Ravens' Nest- Aprill 30, 2020

Message from the Principal

 

Dear Ravensworth Families,

We are all in this together!  The new distance learning journey is in place because the health and safety of you and your family during this pandemic is a priority.  We hope this message finds you and your loved ones well.

It was exciting to have our first full week of face-to-face instruction.  If the staff did not see your child(ren), they will be reaching out to you.  We want to make sure we are connecting with each of our students every week.  We miss our students!

Mr. Bourjaily and I were able to see so many thoughtful and engaging lessons.  The staff is working hard to provide opportunities for your child(ren)’s continuity of learning.  Our collaborative teaching teams continue to reflect on distance learning plans and are using those reflections for constant adjustment.  Our distance learning goal is to continue to inspire a love of learning in our students and to continue to foster the growth and progress towards our standards of learning.  

We want you as a family to make decisions about what works for your family.  Many of you are managing and juggling your family systems, work schedules and health issues during this stressful time.  We encourage you to communicate with teachers, support staff, and administration whenever needed so we can support each other in this process.  There are many points of access for our continuity of learning including daily instructional time and office hours with teachers, centrally mailed learning packets, and continuous lessons on the cable channels.

District Level and School level resources for continuity of learning: https://fcps.blackboard.com/webapps/login/

FCPS cable channels with learning activities are available:

  • Channel 21 includes elementary school programming
  • Channel 25 includes middle school programming
  • Channel 99 includes high school programming

The Ravensworth staff is working and collaborating each day during this global crisis.  They put on bright smiles during the lessons, even when their own children and families are struggling.  They love and miss your children!  Next week is teacher appreciation week.  THANK YOU to our staff for all you have done and continue to do to help finish the school year strong and connect with students.

To all Ravensworth families – THANK YOU for all you are doing to help your children stay focused and calm during this challenging time.  We will get through this together.  Stay in touch.  Take good care.  Ravensworth Strong!

Sincerely,

Erika Aspuria

Principal

 

Kindergarten and Student Registration for School Year 2020-2021

Schools remain closed to families; however, if you have a student to register for next year, please go to https://ravensworthes.fcps.edu/new-student-registration-kindergarten-orientation-2020-21 Early registration for next year is important as it supports the number of teachers for which we are staffed. Information on required registration documents can be found here: https://www.fcps.edu/registration . Please direct any questions about registration to our School Registrar, Ms. Dunbar, at tldunbar1@fcps.edu.

 

From the Library: eBooks available online

There are now several hundred new popular ebooks available to students through MackinVia.  MackinVIA is the FCPS ebook and audiobook platform. You can access these books by going to the FCPS Library Catalog at https://www.fcps.edu/resources/library choose Ravensworth on Destiny, scrolling down to the bottom where the “Learning Links” are located and then clicking on MackinVia app shortcut with other online resources.  Or you can get to the site with this link:  fairfax.mackinvia.com Either way, bookmark this page.  Be sure to log in to the FCPS blue bar on the left side of the page. Use your FCPS network username (student number) and password to get in, NOT the Follett prompt. When you log in, you should automatically see all ebooks. They are limited to single-user licenses by publishers. That means that if a copy of a book is checked out, other users can make a request to place it on hold, but only one person may access the book at a time. Here is a four minute video demonstrating the features of MackinVia.

 How to Access via an app

You can also download the MackinVIA app from the iOS and android app stores to read or listen on your personal mobile devices!

Let Ms. Boyd know if she can help you find these resources. RLBoyd@fcps.edu

 

Music, Art, PE Choice Board Available

Your Music, Art, and Physical Education Specialists have put together a totally optional Choice Board for you. Each activity has been designed to take about a half an hour and will include content from the different specialty areas. If you choose, you can complete one a day. You can access this choice board by visiting the specialist blackboard site or their newly created Google Classroom.

K-2 Choice Board:

https://fcps.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-7454839-dt-announcement-rid-44215520_2/xid-44215520_2

3-6 Choice Board:

https://fcps.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-7454839-dt-announcement-rid-44215521_2/xid-44215521_2

 

Positivity Project- Week of May 4

This week’s character strength is Leadership. You show this when you value each member of your group and inspire people to do their best. This character strength’s focus is on the personal qualities of leaders, rather than the practice of leadership. These qualities include the ability to understand others and inspire them toward a common goal, the capacity to mitigate conflict and mold consensus, and the desire to lead other people.

We will review all 25 character strengths over the remaining weeks of school.