Please join us to recognize and honor all Veterans who served and those still serving our country for an outdoor Flag Raising Ceremony.
WHEN: November 11 at 8:15 AM
WHO: WSES Military, Veterans and their families
WHERE: Front car loop by flagpole
Join us to commemorate Veterans Day for a flag raising ceremony to honor our WSES military families and community.
Please observe Covid-19 health and safety guidelines and wear a mask at all times and stay within 6 feet from other families. Attendees should not attend if they have symptoms of, a positive test for, or were recently exposed to (within 14 days) COVID-19.
We look forward to celebrating with you, 6 feet away, on Wednesday!
In lieu of our traditional in person Veterans Day celebration, we are honoring our service members virtually.
If you would like to have your child honor your family's service member, please use the link below to create a FlipGrid video clip. Please note these videos will be shared publicly in our News You Choose for families to view.
Some guiding information to include in your child's/children's video:
- Student Name and Grade
- Students must use their Google login/pw to add a video
- Service Member Name & Relationship to the Student
- When and where your service member served
- Show a closeup picture or have the member join the student for the video if possible, but not required
Thank You Signs
Students are encouraged to make ‘thank you’ signs to honor our military families and veterans for display in their house window/front door and have displayed by November 11.
November 11 Spirit Day Wear red, white and blue on November 11th to honor our military families.
November 11 at 8:15 AM Flag Raising Ceremony for our Military Families/Veterans following health and safety protocols.
Thank you Flip Grid (directions above)
Guest Visitor Talk to your child's teacher and stop by virtually next week to share with students your role in the Military and a quick Q&A.
Family Guided to Return to School
For those returning soon, the Return to School Guide is a great resource.
Lunch Bunch
This is our last week of lunch bunch since we are welcoming back more students and our specialists are returning to the building to support in person learning. We are sorry to end these popular virtual gatherings but happy to see students in person soon!
Scholastic Book Fair is HERE!
While the Fair will be exclusively held online this year, we still plan on making it a fun and joyous experience for our kids. The Online Fair will include features like: West Springfield ES’s own online store, games for kids, virtual store walk-throughs and more. Remember, every dollar you spend will benefit our school directly (25% back in rewards!). Save these dates and view our school’s Fair site:
Fair Dates: November 10th – November 23rd
Online Store: WSES Online Book Fair
School Hours and School Grounds
Now that we have small group of students returning, we want to remind our families our school hours: 8:50 AM – 3:30 PM and our school grounds and playground are closed to the public during those hours.
Kindergarten Mystery Book Bags
Now that curbside pickup is up and running, we would like to expand it and offer Kindergarten students the opportunity to have mystery bags chosen for them by our library staff. If you would like your student to receive a mystery bag please contact Ms. Blauser at tdblauser@fcps.edu along with your student’s name and the types of books (princess, holiday, dogs etc.) they might like. We will be pulling books on Mondays each week and they will be available outside of the school on Wednesdays as part of our curbside pickup tables in a plastic Ziplock bag. Each bag will have your student’s name and teacher on it. If you cannot pick up your student’s books on Wednesday, please don’t worry. They will be available outside for pickup each day for one full week. Each bag will have 3-4 books in it. We look forward to picking out books for your students.
Attendance Matters
Here is how you may report your child’s absence, including tardies, and asynchronous participation:
Attendance Line | 703-912-4444
Main Office | 703-912-4400
Online | westspringfieldelem.attendance@fcps.edu
Positivity Project
This week's character strength is Bravery – Bravery lets you act with mental moral, or physical strength even when you know things are difficult or scary. Bravery comes from having something to be brave about. Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference. Let us be bold. Let us be brave. Let us be together. It is the courage to continue that counts. Bravery never goes out of fashion. Find out more about Bravery by watching this video. Next week’s character strength: Gratitude
REQUIRED FORMS
In person Return Health Commitment Form**
Health Information
Digital Resource Permission
Identification of Military Connected Students
Students Rights and Responsibility (SR&R)
OPTIONAL FORMS
FLE Opt-Out
Survey of Homeless Students
FCPS Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights and Opt-Out Forms
Band and Strings Sign Up (Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Grade Only)
Free/Reduced Lunch Application
These webpages are continuing to be updated as the situation for the 2020-21 school year evolves. The FAQ page includes a date by each question to identify the latest updates.
Food Distribution
Please use this link to access the most up to date locations and times for food distribution.
Save the Date
Wednesday, November 11 8:15 AM Military Families Special Event
Red, White and Blue Spirit Day
2-hour Early Release – Veterans Day
No in-person students
Monday, November 16 PTA Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 10-23 Scholastic Book Fair
Wednesday, Nov. 25-27 Thanksgiving Holiday
Hello Mustangs! Welcome to our “mental health corner”, brought to you by our School Psychologist, School Social Worker, and School Counselors. Please feel free to check out our Counseling Corner Website for more about us and lots of resources! You must be signed into a student FCPS google account to access this.
This month we are sharing a resource about helping children adjust to returning to school. As some children begin to return to in-person learning it’s normal for there to be a period of adjustment and uncertainty. Some children may feel excited while others may feel nervous and hesitant. Children who will remain virtual may also have some difficulties with re-adjusting to virtual learning as others return. Click here for an article that discusses some ways to support your children during this new way of learning.
For younger kids, there is also a great book out called, “Heroes Wear Masks: Elmo's Super Adventure”. This book is all about wearing masks, safety procedures, and going back to school. Available across retailers.
Another great resource for families is the FCPS Parent Resource Center, which offers FREE virtual workshops every month. Click here to register & learn more.
Your mental health & wellness team, Kimberly O’Connor & Jill Wolverton (Counselors), Jen Lynch (Social Worker), & Sophia Antoci (Psychologist)
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