Wolftrap Connection - September 3, 2019

Upcoming Events

Calendar Reminder

Sept 3: Registration Open- After School Programs

Sept 4: Walking Wednesday

Sept 5: New Family Orientation (5:30-6:00 pm)
Sept 5: Back to School Night (6:00-7:30 pm)


Principal's Message

Principal Theresa Khuluki

Dear Wolftrap Families:

Please join us on Thursday, September 5! This important parent-only event is the time to learn curriculum topics for the year, what the teacher expects from your child, how the teacher will support your child and how you can best contact your child’s teacher.

New this year, I will be hosting a New Family Orientation in the cafeteria from 5:30-6:00 PM. This is an opportunity to learn more about our communication methods, meet the PTA Board and meet the specialists (art, music, PE, Chinese, library, etc.)

Back to School Night officially begins at 6:00 PM so please be in your designated location (see chart below) to hear important information from Wolftrap Administration and the PTA.

Each teacher/grade level will then present twice in order to allow parents with more than one child to attend both sessions.

 

Kindergarten

    Your child’s classroom

First Grade

    Your child’s classroom

Second Grade

    Your child’s classroom

Third Grade

    Cafeteria

Fourth Grade

    Art Room

Fifth Grade

    Gym

Sixth Grade

    Library

 

Please be kind to our neighbors and do not block driveways. We look forward to seeing you at Back to School Night!

Sincerely,

 

Teresa Khuluki

Principal


Wolftrap PTAJoin The Pack


Message from the PTA

What an exciting first week! Congrats for making it through and hope the new school year is off to a great start. 


Join the Pack!

PTA Membership and Friends of Wolftrap

As of Sunday night, 25% of Wolftrap families and 74% of staff have joined the PTA. Has your family joined yet? Contributing makes the critical difference in what we can offer this year. With your help, we can fund:

  • Wolftrap favorites like Bingo Night, Skate Night, Talent Show, Edison Expo, Faculty Volleyball and Family Science Night.
  • Top-notch programming like Watch DOGS, Wolftrap's AIM (formerly GraceART), Cultural Arts Assemblies, Odyssey of the Mind, the Reflections Art Contest, and Camp Invention
  • Teacher Classroom, Grade-level Supplies and Wishlist items
  • Teacher Grants and Professional Development Assistance
  • Support for Library, Reading Room, Strategies, CL3, and Art Room
  • Field Trip Buses
  • Full licensing for Dreambox and the new reading program Lexia

But wait there's more! Support now and your name could be drawn at Wolftrap Under the Stars to win a $50 gift card!  There's never been a better time to show support, join here!

Volunteer Shout-Outs

Teachers Lounge

We'd like to start the year with a whole lot of thank you's to volunteers working hard over the summer! First up, we are grateful for the beautiful new teacher's lounge thanks to Michelle Scalise, parent donations, and student volunteers! This year also debuts an overhauled website thanks to the hardworking Webteam. AfterSchools has kept pace with an exciting roster of classes and always a few surprises from the county.

Shout-out's also go to Kadie Blaney with WatchDOGS for securing a FULL sponsorship with the generous support of the Pierson team, plus our good-looking Spiritwear (yes tie-dye!). Audit committee for finishing out the 2018-19 budget and the Communications team for getting Connection up and running.

Thanks to Allison Kreps for creating Teacher Workroom Support: help with copying, stapling and other classroom needs. Grateful to Erin Tavernier and the AIM team for rescuing GraceArt, which was retired by Reston Arts Council, and creating Wolftrap’s Artist in the Making (AIM). Other committees are already hard at work for the year including Directory, Reflections, Dining for Dollars, Pizza Bingo, and many others! 

Last, a big thank you and congratulations to Peter Wintermute, for winning the Virginia SafeRoutes QuickStart Grant of $1,000 for our Safe Routes program. Read more on that below!

Wolftrap volunteers truly are the best! If you feel inspired to find your spot, please check out our list of specific volunteer needs this year. 

 

Hope everyone has a great second week! 

 

Your PTA Board,

Jessica Jue, President (president@wolftrappta.org)
Christine Harney, President-Elect (president-elect@wolftrappta.org)
Sarah Helou, Secretary (secretary@wolftrappta.org)
Katie Hunter, Treasurer (treasurer@wolftrappta.org)


Wolftrap Under the Stars


Friday September, 13, 2019, 6-8 pm

Join us for a fun-filled night to welcome back Wolftrap! Come have dinner and enjoy a night to play and catch up with Wolftrap families. Food for sale includes Rocklands BBQ, Ooh Dat Chicken, The Big Cheese, Ben & Jerry’s, Kona ICE and Colonial Kettlecorn.

  • Obstacle Course
  • Food Trucks
  • PTA Raffle- Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card
  • Moonbounce
  • Games Galore!
  • DJ and Dancing to dab the night away!

 

Volunteer Help: We are looking for a few more adult helpers with games, cleanup and setup. Please contact Sarah Helou (secretary@wolftrappta.orgif you are available to volunteer 45 minutes of your time between 5:30 and 8:30pm on the night of the event.  


After School Programs

Registration for Fall programs will begin at 7 a.m. September 3 and close on Friday September 13. Some classes fill up quickly! 

To register for the After School enrichment classes, log onto your PTA account and go to the “My Account” tab to register.

Some of the classes offered this Fall include: 

  • Coding with Fun 
  • Sensational Science
  • Petite Pom Pro
  • Spanish for Beginners
  • Comic Book Illustration
  • American Sign Language
  • Harry Potter Master Engineering
  • Beginner Debate
  • Rhythm and Drumming 
  • Mixed Media Art  
  • Chess 

 See the brochure with all available activities and more information here.


WATCH D.O.G.S.

Watch D.O.G.S. - Dads of Great Students

The Watch D.O.G.S. Committee is kicking off another year! We will host an orientation on Wednesday, September 18th from 6:30-7:30pm in the cafeteria. Feel free to bring your child(ren) and join us for pizza! This will also be the first opportunity to sign up for a Watch D.O.G.S. day at school!   

New this Year
I
f you want to volunteer but can't make the pizza party we are giving you early access to sign up for a day at 7:30pm on September 18th (sign up here for "I want early access to the signup").  The sign up genius will be available to the rest of the school on our website Thursday, September 19th.

Please sign up to attend the orientation/pizza party or early access!


Spirit Wear

Wolftrap Spiritwear

Show your School Pride and order your Spiritwear today!  Orders can be placed online here or by filling out the paper order form sent home in folders. These items are only available for a limited time so DON’T WAIT, ORDER NOW!

ORDER DEADLINE: 
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16th 

 


Walking Wednesday

Walking Wednesdays are back and will be held every week outside Door 2 throughout the school year to encourage walking & biking to school! Caffe Amouri has kindly offered to donate coffee to us again on a weekly basis. For those of you who enjoy coffee at WWs and want it to continue, please consider signing up to help with coffee pickup. Sign up here.


Safe Routes

We are proud to announce that Wolftrap's Safe Routes to School program was just awarded a $1,000 grant from the State of Virginia!  These funds will be used to encourage more students to walk/bike to school and to help improve the safety of those doing so. Per grant requirements, these funds must be spent during the school year.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know: peterwintermute@gmail.com

 

Reminder:

Please do NOT drop off/pick up students along the school side of Talisman between Beulah and St. Roman. 

Kiss and Ride Diagram:

Kiss and Ride Wolftrap

Help Wanted: Cafeteria Assistant

Cafeteria Volunteer

Wolftrap Elementary is looking for Two Cafeteria Assistants for this year. Do you know someone who might like to work a few hours during the day? Assist students during lunchtime and help with student clean-up, keep order and dismiss students to their teachers.  $11.22/hour. To apply, please send resume to Dr. Maggie Grove mcgrove@fcps.edu.  


Wolftrap New Staff

New Staff

Leann Coghlan, First Grade Teacher:
Ms.
Coghlan earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  She is an FCPS graduate, having attended Stenwood ES, Kilmer MS, and Marshall HS (Go Statesmen!).  Ms. Coghlan enjoys travelling and has visited countries such as Greece, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Iceland, as well as Spain, where she studied abroad at the University of Madrid.  Prior to her current role as a first grade teacher here at Wolftrap, she also served as a long-term sub in kindergarten last spring. She taught first grade for five years at Chapin Elementary School in Chapin, South Carolina. Ms. Coghlan is very excited about teaching in her hometown of Vienna.  She is very thankful for the Fairfax County education she received and can think of no better way to say thank you than to give back to the next generation.


Mike Serone, Physical Education Teacher:

Hello Wolftrap Community! My name is Mike
Serone, and this is my first-year teaching P.E. at Wolftrap Elementary. I grew up in Sterling, VA and could not bring myself to leave “home.” I attended Radford University where I achieved a B.S. Degree in Communications. I followed that by attaining my licensure through the Shenandoah University Career Switcher Program. My former profession was in sports broadcasting, and I also drove a Loudoun County School bus last year. Sports are a part of my everyday life and if I am not glued to the TV watching my Redskins, Capitals, Nationals, Wizards or the Hokies, my time is spent enjoying my family and friends. I am so excited to start this new chapter in my life and hope to stay at Wolftrap for a long time to come!


Michelle Small, Fourth Grade Teacher:
Michelle Small is from a small town on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She attended college at James Madison University, and then received her Masters in Education and Reading Specialist endorsement from the University of Virginia.  Mrs. Small has taught in the 2nd, 4th, and 5th grades.  The past 9 years she has served in FCPS as a Reading Specialist and Coach.  She is excited to be back in the classroom at Wolftrap Elementary so that she can be a part of a strong community dedicated to supporting kids’ love of literacy, mathematics, and problem solving.


Evelina
Tota, ESOL Teacher:
My name is Evelina Tota and I am the ESOL teacher. This is my first year at Wolftrap, but my 15th year of teaching. Prior to becoming an ESOL teacher, I was a general education teacher and I have been an ESOL teacher for the past 10 years. I was born in Albania and I moved to the United States in high school. I attended college in Pennsylvania and moved to Virginia 10 years ago. I have a masters degree in Education Leadership and ESOL. I am very excited to join the Wolftrap community. Wolftrap Elementary provides a rigorous curriculum, while supporting students socially and emotionally. I am looking forward to working with your child!


Melissa Jacobs, Special Education Teacher:
I grew up in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and I received my undergraduate degree in Elementary and Special Education from Temple University in Philadelphia. Soon after, I began my teaching career in Upper Darby School District near West Philadelphia, where I taught Special Education for six years. I later received a Masters degree in Education from St. Joseph’s University where I received endorsements in English as a Second Language and Reading Specialist. About seven years ago I decided to make a change and move to Virginia. Within FCPS and prior to this school year, I taught at Hunt Valley Elementary and was Lead Special Ed teacher at Chesterbrook Elementary. Within this time frame, I received a second Masters degree in Education Administration. I currently live less than five minutes from Wolftrap with my husband, 3 year old American Bulldog, and 3 month old Boxer! I am so excited to be part of the incredible Wolftrap school and community. I am looking forward to seeing positive growth and progress with my students this year!

 


Community News


Harlem Wizards vs Marshall Stars

Harlem Wizards vs Marshall HS

Come see Mr. Bechtle, Mr. Campet and Mrs. Stubbs show off their basketball skills as they play against the Wizards!!

Friday Oct 11,2019 7:30pm Marshall High School Gym.  Doors open 6:30!

Come for a fun night filled with tricks, hoops and Alley Oops!  A variety of concessions and dinner available. Order tickets early by clicking here, limited seats available!

Funds benefit the GCM Class of 2020 All Night Grad Celebration and Wolftrap Elementary will receives a portion of tickets sold to Wolftrap families.

Visit www.harlemwizards.com for more info on this amazing team!

Questions?  Please contact Liz Margiotta ecmargi@gmail.com