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Dear Union Mill families,
Thank you to the many parents that were able to attend our Parent Information Session on Monday evening. This was an opportunity to ask general questions about the school year. For those of you that were not able to attend and wonder what was shared, an email with the recording and questions was sent earlier today.
I am thrilled to report we will have an additional Assistant Principal in the Union Mill family as of Monday, October 5. Please join me in welcoming Ashleigh Long to Union Mill. Ashleigh has been working with many on our staff the last two years in her role as a Special Education Resource Teacher with the Office of School Support. Learn more about Ashleigh and the rest of the administrative team and office staff in the bioslides that are included later in this newsletter.
As shared last week, the county has announced changes to the screening process for Advanced Academics for Level IV consideration. Our Advanced Academics Resource Teacher Michelle LaBarbera will be holding a Parent Information Session on Tuesday, October 6, at 5:30 PM before the October PTA meeting. She will share general information on the Advanced Academic Program as well as the screening process for Level IV. If you would like to preview information prior to our meeting, please use these links. English Version Spanish Version
If you would like a preview of the identification process, you can find that here: English Version Spanish Version
Thank you for your continued support during these challenging times.
Hope you have a great weekend,
Kathy
Meet the Administrative Team
Union Mill is led by Principal Kathleen Case and Assistant Principals Jennie Skerker, Elizabeth Obester, and Ashleigh Long. Learn more about us by viewing the following slides.
Meet Our Office Staff
Ever wonder why Union Mill runs so smoothly? It is truly a testament to the dedication and hard work of our amazing office staff led by our Administrative Assistant Susan Brown.
Joining Susan in the front office is our Registrar Leah Milla and the first person most people connect with at Union Mill.
 Megan Bennett handles all of our ordering of supplies, coordinates Community Use, and schedules Watch DOGS. Even though her job has been reformulated during virtual learning, she is crucial to keeping the school running well. (We just gave her more and different jobs to do.)
Traci Turkekul joined our office staff a few years ago and is responsible for Time and Attendance for employees, attendance for students, and she coordinates substitutes for us. She amazingly completes all this work in a part time capacity.
Rounding out our office staff is Maura Quinn. Although Maura technically works in the library, she is part of our staff and when we are short-handed, she is our number one go-to-person. Maura has been very busy assisting Ami Schroder with curbside pick up for library books and organizing books for our bus drop offs, all on Monday afternoons.
FCPS Offers Free Breakfast and Lunch
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 NEW bus stops and times for our area:
6:56 - 7:06 - Braddock Road & Braddock Springs Road
7:08- 7:18 - Little Rocky Run Circle & Waterdale Court
7:20 - 7:30 - Little Rock Run Circle & Rockton Court
7:25 - 7:35 - Cavalier Woods Lane & Cavalier Woods Drive
7:38- 7:48 - Gosling Drive & Ruddy Duck Road
7:50- 8:00- Braddock Road & Orchard Hill Lane
7:56 -8:06 - Liberty Middle School
8:02 - 8:12 - 13630 Bent Tree Circle
8:08 - 8:18 - Centreville High School
8:00 - 12:30 pm - Centre Ridge Elementary - 14400 New Braddock Road
For additional information, please visit this webpage.
Monday Clubs
We had a very successful Clubs kickoff on Monday and many students joined in on the fun. It is not too late for your child to participate in this opportunity. 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.
Last Day to Purchase a 2019-2020 Yearbook is Wednesday
Last year's yearbooks are in and are available for pickup. We will also be selling a limited supply of extra yearbooks until Wednesday, September 30. Each yearbook is $20 (cash only). Please reach out to Susan Brown at SEBrown@fcps.edu as soon as possible to purchase your yearbook. Thursday, October 1, will be too late!
Parent Technology Help
To support families who are working with their children during distance learning, Fairfax County Public Schools has launched a new Parent Technology Help Desk. 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.
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, Monday through Friday, 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.
Library Curbside Pick-up and Bus Delivery of Books
The curbside library pickup and bus library drop offs on Monday have been successful. For more information on these services for students in 1st - 6th grades, please click here. If you have a kindergarten student and want information on the Kinder Library Mystery bag program, please click here. Click on the pictures below to see more photos and a few shared from families this week. If you would like to your photos shared with the community, please email them to unionmillbears@gmail.com.
News from the PTA
Thank you to those who are supporting our school by joining the PTA. Here is a link to their September newsletter. For membership information and more about our PTA and their scheduled activities, please visit their website.
Upcoming Dates
Thursday, October 1 - PTA Spirit Night at Panera - 4:00 - 7:00 PM
Tuesday, October 6 - Advanced Academics Parent Night - 5:30 PM
PTA Meeting - 7:00 PM
Monday, October 12 - No School - Indigenous People's Day
Friday, October 30 - Last Day of 1st Quarter
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