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The Lion’s Roar
January 8, 2020
Upcoming Events
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TOMORROW! Thursday, 1/9 – AAP Level IV Parent Referrals due to Linda Simon by 4 p.m.
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Friday, 1/10 – Parent Liaisons’ “First Friday” Parent Coffee: Executive Functions and Learning, 8 a.m. Sign-up online
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Friday, 1/10 – PTA Adult-Child “Winter Wonderland” Dance – 6:30 p.m. Buy tickets online
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Wednesday, 1/15 & Thursday, 1/16 – PTA Restaurant Days at Ledo Pizza
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Monday, 1/20 – Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday – School and Office CLOSED
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Monday, 1/20 - Day of Service "Adopt a Soldier" care package stuffing event, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Hayfield Secondary School
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Monday, 1/27 and Tuesday, 1/28 – Student Holidays/Teacher Workday – Students do not report
Principals’ Message
Welcome back to school, Lane Lions, Happy New Year, and Happy Snow Day! We hope you all had a relaxing Winter Break filled with family, friends and holiday cheer and are ready to get back into the swing of things as the new year – and the new decade – begins. We’ve got many great events and educational adventures planned for the rest of the school year ahead!
We jump right in this first week back from break, with a couple of special events. This Friday morning our parent liaisons, Melanie Crosby Hardy and Melanie Zayas, will host a parent coffee focusing on the development of executive functions in the brain and their impact on learning and academic success. The PTA will kick off 2020 with its Adult-Child “Winter Wonderland” Dance on Friday night from 6:30 to 8:30. You’ll find information about all of these events below, along with other news and announcements. Parents who wish to refer their child for Advanced Academic Program (AAP) screening are reminded of the deadline tomorrow at 4 p.m.
Finally, even though we just returned from a long holiday break, we’d like to remind all families that there are more days off ahead.
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Monday, January 20th, is the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Holiday. School, the office and SACC will be CLOSED that day.
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The next Monday, January 27th, and Tuesday, January 28th, are Teacher Workdays/Staff Development Days, and students do not report to school.
Those are just the planned days off, of course. It is January, after all, which means – as we learned this morning – wintry weather can threaten at any time. Whenever snow or ice is in the forecast, please pay close attention to the FCPS website and social media and check your e-mail and phone for messages. If you are not on our schoolwide Remind text messaging system, please contact parent liaison Melanie Crosby Hardy at macrosby@fcps.edu to be added.
Have a great week, welcome back, and stay safe!
Christine Prahl, Principal
Nikki Steptoe-Coleman, Assistant Principal
News & Notes
Parent Referrals for Level IV AAP Screening Due TOMORROW, Thursday, January 9th!
Parents interested in having their child screened for the Level IV (full-time/center-based) Advanced Academic Program at Springfield Estates Elementary School (current second through fifth graders) or Twain Middle School (current sixth graders) must submit parent referral forms and optional materials no later than tomorrow - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - at 4 p.m. This is a county deadline and cannot be extended. Paper copies must be submitted to the Lane office marked for the attention of Linda Simon. Electronic copies cannot be accepted. More information and forms are available on the Lane AAP BlackBoard 24/7 Learning website. Contact Linda Simon, Lane’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, with questions at lesimon@fcps.edu.
“First Friday” Coffee on Executive Function Skills and Their Impact on School Success – Friday, January 10th, 8 – 9 a.m.
Join us for light refreshments and learning at this before-school workshop for parents and guardians. The topic will be an introduction to executive function skills and their impact on school success.
Students hear commands like “Pay attention!” and “Do Your Homework!” all day long. They may sound simple, but for children whose young brains are still developing, they may not be simple at all. In fact, completing each of these tasks requires a complex system of social, emotional, and biological abilities known as executive functions that don’t fully develop until many years beyond elementary school. Come to this short session presented by Lane parent liaisons Melanie Crosby Hardy and Melanie Zayas to learn more!
Child care for school-aged children will be provided. If you plan to attend, please sign up online or e-mail Parent Liaison Melanie Crosby Hardy at macrosby@fcps.edu. All caregivers are welcome!
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Join Us for a Day of Service to Support Our Troops – Monday, January 20th, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Hayfield Secondary School
Because of our strong military connection and our joy of doing good in the world, FCPS Region 3 schools are partnering with America's Adopt A Soldier® program to host a day of service on Monday, January 20, 2020!
Please plan to join us as we come together on the Martin Luther King Holiday at Hayfield Secondary School from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. to pack care packages for members of the military. Students who participate can earn service hours. If you can’t attend in person but would like to make a donation of supplies, please see the list of items needed. Flyers will be sent home in Wednesday Folders next week.
If you’d like to participate in this event, please RSVP online at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9g1lK4IF_dplYfapkNkTR99JOtNJLej3m-fjA7Rstfxdvbw/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1.
2019-2020 Yearbooks Now On Sale – ONLINE ORDERS ONLY!!
School yearbooks are now on sale. Flyers with detailed information will be in this week’s Wednesday Folder. The basic book is just $16 now, but the price will go up to $20 after February 14th. Order now and save! There are options such as imprinted name on the cover, extra autograph pages, and stickers you can choose to add. Early-bird deadline is Friday, February, 14th!
PLEASE NOTE: All sales are online only. Ordering is simple: Just go to http://ybpay.lifetouch.com, put in yearbook ID code 10217420, and pay with your credit card.
If you are not able to order online but would still like to order a book, please contact parent liaison and yearbook coordinator Melanie Crosby Hardy at macrosby@fcps.edu or 703-924-7717.
2020 Spelling Bee Buzz Has Begun!
Lane Elementary School is excited to continue participation in our community’s spelling bee program! Here is how it works:
- This month, each classroom, first through sixth grade, will hold a Classroom Spelling Bee.
- The top two spellers from each class will then participate in the School Bee. Our School Bee will be held on Wednesday, February 19th at 2 p.m. in the cafeteria.
- The Lane school champion will advance to the Fairfax County Spelling Bee on March 15th.
- The winner of the Fairfax County Spelling Bee will have the honor of participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May 2020 at the Gaylord Hotel and Resort in National Harbor, MD.
Class spelling bees will be held through February 7th. The two class champions will then have time to prepare for the School Spelling Bee, and a study list will be sent home on February 8th.
To prepare for the class bees, students can use their Grade Level Study Word List; which was sent home in Wednesday Folders before Winter Break. Additional lists are available upon request only. Please email Mrs. Findley at nafindley@fcps.edu.
Complete contest rules for both the classroom and the school bees are available in Lane’s Reading Room as well as on the Scripps Spelling Bee website: www.spellingbee.com.
Important Information for Parents of Rising 7th Graders!
Before long our sixth grade Lane Lions will be leaving the den to go off to middle school! Next month, both Hayfield Middle School and Mark Twain Middle School will host information sessions for these rising seventh graders and/or their parents:
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Hayfield Middle School’s Curriculum Night, originally scheduled for tonight, will now be held next Wednesday, January 15th. The evening will include information on academic courses, elective choices, and transition.
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Rising seventh grade parent coffees are scheduled for Wednesday, February 5th (snow day Wednesday, February 12th) for the evening coffee and Friday, March 19th (snow day of Friday, March 26th) for the daytime coffee. More specific information will be sent home soon.
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Mark Twain Middle School Transition Night for parents will be held tomorrow night, Thursday, January 9th at 5 p.m. (Snow date: Monday, January 13th). The evening will include information on the IB program, and an orientation to academic courses and elective choices. See the flyer (English and Spanish) posted on our school website for details.
2019-20 Student Rights and Responsibilities: Elementary Quick Guide in This Week’s Wednesday Folder
In your child’s Wednesday Folder this week (which will be sent home tomorrow), you will find a copy of the new Elementary Quick Guide to the Student Rights and Responsibilities booklet. We encourage you to review this document with your child as we bring the first half of the school year to a close.
Sixth Grade Sexual Harassment Lessons
From January 6, 2020 through April 3, 2020, sixth grade students at Lane Elementary School will receive two lessons on the topic of sexual harassment. These lessons seek to provide students with the necessary information, resources, and strategies to help prevent occurrences of sexual harassment as well as outline the steps to take if they feel they or their peers are targets of these behaviors. In addition, the lessons share how schools support targeted students so that they are able to continue to focus on learning in an environment that feels comfortable and secure. Parents/guardians may review the lessons through their ParentVue accounts, which may be activated at www.fcps.edu/it/MyParentAccount.
Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of the two sixth grade lessons on the topic of sexual harassment. Letters and the opt-out form that provide more information on how to opt your child out of the lessons were sent home in Wednesday Folders. If you do not receive the letter or opt-out form or have any additional questions, please contact the school at 703-924-7700.
Family Life Education Instructional Program Information Available Online
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade 12. 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 and have not already done so, please use the opt-out forms included in your child’s back-to-school packet or download them from the FCPS website: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-school-academics-k-6/elementary-family-life-education BEFORE your child’s FLE program begins. (Contact your child’s teacher for information the schedule.)
Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at 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 https://fcps.blackboard.com/. Contact the Lane office if you do not yet have an account or visit http://www.fcps.edu/is/instructionaltechnology/247help/parents.shtml. 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 in the school library. Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.
Questions? Please call the school office or FCPS Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or e-mail Elizabeth Payne, Health and Physical Education Coordinator, at etpayne@fcps.edu.
PTA News
Put on Your Dancin’ Shoes for the PTA’s “Winter Wonderland” Adult-Child Dance This Friday, January 10th, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
We hope you can join us for Lane’s Adult-Child "Winter Wonderland" Dance, sponsored by the Lane PTA, this Friday, January 10th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. There’ll be kid-friendly tunes and refreshments for all. All families are welcome!
Tickets cost just $10 per couple (adult/child), plus $5 for each extra adult and/or $2 for each extra child. Tickets can be purchased online through the Lane PTA website or at the door that night. Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Please visit the Sign-Up Genius page to see how you can help.
PTA Restaurant Nights at Ledo Pizza in Kingstowne – Wednesday, January 15th and Thursday, January 16th
Make plans now to dine out and donate to Lane next week during the PTA’s January Restaurant Nights at Ledo Pizza! Lane receives 20 percent of ALL dine-in sales for each night during the specified time period, so tell all your friends, family and co-workers about it! We also receive 20 percent of takeout orders – just make sure you mention Lane! You can call ahead for takeout: 703-922-2900
…AND don’t forget to sign the Spirit Book so your child’s class can get credit for your visit!
FCPS News
Parents of Kindergarten and First Grade Students: Language Immersion Program Information for 2020-2021 Now Available
Each year, rising kindergarteners and first graders have the chance to participate in immersion programs available in French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish offered at different elementary schools across the county. In these immersion programs, children spend half of the day in the target language learning math, science, and health. Target language arts skills are integrated in the content area skills. The other half of the day is spent learning in English, focusing on English language arts and social studies. The instructional program follows the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Program of Studies (POS) at each grade level. Math, science, and health were chosen because they use manipulatives and concrete, hands-on activities, both of which help with the natural second language acquisition process. Students are able to connect the skills learned across both languages.
Placement in these popular programs is determined by lottery. Online registration for this lottery process opens on January 27, 2020. Registration is open to all rising kindergarteners and first graders living in Fairfax County. A SIS account is required to complete the application. If a student is not currently enrolled in FCPS, registration at the base school for the upcoming school year will be required. Please be aware that FCPS does not provide transportation for students who reside outside the attendance area of the immersion schools and a one-time fee of $100 must be paid upon acceptance of an out-of-boundary placement (see Notice 5922).
You can find more information about the immersion programs, including specific languages at specific schools, answers to frequently asked questions, and a schedule of information meetings at https://www.fcps.edu/registration/world-language-immersion-programs-registration.
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