Administrators Notes!
Fall seems to finally be here!! We are excited about our fall book fair. Please note that if you plan to attend with your child(ren) on Tuesday, Oct 22nd for the Parents and Pastries at 8 a.m., we would like for you to park in the neighborhood (safely and legally) in order for our teachers to park in the parking lot.
Note that you will also be receiving a Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid form in your child's backpack today. All students must return a completed and signed form. We have ask that you return the completed and signed form tomorrow, October 22, 2019. FCPS (Kent Gardens) will be asking all families to fill out this form. Returning this form is important because information from this survey results in an anticipated $3 million dollars in grant funds each year from the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers. For each school-aged child in your household, please complete, sign, date, and return the survey to your child's school. If Sections 1 and 2 of the survey do not apply to you, just check the box in Section 3. All forms must be signed, dated, and returned by October 30 but we ask that you return it the next day. All results are CONFIDENTIAL. Video link - https://youtu.be/uPqC3BLf3Ow
We are also pleased to announce that Kent Gardens was given the new Superintendent's Equity in Excellence Award to recognize our school's progress and achievement in raising the bar and closing the achievement gap for all students. We are very proud of our staff and their hard work.
With that in mind, note that we are also accepting parent and staff recommendations for Outstanding Employee Awards! To submit a nomination for a Kent Gardens Elementary Outstanding Employee in one of the categories below, please complete the nomination through this Google form link: https://forms.gle/bnNfMgxwJGE9Xo21A You may nominate an employee in one or more categories. All that is required for a preliminary nomination is a paragraph or two about how this employee demonstrates exceptional work in the criteria for that category. Note: The deadline to submit a nomination is November 22, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact Pier McGrath, Assistant Principal at psmcgrath@fcps.edu.
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Outstanding Teacher: Must have 3 years of experience as a teacher – note that librarians are included in this category.
- Outstanding New Teacher
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Outstanding Principal, Outstanding Leader – administrators including APs
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Outstanding Professional Employee Includes School-Based Technology Specialist, Technology Support Specialist, Instructional Coach, Psychologist, Social Worker, and School Counselor
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Outstanding Operational Employee Office Staff, Custodial Staff, Food Service Staff, IA, PHA
We have had a great start to the school year!! Thanks for your continued support!
Holly McGuigan Pier McGrath Tia Hawkins
Principal Assistant Principal Assistant Principal
School News!
Kent Gardens Yearbook! Do you want to design the yearbook cover? Here is your opportunity!! All entries are due on October 29, 2019 by 9 a.m. in the front office. Please draw your entry (in color)! Our focus is as always how we show our #kgpride showing that we are a strong community (#strongertogether) and our teachers and students can #inspire!! We look forward to your entries. Please turn into the front office.
Digital Citizenship: This week is also Digital Citizenship week. 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). Stay tuned for more ideas, resources, and suggested activities to come!
Do you want to be a Substitute? We are looking for substitutes to support our classrooms when there is a teacher absence due to illness or other need. Here is the link for additional information: https://www.fcps.edu/careers/career-opportunities/substitute-teaching-opportunities If you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact any administrator or Iveliz Charles icharles@fcps.edu in the office.
FCPS Parent Resource Center Did you know that our FCPS resource center has some amazing parent workshops? Check out this link! https://www.fcps.edu/resources/family-engagement/parent-resource-center/workshops-parents-educators-and-community
Helping Your Child Cope With Stress! As parents, we want to shield our children from stress and adversity as much as possible. However, we cannot protect them from everything; everyone will face challenges in his or her life. What we can do is give them the skills necessary to face those stresses and challenges head-on, to learn from them, and to grow in strength and maturity as a result. Join Dr. Lisa Bateman, Clinical Psychologist, in this important session that will focus on: recognizing stress in children, building resiliency skills, the role of mindfulness and executive functioning skills on Friday, October 25, 2019, 10 a.m.-noon. Note that this session is full but you may join the waitlist! Sometimes they videotape as well! Register for the Waitlist: Helping your Child Cope with Stress
Dyslexia Open House to be held on October 24, 2019, at the Parent Resource Center from 10 a.m. to noon. Browse exhibit tables and learn about next steps for FCPS students with dyslexia. Exhibitors include: Decoding Dyslexia of Virginia, FCPS Office of Special Education Instruction, FCPS Assistive Technology Services, and FCPS School Psychology Services. Register here for the event.
FLE Information Night - You are invited to attend an evening opportunity to preview the Family Life Education media and lessons. Ms. Hawkins and Mrs. McGrath, Assistant Principals, and teachers from various grade levels, will be available to answer questions about the lessons. The meeting will be held on Thursday November 7th at 5:00 PM in the Kent Gardens library. All program materials and media for all grade levels will be available for your review at this time. More information about the FCPS Family Life Education program, including detailed grade-level program descriptions, is available at https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-family-life-education-fle. To preview Family Life Education (FLE) materials, each parent will have to have access to SIS and FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard). Once you gain access to your Parent FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard) account, click on the “Curriculum” tab at the top of the page. All FLE Lessons are arranged by grade-level.
Veteran’s Day - November 11, 2019– Veterans are welcome to join us in the library for a light breakfast snack with your children. We will gather with the students as they arrive in the gym to celebrate all of our veterans with some music led by our chorus. It will be a wonderful celebration showing respect for our veteran's and their students. We will end at the beginning of the school day 8:50 a.m. Teachers may coordinate specific visits in the classroom individually.
Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Information Night A second meeting will be held on December 5th for families who desire to better understand the referral process. The meeting is open to all parents interested in writing a referral and clarifying the process. If you have questions, please reach out to Stephanie Will at sdwill@fcps.edu.
Dates to Note!
October 21 – Impact Aid Survey distributed – please return the next school day!
October 22 – Book Fair Parents and Pastries 8:00 a.m. Please park in neighborhood!
October 23 – Book Fair Family Evening Event 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
October 25 – Principals Coffee 8 a.m. and PTA meeting 8:45 a.m.
October 25 - School Spirit Day – Wear your FAVORITE jersey!! (Go Nats!)
November 4 – No School – Teacher Workday
November 5 – No School Teacher Workday
November 6 – School Picture Retakes!
November 7 – FLE Information Night 5 p.m. in the library
November 11 – Veterans’ Day Recognition Ceremony (see info above)
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