Principal’s Corner
Dear Parents
and Families,
We have had
a very exciting start to fall at PES. Our students have been working together
and learning throughout the building, and I hope you have spoken with your
child about how things are going at school so far. I hope you will hear your
child speak enthusiastically about some special moment or memory from the past
few weeks. We will strive to make
exciting opportunities available throughout this year.
One of our
big themes this year surrounds opportunity. I am asking our teachers to
challenge all of our students, and to look for educational opportunities that
help each child develop and grow their intellectual curiosity and higher-level
thinking skills. We want our students to know that they are capable, and to help
them start now on their journey to being thriving, thinking adults.
If you have
been following us on Facebook, you have seen many of the cool things that go on
at Providence every day. (If you are not
yet following us, please do! Our social media connection gives us the chance to
share many facets of our school that you might miss otherwise.) Two highlights come to mind right away
for me from this month. Our current 4th graders who were in Ms.
Zuidema’s 3rd grade class last year got to see a professional video,
made by National Geographic, related to their work last year with a real-life
explorer! Here is the link, in case you missed it. https://t.co/GXLc3Metti . Also, our 6th
graders were invited to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and to participate
in a downlink connection with an astronaut who is still in space!! Be sure to
take a look at this one as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_biLyU1Ik0w&t=1317s
. (Special thanks to the Schwille and Kelsey families for making these
connections for us! We count on our parents every day, and we really appreciate
it when you share such great chances for our students to learn new things.)
Interim reports went home for all students last week, and I hope
you had the opportunity to talk with your child about his or her work during
the first five weeks of the school year. We send these home so you will have an
idea of your child’s academic status and school behavior as we settle into the
year. Students who need to make improvements have a full month to make them
before our quarterly progress reports go home. We appreciate your support in
helping your child with his or her school performance.
Relatedly, there is an opportunity for
you to meet with your child’s teacher in the beginning of next month. At Back to School Night, many of our teachers asked parents to
schedule a time to meet with them on or around our Teacher Workdays and Conference Days on November 6-7, 2017. There
is no school for students on those days, but our teachers will be here,
calculating grades for the first quarter and meeting with families. If you
have not already scheduled a conference, please contact your teacher to set up
a time to meet. It’s very important that you have this time with your
child’s teacher, so we can work together to make this a productive and terrific
year of learning at our school.
Our fantastic PTA is sponsoring many opportunities for our
students and families this month, and I urge you to join, and to participating
in PTA events. We kicked off our Read-A-Thon
fundraiser this month, and I hope your children have asked you to support
them. We also have a Family Night Out at Chipotle on Oct. 17 and our
Book Fair nights on Oct. 25 and 26.
Please join us for these opportunities to see each other and to support the
many activities that the PTA brings our students each year.
We have quite a few other events coming up in the next month, and
I hope to see many of our parents in our building. Please mark your calendars
for our STEAM Night on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.
It is an incredibly fun night of learning for everyone who attends, and our
students love it. It really is a “Don’t Miss” event!
On Nov. 8 at 6:30, we
will hold an informational meeting about our application to provide full-time Advanced Academics programs (Local Level
IV) at our school next year. This additional program would allow parents of
students who qualify for the Advanced Academic Center at Mosby Woods Elementary
the opportunity to keep their children in their neighborhood school. It will
also provide additional learning possibilities for all Providence students, and
we are excited about the options it might offer.
Finally, our Thanksgiving
lunches for grades 3-6 on Nov. 9, and grades K-2 on Nov. 10, are two of my
favorite days of the year. It warms my heart each year to see our huge,
diverse, and beautiful community sit together in our cafeteria to share a meal.
Please join us if you can.
Thank you for your constant support of our
school and our partnership with you. Please let me know whenever you have
questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Dan Phillips
Providence Principal
Counselor’s
Corner
This month’s guidance lesson topic will be focused on
BULLYING.
What is bullying?
Bullying as stated
in the Student Rights and Responsibilities: Any aggressive and unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate,
or humiliate the victim; involves a real or perceived power imbalance between
the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes
severe emotional trauma. “Bullying” includes cyberbullying.
“Bullying” does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument, or
peer conflict.
How can we STOP bullying?
·
Help
kids understand bullying. Talk about
what bullying is and how to stand up to it safely. Tell kids bullying is
unacceptable. Make sure kids know how to get help. They can tell a teacher or
any trusted adult.
·
Keep the lines of communication open. Check in with kids often. Listen to them.
Know their friends, ask about school, and understand their concerns.
·
Encourage kids to do what they love. Special activities, interests, and hobbies
can boost confidence, help kids make friends, and protect them from bullying
behavior.
·
Model how to treat others with kindness and
respect. “Kindness, it’s the
Providence Way”
RED RIBBON WEEK:
October 23-October 27. We will be
sending home a calendar of themes to help spread the important message of
choosing a healthy lifestyle.
GROUP COUNSELING:
Thank you for referring your children to small group counseling. We look
forward to beginning our groups later this month. More information will be sent
throughout the year about upcoming groups at PES.
If you have any questions or concerns that we have not addressed, please email
us or gives us a call.
Sarah Rupp Bissan Heise
1, 3, 5, & 6 K, 2, 4, &
6
703-460-4424 703-460-4426
Providence School News
Providence on Facebook
Follow us at @ProvidenceES
(http:/www.twitter.com/ProvidenceES)
PES Twitter
Follow us at @ProvidenceES
(http:/www.twitter.com/ProvidenceES)
Family STEAM Night- October 19, 6-7:30pm
Join us at Providence
on Thursday, October 19th from 6:00-7:30 PM to discover the fun of
science, technology, engineering, arts, and math through hands-on
activities for the whole family!
Families will
experience: Designing a Table, Creating a Caterpillar, Exploring Buoyancy in
Water, Visiting Robotic Demonstrations, Programming Ozobots,
Experiencing a Breakout Room...and much, much, more!
Procedure Reminder
for Students Leaving Early:
If you need to
pick-up your child early from school, please be sure to send a note in advance
to the front office. If a note cannot be
sent, you MUST contact the school either by email ProvidenceES.Attendance@fcps.edu or by phone (703) 460-4400 at least one hour prior to
pick up to ensure a timely dismissal. Any early dismissal requests after 1:30
p.m., must be called-in to the office directly at (703) 460-4400 to ensure your
request is received by an office staff member.
Thank you!
Abandono temprano:
Si su hijo va a dejar la escuela temprano, usted debe comunicarse
con la escuela por correo electrónico ProvidenceES.Attendance@fcps.edu o por teléfono (703) 460-4400 al menos una hora antes para
recoger su estudiante y así garantizar una salida oportuna. Si es después de
1:30PM, por favor póngase en contacto con la oficina directamente al (703)
460-4400 para que su solicitud sea recibida por un miembro del personal de
oficina.
LOST and FOUND
Our Lost and Found closets have accumulated quite a bit these last
couple weeks. Please be sure to stop by (1st grade hallway by
the elevator) before or after your parent-teacher conference to take a look for
any missing item your child may have. Items will be donated on December
15th!
Technology
Dreambox
Learning Math Program!
Students will have access to the math program, Dreambox,
again this school year. If you have access to the internet at home and
would like for you student to access the program, below is the document
that was sent home this week by classroom teachers. Included in this attachment are directions to
use the computer as well as ipads/tablets.
The students will use their school network account information (student
ID and password). If your child does not
remember their information please contact their homeroom teacher. Handout that was sent home (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-vpBgRSPFvAckduMUJDaDRjUFk)
MyON
Reading program
MyOn (www.myon.com) is an online reading program, used by FCPS that all
students have access to using in school or from home. This program is available
via an URL or an App (android/apple). Students in grades K-6, will use
their computer login information to access MyOn. If your child does not
remember their information, please contact their homeroom teacher.
Bring Your Own
Device Program (BYOD): October 10, 2017 (starting)
BYOD throughout Fairfax County Public Schools is now an automated process and
no stickers will be issued. The Acceptable Use Policy in the Student Rights and
Responsibilities now includes permission for BYOD, eliminating the need to send
in a signed BYOD permission slip. However, when your student brings his/her
device to school, he/she will need to meet with a member of the school's tech
team for assistance accessing the school's wireless network. For more
information click HERE.
Kindergarten through 6th grade students should
FIRST check with their teacher(s) if they are interested in bringing in their
own devices, as each teacher will be able to advise them about when and how
they might use personal devices in class. Once the device is brought in, the
student will need to see a member of our school's tech team to assist with
getting onto the FCPS network. Mrs. Shelton and Mr. Rueffert are located in
room 107.
PTA News & Announcements
Movie Night
Thank you to everyone who attended movie night. We hope you enjoyed the movie and
popcorn. A special thanks to Debbie
Reinsel and Marge Dwyer for organizing the event and to all the student
volunteers, staff and administration that helped make movie night a
success.
PTA Read-A-Thon
Oct 9 – 26
From October 9 – 26 PES students will participate in our 1st READ-A-THON. We
want to raise money while we keep kids reading! As a school, we understand the
need to promote a healthy and educational fundraiser for our students, while
respecting parents’ requests for an easy no-nonsense approach to helping us
reach our budget goals. Students will feel empowered by making a commitment to
stay on task and help their school! We have teamed up with The Get Movin Crew
to provide an effortless way for you to communicate with friends and relatives
and ask them to join our team, and support our school! (English, Spanish). This is PTA’s largest fundraiser and the proceeds help support field
trips, assemblies, stipends for teachers and popular events like Bingo Night,
Fun Fair and the Panther Dance.
Fundraiser packets were distributed to students. Please check your child’s backpack if you
haven’t seen it. Thank you for your
participation.
Family Night Out
Tue, Oct 17 2:00 – 9:00 pm
Show your support for the PTA and enjoy a meal out at Chipotle located at 11062
Lee Highway on Tuesday, October 17 between 2:00 – 9:00 pm. Bring in
the flyer from your child’s Tuesday folder or mention the PTA fundraiser to the
cashier
Book Fair
October 23 – 27 (Preview days Oct. 23 & 24,
sale begins Oct. 25)
Pony up and get ready for a Wild West Book Fair where readers are wanted and
adventure awaits in books galore from Scholastic and other publishers. Please
consider volunteering for this fun event. Even 1 hour of your time is valuable.
Thank you! https://volunteer.scholastic.com/#/signup/Y8tlttNv1
Keep in Touch
Below
are some ways you can use to Keep in Touch with the PTA, PES and FCPS. Please
make sure you sign up for them! FCPS
Keep in Touch: www2.fcps.edu/kit/
PES PTA Website: ptaprovidence.org/
FACEBOOK PAGE: Search for
@ProvidenceES
The PTA site has lots of information on our fundraising efforts. This includes
Box Tops, family night out events, store redemption programs and Amazon Smile.
For very little effort on your part using these programs, you can help to raise
funds for our school. Thank you for supporting PES and the PTA. We appreciate
any contribution you can make whether it’s financial, your time or both.
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