MRES Information - May 1, 2020

Happy Friday Marshall Road Families,

We are thrilled to have made it through a full week of distance learning.  It was incredible seeing our children excited and engaged in learning all week!  On behalf of our entire faculty, thank you for sticking with us.  It certainly hasn’t been an easy few weeks for anyone, especially parents.  Here are a few short items of note:

  1. Until the end of the school year, teachers will continue to send you a Parent Weekly Learning Guide on Fridays. 
  2. FCPS is working on a process to allow families back into the school building to collect personal belongings.  That information will be relayed as soon as we have it.
  3. Next week is teacher appreciation week.  As an administrative team, we are very proud of the work teachers have been doing after being thrust into a teacher environment none of us could have predicted.  They have more than stepped up to the challenge.  If so moved, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher with words of kindness, thanks or support. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Liz Calvert, Matt Chapman and Sue Kirby

 

Class Placement Parent Input 2020-2021

We will begin the class placement process for next year soon and would like to explain how we handle this at Marshall Road ES. Homeroom and specials teachers spend much time reflecting on the school year and discussing your children with whom they have developed such close relationships; this work is both careful and thorough.

In making placements into the next grade’s homerooms, we seek to build positive communities rather than assigning students to a particular teacher, which would limit our ability to build effective classroom dynamics. We strive for a fairly even mix of girls and boys, and we take into account the many new students who will join us next school year. While we do believe that it is important for children to have friends in their class, we also want them to be open to forming new friendships while at school.

Teachers spend many hours each day with their students and know who works well with whom. However, we invite parents to offer their perspective on friendships and on any unique needs your child might have that we might not be aware of. Please DO NOT make requests for a specific teacher. We have the utmost confidence in all of our teachers and have seen over the years that children and parents are able to form strong academic and personal relationships with many different teachers and styles. It might also be helpful for you to know that students often rotate out of their homerooms for different subjects and small groups. We will also be hiring several new teachers who will be wonderful additions to our faculty.

Your input is optional, and teachers will not schedule conferences specifically to discuss placement.

Finally, let me remind you that we will take into account the information that you send us, but that final decisions rest only with our school team. Please submit your input by May 8 using the form linked here. Please know that this is a hard deadline. Any requests received after May 8 will not be considered. Thank you for being mindful of the process and deadlines.

 

Teacher Appreciation

We are excited to celebrate our wonderful teachers!  One of the best gifts a teacher can receive is a heartfelt thank you from his/her students.  Please consider having your child write a thank you message to his/her teacher(s) by chalking or handwriting the message. Take a photo and download it to https://photos.app.goo.gl/sahvU1S1DfUZmf7m8 .  If you do not have a Gmail account you may email your photo to Ms. Kinsey at SVKinsey@fcps.edu.   These photos will become part of a video that will be sent to our teachers.

 

Did You Know? Thank A Teacher! 

For the fifth year, the Virginia Lottery is encouraging students, parents and the general public to send thank you notes to Virginia's deserving public school teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4 – 8. Your favorite teacher could win a Virginia vacation and prizes for your school! Make your favorite teacher smile with a digital thank-you note featuring custom artwork by the three student art contest winners.

 

Virtual Parent Coffee

A virtual parent coffee has been scheduled for Thursday, May 7, 7 to 8 p.m.  We will be available to collect parent questions and provide answers if we have them.  Please use this link to access the information session.  In order to help us structure and prepare for our virtual parent meeting on Thursday, May 7th, at 7 p.m., we would like to collect your feedback and questions.  We welcome your feedback and questions pertaining to distance learning, recognition of an MRES staff member, end of school year activities, next school year, etc.  We greatly appreciate you taking the time to let us know what you're thinking.  Click here to submit a question or give us feedback.

 

Mental Health and Wellness Support

As we continue to adjust to the new realities of family life during the COVID-19 outbreak, we wanted to share some upcoming free online events that can help provide additional information to support mental health and wellness.  Click here for details.

 

Internet Access for Low Income Families in FCPS

Cox Connect2Compete supplies broadband internet access to low-income, unconnected families in Fairfax County. Households who meet income and other guidelines will be offered free Internet service through July 15, ($9.95 per month afterward), free modem rental, free installation, and a price guarantee for two years. Schools who are aware of families without internet access can share this resource with families. More information is available on the Cox website: https://www.cox.com/residential/internet/connect2compete.html.