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We are back!! School is in session and everyone is busy meeting new friends and learning routines. We had a great opening day, especially since there was a fire, power outages, and Secure the Building events at other nearby schools. Our first week was uneventful in that way, though very eventful with smiling faces, hugs, and conversation.
We are fortunate to have some new adult faces join us this year. Please join me in welcoming Katie North in 2nd grade, Lacy Wilson in 5th grade, Molly Cronin in 6th grade, Amy Knodell, Andy Moore, Maree Klonaris, and Michelle Arres in special education, Don Dillon in P.E., and Katherine Kelley in music (strings). We also have new speech and language clinicians this year and welcome Ami Russian and Maryann Wyatt to Union Mill. Traci Turkekul has also joined us in the office in the mornings. Please give a warm Union Mill welcome to our new staff. Clockwise in the photo below are Katie North, Molly Cronin, Amy Knodell, and Lacy Wilson. More photos of our new staff members next week!
Please be sure to read and keep the Union Mill Parent Handbook that was in the first day packet. This handbook has important information on attendance, the health room, birthday treats, lunch, dismissal procedures, and more. If you still need to sign up for Kiss and Ride, here is the link. Also, make sure you read about Pick-up Patrol and call the office if you have any questions on the procedure for changes in dismissal routines.
Fourth grade students have the opportunity to sign up for strings this year and 5th and 6th grade students can sign up for band or strings and chorus. Members of the Centreville band and orchestra were at Union Mill this morning to help our students get more excited about music opportunities in school. Please talk about this with your child if they are in 4th, 5th, or 6th grade and sign them up as soon as possible if they are interested. This will help us make individual schedules for specials. When student sign up late, their schedule will change and it does impact the number of students in various classes. For your convenience, here are the links for 4th grade strings, 5th and 6th grade band and strings, and 5th and 6th grade chorus.
As mentioned at our Back to School Event and in a flier in the first day envelope, we are trying something new this year with specials. We will be implementing Moveable Mondays to help alleviate the challenge of missing so many Monday classes due to holidays. Our first Moveable Monday will be this Tuesday, September 4. All students will follow a Monday special schedule on this day.
Our first PTA meeting of the year is Tuesday, September 4, at 7:00 PM in the library. This is an important meeting as we will be voting on the budget for the year. You may also want to join us beforehand from 6:00 - 7:00 PM when our Advanced Academics Resource Teacher Michelle LaBarbera will be sharing information on the Advanced Academics program at Union Mill.
We look forward to seeing many of you at our Back to School Picnic next Friday, September 7, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM on the blacktop. Feel free to bring your own picnic dinner or purchase something from the food trucks the PTA has secured. You may want to bring your own chairs or blanket to sit on.
The Office of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) will offer breakfast meals at no-cost to all students on Thursday, September 13, during the regularly scheduled breakfast service in support of the Virginia Department of Education, Office of School Nutrition’s Feed VA Day of Action. This event highlights the state and division’s role in combating childhood hunger and the importance of nutritional quality of foods available to children.
Click on the photo below to see some of the pictures from around our school this week including our first day arrival, our first fire drill, and fun in P.E.
Hope you enjoy the last weekend of official summer!
Kathy
Free and Reduced-Price Meal Regulations
Parents are required to complete a new application annually. Free and reduced-price meal eligibility carry-over of the prior year extends through the 30th operating day of the new school year and provides eligible students meals based on the status of the previous June. This provides parents adequate time to reapply for continued free and reduced-price meal coverage. Parents should be sure to have this year’s application submitted by October 1, 2018.
Click the following link for more information and to apply online. (in Spanish)
Family Life Education Instructional Program Information
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve. Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.
Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program. Students who are opted out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices. If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt out forms were included in your child’s back-to-school/orientation packets and are available online for Elementary (K-6) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-school-academics-k-6/elementary-family-life-education , Middle School (7-8) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/middle-school-academics-7-8/family-life-education-fle, and High School (9-12) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-academics-9-12/family-life-education-fle. Please fill in the opt-out form and return it to your child’s school prior to Family Life Education instruction.
Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at Elementary (K-6) , Middle School (7-8) , and High School (9-12). FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in FCPS 24-7 (Blackboard) Parent View https://fcps.blackboard.com/. Account information is available at your local school or online at http://www.fcps.edu/is/instructionaltechnology/247help/parents.shtml. Grade level-specific lessons are also available at the Fairfax County Regional Library in the City of Fairfax (this location does not have media). Grade level-specific lessons and media that is not streamed online are available for review at your child’s school library. Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.
Program questions may be addressed by contacting your child's teacher, by contacting Instructional Services at 571-423-4550, or by contacting Elizabeth Payne, Health and Physical Education Coordinator at etpayne@fcps.edu.
Mental Health and Wellness Conference
Registration is now open for the fifth annual FCPS Mental Health and Wellness Conference that, for the first time, will also include an Our Minds Matter Teen Summit for middle and high school students, sponsored by the Josh Anderson Foundation. The conference will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Fairfax High School on Saturday, September 29, 2018. Dr. Scott Brabrand, FCPS Superintendent, will open the conference, and Dr. Amy Przeworski, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, will present the keynote message: Using Stress to Your Advantage in Achieving Academic Success and Emotional Well Being. Participants in this conference, which is free to staff, parents, and community members, will be able to choose from 35 breakout options (many offered more than once). Additionally, there will be more than 50 resource tables available, representing public and private agencies providing wellness-related services within our schools and in our community.
Community Flyer Distribution - Friday, September 28
If you or your organization would like to participate in Union Mill’s fall community flyer distribution, mark September 28, on your calendar. Non-profit organizations are welcome to participate. All flyers must be approved before they are distributed. One flyer must be submitted to the Union Mill office by Friday, September 21. After approval, copies must be made and delivered to the school office by Wednesday, September 26. Please call the office at 703-322-8500 for additional information.
Upcoming Events
Monday, September 3 - No School - Labor Day
Tuesday, September 4 - Moveable Monday - students will follow a Monday schedule for specials; Advanced Academics Meeting 6:00 PM; PTA Meeting 7:00 PM
Friday, September 7 - Picture Day; Back to School Picnic - 5:00 - 7:00
Thursday, September 13 - Free Breakfast for all Students
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