 Thank you to every member of the Lemon Road community who joins us as we actively take a stand against racism in our community and schools. This is something FCPS and LRES take very seriously and we appreciate all the families who have reached out in support of and solidarity with our Black students, families, and staff members.
This week was a lot of fun as we are beginning to close out the year. It was wonderful to see so many families on Thursday that drove through to pick up their child(ren)’s items. The smiles and signs warmed our hearts – even through the car windows! Read on for details about our car parade and student item pick up opportunity #2 below. At Home Field Day was hot, but a huge success. Thank you Mr. Van Trees and Mr. Hickman for organizing and all our families who shared videos and photos through Flipgrid and Twitter. We enjoyed our third Principals Coffee and First Virtual Trivia Night this week! If you missed the coffee, here is a link to the recording: Meet with Mrs. Castillo - recording_2. We have one final coffee scheduled prior to the end of the school year. On Tuesday, June 9th at 9:00 AM, we welcome special guest and FCPS School Board Member Elaine Tholen to join our virtual coffee. To participate in the coffee, open Chrome using this link and enter your first and last name. Have a question you would like addressed? Please submit questions in advance here! Mr. Birge and Mrs. Castillo will first answer submitted questions prior to opening up the conversation.
Know anyone new to the area who has a rising kindergartener or future Lemon Road lion? Pass on this website and encourage them to register as soon as possible. They can also find answers to common registration questions through this link.
Have you driven or walked by school this weekend? You will see the electricity is running to the new sign and we are recognizing our sixth graders being promoted to middle school and our amazing retirees that are saying goodbye to Lemon Road this summer. Ms. Summer Donaldson and Ms. Alice Higgins have been an important part of the Lemon Road community for many years. We are sad to see them go, but are excited as they are able to spend more time with their families through retirement. Please join us in wishing them well after so many years of service to Lemon Road and FCPS! Another huge thank you to the McLean Community Foundation and our PTA for the grant to make this sign a reality.
We have one final exciting week of school left – let’s make it the best yet! Show off your school spirit by wearing navy & yellow or Lemon Road spirit gear throughout the week to your classes and virtual celebrations. Thank you for an amazing year, it is a joy to lead this community! ~ Mrs. Castillo
Our celebrations continue this week. We look forward to a game night with our sixth graders run by Mr. Birge through Blackboard. Sixth graders can log into the Lemon Road Students blackboard site, click the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra tab, then search for Sixth Grade Game Night. We will start at 5 PM on Tuesday, June 9th and hope ALL our 6th graders will join the fun.
On Thursday, June 11, we will celebrate the end of a fantastic year with three assemblies! At 9 AM, we will hold a virtual Grade 6 Promotion Assembly. To log in, students should search for “6th Grade Promotion” in the Lemon Road Students Blackboard site. At 11 AM, we will hold an End of Year Assembly for students in kindergarten through second grade. To log in, students should search for “K-2 End of Year Assembly” in the Lemon Road Students Blackboard site. Lastly, at 1 PM, we will hold an End of Year Assembly for students in third grade through fifth grade. To log in, students should search for “3-5 End of Year Assembly” in the Lemon Road Students Blackboard site.
On Friday, June 12 (weather-permitting) we will hold a car parade through the Lemon Road parking lot. Families interested in participating must join by car (for safety) and will enter the Lemon Road parking lot between 3:00 – 3:45. Families will remain in their cars as they circle through the kiss & ride loop and out through the bus loop. Staff will be spread apart along the route maintaining social distancing and wearing masks along the route waving goodbye to families that participate. Our amazing Ms. Burke will pass through first taking a video of our staff waving goodbye and post it on the Lemon Road blackboard site for any student that cannot participate by car. Please note that cars will not be able to stop and all family members must stay in their cars for the full loop. We welcome smiles, waves, signs, and spirit wear for this event. Families that were not able to pick up student items on June 4 can pull into the front parking lot after the car parade. When the parade ends, have your child(ren)’s names on a sign in your front windshield and a staff member will help retrieve their bag inside. Only staff are permitted into the building at this time.
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This summer there will be multiple ways to stay engaged in learning!
1. Lemon Road Summer Learning: Learn online with some of our amazing Lemon Road teachers! Online learning will include 1 hour/week of synchronous teaching/office hours between June 30th - July 30th. This is free and open to all Lemon Road students. A schedule will be sent out mid-June so families may plan for the synchronous time and weekly sessions will be recorded.
2. Math and Language Arts Essentials Summer Practice Books: FCPS will be mailing review work books out to families by the end of June. Every student who is not opted out will receive two Essentials Summer Practice books: one for reading and one for math. The Practice Books are not intended to teach new content, but serve as a review of key content from the 2019 – 2020 school year. Practice books will also be posted on FCPS 24/7 Learning Blackboard (Continuity of Learning Resources page - ES) as fillable PDF files on June 29th. If you would like to opt back in to receiving these, you will need to do so before June 10th, using this link.
3. iReady Learning Modules and Games: Access online learning modules and learning games throughout June and July! Students may log on using their FCPS credentials to the FCPS public Universal Screener website. Check out this handout for more information: FCPS i-Ready Onboard Lesson.
4. Lemon Road Read Board: This summer we encourage all Lions to READ, READ, READ and complete the Lemon Road Summer Reading Activity Board. You will find the board in the bag your child picked up from school last Thursday. You can also find a copy of the board here on the Lemon Road website. All students are encouraged to complete as many activities as possible by August 25 and return it to school this fall. Be sure to email Ms. Burke at goburke@fcps.edu a photo of your child reading to include in our fall display and news show! If you are interested in other summer reading programs or looking for diverse, thoughtful, and engaging books for your child, our librarian, Ms. Burke has compiled a list of resources you might find helpful. Please contact her if you have questions or need assistance.
5. Google Classroom & Blackboard Recordings: All Blackboard content and Google Classrooms will stay up through August 14. Students will have access to all materials posted and recordings from Spring distance learning from their homeroom teacher and specialists.
6. FCPS Fine Arts Opportunities: FCPS will offer a free online fine arts enrichment program from July 6 – August 6. The program will offer a variety of classes in art, music, theater, and dance. More information can be found at this website.
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Please respond to this short, 2-question survey that Lemon Road’s Eco Defense Squad designed. With your responses in mind, the Eco Defense Squad will support our community with information on outdoor activity locations to stay healthy during this pandemic. Thanks for your input and participation! Reach out to Mrs. Busch with any questions at klbusch@fcps.edu.
Survey link: https://forms.gle/5K97A3nVP4rGSEg28
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To support families with COVID-19 and discussions about racism and equity, the Lemon Road Student Services team has compiled a comprehensive website. Logging in through any student or staff FCPS Gmail account, access our LR Student Services Website. We also want to remind everyone that our team is here to support our community with talking with children or with any related mental health concerns. Staff may be contacted using the email addresses below:
Erica McKinney (School Counselor) ECMcKinney@fcps.edu
Beth Gelfand (School Psychologist) bfgelfand@fcps.edu
Laura Cook (School Social Worker) lecook@fcps.edu
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Does your rising 6th grader want to be a part of the News Team for next year? Our LRES News Team work with Ms. Burke to put on an informative, interesting, and fun news show each Friday throughout the school year. It is a lot of fun and considered a leadership position at Lemon Road. Interested? Here’s a quick video with info about joining the Morning News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0T2ylS4MyA&feature=youtu.be
After your child watchers, please have them complete this interest survey. Any questions can be directed to Gabby Burke at goburke@fcps.edu.
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Does your third, fourth, or fifth grader love music? We hope they will elect to learn an instrument for the 2020 – 2021 school year. FCPS students in grades 4 – 6 have the opportunity to learn and play a strings instrument. Students in grades 5 – 6 can also choose to play a band instrument. We encourage all students to learn an instrument as instruction takes place weekly, during the school day, in lieu of additional general music instruction. Please share these videos with your students and then have them complete the interest survey linked here (updated from last week).
Band Video: https://youtu.be/71WoZlubznk
Strings Video: https://youtu.be/lxZyQu39v_I
Have questions? Please reach out to Band Director, Mrs. Roberts, at jaroberts2@fcps.edu or Strings Director, Ms. Su, at asu@fcps.edu. Thank you to these teachers for putting together virtual recruitment information for our students!
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During our LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL, we'll focus on creativity (1-page overview here). Creative people are able to look at the world in original ways. They are open to new experiences, and have an imaginative and independent thought process. They are able to generate lots of different ideas, and have the capacity to go after certain ideas they’ve generated with energy and enthusiasm. Creativity is a process that takes courage. Anytime you’re putting your original ideas into the world, you risk being criticized or even ostracized. Creativity is associated with intrinsic motivation, meaning the process of creation is an end in itself. Creativity is also correlated with self-actualization, or fulfilling one’s talents and potential. Those with the strength of creativity have the urge to create, to build something new and original. The act of creation makes them happy.
This week’s character strength example is Hannah Beachler, the first African-American to be nominated - and win- an Oscar for production design. She is a production designer and the mind behind the film sets of Black Panther, Moonlight, and Creed. As a production designer, Beachler’s describes her job as making “the director’s vision come to life.” This work takes time, research, and a lot of creativity! To create the set for Black Panther, she had to imagine — and then create — what the fictional country of Wakanda would look like. As Beachler explains, “I had to have a reason for every move, every building, every street. Everything had to have a story behind it. There is not one thing you will see in that movie that doesn’t have a story.”
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Longfellow is excited to host the virtual Jump Start to Success program to help rising 7th graders with their transition to middle school. The program is open and free to all rising 7th graders and will consist of a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities for students. Students will meet their administrators, counselors, and teachers virtually. They will take a virtual tour of Longfellow and learn how to use a locker and how to read their schedule. They will also learn time management techniques, test testing anxiety tips, and a number of other activities geared to teach them about life as a middle school student. The dates for the program have not been determined just yet but we will continue to update you weekly in our News You Choose Newsletter. If you have any questions, please contact Riley Barrows, rtbarrows1@fcps.edu
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June 8 - June 10: College and Career Week
Tuesday, June 9: Virtual Parent Coffee (9 AM) – Elaine Tholen Joining; Virtual 6th Grade Game Night (5 PM)
Wednesday, June 10: Last Virtual Instructional Day with Content & Last Day for Specials
Thursday, June 11: Grade 6 Promotion Assembly (9 AM); Grades K – 2 Assembly (11 AM); Grades 3 – 5 Assembly (1 PM)
Friday, June 12: Elementary Teacher Work Day; Family Car Parade (3 PM); Student Item Pick Up (4:00 – 4:30 PM)
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