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Dear Union Mill families,
We had a strong start to the year this week and it has been impressive to see what is going on in classrooms. Our teachers are using multiple ways to have your children engaged in learning and we will be doing some informal assessments over the next few weeks to help inform instruction.
Our teachers look forward to meeting with you next week at our Back to School Night events. Here is the schedule:
Kindergarten - Tuesday, September 15 at 6:00 PM
1st Grade - Tuesday, September 15 at 6:45 PM
2nd Grade - Tuesday, September 15 at 7:30 PM
3rd Grade - Wednesday, September 16 at 6:00 PM
4th Grade - Wednesday, September 16 at 6:45 PM
5th Grade - Wednesday, September 16 at 7:30 PM
6th Grade - Wednesday, September 16 at 8:15 PM
Please look for login information for the event from your child's classroom teacher.
I am excited to share that Monday afternoons have the potential to be very exciting and interesting for your children. Various staff members will be offering some unique learning opportunities to students by way of Monday Clubs. There are three sessions that will run through the first quarter. Session times are 12:30 - 1:15, 1:30 to 2:15, and 2:30 - 3:15. Not all sessions run during all times so please read this brochure for more information. Clubs will begin on Monday, September 21.
Fairfax County Public Schools is providing free breakfast and lunch pickup Monday through Friday mornings for all children 18 years of age and younger. Children do not need to be enrolled in a FCPS school. Here are the bus stops and times for our area:
6:27 - 6:37 - 13630 Bent Tree Circle
6:42 - 6:52 - Braddock Road & Braddock Springs Road
6:56 - 7:06 - Little Rocky Run Circle & Waterdale Court
7:10 - 7:20 - Little Rock Run Circle & Rockton Court
6:58 - 7:08 - Gosling Drive & Ruddy Duck Road
7:15 - 7:22 - Braddock Road & Orchard Hill Lane
7:27 - 7:37 - Cavalier Woods Lane & Cavalier Woods Drive
7:44 - 7:54 - Centreville High School
8:02 - 8:12 - Liberty Middle School
8:00 - 12:30 pm - Centre Ridge Elementary - 14400 New Braddock Road
For additional information, please visit this webpage.
We will continue to work with the Positivity Project (P2) this year. The mission of P2 is to empower America's youth to build positive relationships and become their best selves. This is done by teaching children about the 24 character strengths that exist in all cultures of the world and that are timeless. These character strengths are in every individual and some are more developed in each of us than others. We will help student learn about these strengths and help them grow the ones that need more attention. New this year are resources for families that can be accessed here.
Although we started the school year virtually for all students and staff, please know that there will be some classroom changes if we should shift to an in-person environment. As we do not know what that will look like and if and when that will happen, we cannot plan for that shift yet. We will continue to operate as one, unified school no matter what changes are in front of us this year which is why our motto for the year is #UMES2021United. As always, we will continue to share information with you when we receive it.
Please go to our Union Mill website for helpful technology links.
Have a great weekend!
Kathy
#UMES2021United
Meet Our Counselors
We are fortunate to have two very experienced counselors working with your children this year. Wendy Kourajian has been at Union Mill for over 10 years and joining her this year is Jenna Schmidt. Here is some information about our counselors.
 
News From Our Counselors
The school counselors are anxious to support your child’s academic, career and social/emotional growth this year! It is more important than ever that we are identifying and addressing these needs in our virtual lessons, small groups and through our virtual parent resource page. Please complete the following survey to guide our planning – UMES School Counseling Survey.
Please also encourage your child to visit our UMES School Counseling Google classroom for some additional resources - like our Calming Room and Kindness and Empathy Library!
Meet Our Librarian
We are fortunate to have Ami Schroder as our school librarian. Here is a way to learn more about Ami.
 Your student can put library books on hold using the UMES online catalog. They are being instructed on how to do this during their library time. You can then fill out this form to tell the library staff how you would like to get those books – either in front of UMES on Mondays between 12:30-2:30pm or by choosing one of the listed bus stops in this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyq_PmKUrxbWHSgcJkHyg2InO5PGdr19w0PjbWBpTq9Pz8jw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Kindergarten Parents: you can register you child for the Kinder Library Mystery Bag program by completing this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXTs0kNOELoB2hNk6rW8Bd2jZDeB63t4J1WD5L5MI1FsRryg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Yearbooks Are Here!!
Last year's yearbooks are in and are available for pickup. We will also be selling a limited supply of extra yearbooks on a first come, first served basis. Each yearbook is $20 (cash only). If you have questions, please reach out to Susan Brown at SEBrown@fcps.edu.
Attendance
We are required by the State of Virginia to take attendance each day, Monday through Friday. Each classroom teacher will have a live morning meeting each day where attendance will be taken for the day at 8:40 a.m. Morning Meeting is an engaging way to start each day, build a strong sense of community, and set your child(ren) up for success socially and academically. Parents will receive a message from FCPS each day your child is absent without notice. Parents will be required to notify the school of the reason for the absence and/or if their child participated in independent (asynchronous) learning on days they did not participate in live (synchronous), on-line learning. All whole group lessons will be recorded and posted for student access.
Homework
While we are in the distance learning mode, students will not be assigned homework outside of the school day. Children may have work that needs to be completed independently during the school day during "Specialized Instruction/ Asynchronous" learning time. Students should continue to read each night.
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Band and Strings
CALLING ALL 4th, 5th and 6th Grade Students!!!
We want you to be a part of our Union Mill Strings and Band program.
4th Graders are invited to join Strings.
5th and 6th Graders have the option to join Band or Strings.
Visit our Google Sites at https://sites.google.com/view/home-umes-music/
to learn about our programs and to sign up!
Please register by Wednesday, September 9th.
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Parent Technology Help Desk
To support families who are working with their children during distance learning, Fairfax County Public Schools is launching a new Parent Technology Help Desk, starting, Monday, August 24. The number is 1-833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS). It will be answered by staff 7 a.m.to 11 p.m., seven days a week. If the help desk is unable to solve the issue on the phone with the parent or guardian, they will enter a ticket on the parent’s behalf and the request for help will be transferred to the appropriate FCPS team.
Parents or guardians who need help in a language other than English should let help desk staff know, and an interpreter will join them on the line. (FCPS also has existing 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.
Get more information about the new Parent Technology Help Desk.
Upcoming Dates
Back to School Night - Tuesday, Sept. 15 - grades K-2
Back to School Night - Wednesday, Sept.16 - grades 3-6
First Week Photos
Click on the photo below to see more from our first week of school. Want to include your photos? Please send them to unionmillbears@gmail.com
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