Dear Beech Tree Families, Happy Monday! I do hope that you and your families are taking advantage of every moment you can spend outdoors. Our current virtual existence is placing all of us, of all ages, indoors for extended periods of time. It has also increased your level of multitasking. So please remember that self-care and time outside is vital for us all to make it out of this healthy and happy. We will continue to get through this together #BeechTreeFamily. For our parents of our Kindergarteners, the Virginia state government expects all schools to take part in the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP). The VKRP assesses literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills. Kindergarten students in Fairfax County Public Schools take the iReady universal screener reading test for VKRP literacy. Teachers interview students using the Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS) for VKRP mathematics. After observing the student 3-4 weeks, teachers complete the Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS) for VKRP self-regulation and social skills. All VKRP assessments are given in the fall and spring of kindergarten. Students take the reading test in the winter, as well. Schools set specific testing dates for each class. VKRP is designed to help state officials understand school readiness and student success across Virginia. VKRP results also help teachers, school leaders, and parents know how to support each child's learning and development. If you have questions about VKRP assessments, please visit https://www.fcps.edu/node/38799 or contact your child's teacher. As usual, all of our students are encouraged to join their grade level for Morning Meeting at 9:15am, using the Monday Morning Meeting link sent by their homeroom teacher. Afterwards, students may attend sessions offered at 10:15am and/or 11:15am. Students may remain in their Morning Meeting link for grade level sessions or use the session links sent to their Gmail account to participate in specials lessons and activities. Should you have any questions regarding specials, please reach out to the specialists using their emails below in the “Reminders” section. Here is Monday’s schedule:

Remember, Mondays through Fridays, when students log in to their Morning Meeting, teachers will take attendance. If students are unable to participate on any given school day, parents must report the absence to the school office: Beechtreeelem.attendance@fcps.edu Please email the teacher, to keep him/her informed, as well.

If you have not yet completed our consent form for your child to use the FCPS-approved online tools listed on the school website as part of the instructional program. https://www.fcps.edu/node/41989, please do so now. This allows teachers to continue seeking additional methods of virtual engagement.

“Library Curbside Pickup” continues to be available on Mondays from 1-3pm and Wednesdays from 4-6pm. Students need to place their holds in our catalog by the end of the day on Fridays. Students can place up to 5 holds.  Here is a link to our catalog. . Please remember that you must log in using your username and password.  This is the same information you use for logging onto your computer. Once a hold is placed, I will check out the items and send an email about when you can pick up your items.  Emails will be sent to the Students’ school email account for grades 3-5 and parents email for K-2. If you would like the email sent to a different account, please contact our Librarian, Tina Britton at clbritton@fcps.edu.

Books will be placed in a large manilla envelope with the student’s name on it.  The envelopes will be placed on a table outside the front door. Students will pick up their envelope and be on their way.  Ms. Britton will be sitting in the lobby monitoring the pickup. Please place books you are returning in the box.  Put your envelope in the other container.  Books will be quarantined for one week before they are checked in.

Please watch the video  if you need a refresher on how to place a hold.  Please email Ms. Tina Britton at clbritton@fcps.edu with any questions or concerns.

Please take a moment to 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  https://forms.gle/4VCeDgMCzRKWy79X6 . This form must be filled out for each child enrolled at Beech Tree.

Karim Daugherty

Principal

Beech Tree ES

703-531-2600

 https://twitter.com/BeechTreeElem

https://beechtreees.fcps.edu/

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

REMINDERS:

Beech Tree Office Contacts

Spanish Speaking Parent Liaison: Stella O’Brien at msobrien@fcps.edu

School-Based Technology Specialist (logging on/using programs): Mike Meyer at mkmeyer@fcps.edu

Technology Specialist (laptop issues): Tom Kindregan at tpkindregan@fcps.edu

Registrar: Susan Do at sndo@fcps.edu

Attendance Secretary: Sheila Hudson at skhudson@fcps.edu

Principal’s Secretary: Esther Baca at ebaca@fcps.edu

Assistant Principal: Maureen Lopez at MMLopez1@fcps.edu

Advanced Academics Resource Teacher: Patty Settel at pasettel@fcps.edu

Beech Tree Specialists Contacts

Kiri Cooper, Music Teacher at kncooper@fcps.edu

Meriem Bacha, Arabic Teacher at MBacha@fcps.edu

Greg Skrtic, Art Teacher at GGSkrtic@fcps.edu

Yolanda Adams, Guidance Counselor at yeadams@fcps.edu

Mike Jenkins, PE Teacher at MWJenkins@fcps.edu

Tina Britton, Librarian at clbritton@fcps.edu

Miller Susens, Strings Teacher (4th & 5th) at msusens@fpcs.edu

Lindsay Bowen, Band Teacher (5th) at ldbowen@fcps.edu

Kristen Hollen, STEM Teacher at kmhollen@fcps.edu

Bilingual Community Liaisons

Bilingual community liaisons support student registrars by providing families with information about school and community services offered in Fairfax County. Community liaisons also help parents fill out forms and complete applications:

• English and Korean: 703‐204‐4317

• English and Spanish: 703‐204‐4316

• English, Arabic, and French: 703‐204‐4315

Beech Tree Digital Resources

Parent Resources for Distance Learning: https://beechtreees.fcps.edu/resources/parent-student-distance-learning-resources

Video Tutorials for Distance Learning: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSz76NCRDYQHSc6ySaw5Nq-We-fzPsQ_i

Grab & Go Food

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will continue to provide “Grab-and-Go” meals during the upcoming school year. Our goal is to provide every student in FCPS daily access to a healthy breakfast and lunch during this pandemic:https://www.fcps.edu/news/coronavirus-update-food-resources

Internet Access

If you still need internet access and would like to borrow a MiFi device from Fairfax County Public Schools, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/CiEvUmnQqPGUczmo9 

If you participate in, or are financially eligible for one of these government subsidies programs: The National School Lunch Program (Free and Reduced Lunch), Head Start, SNAP, TANF, WIC, LIHEAP or Public Housing, you may complete this form for internet service assistance: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IDnBPwLC5VhECPBrXVi__o5gMBisj_oI/view

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates:

Please continue to check updates through our Fairfax County Public School website.  We hope that you and your family are staying safe, happy and healthy during these ever changing times. 

To find the last updates from Fairfax county please go to https://www.fcps.edu/news/coronavirus-update

You can also find updates from The Center of Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html

3401 Beechtree Lane, Falls Church, VA 22042  | Main Phone: 703.531.2600
Attendance: 703.531.2626 | Web | Twitter