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November 30, 2018
 Fox Ropers had a foxtastic time performing at our first ever pep rally.
Dear Willow Springs,
As always, our school is buzzing with interesting activities. This morning our teachers, students, and specialists were busy participating in our first-ever student pep rally. The Pep Rally theme was a celebration of community and all the ways our students demonstrate EARS (Empathy, Accountability, Respect, and Safety) in their school-wide behavior each day. Fox EARS is a new school-wide initiative we started at the beginning of this school year. Students are successfully demonstrating EARS while they're in hallways, outside at recess, learning in the classroom, and even eating in the cafeteria. The Pep Rally is just a small way for the staff here at Willow Springs to say thank you to our students for all their hard work and efforts thus far.
We also want to give a big thank you to everyone who participated in the FCPS Employee Honors nomination process! This is a wonderful way to honor the dedicated employees who make our wonderful school the very best it can be. You’re invited to please take a moment and cast your ballot. It would mean a lot to our educators who give so much of themselves every day to have your support.
If you’re looking for some Friday evening fun, you’re welcome to join us in the Willow Springs cafeteria tonight for Family Movie Night. Our PTA does so much for us throughout the year, and we are so thankful for their continued engagement and support. The fun begins tonight at 6 p.m.
Next week we have something special to highlight as well! Since we live in a world increasingly dependent on technology, we know that whatever career path our students choose to pursue, their ability to understand how technology works will play a significant role in them reaching their potential. Right now, across the country only a tiny fraction of students are actually learning how technology works, and only 35% of all high schools offer courses in computer science! So, to give our students a jump-start WSES is joining in the Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (December 3-9). What can you do as a parent to support this? Make learning to code a family event! Visit https://hourofcode.com/us/learn for details and try out some coding activities with your child. Show off your family coding skills by sharing a family selfie via Twitter to @WSESfox and use the hashtag #HourOFCode and #WillowPride. We can’t wait to see what you all come up with!
Happy coding, Foxes!
Dylan Taylor, Principal
Rashida Green, Assistant Principal
Sara Van Aalst, Assistant Principal
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Family Movie Night
The Lorax
TONIGHT at 6:00 p.m.
WSES Cafeteria
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Put on your favorite pajamas and grab your sleeping bag, because it's Family Movie Night! On Friday, November 30th, in the school cafeteria, we will be hosting a family movie night to raise funds for a Dr. Seuss birthday week celebration in February. There will be a short presentation on the activities planned to honor the famed author at 6:20 p.m., followed by a viewing of the movie, The Lorax, at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are encouraged. Pizza will be available for pre-purchase and concessions will be sold on-site. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to support Dr. Seuss’ birthday and to encourage reading at all ages.
 Church of the Apostles, our business partner and the amazing people that brought you the Willow Welcome Carnival, are having an Arts, Crafts, & Baked Goods Market this Sunday, December 2nd, from 11:45 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. in the Willow Springs Cafeteria. There will be homemade crafts, fine art, hand-sewn goods, and homemade treats. They would love to see you there!
Thank You Volunteers
 The staff and students sincerely appreciate the helping hands in our cafeteria on Monday, November 19th, and Tuesday, November 20th. Thank you to Virginia Belcher, Elizabeth Rabun, Reena Nair, and Fatima Niazi. They helped our students have a safe and happy lunch experience. We appreciate their assistance on such busy days!
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FCPS Outstanding Employee Honors Awards Voting |
Thank you everyone who participated in the nomination process. Now it is time to vote! Select one staff member per category when you cast your ballot. The categories are as follows:
- Outstanding Teacher
- Outstanding New Teacher
- Outstanding Leader
Voting will take place from Friday, November 30th - Thursday, December 6th. Please click the link below to vote!
WILLOW SPRINGS FCPS AWARDS BALLOT
Important Voting Rules/Reminders:
- Please only vote once.
- This voting link is for WSES community members and staff only. Please do not share this link with family members, friends, or on social media outlets.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Willow Springs Award Liaison at krstyles@fcps.edu.
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Congratulations to Phyllis Wheeler our school winner for Outstanding Operational Employee! She will now move on to the Pyramid level for voting. |
What is the Hour of Code?
Computer Science Education Week
December 3rd - 9th
A one-hour introduction to computer science The Hour of Code began as a one-hour coding challenge to give students a fun first introduction to computer science and has become a global learning event, celebration, and awareness event. HourOfCode.com offers hundreds of one-hour activities in over 48 languages for kindergarten and up. Activities require no experience, include built-in video tutorials, and can be run on browsers, tablets, and smartphones -some don’t require any computer at all. More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code. Our Hour of Code is making a statement that Willow Springs Elementary is ready to teach these foundational 21st-century skills. Visit https://hourofcode.com/us/learn for details and try out some coding activities with your child.
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AAP Level IV Screening
An AAP Level IV Screening Information session will be held at Willow Springs on Monday, December 10, 2018 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the Willow Springs Cafeteria. Mrs. Murray, the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) will review procedures, important dates, answer questions regarding what should be included in the referral file, and how documents need to be submitted. The meeting is open to grade 2-6 parents. For more information visit our website.
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@WSESfox: Sharing our Story #WillowPride
Share your weekend pictures!
So many great things happen in WSES every single day. Share the awesome examples of innovation, creativity, collaboration, and pride in our school and community by using the #WillowPride hashtag on Twitter.
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Once you have selected your favorite photos to post on social media or to text to your family and friends, please consider uploading them to our yearbook site. The more pictures that our coordinators can choose from, the better our yearbook will be. Uploads can be made at community.lifetouch.com and our school access code is CXZCHH.
WSES Looking Ahead
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Tonight, November 30th - Movie Night - The Lorax, 6:00 p.m. (Cafeteria)
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Thursday, December 6th - Restaurant Night, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, Fair Oaks Mall
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Monday, December 10th - AAP Level IV Screening Information Session, 9:30 a.m. (Cafeteria)
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Tuesday, December 11th - School Garden “Green” Committee Meeting, 8:00 a.m. (Ms. Harris’ classroom)
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Thursday, December 13th - Winter Band Concert, 7:00 p.m.
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Friday, December 14th - Three Hour Early Dismissal, 1:00 p.m.
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Monday, December 17th - 5th and 6th Grade Strings Concert, 7:00 p.m.
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Monday, December 24th - Friday, January 4th, 2019 - Winter Break
Winter break, December 24, 2018-January 4, 2019; Spring Break, April 15-19, 2019; and the last day of school, June 13, 2019.
Visit the Willow Springs Elementary PTA website.
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