From the Administration
Greetings Belvedere Families,
We are only days away from the start of school, and we are so excited to welcome your child! By now, you and your child should have met with the classroom teacher. If you have not yet been able to meet, please call the school and we will help you schedule a time. Our goal is that each one of you will have a chance to meet your child’s teacher before classes begin.
Teachers have been collaborating to develop plans that will support the learning of every child. Instruction will include whole group and small group opportunities for learning. Every day, including Mondays, will begin with a morning meeting for all students. This will be an opportunity to build and strengthen the classroom community. During morning meeting children engage in greeting one another; they have opportunities to share; they engage in a group activity; and they review the morning message for the day.
After morning meeting on Mondays, some students will participate in small group support and all students will have access to choice sessions in physical education, music, art, and Spanish. Students will also be assigned homework or asynchronous activities for Mondays only. There will be no homework on Tuesdays through Friday.
Classroom teachers will send families weekly communication, including the students’ schedule and learning goals for the week. We encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns you may have.
Tomorrow, Thursday, September 3, we invite you to join our virtual "Principal's Coffee"--a parent Q&A session with us. The details and link are provided below.
We wish you a wonderful Labor Day weekend and look forward to seeing your child next Tuesday, September 8!
Kind Regards,
Cecilia Vanderhye, Principal and Kelly Cabezas, Assistant Principal
Virtual "Principal's Coffee" on Thursday
Ms. Vanderhye and Ms. Cabezas will be hosting virtual monthly “Principal’s Coffee” meetings this year. This will be an opportunity for you to ask questions and hear about what is happening at school. Our first gathering will be on Thursday, September 3 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. in English, and from 3:00-4:00 p.m. in Spanish. Please join using the BBCU link here!
Belvedere Office Closed on Friday, Sept. 4
The Belvedere Office will be closed on Friday, September 4 for a scheduled school holiday and Monday, September 7 for Labor Day. The office will reopen on Tuesday, September 8.
Reminder about Daily Schedules
When school starts on Tuesday, September 8, our daily school schedule begins at 9:20 a.m. and ends at 4:05 p.m. From Tuesday to Friday, we will follow our full-day schedule starting at 9:20 a.m. and ending the day at 4:05 p.m. The Monday schedule will begin at 9:20 a.m. and end at 12:20 p.m. and will look different from the Tuesday to Friday schedule. Your teacher will communicate specifics about the class schedule no later than Thursday, September 3.
You will find the Tuesday through Friday master schedule for all grade levels here.
Free and Reduced Lunch
Fairfax County Public Schools will be offering healthy breakfasts and lunches throughout Fairfax County during the school year. To find out more about this service and find locations click here.
Student name and student ID information will be required at the time of meal pick up.
Belvedere is a Title I school and our Title I status is determined based on the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced price meals. If you think you might qualify for free and reduced meals, please click here to apply. If you need help with the application, please contact the Belvedere office at 703-916-6800 and we will help you with the application. If you would like a paper application, they can be picked up at all food distribution sites.
Digital Consent Form
Fairfax County Public Schools uses a variety of resources to support student learning. In cases where FCPS contracts with a vendor to host student information, FCPS requires that the vendor adhere to the security and privacy requirements specified in a confidentiality agreement included in their contracts. FCPS does not have contracts with every instructional tool vendor. Many valuable instructional tools are governed by Terms of Service (TOS) and include both free and paid tools. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year require parental consent.
Here is where you can find out what tools we are planning on using this year at Belvedere.
You will need to provide parent consent for each child in your household. Please click this link to do that! Instructions on how to complete the consent form are available here.
FCPS Tech Help Desk
To support families who are working with their children during virtual learning, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has launched a new Parent Technology Help Desk, effective Monday, August 24. The help desk can be reached at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS) and will be answered by staff members between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week.
Parents or guardians who need help in a language other than English can inform the help desk staff when they call, and an interpreter will join them live on the call.
If help desk staff members are unable to solve the issue, they will request help from the appropriate FCPS team.
Other Tech Help Resources
For a list of Tech help resources, please visit our website here.
Public Library Equity Access Pass (LEAP)
On October 1, 2020 the Library Equity Access Pass (LEAP) program will launch, providing FCPS PreK-12 students with public library checkout privileges for books automatically, without the need to register for a physical library card. Student names and ID numbers will be provided to FCPL through an automated data download. Families who do not wish to participate shall select the opt-out for LEAP in the 2020-21 SR&R document.
Participating in the LEAP program provides:
- The ability to checkout up to three public library books at a time. At any FCPL library branch, students or parents simply share their name and indicate they are an FCPS student. A virtual account exists and identification is not required.
- Lost or overdue books will not be charged a fine or replacement fee.
- Checkouts are limited to physical books. eBooks and public library digital resources cannot be accessed through this account. Students are welcome to establish a standard public library card for full access.
Laptop Distribution
If you requested a computer for your child to use and have not yet picked it up, please call the school at 703-916-6800 to schedule a time to pick it up.
Student Supplies
School supplies were distributed to students in preschool on Tuesday, September 1, and to students in grades K-5 on Wednesday, September 2. If you were not able to pick up your students’ supplies, please contact the Belvedere office to arrange pick-up.
Please refer to the Belvedere Website here to see what supplies Title I provided, and what you will need to purchase for your student this year.
Upcoming Dates
- Thursday, 9/3: Principal's Coffee (2-3 p.m. English; 3-4 p.m. Spanish)
- Friday, 9/4 and Monday, 9/7: Belvedere Office Closed
- Tuesday, 9/8: Classes Begin
- Tuesday, 9/15: September PTA Meeting
Keep in Touch
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