Important Upcoming Dates

8/24      Grade 6 Laptop Distribution (By reservation only)

8/25      Grade 5 Laptop Distribution  (By reservation only)

8/26      Grade 4 Laptop Distribution  (By reservation only)

8/26       Teacher Assignment Emails

9/2         Virtual Student Orientation

9/8         First Day of Virtual Class

9/21       Virtual Back to School Event - more information to come

9/23       PTA Meeting

10/12     School Planning Day / Student Holiday

Greetings Fairfax Villa Families! IN THIS ISSUE

1. Teacher Assignment Emails
2. Virtual Student Orientation
3. Virtual Back to School Event (Date Change)
4. 2020-21 Fairfax Villa Instructional Schedule
5. Kindergarten Orientation Recording
6. Laptop Distribution for Grades 4,5, and 6
7. Student Passwords
8. Laptops at Home
9. Virtual Student Supply KIT

10. Family Life Education Instructional Program Information (REVISED)

11. PTA News
12. Student Registration (Kindergarten Registration/ 1-6 New Student Registration)
13. Not Returning to Fairfax Villa Next School Year?
14. Resources for Families

1. Teacher Assignment Emails, August 26

On August 26th, our teachers will be sending emails to parents to introduce themselves to their 2020-21 students and caregivers.  The email will include:

1. Teacher Assignment
2. Student Schedule
3. Teacher Communication
4. Virtual Student Orientation
5. Back to School Event

2. Virtual Student Orientation, September 2

On September 2, Fairfax Villa will be holding our first ever Virtual Student Orientation for students and caregivers. The goal is to make the student transition to virtual learning as smooth as possible and to reduce any anxiety leading up to and on the first day of school.

The virtual orientation will include the following opportunities:

• Opportunity to support building relationships and community
• Opportunity to meet the teacher(s)
• Opportunity to provide an overview of how virtual learning will work, such as basic expectations on logging into students’ FCPS Gmail accounts to access virtual classroom links, and how to use BBCU
• Opportunity to answer basic questions and to provide information to prepare families for the first day of school.

3. Virtual Back to School Event, September 21

On September 21st, Fairfax Villa will be holding our first ever Virtual Back to School event for families. This event was originally scheduled for August 28; however, we have decided to select this date to allow families the opportunity to begin engaging  in the learning process and to experience the virtual platform and practices for this year.  We look forward to meeting with families to answer any questions that you may have in the first two weeks about online learning. 

Here is the schedule for the virtual Back to School Event.  A guest link will be shared by your child’s classroom teacher as we get closer to the date.

4. 2020-2021 Fairfax Villa Instructional Schedule

Dear Fairfax Villa Families and Friends,

As we prepare for our first day of school for the 2020-21 school year, we want to share our grade level virtual schedules. The schedules presented today are draft schedules and are subject to change. We have been focused on developing a robust and adaptive instructional schedule that meets the needs of all students and programs. We would like to highlight a few considerations and guidelines that were utilized to develop these schedules.

• All FCPS elementary schools are providing consistent instructional minutes for the content areas.
• Our schedules closely align with a typical school day and schedule. Our students will experience a similar instructional day as they would in our in-person learning environment. As noted in a previous update, our bell schedule will be 9:10 AM to 4:00 PM.
• We understand the concerns around screen time and we have been intentional in our decision-making with content areas, breaks, specials, and asynchronous learning.
• The week will include 4 days of live, face-to-face (synchronous) online instruction with teachers Tuesday through Friday. Mondays will be used for independent learning (asynchronous) and/or individualized instruction.

• Daily schedules for Tuesday through Friday are based on a full day of school to include: Morning Meeting, Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies, Specials, Specialized/Individualized Instruction, screen time breaks, lunch, and asynchronous/independent learning activities.
• To support our families’ schedules, our lunch time and  family choice activity block is the same time across all grade levels.

The first day of school is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, 2020. Please see below for our instructional  schedule.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s schedule, please contact Mr. Gerstner or Ms. An.  

Our very best,

Dave Gerstner, Principal

KJ An, Assistant Principal

Barbara Schmidt, School Based Technology Specialist

5. Kindergarten Orientation Recording

To view the Kindergarten Orientation that occurred on Wednesday, please click below:

Fairfax Villa Kindergarten Orientation - recording_1

6.  Laptop Distribution For Grades 4,5, and 6 

(We are hoping to distribute laptops for K-3 on August 31 and September 1. More information will be coming to the families who signed up for one.)

Grades 4,5, and 6: What to Do 

• Please note: If you or your child are not feeling well the day of distribution, please contact Ms. Schmidt at bdschmidt@fcps.edu to reschedule.

• One parent and the student must attend on Distribution Day. Both must wear masks at all times. You are also welcome to wear protective gloves.

• When entering school property, please park in  the side parking lot and walk to  the table by the Kiss and Ride door for a  staff member to check you in and give you the ID tag cards for your child. 

• You and your child must stay 6 feet away from all other families and staff members.

• You will be given a Covid-19 form to fill out  for both you and your child.

• Once checked in, you will be directed to a table where your child will log into the laptop that is there while you sign the parent responsibility forms. 

• If your child does not remember his/her password from last year, please email Ms. Schmidt at bdschmidt@fcps.edu. She will reset the password and let you know what it is when you pick up the laptop.

• There will be directions on the table for what your child needs to do once logged on. 

• Your child will leave with a laptop, bag, and power cord. 

What to Bring 

• A sheet of paper with 

• Student’s First and Last Name

• Student ID # 

• Password

• If your child does not remember his/her password from last year, please email Ms. Schmidt NOW at bdschmidt@fcps.edu. She will reset the password and let you know what it is when you pick up the laptop.

• A pen for you to use to sign the papers with.

Mandatory Safety Guidelines 

• Masks are required throughout the distribution process.

• Additional staff will be on hand to ensure safety measures are followed.
• All staff members involved with distributing student items will be wearing gloves.

7. Student Passwords

Student passwords will not expire this year! Your student can continue to login to their FCPS computer, Google Apps, FCPS 24/7 Blackboard, and  other FCPS applications that require their username and password.

Password Recovery: (Rising 1st-6th only) We encourage parents to setup password recovery information for their student using the FCPS Account Manager system located here https://itweb.fcps.edu/AccountManager/

8. Laptops at Home

.  If you currently have an FCPS issued laptop at home, please help your school’s technology team prepare devices to receive county updates by doing the following once per week until school starts:

• Plug the laptop into an outlet.
• Turn the laptop on and let it boot up.
• Login to ensure it connects to the internet at that location.
• Launch Google Chrome and visit the FCPS website to ensure the internet is connected on the computer.
• Leave the laptop on and connected to the internet for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, the laptop may be shut down.

9. Virtual Student Supply Kit

Fairfax Villa is working to put together a basic supply kit for each student to begin the school year.  These kits will contain basic supplies needed for virtual learning including art, music, and other educational supplies. As we move forward in the school year,  please be advised that teachers may request additional supplies as necessary. For the parents who pre-ordered supplies in the spring, please feel free to hold onto the supplies to be used for when the students transition back into the school building.

When the Virtual Student Supply Kits are available for pick up, we will follow up with parents.

10.  Family Life Education Instructional Program Information (REVISED)

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve.  Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.

Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program.  Students who are opted out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices.  If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt out forms will be included in your child’s back-to-school/orientation packets and are available online for Elementary (K-6) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-school-academics-k-6/elementary-family-life-education , Middle School (7-8) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/middle-school-academics-7-8/family-life-education-fle, and High School (9-12) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-academics-9-12/family-life-education-fle.  Please fill in the opt-out form and return it to your child’s school prior to Family Life Education instruction.

Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at Elementary (K-6) , Middle School (7-8) , and High School (9-12). FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in FCPS 24-7 (Blackboard) Parent View https://fcps.blackboard.com/.  Account information is available at your local school or online at http://www.fcps.edu/is/instructionaltechnology/247help/parents.shtml.  Grade level-specific lessons are also available at the Fairfax County Regional Library in the City of Fairfax (this location does not have media).  Grade level-specific lessons and media that is not streamed online are available for review at your child’s school library.  Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.

Program questions may be addressed at your child’s school or by contacting Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or by contacting Carrie Reynolds, Health and Physical Education Coordinator at cfreynolds@fcps.edu.

11. PTA News (e-mail: villapta@gmail.com)

NEW LEADERSHIP FOR 2020-2021

We are thrilled to introduce your 2020-2021 PTA Board! 

CO-PRESIDENTS: Jessie Crain & Simon Bowyer

CO VICE-PRESIDENTS: Prachi Lotlikar & Shilpa Prasad

Returning board members: Morgan Crump (Treasurer) & Jessica Sabatino (Secretary)

Our school is in GREAT HANDS with this group. SHOW SUPPORT BY JOINING THE PTA FOR 2020-2021 early! https://fairfaxvilla.memberhub.store/

You may email the PTA board by clicking here. 

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. Resources for Families

• Free Virtual Summer Camps!   Click on the link here to access a variety of free virtual summer camps for your children!

• 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 To ensure all families in need have access to the Internet, FCPS MiFi delivery continues at elementary schools this week.

• Distance Learning Resource for Families

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 Continues

Distance learning is continuing as teachers will provide new instructional opportunities through a variety of tools. Some resources for parents include: 

• Resources and strategies to support students during distance learning: Learning at home.
• Information for Parents: Accessing FCPS technology resources online.
• Where to watch FCPS Instructional Programming.

• Distance Learning YouTube Channel

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.

10900 Santa Clara Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030  |  Main Office: 703-267-2800
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