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September 13, 2019
 Mrs. Cain's 3rd grade class explored their flexible seating choices while building stamina during independent reading.
Willow Springs Families,
We kicked off our week focusing on the Other People Matter Mindset. Students and teachers engaged in conversations around why it is important to live this mindset. Students shared how they demonstrate that other people matter throughout their school day and within their personal lives. Next week, our students will focus on the character trait, curiosity, as we continue our implementation of the Positvity Project at Willow Springs.
Our admin team held grade level meetings discussing Fairfax County Public School's Student Rights and Responsibilities. We connected the SR&R with our school-wide E.A.R.S. (Empathy, Accountability, Respect, and Safety) positive behavior approach, and explained our school and county rules and expectations.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership for student success!
Mr. Taylor, Principal
Mrs. Green, Assistant Principal
Ms. Hassen, Assistant Principal
Willow Springs' Social Media
The school year is off to a great start! Students have been engaging in meaningful learning activities such as readers’ theatre, math centers, number talks, and so much more. We are very proud of their efforts!
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to follow our school Twitter account at @WSESfox. Twitter is a great platform for sharing photos and videos of students participating in learning and celebrating successes. For many teachers and administrators in FCPS, including ourselves, using social media in a professional capacity allows us to give the Willow Springs’ parents and community a lens into the amazing learning, collaboration, and creativity that takes place in our building.
We find that sharing class activities and lessons on our class and school Twitter pages serves as an opportunity to actively participate in valuable professional development opportunities that are available to educators on social platforms at no cost. Also, uncovering relevant, innovative instructional practices or resources for our school and classrooms help us learn and grow. It is always exciting to bring these discoveries back to our teachers and students.
Rest assured that us using social media in a professional capacity will not detract from students’ learning. If you have any questions about your child being featured in our FCPS social media post(s), please complete the opt-out form and return it to your child's teacher.
Health Update
Please see the flyer regarding cases of severe respiratory illnesses associated with the use of e-cigarettes and “vaping” among youth and young adults. Additional information can also be found here.
FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM INFORMATION
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve. Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.
Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program. Students who are opted-out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices. If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt-out forms are available here for Elementary (K-6)
If you choose to opt-out your child, please fill in the opt-out form and return it to Willow Springs Elementary prior to Family Life Education instruction.
Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available here (Elementary K-6)
FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in FCPS 24-7 (Blackboard) Parent View
Grade level-specific lessons are also available at the Fairfax County Regional Library in the City of Fairfax (this location does not have media). Grade level-specific lessons and media that is not streamed online are available for review at your child’s school library. Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.
Program questions may be addressed by contacting your child’s teacher, Instructional Services at 571-423-4550, or Elizabeth Payne, Health and Physical Education Coordinator, at etpayne@fcps.edu.
Enhancing and Practicing Executive Functioning Skills
This article is a wonderful resource on executive function from the Center on the Developing Child. For more resources please visit developingchild.
harvard.edu
AAP Parent Information Meeting
An AAP parent information meeting will be held at Willow Springs on Friday, October 11, 2019 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the cafeteria. Mrs. Murray, the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) will provide information about levels of service at Willow Springs as well as explain and answer questions about the screening process for AAP services. The meeting is open to all K-6 parents. For information on the Fall Level IV Referral Process (Deadline: October 10, 2019 for students new to FCPS) and the fall ability test retake deadlines, please read the September Newsletter on our Willow Springs Elementary School website or contact Sandy Murray with questions.
New for 2019: FCPS Now Using the Here Comes the Bus Mobile App
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To help you know when your child’s bus is approaching your stop, FCPS is now using the Here Comes the Bus mobile app.. Here Comes the Bus is a free school bus tracking app that can simplify morning and afternoon routines for parents and students by giving real-time bus location and text or email notification alerts, helping everybody get to the bus stop on time.
Here Comes the Bus® uses FCPS global positioning system (GPS) data and an easy-to-use customizable map that works on one or multiple devices, such as a tablet, smartphone, or desktop computer.
Parents can download the app now for free from the App Store or Google Play. You will need the FCPS school district code 28982 and a Student Information System (SIS) Parent Account (contact your child's school if you do not have an SIS Parent Account). Once signed in, you can customize or edit features, including how the app will communicate with you, and the size and location of the notification radius around your child's bus stop.
Learn more about the Here Comes the Bus mobile app.
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Willow Springs: One of Twenty-Three Schools Recognized as Common Sense Schools
During the 2018-19 school year, Willow Springs was one of twenty-three Fairfax County public schools who earned Common Sense Recognition for demonstrating a whole-community approach to digital citizenship.
Access to digital tools and opportunities for students continues to grow in FCPS and along with that is the need for students to learn how to use technology safely, responsibly, and ethically. Fairfax County Public Schools promotes a culture of shared responsibility for preparing students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying.
Common Sense is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology. Many additional schools are actively working to earn recognition.
These schools have been using Common Sense Education's research-based digital citizenship resources, created in collaboration with researchers from Project Zero, led by Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, media balance, managing online relationships, and media literacy.
More information about the criteria to become recognized as a Common Sense School is available online.
For more information, contact Tammi Sisk at tlsisk@fcps.edu.
School Attendance is a Priority!
The state of Virginia has made SCHOOL ATTENDANCE a priority!
- Regular school attendance in elementary school improves the chances that your child will read on grade level.
- Chronic absenteeism (missing 18 or more school days per year) is a primary cause of lower academic achievement even when the absences are "excused" or understandable.
- Students who attend 90% or more of the school year are more likely to graduate from high school on time.
- Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with peer conflicts or facing some other potentially serious difficulty, and help is available. Find more attendance data, here.
STEAM Lab Donations
Exciting news! Willow Springs has a brand new STEAM Lab, and we need your help!
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Please donate your STEAM/STEM toys that your child/children are not playing with anymore. We also need a few recyclable household items. The following kinds of items would be greatly appreciated:
- Magna-Tiles or Geomag
- Coding or Robot-making Kits
- Snap Circuits (or other Electricity Circuit Kits)
- Gears (for building)
- K'NEX
- Planet models
- Magnets
- Crystals, rocks & minerals
- Marble runs
- Large buttons
- Plastic beads
- Counters (basic circle, dinosaur, bear, insect)
- Newspapers
- Cardboard tubes (paper towel, toilet paper)
3rd Fire Drill - Success!
Our students did a wonderful job during our second fire drill, on Tuesday, September 10th. It is required that all FCPS schools conduct one fire drill each week within the first 20 days of school, and one per month afterwards.
Looking Ahead
More information about each event will be sent out as dates get closer:
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September 16 – Restaurant Night, Red Robin, 5-9 p.m. 13056 Fairlakes Shopping Center
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September 18 – PTA meeting, 7 p.m. Willow Springs Library
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September 25 -- Watch DOGS kick-off party, 6 p.m. Willow Springs Cafeteria
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October 3 – Boosterthon
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October 11 - Advanced Academic Program Info Meeting
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October 14 - Professional Development Day - Student Holiday
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October 16 – PTA meeting, 7 p.m. Willow Springs Library
Notable dates include Columbus Day, Monday, 10/14, School Closed, 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.
Visit the Willow Springs Elementary PTA website.
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