Benton Elementary

DayInTheLife - Becoming A Bulldog Fairfield High School senior Jenna Harlan wasn't quite prepared for one of the biggest moments of her life. Harlan was selected by the Community Foundation of Elkhart County as a 2023-24 Lilly Endowment Scholarship winner, which allows her a full ride to any college or university in the state of Indiana. Want to guess on where she really wants to go? Read about the moments leading up to the announcement, and how the phone call went with mom in our story below. We will also post separate posts with videos capturing the moments. https://www.fairfield.k12.in.us/article/1379690

Under a sheet of darkness, Benton's third and fourth grade classes serenaded a packed gymnasium with the sweet sounds of holiday music! Under the direction of Tori Shearer, Benton's students put together a fun and energetic program as Christmas rapidly approaches. A bravo! to all of the students and staff members who helped put together a wonderful musical!

Feelin' good! Benton Elementary fifth and sixth grade students returned to Fairfield Cosmetology this morning for the annual Spa Day. Hair, check. Nails, check. The junior cosmetology students get more work with actual people in the chairs. The elementary students get to feel fancy and look the part. Win-win for everyone!

Fairfield will once again take part in the Parkview Sports Medicine Holiday Basketball Shootout at Trine University! Check out the press release below for dates and times for whom and when our boys will play. https://www.fairfield.k12.in.us/article/1375637

The schedule keeps churning for our winter sports programs, and with it, some very positive results. How did our boys and girls basketball programs do this past weekend? How did our wrestlers fare at two quality invites? We even have some junior high bits mixed in! Find the rundown here! Included in the mix this week are also photos of middle school boys hoops between Millersburg and Fairfield provided by both Lily Thieszen and Wade Jagger, as well as team photos provided by Fairfield athletics. Thank you for the help! https://www.fairfield.k12.in.us/article/1372531

DayInTheLife - The Grass Is Greener Speaking of winning national awards, we've got another one for you all! If you remember from earlier this fall, our groundskeeper - Dakota Steele - was among national contestants for Field Design of the Year - AND HE WON! Steele won the Sports Field Managers Association's national contest, which sends him to Daytona Beach, Fla., in January for the national conference where he will be recognized. Since we all can't go to Florida in January, let's congratulate him now! Full reaction from Steele and his huge accomplishment can be found here! https://www.fairfield.k12.in.us/article/1369064

Members of the Fairfield community! We will be running a test of our new notification system pertaining to weather alerts. The test will be done today (MONDAY, Dec. 4) at 4 p.m. You will receive a text message, email and a message will appear on our K-12 website, Facebook and Instagram accounts. We repeat, this is only a test!

You may not expect to find a budding enterprise at Millersburg Elementary Middle School, but the eighth graders are hard at work creating products you may want! Find out more about their Business Experience classwork here: https://www.fairfield.k12.in.us/article/1355711

Fairfield senior Caleb Borkholder was awarded one of the top academic awards in football, named an Academic All-Star by the Indiana Football Coaches Association. Find the press release below: https://www.fairfield.k12.in.us/article/1354939

Diversity and communication are key components to what makes Fairfield a great place to be. We are looking to continue to keep those components strong through leadership and are looking to add to our Fairfield Family. Fairfield Community Schools is seeking a qualified applicant for an English Language Learner Coordinator. The position is geared to coordinate language development programming across all four of our schools, at all grade levels, and language acquisition levels. If interested, please find our application link below. https://fairfieldcsd.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=1318

Diversity and communication are key components to what makes Fairfield a great place to be. We are looking to continue to keep those components strong through leadership and are looking to add to our Fairfield Family. Fairfield Community Schools is seeking a qualified applicant for an English Language Learner Coordinator. The position is geared to coordinate language development programming across all four of our schools, at all grade levels, and language acquisition levels. If interested, please find our application link below. https://fairfieldcsd.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=1318

From our family to yours, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Substitute teachers and educational assistants are vitally important to keeping the wheel moving at every school. Their patience, flexibility and overall care are facets that we not only appreciate, but celebrate. Fairfield Community Schools has changed how we bring substitute workers into our corporation. Rather than using an outside firm to manage from afar, we decided to oversee substitute hires from within our own walls. The process to become a substitute is simple, and still offers the flexibility to choose what days you work and where while getting paid at the same time! It’s a great means of income for retirees, part-time employees, college students on their breaks, or just someone who is interested in teaching but doesn’t have the education degree. If you are interested in becoming a substitute for Fairfield Community Schools, visit our FCS Substitute page and sign up today. You do need to have a background check on file. If you have additional questions, please contact Wanda Miller at (574) 831-2188 ext. 8807. https://fairfieldcsd.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=2395

Fairfield kicked off the unofficial start to its wrestling season Thursday night with program-wide Blue and Gold blacklight matches. The regular season for the program technically started last week with our girls competing at the East Noble Invite, and the JV will kick off tomorrow at West Noble. The varsity boys will compete Tuesday at Northridge in its first action of the season.

The past came alive Friday in Mrs. Steffen's fifth grade classroom at Benton Elementary! The students put on their wax museum, representing notable historical figures in world history. From Vasco da Gama to Jeanne Baret, the students represented them with factoids about their lives and dressed the part in costume.

Happy National Substitute Teacher Appreciation Day! There is no way the wheels keep moving at our schools without substitute teachers. From classroom help for a day, to maternity leaves, to cafeteria subs and everything in between. It all matters to have people at the ready to fill in and lead when the need arises. On your national day of recognition, we thank you for the continued work you do to keep our schools moving smoothly!

Veterinary Careers class at Fairfield High School is having its first surgery day for the 2023-24 school year. Along with the help of Dr. Hilary Christner, owner of LaGrange Animal Clinic, 21 Fairfield CTE and seven visiting NorthWood students will assist in spaying and neutering 10 cats. Students assist with surgical prep, restraint, monitoring and recovery of the patients with the assistance of Jill Anderson, RVT (Instructor) and NorthWood instructor Brandi Henderson. *This service is not open to community members*

Fairfield groundskeeper Dakota Steele is part of a national contest and needs your vote. Details of the contest Steele is a part of is below! Voting ends Monday, Nov. 20. https://www.fairfield.k12.in.us/article/1340588

Fairfield is set to reveal its fall play: The Odd Couple. There will be two performances, Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov. 18, in the Fairfield auditorium. Both shows are set for 7 p.m. The storyline, built around writing pals Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison, details how two polar opposites can find common ground among the life around them. For tickets to either night of the show, click the link below! https://fairfieldhsin.ludus.com/200442243

The Friends of Benton plaques have been taken down at Benton Elementary School, but were saved. If you were a Friend of Benton, or you know someone who was one and would like to get their plaque, please contact Rebecca Tarman at rtarman@fairfield.k12.in.us and make an arrangement to pick them up. If interested, please reach Tarman before January 22, 2024.