In an effort to make our Kiss & Ride line more efficient and safe for everyone, we have decided to make some adjustments to our current process.

• Starting next week, each family will receive a number that will be used to identify your vehicle to staff members during the afternoon pick up. You will receive this number in the Kiss and Ride line.
• A staff member will walk by each car in line and radio the numbers to another staff member in the cafeteria to signal to the students to go outside to their vehicle. Please be sure to have your number visible on your dashboard.
• On the reverse side of your number, will be list of Kiss and Ride guidelines. We ask that you please read and follow these in order for our process to work as safely as possible.

We understand that there will be adjustment period to our new system, so we welcome any feedback or questions you might have. Do not hesitate to speak to any of the staff members at Kiss & Ride.  Ultimately, we believe working together these adjustments will help meet our goal of having a more efficient and safe Kiss & Ride.  

FCPS is celebrating Digital Citizenship Week from October 21-25, 2019! This year’s theme is Media Balance and Well-Being: Developing a Healthy Relationship with Your Technology. Our school is celebrating Digital Citizenship Week with activities focused on developing healthy habits around technology use. Parents can also choose to sign up to receive text messages from Common Sense Media with Tips for Health Tech Balance (for children ages 3-8).  

Resources and Suggested Activities for Each Day’s Theme

Monday: Families are encouraged to reflect on their own relationship with technology, their media habits, and begin to think of ways to make some healthy adjustments. 

• Reflect on the role technology plays in your life with Google’s technology self-assessment.
• Track your screen time on Apple and Android devices.
• Check out Google’s Digital Wellbeing tools.
• Use this On-Task Self-Monitoring Sheet and a timer for one day to become more aware of whether technology is distracting you from your homework or other focused work.

Tuesday: Students and families are encouraged to exercise healthy tech practices such as managing notification settings and turning off screens an hour before bedtime. Try some of these ideas:

• Consider making phone-free zones in your home.
• Promote better sleep by disconnecting from screens at least one hour before bedtime and charging your phone outside of the bedroom.
• Change your phone’s notification settings to minimize distractions or try some of these suggestions. 

Wednesday: On this day, students and families are encouraged to think about how technology can be used to create original works.  Encourage students to favor the active use of technology for creation over passive consumption. Try some of these ideas:

• Use Common Sense Media’s App Reviews to learn about your child’s favorite games and apps and what you might need to teach them in order to use it safely.
• Students are also encouraged to experiment with computer coding at home. Code.org has activities that teach students to use coding to design games, apps, drawings, and websites.

Thursday: Students and families are encouraged to think critically about the media they consume and actively evaluate and select high quality, age-appropriate media. Try some of these ideas:

• Help your child become a critical consumer of media by discussing these 5 questions with them when you consume media together such as books, movies, and news articles.
• Consider Common Sense Media’s reviews of movies, apps, TV shows, video games, websites, and music for information that can help you decide if the media your child is consuming is appropriate for them.

Friday: Students and families are encouraged to practice media balance by taking a break from screens to engage in real-world experiences and quality time with their friends and family. Try some of these ideas:

• Have a device-free dinner and focus on connecting as a family.
• Take on a Phone-Free Day challenge as a family and commit to leaving the phone at home when family members go to school or work.  Notice how your day changes and discuss the benefits and challenges together.