Administration Note
Dear Parents,
We are looking forward to new morning activities for Mondays! See the information below to have your child sign up in the google form. Our specialists are excited to have your child participate!
Note that Monday is a student holiday. FCPS is observing Indigenous People's Day. As a result, there will be NO morning meeting nor other activities for the students. There won't be any library book pick up nor other packet pickup on Monday, October 12th. These pickups will resume on Tuesday, October 13th from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
A gentle reminder that we need parents to remit absences or tardies in the online attendance form . This form will email the teacher and the office regarding attendance delays and absences. This will ensure that you won't have to follow up with the office and separately communicate with the teachers.
We have also included a note from the PTA below- please do Join the PTA and also contribute to One & Done. Thanks to the 132 families who have contributed to One & Done. Our teachers have truly benefitted with the beginning of the year checks! We appreciate partnering with you and your generosity.
Warmly,
Holly McGuigan Pier McGrath Tia Hawkins
Principal Assistant Principal Assistant Principal
Advanced Academic Updates
The Advanced Academic Referral window for students NEW to FCPS in grades 3 through 6 is September 8 - October 8, 2020. The referral window for ALL other students in grades 2 - 6 has been accelerated. It will begin on September 8 - December 1, 2020. Our Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) Debra Bulford, drbulford@fcps.edu has recorded two sessions for parents to review.
- AAP Overview - This video will provide you with information regarding the different levels of service available to all FCPS students.
- AAP Screening Process - This video will provide you with information on how to refer your child for Level III, or IV services.
We will host Q&A sessions. You should only attend one session per topic as needed. To help us prepare, here is a google link to input your questions.
- AAP Overview: 10/13 from 6 - 6:30 p.m. at this link.
- Referral Process: 10/15 from 6 - 6:30 - p.m. at this link.
Additional information regarding AAP Screening and Identification can be found by visiting the county website
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Family Choice Board!
We have added a family choice board to our website and will include in our weekly news to parents. This choice board is an optional activity guide (non virtual) to provide family fun and creative thinking that will not include your laptop! You may choose to use this board during the Family Lunch Hour, in the afternoon or on the weekend!
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Monday Morning Activities
We are excited to offer a four-week session of Specialized Instructional Activities on four Mondays, October 19, 26, November 9 and 16. Activities will range from yoga to bucket drumming, mixed media art projects and reading in French. Led by our multi-talented Specialists, groups will be limited to 20 students and use Google Meet through a Google classroom invitation. Activities will be offered to all grade levels.
Sign up for grade-level specific sessions using this Google Form
Positivity Character Strength - Being Present and Other People Matter
This week, we are working on ONE of the FIVE overarching components of the Positivity Project. Being present and giving others my attention is an important component of building strong relationships.
Being present means fully enjoying the moment that you are in. It is the moment when you are calm and you know exactly what you want. You are focused on what you're doing without thinking about anything else. That's when life is more real.
Just like plants need sunlight to grow, our relationships need attention. The research is crystal clear, relationships are the cornerstone of health, happiness, and resilience. And, if we don’t give our attention to the people we’re building relationships with – whether family members, close friends, or even distant colleagues – we can’t build those relationships.
October - Bully Prevention Month
National Unity Day is Wednesday, We encourage all KG Lions to join us on every Wednesday in October by wearing ORANGE to represent our stand against bullying. Bullying can be physical- like intentionally hitting, pushing, shoving, or tripping someone. It can also be emotional like repeatedly name calling, teasing, excluding others, or spreading rumors about others. Bullying can happen anywhere ~in schools, playgrounds, neighborhoods, or through technology. Sending mean text messages, posting statements online that are unkind or not true or agreeing with someone who posts negatively about someone can be examples of Cyberbullying.
Bullying is NEVER OK or ACCEPTABLE!
Help us take a stand against bullying. If you see something or know something about someone being bullied, please report to a trusting adult. For more information on bullying you can go to your school counselor or visit trusted websites such as… pacer.org/bullying.
Walking Wednesdays!
Walking Wednesdays is a county-wide community program designed to promote physical and mental health. FCPS Safe Routes to School in collaboration with Fairfax County Park Authority’s Move Your Way and Healthy Strides campaign encourages students and parents/guardians to take time each Wednesday to walk and connect with friends, neighbors and classmates before the school day and workday begins. Whether your walk takes you around the block, to the bus stop, or to your school, we hope you will find others out walking and can greet one another from a distance.
Walking Wednesdays will kick off on October 7, 2020, which is International Walk to School Day. Coming in November will be Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on November 18, 2020. More information about Walking Wednesdays can be found here.
Families, neighborhoods or schools can register their participation in International Walk to School Day on October 7, 2020 here.
Here are some ideas for your neighborhood Walk to School Day 2020.
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We would love for you all to share some love for our Kent Gardens Staff members. One option to recognize them is through the FCPS Cares Program. This site provides an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can acknowledge our fabulous KG staff members. |
PTA News - One and Done!
Contribute to One & Done here - Help us reach our participation goal! It is just like it sounds...you make one contribution and you're done for the year! We only have a few more weeks to try to reach our goal of 50 percent family participation. A huge THANK YOU to the 132 families who have contributed so far!!!
This school year the One and Done campaign will support our students with programs that make KG an exciting, vibrant, and thriving school, such as:
- Curriculum Support: Resources and funds to support every educational area (Math, Science, Reading, Art, etc.), plus assemblies, author visits, and more.
- Technology Investments: Upgrades and replacements, software licenses, and more.
- Teacher Support: Teacher incidentals fund, professional development and training, and staff appreciation events.
- School and Family Support: state-of-the-art educational materials for classrooms, scholarships so all students can participate in school activities, and purchase supplies our school and teachers need.
The One and Done campaign is our primary source of funds for these programs. Our goal is to enable parents and volunteers to focus on our kids and school - NOT fundraising. Our recommended donation is $150 per family. No donation is too big or too small! We will provide you with a tax receipt for your tax-deductible donation. Don't forget to check if your company does donation matching - your employer just might match your charitable contribution when you give to a nonprofit like the KG PTA!
Everyone who donates this year will be entered into a raffle! Last year, our PTA worked hard to collect donations for gift cards and family experiences from some fabulous local businesses to auction off at our Spring Spectacular. Unfortunately, we were unable to host that event, but we still want to offer up some of these amazing gifts to the Kent Gardens community, so we plan to raffle them off. Everyone who donates will be eligible to win one of these gift cards!
Please do please do Join the PTA ! Our next meeting is October 15th - the PTA has released the link to participate in the meeting.
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