As the new school year approaches, local school sites are offering “meet your teacher” days, while additional back to school festivities have been planned by Fountain Hills Parks and Recreation and the PTO.

Following is a list of important dates and times for students planning to attend Fountain Hills Unified School District. Student photos will also be taken at the Meet Your Teacher and Falcon Fest events.

Don’t forget that the first day of school is Tuesday, Aug. 10.

McDowell Mountain

McDowell Mountain Elementary School will hold a Meet Your Teacher event for the 2021-22 school year on Monday, Aug. 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The day’s events will be broken into time slots by grade. Pre-K will be held from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Kindergarten will run from 9:30 to 11 a.m., with First grade from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Second grade will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m., with third grade running from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

For those who still need to register for class, the office is officially open for the new school year and parents are encouraged to drop by when convenient.

FHMS

A Meet Your Teacher Open House event is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fountain Hills Middle School.

Parents are invited to stop by with their students during their grade level’s scheduled window, but they can stop by anytime if the time slot does not work for their schedule. Eighth grade is scheduled for 9 to 10:30 a.m. with seventh grade scheduled for 10:30 a.m. until noon. Fifth and sixth grade are scheduled for 12:30 to 2 p.m., with fourth grade scheduled from 2 to 3:30 p.m. If a parent has multiple students on campus, they are encouraged to choose the time slot that works best for them rather than plan to make multiple trips.

During Meet Your Teacher, student pictures will be taken for IDs, teachers will have their classrooms open to meet with visitors (call the school if a one-on-one meeting needs to be scheduled outside of the event), and students will be able to pick up important forms for the upcoming school year.

The campus will be open fully open for visitors to get acquainted with. Athletic sign-ups will also be open, as well as introductions to extracurricular opportunities, volunteer opportunities and community programs.

FHHS

Fountain Hills High School no longer requires parents to visit the campus for “walkthrough” registrations, though tours can be scheduled at any time on the high school website. Visit hs.fountainhillsschools.org for more details.

Under the header for “About Us,” you will find a tab for “Registration” with links to all of the needed information including an enrollment packet, permission slips, parking permit form, fee lists and more.

Parents are encouraged to conduct pre-registration activities and fee payments online prior to the first day of school.

Falcon Fest will be held on Monday, Aug. 9, at the FHHS gym from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Falcon Fest is a chance for students and parents to tour campus, meet their teachers, visit with clubs and athletic programs, register for parking and take care of any fees.

Juniors and seniors who want to apply for off-campus lunch privileges must bring their signed, notarized application to Falcon Fest in order to receive their special IDs.

FHHS has divided students into four time slots by grade level for efficiency and to keep the lines shorter. Freshmen are invited to drop by from 8 to 10 a.m. Sophomores are scheduled for 10 a.m. until 12 noon. Juniors will be from noon until 2 p.m., with seniors scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m.

Boohoo/Yahoo

The PTO is putting on a Back to School Boohoo/Yahoo event, celebrating either the tears or cheers for when local youngsters return to school.

This event is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 10, in the McDowell Mountain Elementary School Multipurpose Room.

Send the kids to class, then come meet new faces from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Coffee, muffins and tissues will be provided by the PTO. For more information, visit fhusdpto.org.

Bash

The Town of Fountain Hills Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a Back to School Bash on Aug. 20. This event is presented by RE/MAX Sun Properties and The Sonoran Lifestyle Team, and will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Four Peaks Park.

Activities, which are subject to change, include water slides, food trucks, a dunk tank, music, yard games and a visit from MCSO and the Fountain Hills Fire Department.