January Calendar Updates
1/20 MLK Holiday, School Closed
1/24 End of Second Quarter
1/27-28 Student Holidays
1/31 PTA Bingo Night
Reminder: School Closings in January
- School will be closed on Monday, January 20 in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday holiday.
- Monday, January 27 and Tuesday, January 28 are Teacher Workdays. There is no school for students.
- The GFES front office will close at 1:00 PM on Monday, January 27. It will reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 28.
Home/School Connection (all grades)
Look for the January version of our Home & School Connection newsletter in next week's Tuesday folders (Jan 21). Features in this newsletter include:
- Goal Setting with your child
- Screen-free Play suggestions
- Writing organized reports
- Keeping an eye out for Bullying
FCPS Cares (all grades)
If you would like to recognize a staff member for showing he/she “CARES”, click here to nominate the staff member or for additional information. Fairfax County Public Schools wants to recognize employees who go above and beyond to ensure the students, teachers, parents, and community have an extraordinary experience throughout the school year. This is just another means by which parents and community members can recognize the wonderful GFES teachers and staff. The acronym “CARES” clearly defines the GFES approach to meeting the learning needs of our students on a daily basis; A Responsive Culture, with a focus on Excellence in Academics, through Positive Relationships, with Enriching Experiences, For all Students.
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Rise Against Hunger (all grades)
Great Falls Elementary is again supporting Rise Against Hunger in partnership with the Langley Pyramid schools. We have a goal to prepare 100,000 meal packages for schools and orphanages around the world.
Last week your child brought home a collection box in which they can start to save money to be donated as part of our “Learn to Earn” fundraising efforts. “Learn to Earn” is the initiative we promote to encourage students to earn money they would like to donate by taking on additional chores, setting aside part of their allowance, helping shovel snow, or any innovative way they can think. This initiative also provides learners the opportunity to make a choice; whether to keep that extra money or to donate part or all of it towards a greater good.
Here are some quick-links to help you support our efforts:
Donations will be accepted at Great Falls Elementary through Friday, January 24.
Thank you for encouraging your child to “Learn to Earn” as part of this important community service initiative.
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Mark Your Calendars (gr. 3-6)
Students in grades 3-6 will be taking the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) Tests from May 4th - May 21st with makeups and retakes extending to June 5th. Please see chart below for specific dates of testing.
It will be very helpful if you can avoid appointments and trips which may take your child out of school during this time period.SOL tests measure the extent to which students have learned the content and skills specified in the Virginia Standards of Learning.
Content areas will be tested according to the schedule.Thank you for your support and assistance with our SOL test administration.
Thank you,
Christopher Litz Ed.S, Ph.D
Assistant Principal
It's Flu Season (all grades)
This is the time of year when we expect to see an increase in the number of respiratory illnesses in our community, including coughs, colds, sore throats, and flu. While these illnesses are not unusual for this time of year, there are several things that you can do to protect your child and others.
To help control the spread of respiratory illnesses:
Have your child vaccinated against influenza (“the flu”): Vaccination is the single best way to protect against the flu. CDC recommends all persons aged 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine each year. Flu vaccine is readily available at doctors’ offices and pharmacies. We encourage you to get it as soon as it is available in the fall or early winter.
Teach your child how to stop the spread of illness:
- Use tissues and dispose of them properly.
- Cover your mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, or cough into your upper sleeve.
- Do not cough or sneeze into your hands.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth to prevent the spread of germs.
- Wash hands regularly with soap and water for 20 seconds.
- Use alcohol-based hand sanitizers, when soap and water are not available (with supervision for younger children).
- Do not share drinking glasses or eating utensils.
Clean and disinfect surfaces at home that people often touch: Use regular household cleaning products or mix ¼ cup chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of cool water to wipe down often touched areas. Always follow label instructions for any disinfectant.
Look for signs of illness in your child: Symptoms of flu include fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. Symptoms of throat infections commonly include fever and sore throat without the stuffy nose and cough. The common cold usually does not present with fever.
Contact your doctor or healthcare provider if your child shows symptoms of a respiratory illness: Fever (100.4°F or greater) AND chills, cough, sore throat, headache, or muscle aches.
To stop from spreading illness to others, keep children home when they are ill. If your child has flu symptoms he or she should remain home and away from others until the fever has been gone for 24 hours (without fever reducing medication such as Tylenol®) and symptoms are better. If your doctor or healthcare provider prescribes treatment for your child, follow all directions for taking the medicine. If your child has been diagnosed with bacterial pharyngitis (“strep throat”), he or she should remain home for at least 24 hours after starting antibiotics so as not to spread disease to others.
If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Stanton, School Public Health Nurse at 703-757-3010, or the Acute Communicable and Emerging Diseases Program at hdcd@fairfaxcounty.gov or 703-246-2433, TTY 711.
Calling all Chocolate Lovers (all grades)
The McLean High Interact Club and the Rotary Club of McLean are partnering to hold McLean's Ninth Annual Chocolate Festival on Sunday, January 26, from 11-5 PM at the McLean Community Center.
The Center will have two rooms devoted to vendors selling anything chocolate: candy, cakes, ice cream, cupcakes, etc. American Heritage, a Mars company, will demonstrate how chocolate was made in the 1750s. MHS Interact Club students will manage the children’s game room with face painting and games. The other room will be devoted to live entertainment throughout the day.
Admission to the Chocolate Festival is $2. Children aged three and under get in free. Twenty-five percent of all proceeds will support local community organizations like the Falls Church-McLean Children's Center, Homestretch, Literacy Council, Timber Lane Elementary School, Second Story, high school senior scholarships, the Safe Community Coalition's 6th Grade Ethics Days, and many others. For more information, please visit www.McLeanChocolateFestival.com.
FCPS Digital Device Info and Tips (all grades)
If you purchased a device for your child this holiday season, FCPS wants to help you support your child in the online world. If the device is internet-enabled, please consider the following tips and resources:
Educate yourself and your children.
Digital citizenship is the learning process and your child will need sustained support from parents and teachers. Visit bit.ly/fairfaxdigcit for a fun and interactive parent-child course that can help your family start conversations about navigating the online world.
Establish rules and expectations.
Have you thought about the rules you want to establish with your child for setting up accounts and the privacy settings you expect your child to use? What are your expectations and how will you monitor your child’s online activities? Not sure where to start? Try these tip sheets, media agreements, and device contracts.
Help your child monitor and manage their screen time.
It’s easy to spend hours on a device, especially when it's new. Use these guidelines and strategies to help your children learn to monitor and manage their screen time.
Discuss privacy settings and accounts.
Teach your child to protect their personal information and model the use of privacy settings. Discuss why these settings are important and teach them how to make privacy setting choices for every app and service they use. This resource can help you get started.
Give your child action steps.
Discuss potential situations that may arise before they happen and give your child action steps. Do they know what they can do if cyberbullied, harassed, or if someone sends them something they don’t want to see? Every difficult situation is an opportunity to help prepare them for life beyond your home.
Teach your child to assess risks and make good choices.
Online communication is public and permanent. Talk with your children regularly and remind them that what they do online can impact future opportunities. Their online reputation can also affect their relationships in the face to face world.
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FRIENDS! FUN! GAMES! PRIZES!
Come join us for an exciting evening at our very first PTA Family BINGO Night!
Friday, January 31st
Session 1: 6:00 - 7:00 PM (doors open at 5:30)
Session 2: 7:45 - 8:45 PM (doors open at 7:15)
Admission: $10 per person (includes a seat at the table, 5 games, 1 board each game)
Log on to AtoZ Connect to register.
**Limited Capacity! Register now before seats sell out (NO door registrations)!!!**
Fun for everyone!
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