Dear Wolftrap Families,
As always, starting the school year is an exciting time – for our students, as well as for parents and teachers! We have had an energizing first two weeks, and are looking forward to a great 2018-2019 school year! I hope you enjoyed our Back-to-School-Night and it was wonderful to see so many parents here visiting our classrooms. Your involvement is what makes our school special and I hope that you will continue to be involved all year long as there are many volunteer opportunities to spend time with your children at Wolftrap.
I extend my heartfelt appreciation for the PTA Board who worked so hard to put on a fantastic celebration last Friday for our 50th anniversary! It was the most attended event I can remember and it was evident that the rain could not stop our fun as families danced and played in the moon bounces all night. The time capsule artifacts fascinated the children and I am counting on their continued enthusiasm over the coming month when they will help decide what artifacts should represent 2018!
Sincerely,
Teresa Khuluki
Principal
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New Staff Members
We are excited to welcome several new professionals to the Wolftrap team this year. Here are some highlights from our new faculty, look for information on other new staff in upcoming editions.
Susan Matthews-Edgerton, Speech-Language Pathologist:
Susan Edgerton is our Speech Language Pathologist who will be at Wolftrap on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She graduated from James Madison University and has her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Prior to coming to Fairfax County Schools, she has had 17 years of experience working in Prince William County Schools. Susan is returning from maternity leave and is excited to be working with Wolftrap students and families!
Salima Jiwa, Social Worker
Salima Jiwa is a licensed clinical social worker who has been a school social worker with FCPS since 2014. She has more than fifteen years of experience working with children, adolescents and families in a variety of settings. Salima is a parent herself and is passionate about the role parents play in helping their children flourish. She is excited about joining the Wolftrap ES community of dedicated and passionate students, educators, parents, and community members.
Lindsay Davis, First Grade Teacher
Lindsay Davis was born and raised in northern New Jersey. She attended the University of Connecticut for her Bachelors Degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a focus on early childhood. After graduating she went to Quinnipiac University for her Masters Degree in Elementary Education. She worked in various schools in New Jersey in different roles including a substitute teacher, teaching assistant, and one-to-one aide. Lindsay moved to Virginia in 2015 and worked in Prince William County for three years teaching first grade. She is very excited to be working at Wolftrap this year and she loves the sense of community in both the school and the town of Vienna and is looking forward to a great year!
Andy Bechtle, Physical Education Teacher
Andy Bechtle was born in Summit, New Jersey but grew up right here in Vienna, VA. He attended Wolftrap Elementary, Kilmer Middle and Madison High School (Class of 87) and his parents still live on Delancey Drive. He has a degree in Business Marketing from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY, where he played 4 years of college basketball. For the past 25 years Andy has been a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service and retired in January of 2018. He has lived and worked in Cleveland, Ohio, Akron, OH, Sterling, VA, and Los Angeles, CA. and currently lives in Vienna, VA with his wife Aimee and four kids. Andy loves sports and has been a VYS, VYI, and VLL coach for the past 10 years. He was also the Madison Freshman Basketball Coach back in 1991 before joining the Secret Service. This is Andy’s first year teaching and he recently completed a Career-Switch program at Shenandoah University to become a P.E Teacher. Andy is glad to be back at Wolftrap and looks forward to teaching your kids on Wednesdays and Fridays!
Thanks to everyone who came out for our annual Wolftrap Under the Stars event- it was a great way to kick off the school year. The storms held off (for the most part) and we had an amazing turnout of new and returning families who joined us for food, music, inflatables, viewing of the time capsule, and more. We hope you had as much fun as we did!
A couple of items to focus on this week from a PTA perspective:
Fundraising and Membership Drive
- Hopefully, many of you were also able to make it to Back to School Night to meet the staff and teachers and hear a little more about the upcoming school year. If you were there, you heard our announcement that the PTA still very much needs your support. We offer many programs and events (like Wolftrap Under the Stars) thanks to your very generous continued support, and we hope to reach our membership and fundraising goals so that we ensure our ability to continue sponsorship of all of these important and enriching events.
- We are off to a good start, and we give a special thanks to the teachers and families who have already signed up. That said currently only 46% of faculty and 40% of Wolftrap families have joined the PTA. This means we still have a long way to go!
- To fully fund the programs we have planned for the year we need to do better. To join the PTA, visit our website – wolftrappta.org – and sign up for a Membership Tool Kit account. You will then be directed on how to join the PTA. Membership is $25 for one parent or $40 per family. You will also find the Friends of Wolftrap donation option there.
1st PTA Meeting and Welcome Coffee
- Don’t forget- our first PTA meeting is this week Friday, Sept. 14th followed by our Welcome Coffee. Mrs. Khuluki will be in attendance to answer questions from our Wolftrap families. We hope to see you there.
Your PTA Board,
Sarah Helou, President (president@wolftrappta.org)
Jessica Jue, President-elect (president-elect@wolftrappta.org)
Christine Harney, Secretary (secretary@wolftrappta.org)
Lori Bowlin, Treasurer (treasurer@wolftrappta.org)
Due to the popularity of the Escape Room class, we are adding a SECOND ESCAPE ROOM Class on Tuesdays. Available now on the Wolftrap registration page.
Registration for the After School Programs FIRMLY CLOSES on Friday September 14 at 11:59 P.M. Don't miss out on an amazing PTA sponsored program. Click here to view the flyer.
Many volunteer opportunities are open for the coming school year. Please check out the flyer to see where we could use some extra hands.
Please contact Sarah Helou at president@wolftrappta.org or Jean Lee at volunteer@wolftrappta.org with any questions, concerns or to sign up for a particular role.
September 10: 5th Grade Paper Airplane Experiment
September 12: Walking Wednesday
September 14: First PTA Meeting and Welcome Coffee, 8:45 am
Please join us for the first PTA meeting of the year directly followed by our annual Welcome Coffee. This is a great opportunity to get involved, stay in touch with goings on at our school and learn more about the PTA at Wolftrap Elementary
September 14: Deadline for After School Registrations
September 15: Spiritwear Sale Deadline
September 19: Walking Wednesday and Three Hour Early Release
September 20: Watch D.O.G.S. Pizza Party, 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Spend a day at Wolftrap as a positive male role model. Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) is open to fathers, grandfathers, uncles and other father figures. Learn more on our site and come to a pizza party Sept. 20th from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. RSVP today and let us know if you can make it!
September 20: School Pictures
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A special thanks to the Tim Pierson Home Sales Team for being a sponsor for our Watch D.O.G.S program again this year! If you're interested in becoming a sponsor, click here for more information.
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There was a great turnout for the first two Walking Wednesdays of the school year, lets keep it up! WWs will continue on a weekly basis until late fall. After that WWs will be held on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday of each month.
For families new to Wolftrap, Walking Wednesday is a program designed to encourage more students (and parents) to leave the car at home and walk or bike to school. We have a table set up outside Door 2 where walkers and bikers check in for their grade level and each child receives a small reward token to collect. At the end of the month, the grade with the highest percentage of walker/bikers is awarded the coveted "Golden Sneaker". As an added bonus to Walking Wednesday, Cafe Amouri kindly donates coffee for parents to enjoy after dropping their kids off at school.
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 Important Safety Note:
Please do NOT drop off/pick up students along the school side of Talisman between Beulah and St. Roman.
For the safety of our Wolftrap students, please use the designated kiss and ride or park in permissible areas.
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The Children’s Science Center is bringing their Family Science Night Program to Wolftrap Elementary, Tuesday October 9, 2018 in the Gym from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Family Science Night offers a variety of engaging, many hands-on science activities. See the Family Science Night website to see the hands on activities to include a Slime Piano!
Young children are natural scientists, rationally making observations, testing hypotheses, analyzing data and reaching conclusions. Unfortunately, many of students lose interest in science as they grow up. Join us to help keep our students engaged and excited about STEM subjects.
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO ENSURE THE EVENT CAN HAPPEN. The Children Science Museum requires a minimum of sixteen volunteers from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. to set up, assist students with activities, and clean up. Sign up to be a dedicated event volunteer by Tuesday Sept 18th using our signup genius. Thanks for your support!
Food Share:
Sign up now to deliver food from the cafeteria to the local food bank, Food For Others. Click here to access the signup form.
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