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June 7, 2019
 Willow Springs 2019-20 School Safety Patrols are in training. Students are very excited for the leadership opportunities and they look forward to fostering a safe school climate under the supervision of Mr. Burda and Mr. Silvis.
Dear Willow Springs,
What a wonderful and eventful way to end our final full week of the school year. Our students participated in culminating projects, various concerts, and celebrated all throughout the school. We can't wait to continue the fun and exciting events next week!
We were proud to learn that Willow Springs was distinguished with the Excellence Award from the Board of Education. Read the News Release from Governor Northam & Board of Education and see which schools received VIP awards.
Just a reminder that there is a three hour early release on Thursday, June 13th. We are so thankful for the time that we get to share with your kids, and we are looking forward to an amazing final four days!
All the best,
Dylan Taylor, Principal
Rashida Green, Assistant Principal
Lesley Hassen, Assistant Principal
WSES Earns 2019 Board of Education Excellence Award
28 schools were honored for meeting all state and federal accountability benchmarks and for making significant progress toward goals for increased student achievement and expanded educational opportunities set by the Board of Education.
See which schools received VIP awards
 This year we are participating in the Uncle Slam’s Reading Program. It is easy to participate. Students received an Uncle Slam’s bookmark from their teacher. Any student who wants two tickets to a baseball game should read four books and get a parent or guardian to sign the bookmark. There are four available dates that students can attend, but our Willow Springs designated day is June 9th. The game starts at 1:05 p.m.
Take the bookmark to the ball game on Sunday, June 9th (or one of the other selected dates) and take part in the Reading Parade before the game begins. The theme of the game is Caped Crusader’s Day. Please see the bookmark for complete details.
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Willow Springs Elementary Recognized as a Common Sense School 2018-2020
Committed to Creating a Culture of Digital Learning and Citizenship
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Our school community has a lot to celebrate with our recognition as a Common Sense School. Thank you to Amy Hurley, our amazing librarian, for leading our efforts to grow in this area. Further recognition to our wonderful teachers for teaching lessons, our technology cohort, and all of our staff for their valuable role throughout the year to integrate technology into lessons, helping our students develop life long digital citizenship skills.
Our staff has accomplished a lot of hard work towards our digital citizenship recognition this year including:
- Completion of FCPS Digital Citizenship PD modules;
- Making use of the FCPS Digital Citizenship website, particularly its curricular materials and lesson plans;
- Participating in WSES Digital Citizenship Week;
- Taking part in staff PD workshops that focused on facilitating student access to high-quality, county-approved edtech tools;
- Supporting the Digital Learning Showcase, which featured Common Sense Media on digital citizenship resources for students and parents;
- Delivering required and additional digital citizenship lessons to students at multiple grade levels;
- Helping to build a school culture of good digital citizenship in these and other ways.
Spring Band Concert
Wax Museum
 Our 4th-grade students hosted their Living Virginia Wax Museum where they dressed up and represented historical Virginians from all walks of life; political, military, and domestic. They stood at their stations and when you pushed a button they gave a prepared speech reflecting the character they were depicting.
Annual Sixth Grade Food Drive
 As part of our end of the year celebration, the sixth graders are asking students to donate food items to support Western Fairfax Christian Ministries. http://www.wfcmva.org/food-pantry
The food drive will be held Tuesday, May 28 – Thursday, June 13, 2019
The pantry has a need for nonperishable “Kid Foods” such as macaroni & cheese, pop top Ravioli, Ramen noodles, cereal, canned meat, fruit cups, snacks, treats, juice, non-refrigerated milk, etc.
All food items donated will be deeply appreciated. The purpose of this project is to instill in our students the idea that as good citizens we help our community.
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Challenge 24 Tournament
Monday, June 10th, 2019
Willow Springs Elementary School Cafeteria
2:10 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. for 3rd/4th Grade Students
3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. for 5th/6th Grade Students
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6th Grade Promotion Volunteer Request
The 6th graders are excited to celebrate their completion of elementary school with a wonderful day of events on June 12. You have already seen that the cafeteria will be serving box lunches that day because the 6th graders will be taking over the building! The promotion ceremonies are in the morning and a grade level celebration for the students in the afternoon. It is sure to be busy in the building and our parking lot.The 6th grade families would welcome any interested 5th grade parents who would like to support our happy day and learn a little about what the 6th grade celebration event is about to please sign up to volunteer.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050f49acab2e5-6thgrade2
Thank you for celebrating all the students at Willow Springs as they leave for middle school!
Yearbook Final Order
Last chance to order your 2018-2019 WSES yearbook is upon us. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. We have a very limited number of books available which will be sold on a first come first served basis. Payments will be made via our square site and yearbooks will be distributed next week, along with all the other pre-ordered yearbooks, directly to your student’s classroom. To reserve your copy, click here:
https://squareup.com/store/willow-springs-pta/item/yearbook
School Supply Kits
Get a head start on the 2019-20 school year by purchasing your child's school supply kit! Campus Survival Kits is pleased to be partnering with the Willow Springs Elementary PTA once again to offer pre-packaged sets of the supplies requested by your child's teacher. Kits will be delivered to the school prior to our Willow Welcome in August and will be waiting for your child when they get there. In addition, based on the percentage of students who order a kit, WSES will be eligible for FREE refills on select supplies next January - that means fewer emails home requesting additional supplies! You can view and order the kits online at www.campussurvivalkits.com/willowsprings. Order by June 30th to avoid the shopping rush in August while helping our school earn free supplies!
Library Books Due Now
 Student library books are now due! Please make sure your child has returned all library books to Mrs. Hurley. If your child has misplaced a library book, please contact Amy Hurley at achurley@fcps.edu for information on how to pay for a lost book or replace it.
A Message from the Health Room
The clinic is reminding parents and guardians that all medication stored in the health room must be picked up no later than 12:00 p.m. on the last day of school, June 13th. Medication left in the health room after that time will be discarded. It is school policy that medications must be picked up by the parent or guardian. Medication cannot be sent home with your student. Please call Ms. Claudio at 703-679-6010 with any questions.
WSES SOL Score Reports
All SOL scores will be sent to families along with the final progress report. If your child qualifies for a retake, you will be contacted individually with that information. We will not provide individual scores at this time. Students have worked very hard during testing, and we are so very proud of them!
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Kindergarten Registration Now Open for 2019-20 School Year! |
If you have a child who will reach the age of five on or before September 30, 2019, they are eligible to attend kindergarten for the 2019-20 school year. If your child meets the age requirement and lives within the boundaries of Willow Springs Elementary School they may be registered at this time. Please sign up for a registration appointment. Forms and documents required for registration can be found through this link (scroll down to Student Registration) to the Willow Springs website. Student registrations have a direct impact on teacher staffing so the sooner registrations take place the better able we are to staff accordingly. Please call 703-679-6071 or email Liz Flaherty with any questions.
Please consider volunteering to help out in our cafeteria. We are short a cafeteria hostess so the extra hands would be helpful. No training required, the hostess will give you a bucket with condiments, etc. to pass out as kids raise their hands for help.
Hope to see you in the cafeteria! The kids love seeing new faces!
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Celebrate a Staff Member
Did you know that you can submit an FCPS cares for an employee? We invite you to submit your story about a staff member who goes above and beyond. This is a great way to share positive feedback.
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On April 25, the School Board approved modifications to the 2019-2020 school calendar for next year. A summary of the changes can be found here, along with a link to the new calendar. |
2019-20 School Year Calendar Changes; Notable Dates
New Virginia legislation requires that schools opening prior to Labor Day must be closed the Friday immediately preceding Labor Day. As a result, FCPS’ 2019-20 Standard School Year Calendar has changed and Friday, August 30, is now a holiday for students. In addition, the Board voted to move the March school planning day to Tuesday, March 3, 2020, to accommodate the 2020 presidential primary.
Other notable dates include the first day of school, August 26; Thanksgiving break, November 27-29; Winter break, December 23, 2019-January 3, 2020; Spring Break, April 6-10, 2020; and the last day of school, June 12, 2020. See the 2019-20 school year calendar.
Looking Ahead
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Thursday, June 13th - Last day of school for students and 3 hour early release; 1:00 p.m. dismissal
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Friday, August 23rd - Willow Welcome! Come and meet your new teachers!
Visit the Willow Springs Elementary PTA website.
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