Even teachers need a screen break :)
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Back to School Night this week. We enjoyed meeting you and sharing our plans for the year. We continue to appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate the technical world of virtual learning. Not everything will be perfect, but we will continue to do our very best for each of our students.
Below you will find information about our wonderful PTA. The PTA does so much for Oakton students, staff, and community. We truly would not be the great school we are without them. Please consider joining! PTA fundraising goes directly to our students - with these funds, we purchase classroom library books, reading programs (such as Fundations), math manipulatives, student laptops, music instruments, PE equipment, and so much more. Also below you will find where to purchase OES spiritwear. Every Friday is SPIRIT day - and we love to hype our school by sporting our Panther wear! Finally, you will see an opportunity for students to participate in Enrichment activities. If your child is looking for more to do outside of the school day - this is a great opportunity to explore new activities.
This week, students will be learning about Curiosity. Curiosity is a crucial component of one's character. Our innate urge for discovery and exploration is a key element of our human desire for wisdom and knowledge. It’s what keeps us intrigued in the plotlines of movies and books. It’s what pushes us to try new activities or travel to different places. All individuals experience curiosity, but differ in their willingness to experience it – behaviorally, intellectually, and emotionally. Curiosity is associated with novelty seeking. Novelty-seekers are more willing to endure risks – such as physical risks of skydiving or social risks of meeting new people – in order to gain the benefits of new experiences. Curiosity is also associated with being receptive to exploring new ideas, feelings, or values – which carry their own inherent risks and rewards.
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Assessments Update
In the next few weeks your child will be taking a variety of assessments across content areas. The purpose of these assessments is to determine students’ areas of strength and growth. This data will help drive the teachers’ instruction and enable differentiation to best support your child this school year. These assessments will not be graded. To ensure equity, these assessments should be completed independently by the student. Below are a few suggestions on ways to encourage your child, rather than help, while they take assessments in the virtual environment.
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Remind your child that the assessment is not graded and will be used by their teacher to help them learn this school year. It is okay if they do not know the answer to a question as it will tell the teacher that they need help to learn that concept.
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Examples of How You Can Encourage Students During Test Taking
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Please Avoid Using These Ideas While Students Take a Test
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- I noticed you are working hard on this question, keep it up
- Go back and read the question carefully
- Try your best
- Take your time, if you need a break get up and stretch
- Sound out the word, use the part you know
- Reread, think about what makes sense
- Don’t spend too much time on any one question
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- Providing the answer
- Giving the definition of a word
- Sounding out a word with a student
- Counting with a student
- Process of elimination with the student
- Pointing to a specific part of the question
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10 Things to Know about Curbside Checkout
1. The OES Library will run our first curbside check out on Friday, September 25th. Students in grades 5 and 6 are invited to participate. These students have had library lessons on how to place holds on books in Destiny.
2. Holds must be placed by 9:00 AM Tuesday, September 22.
3. Students who have holds ready for Friday pickup will receive an automated email to their @fcpsschools.net account the afternoon/evening of Thursday, September 24 If an email is not received Thursday afternoon, the items are not ready for Friday pickup.
4. Pickup hours are Fridays 7:45-9:15AM and 12:15-1:45PM.
5. Please have your student’s name and teacher name written and visible on a piece of paper in the car window to expedite delivery.
6. Please drive through the bus loop and wear a mask during pickup.
7. There will be laundry baskets on a cart for any book returns.
8. Tutorials and “how to” videos are posted in your student’s Google Classroom and in the OES Library Google Site.
9. Questions? Contact Mrs. Harmon at cjharmon@fcps.edu
10. Don’t forget to return your books on any curbside day when you are finished 😊
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AAP Level IV Screening Updates for 2020-21 School Year
Due to the ongoing pandemic, there will be a few adjustments to the Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) Level IV screening processes for the 2020-21 school year. Below please find some important notes for parents.
Timeline for Submitting an AAP Level IV Referral (Sept 8-Dec 1):
- Referrals for AAP level IV screening will be collected between September 8 through December 1, 2020.
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Referral forms will be collected via email, sent to the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) and principal at the local school. The email will count as a digital signature for the referral.
- Please note referrals will not be accepted past December 1 in order to provide ample time for local schools to organize and submit screening portfolios to the central office.
Parent Input:
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Required: A referral form is required for any student (grades 2-7) whose parent would like them screened for full-time services but is not in the 2nd grade screening pool. Parents will be notified by the local school if their second grade student is in the pool by November 1. Parents whose child is in the pool may submit the referral form but are not required.
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Optional: Parents have the option to submit the parent/guardian questionnaire and/or up to four pages of student work samples. These optional materials should be submitted to the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher at the local school when submitting the referral form.
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Discontinued: Awards and certificates will not be part of screening files.
Testing Updates:
- The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) will not be offered this school year.
- The one-time retest option for the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test (NNAT) or CogAT test will not be available this school year.
- There will be a process for students without an abilities test on file to take the NNAT in December. Local schools will determine which students require the NNAT and will reach out to families to schedule safe and socially distanced testing.
- Please note that while private testing that follows guidelines may be submitted, testing is only type of data considered. All ability tests are considered within the larger context of the overall screening portfolio. FCPS does not encourage families to seek additional testing beyond what FCPS provides to all students.
Additional information about the screening process will be shared through local school newsletters. Local schools will also communicate opportunities for parent information sessions on the AAP continuum of services and the screening processes for AAP levels II-IV.
More information, including parent presentation videos and descriptions of all available AAP services K-12, is available online.
  
Upcoming Dates:
September 29 - Advanced Academic Programs in FCPS and at OES, 6:30PM, Virtual Meeting
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