Level IV Advanced Academic Information Night – December 6
Ms. Spengler, the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, is hosting a Level IV Full-Time Advanced Academic Program Information Night on Thursday, December 6, 2018 from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. in the Library. Parents of students in grades 2-6 who are interested are welcome to attend. Ms. Spengler will cover the referral process including deadlines, work samples, and the role parents play in the process. As a reminder, the deadline for referring students for the Level IV Service is January 10, 2019.
Join us for Heritage and International Night! - December 7
Forestdale's Heritage and International Night is on Friday, December 7 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. We look forward to learning about the various cultures and heritages represented at Forestdale ES. Come to enjoy the beautiful heritage dolls and cultural displays created by Forestdale families, as well as, foods from around the world and a spectacular talent show! We hope to see you there for this wonderful celebration of the diversity at Forestdale ES.
Last Chance to Nominate for Outstanding Employee Awards
Nominations will be/are now open for the Fairfax County Public Schools Outstanding Employee Awards! To submit a nomination for a Forestdale Elementary School Outstanding Employee in one of the categories below, please complete the nomination through the Google form links. You may nominate an employee in one or more categories. All that is required for a preliminary nomination is a paragraph or two about how this employee demonstrates exceptional work in the criteria for that category. The google form link has more information regarding the criteria for each of these awards and the eligibility requirements are below.
Outstanding Teacher - Eligibility: Has at least three years of experience as a teacher; librarians are included in this category. Click Here
Outstanding New Teacher - Eligibility: Within their first three years of being a teacher; librarians are included in this category. Click Here
Outstanding Leader - Eligibility: At least one year of experience in current position. Common positions in this category: School-Based Technology Specialist, Technology Support Specialist, Assistant Principals, Instructional Coach, Psychologist, Social Worker, School Counselor, Resource Teachers that serve in an administrative role in a school. Click Here
Outstanding Operational Employee - Eligibility: At least one year of experience in current position. Common positions in this category: administrative and office assistants, custodial staff, food service staff, Instructional Assistant, Physical Health Aide, PHTA, and parent liaisons. Click Here
Note: The final deadline to submit a nomination is December 7th at 12:00 p.m. If you have any questions, please contact Kolette De La Cruz at kmdelacruz@fcps.edu
Arrival and Dismissal Safety
Arrival and dismissal are busy times of the day at Forestdale. We understand that sometimes your child may miss the school bus in the morning. If your child misses the bus, please drop them off using Kiss and Ride and follow the Kiss and Ride procedures. Do not park behind the cafeteria to drop off students. We understand that mornings can be a stressful time, especially when our routines need to change. Please remember to be patient and help our staff by following arrival and dismissal procedures. It is essential to keep the safety of our children a priority.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to Assistant Principal, Kolette De La Cruz at 703-313-4300. Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring student safety.
Level IV Advanced Academics Services Referral Deadline
Parents or guardians of students not in the second grade screening pool may initiate the full-time AAP IV screening process by completing and submitting an Advanced Academic Programs Level IV Referral Form to the local school AART, Katelyn Spengler, or the principal no later than January 10th, 2019. No late referrals will be accepted. Second grade students not in the pool and all students in grades 3-7 are screened only by referral. Forms are available on the AAP website.
Advanced Academic Programs Level IV Referral Form and the Parent Information Packet available at the local school. Parents or guardians of students who are in the second grade pool will be notified by the school. Students who are not in the second grade pool will not receive notification. The benchmark score used to create the second grade pool will be published on the AAP website mid-January.
Please do not wait for test scores before submitting a referral for your student in grades 2-7 as there will be no referrals for Level IV screening accepted past the deadline of January 10, 2019. If you are waiting for test scores and would like you student screen for Level IV please submit the referral by the published deadline (even if you have not received the test scores for your student).
e-Notify Emergency Messages Will Be Communicated via New Vendor Beginning December 14
Fairfax County Public Schools will be moving to a new vendor to provide emergency and essential email, text, and phone notifications beginning December 14, 2018. If you currently receive emergency and essential communications via email, text, or phone, you do not need to do anything as you will continue to receive this information.
Parents and guardians who have included a cellphone number (in the cellphone field) on a student’s emergency care card will receive a text message on December 14 to confirm the account is set up to receive text messages from FCPS. You do not need to do anything when you receive the text message from the new vendor, School Messenger, on December 14th. If you do not receive a text message, please check the contact information listed on your child’s emergency care card in weCare. Your cellphone number must be listed in the cellphone field in order to receive text messages from FCPS.
New this year, parents can enter their student’s cellphone number in weCare so that their student will also receive text messages for delayed openings, school closings, and late bus notifications. The student’s cellphone number will need to be entered in Section 4, under Additional Information. If the student’s cellphone is listed in weCare, they will also receive the text message on December 14.
Emergency and essential information includes:
• Emergency
• Delayed openings/school closings
• Attendance
• Early release
• Buses running late
• Low lunch balance
• Power, telephone, internet outages or facility repairs
• Back to school information
• Important testing dates
If you have recently changed your contact information, please be sure to update the emergency contact information in weCare.
As a reminder, in addition to email and text messages, all FCPS weather delays and openings are also posted on Twitter, Facebook, FCPS website, school websites, and local radio and television broadcasts. Read more about Weather Cancellation Procedures.
Holiday Support Available
If your family needs assistance during the upcoming winter holidays, schools can help. Contact our school counselors, Sofia Echaide at scechaidevia@fcps.edu, or Stephanie Felix at ssfelix@fcps.edu or our parent liaison, Rosario Carrasco, at rdcarrasco@fcps.edu or 703-313-4301. Requests are confidential.
PTA Corner
PTA Boosterthon Needs Your Help!
Boosterthon is a hassle-free school fundraiser that raises on average over 50% more than other school fundraisers. In order to make Boosterthon a HUGE success for ALL students, we need sponsorships from businesses. Each student is given a FREE Boosterthon T-shirt to record the laps they will run as a part of their fundraising efforts. These shirts will cost the PTA $2000. We are looking for businesses to sponsor the cost of these T-shirts. Each business that sponsors the cost of the shirts will have their logo displayed on the back of the T-shirt. The larger the donation, the bigger the logo will be. What a great tax-deductible way to support schools while promoting your business! In order to display your logo on our shirts you must make a sponsorship of $250 or more.
The Boosterthon Fun Run theme this year is 'Mind Spark Mystery Lab'. This year’s theme infuses a mystery theme combining S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) skills with character building including growth mindset, zest, integrity, teamwork and citizenship. Here is a video about this year’s theme: secretschoollab.com, password steam.
We are counting on our community to help support our Forestdale ES Boosterthon. If you are interested in becoming a Boosterthon sponsor, please contact Juan Cayrampoma at forestdaleelementarypta@gmail.com by December 20, 2018. We are looking forward to an amazing fundraising event and are so thankful to our generous sponsors!
Our Boosterthon will kick off on February 5, 2019 with a pep rally and culminate in the Fun Run on February 15, 2019. This is our biggest fundraising event of the year! As you see relatives this holiday season, your child can ask them to sponsor them in the Fun Run. Sponsors donate a certain amount of money per lap the student runs or a fixed amount. Most children run 30-35 laps. This year we are raising funds for field trips, gym equipment, and new musical instruments. More details about Boosterthon will be coming home soon!
Box Tops for Education
Our next Box Tops collection deadline is December 14, 2018 and our prize is “Lollipops for Box Tops." Each class that brings in at least 100 Box Tops between now and December 14 will receive lollipops! Every student in the class will receive a lollipop even if they did not bring in Box Tops. Thanks for helping us collect Box Tops and earn money for our school!
Winter 2019 Afterschool Programs
Registration is open now! Please go to https://stemexcel.org/forestdale/ to register.
Electronics with Minecraft Redstone
Mondays - 3:40 p.m.- 4:40 p.m.
Jan 14 - March 18, 2019 (no class on Jan 21, Feb 4 & 18, Mar 11)
Tuition: $105 (6 meetings)
Grades 3rd-6th
Location TBD
STEM exCEL's Electronics with Minecraft Redstone allows students to explore electronics in a virtual world with essentially infinite resources. Using Minecraft's Redstone blocks, which act as wires on a breadboard, students can build constructs representing electrical circuits and simple computer projects that are built in the real world. This course is a great precursor to understand real circuitry, electronics and electrical theory. This course allows students to gain an understanding of how computers are processing commands as they move on to other computer science studies and take home their Redstone creations at the ends of the course.
2D Game Design
Tuesdays - 3: 40 p.m.- 4:40 p.m.
Jan 15 - March 26, 2019
Tuition: $115 (8 meetings)
Grades 1st -4th
Cafeteria
2D Game Design builds upon the fundamentals and concepts of game design within a real game engine many indie development teams currently use. Students learn to design and build their own game from the ground up, while learning 2D game art and programming logic with the engine’s integrated art software and easy-to-use events system, fit for beginners through advanced learners alike. Our instructors help students develop games individually, so students have the freedom to create at their pace while focusing on their creative interests. The final product is their own game that can be played on any computer, and the know how to continue their game development at home.
STEM exCEL Chess
Thursdays - 3:40 p.m.- 4:40 p.m.
Jan 17 - March 7, 2019
Tuition: $96 (8 meetings)
Grades 1st -6th
Location TBD
Students of any level will enjoy the challenge of chess at the STEM exCEL Chess Club! Students will learn the rules and tactics of chess and will then get to test out their strategies by playing against students of similar experience. Our instructors offer individualized support and training, so each student, whether beginners or advanced players, will receive the personal skill development they need to enhance their abilities.
Upcoming Dates:
December 14 – Three Hour Early Release
December 24 – January 6th – Winter Break
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