Gunston Gazette 06-11-2020



A Message From The Principals

Dear  Gunston Family,

What an amazing adventure this year has been for us, Eagles!  It was filled with wonderful learning opportunities and changes that implemented growth for our school.  We made memories and held events that were cherished together as a Gunston Family.  These times together made our friendships stronger, experiences better, and our hearts bigger.  As Kid President said, “(You) Make the world more awesome!”

Each of you is a special member of the Gunston community and a piece of what makes us shine.  You bring out the best in each other and our school.  We are sad to see some students moving on and want you to remember no matter where you go, what you do, or who you become, you will always be a Gunston Eagle!  “Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle!”  We have missed you and cannot wait until we meet again.  We hope you all have an enjoyable summer and keep reading and engaging in authentic learning opportunities.  We want to thank you for providing us the opportunity to work with you and it has been an honor to be your principals!

Sincerely,

Ms. Rucinski and Mrs. White

 

“Until you spread your wings, you will have no idea how far you can fly!”

 


Staff Moving On

As we close another school year, we want to send a special farewell to the following staff members moving on to new places next year.  We appreciate all that each and every one of you have contributed to our community and wish you all the best in the future.

“Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle!”

 

Amanda Espinola, Kindergarten Instructional Assistant

Rachel Backus, Kindergarten Teacher

Rian Burnside, Special Education Teacher

Tania Muskett, Parent Liaison

Sharon Gunn, Administrative Assistant

Courtney White, Acting Assistant Principal


Registration Process 

Staffing for next school year is supported by early registration. This helps to keep class sizes at optimal numbers for the best learning environment for all students.

Registration is open for all grade levels for the upcoming 2020 – 2021 school year. Currently, registration is occurring virtually with our registrar, Cassandra Baltimore, conducting enrollment interviews over the phone or via e-mail. If you need to register your child for school, please reach out to Ms. Baltimore at  clbaltimore@fcps.edu. 

Please note that once schools reopen to the public, parents will need to make an appointment to complete the registration and present all required original documentation (birth certificate, deed or lease, etc.).

Please share this information with friends or neighbors who also need to register!


The Crayon Initiative

With the end of the school year, many students and teachers find that they have an excess of crayons; some broken, some slightly used, and maybe even some never used. Sadly, more than a half-million pounds of crayons are discarded every year; turning into a waxy sludge that clogs our landfills. Junior Girl Scout Troop 943 of Gunston Elementary School is proud to partner with The Crayon Initiative, a unique charitable organization that recycles crayons and distributes them to children’s hospitals, brightening the lives of young patients while reducing environmental waste. You can support this great cause by dropping your used and unwanted crayons in our designated collection box in front the office at Cranford UMC in Lorton, M-F from 9-1. Any questions, please contact Celeste Stroh at cmhstroh@gmail.com.


Summer Continuity of Learning

Dear Parents/Guardians,

FCPS school buildings will remain closed through the end of July. Therefore, we will continue to provide recommended distance learning opportunities for students throughout the summer. Your students will have access to skill practice through the iReady digital lessons through the FCPS public Universal Screener website. Students will need to enter their FCPS login credentials to access these resources. These digital activities will be available until Friday, July 31st.

Additionally, students currently in grades K-6 will receive both a Mathematics and a Language Arts Essentials Summer Practice Book in the mail by the end of June. Digital versions of the books will also be posted on the Continuity of Learning Blackboard page. These books will provide recommended practice activities for students to review essential content from the 2019-2020 school year; they are not intended to preview content from next year’s grade level but rather reinforce essential learning from this past year.

As students access these activities from June 29 to July 31, they will have the opportunity to attend one virtual office hour each week with one of our own outstanding staff members.  All students will receive information about how to connect to their class through their Gmail account on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 by their summer school teacher.  Your child will join the grade level class that matches the grade level content practice book you receive.

Please contact Kristen Rucinski, krucinski@fcps.edu, if you have any questions.

                               The schedule is as follows:

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pta

        PTA News & Information


PTA Grant News

The Gunston PTA applied for and was awarded a $5,000-dollar COVID-19 Emergency relief grant!  This grant is through the National PTA and it is sponsored by Tik Tok.  The priority area chosen for this grant is food security.  Too many of our Eagle families are food insecure.  Thus, we want to utilize this grant to not only provide food relief for those in need, but also to create a sustainable program to remove food insecurity entirely! 

If you have thoughts or ideas on how we can make a sustainable program to provide our Eagle families with food security and you are willing to help make that a reality, please contact Heather Alsup-Morton to join the grant coalition.  This grant and subsequent program will occur from June- September 30, 2020.  Dr. Alsup-Morton can be reached via phone :615-429-6357 or email:  alsupheather@hotmail.com

Virtual coalition meetings will begin next week to start planning our program and will include PTA members, Gunston teachers and staff, and community partners!  We hope to see you there!  The more diverse our coalition, the better it will be!


health

Health & Wellness Tip

Avoid processed junk food (eat real food instead)

Processed junk food is incredibly unhealthy.

These foods have been engineered to trigger your pleasure centers, so they trick your brain into overeating — even promoting food addiction in some people (15Trusted Source).

They’re usually low in fiber, protein, and micronutrients but high in unhealthy ingredients like added sugar and refined grains. Thus, they provide mostly empty calories.