Important Upcoming Dates
6/29-7/31 Continuity of Learning (Optional)
7/10 Parent response regarding 2020-2021 school year due
8/25 School Begins - More Details Coming
Greetings Fairfax Villa Families!
IN THIS ISSUE
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FCPS to Offer Choices for the 2020-21 School Year
- Staff Changes
- Yearbook Update
- Summer Continuity of Learning and Student Resources
- Fairfax Cares
- Summer Reading Adventures from the Fairfax County Public Library
- Student Registration (Kindergarten Registration/ 1-6 New Student Registration)
- Not Returning to Fairfax Villa Next School Year?
- Requesting a Refund for Student's Meal Account
- Fine Arts Summer Resource
- Resources for Families
1. FCPS to Offer Choices for the 2020-21 School Year
As you are now aware, the Fairfax County School Board has reached consensus on a plan to offer students a choice in how they return to school in August for the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. An enrollment letter will be distributed to parents via email, as well as by USPS, so that you can state your choice. Parents will be asked to respond to the registration letter request by Friday, July 10, so that detailed planning can begin for virtual and in-person class schedules. You may submit your choice electronically or via USPS.
We want to ensure that our Fairfax Villa community and parents are up to date with the latest information. Please make sure to continue to check regularly by clicking the following links:
FCPS to Offer Choices for the 2020-21 School Year
https://www.fcps.edu/news/fcps-offer-choices-2020-21-school-year
FCPS Plan for Return to School
https://www.fcps.edu/returntoschool
Return to School - Frequently Asked Questions
https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/return-school-questions-and-answers
Reopening Schools Plan - In-School Learning with Health and Social Distancing Protocols
https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/reopening-schools-plan-complete-information/school-learning-health-and-social
Reopening Schools Plan - Full-time Online Learning by Request
https://www.fcps.edu/index.php/return-school/reopening-schools-plan-complete-information/full-time-online-learning-request
2. Staff Changes
As we have more staff changes over the summer, we want to keep you informed of those.
 With 13 years of teaching, 12 of those with FCPS and 4 here at Fairfax Villa, one of our first grade teachers, Ms. Wheeler, is moving to Hayfield ES to teach 6th grade. She has enjoyed teaching many wonderful first graders who made her laugh and smile every day. Ms. Wheeler appreciates the support of the parents, the first grade team, Mr. Gerstner and Ms. An, and all the Villa staff who helped her learn and grow as a teacher. She is grateful to have had the opportunity to work at our wonderful school! We will miss Ms. Wheeler but wish her all the best as she moves on in her career.
 Because of having four classes in 5th grade this year, Ms. VonAncken will be moving from 1st grade to 5th grade. With 8 years experience with teaching different grade levels from kindergarten to 6th grade, including a long term substitute position in 5th grade, Ms. VonAncken is excited to inspire her new students with her love of math and science. Having had a 5th grade teacher who inspired her, Ms. VonAncken looks forward to inspiring our 5th grade with the same love of learning.
 Since our first grade will be smaller this year, we will have just three classes. To fill this third position, we are excited to introduce you to Ms. Tina Pivarnik . A native of California, she moved to Virginia with her military family and has lived here for over 45 years. Along with her Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Special Education, she also studied Reading Diagnosis and Intervention at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. This year, she earned her Masters of Education degree from George Mason University and also holds an added certificate from GMU in Designing Digital Learning in Schools. Ms. Pivarnic has taught in FCPS since 1993 with 14 years in first grade and has served as a professional development facilitator, a program lead, a STEAM resource teacher, and a mentor to students and novice teachers. Ms. Pivarnik believes in the equity of access, the equality of service and the careful attention to meeting the specific needs of all students so they may reach their academic and social potential. When not in the classroom, Ms. Pivarnik spends her time in nature with family and friends gardening or taking walks. She is thrilled to join the Villa family and we are excited to have her join us at the Villa.
3. Yearbook Update
We’ve been informed by Lifetouch that production of yearbooks is not at 100% as usual because of the strict guidelines due to COVID-19. Unfortunately they cannot give us an exact delivery date at this point. We are estimating yearbooks to be delayed by several weeks. We are looking at the beginning of July for a delivery date. We will email you once books are out of press, which is a couple weeks before books ship, to confirm delivery.
Due to the current health safety concerns, we will be mailing your 2019-2020 yearbooks home to you this year. If you pre-ordered a yearbook online for your child, your yearbook will be mailed home to the address listed in our school database system.
If you reserved a yearbook via email; please make a check out to Fairfax Villa ES and mail it to the school address (10900 Santa Clara Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030). When the yearbooks come in, yours will be mailed home to the address listed in our school database system.
4. Summer Continuity of Learning and Student Resources
Check out the updated Fairfax Villa Virtual Summer of Learning Opportunities page on our website.
Due to school closures, FCPS will offer free resources for all students and families who wish to continue distance learning throughout the summer. Virtual resources will be available on Blackboard 24-7. Additionally, two Essentials Summer Practice Books – one for Language Arts and one for Mathematics – will be mailed home to students.
Selected teachers at each school will hold weekly office hours from Monday, June 29, 2020 through Friday, July 31, 2020, to address student questions and review content from the Essentials Summer Practice Books prepared by FCPS central office.
Students have been sent a link to their FCPS Gmail for the office hour sessions that apply to them.
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Kindergarten: Mondays from 1:00 - 2:00 with Ms. Romano
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Grade 1: Mondays from 10:00 - 11:00 with Ms. VonAncken
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Grade 2: Wednesdays from 10:00 - 11:00 with Ms. Nicole Lee
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Grade 3: Mondays from 9:00 - 10:00 with Ms. Davis
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Grade 4: Wednesdays from 1:00 - 2:00 with Ms. Kelsey Lee
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Grade 5: Thursdays from 10:00 - 11:00 with Ms. McCracken
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Grade 6: Tuesdays from 9:00 - 10:00 with Ms. Gates
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Special Education: Wednesdays from 2:00 - 3:00 with Ms. Moore
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English Language Development: Tuesday from 10:00 - 11:00 with Ms. Quinn
All students in each grade level should have received a link to their new BBC session in their FCPS Google email. After logging in to the student’s FCPS gmail, do a search for “invitee” and find the most recent email from Blackboard Collaborate.
- Click the star to the left of the email to “STAR” this link.
- Later, you can find it easily by clicking on “STARRED” in the menu on the left side of the mail.
If you have any questions, please contact the teacher for your grade level who is doing the office hour.
Students are reminded to always use good digital citizenship when accessing the internet. Remember that anything you do with an FCPS laptop or account is monitored.
G Suite for Education: Students will be able to access their FCPS Google accounts over the summer. If they are leaving FCPS and want to download any files to keep, use the information in this link: Student Guide to FCPS G Suite Account & Data
Blackboard 24/7: Will be unavailable from June 12 to June 17; Students will still be able to access resources in their current Blackboard course after June 17.
Blackboard Collaborate: Will be available all summer for the Continuity of Learning that is offered to all students from June 29 to July 31.
myON: Students will continue to have access to myOn over the summer. For tech support just for myOn, parents may contact their live tech support at 888-728-1266 from 9:00 - 6:00 Monday- Friday. Their email is support@myon.com. The recently free feature, myON News, will not be available after the school year.
For students enrolled in a separate summer program through onCourse, they will be moved to a separate myOn course. Information will come from those ESY teachers.
Student Passwords will not have to be changed at the beginning of the new school year. Students will continue to use their current password with all FCPS accounts.
Wixie - Wixie will continue to be available to current students until August 7. After August 7, FCPS will be working to update rosters in Clever for the new year and Wixie will not be accessible for students for a short time. It should be back up and available no later than August 17.
iReady: NEW - iReady instruction is available for use by K-6 elementary school students during June and July of 2020. This is being turned on to provide optional individual practice to students. Lessons will be curated based on the student’s most recent test score in reading or mathematics during the fall or winter test windows.
Reading and math instruction is available to students in grades K-6. Access to iReady will be turned off August 1, 2020.
Students will access iReady instruction through the FCPS public Universal Screener website, where they will enter their FCPS login credentials.
Click here to see the directions for using iReady this summer.
Since schools and offices physically closed in March, countless FCPS staff members have put in a herculean effort to support students, parents, and their FCPS colleagues during this challenging time. Please join us in applauding employees who have been recognized for going the distance. To recognize an employee with an FCPS Cares, please fill out this form. Staff members who appear on the FCPS Cares–Going the Distance page will be chosen from among FCPS Cares submissions.
6. Summer Reading Adventures from the Fairfax County Public Library
This year’s Fairfax County Public Library summer reading program will be all virtual and will run from June 12 - August 14. Our theme will be “Imagine Your Story.” All participants will need to sign up online using our Summer Reading App before they download their gameboard. There will be contacts listed there if you need help.
This summer, readers of all ages will have the opportunity to play a gameboard where they can complete a series of challenges, read books of their choice, or a mix of both depending on their interests and preferences. Youth game boards will be available in English and Spanish. These will go live on June 12;
- All game board PDFs are clickable and every challenge piece will link back to a page on our website with additional details, resources, and related enrichment activities for participants who want to go the extra mile;
- As participants play the game and hit their milestones, they will be entered into prize drawings for one of two Amazon gift cards in each age category (preschool, school-age, teen, and adult). The 1st milestone prize is $50, the 2nd is $100, and the 3rd is $150. They will submit their information to us via a Survey Monkey form for each milestone. Links to the surveys are embedded into each milestone piece in the game and also available on our website;
- Readers who sign up on the first day of the program (June 12) will be entered into a drawing for a $25 e-gift card from Scrawl Books;
- Participants who complete all three challenges by August 14 will be entered into a grand-prize drawing for Washington Nationals ticket prize pack for them and their family to enjoy once games resume;
- Since we weren’t able to make it into your classrooms this year for booktalks, we have a Summer Reading Adventure 2020 playlist on YouTube that features promo videos with basic information about the program (in English and Spanish) as well as short booktalks for preschoolers, school-age kids, and teens. We will be adding additional booktalks on Instagram throughout the summer;
- Social media is a great place to find us these days. We’re @FairfaxLibrary on Instagram and Twitter and Fairfax County Library on Facebook;
- The Teen Cover Art Contest, Teen Film Festival, and For Love of Country Essay and Poetry contest will accept only digital submissions this summer and will run concurrently with the Summer Reading Adventure. Any awards ceremonies associated with these contests are TBD;
- Our virtual programs will continue all summer long and information about those can be found on our events calendar;
- Additional information can be found here
7. Student Registration (Kindergarten/ Grades 1-6 New Students)
Kindergarten Registration for 2020-2021
If your upcoming kindergarten student does fall in the Fairfax Villa ES boundary, please complete the form on the link below. Your form will be submitted to Jose Flores, our school registrar, who will be able to assist you with the registration process.
https://fairfaxvillaes.fcps.edu/new-student-registration-2020-21
Registration for Students in Grades 1-6 New to Fairfax Villa
If you need to register a new student in grades 1-6, please contact Jose Flores, our school registrar, at jlflores@fcps.edu. Please provide the student's first and last name, enrolling parent's first and last name, student mailing address, enrolling parent's email address, and the enrolling parent's phone number. Mr. Flores will be in contact with you via email.
8. Not Returning to Fairfax Villa Next School Year?
In planning for both staffing and materials for the coming 2020-2021 school year, it is extremely important that we have a reasonable projection on the number of students who will be returning to Fairfax Villa ES next school year.
Please complete the Student Intention form for next school year, 2020-2021 Student Intention Form if your student is transferring to:
- Another FCPS school other than Fairfax Villa ES
- A private school in Virginia or out of Virginia
- Another Virginia public school division outside FCPS
- Another state public school outside of Virginia
- Out of the United States
Only those families whose students are transferring need to return the completed form to our Registrar, Jose Flores at jlflores@fcps.edu. Please complete and email this form as soon as possible. If you are unsure what your intentions are for the next school year, please note this on the form.
Visit the FCPS general registration page.
9. Requesting a Refund for Student's Meal Account
Meal account refunds can be requested by emailing the following information to mealaccountrefund@fcps.edu
- Student Name
- Student ID # (listed on the student's schedule)
- School Name
- Parent Name
- Street Address
- City, State and Zip code
- Phone #
On June 30 of each year, balances for all graduating seniors will no longer report in MySchoolBucks. Food and Nutrition Services will have access to balance files and if parents have not requested a transfer or refund by this date, they may still do so up to one year (to June 30 of the following year) using the above methods.
Parents are required to log into www.MySchoolBucks.com and from the homepage dashboard and click “Remove Student." Click the box under “Remove?” for the graduating student’s name.
10. Fine Arts offerings this summer
 11. Resources for Families:
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 To ensure all families in need have access to the Internet, FCPS MiFi delivery continues at elementary schools this week.
FCPS has provided a website for families to answer questions they may have about accessing and troubleshooting Distance Learning. Available in many languages, it covers topics from connecting to the internet to the use of the Student Rights and Responsibilities during Distance Learning. There are also phone numbers to call to get help in different languages.
https://www.fcps.edu/academics/distance-learning/instruction/technology-support
Distance learning is continuing as teachers will provide new instructional opportunities through a variety of tools. Some resources for parents include:
Math and Language Arts Distance Learning Lessons broadcast on Apple 21 can now be accessed by teachers and students on demand. To view, go to Fairfax County Public Schools Distance Learning on YouTube and subscribe. Playlists are arranged by grade level (for math) and content (for language arts).
Content can also be accessed on the FCPS Apple 21 cable television channel and is streaming at https://www.fcps.edu/news-features-and-events/cable-tv/cable-tv-guide.
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