 Here is a cute learning activity that combines literacy and positive messaging! The Gerstner children had a great time... so did Principal Gerstner! Stay safe and healthy :-)
Dear Fairfax Villa Families, Queridas familias de Fairfax Villa,
As the situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve, we are dedicated to continuing our partnership with you as you focus on the health and safety of your families. We are now several days into being out of school and I am extremely proud of our Fairfax Villa families who are working to implement a continuation of learning. As a dad myself, as well as your principal working from home, I have been working to stay abreast of changes by holding and participating in video conferences and online training. As a school staff and family, we have been following recommendations for social distancing. Meanwhile at home, the Gerstner kids, a preschooler and a first grader, have been engaging in learning of their own. As you can see from the picture above, we have been trying to create enriching activities at home that promote student learning. Over the next couple of weeks, if you too have created learning activities that your children have enjoyed, please email me at drgerstner@fcps.edu with a picture and brief description so that I can share them in upcoming weekly messages.
Mientras que la situación con COVID-19 continúa evolucionando, estamos dedicados a continuar nuestra asociación con usted, mientras que usted se enfoca en la salud y la seguridad de sus familias. Hace ya varios días que estamos fuera de la escuela y estoy extremadamente orgulloso de nuestras familias en Fairfax Villa las cuales están trabajando para implementar la continuación del aprendizaje. Como padre, y como su director trabajando desde casa, he estado trabajando para estar al tanto de los cambios, organizando y participando en videoconferencias y capacitación en línea. Como personal escolar y familia, hemos estado siguiendo recomendaciones para el distanciamiento social. Mientras tanto, en mi hogar, mi hijo en edad preescolar y mi hija de primer grado, se han dedicado a aprender por su cuenta. Como puede ver en la imagen de arriba, hemos estado tratando de crear actividades enriquecedoras en el hogar que promuevan el aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Durante las próximas semanas, si usted también ha creado actividades de aprendizaje que sus hijos hayan disfrutado, envíeme un correo electrónico a drgerstner@fcps.edu con una imagen y una breve descripción para que pueda compartirlas en los próximos mensajes semanales.
Based on the school closings along with State and Federal recommendations, Lifetouch has cancelled our Spring Picture Day event and has started to refund any pre-paid orders from your families. Any family that has pre-ordered a picture package will receive a refund within 10-14 days and Lifetouch has emailed families to share this information. Their dedicated Customer Service team is also available to answer any questions families may have about the refund process at 866-511-3510.
Dado el cierre de las escuelas y las recomendaciones estatales y federales, Lifetouch ha cancelado nuestro evento Spring Picture Day (Foto de Primavera) y ha comenzado a reembolsar cualquier pedido prepago a las familias. Cualquier familia que haya ordenado previamente un paquete de fotos recibirá un reembolso dentro de 10-14 días. Lifetouch ha enviado un correo electrónico a las familias para compartir esta información. Su dedicado equipo de Servicio al Cliente también está disponible para responder cualquier pregunta que las familias puedan tener sobre el proceso de reembolso al 866-511-3510.
There are learning opportunities added by FCPS that can be found in every parent’s and student’s Blackboard account. After logging in to Blackboard 24/7 here, you will find activities for every grade level and subject. Please remember that these are not required or graded. You can also find a link to more information for families here. Parents do need a Parent SIS account to log into the parent side of Blackboard.
Hay oportunidades de aprendizaje agregadas por FCPS que se pueden encontrar en la cuenta de Blackboard de todos los padres y estudiantes. Después de iniciar sesión en Blackboard 24/7 aquí, encontrará actividades para cada grado y materia. Recuerde que estas actividades no son obligatorias ni calificadas. También puede encontrar un enlace con más información para familias aquí. Los padres necesitan una cuenta Parent SIS para iniciar sesión en el parte para padres de Blackboard.
If you have not yet set up a Parent SIS account and would like to do that, please email our SBTS, Barbara Schmidt, today at bdschmidt@fcps.edu. This account allows you to access your child’s Blackboard courses (ParentVue) as well as their information in our Student Information System (SIS). If you have already set up a ParentSIS account but cannot access it, please follow the directions here. Click on MORE OPTIONS.
Si aún no ha creado una cuenta SIS para Padres y desea hacerlo, envíe un correo electrónico a nuestra SBTS, Barbara Schmidt, hoy a bdschmidt@fcps.edu. Esta cuenta le permite acceder a los cursos de Blackboard de su hijo (ParentVue), así como a su información en nuestro Sistema de información estudiantil (SIS). Si ya ha creado una cuenta ParentSIS pero no puede accederla, siga las instrucciones aquí. Haga clic en MÁS OPCIONES.
As I stated last week in my message to families, I recognize that during this unprecedented closure, you may feel anxiety or stress about the loss of instructional time and the impact on student learning. Fairfax County Public Schools will address questions related to end of quarter grading, state testing, and other assessments as soon as decisions have been reached. By March 27, 2020, FCPS will communicate decisions on the level of teacher-supported learning activities, if any, going forward.
Como les comente la semana pasada en mi mensaje a las familias, reconozco que durante este cierre sin precedentes, usted pueda sentir ansiedad o estrés por la pérdida de tiempo instruccional y el impacto en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Las Escuelas Públicas del Condado de Fairfax abordarán las preguntas relacionadas con la calificación de fin de trimestre, las pruebas estatales y otras evaluaciones tan pronto como se hayan tomado las decisiones. Para el 27 de marzo de 2020, FCPS comunicará las decisiones sobre el nivel de las actividades de aprendizaje apoyadas por los maestros, si las hay, en el futuro.
My sincerest hope is that all of you will remain healthy and that this time will bring your families closer together. In addition, I hope that we will gain a renewed understanding of the importance a teacher makes in our child’s life. Teaching is a challenging and rewarding profession. Each person who works at Fairfax Villa values education and cares for your children.
Espero sinceramente que todos ustedes se mantengan saludables y que este tiempo acerque más a sus familias. Además, espero que obtengamos una nueva comprensión de la importancia que un maestro tiene en la vida de nuestros hijos. La enseñanza es una profesión desafiante y gratificante. Cada persona que trabaja en Fairfax Villa valora la educación y cuida a sus hijos.
I miss you all, Los extraño a todos,
Dave Gerstner, Principal, Fairfax Villa Elementary School
Dave Gerstner, Director, Escuela Primaria Fairfax Villa
Superintendent Brabrand on Facebook Live TODAY (Friday 3/20) at 3 pm
Please join FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand on Facebook Live, Friday, March 20, at 3 p.m. Dr. Brabrand will share updates regarding COVID-19 and FCPS’ operating status. He’ll also be taking questions so please feel free to submit questions during the broadcast. https://www.facebook.com/fcpsva.
ParentVue Accounts
The FCPS IT department has mailed information out to any parent who does not currently have a ParentVue account. Please sign up if you do not have an account. You may also request this from our SBTS, Barbara Schmidt.
FCPS Cable Channels
FCPS cable channels with learning activities are now available. New instructional videos are currently being developed and recorded and will be added to the programming shortly. Channel 21 includes elementary school programming, Channel 25 includes middle school programming, and Channel 99 includes high school programming. This content will also be available online at www.fcps.edu.
County-Wide Food Distribution
FCPS is committed to providing information to assist families that rely on free and reduced priced school meals and is providing grab and go meals at no cost for students as several sites throughout the county. FCPS students are welcome to come to any of the sites to pick up a meal during these time periods. All FCPS students (regardless of age) are eligible for free grab and go breakfast and lunch. Other County children, under the age of 18, can also receive a meal. Adults may pay $2 for the meals as well. In order to receive federal reimbursement, students must be present to request the meals. For your convenience, we have highlighted and hyperlinked the maps of the sites that are close to Fairfax Villa.
School buses will stop at designated intersections to deliver grab and go meals. The buses began serving neighborhoods in these school areas:
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Bonnie Brae Elementary School (Click on the school name to access map)
- Bull Run Elementary School
- Island Creek Elementary School
- Lorton Station Elementary School
- Virginia Run Elementary School
Please click here for bus stop information.
Curbside pick up is also available at Oak View Elementary School (Click on the school name to access map). In addition, breakfast and lunch will be available from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m at multiple FCPS school sites. Those interested in picking up the meals are asked to follow the kiss and ride signage for traffic flow at the school. FCPS staff will deliver meals to children and adults while they wait in their cars in the kiss and ride line. Please click here for a list of FCPS sites offering breakfast and lunch. Of many school sites that offer grab and go meals, Providence Elementary School is the closest site to our school and our neighborhoods. For a complete list of distribution sites please click here.
Assistance with Basic Needs
For basic needs of Fairfax residents, the Fairfax County Department of Family Services administers public assistance programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) formerly Food Stamps, as well as Medicaid. FCPS is coordinating with community partners to ensure the locations and timing of food centers and pantries are being communicated with FCPS families.
Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services provides access and referrals to both government and community based resources for Fairfax County residents in need. If you are facing difficulties - including food, shelter, employment, financial assistance, healthcare and more other needs, please call 703-222-0880 for assistance.
Below are links to resources in Fairfax to direct families who need this support.
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Britepaths Food assistance is by referral only. Please go to the website link for more information.
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Food for Others If you are in need of food, you may come to one of the neighborhood site distributions. Click on the website link for specific locations and times. The only question that is asked is, “How many people are in your household?” Please bring your own grocery bags!
SACC
SACC will be closed for the weeks of March 16 and March 23. SACC plans to offer an additional week of Spring Break services at consolidated sites the week of March 30 and plans to offer regularly scheduled Spring Break services the week of April 6. The system for registration for the weeks of March 30 and April 6 will be communicated to all SACC families.
Online Learning Resources: Recommended by Fairfax Villa ES
Below is the list of Reading and Math online learning resources.
READING
Starfall: This site will help teach early emergent and beginning readers letter names and sounds along with some basic sight words. http://www.starfall.com/
Pocket Phonics (app): If your child already knows his/her letter names, this free app can be a useful next step in teaching letter-sound correspondence and basic phonics. https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/abc-pocketphonics-lite/id302689971?mt=8
Grammar Blast: This site is focused on 2nd-5th grade students. In it, students answer a series of multiple choice questions regarding grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure. http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/grammar/
Slime Kids Grammar/Spelling Games: This site has a variety of games for both primary and upper elementary students to help practice grammar and spelling rules, as well as strengthen their typing skills. http://www.slimekids.com/games/grammar-games/
Wacky Tales: This site is geared towards students in grades 3 and above and assumes knowledge of parts-of-speech. As with Madlibs, students complete tales by inserting words for various parts-of-speech and create “Wacky Tales.” http://www.eduplace.com/tales/
Comma Chameleon: After choosing the correct punctuation, students help the chameleon place the punctuation properly into sentences. There are also games to help learn and reinforce their understanding of the parts-of speech. http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/punctuation.htm
Proofreading Makes Perfect: This site focuses on 5th grade students and provides practice for students to correct sentences. http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/language_arts/pmp/interactive_guide/g05/g05home.htm
Alien Punctuation: This site is more appropriate for upper elementary students. It is a challenging punctuation game sponsored by the BBC. In it, students help “zap” or edit corrections into sentences. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/using_punctuation/play/
Free Rice: This site helps students expand their vocabulary and practice grammar rules from elementary school through high school. It also has content in other subject areas. Importantly, the site is the result of a joint endeavor by the United Nations and Harvard University and sponsors food aid donations with every correct answer (bowls of rice add up to bushels, etc.). It is a great website for teaching students that their learning efforts can make a difference. While it is an option to create a login to track points, there is no need to register in order to play. www.freerice.com
Chomp-Chomp: This site is also geared toward advanced upper elementary, middle school, and high school students. It focuses on more advanced grammar rules that affect writing (ex., pronoun-antecedent and subject-verb agreement, compound and complex sentences, etc.). http://www.chompchomp.com/exercises.htm
Virginia SOL Practice: http://iq.whro.org/languagearts.htm (prior SOL standards -- released tests)
Scholastic Learn at Home: This free resource provides your children with 20+ days of articles and stories, videos, and fun learning challenges. Children can complete them anytime. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
MATH RESOURCES
The Virginia Department of Education’s math website has many resources, including standards and practice SOL-test math questions. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/mathematics/index.shtml
NRICH is an innovative collaboration between the Faculties of Mathematics and Education at the University of Cambridge, part of the University’s Millennium Mathematics Project. NRICH provides thousands of free online mathematics resources for ages 3 to 18, covering all stages of early years, primary and secondary school education - completely free and available to all. http://nrich.maths.org
youcubed: This fabulous website has resources for parents, teachers, and students. Watch videos, find engaging tasks, read articles, and learn about the “math revolution” that Stanford Professor Jo Boaler promotes! https://www.youcubed.org/
CueThink: This National Science Foundation–funded program helps students strengthen math skills, inspires a growth mindset, and encourages critical thinking. Students will learn to solve problems and explain their thinking using mathematician George Polya’s four-step approach. https://www.cuethink.com/
GregTangMath strives to provide unparalleled math lessons for students as well as professional development for in-service teachers. Games, puzzles, and other resources, like free downloads, worksheets/word problems, math centers. https://www.gregtangmath.com/
Illuminations: This site, from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), features complete lesson plans, mobile games for students, interactive activities, and brain teasers. https://illuminations.nctm.org/
Khan Academy is on a mission to give a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Their personalized learning resources are available for all ages. Video learning segments are followed by practice activities. https://www.khanacademy.org/ (Please note: Internet Explorer doesn’t support this website. Use Chrome)
Prodigy Software: Math games that tackle more than 1,200 crucial math skills in a fun and engaging way. https://www.prodigygame.com/
Splash Math:Boost confidence, increase scores, and get ahead. Fun for enrichment or regular practice. https://www.splashlearn.com/
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NVML): This National Science Foundation-supported project provides a large library of uniquely interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives and concept tutorials for math instruction. http://nlvm.usu.edu/
Math sites: Worksheets
Common Core Sheets: Math worksheets for just about any area of study. Free downloads. Good for planning lessons, review, and independent work. https://www.commoncoresheets.com/
Math-Aids: Dynamically created math worksheets for students, teachers, parents … anyone! https://www.math-aids.com/
Math-Drills.com: Free Math Worksheets. This website iincludes over 50 thousand free math worksheets that may be used to help students learn math. Our PDF math worksheets are available on a broad range of topics including number sense, arithmetic, pre-algebra, geometry, measurement, money concepts and much more. There are also a few interactive math features including the Sudoku and Dots math games, and the more serious math flash cards and unit converter. https://www.math-drills.com/
Math sites: Upper Grade-levels
Jefferson Lab (Gr 3-11): Your students will love fun math games like Speed Math Deluxe, Mystery Math, Place Value Game, and more. https://education.jlab.org/indexpages/elementgames.html
Figure This (Gr 6-8): This site is sponsored by NCTM, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (among others), and features a series of fun and engaging, high-quality challenges.https://figurethis.nctm.org/index.html
Illustrative Math (Gr 6-8): High-quality educational resources for teachers and students. Excellent math tasks, videos, lesson plans, and problem-based curriculum modules. https://www.illustrativemathematics.org/
PBS Math Club (Gr 6-9): From PBS Learning Media, middle schoolers will love this entertaining video blog. Not only does each episode cover Common Core Standards, it makes math learning culturally relevant with pop-culture references. https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/pbs-math-club/#.WmY9epM-fJM
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