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Greetings Families,
I hope you can support the Fairfax High School Homecoming festivities today. The carnival tailgate begins at 4:30 in the Fairfax HS field house lot with cool games and great food for kids of all ages! To cap it all off, the football game starts at 7 vs.Annandale HS. Our Girls on the Run Club kicked off this week. Thank you to Lauren Hein (assistant principal), Kate Hebert (teacher) and Louise Robinson (school counselor) for organizing the club for our students. I also want to commend our 6th grade teachers for modeling being life-long learners and supporting Portrait of a Graduate outcomes as they spent yesterday in professional learning as part of an FCPS pilot program for Portrait of Graduate Presentations of Learning. The Presentations of Learning will give 6th grade students multiple opportunities to demonstrate growth toward Portrait of a Graduate outcomes and culminate with an end of year summary.
Have a great weekend,
Chris Smith
DRES Principal
FCPS Students to Participate in International Walk to School Day on October 2
Fairfax County Public Schools will participate in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 2, in an effort to promote physical activity and reduce traffic congestion and pollution near schools.
Students and employees are encouraged to bike or walk to school and work where safe to do so on October 2. Parents are encouraged to accompany their children to school, and to work with their school and PTA or PTO to assemble bike trains or walking groups for the event. Schools are encouraged to register online with Walk and Bike to School.
Get more information about Walk to School Day.
Registration Now Open for FCPS Mental Health and Wellness Conference, to Be Held October 5 at Fairfax High School
The sixth annual FCPS Mental Health and Wellness Conference will be held on Saturday, October 5, at Fairfax High School from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., sponsored by Inova and Kaiser Permanente. The morning session will focus on social and emotional learning, with a keynote address given by Dr. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. A special session for high school students, the Our Minds Matter Teen Summit, will take place in the morning as well.
Attendees are encouraged to stay for Inova’s Act on Addiction Summit, which will be held from 12:30 to 4 p.m.
Participants in this conference will be able to choose from a wide variety of breakout sessions, and there will be many resource tables available, representing public and private offices and agencies providing services within our schools and community. Lunch will be provided courtesy of Inova.
For more information or to register, go to the Mental Health and Wellness Conference website.
Student Mental Health and Resiliency
Many students struggle with emotional and behavioral issues that can affect their learning and overall wellness. If you have any concerns about anxiety, peer relationship problems, depression, or other social and emotional issues your child may be experiencing, please contact your school psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor. They are available for consultation and support.
Visit the Mental Health and Resiliency and Student Wellness: Tips and Strategies web pages to learn about mental health resources and fostering resiliency in your child.
On Time and On Target!
DID YOU KNOW?
- Students should miss no more than nine days of school each year to stay engaged, successful, and on track to graduation.
- Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully, or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.
- By 6th grade, absenteeism (defined as missing 18 days per school year) is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
- By 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
- Missing 10 percent, or about 18 days, of the school year can drastically affect a student’s academic success.
- Students can be chronically absent even if they only miss a day or two every few weeks.
- Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child graduate from college and keep a job
Hurricane Relief Effort
Dear Region 5 Communities,
Each of the 32 schools in Region 5 of Fairfax County Public Schools are uniting together to support the humanitarian crisis that has occurred in the Bahamas due to Hurricane Dorian. We have all witnessed the devastation from this deadly storm and we want to be able to help. There is an estimated 18,000 children in crisis and many children have lost everything they own. So we are calling each of our communities to action!
Over the next two weeks, we will be fundraising by using a GoFundMe page. The link is below which also includes a link to a video for more information. All proceeds will go to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Our funds will go to water, shelter, food, clothes, backpacks, books, and other school materials.
Please join Region 5 in making a difference. Any amount can be helpful! The fundraiser will run from Wednesday, September 18th to Friday, October 4th.
Please click this link to go to our GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/sam3qu-hurricane-dorian-relief
Positivity Project
This week our students have had the opportunity to develop their teamwork and citizenship skills. Please talk with them about what they have learned this week.
Field Day 2019
Field Day will be Friday, October 18th. Grades 3-6 will have their Field Day from 10:3012:30 and Grades K-2 from 1:30-3:30.
If you are interested in volunteering please email Ms. Levine at alevine@fcps.edu before September 25th.
Thank you!
Digital Citizenship
How do I protect my kid's privacy online?
There are two kinds of online privacy. Personal privacy refers to your kid's online reputation, and consumer privacy (also known as customer privacy) refers to the data companies can collect about your kid during an online interaction or transaction. Both are important, and a few simple steps can help parents and kids keep their private information private. Consider using strict privacy settings and teach your children to always consider the information they're potentially giving away when engaging online.
Learn More Here
Lice Resources for Parents and Guardians
The beginning of school is a great time to provide information to parents and guardians regarding head lice and its treatment. Although lice do not spread disease, they can be a nuisance and cause great concern in the community.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and the Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) have provided several resources for parents and guardians who are interested in learning more about lice. These documents are available in English and several other languages at the following links:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/schools
New This Year: FCPS Teacher Work Day/Student Holiday Camps
Need something fun, engaging, and academic for your child (grades 3-8) to do during teacher workdays? FCPS Adult and Community Education (ACE) has the solution, with a full-day, affordable camp. Introduce your child to a foreign language and related cultural culinary activities taught by enthusiastic and experienced instructors. Each day is a new adventure!
Camp dates: October 14, November 4-5, and December 23. Camps start at 9 a.m. with before-care starting at 7:30 a.m., and after-care from 3:30-6 p.m. Sign up for all four days and receive a discount. To apply this bundle discount, call the ACE registration office at 703-658-1201.
Camp offerings and prices may be viewed on the ACE website by clicking on K-12 Classes and Camps. Registration may be completed online, by phone at 703-658-1201, by mail, or in person.
English Classes at Daniels Run ES
English for Beginners (Thursday evenings) 6:30-8pm
This course starts at the beginning - with the English alphabet and basic sounds - and focuses on learning phrases, vocabulary and a little grammar to help you at work, with daily life and at school. You will learn English in a supportive environment and at a slow but steady pace. Childcare is provided next door. The fall session begins October 3
To register for the fall session please sign up here:
Register for English class here! Regístrese para la clase de inglés aquí
Testing Information
Click here to see this message in Spanish.
Click here to see this message in Korean.
Click here to see this message in Chinese.
The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board adopted a universal screener assessment for use with all elementary school students in kindergarten through grade 6. The universal screener assessment includes a reading test and a mathematics test. Students in kindergarten will receive screening for reading only. Students in grades 1-6 will receive screening for both mathematics and reading.
The purpose of this assessment is to identify students who may have gaps in foundational literacy and mathematics skills. Based on universal screener results, some students may require an additional assessment to further diagnose the specific learning areas that may need support. The universal screener reading test, together with any necessary follow-up diagnostic assessments, also fulfills state testing expectations for primary students.
The universal screener and any necessary follow-up assessments will be given at the beginning of the school year. Depending on grade level and previous screener performance, students may receive screening again in the winter and/or in the spring. Schools set the specific dates for testing in each class. For the expected dates when your child will test, please contact your child’s teacher.
Additional information, including a short video, about the universal screener in FCPS can be found at this webpage: https://www.fcps.edu/node/33718. If you have further questions about this assessment, please contact your child’s teacher or the school’s test coordinator
Advanced Academics Information
Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) Fall Newsletter and Updates
FCPS offers a continuum of Advanced Academic services for all students in grades K-8. An overview of AAP services can be found here https://danielsrunes.fcps.edu/academics/advanced-academics
If you have any questions, please contact our Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), Ms. Beth McCrodden, at bamccrodden@fcps.edu. For further information about Advanced Academics in FCPS, please visit the AAP website at: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-school-academics-k-6/advanced-academics
Here are some important dates to keep in mind if you are considering referring your child for Level IV screening this year:
Thursday, October 10, 2019 – AAP Level IV referral deadline for new FCPS students only (grades 3-6) for the Fall Screening cycle. Please contact Ms. McCrodden directly for support with this process.
Thursday, January 9, 2020 – AAP Level IV referral deadline to submit referrals and optional materials for students (grades 2-6) to be screened during the Spring Screening cycle.
Important Dates:
October 2: Walk to School Day
October 8: CoGat Testing (2nd Grade)
October 10: Interims Sent Home
October 14: Kindergarten Kickoff 9:00-12:00
October 14: Teacher Workday/Student Holiday
October 16: PTA Meeting
October 18: Field Day (Grades 3-6 10:30-12:30) (Grades K-2 1:30-3:30)
November 1: Field Day-Rain Date
November 4: Student Holiday
November 5: Student Holiday
November 11: Thanksgiving Luncheon
Full 2019-20 FCPS School Calendar
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