Brrr… It’s Cold Outside!
Forestdale families, there is no doubt that winter is here! Winter Break was mild, but the cold weather has arrived!
With the ever-changing and unpredictable weather, it is not hard to believe that our little Falcons are having difficulty with their clothing and outerwear choices. Surprisingly, with temperatures below freezing, students are coming to school in shorts, t-shirts, no socks and sweatshirts in lieu of winter weather gear. We know it is hard to predict what kind of weather we will have, but we need your help in talking with your child at home about what he/she should and should not wear to school. It is a good idea to layer up. It is a lot easier to remove an article of clothing when warm than to not have the necessary clothing item when it gets cold. If your family is in need of assistance with clothing or outerwear for the cold weather, contact our school counselors, Sofia Echaide at scechaidevia@fcps.edu or Stephanie Felix at ssfelix@fcps.edu.
Students participate in all classroom activities, including recess. Classes still go outside for recess, even during cold spells; therefore, it is important that students are dressed appropriately (jackets, gloves, hats). We do not have additional personnel available to monitor students during recess, so all students go outside. However, during a National Weather Service (NWS) issued Wind Chill Advisory, outdoor activity will be limited to no more than fifteen (15) minutes. During a NWS Wind Chill Warning, students will not participate in outdoor activities including general and physical education classes, recess, and scheduled non-emergency fire drills. This does not include students walking to and from school, students waiting at bus stops, or student patrols.
January is just beginning and we are starting to see the impact of inclement weather on our school schedule. FCPS has several schedules established when inclement weather strikes. These schedules are: 1) keep schools closed all day; 2) open schools two hours late; and 3) close schools two hours early. For information on how FCPS makes closing decisions parent can watch Decisions Decisions.
• If schools open two hours late, Forestdale’s hours are: Monday-Friday: 10:50 a.m.-3:35 p.m.
• If schools close two hours early, Forestdale’s hours are: Monday-Friday: 8:50 a.m.-1:35 p.m.
Please note that the school office staff and teachers follow the same schedule as students. When schools are closed, they do not report. When there is a delay, their arrival is delayed as well.
Parents can stay informed by checking Twitter (@FCPSNEWS), the FCPS Facebook site, local radio or television stations, FCPS emails, or going to https://www.fcps.edu/.
Stay safe and warm this winter season!
Resources for Families to Teach Digital Citizenship
If you purchased a device for your child this holiday season, FCPS wants to help you support your child in the online world. If the device is internet-enabled, please consider the following tips and resources:
Educate yourself and your children. Digital citizenship is a learning process and your child will need sustained support from parents and teachers. Visit Fairfax Digital Citizenship for a fun and interactive parent-child course that can help your family start conversations about navigating the online world.
Establish rules and expectations. Have you thought about the rules you want to establish with your child for setting up accounts and the privacy settings you expect your child to use? What are your expectations and how will you monitor your child’s online activities? Not sure where to start? Try these tip sheets, media agreements, and device contracts.
Help your child monitor and manage their screen time. It’s easy to spend hours on a device, especially when it's new. Use these guidelines and strategies to help your children learn to monitor and manage their screen time.
Discuss privacy settings and accounts. Teach your child to protect their personal information and model the use of privacy settings. Discuss why these settings are important and teach them how to make privacy setting choices for every app and service they use. This resource can help you get started.
Give your child action steps. Discuss potential situations that may arise before they happen and give your child action steps. Do they know what to they can do if cyber bullied, harassed, or if someone sends them something they don’t want to see? Every difficult situation is an opportunity to help prepare them for life beyond your home. These short parent advice videos, which can be filtered by topic and age, can help you identify action steps you can share with your child.
Teach your child to assess risks and make good choices. Online communication is public and permanent. Talk with your children regularly and remind them that what they do online can impact future opportunities. Their online reputation can also affect their relationships in the face to face world.
Get Involved with GrandInvolve
The GrandInvolve program brings volunteers into Fairfax County Public School classrooms to share their skills and talents while supporting learning and building relationships between the school and community. All ages are welcome! This program will begin working with Forestdale ES this year! We need someone to serve as a liaison between the volunteers and our school. If interested in helping as a liaison or volunteering, please email info@grandinvolve.org. For more information, visit www.grandinvolve.org
PTA Corner
Keep informed and don’t forget "Like" our Facebook page!
PTA Memberships
Membership is open to anyone! We’d love to have all families join us this year. Together we are a powerful voice for our children. Thank you to the families and staff members who have already joined us!
To join the PTA:
Join online. Go to https://member.pta.org and click join. Find Forestdale by entering Springfield as the city but leaving the state blank.
OR
Send in $10 for one child or $20 for a family (cash or check made out to Forestdale PTA) with your name, your child’s name, your child’s teacher, and your email address. You can also pick up a membership envelope from the school office.
PTA Meeting on January 14 - Digital Citizenship Parent Discussion on Managing Screen Time at 6:30 p.m. in the Library
How much screen time is too much? Is there such a thing as a healthy media diet? Dive into some of the latest research and take a hard look at the mixed messages about screen time.
Come be a part of the conversation about kids' media and technology use on Monday, January 14, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. We will be focusing on managing screen time. There will be real life examples and discussions on how to help families have conversations about our digital world.
The monthly PTA meeting will start immediately after this session. Hope to see you there!
Boosterthon
Boosterthon is a hassle-free school fundraiser that raises on average over 50% more than other school fundraisers. 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.
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. 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 Collection
Help our school earn cash this school year! Every Box Top is worth 10 cents and they are available on items you already buy. Ask relatives to collect them too! You can drop them off at school or send them in with your child. Please make sure that your child’s teacher’s name is on all collection sheets or bags of Box Tops. Our goal is 10,000 Box Tops this year = $1,000 for Forestdale Elementary! We are already off to a great start.
Giant A+ Rewards Program Forestdale participates in Giant grocery store's A+ School Rewards. A portion of registered participant's purchases between October and March are given back to our school.
Visit https://giantfood.com/sign-up/ and select Savings & Rewards. Follow the prompts to create your online account. You’ll need your 11-digit BonusCard® number and the School ID # (02069).
You do not need to re-register your card if your school selection(s) remains the same as last year.
WINTER 2019 Afterschool Programs
Electronics with Minecraft Redstone: Mondays 3:40 p.m. - 4:40 p.m., January 14 - March 18, Grades 3 - 6
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., January 15 - March 26, Grades 1 - 4
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., January 17 - March 7, Grades 1 - 6
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.
Registration is Open! Please go to www.stemexcel.org/forestdale to register.
Upcoming Dates
January 14 – Managing Screen Time Presentation 6:30 p.m.
January 14 – PTA Meeting at 7 p.m.
January 18 – Three Hour Early Release
January 21 – No School – Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
January 24 – End of 2nd Quarter
January 25 – No School - Teacher Workday
January 31 – Progress Reports Go Home
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