A Note From Mrs. Duffy & Mrs. Collins -- Wednesday, August 14, 2019

We are so excited to welcome our students and staff back to school soon! It’s hard to believe that the end of summer is upon us. We hope that all of you had a restful summer and were able to spend time with your loved ones doing things that you enjoy together!

We were very busy at Bush Hill this summer! Our custodians worked very hard to clean and prepare our building for a new school year. We must say that it looks spectacular! While the custodians were busy on the inside of the main building, FCPS Design & Construction staff members worked diligently to finalize the installation of our new modular building. The modular building is fantastic and will be a great addition to our physical plant. It has 10 classroom spaces, 2 offices, a teacher’s workroom, student and staff bathrooms. Today, we begin moving furniture into the building in preparation of the arrival of our staff on Friday. The construction was completed right on time! This year, the modular building will be home to our 2^nd and 4^th grade students as well as some support staff. We know that everyone is curious to see the inside of this new building – we encourage you to take a stroll through it during our Open House on Friday, August 23^rd at 9:00 a.m.

We met with the Office of Safety and Security this summer to update our Emergency Drill Plans as well as our Crisis Response Plans to include the modular building. All of the safety and security protocols that apply to the main building will also be utilized for the modular building to ensure the safety of our students and staff at all times. This means that should you need to visit a classroom in the modular building after our Open House on Friday, August 23^rd, you will need to first visit the Main Office via Door #1. Additionally, we will be utilizing protocols outlined by the Office of Safety and Security to ensure the safety of our students during inclement weather – mainly high wind advisories. Our school staff will be trained on these practices during our work week prior to the arrival of students.

We look forward to working with each of you to support our students this school year!

Sincerely,

Mary Duffy, Principal             Hannah Collins, Assistant Principal

Welcome New Staff

Several Bush Hill Panthers moved onto new adventures this past year. Many of our staff members moved out of state or to schools closer to their homes. A few staff members were promoted to new positions or sought a new opportunity for their own professional growth. Other positions were cut by Human Resources due to our projected enrollment. We wish all of these staff members well in their journey! Once a Panther, always a Panther!

We are also excited about the awesome staff members we were able to hire this past spring and summer. Please join us in welcoming the newest Panthers to our wonderful school community:

Additionally, Andrea Trumbull has been assigned to us as our new Advanced Academic Resource Teacher. Joanna Rydalch has been assigned as our new Social Worker. Bree Ouardi will join Erin Ann Cardman as one of our Speech Pathologists. All of these positions are centrally assigned to schools.

New STEAM Lab

We are excited to announce that Kristen Mendick will be opening a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) Lab at Bush Hill this year! Ms. Mendick has served as a 2^nd grade teacher at Bush Hill for many years and has accepted the challenge of starting our STEAM Lab! Students in grades K-6 will have the opportunity to participate in STEAM during the school year. Ms. Mendick’s instruction will enhance and support the instruction that students are experiencing in their classrooms. She is very excited about this new journey and we cannot wait to see what our students create! Ms. Mendick will be looking for donations to help get our lab up and running – so start collecting newspapers, cardboard, paper towel rolls, etc. We will send out a list of specific items she needs – as well as where these items can be dropped off soon!

Tips for Transitioning Back to School

We all want our students to have a successful start to the school year! Below are some ways that you can help to support your student’s transition back to school over the next two weeks:

• Set a healthy bedtime. Aim for 8:30pm for all ages. If bedtime has been later, adjust back by 10 minutes each night. By 9pm, all screens and lights should be off. Don't hesitate to take devices out of the place where your child sleeps.
• Set aside time for independent and sustained reading. We want our kids to be "lost" in reading for at least 20 minutes. If that's a challenge, start with 5 minutes and add a minute each day.
• Set a positive tone for school. Listen to your child to hear what he/she might be excited about and worried about. We all approach each situation with our own outlook. If your child is worried about something, ask what might be some ways to address that worry. Let your child share first before offering possible solutions. Our teachers, administrators and counselors are all available to help out.
• Get school supplies. You can find out what your child needs by clicking here. Look for the grade level in which your child will be starting this fall. The grade level lists that are posted on our website are applicable to ALL students in that grade level, regardless of the program that they participate in. Should you need assistance with school supplies, please contact one of our school counselors via email. We receive many donations and can help to ensure your child has the supplies they need to be successful this school year! Ms. Fletcher may be reached at mnfletcher@fcps.edu and Ms. Koroma may be reached at fkkoroma@fcps.edu

5927 Westchester St, Alexandria, VA 22310  | Main Office: 703-924-5600
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