September 12: Flamingo Flock Flies!

September 12 - 18: WTUS Scavenger Hunt

September 14: WTUS Virtual Farm Tour

September 16: Back to School Night

September 18: WTUS Kona Ice Truck

September 18: Deadline for Spirit Wear

September 18: WTUS Virtual Dance Party

September 21: PTA Meeting

Dear Wolftrap families,                                                                                    

Happy first day of school! We hope everyone is enjoying the first opportunity to reconnect with friends and start to understand our new processes for the fall. While we know there will be hiccups along the way,  we also know that our dedicated teachers want to help your child succeed. Please remember that the first few weeks will not feel like a normal schedule until we start our small group instruction. We are slated to begin small groups the week of September 22. Please read this update carefully as there is a lot of important information.

First Tuesday Folder:

Every year we put together a First Tuesday Envelope to send home with students. The envelope contains a variety of forms to be reviewed, completed, and returned to the school (Emergency Care, Opt Outs, SR&R, etc). This year’s First Tuesday Envelope is on the Wolftrap ES website and can be found at https://wolftrapes.fcps.edu/node/2206

After you have reviewed the information and completed the necessary forms, you can either email them to the school or drop them at the office. Please return forms by October 8.

Contact the office if you have questions.

Class Recordings:

Teachers will be recording teacher-led whole group instruction. This includes the daily math and language arts focus lessons as well as science/social studies instruction, if conducted in the whole-group session. No small groups or individual sessions will be recorded. Access to the recording will be restricted to only those students in the class and only using FCPS approved tools. Teachers will be posting the daily recordings directly on Google Classroom.

Mondays:

As I explained in my previous message, we will be using the first two Mondays to conduct some of our individual assessments and teachers will be sending you details about this. Once we are in our normal routines, Mondays will look different as small groups will begin. Teachers will be communicating which students they need to see in small groups on Monday via their Weekly Communication template that will be emailed to you on Fridays. Students who receive special services will also have assigned times on Mondays and that will be communicated separately than the whole-class template. Also on Mondays, students will have assigned asynchronous work per FCPS guidelines: PreK-2: 150 minutes (2.5 hours); Gr 3-6: 180 minutes (3 hours). Wolftrap will also be offering extracurricular activities on Mondays beginning in a few weeks. This will be a chance to participate in fun opportunities such as art enrichment, music clubs, extra band time, etc. Our specialists and resource teachers will be creating weekly opportunities and classroom teachers will be sending those out so students can pre-register to receive the appropriate links. Also we are developing our guidelines for curbside library checkout with Ms. Stubbs on Monday afternoons!

Laptops:

We have heard from some parents that they were expecting new laptops to be issued from FCPS. While all high school students and middle school students received a device as part of FCPSOn, elementary school students are not in this program yet. With that being said, the School Board did purchase new laptops for this year for all 6^th graders in FCPS. We then received inventory from the middle and high schools so that we could distribute laptops to students who requested them in grades K-5. We do not have newer models than the computers we issued and Mr. Campet and Mr. Dabbondanza worked this summer to reimage every computer to get them in the best shape possible. If you need technology support, please see https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/technology-support-families and/or call the Parent Technology Help Desk at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS).  This will be answered by staff members between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week.  Please specify if you need an interpreter when you call. You can also Submit a request online. 

Testing:

As you may know, some of our standardized testing will be occurring online at the beginning of the year. We will start with the universal screener, which will be given to students in K-6^th grade. The universal screener provides an initial view of all students’ foundational skills to help teachers identify students who may have challenges in reading or mathematics. Your child’s classroom teacher will be sharing information with you about the testing schedule and logistics for completing the test, during September and October. You will be receiving an email with notification of testing and information about how tests will be administered. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Grove.

Family Life Education (FLE):

Family Life Education includes two units of instruction.  Emotional and Social Health (ESH) in grades K-6 and Human Growth and Development (HGD) in grades 4-6.  Due to full virtual instruction, we will delay Human Growth and Development (HGD) instruction until second semester.  Emotional and Social Health (ESH) may be instructed as it is typically, so those lesson may be taught virtually.  Please note that you may opt out of any of these lessons, and the opt out forms are included in your Beginning of Year forms.

Thank you again for your continued support!

Teresa Khuluki

Principal

Join the Pack! PTA Membership and Friends of Wolftrap
We are looking forward to a fantastic year filled with exciting events and enrichment opportunities for our Wolftrap community.  As a PTA, we wouldn’t be able to offer this diversity and depth of programming at Wolftrap without the generous continued support of our families.

Every child benefits from PTA programming whether or not you join, but we do more when we all do our part. A Friends of Wolftrap donation in particular makes the critical difference in what we are able to offer at Wolftrap. Check that box and join here now!

Anyone who joins from now until Sept 18th will be entered to win one of two $25 Pazzo Pomodoro gift certificates for yummy food and $50 worth of Giant Gift cards. Winners will be announced during the first PTA Meeting, Sept 21. 

Where can you see goats, dance, eat iceys, and participate in an epic Scavenger Hunt?! At WTUS of course! The PTA is hosting a week-long series of events to celebrate this year's back-to-school. Thank you to local orthodontist, Ghaffari Orthodontics, for sponsoring our Wolftrap Under the Stars events this year! 

Everything you need to know about WTUS and access sign-up for each on our website here. The events are:

The Wolftrap PTA has a flock of 40 pink plastic flamingos that are ready to flock our neighborhood. They have already flocked Wolftrap. You too can send our flock of flamingos in flock sizes of 10, 20, or 40 to a fun loving friend's yard. This is a great option to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. The flock stays for two days and then migrates to its next flocking location. 

Want to name one of our flamingo friends? For only $2, you can name one of our feathered friends. As of Monday, September 7th, seven flamingos have been named. The latest flamingo names are Molly, Mrs. Birdett, Red Skull, Pemberton, Flappy, Giselle, and HappyHanz.
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Need more details and want to sign-up? Check out our website here. Have fun flocking!

We are continuing to work on ways to keep all our families up to date on Wolftrap happenings. Please send your suggestions to communications@wolftrappta.org. Thanks!

Thank you to Porch.com for its Friends of Wolftrap Sponsorship! Porch.com's generous sponsorship will help the PTA better support its missions this year.