Hive Happenings Newsletter

Dear Stenwood families,

As we head into this Memorial Day weekend, we want to take a moment to honor those who have lost their lives in their dedication to our country. FCPS will observe Monday as a holiday. We will be back with synchronous sessions on Tuesday.

We are still drafting the plans of what the optional summer learning will look like that Dr. Brabrand shared this last week. We will share our plans once they are finalized. One piece of information we are waiting on from the county is the number of hours per week of instruction we are able to offer students this summer.

We heard that the notes from our Principal’s Coffee were not accessible to you, our apologies. Here is the presentation with notes from this session. We will be hosting our next Principal’s Coffee next Thursday, May 28th at 8am. As we did for the last session, we will send out the link through eNotify the morning before. Have questions you would like addressed? Please let us know here.

If you missed last week’s Hive Happenings, see below for opportunities for our upper grade students for next year. SCA applications are now due Monday, May 25^th. We are requesting a response from ALL rising 4th, 5th, and 6th grade families on the Band/Strings form, as your family’s selection impacts your child’s Specials schedule here at school. We hope to collect responses from all rising 4th, 5th, and 6th grade families by Friday, May 29th. We will be following up with every student that we do not hear from.

This week and next, our teachers have been packing up their classrooms, including all student items which have been separated into individual, labeled bags that are ready to be returned to your child. We will be holding the pick up of student items according to the following schedule:

Tuesday, June 2nd:

8:30 - 10:00 Last Names starting with A

10:00 - 11:30 Last Names starting with B

11:30 - 1:00 Last Names starting with C

1:00 - 2:00 Last Names starting with D

2:00 - 3:00 Last Names starting with E, F

3:00 - 4:00 Last Names starting with G

Wednesday, June 3rd:

8:30 - 9:30 Last Names starting with H

9:30 - 11:30 Last Names starting with I, J, K

11:30 - 12:30 Last Names starting with L

12:30 - 2:00 Last Names starting with M

2:00 - 3:00 Last Names starting with N, O

3:00 - 4:00 Last Names starting with P, Q

Thursday. June 4th:

8:00 - 9:00 Last Names starting with R

9:30 - 12:00 6th Grade Pick-Up

12:30 - 2:00 Last Names starting with S

2:00 - 3:00 Last Names starting with T, U, V

3:00 - 4:00 Last Names starting with W, Y, Z

Medication may also be picked up during this time. If you are unable to come at your scheduled time, we have scheduled make-up slots on Monday, June 8th from 8:00am - 12:00pm and 2:00pm - 5:00pm. Please let us know if for some reason you are unable to make any of the scheduled pick up times.

We are doing our best to collect items from throughout classrooms and the school building, if labeled.  We went through lost and found and contacted all families if items were labeled.  For the rest, we created a slideshow of items.  Please take a few minutes to look through the items here. There are numerous winter jackets and sweatshirts since the last date we were in the building was March 12th.  If you find an item in the lost and found, please complete this form so we can place that item with your child’s other items for pick up on June 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. 

During these pick up times, we will also be collecting any school items such as library books, classroom books, rented instruments (if you are not continuing the instrument next year or are in 6th grade), patrol belts, and recorders from Recorder Ensemble.

We will send this information out again, but we are asking that you create a sign with your child(ren)’s last name clearly visible from your vehicle’s dashboard. This will help our team quickly identify cars and deliver items. We ask that everyone remains in their vehicle. We will be wearing PPE to deliver items and collect any items you might have.

Have a restful holiday weekend!

Sincerely,

Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu 
Twitter @esriley1

Meredith Mitchell, Assistant Principal 
mamitchell@fcps.edu

Applications for Service Activities and Electives

Parents of Current 3-5th Grade Students:  Please review the service activity opportunities with your child and take some time to understand the options, responsibilities, and application requirements.  Below is a list of programs, sponsor contact information, descriptions, application form links, and due dates for applications. Additionally, our sponsors have created this Flipgrid (log in using your students’ fcpsschools.net gmail account) to share information regarding the roles and responsibilities required of each activity.  

Please pay close attention to the grade level requirements as these are for our rising upper grade students.  Grade level teachers will also be sharing these opportunities during their live instructional sessions to ensure students understand the opportunities available to them.  Thank you in advance for reviewing this information with your child  and making the decision to apply together as a family.

Calling ALL Rising 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Families!

We need your child’s Band and/or Strings selection for next school year!  Your child’s choices will impact their Specials schedule, so even if your child chooses not to participate, we are requesting a response on the Band/ Strings Form by Friday, May 29th.

Staff Appreciation Week FlipGrid Videos

Our staff was overwhelmed with the heartfelt messages they received on their FlipGrids for Staff Appreciation Week! Thanks so much to our PTA for facilitating this special treat and keeping it a secret from our teachers- they were SO surprised!!!! Many have expressed interest in continuing to share the love, which is why we would like to share all of the links out the community.

Staff Appreciation FlipGrid Links

Flipgrid is a VERY easy recording platform. Once logged in, all you need to do is click on the link and press the GREEN plus sign.  The videos are limited to 2 minutes (your child does not need to record for two minutes!). The FlipGrid settings are such that only the staff member, Mrs. Riley, and Dr. Mitchell can view the video you upload.

How to Use FlipGrid:

To login you will click the link and  select “Log In with Google.” Your child will need to use their fcpsschools.net email and password to login.    Then just click on the green plus and leave a video!

Last Weekend For Our Online Book Fair!

Our virtual Book Fair is now open! Running through May 27th, you can purchase books and educational games from our regular, local vendor, Bookworm Central.  To see what’s available and what’s on a teacher’s wish list, go to www.bookwormcentral.com.  IMPORTANT: make sure you enter our school code “stenwood” in the organization code box at the top.  Don’t forget, there is free shipping on all order over $20.  Let Mrs.Cole know what questions you have:  nhcole@fcps.edu.

Please Note:

• Bookworm Central is a local vendor that is intent on helping connect your children with great books.  Safety is paramount for their staff and for you.  At the warehouse, your orders are packed by team members practicing social distancing, always wearing gloves and masks, and continually disinfecting surface areas.
• Bookworm is only selling what is currently stocked in their warehouse, so please know titles may sell out.

Battle of the Books Is On for 5^th & 6^th Grade!

Even a pandemic can’t stop Stenwood readers!  This battle will look a little different than our usual set up, but we hope it will still be fun for everyone.  Instead of classroom teams, we will have 5th grade vs 6th grade!  The quiz to determine the teams will be available in Google Classroom on Tuesday, May 26th & Wednesday, May 27th. Once we determine who will be on the teams, we will hold a practice session some time during the first week of June.  The actual Battle of the Books will be Tuesday, June 9th at 1:00pm.

Please let Mrs. Cole know what questions you have – nhcole@fpcs.edu. 

New Ebooks Available in the Stenwood Library!

79 new ebooks have been added to the Stenwood catalog.  These books are for Stenwood students only.  In order to share the limited resources, students will be limited to two checkouts at a time for 10 days.  They will be able to renew if the book is not on hold.  Yes, students can put ebooks on hold.  Please click here for directions on accessing ebooks.  Directions are also in the grade level Specials Google Classroom.  As always, let Mrs. Cole know what questions you might have:  nhcole@fcps.edu.

Specialists’ Office Hours

Our Specials teachers are live with Office Hours! The link to their virtual classroom can be located in your child’s fcpsschools.net email account.  Please find their schedule below:

 Moving Over the Summer?

If your family is moving over the summer or will not be attending Stenwood next year, please contact our registrar, Sonja Hunt at snhunt@fcps.edu. Thank you!

Emotional and Mental Wellness Resources

The Parent Resource Center has a Padlet website for “Emotional and Mental Wellness Resources for Families” which has some helpful information.  If you feel it would be worthwhile sharing with families, here’s the link: https://padlet.com/valrieeisele/emotions 

Food Resources

FCPS continues to expand the number of locations for food sites.  Please use this link as it will continue to be updated. If you need additional support, please contact Mrs. Hapangama or Mrs. Appleton.

Distance Learning Packet Opt-Out

If you plan to access the learning packets online, you can choose to go paperless and opt out of receiving the mailed copies.

We'd Love More Photos!

If you have pictures of your children to share through our Hive Happenings, please send them directly to Brian Spector (bmspector@fcps.edu).

Stay Connected Here are a few ways to stay connected with all the happenings at Stenwood ES WEBSITE: Stenwood ES TWITTER: @StenwoodES FACEBOOK (PTA): StenwoodPTA

2620 Gallows Road Vienna, VA 22180 |  Main Office: 703.208.7600
Attendance Email | Transportation Email | Web | Twitter