Principals' Message
New School Year is Off to a Great Start!
We were so excited to see all of our returning eagles and newest eagles in their virtual classrooms this week! Each day starts with a Morning Meeting that focuses on building relationships as well as the social and emotional well-being of students. These are similar to the Morning Meetings we conduct every day when in the building in person.
We have been intentional in our decision-making with content areas, breaks, specials, and independent work time. Students will receive virtual instruction five days per week. The week included 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, plus the aforementioned Morning Meeting. Additional intervention will be provided to select students on Monday mornings. We will also create additional opportunities for students to engage in enrichment opportunities on Mondays, stay tuned for those details in upcoming weeks. Specific class and student schedules were shared by classroom teachers. Individual teachers will provide more detailed information about their Monday schedule.
Please continue to reach out to your teachers and share any questions you may have about class time or work. We appreciate your collaboration with us!
Fondly,
Ms. Rucinski & Mrs. Opie
ESOL Open House Tonight
The ESOL teachers, Mrs. Hanna and Mrs. Zayas will be hosting a virtual open house tonight Thursday, September 10th at 7 pm for all ESOL families. This will be your opportunity to meet the ESOL teachers, find out about English support for your students, and ask questions.
Here is the guest link to join. We hope to see you all there! https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/13bbd95a4fb048b5b005bc038c4b5bd8
iReady
The online iReady assessment (also known as 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. Students in grades K-6 will take the iReady reading assessment. Students in grades 1-6 will take the iReady mathematics assessment. More information about the assessment can be found on the FCPS Universal Screener Parent Notification webpage.
This fall, students will take iReady at home instead of at school. Teachers will discuss the assessment with students in advance, including how to log in and what to expect. Resources to help families administer the assessment at home can be found on the FCPS Universal Screener webpage.
For questions, please contact your child’s teacher.
Tech Support for Parents and Students
To support families who are working with their children during distance learning, 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.
FCPS has also set up Parent and Student Technology Support portal at https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/ to allow older students and parents/guardians to request technology help directly. When a support request ticket is entered through the portal, it is auto-routed to the TSSpec at the appropriate site to expedite service.
Calling All Musicians
Would you like to be a part of the strings or band program and learn to play an instrument this year? 4th graders may sign up for strings, and 5th and 6th graders may sign up for band or strings. Visit this site for more information and the enrollment forms.
Grab and Go Meals
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) buses are delivering grab and go meals along some bus routes. School buses will stop at designated intersections to deliver these meals.
All FCPS students (regardless of age) are eligible for free grab and go breakfast and lunch, as well as other county children, under the age of 18. Adults picking up meals for children should let staff know how many children meals they need. Adults may pay $2 for the meals as well.
A bus stops at Gunston Elementary from 8:15 am - 8:25 am. The service will be available Monday - Friday only.
New for this fall: breakfast and lunch meals for Saturdays will be distributed at all sites and bus routes each Friday.
PLEASE NOTE: Updates to bus routes are posted each afternoon by 5pm. Changes will be marked as "new" or "updated".
Arrival times at bus stops may be delayed several minutes due to unexpected issues.
Forms and Virtual First Day Packet
There are several important forms that need to be filled out as the school year begins. Please read below for more information and take action as needed.
Virtual First Day Packet
The Parent Consent Form is just one of the forms we need you to review and/or fill out as the school year begins. Usually we provide paper copies of these forms in our First Day Packet. For this virtual environment, we have adapted that process to a digital format. Please visit the Virtual First Day Packet page on our school website and follow the directions for each form if applicable to your family. Forms listed there include:
Return to School at Gunston Website
Finally, we have created a 2020 Return to School at Gunston page on our school website where we are posting messages from the administrators and links to other pages with important back-to-school information. Please visit often to stay up-to-date with the latest information.
Social/Emotional (SEL) and Family Resources
The GES Clinical Team created a google site for families to access activities and resources that support social emotional learning (SEL), as well as community resources. Activities/ resources are compatible and easily adaptable to any grade level or age. We hope these activities, ideas, and resources will be helpful. In order to access the google site, please make sure you are signed into your child’s google drive: https://sites.google.com/fcpsschools.net/gesstudentserviceteam/home
Please feel free to reach out to anyone on the clinical team (counselor: Kemba Ephraim ktephrain@fcps.edu, school psychologist: Nicole Campbell ncampbell@fcps.edu, school social worker: Courtney Marques ctmarques@fcps.edu) if you ever have questions or need support!
Consent Needed for Select Digital Resources
Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. You can find our school’s list of the resources that require parental consent here https://gunstones.fcps.edu/adopteddigitalresources
Included on this page is also a link to a form where the enrolling parent or guardian will need to indicate whether or not their student is allowed to use the list of digital resources this year.
Students Rights and Responsibilities
Parents and guardians, please review the Student Rights and Responsibilities and related resources at www.fcps.edu/srr. After reviewing the information, fill out the SR&R Parent Acknowledgement Form using this link we have provided. The form must be filled out one time per student.
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PTA News & Announcements |
PTA Meeting
PTA's first meeting of the year is a virtual Zoom meeting which takes place Thursday, September 17th at 7:00 pm. New members welcome. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/96823271123
Join the PTA today!
We hope that you will join us in our efforts this year and choose to renew your membership in the PTA or choose to join the PTA. It is $10 for the year and is a very easy process. You can sign-up in the store on our website, gunstonpta.org. You will receive your membership card right away.
 Spirit Wear will be mailed directly to your address (shipping costs will be incurred).
******** Please order using this LINK. *********
Kona Ice Fundraiser
Date: Monday, September 14th
Time: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Food Truck will be parked at Gunston Plaza Shopping Center
Why: Let's celebrate the beginning of the school year and support the PTA by enjoying Kona Ice! Kona Ice will donate 20% of the proceeds to the Gunston PTA.
SAVE the Shoes
Our school plans to collect gently used shoes this fall. Our goal is to collect 1000 pairs of shoes to raise $1,200. The shoes will be sent to developing nations to provide an economic opportunity for micro-entrepreneurs. It is also a way to help the environment by repurposing shoes. We plan to use the money to buy supplies to help the school purchase distance learning supplies for when we eventually return to school. We will leave a donation box near the front door of the school. Thank you for your support!
Start Date: September 30th
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