Churchill Chatter - Issue 16, December 13, 2017
In This Week’s Issue:
- Holiday message from Mr. Hutzel and the CRS staff, including tips for making successful New Year’s resolutions.
- Only two more days to order your Churchill Legacy Bricks
- Check lost and found - unclaimed items will be donated to charity over winter break
- Holiday Spirit Day and Family Fitness Day this Friday, December 15
- Dogwood Holiday Toy Drive Thank You
- Save the Date for Rise Against Hunger Event Saturday, February 3
- Calendar of upcoming events
 Holiday Message
Dear Churchill Road families,
Every winter holiday season I reflect on the tremendous outpouring of giving that has occurred over my years at Churchill Road. I regret that over the years we have not kept more precise records of all that has been donated, not just in contributions but in time, energy, positive thoughts and feelings of good will.
Over the years our PTA, comprised of hard-working volunteers, has been extremely generous. Just a few PTA highlights include: financial support of technology, school supplies, and teacher training, the sponsorship of After-School Activities, Art Appreciation, Book Fair, Box Tops, Go Home Notes, School Supplies program, Staff Appreciation, and the coordination of numerous drives for various causes.
This month, we have coordinated three different drives – the Holiday Toy Drive for Dogwood Elementary School, a Winter Coat Drive to support Covenant House, and a school supply drive for Escuela Cruz Rosas Rivas, a school in Puerto Rico. Thank you for your generous support! And, mark your calendars for our annual Stop Hunger Now program, which will be held on Saturday, February 3rd. (More information is provided in a separate article, below.)
I am sure that many of you are very busy during this holiday season. Some of your preparations might already include planning for New Year’s Eve celebrations. As part of this annual event you might be setting goals for yourself and even considering including your children in this tradition. Setting goals can be fun, but as we all know, many people find it difficult to keep their New Year’s resolutions. For children, the challenge can be even greater.
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If your children are going to make a New Year’s resolution, how about helping them generate useful goals that they will be able to keep? One thing that will help them be more successful, especially if they haven't even started making any resolutions, is to have them choose small things to do. Instead of making a resolution that requires a daily time commitment, consider guiding your child to choose an achievable goal that requires less of a daily time commitment, but may require a weekly commitment instead. That resolution should be easier to keep, and after a few months, it will hopefully become part of your child’s routine. Some resolutions you might suggest to your children include:
- Eating one extra serving of vegetables or fruit each week
- Drinking an extra glass of milk each week
- Drinking one less soda or fruit drink each week
- Eating one less snack each week
- Reading one extra chapter in a book each week
- Playing video games 15 minutes less each week
Making resolutions together as a family can be a very positive experience. Good luck! On behalf of the entire staff, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for a safe, happy and prosperous New Year!
Don Hutzel, Principal
The Halls Were Alive with the Sounds of Band, Strings and Chorus...
Fifth and sixth grade chorus students entertained students and parents with several fabulous concerts under the direction of Ms. Judkins and Ms. Boyd.
Ms. Gutjahr's band students performed for students earlier this week.
Strings students, under the direction of Mrs. Robertson and Ms. Mioni, gave three holiday performances at the school.
 Only Two More Days to Order Your Legacy Brick!
Order your Churchill Road Legacy Bricks NOW! The last day for brick orders is Friday, December 15. Churchill
Road’s Legacy Bricks are sure to be the hot gift this year – make sure your
student is included! Legacy bricks will be used to create a pathway through one
of the Churchill Road gardens, immortalizing your student’s/family’s
involvement in the Churchill Road community!
Order forms
may be found on the Churchill Road website or in the front office. Return your
order form and payment to the front office. Questions? Contact Jody Sterling at
703-288-8400.
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Check Lost and Found -- Items Remaining After Friday, December 15 Will Be Donated
Be sure to check the lost and found, located near the gym, when you are at school this week. All items that are labeled with a student name will be sorted and delivered to classrooms for students to take home. Over winter break, any unclaimed (and unlabeled) items will be donated to charity.
Cheer
Winners of the Week
Congratulations to our Churchill Cheer winners for the week of
December 4. Cheers are given to students who follow the four R’s. Churchill
Cheer winners are: Liam Braniff (K); Alex Dai (1st); Connor Geary (2nd); Dylan Davis (3rd); and Lillian Teague (4th). Our good citizenship winners are Devin Diba (5th) and Jack Vaderson (6th). Mr. Ericson's fourth grade is
the class winner and our teacher winner is Mrs. Lynch. Remember, at CRS we follow the
four R’s. We respect ourselves, we respect others, we respect property, we
respect the Earth, and we are responsible.
SCA Holiday Spirit and
PTA Family Fitness Day This Friday
This Friday is CRS's final SCA Spirit Day and PTA Family Fitness Spirit Day for 2017! We encourage you, your family, and friends to come to school at 8:00 a.m. to enjoy 20 minutes playing on the playground, walking on the track, shooting hoops, or joining a game and having fun. Be sure to wear your favorite holiday wear (under warm coats) for Churchill's Holiday Spirit Day! Students remind your parents, teachers, and classmates to tweak their schedule to get an early start on Friday and jump start their day with some bonus play at 8:00 am! We will rally in the gym in the case of inclement weather.
Don't miss out on future spirit days. Mark your calendars now for the remaining
Spirit/Family Fitness Days of the school year.
Friday, December 15 -- Holiday Wear Spirit Day
Thursday, January 25 -- Bobcat Sports Teams/Jerseys Spirit Day
Friday, February 23 -- Crazy Sock/Hair Day, AKA “Wacky Tacky Day”
Friday, March 23 -- Vacation Day – dress like going on vacation
Friday, April 20 -- Earth Day Spirit Day
Friday, May 25 -- Pajama/Stuffed Animal Day
Friday, June 15 -- Color Day Spirit Day
Level IV Referrals Due January 12, 2018
All Level IV referrals for students currently in grades 2-6 are due by January 12, 2018. Information regarding the referral process can be found on the Advanced Academic Program website https://www.fcps.edu/index.php/registration/advanced-academics-identification-and-placement/elementary-school/current-fcps. If you have questions regarding the AAP program or the referral process, please contact our AART, Becky Timm, at RETimm@fcps.edu.
 Rise Against Hunger Event Save the Date
Event Date: Saturday, February 3, 2018
Fundraising Goal: $29,000
Last year’s Rise Against Hunger (formerly Stop Hunger Now) event was a huge success and provided a wonderful service learning opportunity for children and adults of all ages. In partnership with Rise Against Hunger, the Langley pyramid elementary, middle and high schools are again coming together on Saturday, February 3rd at Colvin Run Elementary School with a goal to prepare 100,000 meal packages for schools and orphanages around the world. Learn more about Rise Against Hunger at http://www.riseagainsthunger.org/about-us/. Last year, the Langley pyramid raised enough funding to provide 100,008 meals for families in developing countries around the world, and additional funding to support disaster relief in the United States. Meals packaged at Colvin Run have gone to families in Haiti, El Salvador, Panama, Ukraine, and the Dominican Republic.
We package meals based on the amount of money raised and our Langley pyramid goal is $29,000 which provides 100,000 meals. With each meal feeding 5-6 people, this is a wonderful event that impacts 500,000 individuals around the world and broadens the perspective of our students and families. This is a wonderful way for our students to better understand how their role in a school community impacts their global community.
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Donate before the End of the Year
Families may be interested in donating to this Charity Navigator 4-star non-profit organization before the end of the fiscal year. Until January 19th, parents may continue donating online at https://shn.secure.force.com/events/homepage?id=701j0000001aT8XAAU to help our fundraising efforts. Please share this link http://events.stophungernow.org/LangleyPyramid2018 with family and friends who may be interested in supporting our cause.
Event Volunteers
In early January, parents will receive a KIT message which includes a link to Register as a Volunteer for the event. We know how popular this event has become, and we are so proud to continue hosting it at Colvin Run Elementary School. The event will have volunteers from all of the Langley pyramid schools and each school is given a specific number of slots per session. The timeslots are: 8:30-10:30, 11:00-1:00, and 1:30-3:30. More information to come in early January.
To watch a video from last year’s event, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLrq5bSmlS4.
CRS Calendar of Upcoming Events
Wednesday, December 13
Principal’s Coffee, Exploratory Arts Room, 8:00-8:45 AM
PTA Meeting, Exploratory Arts Room, 8:45-9:45 AM
Friday, December 15
Family Fitness Day, 8:00-8:20 AM, Playground (gym in case of inclement weather)
SCA Holiday Wear Spirit Day
Monday, December 18, 2017 – Monday, January 1, 2018
Winter Break – No school for students
Front Office Closed
Tuesday, January 2
Classes resume after Winter Break
Wednesday, January 10
Principal’s Coffee, Exploratory Arts Room, 8:00-8:45 AM
PTA Meeting, Exploratory Arts Room, 8:45-9:45 AM
Friday, January 12
Level IV AAP Referrals Due (for students currently in grades 2-6)
Monday, January 15
Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Holiday - School closed
Thursday, January 18
Team and Club Photography
Thursday, January 25
SCA Sports Team/Jersey Spirit Day
Family Fitness Day, 8:00-8:20 AM Playground (gym in case of inclement weather)
2-Hour Early Dismissal at 1:20 PM (End of Quarter 2)
Friday, January 26 and Monday, January 29
Student Holidays
Check the Google calendar on the CRS website for event dates later in the school year: http://www2.fcps.edu/ChurchillRoadES/.
Holiday Pop-up Shop
Our Pop-up Shop with fabulous
Churchill Road spirit wear & gear is open from 8:15 to 8:45 a.m. tomorrow 12/14! Stop by and grab some great
gifts! Note: all purchases are cash or check. http://www.churchillroadpta.org/spirit-wear
Thank You from Dogwood Elementary
Students with a small portion of the many gifts donated to the Dogwood Toy Drive by our generous community.
Thank you to the many Churchill families who donated
to this toy drive to benefit the students at our sister school Dogwood
Elementary. These donations were used for Dogwood's Holiday Shop this week,
where parents could pick one gift for their student. Your generosity is truly
amazing and appreciated by the families at Dogwood. Thank you for helping the
CRS PTA to continue this annual community service tradition and spread some
holiday cheer!
Links
to PTA News
Link to the CRS PTA homepage:
http://www.churchillroadpta.org/
Link to the PTA Week-at-a-Glance:
https://cresp.memberclicks.net/crs-pta-week-a-glance
As outlined by FCPS Regulation 1367.2, school principals shall
offer options to nonprofit organizations that want to make their materials
available to students and parents. At Churchill Road, non-profit organizations
will be permitted to send home flyers in the take home folder 4 times during
the year. The dates for
the 2017-2018 school year are the weeks of October 2, December 4, March 5 and
May 14. These fliers must be related to the school’s
educational mission and be age-appropriate. Community organizations must submit
their materials in advance to the school’s principal and must include the
disclaimer “These materials are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Fairfax
County School Board, the Superintendent, or this School.” Once approved,
the organization will be required to make the copies necessary for
distribution. Any questions can be directed to Kim Moran, Churchill
Road's Public Relations Liaison.
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