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As a follow up to Dr. Brabrand’s email last night, we want to make certain our Fairfax Villa families know that we continue to work diligently to educate and connect with our students. As stated from that email, we are not having synchronous (live) lessons or small group instruction until further notice.
- You will receive an email from your child’s teacher by 11:00am that will explain where your child will find their asynchronous learning materials. We have asked our teachers to record their lesson for today and have it available by 1:00pm for students to view. This could be in the form of an email with an attachment or a link or in their Google Classroom - if this has been used by your child’s class.
- Teachers will also share how they will be holding their office hours. Some may still be holding the office hours through their Collaborate Ultra sessions via Blackboard 24/7 and some may be available via email at the time.
Thank you all for your continued patience during this crisis.
Sincerely,
Dave Gerstner, Principal, Fairfax Villa Elementary School
The following message is sent on behalf of the Fairfax Villa ES School PTA. Its content reflects the views of the PTA.
Teacher Appreciation Week — Remote Edition
We know everyone has a lot on their minds at this time of uncertainty but one thing is for certain - we appreciate our Villa Teachers and staff even more now!! Please help us show them some love (from an appropriate distance) with a short video of gratitude! Take a short video of your child saying thanks or what they miss about school or a specific teacher and send it to 2019appreciate@gmail.com before April 24.
Maybe your child is shy? Video them giving the teachers and staff a round of applause (yes, clapping!. Parents, you can contribute as well. The more people who contribute, the more powerful this message of thanks can be! Please help us make this unique Teacher Appreciation Week one that they will remember! Thank you for your help and again, please send the video to 2019appreciate@gmail.com before April 24!!
VILLA COMMUNITY STRONG!
Thanks to the generosity of FORTY-FIVE volunteers (from teacher, 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 considerations. The location is: 4308 Mobile Drive, where the Grab and Go daily meal is served daily Monday-Friday from 8:30am-9:00am.
Yearbook Orders
Dear Parents,
It’s that time of year again. Don’t forget to order your 2019-2020 yearbook!
Orders can be placed now through April 27th 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.
We hope that everyone is safe and healthy!
Danielle Sutter
Fairfax Villa Art Teacher & Yearbook Coordinator
Missing Learning Packets
Please be advised that learning packets are sent out by the central office in FCPS, not by your child’s classroom teacher. To receive previously sent packets that you may not have received, as well as packets for the remainder of the school year, please email FCPSlearningpacket@fcps.edu and provide your child’s student ID and home mailing address. The student ID can be found in your SIS ParentView account. You will need to inform them that you have yet to receive a packet and that you would like to receive them for the remainder of the school year.
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.
Parent SIS Accounts (Parent VUE)
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.
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.
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!
Online Learning Resources: Recommended by Fairfax Villa ES
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.
Below is the list of Reading and Math online learning resources.
READING RESOURCES
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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