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Dear North Springfield Community,
Wow, this year is moving faster than expected. Friday, October 30th is the end of the first quarter and school will end two hours early at 1:30. Monday, November 2nd and Tuesday, November 3rd are teacher workdays and there is no school.
We know many of you have questions around all the news about returning to school. Once we have more of the details worked out we will hold a parent coffee to answer questions and explain the vision for what it will look like for NSES students. What we know now is that our Kindergarten students who have chosen to return to in-person learning will start on November 17th and will be followed by our first and second graders on December 1st. At the moment these dates are still being referred to as tentative but we are currently planning for this timeline to be followed.
A letter was emailed to our Prek and K families earlier this week and one will soon be coming to our first and second grade families. If you would like to change your choice from July please contact the office before October 30th. We are sending these according to how the county would like us to begin this communication, and will send the 3rd-5th grade letter soon as well.
This past week our students in our Preschool and PAC classes returned to school, and we are so excited to have them back. Our littlest learners have done a fantastic job wearing their masks and following all the protocols. Hats off to our preschool staff as they have done an amazing job preparing for their return.
Thank you for your continued support. Stay healthy and stay tuned as more information will be coming as we plan for students to be back in the building.
Chad McRae and Leslie Malkowski, Administrative Team
North Springfield Elementary
Looking for a fun way to meet with friends, learn about nature, participate in fun projects, and help our school become more green? Then join the NSES Eco Club this year! Students in grades 1 through 5 are welcome to join. The Eco Club will meet virtually on the following dates: November 17, December 8, January 26, February 23, and March 23 from 4:15 – 5:00 PM. Ms. Ferguson, Ms. Jenkins, Ms. Runge-D’Amore and Ms. Fawcett are working with the Eco Club this year. We are excited to announce that the PTA has generously approved a grant to fund supplies for grow-at-home seed kits for our members too.
Here is a link to a short survey to sign up your child to attend. Students will receive an invite to their fcpsschools.net email account to join our sessions.
We have a fun upcycle project planned for our first meeting. Start saving a few items you would ordinarily throw away or recycle that you’ll need for this such as: ribbon spools, glass or plastic bottles, oatmeal container, juice carton, toilet paper rolls, old coloring pages, and paper bag. You are welcome to email any of our Eco Club teachers with questions: jkjenkins@fcps.edu; kmrungedamor@fcps.edu; referguson@fcps.edu; or kafawcett@fcps.edu. We can’t wait to see you!
The PTA is excited to announce that we have funded all requests for grants that were received this year! A total of $2,824.40 will be dispersed to teachers. The following requests have been approved: enough books for all kindergarteners to have 8-10 books sent home to support beginning reading at various levels; an online library of hip-hop videos and lessons that cover all content areas for the first grade, four class sets of leveled books for guided reading for the first grade; a phonics-based reading program for the second grade along with instructor kits, establishing a class library for a new teacher and adding diverse books for other teachers in the fourth grade; enough Boomwackers, a percussion instrument, for an entire class for music; and supplies for Grow at Home kits for fifty members of the Eco-Club. Thank you for the generosity of parents, teachers and community members over the years! The successful fundraising in the past has made it possible to fund these requests this year- and we have another round of grants in the spring! Please use this link https://northspringfield.new.memberhub.store/store to join the PTA or donate to help us do good things!
To support families who are working with their children during distance learning, FCPS has launched a new Parent Technology Help Desk, effective Monday, August 24. The help desk can be reached at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS) and will be answered by staff members between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week.
Parents or guardians can call this number for basic tech support with parent accounts, help with FCPS student devices and technical assistance with other FCPS applications. If help desk staff members are unable to solve the issue, they will enter a support ticket on behalf of the parent/guardian to escalate the issue to the appropriate FCPS team. Parents who need help in a language other than English can inform the help desk staff when they call of their preferred language, and an interpreter will join in on the call.
FCPS has also set up Parent and Student Technology Support portal at https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/ to allow older students and parents/guardians to request technology help directly. When a support request ticket is entered through the portal, it is auto-routed to the TSSpec at the appropriate site to expedite service.
 Curbside Library Check Out
Students are now able to check out print books from the school library. Please follow the steps below. Contact Mrs. Madigan (mbmadigan@fcps.edu) if you have any questions.
How to check out print books from the North Springfield Library:
- Log in to Destiny Discover and put up to 5 books on hold by 9am Monday morning.
- You will get an email (to your fcpsschools.net account) when your books are ready.
- Someone can come to school to pick up your books on Mondays (12-2pm) at Door 1.
- Make sure you are wearing a mask and standing at a safe distance from the door. Look for your name on a post-it note.
- You have 2 weeks to pick up your holds. After that, the will be made available to other students. If you need more time, please email Mrs. Madigan.
Library Book Return
- You still have 3 weeks before books are due, and you can renew items from your Destiny account.
- If you need more time and aren't able to renew the books on your own, email Mrs. Madigan (mbmadigan@fcps.edu).
- Library books can be returned on Mondays (12-2pm). Place them on the cart marked Library Book Returns outside Door 1 (main entrance). You can also return books from the spring during this time.
- Do not touch any other books on the book return cart.
Encouraging Positive Behaviors at Home Series
10/22 Challenging Behaviors: Prevention Strategies and Teaching Self-Control
11/19 Challenging Behaviors: ABCs of Behavior & How to Respond
12/17 All Behavior Happens for a Reason: Behavior as Communication
01/21 Strategies for Increasing Replacement Behaviors
02/18 Teaching your Children to Follow Directions
03/18 Effectively Communicating with Your Child
04/22 Minimizing Prompts and Maximizing Your Child’s Independence
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