Mustang Message - 9/13/2020

BMP First Day of School

A Message from the Principal

Wow!  We did it!  Congratulations to all the moms, dads and guardians... we did it!  It was a successful start to the school year, even in a virtual-only way.  Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do to support your child!  We continue to be available to support you during this time.  Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions or need assistance in any way.  

And, I wanted to give a shout out to our amazing Parent Teacher Association (PTA) who purchased the blue cinch bag in which your child's school supplies were packed.  We continue to appreciate their commitment for every BMP child!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Williams

 

Back to School Night on Sept. 16

We hope that you will join us for your child's Back to School Night (BTSN) on Wednesday, September 16, 2020.  The purpose of BTSN is to:

  • Welcome families to the school community and foster a school-family partnership for the 2020-21 school year
  • Provide information about the curriculum, daily schedule, learning expectations in a virtual environment, school routines & procedures, family resources and supports to help your child be successful 
  • Share more about your child’s classroom experience from teachers and school staff members

Student Attendance for 2020-21

We welcome our new and returning families for the 2020-21 school year.  We hope this will help families understand the new attendance routines.

In Virginia, public school students aged 5-18 are required to attend school regularly. Parents can assist by:

  • Ensure your student(s) logs in to classes on time, and participates throughout the day.
  • Call or email the school attendance line if your student(s) is unable to participate.
  • Communicate any concerns or questions to the school, such as difficulty logging in or having access to FCPS classes.
  • Reporting any hardship, such as student illness or any issue that might prevent the student from participating regularly.
  • Returning phone calls or emails when notified that their student(s) did not participate that day.
  • Ensuring that your student(s) submit activity logs as directed.

If your child is unable to login to live, face-to-face online instruction with their teacher, the teacher will record the class and post the video within Blackboard/Google Classroom so it can be viewed at a later time. The video can also be used for review.

FCPS staff members will work with parents to ensure that the transition to virtual learning is as smooth as possible. 

More information about attendance is available online

 

Ways to Help Your Child at Home

How to use Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

FCPS has created some student friendly 'how to' videos for distance learning.  We will share this series of videos here.  Our next video goes over how to use Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. Please take a moment to watch this video with your Mustang to become familiar with the login process for this platform. 

 

Social Emotional Wellness

Looking for more ideas on how to support your child’s social emotional development at home? The 7th Annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference kicks off on Monday, September 14. The conference will run for 3 weeks and features multiple keynote speakers who will address social emotional learning and resiliency. Sessions are offered at different times throughout the afternoon and evening to fit your schedule, and you can choose the topics that interest you. The link to sign up is below:

https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/mental-health-and-resiliency/mental-health-and-wellness

 

Parent Technology Help Desk

To support families who are working with their children during distance learning, the Parent Technology Help Desk is available at 1-833-921-3277.  It will be answered by staff 7 a.m.to 11 p.m., seven days a week.  Parents or guardians who need help in a language other than English, interpreters are available and FCPS also has parent information phone lines, available in eight different languages, that can assist with general questions about FCPS.

FCPS has also set up an online portal to allow older students and parents and guardians to request technology help directly. Please use this to submit help request tickets in order to allow us to help you faster!

Get more information about the new Parent Technology Help Desk

 

Specialist Spotlights

A note from our counselor –

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is defined as: the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.  FCPS has publications about SEL during distance learning.

As a counselor, it is my goal to help students achieve success in all three domains of learning, whether that be academic, career, or social/emotional success. Counseling this year will focus on helping your child build social emotional learning skills both in the classroom and at home. Your child’s ability to understand and manage his or her emotions is a vital part of their overall success.  Some of the topics that your child will be covering this year in Counseling:  Empathy, Self-Control, Learning Styles Cooperation, Determination, Focus, Self-Esteem, Cyber Safety, Friendship, Growth Mindset, Self-Regulation.

My hope is that you can come alongside your child, encouraging them when they are overwhelmed.  One way to do this is to help them identify the emotion they are feeling.  Once they are able to identify what it is they are feeling then you can offer affirmation, explaining that what they are feeling is ok and you can see why they would feel this way. At this point, you can offer to help walk them through ways they can change the negative emotion into a positive one.  Ask them what they could do to help change the emotion and I think they will surprise you with their creative ideas!  

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting your learners at home.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with your concerns.  jblanier@fcps.edu

 

Beginning of Year Forms

Please review the table below for required forms as well as information about accessing them online.

Form

Action Needed

Link/Accessibility

Emergency Care Information Form

Required

Emergency Care Form Note: Forms can be updated through weCare@school in ParentVue.

Health Information Form

Not Required: Complete if applicable

Health Information Form

Opt-Out Forms

Not Required: Complete if wanted

Opt-Out Forms

Homeless Student Referral

Not Required:

Complete if applicable

Homeless Student Referral

Identification of Military Connected Students

Not Required: Complete if applicable

Identification of Military Connected Students

Consent to Use Digital Resources

Complete this form for your child to access digital tools for learning

Fill out Consent Form

SR&R confirmation of receipt

Review documents

Complete Acknowledgement Form

Fairfax County Family Life Education Opt Out Request

Not Required: Fill out only if parents want to opt out of instruction

Opt Out Forms

**Note that weCare@school is a part of FCPS 24/7 ParentVue. In order to log into ParentVue it is necessary to have an active SIS Parent Account. If you need a SIS Parent Account, please contact Ms. Jenny Lim at jjlim@fcps.edu.

Form Turn-In Options

  • Complete forms and email them to the main office: Ms. Jenny Lim at jjlim@fcps.edu
  • Drop off completed forms to the Bren Mar Park Elementary front office between the hours of 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, Monday – Friday.
  • Return forms via mail to:

Bren Mar Park Elementary School

6344 Beryl Road

Alexandria, VA  22312

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ms. Lim at jjlim@fcps.edu or call 703-914-7203.

 

Important Upcoming Dates/Events

September 16     Back to School Night, starting at 5:30 p.m.

October 1            Parent Information Night:  Digital Citizenship & Technology

October 12          Student Holiday:  School Planning Day