|
Dear Cunningham Park Families and Friends,
We are rolling into the fourth quarter with our staff and students excited to start Spring Break! This week's annual Battle of the Books was historic because it ended in a first-ever tie! A huge thank you goes out to Meg Brinkhuis, who met with students before and after school, set-up the entire battle, and even made it possible for multiple students to participate remotely from Greece and Turkey. The event was a huge success and we are astonished at how much information students retained from the books they read.
Congratulations, also, to our young artists who were featured in the Madison Pyramid Art Show last night! The following students' creativity and artistic talents shone brightly amongst their peers from all other schools in the Madison pyramid: Yuna Chung, Leela Ranpuria, Jiah Rim, Tyler McCarty, Sadie Rayburn, Ryan Kristick, Ethan O’Keefe, Abby Ham, William Depaz, Vy Cao, Madison Moseley, Sophia Sicard, Joey DeRosa, Ashley Mendez-Amaya, Donna Pham, Casey Abbott, Aidan Bennett, Junior Amaya-Lopez, Will Gates, and Noah Weinberg.
With that, we wish everyone a safe and fun Spring Break. Enjoy time with your friends and families during the week away from school. We look forward to seeing the students on Monday, April 22 for our first day back!
Sincerely,.
Katie Le, Principal and Jon Kemmerer, Assistant Principal
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) offers a continuum of advanced academic services for all students in grades K-8. Learning experiences are designed to develop higher-level thinking through enrichment, acceleration, and extensions of the Program of Studies (POS). Teachers, administrators, and advanced academic resource teachers (AARTs) work together to provide the following levels of school-based services in each elementary school:
Critical and Creative Thinking Lessons, Grades K-6 (Level I)
All students in kindergarten through grade six receive level I services which consist of model lessons that are designed to teach critical and creative thinking skills. The lessons are modeled in all classrooms by AARTs and the thinking strategies are then used throughout the year by classroom teachers and other teachers who work with students. Student responses to these model lessons are used as part of the identification process for AAP services. Parents may also practice the thinking strategies during family conversations and activities. A description of the nine critical and creative thinking strategies can be found here.
Differentiated Lessons in Areas of Academic Strength, Grades K-6 (Level II)
The AART collaborates with classroom teachers to provide additional challenge through lessons and resources that extend and enrich the POS. Level II services are part of a talent development pool. Students are rescreened annually to make decisions about the need for this level of service.
Part-Time Advanced Academic Programs, Grades 3-6 (Level III)
Students identified by a local school screening committee for part-time advanced academic services are challenged through models and strategies designed to extend and enrich the POS in the four core subject areas. Students receive direct instruction from the AART at the local school using curriculum from the AAP Curriculum and Resources to Support the Differentiated Framework. Students identified for Level III services continue to receive level III services through grade 6.
SCREENING FOR SCHOOL-BASED (LEVEL II-III) SERVICES
Screening for school-based services can happen at any time during the school year but is done school-wide in Spring to determine services for the next school year. Parents or guardians may initiate the screening process for school-based (level II and III) services by submitting the AAP School-Based Services (Level II-III) Referral Form (found here) to Dan Solsberry, AART, prior to spring screening by May 3rd, 2019.
Multiple criteria are used to screen students for all levels of AAP services.
If a parent or guardian wishes to appeal an ineligible decision, they may submit an appeal with new data for consideration by the local school screening committee. This new information should be submitted to Dan Solsberry.
If you have any questions, please contact Cunningham Park's Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, Mr. Solsberry.
Becoming Experts: 3rd Graders Conduct Various Scientific Experiments to Begin Learning About Simple Machines
 Students construct vehicles, then test to see which travel the farthest
Students apply different types of force to various objects to understand physics of motion
Upcoming P2 Focus: Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
This is the ability to identify and enjoy that which is admirable in the world. There are three types of goodness in which positive psychology focuses: physical beauty (e.g. a sunset, song, or building); an exceptional skill or talent; and moral goodness (e.g. a character strength). Appreciation of beauty can generate awe; appreciation of a skill can generate admiration; and appreciation of moral goodness can generate moral elevation. All of these feelings (awe, admiration, and moral elevation) help us forget ourselves and find increased joy and meaning in the world. -Positivity Project
|
Dates to Remember
-
April 15-19 - Spring Break (the school and office are closed)
-
Wednesday, April 24 - Head Start/ Preschool Field Trip to Giant
-
Friday, April 26 - Progress Reports Distributed to Students
-
Monday, April 29 - School Assembly: Author's Visit
-
Tuesday, April 30
- Kindergarten Field Trip to National Zoo
- 5th Grade Field Trip to National Aquarium
- CPES Fine Arts Festival, 6:30-8:00pm
-
Wednesday, May 1 - Head Start Field Trip to Frying Pan Park
-
Thursday, May 2
- Counseling Presentation with Mrs. Lujan: Trauma in Children 8:40-9:40am
- 2nd Grade Field Trip to Imagination Stage
|
