Good evening families of FAHS Seniors,

As a reminder, the deadline to RSVP up to 4 tickets for the graduation ceremony on June 13th, is this coming Monday, May 24th.  If you are unable to RSVP through the high school webpage found here: FAHS Graduation TAB, please contact your student's associate principal. 

After the final RSVP of the 24th, the process to distribute any remaining available tickets up to 2 additional will begin and actual tickets necessary to be in attendance on June 13th, given to students.

If you are planning to attend and have not done so already, please make sure to complete the RSVP process online as soon as possible and feel free to contact the high school with any questions.

Have a great night and GO BLACKHAWKS!

Dear FAHS Class of 2021 Families and Students,

As we move closer towards the end of the 2020-2021 school year, we are excited to be able to provide some details for the planned in-person graduation ceremony to take place on June 13th at 1:00 pm in the high school gymnasium. Our hope is to have this celebration be as close to ‘normal’ as safely possible. Having said that, it is important to note there are contingencies in place should we need to adjust the format based on circumstances that arise. Please review the information below carefully, as it contains very important information for families including the requirement to reserve tickets for the event.

In-Person Graduation - Primary Format
Sunday, June 13th at 1:00 pm
Location: FAHS Premier Bank Gymnasium

• A Livestream option will be provided for those that do not wish or are unable to attend in person. This link can also
  be shared with extended family and friends to view the celebration.
• Each student will be allocated 4 tickets- RSVP only- Tickets must be ordered online by May 24th. Although there is no guarantee extra tickets will be available, you can request up to 2 additional tickets by emailing your student’s associate principal by May 28th. Given the capacity requirements, additional tickets will become available
  if other families do not use all 4 that are allocated.

The ticketing process and attendance waiver can be found at the FAHS webpage under the Graduation tab to reserve and RSVP.

*This link will be closed on May 24th so please reserve as soon as possible.*

• There will be a check-in process for each person entering the gymnasium with spacing between guest groupings. It is extremely important that guests stay with their family grouping and complete the SDFA self-screening protocol found on the FAHS webpage under the graduation tab prior to arriving that morning. Additionally, while in the building, it is extremely important to follow the safety mitigation strategies in place including physical distancing,
  facial coverings and sanitizing.
• If your guest grouping has special seating needs, ie. wheelchair, walker, inability to navigate steps it is extremely important to notify the high school main office before May 24th.
• Doors to the gymnasium will be opening at 11:45 am so families can take their seating and students should arrive no later than 12:15 pm on June 13th so they can be lined up. The ceremony begins promptly at 1:00 pm.

**Should the in-person ceremony be unable to occur due to large group gathering restrictions, before June 7th, the plan to transition to an outdoor ceremony will occur if allowable. Should spacing restrictions prevent either, we will transition to a photo opportunity ceremony in the gymnasium with a full-virtual ceremony release. Our intention is for the decision of the format to be finalized and communicated out to families on June 7th. Should none of these 3 options be permitted due to space constraints, regardless of the date it occurs, especially after June 7th, we will transition to a full-virtual ceremony only format. **

Contingency - Outdoor Graduation - Secondary Format
Decision made BEFORE June 7th
Sunday, June 13th at 1:00 pm
Location: Jones Dairy Farm Stadium / Premier Bank Gymnasium

Our plan at this time is to keep our ceremony as close to “normal” however, should information arise that prevents us from having the in-person ceremony in the gymnasium:

• As spacing in the home bleachers is limited, the 4 guests per student requirement will still be in place.
• Should inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances prevent this from occurring, a further contingency
  has been created to provide for photo opportunities in the gymnasium, limiting the total number of people allowed
  in the building.

**If this should occur before June 7th, there will be no make-up dates and a full-virtual presentation of our graduates will occur along with the photo opportunity in the bullet above. More details with the specifics will occur should this contingency need to be implemented closer to the actual ceremony date**

Contingency - Virtual Graduation - Tertiary Format
Decision made BEFORE OR AFTER June 7th
Sunday, June 13th at 1:00 pm
Location: Live-Stream

Possible Questions:

“So are we having the graduation ceremony or not?”
Our plan right now is to have the ceremony in-person in the high school gymnasium on June 13th, at 1:00 pm and each student will be allotted 4 tickets for guests.

“Why not just shift and have the full ceremony outdoors to begin with?”
With setting up for weather-dependent events, the timeliness, ability to adjust last minute, and equipment limitations, it is impossible to plan for indoor and outdoor simultaneously.

“What happens if on June 3rd, an unforeseen circumstance arises and we are advised that the gymnasium does not have the spacing capacity for an in-person ceremony?”
Because this occurs prior to the June 7th deadline, we would transition into the outdoor ceremony contingency plan.

“We aren’t allowed to have the full indoor ceremony and were planning on attending the outdoor ceremony in the Jones Dairy Farm stadium but now it’s June 10th and it’s calling for rain on June 13th. What happens?”
As this is past the June 7th deadline, we would transition to the photo-opportunity contingency in the gymnasium, limiting the total number of people allowed based on capacity, and then release the full virtual ceremony.

“What happens if we’re not allowed to have any indoor or outdoor large gatherings of people?”
This would be a worst-case scenario where we wouldn’t even be allowed to offer a photo opportunity in the gym in addition to a virtual presentation of our graduates. Should this occur, we would release the virtual presentation of our graduates on June 13th at 1:00 pm and no additional ceremonies would occur.

Thank you so much for your attention to this lengthy but important message. We are extremely grateful and excited to be able to share this experience with all of you and look forward with great anticipation to having our ceremony in the FAHS gymnasium. Should any new details or developments occur as we get closer to the June 7th date, please know we will do
our very best to communicate with you any changes as soon as possible should the need arise. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact the high school main office or Mr. Gefvert, Mr. Rousseau, or myself.

Dan Halvorsen - Principal

Brad Gefvert - Associate Principal
Alphabet A-L

Adam Rousseau - Associate Principal              Alphabet M-Z

Good afternoon families of FAHS juniors and seniors, 

We are excited to share some news with you!  After meeting with class officers, the prom committee and discussing options, at this time, we are planning on having an in-person prom on May 1, 2021! A lot of time and effort has been put into the creation and approval of a plan to not only make this event possible, but to do so in a manner that is as safe as possible for those that are interested in participating. 

Between now and then it is imperative that we continue to follow our district mitigation strategies in order to allow for this event to happen.  It is also important to remember that if our school or community COVID-19 numbers increase to a level that we would need to transition to a virtual learning environment, we may have to cancel or postpone the date.  Again, this is why it is so important for us to continue to wash our hands, wear our face coverings and watch our distance (3 W’s) whenever and wherever possible.  

We will utilize the entire gymnasium space to increase the amount of space available for each student along with maximizing circulation of air to the gymnasium.  The commons will be available as it is during lunches, for students to sit, adequately spaced at tables with barriers in place.  Bottled water will be available for purchase in the commons at the dance. 

Obviously, attending this event is not mandatory but for those students that are interested in participating, there are many important precautions and guidelines that MUST be adhered to, in order for us to be allowed to have a prom. They include but are not limited to: 

In Preparation Of Prom:

• Tickets will only be available online for purchase.  Each individual student must purchase their own ticket.  At the time of purchase, as has been done with other recent in-person events/performances, a waiver to attend prom along with contact information will be gathered and required, in order to attend.  Once your ticket is purchased, you can print a hard copy to bring with the night of the dance or use a provided QR code on your phone for entry.  The ticket purchasing information will be provided along with additional specific details as May 1st approaches.    

• Prior to arrival, the school district’s self-screening protocol: SDFA Self-Screening Protocol for covid symptoms must take place and if the criteria not to attend are met, ticket cost will be refunded at a later date. 

• Temperatures will be taken upon entry to the building and anyone with a temperature over 100.4 ℉ will not be permitted into the dance and will have their ticket cost refunded at a later date.

During The Event:

• There will be no coat check available at the dance.  Students should not bring additional items to the dance as there will be no place available to secure them.

• Students will be required to park or be dropped off in the front parking lot only and will be permitted to enter the HS main entrance only.  As with all dances, if students leave the dance at any time, they will not be permitted to reenter. 

• Face coverings will be required, and must be worn over nose and mouth at all times while at the dance. 

• Capacity will be limited to no more than 400 students.  Only FAHS students will be allowed to attend and tickets will be available on a first come first serve basis.  

• Additional sanitation stations will be placed all around the gym and commons and students to utilize during the dance

Grand March:

•  At this time, a traditional grand march will not take place, however, a livestream of students arriving on the ‘red carpet’ will be available for families and the community to watch.  Access to the livestream will be provided on the Fort Atkinson High School webpage along with various social media venues, closer to the dance on May 1st.

We are very excited to offer this opportunity for our students. As mentioned previously, in order for an in-person prom to take place, it is imperative that the current positive trends continue not only in our school but the community as well.  Should the need to cancel this event occur, we will do everything in our power to communicate that information to families and students as soon as possible. 

Thanks for everything and we hope you’re as excited as we are for the opportunity for Prom this year! 

GO BLACKHAWKS!

Thanks all and have a great night!

Dan

Good afternoon Fort Atkinson High School Families,
It's hard to believe it's already that time of year for our Spring conferences, but it is!  As we did for our Fall conferences and as mentioned in the Blackhawk Bulletin, we will be having virtual Family/Teacher Conferences on April 8th, from 4:30-7:30 pm. 

Similar to the Fall, teacher sign-ups can be found directly on our HS webpage under the Conferences drop down tab near the top of the page or by following this link:  FAHS Spring Conference Sign Up. At this location, you will find a complete listing of all of our teachers by department to schedule a 10 minute conference time block, along with individual teacher's Zoom links further down the page.  If you are unable to sign up for a block that works for you, please contact the teacher directly to set up an alternative communication time.   Also, teachers will once again be sending their conference Zoom links to all of their students to share with families to meet about their classes.  The deadline to sign up for conferences will be noon on Tuesday, April 6th.

Counselors will also be present that evening for any additional assistance and are linked on the same page.  If you have any questions or need help with the process, please do not hesitate to contact the high school main office or your student's associate principal.

Thanks for everything you do for our students, have a great Spring Break and GO BLACKHAWKS!

Good afternoon Fort Atkinson High School families and students,

We wanted to share out a couple of upcoming reminder dates for everyone.   

This upcoming Sunday, March 14th, we will have our Annual Academic Awards Recognition.  The ceremony is in virtual format and can be found here: 2020-2021 Academic Awards Ceremony.  As we've done in the past, this link will be viewable beginning at the normal ceremony start time of 4 pm on Sunday.  Eligible students have been notified through a mailing sent home and students will receive their actual award(s) during Enrichment period on Monday, March 15th.  Congratulations to all of our students that earned academic letters and awards!

Hopefully you have had a chance to read communication sent from the School District of Fort Atkinson: March 16th Virtual Learning Day on the subject of next Tuesday, March 16th with regards to staff vaccination.  For the high school, the virtual learning mentioned will take place in an asynchronous format, with no students reporting in person on that day.  Information, lessons and office hours of teacher availability will be directly communicated with your student on how to access any necessary coursework during their classes, by the end of this week.  As vaccination requires two doses, a second clinic, for all staff that received the first dose, will take place on Tuesday, April 13th with the same format for learning in place with no students attending in person as well on that day. 

With the asynchronous learning planned for next Tuesday, Monday, March 15, on their way out of the building, your student can grab a bag meal, that will consist of breakfast cereal, applesauce, pizza (microwave friendly), fresh veggies, fresh fruit, and 2 milks. If you wish to sign up your child for this meal, please fill out the form the school district will be sending out today, no later than Thursday, March 11th.  Due to the nature of distribution, special diet requests will not be available.  Again, if interested, please complete the form they will be sending no later than 8:00 am Thursday MARCH 11th, to ensure meal availability.  If you have any questions, please contact Christina Oswald at oswaldc@fortschools.org or 920-563-7811 ext. 1159.

Thanks for all you do and have a great rest of your week!

GO BLACKHAWKS!

Good morning everyone,

Good Afternoon FAHS Families,

Given the approaching winter weather later this week, we will be moving virtual supply pick-up from Thursday (2/4) to tomorrow, Wednesday (2/3).

As a reminder, virtual supply pick-up will be from 3-6 pm at the High School. If this change does not work for your schedule, please contact your Associate Principal or Miles Allie to schedule an alternative opportunity to get your supplies. 

Thank you, and have a great night!

Buenas tardes familias de la FAHS,

Dada la proximidad del clima invernal a finales de esta semana, trasladaremos la recogida de suministros virtuales del jueves (2/4) a mañana miércoles (2/3).

Como recordatorio, la recogida de suministros virtuales será de 3 a 6 pm en la Escuela Secundaria. Si este cambio no funciona para su horario, por favor, póngase en contacto con su director asociado o Miles Allie para programar una oportunidad alternativa para obtener sus suministros. 

Gracias, y que pases una buena noche.

Good afternoon Fort Atkinson High School families, students and staff.

As a reminder from previous communications, course selection for the 2021-2022 school year will be taking place this week during enrichment periods throughout the week.  Regardless of the format for attendance we will be in, Monday through Thursday of this week, all students should plan on being present in person or virtually during their enrichment period for staff assistance with the process.  Monday, directions will be shared with all students on how to enter their choices into PowerSchool.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, students will be entering their choices for classes into PowerSchool.  It is currently scheduled to occur during enrichment period but the window will be open for additional times during those days as well if they are unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. 

If you have any questions, please make sure to contact your student's guidance counselor.

Thank you in advance for helping make this important task in our students' futures successful!

Go BLACKHAWKS!

FAHS Families/Guardian, 

Please use the following link to access the cohort calendar for February. If there are any questions, please call the High School at 920-563-7811, or email Brad Gefvert or Adam Rousseau. 

February Cohort Calendar

Hello FAHS families, students and staff,

Hopefully, you have seen the previous communications with regards to our course selection process this year and that it will be changing from previous years. This message is being sent to provide further details about the process.  Between now and February 5th, 2021, students will be hearing from their teachers about specific courses in their subject areas, planning their course selections for the 2021-2022 school year and watching several video presentations about the course selection process.  Please work with your student in choosing their courses next year very carefully.  We encourage you to talk with them about their goals, areas of interest, and classes that will help them meet their post-high school needs to get them ready for what’s next.  This year, we have compiled everything necessary to plan for the course selection process online at this website: Course Selection Page or through the course selection tab on the high school webpage.

In place of our originally scheduled dates of in-person course selection on February 4th and February 8th, during the week of February 8th, students will be inputting their selection of classes for next year into PowerSchool.  This process will take place during their homeroom/enrichment period with cohort 1 entering their classes into PowerSchool on Wednesday, February 10th.  Cohort 2 will enter their classes into PowerSchool on Thursday, February 11th.  It is extremely important for all students regardless of their cohort, to be in attendance in-person or virtually, for their enrichment periods during these course selection days, February 8th, 10th and 11th.  During these periods, more detailed procedural information will be shared with them by their homeroom teachers.  Counselors will also be available for assistance and answering questions.

For incoming freshmen from Fort Atkinson Middle School, a separate communication will also be sent from FAMS with further specific details on when and how they will complete course selection this year.

Thank you in advance for working together to insure this year’s course selection creates opportunities to get our students ready for what’s next!

GO BLACKHAWKS!

Dear Class of 2022 Fort Atkinson Families,

With the ACT fast approaching on March 9th, we want all students to be as prepared as possible. The PreACT test, which most Juniors had taken at the beginning of Sophomore year,  will give your  child the opportunity to test their skills and readiness  before the state mandated assessment. Being familiar with the test and practice can have the benefit of significantly increasing their scores which can have tremendous benefits when applying to universities and tech schools as well as when applying for local and national scholarships. 

On January 27th and 28th, Fort Atkinson High School will be administering the PreACT for all Class of 2022 Juniors in the high School Gymnasium. We anticipate that students will have results in their hands up to three weeks prior to the ACT in March as a means to guide their preparation and to get support from teachers in subject areas.

PreACT is approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes long and consists of 4 tests in Reading (30), English (30), Science (30), and Math (40).  There are about 60 minutes of pre-administration activities. The questions on the exam will be questions from past ACTs that have been reformulated, so the difficulty level of the test is on par with the regular ACT.

In order to follow physical distancing safety guidelines students will be testing in their cohort groups. Masks are required at all times in the building, students will be sanitizing in and out of the testing area and  spaced at least six feet apart during the test.

Testing days

January 27th: 8:00 A.M. Cohort 2 B Day-Students Last names ending in L-Z

January 28th: 8:00 A.M   Cohort 1 A Day-Student Last names ending  in A-K

Unless Quarantined, all Juniors,  including those who are designated  Virtual or Remote Learners, are expected to attend their designated day. Virtual students may leave following the test to finish their school  day  remotely.

Please contact  Mr. Adam Rousseau, Associate Principal  rousseaua@fortschools.org with any questions or concerns!

Testing Schedule

7:50         Report to Gymnasium or other designated area

8:00-9:00         Pre-Administration/Demographic Info

9:00-9:30         Test 1:  English-  30 Minutes  

9:35-10:15       Test 2:  Math-     40 Minutes  

10:20-10:50     Test 3:  Reading  30 minutes

10:55-11:30      Test 4: Science   30 minutes

On your testing day, Please bring with you a #2 pencil and  a calculator for the math portion of the test. You may bring a water bottle and a small snack.

Kind Regards,

Mr. Rousseau

Good afternoon FAHS class of 2024 families,

If your freshmen student has a silver Samsung Chromebook, over the next two days, we will be exchanging them for new ones in our IMC during their Enrichment period from 12:53-1:39.  For students in Cohort 2, we will be doing this tomorrow, Tuesday, January 19th.  For students in Cohort 1, we will be doing this on Wednesday, January 20th.  If your student is in a full-virtual environment for their classes, please contact  Mrs. Jacobs (jacobsc@fortschools.org)  or Mr. Allie (alliem@fortschools.org) in the high school IMC to coordinate an exchange with Thursday's materials pick up.  It is imperative that they bring them to school with the charging cord for the exchange to occur.  If you have questions or are unable to make any of these dates, please work with your students associate principal to coordinate an exchange of the silver Samsung Chromebook.

Thank you and Go BLACKHAWKS!