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WELCOME MR. STANLEY!
It is with great
pleasure that we welcome Mr. Tim Stanley to Daniels Run as our Interim
Principal. Mr. Stanley brings a wealth of knowledge and has served as an
interim principal in various schools in FCPS. Prior to his retirement Mr.
Stanley served as principal of Freedom Hill Elementary School and has also held
positions as an assistant principal, instructional coach and teacher. We are
all very excited to have him here with us.
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CHANGES IN FIRST AND
SECOND GRADE
We wanted to share some
information with you about a change that is forthcoming to our first and second
grade teams. We were recently informed by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
Human Resources that we have lost a teaching position in our first through
sixth grades due to a decline in our projected student population. We brought a
team together to brainstorm possible solutions, consulted with our leadership
and have had to make some very tough decisions regarding next steps and
reorganization. We will be collapsing our second grade team from five classes
to four. Because of this reorganization, Ms. Carlon our first grade teacher,
has been destaffed. We are working with FCPS to reassign Ms. Carlon to another
school and will send her with our best wishes and heartfelt support.
Mrs. Forstall will take
her place in first grade and we are reassigning her current students amongst
the other second grade classes. This
change will take place on Monday, September 17th. We understand this disruption can be
challenging and our staff will do everything we can for a smooth transition.
We invite all impacted
first and second grade students and parents to meet their new teacher on
Wednesday, September 19 from 8:15 to 8:45am.
We welcome your comments and suggestions on how to best move forward
with your student if you feel he/she needs special attention. Please don’t
hesitate to contact us.
OTHER PEOPLE MATTER
This week, the Daniels
Run Dragons will be starting their third year of the Positivity Project. As
most of you know, the Positivity Project focuses around the idea of positive psychology
and that Other People Matter! Click here
to find out more from the founders of the Positivity Project. One of the
founders of the idea of Positive Psychology, Dr. Chris Peterson, would often
begin lectures by stating, “I can sum up positive psychology in just three
words – Other People Matter. Period. Anything that builds relationships between
and among people is going to make you happy.”
Each week, students will be learning about one of 24 character strengths
that make up each individual. Attached,
you will find a list of all the character strengths that will be studied this
year and a brief description of each.
This week, we kicked off with an introductory week surrounding OTHER
PEOPLE MATTER. Students will spend time
learning about why this slogan is so important, and getting focused on the OPM
mentality.
Below is the link for
the VIA character strengths survey. Feel
free to take it, or have family members take it to find your strengths and
weaknesses.
https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register
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FIELD DAY ALMOST HERE!
Yep, you read that
right, we are moving field day to the Fall!
This is where you come
in! (if you so wish, of course)
We are in search of
parent volunteers to assist specialists with running stations. Field day will
take place from 9:30-12:00 for our K-2 students and 1:00-3:30 for our 3-6
students, with a schoolwide lunch outside in between.
Parents are welcome to
volunteer all day or for one of the two sessions. We would very much appreciate
a minimum commitment to one or the other.
If you are interested
in volunteering or would like additional information, please email Ms. Levine
at alevine@FCPS.edu
before September 28th and include what
time frame you would be interested in assisting. We thank you ahead of time for
your support and assistance in making our first field day one to remember.
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Parent Information
about Elementary Grade Level Curriculum
A digital drop-down
tool was created for parents and the community to learn more about the
elementary standards and benchmarks by grade level and content that is
accessible by clicking on the Elementary School Academics on the FCPS public
internet.
Once on this page,
please select the grade level you would like to learn more about. Inside the
grade-specific page, you may visit any of the linked pages for an overview of
programs of content. For a deeper dive
into a specific content, click on View the ___Grade program of Studies (POS)
button. Within this page, you may click on any subject (i.e., mathematics,
science, etc.) and a drop down by standards and benchmarks will appear.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
(TREAT-FREE POLICY)
We ask that families
consider ways to celebrate student birthdays in a joyful manner while
minimizing the impact on instructional time and creating a safe and equitable
environment for all of our students.
There are a multitude
of health issues that were taken into consideration. First and foremost is educating students to
make smart nutritional choices as we try to encourage students to maintain a
healthy lifestyle, including a healthy weight.
There are also many students who are at risk when outside food is
brought into the school environment.
These health risks impact many of our students who live daily with
diabetes, food allergies (peanut, milk, etc.), and chronic illnesses such as
Celiac disease, etc. Some parents have
even had to send alternative treats in to school in the past for their students
to have when outside treats are sent in for students.
To make the environment safe and comfortable
for all students, while still allowing for a celebration of each child’s
birthday, we ask families to adhere to donating a book, board game, or piece of
recess equipment in their child’s honor or students may bring in ONE non-edible
treat for each of their classmates, such as a pencil, bookmark or sticker
(balloons, treat bags, etc., may not be sent in or distributed).
This treat-free policy does not apply to other
special classroom parties and events. As
homeroom teachers and parents work together to plan other special classroom
celebrations, we ask that everyone take into account the individual needs of
students in the classroom. In general,
we hope we can work towards providing healthier options at all celebrations and
events.
**NOTE: Birthday
invitations for parties outside of school cannot be distributed by students and/or
teachers during the school day.
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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.
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Online Free and
Reduced-Price Application Information
Free and reduced-price
meal applications may be completed online or by submitting a handwritten, paper
application for the 2018-2019 school year.
Electronic meal applications are quick, easy, and available in the
following languages: English, Spanish,
Arabic, Chinese, Filipino, French, and Vietnamese.
Both the online
application and paper application now include a designated section with the
consent to share information for other programs. This update allows
parents/guardians to complete the free and reduced-price meal application and
the consent to share information in the same document.
Paper applications must
be the original red print forms, which are available at school offices, school
cafeterias, and other FCPS buildings.
Copied application forms cannot be accepted.
For more information
visit the Free and Reduced-Price Meals webpage.
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Back-to-School
Picnic RESCHEDULED
With the
incoming storm, the Back-to-School picnic is going to be rescheduled for the
rain date of September 20th at 5pm. We look forward to an evening of fun (and
good weather) next week!
- Thursday, September 20-Back-to-School Picnic
- Monday, September 24-PTA Meeting
- Friday, September 28-Fall Picture Day
- Monday, October 8-Student Holiday
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