Braddock District Upcoming Events and March Office Hours

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Braddock District School Board Member - Megan McLaughlin

Contact Megan:

E-mail:
Megan.McLaughlin@fcps.edu
Phone: 571-423-1088

 

Cheryl Austin

Executive Admin Assistant
571-423-1069
Cheryl.Austin@fcps.edu

Greetings -

 

As we celebrate the first day of spring, I want to bring to your attention a few events that will be happening in the Braddock District within the next week.

 

Specifically:

  • Saturday, March 23: A special theater production called "Abira and the Mountain" is being presented by the ConnerStrong Foundation, the Fairfax County SEPTA, and  A Place to Be - Where Music Meets Therapy. This student-led performance is free to the public and celebrates inclusion, acceptance and empathy. Please see specific details below.
  • Wednesday, March 27: WT Woodson Administration and PTSO are co-sponsoring nationally recognized addiction recovery speaker Tony Hoffman to talk with our community about teen drug use and mental health challenges. This presentation is free to the public. Please see specific details below.
  • Thursday, March 28: I will host a FCPS FY20 Budget Town Hall to discuss the upcoming budget decisions along with my regular March Office Hours. Please see specific details below.

I also want to alert you about an upcoming FCPS Family Engagement Survey. In an effort to help strengthen our family engagement and enhance our Caring Culture, FCPS will be sending out a county-wide survey. This survey will begin on Sunday, March 24 and run through April 12, 2019. Your input is vital to strengthening our school system. Please see specific details below.

 

I hope to see you at one of the events above.

 

Cheers,

Megan


Abira and the Mountain - A fairytale about Inclusion, Acceptance and Empathy

Please join us for Abira and the Mountain! This event is FREE but tickets are strongly recommended.

 

Saturday, March 23 - 2:00 PM

Robinson Secondary School | Russell Theater

5035 Sideburn Road, Fairfax VA

 

Abira is a princess in a wheelchair who is strong, curious and innovative. She longs to go out into the Kingdom to see what is beyond the castle walls but her parents are afraid of how their subjects might treat her and they keep her inside the castle. One day her brother sneaks her into the kingdom to see what she’s been missing. There, she meets others with disabilities, medical and mental health challenges, and she discovers that she can use her own life experiences to help them while also increasing her own self-worth.

 

A Place To Be's newest original family production about acceptance, empathy and love is part of its Same Sky Project touring productions.  Using the fun and power of theater, A Place to Be's shows have delivered messages of hope and resilience through staged productions to Loudoun County’s public schools and throughout the region for the past seven years. Teens and young adults have been behind each of the productions which broach serious subjects such as stereotypes, suicide, and mental illness. Abira’s touring cast of 17 includes teens/young adults with many challenges including ADHD, anxiety, autism, blindness, cerebral palsy, depression, Down’s Syndrome, hearing impairments, speech disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. The lead, and co-author, is a young woman with quadriplegic cerebral palsy who helped A Place To Be develop The Same Sky Project productions to spread empathy and possibilities for all.
Sponsored by the ConnerStrong Foundation and the Fairfax County Special Ed PTA.

 

For more information and to register for tickets, go to: https://bit.ly/2SRiUbQ


"The Choice" - by Tony Hoffman at Woodson High School

WT Woodson Administration and PTSO are co-sponsoring the following event:

 

Come hear Tony Hoffman speak about a specific “choice” that changed his life forever. Often times, individuals may think that small, and insignificant choices have no impact on their lives. Tony walks audiences through a candid set of choices, attitudes, and thought processes that lead him to his first drug. He details his mental health struggles and encourages his audience that it's okay to have anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts but we must take action and tell someone. He believes we find healing when we begin doing the work and not keeping it to ourselves. He recalls picking up marijuana for the first time, the small choice he made that opened up the door for prescription painkiller and heroin abuse. It was that choice, the small, and at that time insignificant decision that changed his life forever. As Tony reaches the climax of his life experiences, audiences learn how that choice ultimately left him hopeless, homeless, and in a state of despair, while he suffered with substance-abuse addiction. With all the twist and turns in Tony’s life, he is able to leave his audience with a new sense of hope and empowerment. Tony speaks of overcoming, and how his new way of thinking and choice-making allowed him to become a professional athlete, Olympic coach at the Rio Olympic Games, and a successful business owner who is dedicated to bettering his community. Click here to learn more about Tony Hoffman.

 

Wednesday, March 27 - 7:00 PM

WT Woodson High School | Auditorium

9525 Main Street, Fairfax VA

 

Event is free of charge, but the PTSO is asking for people to register to track anticipated attendance. To RSVP:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tony-hoffman-the-choice-tickets-58547329639.

 

For questions, please contact: melissawtwptso@gmail.com.


FCPS FY20 Budget Town Hall | March Office Hours

Please join me for a FCPS FY20 Budget Town Hall to discuss some of the upcoming budget decisions facing the School Board along with my regular March Office Hours where you can discuss any other issues or concerns you may have.

 

Thursday, March 28, 2019 - 7:00 PM

Supervisor Cook's Office* | Meeting Hall
9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke, VA

 
*Supervisor Cook's office is in the same building as the Kings Park Library. Since the library closes at 9:00 PM, please park and enter through the opposite side of the building, which is closer to the Bank of America.


FCPS Family Engagement Survey - Begins Sunday, March 24, 2019

We would like to hear from every Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) parent and guardian in the school division’s 2019 Family Engagement Survey. Only by listening to you and partnering with you can the school division strengthen family engagement and foster a Caring Culture as outlined in our Strategic Plan.

 

The survey asks for your thoughts on your school’s communications and relationships, opportunities to participate, student success, and more. All responses are confidential.

 

1. There are three ways to participate: Check your email for an invitation. There will be a survey link on March 24th. - OR -

 

2. Paper survey: Ask the front office staff for a paper survey. You can complete it right there on the spot. - OR -

 

3. Complete the online survey using one of the school computers. The office staff would be happy to show you an available computer for you to complete the survey electronically at the school.

 

The survey is offered in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Amharic.

 

You have from March 24th through April 12th to participate.

 

For more information, please contact the main office at your child’s school or visit https://www.fcps.edu/blog/2019-family-engagement-survey.