Admin Note
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome back to all! We are enjoying seeing all of our returning students and also meeting our new students! We have made plans as a school to support the vision of FCPS strategic goals that focus on Student Success, Caring Culture, Premier Workforce, and Resource Stewardship. To that end, our teachers and staff are focusing on building routines and procedures and are now introducing classroom structures to ensure student engagement during instruction.
Note that we continue to support technology and will be introducing your child to a contract that will be signed by you and your child. This contract will state some guidelines of usage in order to ensure a safe experience. We are working on bringing an expert from FCPS to discuss technology usage to our school who can share with parents on how to help your child with technology.
We will continue to partner and communicate with you as frequently as possible. This entails posting information regarding school events but also offering opportunities for you to come in the school and participate in the learning or simply volunteer. There are links to volunteer below. The teachers will be utilizing 24/7 Blackboard and many will embed their Google classroom information in 24/7 regarding homework and other classroom news. The teachers will send out newsletters weekly regarding classroom information. The school will coordinate with the PTA’s ROAR which will be remitted every Friday.
Monthly principal coffees will be held prior to the PTA meetings. These coffees will take place from 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. Our first meeting and coffee will be September 27th. The coffees are informal and will provide an opportunity for you to chat about any concerns or questions that you may have.
As required by Virginia state law, we will conduct four practice lockdowns during the school year. Our first two will be held on September 5th at 8:55 a.m. and September 19th at 3:00 p.m. A lockdown requires that all students and staff remain in classrooms or other designated space away from danger and minimizes access and visibility. Signs will be posted on our entrance doors during the lockdown. No one will be allowed to enter or exit the building. Please note the times above. Safety is extremely important to our students and staff. These drills are for practice only.
Back to School Night is coming and will be held on September 5th. We look forward to seeing all of you at this important evening. Note that it is intended for adults.
Once again, thanks for all of your support. We are looking forward to a wonderful school year and partnership!
Holly McGuigan, Principal Pier McGrath, Assistant Principal Tia Hawkins, Assistant Principal
School News
Here Comes the Bus Mobile App: FCPS has a new app to help you track your child’s bus. The app utilizes GPS tracking to provide you with real time bus location and email notification and alerts. Parents can download the app from the App Store or Google Play. You will need the FCPS school district code 28982 and a Student Information Systems (SIS) Parent Account. Once signed in, you can customize as needed. Here is the link to learn more!
Musical Selection for Specials: Please choose your child’s musical selection for the 2019-20 school year. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grade may make their selection by going to the KG website https://kentgardenses.fcps.edu/ and scrolling to the bottom. Note that most of our students in these grade levels participate – join and enjoy participating in our strings or band program!
Wednesday Morning Chorus Began 8/28! All fifth and sixth graders may select to sing in the school chorus. We began chorus rehearsal the morning of 8/28 but want to include all interested! We would like to adjust the start time to earlier if parents are able to drop off. Please click on the link to register your child’s interest in participating in chorus. https://forms.gle/P4NkzkYgEK64MMHJ6
Back to School Night On September 5, 2019, we will hold our Back to School Night for all Kent Gardens’ families. The 4th, 5th, and 6th will be at 5:00 p.m. and the K, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will take place at 7:00 p.m. Our specialists will be in the gym from 6:15 – 7:00 pm. ESOL and special education teachers will be available in their respective offices from 6:15 – 7:00 p.m. During this time, parents and guardians will have the opportunity to hear from your child(ren)’s teachers about the grade level curriculum and an overview of the school. We have links to the school board members and Dr. Brabrand’s welcome back to school talk. This event is for parents and guardians only – not children.
School and PTA Volunteer Opportunities:
Help support the PTA and volunteer: Complete this form here to help support our school. They are accepting any and all support! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQj_oUUpTghKzABRamBPcvcf2T-xCRvD6yzblY8FHKU5qT2g/viewform
Please consider supporting our library! We need volunteers to help shelve books and support our library. Here is the google link to sign up. You may sign up during your child’s library times for K – 3 students. We could use any and all help - very flexible. https://forms.gle/KC7vL6e4QTY9cgYi8
Health Clinic Volunteers: Our nurse clinician sees many students during the school days and could use assistance! Helping with preparing ice and other simple tasks and supporting the students with her. Here is a link to volunteer: https://forms.gle/7hjdsnonTm9iYKox9
Art Volunteers: Our art teachers would love some assistance as well with materials. If interested, please email either Lida Saeedian lsaeedian@fcps.edu or Heather Devlin hedevlin@fcps.edu . Thanks in advance!
School Before and After School Clubs
Join the Math Competition Club or MC2 Club – This is a before-school advanced math program to get kids excited about learning math and prepare them for success in the many popular math competitions done at school, like the CML, VML, AMC-8, and Math Counts. We have an amazing instructor who is very experienced!
When: Two times per week from September through March, 7:30-8:20am
Where: Kent Gardens classroom
Who: Students in grades 4-6 who have a strong interest in math (3rd graders in advanced math may be admitted based on availability)
Cost: $760 per student
Sign up as soon as possible here, and pay registration fee online by Thursday, September 12th.
Science Olympiad: Stay tuned! Science Olympiad volunteers will also be available at Back to School Night on September 5 to answer questions and provide additional information. Stop by their table to learn more.
Chess Club: Want to have fun and learn new strategic skills? Then Chess Club is for you! Any Kent Gardens student in 2nd through 6th grade may join the Chess Club. All are welcome: Girls! Boys! New and experienced players! Chess Club will meet on Wednesdays 3:45 - 5:15 PM. The Fall session starts Wednesday, September 25th and will end on Wednesday, Jan 22nd. Registration closes Monday, September 23rd . Register here: http://kentgardenspta.3dcartstores.com/Chess-Club-Registration_p_52.html
Dates to Note:
Friday, August 30 – No school – Student Holiday
Monday, September 2 – No School – Labor Day Holiday
Thursday, September 5 – BTSN (See information above)
Thursday, September 5 – Practice Lockdown 8:55 a.m.
Thursday, September 19 – Practice Lockdown 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 24 – Advanced Academic Information Night 6 pm.
Friday, September 27 – Principals Coffee 8 a.m. and PTA meeting 8:45 a.m.
 We had Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Frances Ivey and school board representative, Ryan McElveen, visit our school! In addition, Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Fabio Zuluaga, also paid a visit to our classrooms. We have had an exciting start to the school year!
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