy

Our new curriculum combines explicit foundational skills with knowledge-rich reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

How Arts & Letters builds stronger readers

Arts & Letters is a coherent literacy system that will build upon skills each year as students progress from grade to grade.

In K–5, Language Arts develops knowledge, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening, while Reading Foundations provides explicit, systematic instruction in phonics, word recognition, and fluency.

The two strands work together so students learn to read accurately and use reading to understand increasingly complex ideas.

Two Strands, One Literacy System

Reading success depends on two areas working together, recognizing words accurately and understanding language.

Arts & Letters strengthens both. Students practice sound patterns, decoding, and fluency for increasingly automatic word reading while also building vocabulary, background knowledge, and comprehension through connected topics.

Whole Books Build Knowledge

Students study complete literary and informational works, fine art, and multimedia connected by a meaningful module topics and an essential question.

Reading across a connected set of texts helps children connect ideas, develop stamina, speak with precision, and write from evidence.

Authentic books give students a real reason to wonder, discuss, reread, and keep learning.

The Learning Design

01

Read
Fluently

Phonics, decoding, and fluency practice help students recognize words accurately and automatically.

02

Understand
Deeply

Essential Questions and connected texts grow vocabulary, comprehension, and background knowledge.

03

Express
Clearly

Daily writing and academic conversation in class turn understanding into clear communication.

Making the
Most of Our
Time at School

Core First · Supports With Purpose

How We Look at Instruction Time and Student Supports

1

Protected Core
Instruction

Each grade receives uninterrupted time for Language Arts and Math instruction so students do not miss shared texts, explicit teaching, writing, or discussion.

2

Targeted Skill
Support

Additional practice is scheduled outside of our core lesson whenever possible and targets a clearly identified skill for a flexible group of learners.

3

Review &
Respond

Assessment results, teacher observations, student work, and classroom evidence help teams adjust groups as students grow and needs change.

Why It Matters

This year’s schedule separates core learning from additional intervention. That protects every child’s access to rigorous grade-level instruction while preserving time to reteach a narrow skill, practice it intensively, and check progress.

More students receive more support without routinely losing the new learning that builds knowledge over time.

A Fairfield staff member working individually with a student

Consistency Across Grades

Protected blocks make expectations clearer for students, teachers, specialists, and support staff.

Better Access to New Learning

Students receiving extra help are less likely to miss the grade-level content their classmates are learning.

More Focused Student Supports

Small groups can target a defined skill, monitor progress, and change as students demonstrate growth.

A Stronger Team Response

Data meetings and shared planning help the school coordinate support instead of working in isolated pockets.

A(quick)Look Back At

August

Back to School Bash!

A big thank you to United Way for helping us kick off the school year with a great Back to School Bash! Families had the opportunity to connect with school staff, enjoy a meal together, and learn more about helpful resources available throughout Reno County. We appreciated seeing so many students and families in the building as we celebrated the start of another school year.

Fall Assessments

Fall FastBridge testing has been completed for our students. These assessments give us helpful information about each student’s current academic strengths and areas where additional support may be needed. Individual results have been sent home to families for review.

Upcoming in

September

Sept. 7: NO SCHOOL for Labor Day
Sept. 9: PICTURE DAY!
Sept. 14: NO SCHOOL
Full-day Great Minds ELA professional learning

Grandparent’s Day
Notice:

This year, we will be moving Grandparents’ Day from September to the spring and combining it with our end-of-year awards ceremony and Field Day. Bringing these events together will allow us to create a more meaningful and exciting day for families to celebrate our students, recognize their accomplishments, and enjoy time together at school. We believe this will make our new Falcon Families’ Day an even more memorable experience for everyone involved.

Thank You

Thank you to all of our parents and families for helping us get the school year off to a great start! We appreciate your support, communication, and partnership as we work together to make this a successful year for our students.