letters alive...A TO Z

“Wow!” “Awesome!” “This is soooo cool!” When is the last time you heard your child say those words when it came to learning letters and sight words?  In reality, or better said, in “augmented reality,” you may be surprised to learn that those are actual quotes from Fairmont's preschool students who have been introduced to Fairmont’s new Letters Alive program.

We are all familiar with old-school flashcards, but imagine taking those tried-and-true two dimensional learning aids and bringing them into the age of augmented reality.  With Letter’s Alive, the bear that illustrates the letter “B” is a three-dimensional, lifelike, animated animal that moves, makes noises and responds to commands.  The shark for the letter “S” actually swims.  Kids can view video of the shark and all of his animal buddies in their natural habitat.  Children can put letters and sight words together to form basic sentences that tell the alphabet characters what to do—jump, swim, fly…

“I was so excited by Letters Alive when I saw the demo last year,” says Education Coordinator Chelsea Drake, who discovered the program at the Computer Using Teachers (CUE) Conference last March.  “It’s such a dynamic, fun way to teach phonics and I just knew our kids would love it.”

Teachers participated in a day-long training on Letters Alive in late August and are now implementing it in the classroom.  So, if your child comes home with a wild story about an elephant or a monkey coming to class, you will know it’s all part of how Fairmont is using the latest educational technology to inspire and instruct our little digital natives.

Want to see Letters Alive in action?  Check out this demo on YouTube.

Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools

HOW TO carve the perfect pumpkin

Halloween is almost here! Are your pumpkins showing off their toothy grins on your front step? If not, follow these few steps and round up the family to start carving! Even if your child is too young to use the carving tools, he or she can still help in other ways.

First, you will need a few things:

• A pumpkin
• Three tools: pen, mini screw driver, mini carving saw (available in a pumpkin carving kit) 
• Paper pattern: make one or print one you find online
• Tape
• A candle

Carving Instructions: 

1. Cut an opening in the top of your pumpkin, but make it big enough so you can get your hand in to pull out the guts. Save the top so it can be used as the lid.

2. Clean and scrape out the inside. Let your child dig in and get messy! This is a perfect task for the little ones. 

3. Cut out the pattern you found online or make your own out of a piece of paper. Tape it to the pumpkin.

4. Transfer the design. Using the pen, poke through the paper making dots along each outline on the pattern. Make sure to pierce the skin to give your screwdriver a starting hole. Then remove the pattern. (Save it and refer to it while you are carving.)

5. Drill the holes. Hold the pumpkin in your lap and twist the screwdriver into each hole made by the pen in step 4. Turn the drill gently until it creates a larger hole.

6. Start sawing. Move the saw steadily up and down, working from dot to dot. Always hold the saw at a right angle to the pumpkin.

7. Cut a chimney. Light a candle inside the pumpkin, then close the lid. Quickly put out the flame and look for the blackened spot inside the lid. Cut a small hole there; it will let the smoke and heat escape while a candle glows inside.

Have a great Halloween! 

Contributed by Darcy, Fairmont Private Schools 

FRIDAY FOLDER october 19

North Tustin Students Practice Photography

Highlights From This Week

North Tustin Jr. High Students Enjoy the Back to School Dance 

Last Friday, October 12th, the Junior High students at North Tustin had their first Back to School Glow Dance in Allison Hall. With the DJ playing tunes, glow sticks shinging all over the room, the students danced the night away and had a great time. Thank you chaperones, Mrs. Liess, Mrs. Letson-Drake, & Mr. Smiens. The students appreciated seeing you.

Upcoming events and reminders:

Red Ribbon Week

Fairmont's North Tustin and Anaheim Hills campuses will be recognizing Red Ribbon Week on Monday, October 22nd - Friday, October 26th.  Red Ribbon Week is an opportunity for parents and teachers to emphasize the importance of healthy lifestyles and strong character. Refer to your campus e-newsletter for specific activities for Red Ribbon Week.

Conference Month

October is conference month at Fairmont. We invite you to take advantage of this important opportunity to meet with your child's teacher. 

Weekly E-Newsletters 

Anaheim Hills Campus

Historic Anaheim Campus

North Tustin Campus

October Lunch Menus 

Anaheim Hills Preschool-1st Grade

Anaheim Hills 2nd-8th Grade

Historic Anaheim Campus Preschool

Historic Anaheim Campus Kindergarten 

Historic Anaheim Campus 1st-8th Grade

North Tustin Preschool-Kindergarten

North Tustin 1st-8th Grade

Contributed by Alyssa, Fairmont Private Schools

THE FAIRMONT FIVE homemade halloween costumes

Ask most kids their favorite holiday and most of them will undoubtedly say Halloween. They get to stay up late, take home tons of candy, and play dress up! This Halloween, instead of running to countless stores to find your child's costume, try making it yourself! Here are a few creative and fun DIY costumes that you and your kids can make together.

1. If your kids want to dress up as a group try making these adorable toadstool and gnome costumes. For more than one toadstool and gnome try changing the colors for each child to make a garden!

2. A beautiful butterfly is always striking and can be a great costume for a small child even up to a teenager. Let your child in on the creative process and allow her to choose her own color combinations. 

3. If your son just doesn't want to go the superhero route, have him help you make this dashing knight costume. 

4. For an alternative to the princess, try this creative paper doll costume. Get your child involved by letting her choose the color. She can also help by cutting and coloring. 

5. Your child will want to jump in and start exploring the deep in this crafty scuba diver costume. But put your sewing machine away, because this is a new sew costume. 

Contributed by Darcy, Fairmont Private Schools 

SNACK TIME pumpkins--not just for carving

Native to North America, pumpkins have a long history as part of American tradition. They are often transformed into scary faces, but there are other options than simply carving a decorative jack-o-lantern.

Pumpkins can be boiled, baked, steamed, or roasted. Seasoned with spices and a bit of butter, they make a tasty and nutritious side dish. Add canned or cooked pumpkin to a protein smoothie for great color and flavor.

Save the seeds! Separate pumpkin seeds from pulp, rinse and spread the seeds on cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until seeds are dry. Add to trail mix or eat as a stand alone snack. Yum!

Besides the infamous pie, pumpkin is a versatile, nutritious vegetable that can be added for moisture or flavor to make bread, muffins, cookies, soup, cheesecake, muffins, cupcakes, ravioli, pudding... the list is endless.

Photo from Microsoft Office online photo gallery

Contributed by Leslie, Nutrition Management Services

FRIDAY FOLDER october 12

Highlights From This Week
Anaheim Hills Supports Breast Cancer Research
Denim Day was a wonderful success at the Anaheim Hills campus this week. Fourth grade teacher, Marci Schafer, and sixth grade parent, Kristin Davtyan, coordinated the philanthropic effort that raised over $2,500 to support breast cancer research. Way to go students, teachers and parents!

Upcoming events and reminders:
Red Ribbon Week
Fairmont will be recognizing Red Ribbon Week on Monday, October 15th - Friday, October 19th.  Red Ribbon Week is an opportunity for parents and teachers to emphasize the importance of healthy lifestyles and strong character. Refer to your campus e-newsletter for specific activities for Red Ribbon Week.

Conference Month
October is conference month at Fairmont. We invite you to take advantage of this important opportunity to meet with your child's teacher. There will be no school for students on Friday, Oct. 19th due to conferences.

9th Annual College Fair at Fairmont Prep  
Mark your calendars! The 9th Annual College Fair at Fairmont Prep is coming up on Tuesday, October 16. Representatives from over 60 colleges and universities will be on campus to talk with parents and students about their schools. It's never too early to start thinking about college and learning more about the college admissions process. Don't miss out on this excellent opportunity! While you're on campus, you can also stop by Fairmont Prep's Community Open House to tour the campus and learn more about the school. Click here to learn more and RSVP.

Weekly E-Newsletters 
Anaheim Hills Campus
Historic Anaheim Campus
North Tustin Campus


October Lunch Menus 
Anaheim Hills Preschool-1st Grade
Anaheim Hills 2nd-8th Grade
Historic Anaheim Campus Preschool
Historic Anaheim Campus Kindergarten 
Historic Anaheim Campus 1st-8th Grade
North Tustin Preschool-Kindergarten
North Tustin 1st-8th Grade

Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools

FAIRMONT FIVE pumpkin patch picks

Fall is finally here. Time for flannel, hot cider, and a visit to the pumpkin patch. Kick off the holiday season with a trip to one of Orange County's top-rated pumpkin-picking destinations. Make it an adventure for the whole family and don't forget to bring your camera!

1. Tanaka Farms is conveniently located in Irvine and offers a U-Pick Pumpkin Patch open daily through October 31st from 9am-6pm. Admission, parking and corn maze are free. In addition to a vast selection of pumpkins, there are U-Pick vegetables, wagon rides, and a petting zoo. On the weekends enjoy the Fall Harvest with food, games, ATV rides and more. 
2. Irvine Park Railroad offers the ultimate pumpkin patch experience--complete with train rides, hay rides, tractor races, face painting, panning for gold, a child-friendly haunted house, great food, and more. Irvine Park Railroad is open 7 days a week from September 17-October 31 from 10am-5pm on weekdays and 10am-6pm on weekends. Admission is free.  Parking is $3 on weekdays and $5 on weekends.
3. Johnson Brothers is also centrally located in Irvine and includes many free activities including barnyard animals, an Indian Village with authentic tipis, do-it-yourself face painting and much more. There are also pony rides and a bounce house. Admission is free and the pumpkin patch is open every day until Halloween from 9am-9pm.
4. Pumpkinpalooza at Zoomar's Petting Zoo  in San Juan Capistrano offers pumpkins, petting and pony rides, plus lots more for the admissions price of $7 (kids) and $8 (adults). It is open daily from 9am-5pm. Visit Zoomar's Facebook page for more details about this year's event and consider taking the train to San Juan for an added adventure. 
5. Big Horse Corn Maze in Temecula boasts the largest corn maze in Southern California, which just may make it worth the drive. Also unique are its piglet and ducky races, hay wagon rides, corn cannon, and pumpkin bowling! The maze is open weekdays from 1pm-5pm and weekends from 10am-4pm. Some activities are only available on weekends, so make sure to check the website for details.

Photo from Microsoft Office photo gallery

Contributed by Darcy, Fairmont Private Schools