Fairfax Villa Friday Message

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Robie is doing Jelly Bean math and science this week. He is learning about samples, population, mean, median, mode, ratios, and how data lies.

Dear Fairfax Villa Students and Families, 

I hope this message finds you well.  You all have been in our thoughts daily and we wish we could be together in person. As you may have already been informed, FCPS Distance Learning will begin on Tuesday, April 14th.  We are looking forward to resuming instruction through virtual learning. Our teachers are working hard planning and preparing for Distance Learning.  We can’t wait for you to see our faces in our virtual classrooms! 

Also, next week (April 6th-10th) is spring break for all students and staff members.  

You have an opportunity to connect with your child’s teachers via Parent Meetings on Monday, April 13th.  Think of this parent meeting session as an open house for Distance Learning.  You will receive a guest link to Blackboard Collaborate from your child’s teacher that you will click on to attend the parent meeting.  Please be advised that this will not be a one-on-one parent-teacher conference.  It will be a shared guest link for all students’ families in your child’s grade level and you will see all teachers that work with your child’s grade level there.  Parent meeting times are as follows:

Time

Grade Level

9:00-9:45

3rd Grade

9:45-10:30

6th Grade

10:30-11:15

5th Grade

11:15-12:00

2nd grade

12:45-1:30

Kindergarten

1:30-2:15

1st grade

2:15-3:00

Specialist

3:00-3:45

4th Grade

 

Below is our Fairfax Villa information about the Distance Learning Plan that will begin on April 14th.  

Roles and Responsibilities of Distance Learning

  • Student Roles and Responsibilities
  • Establish daily routines for learning.
  • Identify a space in home where you can learn and study comfortably.
  • Regularly check FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard) for announcements and feedback from your teachers. 
  • Complete assignments with integrity and academic honesty.
  • Do your best to meet due dates.
  • Communicate with school counselor, teacher, and caregivers if you lack the resources to engage in distance learning and/or if you are feeling overwhelmed. 
  • Be a good digital citizen.
  • Caregiver Roles and Responsibilities
  • Establish routines and expectations.
  • Identify a space in home where student(s) can learn comfortably. 
  • Monitor communication from teachers.
  • Begin and end each day with check in; be mindful of stress or worry. 
  • Encourage physical activity and/or exercise. Support students’ digital citizenship skills.

GRADING

No fourth quarter grades will be assigned to elementary students due to equity issues of access to technology and limited student ability to submit work during Distance Learning.  Elementary students will engage in teacher-led and independent learning.  Learning packets were distributed by mail to all PK-6 students beginning the week of March 30.  Literacy and math content will also be made available on FCPS Cable Channel 21. You can find that channel information here

SCHEDULE

Elementary School Students: Teachers will provide an hour of virtual instruction and also be available for one hour of “office” time to provide individual and small group support Monday through Thursday.  More detailed schedules will be sent today by your child’s teacher.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES 

  • Students will have access to weekly printed activities through centrally created and distributed learning packets. 
  • Students will engage with the teacher in virtual chat as detailed in the school schedule. 
  • Video lessons available on cable Channel 21 and through Channel 21 web streaming. 
  • Teacher-created activities will be posted in FCPS 24-7 Blackboard to ensure caregiver access. 
  • G Suite and Google Classroom may be used by students to complete activities. 
  • Students should have both off and on screen learning activities.

As we transition to this Distance Learning model of instruction, we are also focused on supporting the social and emotional needs of our students. Our Student Services team will be collaborating with our teachers during this transition, but please do not hesitate to reach out to your student’s counselor if you need any assistance. 

We are looking forward to beginning this new learning experience with you and to “get back to school.”   If you have questions, concerns, or just want to say hello please reach out to us directly.

Best,

Dave Gerstner, Principal & KJ An, Assistant Principal

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The following message is sent on behalf of the Fairfax Villa ES School PTA. Its content reflects the views of the PTA.

VILLA COMMUNITY STRONG!

Thanks to the generosity of FORTY-FIVE volunteers (from teachers, to parents, and even outside community members), we were able to create a unique Family Partnership Program from the ground up for this extraordinary time. We are so grateful to those families for their commitment to our Villa community. Hooray! 

TEMPORARY FREE LIBRARY

Thank you to Mrs. Mims and our administration: we have added another "free library" within walking distance of our school. Feel free to drop off materials for others or pick up different books for yourselves with careful COVID consideration. The location is: 4308 Mobile Drive, where the Grab and Go daily meal is served daily Monday-Friday.

NOTE OF GRATITUDE FROM MEG MOODY, PRESIDENT

Many of you are aware of the non-stop behind-the-scenes work we have been doing in these circumstances to ensure food security and other matters of equity for our school community. In addition to those 45 families who signed up as partners (!!) I just want to give a note of public gratitude to Mr. Gerstner & Ms. An, who have been instrumental in this support and advocacy. Despite the enormous workload on her shoulders, Ms. An became my full partner in creating and seeing through the unique Family Partnership Program. I also want to say thank you to Stephanie & Matt Axelrod, along with advising on the food program, took on their own neighborhood initiative to collect school supplies for 50 students. Thanks also to my COVID program "committee": the Axelrods, Thomasina Ivy (who was the first parent to pull me aside and say "what can we do as a PTA?"), Julie Scoville, and Philippa VanGelder-Hindman who, with our administration and cafeteria manager Doug Lilly, joined me in advocating for the Grab and Go meal stop. Our work and successes are so meaningful, I appreciate all of you! We will continue to provide oversight to weekend food provision (thank you Food for Others), the partnership program, and other community initiatives. 

Yearbook

Fairfax Villa Yearbook

It’s that time of year again.  Don’t forget to order your 2019-2020 yearbook! Orders can be placed now through April 18th at:

www.YBPay.Lifetouch.com

Yearbook ID: 13698320

We also want to capture how our school is finishing out the school year doing distance learning.  We are looking for you to share fun photos of your children learning from home! We know this can be a difficult situation, but we want to highlight our students’ hard work, determination, and ability to persevere.

Please send photos and questions to:

VillaYearbook@gmail.com

Yearbooks are usually shipped to the school by the end of May and distributed in June.  However, due to current events and limited community gathering size, we are still working out the best possible way to distribute yearbooks to everyone who has placed an order.  We will update you with this information at a later date.

Send me your pics!

Over the next couple of weeks, if you 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

Parent SIS Accounts

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.

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.

Lifetouch Update

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.

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. 

  • Britepaths Food assistance is by referral only.  Please go to the website link for more information.
  • 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!

Guidelines for Adults Supporting Students’ Distance Learning

Caregiver Guidelines

The shift to distance learning comes at a time when families are already experiencing a disruption to their routines and priorities. While distance learning may offer welcome structure and connections with others that are likely missing in the disrupted environment of school and business closures, the transition will be challenging. Caregivers will need to think differently about how to support their children.

The Virginia Department of Education offers suggestions for caregivers to support learning at home in the resource, COVID-19: A Parent Guide for School-Aged Children. In addition to these recommendations from the state, the guidelines that follow represent considerations for caregivers in helping their children thrive in this new environment.

1— Health, Safety, and Family First

Be mindful of your child’s stress level and any anxiety related to world events or their own change in routine. Also, keep in mind that your child is sensitive to the stress and anxiety they perceive in you. If illness in your family makes it difficult for your child to participate in distance learning, be sure to share your situation with their teachers to work out a plan that is supportive of your immediate family needs while providing what access to learning is reasonable for your child.

2—Set Aside Time and Space

We encourage families to establish a physical space, if possible, where your child can participate in distance learning during the day. For many grade levels, there will be scheduled times when students are expected to join their teacher or class in a distance learning activity or check-in. Your child may need your help to be available for participation during these times. Consider how you can help maintain a sense of routine for your child, including expectations for wake up times and bedtimes that work for your family. Your children should move regularly and take periodic breaks as they study.

3—Stay Connected to Your Child’s Teachers

Teachers will communicate with caregivers through email or phone on a periodic basis. These check-ins will let you know how your child is progressing and give you additional insights into your child’s learning experiences. However, keep in mind that teachers are responsible for outreach and engagement with many students and their families. If you have a question or concern about your child’s learning, don’t hesitate to initiate contact with your child’s teacher.

4—Stay Active

Set expectations that your child engages in some form of physical exercise each day. Exercise will help your child maintain their health and development. This is vitally important to their health, wellbeing, and to their learning. FCPS’s physical education teachers will recommend activities or exercises, but it is also important for caregivers to model and encourage exercise. You may also think about how your children can help with additional chores or responsibilities at your home.

5—Monitor Screen Time

FCPS does not want its students working at computer screens for 7-8 hours a day. We ask that caregivers remember most teachers are not experts in distance learning and that it will require some trial-and-error before we find the right balance between online and offline learning experiences. We thank you in advance for your patience and partnership.

Blackboard Learning

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.

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