Issue link: http://fairmont.uberflip.com/i/1529098
Community-building helped define last year. The Eagles built upon the successes of the previous year with its "Fairmont Families" initiative, which blended students from JK to 8th grade in small groups where older students served as mentors and led activities and service projects for their "family" that focused on a specific character quality each month. Special events like Fairmont Families Field Day brought together students, parents, faculty, and staff for a fun day of games and friendly competition. In keeping with the campus's reputation for academic excellence, learning remained front and center for our Eagles. It was full STEAM ahead with robotics, with students writing code for mission challenges for a robot game and infusing their creativity in designing both the robot and its attachments to accomplish their missions. North Tustin made its presence known once again at science and engineering competitions. Six students earned awards at OCSEF, including first-place wins in Fluids/Aerodynamics and Electricity & Electronics, while three others showcased their ingenuity at the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge. 3 THERMO FISHER JIC COMPETITION INVITATIONS Excellence in STEM 6 AWARDS, INCLUDING TWO 1ST PLACE OC Science & Engineering Fair 1ST PLACE Festival of the Arts Junior Art Exhibit Eagle debaters had "arguably" some of the best competition performances over the course of the season — Top 6th grader, 1st Place Speaker, Top 8th grader, and Overall School Award. Their successes were topped off at the national championship with a Distinguished Team honor. The caring and compassionate students who help make Fairmont North Tustin such a special place seized many opportunities to support and serve others. Profits from "Socktober" benefitted the Tustin Family and Youth Center, the canned food drive stocked the Orange County Food Bank, and Treats for Troops brought holiday cheer to deployed service members and veterans in VA hospitals. A new initiative, 20Time, gave middle schoolers a chance to exercise their agency by developing their own "passion projects," many of which were designed to make a positive impact on the lives of others.