December 1, 2017
In This Issue:
North Tustin Students Participate in Annual Fun Run
Preparations for this year's annual Fun Run began months ago by our wonderful Fairmont Parent Association, and its investment in today's event made it an enormous success! T-shirt designs poured in from students from all grades, and a big shout out to Ashley A. for creating the winning design! The campus was blanketed with shirts that read, "We Love Our World." We can definitely say we felt that way today! Eager students ran their laps, collected their neon bracelets, donned their shiny medals, and enjoyed their post-run snacks. We'd like to extend a huge "thank you" to all who participated as sponsors, runners, and volunteers ---it was a spectacular day!
News & Announcements
CHOC Toy Drive
We are collecting toys for our 18th annual Children's Hospital of Orange County Toy Drive! The toys donated during the holidays are given to CHOC patients who often spend weeks or months at the hospital and used as forms of therapeutic play to help patients adjust to their hospitalizations.

Due to infection control and to protect the patients, the toys must be new and unwrapped.

Please see the CHOC wish list and rules prior to making your toy donations.
 
URGENT ---      My BackPack ---      Mandatory Information Needed!
We are still missing quite a bit of information that replaces our old start-of-school forms, including emergency cards. It is imperative that we have complete information. Students will NOT be allowed to attend field trips if the information is not complete.
As a parent/guardian, you need to log in to My BackPack and validate that you have completed the following: 
  1. My Documents form, found under "My Documents," with all correct emergency information. If you have filled in the form, click on your name and "My Profile" to check completion. 
  2. After you are through with the My BackPack form, log in to Magnus with the link in the top right corner of My BackPack. Review your Student Health Tracker, and ensure "Consent to Treat" and "Vital Health Record" are completed. 
All of the above must be completed immediately, as this information was due on the first day of school (August 14)

If you do not have your My BackPack login, please email mbp-support@fairmontschools.com.

Your student's safety is one of our major concerns. Do not hesitate to ask for assistance. We will contact you if you have yet to fill out these forms, and we would be happy to set up a time for you to come in and complete the forms on campus. Thank you in advance for getting this wrapped up in a timely manner.

Shop at Our Spirit Wear Store!
Don't forget that you can sport your Fairmont swag around town by purchasing apparel and accessories at our spirit wear store! There are a variety of items available to choose from, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, water bottles, and canvas totes.

As a reminder, 15 percent of your purchase of spirit wear items will be given back to the Fairmont Parent Association to help fund the many exciting activities planned in the annual FPA calendar. We hope you will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to share your Fairmont Pride by purchasing spirit wear.
Early Childhood Education: Play with a Purpose
What memories do you have from your childhood? Many of mine involve spending countless hours running around the neighborhood with friends until the sun went down. I am not sure what we were doing the whole time, but I do remember that we rode our bicycles, played in the fall leaves, and acted out many make-believe scenarios.

How much time does your child have to play? And I do not mean a planned activity, craft, organized game or technology. How much time does your child spend being able to freely manipulate the world around him or her?

Your child is so fortunate to attend an amazing school where you know that he or she is getting stimulated throughout the day, both with playtime and academic opportunities. In our desire as parents to see our children excel, we often grasp for the tangible ways ---   like reading at home or practicing flash cards ---   to support their growth. As paramount to that growth are all the ways that we can stimulate their creativity and independence.

Caileigh Flannigan, a play practitioner who uses forms of play to promote children's development and emotional healing stresses the importance of letting children get outside and experience various forms of carefree play in her article " Let Kids Be Kids: Using Adventure and Nature to Bring Back Children's Play."

"When children are given such freedom to play, they are more likely to engage in higher levels of social interaction, cognitive skills such as decision-making and reasoning, empathy, and physical activity," Flannigan said. "In turn, they are less likely to become inattentive, anxious, or depressed and unhealthy." What can you do to encourage play?

After reading Flannigan's article, see if you can find a little corner of your yard or patio for your child to play with "loose parts." I hope that you are able to steal some moments to play freely with your child during this holiday season.

Kristen Jansen
Director of Early Childhood Education

Counselor's Corner: A Different Kind of Bullying ---   Intellectual Bullies
When we are asked to think of a typical bullying scenario, many of us will pull from our distant memories of those moments in the school hallway when mean-looking, over-grown, loud-mouthed elementary school boys shove weaker, smaller lads into the lockers and demand their milk money ---   or else! While episodes such as these exist and must be addressed, there also exists another form of belittling, intimidating, and humiliating behavior from one peer to another ---   a form that is less talked about yet still prevalent. That is intellectual bullying.

This insidious form of harassment is less recognizable than the better-known physical forms of bullying yet is still damaging. Students often place themselves into "intellectual hierarchies" determined by grades, rankings, and participation in Advanced Placement classes, special academic clubs, and organizations. Problems arise when those at the top of these hierarchies belittle those at the bottom. This type of intellectual harassment wreaks havoc on a student's sense of self-worth, and these feelings of inadequacy can be carried around for a lifetime.

Intellectual bullies are indeed smarter and have higher IQs or excellent knowledge in particular fields of study. The problem lies with the sense of entitlement this type of bully assumes he possesses because of his intellect and, therefore, believes he has a genuine right to emotionally abuse peers who lack his cerebral prowess. The intellectual bully revels in making others feel inferior.

Teachers and parents can be lulled into false senses of security by thinking the adolescents who have good grades "have it all together" and need no further inspection into how they are managing their personal lives. Sometimes intellectually gifted individuals over-compensate for lingering childhood feelings of athletic and social inferiority. They use their intellectual talents as avenues to expose others shortcomings. What can happen, in turn, is that these individuals further socially isolate themselves from their peers. Over time, the intellectual bully may experience destruction in all of his or her personal and professional relationships. It is important to recognize if a student uses verbal attacks ---   it is a poor attempt to protect other sensitive parts of his or her psyche. Demeaning others, however, is not the way to self-actualization.

So what is the remedy? Helping that young person recognize that humility and empathy are powerful traits to possess is a good first step. Encouraging teenagers to look outward and do something for someone less fortunate without expecting anything in return is a great way to instill kindness in your student. As parents, we can praise our children for good deeds they bestowed on peers as easily as praising them for A's on tests. Self-worth comes not only from dedication to their studies but also in how they behave as human beings.

This may be a tough life lesson for that student who appears to have it all together, but the introspection now will surely benefit that teen far into adulthood when creating life-long connections with others.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions at (714) 999-5055, ext. 1456.

Jill Thomas, LMFT
Fairmont Private Schools Counselor
Supporter of the Fairmont Code

Lunch Menus

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Husky Highlight
Seniors Take Part in Mock Interviews
Resume? Check! Proper attire? Check! Firm handshake, eye contact, posture? Check, check, check!

These were only some of the requirements for the senior mock interviews. It took a few weeks to prepare and perfect resumes, go over interview questions, and practice interview skills. Then it was showtime last Wednesday and Thursday. Several faculty and staff members and even alumni were invited to role-play the parts of either job or college interviewers. Mrs. Alice Lee's ELL students prepared for college interviews, while Mrs. Nancy Nguyen's CP English students prepared for job interviews. These applicants all anxiously came to school for this event in professional attire, with beads of sweat and trembling hands as they awaited their turns for their interviews.

The planning and preparation process is quite stressful and overwhelming for the teachers involved. But without fail, year after year, we see firsthand the value of this experience as practical tools at so many levels. The consistent feedback we receive from the adult interviewers reveals how fabulous it is for these students to have this mock experience. Each student receives written feedback from each evaluator, which really helps him or her succeed when interviewed for college, part-time jobs, or internships. The students themselves particularly appreciate the opportunity to have conversations with adults and practice speaking formally ---   chances they do not often get. As a follow-up, there is a lesson on email etiquette in which students apply these skills to thank their specific interviewers.

We cannot express enough our utmost gratitude to all faculty and staff members from both Fairmont Prep and the business office for generously volunteering their time toward making this interview experience memorable, enriching, and meaningful for each of the seniors! This would not be possible without you.
VIDEO CORNER
"Boys 2-on-2 Volleyball Finals 2017 (Fairmont Preparatory Academy)"


12421 Newport Ave., North Tustin, CA 92705

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