 Happy Sunday - I can hardly believe that it is spring break! As I walked around Lemon Road yesterday, I saw these signs of spring on our grounds and they made me smile. I hope all our families are home, healthy, and getting some fresh air during these beautiful spring days. Lemon Road teachers and staff spent last week preparing for the launch of distance learning on April 14. We distributed laptops and met as collaborative teams to plan instruction, mental health support, and supporting students with disabilities. We are looking forward to seeing our students again soon!
At this time, each family should have received a distance learning schedule through email from their child’s classroom teacher that includes office hours and synchronous teaching times. We know not all students will be able to join each lesson live and have asked the teachers to record their sessions and post them so the students can watch later or again on Fridays when there will not be any live lessons.
FCPS has created a helpful site to organize all information regarding the impact of the coronavirus on our schools. Please visit for county-wide answers regarding distance learning, food resources, and a FAQ’s page.
Lastly, I’ve had many emails about student instruments and items left in the building. I know how important these items are to you and your children. At this time, FCPS has not opened the buildings to staff, students, or families to retrieve items for the safety of our staff and community at large. When a plan is created to safely allow members of the community into the building, parents will be informed. If you are concerned that your child’s instrument is lost, please email me directly. I have taken photographs of each of the instruments in the hallways and am happy to confirm that you child’s is secure in the building.
Enjoy Spring Break and Stay Well ~ Mrs. Castillo
Many students and parents have asked whether Lemon Road will have a yearbook this year – the answer is YES! If you want to order a yearbook for your child, the cost is $19. Please note that all orders must be completed online (no cash/checks) and the deadline to order is April 14, 2020. Visit the website and enter Yearbook Code 12302520 to get started.
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Following spring break, most of the synchronous learning will be done through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. Ms. Nickels created this gorgeous graphic to help parents and students experience success with this system. Know that when entering the room, your child’s video/audio settings are automatically set to “off”. Teachers can give students permission to turn on those features, should your family want your child to engage “face-to-face”. Your family can also decide to opt out of video/audio, if you are not comfortable and still participate in the lesson. |
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Through Spring Break, FCPS has provided families with centralized resources to support continuity of learning. These activities can be accessed through the FCPS 24-7 and are available on the FCPS Website. When anyone logs on to FCPS 24-7 they will see a Continuity of Learning module that has links to resources for elementary students as well as resources for middle and high school students.
Mr. Heffron has been updating information for families and students regarding digital resources. Check out these two pages devoted to distance learning resources and links. Lemon Road has online activities students can continue to practice with available on the Student Links page.
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FCPS is embarking on a four-tiered approach to distance learning that will begin officially following Spring Break. All work and assignments are currently optional and will not receive a grade. Our priority is to offer continued learning opportunities to all our students for the remainder of the 2019 – 2020 school year.
Part 1: Weekly Learning Packets
Beginning this week and continuing for the remainder of the school year, all elementary students will receive a weekly learning packet in the U.S. Mail. These packets were created centrally, but teachers may reference them when new learning begins on April 14. The first packet included grade level math practice, but beginning in the second packet, advanced math content will also be included for grades 3 – 6. Students are encouraged to work on these packets at home next week and beyond as independent practice. The packets are available electronically in FCPS 24/7 Learning so if a parent would like to print the packets at home, they may use the opt out link to stop receiving the printed instructional packets in the mail. They will need their student’s ID number and their e-mail address to access the opt out system. We know many of our students are still waiting to receive their first packet. They should be received very soon and the second packet should be received on or before April 13.
Part 2: Virtual Instruction
Our staff has been working this week to develop a plan for ongoing instruction of our students. Classroom teachers and specialists will be either teaching live through sites like Blackboard Collaborate Ultra or recording themselves teaching and posting links to the videos following Spring Break. Our plan is that core instruction (community building, language arts, and math) will begin first and we will layer in additional learning opportunities as a school overtime.
Part 3: Channel 21 Programming
Our FCPS cable television channels are now broadcasting learning activities. New instructional videos are being recorded and will be added to the programming lineup shortly. Students can watch on their TV through Channel 21 or can use these links to view building level instructional programming. Channel 21 includes elementary school programming, Channel 25 includes middle school programming, and Channel 99 includes high school programming.
Part 4: Staff Office Hours
Beginning April 14, all staff will have regular virtual office hours to be available to answer student and parent questions in real-time. Staff will explore various methods of communication and accessibility for office hours and will communicate through email and post their schedule on blackboard.
Concern over the coronavirus can make children and families anxious. While there is uncertainty about the spread of the disease in the US, acknowledging the level of concern in any family member is appropriate. The resources below will help you help children cope with anxiety by providing accurate prevention information and facts without causing undue alarm. You can find resources to support your family at this link: FCPS recommended mental health resources.
Our school counselors, Ms. McKinney and Mrs. Gillmore have also created a way for parents or students to let them know they are in need of a call. Use this link (also found on our webpage) to access them.
If you are in need of information about food resources, the following may be helpful.
- Fairfax County Coordinated Services: 703.222.0880
- Fairfax County searchable map of food sites
- Text ”food” or “comida” to 877-877 to get local food site information in English and Spanish.
- Capital Area Food Bank
- Food For Others Neighborhood Sites
For more information, parents may reach out to Laura Cook, Lemon Road School Social Worker at 703.206.5333 (note the new number).
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