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Fifth grade students have worked all spring to complete the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. Taught by Officer Tim Holtz (father of Timothy Holtz, class of 2023) and Amy Rostan, LS/MS School Counselor, the DARE program educates students on topics including substance abuse and bullying. Our 5th graders also learned strategies for general problem-solving, sound decision making, and equipped them with strong citizenship skills . To successfully complete the program, students had to actively participate in all class sessions, interview an adult about a time they needed assistance, and write a final essay about the program. Our final DARE class was held via Zoom on April 21 and the students will be honored at a graduation ceremony in fall 2020.

Fuqua School specials and elective teachers have created a section on the main lower and middle school class pages for students and parents to explore. This "we provide, you decide" model gives families a bank of active and hands-on educational activities that are accessible to them to participate in whenever they choose. These are not required but rather fun extra ideas that families can do together during this time.

These teachers will continue to add activities to these pages weekly, so families will always have fresh, new ideas! Please visit the lower school's main class page and the middle school's main class page to experience the fun!

While our campus is closed for the school year, our school is not closed. Fuqua School teachers are continuing to teach and learn with the help of online platforms such as Zoom, YouTube, and Edmodo where they are still able to deliver their instruction to students. While families across the world are home and practicing social distancing, our teachers are exploring new and fun ways to keep our students learning content while bringing the classroom to them.

Friday afternoons have brought much joy to LS/MS School Counselor, Amy Rostan, during her Friday "lunch bunches" with groups of students. Facilitated through Zoom, Mrs. Rostan started "lunch bunches" after learning of the idea from another school counselor at an independent school. Each week, Mrs. Rostan invites groups of students to join her for a "virtual lunch". During their Zoom lunches, students have shared the highs and lows of school at home, suggestions of ways to improve the facilitation of online learning, and just generally enjoyed each other’s company. As Mrs. Rostan shared, "While it is not the same as seeing them in person each day at school, seeing their faces and hearing their ideas is such a joy."

Local 3D printing enthusiasts are working together to create face shield masks for emergency responders and face mask adjusters for local health care professionals. Face shields are just an added layer of protection to keep police and other emergency responders safe when they may not be able to adhere to proper social distancing standards. The face mask extenders are in high demand by those wearing face masks in order to keep ears from getting rubbed raw.

Fuqua School is donating the printers, filament, and expertise to fabricate the shields and extenders. The face shield takes about 50 minutes to print and the mask extender takes about 20 minutes. Due to the size of the print bed, only one print can be run at a time. Kathryn Jefferson, Fuqua School STEAM teacher uses the 3D printers to teach 3D printing in class and plans to run a 3D printing camp this summer.

Head of School, John Melton, commented, “I was so grateful for Mrs. Jefferson’s suggestion that we begin using our technology for the benefit of first responders in our community.  Her kindness, creativity, and genuine concern for others are indicative of our Fuqua School Core Values - the same values found in so many organizations in our community and that make Farmville a special place to live, learn, work, and raise a family!"

Mrs. Jefferson is pictured wearing a face shield prototype made with a 2-Liter bottle.  This project is similar to many of the engineering and design based projects she teaches in the STEAM Lab at Fuqua School.