Churchill Chatter - Issue 18, January 16, 2019
In This Week's Issue
- Support Langley Pyramid's Rise Against Hunger initiative by volunteering or donating now
- Getting to Know Churchill: Lisa Williams, 1st grade teacher
- Pajama Day Spirit Day on Friday, January 18
- Three hour early dismissal at 12:20 PM on Friday, January 18, MLK Day holiday on Monday, January 21 and Teacher Workday on Friday, January 25.
- FCPS Inclement Weather plans
- CRS Calendar of Upcoming Events
- CRS PTA News - Science Night on January 29 -- volunteers needed, Reflections winners.
Rise Against Hunger!
Rise Against Hunger Event @ Colvin Run ES
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Fundraising Goal: $29,000
In partnership with Rise Against Hunger, the Langley pyramid elementary, middle and high schools are again coming together on Saturday, February 9th at Colvin Run Elementary with a goal to prepare 100,000 meal packages for schools and orphanages around the world. Click here to learn more about Rise Against Hunger. Last year, the Langley pyramid raised enough funding to provide 100,008 meals for families in developing countries around the world, and additional funding to support disaster relief in the United States. Last year’s meals went to families in Mozambique.
CRS students received collection boxes last week so that they can start to save money to be donated this month as part of our “Learn to Earn” fundraising efforts. “Learn to Earn” is the initiative we promote to encourage students to earn money they would like to donate by: taking on additional chores, setting aside part of their allowance, helping shovel snow, or any innovative way they can think of.
In addition, our SCA Officers will be collecting money as students pour through the main doors each day (Main Office, Kiss n Ride, Buses & Mod) at arrival starting this Friday, January 18 and continuing all next week.
Families may also make tax-deductible contributions online here. If your company makes matching contributions, please consider having them join you in making a tax-deductible donation today at: Rise Against Hunger and help us Rise Against Hunger.
Churchill Road families are encouraged to sign up to volunteer for the event here: volunteer sign up. The event will have volunteers from all of the Langley pyramid schools and each school is given a specific number of slots per session. Opportunities are still available for the 1:30-3:30 p.m. timeslot.
Thank you for your support!
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Getting to Know Churchill: Lisa Williams, 1st Grade Teacher
Do you know which first grade teacher has lived in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Paraguay? If you guessed the wonderful Lisa Williams, you are right! Starting when she was only sixteen years old she spent her summers in Latin America supporting public health programs. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies and Spanish, she worked at alternative schools for juvenile offenders in Florida and Virginia. She has also taught third and fourth graders at an American International School in Ecuador.
Mrs. Williams grew up in Plano, Texas, in a large and loving family, who she continues to visit every winter break and often in the summer. The first night she met her husband they went country and western dancing and now they have been married over twenty-two years! Mrs. Williams and her husband have two daughters. Their older daughter is a junior at Texas A&M and is interested in being a veterinarian and their younger daughter is a senior at McLean High School, where she participates in the band and color guard. Mrs. Williams' husband’s naval career of 28 years (recently retired) provided incredible opportunities for their family to be stationed across the United States and in Japan and Ecuador.
This is Mrs. Williams' fifth year teaching first grade as CRS. She started as a substitute at CRS while earning a Masters in Education with a concentration in multilingual and multicultural education at George Mason University. One of the things Mrs. William’s enjoys most about her role at Churchill is the opportunity to work with such a diverse student body. She appreciates that her "students are excellent about accepting each other and are also willing to share and teach about their language and culture."
Mrs. Williams also loves the willingness of CRS students, parents, and staff to chip in and help in any way possible to ensure the greatest success for our students academically, socially, and emotionally. She appreciates that parents ask how they can help from home or offer to volunteer in the classroom, that the administration provides opportunities to learn and grow as an educator, that colleagues volunteer to help a student or work on a special project, and that students notice things and ask if they can help, too. Mrs. Williams is passionate about CRS’s caring culture and strong sense of teamwork.
We are incredibly grateful to have Mrs. Williams as an essential member of our CRS team! We value her dedication to the students, her eagerness to contribute, and, of course, her impressive country and western dancing skills and Texas background that help to infuse our memorable first-grade musical garden hoe down and Reading Rodeo with tremendous enthusiastic energy!
Planning for Inclement Weather
FCPS tries to make decisions about school closings and delays in the evening, taking into account that parents need time to make proper arrangements. However, when there is a lot of uncertainty in the forecast, the superintendent may not be able to make the decision of whether to delay or close schools until approximately 4:30 a.m.
FCPS provides information about closings and delays in many ways including:
- Posted to the FCPS Twitter and Facebook pages.
- Posted to www.fcps.edu.
- Email and text messages sent to parents (using the parent contact information listed in weCare@school).
- Email sent to employees (using the employee's FCPS email address).
- Email sent to News You Choose subscribers of Delayed Openings and School Closings.
- Posted on FCPS cable Channel 21 (Cox Communications, Reston Comcast, and Verizon cable customers only).
- Area radio and television stations.
FCPS has a series of closing conditions to help explain how the weather has affected schools and activities.
Wellness: Benefits of Recess
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The benefits of recess are many. Recess provides time for students to create their own games, test abilities, mediate conflicts, and to stay fit. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that regular exercise improves students’ mental function and academic performance. In one experiment, researchers manipulated recess times and discovered kids' attentiveness decreased the longer they waited for recess and rebounded after they played. On Friday, let’s help start the kids’ school day off with a before school recess. Come to school at 8:00 a.m. on Friday and enjoy 20 minutes playing on the playground, walking on the track, shooting hoops, or joining a game with friends. (Depending on weather conditions, we may pivot to playing in the gym; look for us there, if you do not see anyone on the playground.) Students, teachers, and parents are encouraged to join us to enjoy some exercise before school starts. Plus, it is PJ Spirit Day, so kids can come to school early sporting their favorite pajamas! We would love to see you and please feel free to invite friends to join, too. Keep in mind there is an early release on Friday so Family Fitness at 8:00 a.m. is a great way to make the most of a short school day!
Ms. Lewis' Students Go Bananas!
One of the families in Ms. Lewis' kindergarten class brought a special treat back for the class from their holiday trip to Florida -- a very large bunch of bananas! The bananas were not ripe and the students created a poster with their estimates on how long it would take for the bananas to ripen. They are still waiting....
Third Grade Text Surgeons at Work
Last week, third graders practiced their surgical skills in reading. The students cut out text and pictures that would help with their classmates' diagnoses. The students loved the lesson so much that they asked to do it again.
Cheer Winners of the Week
Congratulations to our Churchill Cheer winners for the week of January 7. Cheers are given to students who follow the four R’s. This week’s winners (and the staff member who gave each a Cheer) are: Aiden Ahn (Ms. Bamdad); Keegan Davenport (Mrs.Kianni); Audrey Kim (Mrs. Dierman); Gaheon Lee (Mrs. Khan); and Casey Tasber (Mr. Ericson). Remember, at CRS we follow the four R’s. We respect ourselves, we respect others, we respect property, we respect the Earth, and we are responsible.
SCA Pajama Day Spirit Day and PTA Family Fitness Day This Friday
This Friday is the SCA's Pajama Day Spirit Day and PTA Family Fitness Spirit Day. We know it is a busy week. What better way to celebrate the end of the 2nd quarter than with pajamas? On Friday, January 18, Churchill Road will be “resting up” for 3rd quarter with Pajama Day! Students are encouraged to come to school in their pajamas to relax and get ready for 3rd quarter.
Be sure to get in a little extra exercise and join us this Friday for Family Fitness Spirit Day as well. Just arrive at school at 8:00 a.m. to enjoy 20 minutes playing in the gym. And remember to wear your PJs!
Don't miss out on future spirit days. Mark your calendars now for the remaining Spirit/Family Fitness Days of the school year.
- Friday, February 1 – Sports Team/Jersey Spirit Day
- Friday, March 1 -- Cultural Day
- Friday, April 20 -- Earth Day Spirit Day
- Friday, June 7 – Field Day Spirit Day
Reminder: Students Dismissed Three Hours Early on January 18; Schools Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday on January 21; Teacher Workday on January 25
- Students will be dismissed from school three hours early, at 12:20 PM, on Friday, January 18, for a school planning day.
- School will be closed on Monday, January 21 in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, and for a Teacher Workday on Friday, January 25.
If your student will be absent any additional days surrounding the upcoming holidays and workdays, please call the CRS 24-hour attendance line at 703-288-8484 or email ChurchillRoadElem.Attendance@fcps.edu.
CRS Calendar of Upcoming Events
Friday, January 18
Family Fitness Day, 8:00-8:20 AM, Gym
Pajama Day Spirit Day - All Day
3-Hour early Dismissal at 12:20 PM
Monday, January 21
Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Holiday - School Closed
Friday, January 25
Teacher Workday - No School for Students
Tuesday, January 29
Science Night, 6:00-8:00 PM, Gym
Monday, February 4
Teacher Workday - No School for Students
Saturday, February 9
Rise Against Hunger Event at Colvin Run ES
Wednesday, February 13
Principal’s Coffee, 8:00-8:45 AM, Exploratory Arts Room
PTA Meeting, 8:45-9:45 AM, Exploratory Arts Room
Family Science Night is January 29!
Get ready for a fun-filled evening of STEM activities in partnership with the Children’s Science Center at Family Science Night on Tuesday, January 29 from 6-8 p.m.! There will be lots of fun hands-on experiments and activities like Slime Piano, Medieval Mayhem, and more! Find all the details at http://bit.ly/CRSScience. This event is free for all CRS families.
Volunteers Needed - Family Science Night
We are looking for additional volunteers to help with set-up, assisting students with activities, and clean-up at Science Night on January 29. Dinner will be provided for our awesome volunteers! Middle school and high school students can earn service credits by helping out. Sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d45adaf2fa1f85-family.
Congratulations Reflections Winners!
The CRS PTA Reflections Committee is excited to announce the winners of the 50th Annual National PTA 2018 Reflections Arts Program Contest. The winners at the Churchill Road PTA level were selected by an independent panel of judges from the McLean community not related to CRS families or staff. The winners are: Finley Sheers (Primary Visual), Davanee Li (Intermediate Visual), Tyler West (Intermediate Photo), Mia Tripathi (Intermediate Literature), Miqdad Khapra (Intermediate Music), Jiyoon Park (Middle Literature), Rashika Singh (Middle Music), Kasim Khapra (Middle Film), and Jiyoon Park (Middle Visual).
Four distinguished entries have also advanced at the Fairfax County Council PTA level and will move on to compete at the VA State PTA level. The students whose entries have advanced are: Jiyoon Park, Kasim Khapra, Miqdad Khapra, and Finley Sheers.
Congratulations CRS and FCC winners! More details will be coming regarding awards celebrations for of all of our winners. The CRS PTA proudly supports the National PTA’s efforts to integrate Arts and Humanities Programs in our schools.
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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