Churchill Chatter - Issue 3, September 12, 2018
In
This Week's Issue
- New Regular Feature Article: Getting to Know Churchill
- Picture Day is tomorrow, Thursday, September 13
- 3-hour early dismissal at 12:20 PM on Wednesday, September 19
- Lockdown drill (#2 of 4) Thursday, September 20 at 2 PM
- Advanced Academic Parent Information Meeting on Thursday, October 4
- CRS Calendar
of Upcoming Events
- CRS PTA News - Assembly highlights, ASA registration through 9/17, Movie Night rescheduled for 10/12, Advocacy updates
Getting to Know Churchill:
Pauline Tran, Art Teacher
This year we are including short profiles of new and familiar faces around Churchill in editions of the Churchill Chatter. You may meet someone new through these articles, learn something about someone you regularly work with, finally put a face to a name, or gain a new appreciation of the tremendous talent we have working together at Churchill. We hope that you enjoy "meeting" our staff.
We are kicking off our profiles with one of our newest teachers, Pauline Tran. CRS is delighted to have Ms. Tran join our amazing art team this year. Ms. Tran is originally from Arlington, Virginia, and is a graduate of McLean High School. Ms. Tran has always loved creativity and travel. She earned her Bachelor of Art in English Literature at University of Maryland, College Park, and during that pursuit included as many art electives as possible. After graduating, Ms. Tran gained a broad range of experience in the field of education while living in New York City, Los Angeles and Austin. She has served as a writing and math tutor, after-school art specialist, teacher’s assistant, and kindergarten teacher. Ms. Tran returned to Northern Virginia to pursue a master’s degree in Art Education from George Mason University, which she successfully completed earlier this year.
Ms. Tran has taught as a long-term art substitute at Camelot Elementary and a part-time art teacher at Waples Mill Elementary. She is thrilled to be at Churchill Road as a full-time art teacher. She is excited to work with students to creatively solve visual problems, engage in meaningful analysis of visual art, self-reflect on the creative process, and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback.
Outside of the Art Room, Ms. Tran enjoys watching independent films, attending DC music concerts, discovering local and organic restaurants and traveling with her family. She is the proud aunt of a rambunctious toddler and a nephew who is expected in November.
Ms. Tran and Mrs. Wallace are working together to make it an exciting year for our students in art. If you are interested in learning more about your student’s progress, or would like to volunteer in our art room, please reach out to Ms. Tran, ptran@fcps.edu, or Mrs. Wallace, jewallace@fcps.edu.
Welcome to Churchill, Ms. Tran!
Patrols Start the Year Off Right
One group of Churchill Road safety patrols man the front door each morning to make sure that students enter at the proper time, and assist them, if needed, in getting to class. They are also responsible for raising and lowering the flags each day. Other groups of patrols assist with buses, kiss and ride and students in the modular. Thank you to Mr. Varhol and Ms. Gift for sponsoring the patrols, and to all of our patrols for doing such a great job.
Rain, Rain Go Away...
We may have dodged the bullet with Hurricane Florence, but all the rainy days didn't keep first graders from enjoying indoor recess (above). And our second graders, pictured below, were able to burn off some energy in PE class, while learning how to move at different speeds.
Wellness: Importance of Laughter
Fifth and sixth graders are all smiles after demonstrating teamwork building a shoe tree.
Laughter has powerful health benefits that might surprise you. Laughter can boost your immune system, reduce your blood pressure, and strengthen your abdominal muscles. Research has demonstrated that laughter can increase infection-fighting antibodies and release neuropeptides, which reduce stress and help to combat illness. Laughter also helps to improve dilation of arteries, enhancing blood flow and reducing blood pressure. (One study found that blood pressure could be improved for a full twenty-four hours after watching a funny movie!) Laughter is also a fun way to engage your abdominal muscles and to work your diaphragm. Plus, as you already know, laughing just makes you feel good.
Based on the forecast, this weekend is perfect for
a family movie night at home. Also, please plan to join us on October
12 for our (rescheduled) fabulous CRS Family Movie Night where
you can gain all of the benefits of laughing while enjoying the
comedic escapades of the beloved Beatrix Potter character, Peter Rabbit.
Early Dismissal on September 19
All FCPS schools will dismiss 3 hours early on Wednesday, September 19. Churchill Road students will be dismissed at 12:20 PM.
2nd
Lockdown Drill Scheduled
On Thursday, September 20 at 2:00 p.m., our students and staff will
take part in the second of the four annual “Lockdown Drills” for this school
year. A real “lockdown” procedure is initiated in the rare event a high
risk incident (involving weapons, stranger intrusion, etc.) occurs in the
school, on school property or in the vicinity of the school that could endanger
the safety of the students and staff.
A lockdown requires that all students and staff remain in
classrooms or other designated secure locations that are away from danger and
that minimize access and visibility. During the drill, signs will be
posted on the entrance doors indicating the school is in lockdown. No one
will be allowed into the school at this time. Similar procedures would be
followed in a real situation. Please take this into consideration if your
child has an appointment scheduled for Thursday afternoon, September 20.
The safety of our students and staff at Churchill Road Elementary
School is a top priority and the drill will help ensure that we are able to
successfully manage crisis situations at the school. Please note that
this drill is for practice purposes only. Please do not hesitate to
contact Ms. Niccolls, CRS Assistant Principal, at jniccolls@fcps.edu should you have any
questions or concerns relative to this issue.
Advanced Academic Program
Parent Information Meeting
A parent information meeting will be held at Churchill Road E.S. on Thursday, October 4, 2018 from 7:00-8:00 PM in the Exploratory Arts Room. Esther Lee, Churchill Road’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, will provide information about levels of service and examples at Churchill Road E.S., as well as explain and answer questions about the screening process for full-time Level IV services. The meeting is open to all K-6 parents.
Health Room Volunteer Training
Fairfax County Health Department is offering training for health room volunteers. Volunteers may help provide care for sick students and assist with administrative duties in our School Health Room. If you are interested in volunteering, training is required. Two upcoming trainings are listed below. No prior medical experience needed. No registration required. For more information, please contact our Public Health Nurse, Julie Smith, jwsmith@fcps.edu.
October 10, 2018 – 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Springfield District Office, 8136 Keene Mill Road
The Cary Building – Suite A100
Springfield, VA 22152
October 17, 2018 – 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Annandale District Office, 7611 Little River Turnpike
Suite 400E (East Wing) Annandale, VA 22003
Meeting is in 3rd Floor Conference Room; parking is available on the top two levels of the parking garage behind the building.
CRS Calendar of Upcoming Events
Thursday, September 13
Fall Picture Day
Wednesday, September 19
3-Hour Early Release at 12:20 PM
Thursday, September 20
State-Mandated Lockdown Drill #2 (of 4), 2:00 PM
Monday, October 1 – Wednesday, October 3
CogAT Testing – All Grade 2 Students
Thursday, October 4
AAP Information Night, Exploratory Arts Room, 7:00 PM
Monday, October 8
Columbus Day – Student Holiday
Wednesday, October 10
New Family Coffee, 8:00-8:45 AM, Exploratory Arts Room
PTA Meeting 8:45-9:45 AM, Exploratory Arts Room
Friday, October 12
Family Movie Night, School Grounds, 6:30-9 PM
OmegaMan Rocks CRS
Churchill Road students and staff enjoyed a high
energy kick-off to the school year with OmegaMan at last Wednesday’s assembly.
OmegaMan encouraged our students to “Be a Dream-Maker not a Dream-Breaker” by
encouraging students to “Be a H.E.R.O! Helping Everyone Respect Others.” The
assembly encouraged positive character development, living a life of excellence
and encouraged students to be the best they can be while supporting the growth
and development of their peers. Ask your student about ‘breaking bad habits’ as
illustrated by toothpaste, a Louisville Slugger and a metal rod. OmegaMan was
sure to thank our teachers for being Dream-Makers for our students. Thank you
OmegaMan! And thank you to Amanda Clarke, our CRS PTA Integrated Arts
Assemblies Chair, who planned this fantastic assembly to kick off the school
year, and to our CRS PTA members whose donations make these kinds of events possible.
Fall After School Activities
Registration is open for our fall session of classes and clubs right here at CRS! With art, cooking, chess, dance, magic, sports, STEM, & more, we have lots of fun options to choose from!
Be sure to check out 2 student favorites taught by CRS teachers - Flag Football and A.M. Bobcat Fitness & Fun = the best way to kick off the day! In Fitness & Fun, students get to play their favorite PE games and be introduced to many new activities.
Want to encourage interest in STEM? Consider Funky Forces (taught by Mad Science), where your child will be engineer, chemist & stunt pilot - investigating physics fundamentals and bringing science to basic magic tricks. Or check out Electronics with Minecraft Redstone, where kids explore electronics in a virtual world - building constructs that represent electrical circuits and simple computer projects that are built in the real world.
Sign up by midnight on Monday, September 17. https://em-churchillroad.jumbula.com/#/fall-2018.
Movie Night is Rescheduled
Due to the severe weather forecast, our Movie Night
has been rescheduled to Friday, October
12. Tickets and more information are available online at https://bit.ly/2PAPL3z.
Picture Day is Tomorrow!
DON'T FORGET! Fall picture day is this Thursday,
September 13. Please have your child bring in the completed order form to
his/her teacher by Thursday morning (or you can complete your order online). If
you forget or haven't decided whether to order pictures, you will receive an
"oops slip" and have the opportunity to reconsider when pictures come
in. Questions? Email crsyearbook@churchillroadpta.org.
Artist Workshop Orientation
Reminder that orientation for parents volunteering for
our Artist Workshop program is tonight at 7 p.m. in the Exploratory Arts room.
For questions, please contact Meredith Blankenstein at meredithblank@gmail.com. Sign-ups are still
open & materials will be available online after the training if you can’t
make tonight’s session. https://bit.ly/2PDBXoP.
Advocacy Committee News
There are two community meetings of potential interest to our CRS community.
- McLean Traffic Analysis and Beltway Ramp Closure Pilot Project – the meeting date is being rescheduled due to the severe weather forecast. Materials from the first meeting that was held on August 2 are available online at https://bit.ly/2Kn4WeK. Written comments can be sent to meetingcomments@vdot.virginia.gov with the subject line "McLean Traffic Analysis."
- Open House on Future Plans for the McLean Community Business Center – Thursday, 9/27, 7 p.m. at McLean High School.
Learn more and keep up to date by visiting our Advocacy page for the latest updates: https://www.churchillroadpta.org/advocacy.
Links
to PTA News
Link to the CRS PTA homepage:
http://www.churchillroadpta.org/
Link to the PTA Week-at-a-Glance:
https://www.churchillroadpta.org/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 2018-2019 school year are the
weeks of September 24, December 3, March 4 and May 13. 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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