Fairfax Villa Friday Message

Important Upcoming Dates

11/7   Report Cards Available in ParentVue

11/11   Veterans’ Day 2 Hour Early Release (virtual learning ends at 2 PM); NO IN-PERSON CLASSES

11/25 - 11/27 Thanksgiving Holidays

12/1     Last day to submit Advanced Academics Referral

            (Contact:  Cat Wilkins cmwilkins@fcps.edu)

See the complete 2020-21 school year calendar

IN THIS ISSUE

  1. Important Health Room News for In-Person Students
  2. UPDATE: Grab and Go Meals
  3. ParentVUE Account
  4. Technology News
  5. PTA News
  6. Send us your pics!
1

1.New: Revised Health Room Contactless Student Pick-Up and Revised Return to School Procedures

With everyone’s safety in mind during the COVID pandemic, we are transitioning to a new “contactless” student pick-up system during the school day for in-person learners. There are also new procedures for students returning to school after being sent home if they show one of the symptoms below.

Parents and/or guardians, please ring the front door bell, and be prepared to show your photo ID through the glass window. After your ID check, a Villa staff member will escort your student to the front door for pick up. If your student is showing any symptoms of illness, he/she will be sent home with a Sick Student Notification form. The guidelines on this form must be followed in order for your student to return to school, including either a 10 day stay-at-home period from onset of symptoms, or a note from a healthcare provider that explains the symptoms.

In an abundance of caution, if your student presents with any ONE of the following symptoms during in-person learning, they will need to be placed in isolation and picked up within one hour of notification. These symptoms are:

  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • New loss of taste and smell
  • Sore throat
  • Runny nose/congestion
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle Aches
  • Stomachache
  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Headache

**Due to COVID-19 in the community, evaluation by a healthcare provider is recommended for all sick children. **

The following guidelines explain when your child may return to school. A Permission to Return to School form will need to be filled out by the physician before being allowed to return. 

IF NO KNOWN EXPOSURE TO COVID-19 AND:

  • No COVID-19 test or Positive COVID-19 test – Stay home until 10 days from onset of symptoms, no fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication AND symptoms are improving.
  • COVID-19 Test is negative – Stay home until no fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication AND symptoms are improving.
  • Alternate diagnosis by a healthcare provider that explains symptoms – stay home until no fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication AND symptoms are improving or longer per healthcare provider’s instructions.

IF KNOWN EXPOSURE TO COVID-19:

  • No Covid-19 test or negative test: Stay home for 14 days from date of last exposure, no fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication AND symptoms are improving.
  • COVID-19 test is positive: Stay home until 10 days from onset of symptoms, no fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication AND symptoms are improving. 
2

2. Grab and Go Meals

Fairfax County Public Schools is offering no-cost nutritious meals to ALL students through June 30, 2021. Meals are available at school sites and along bus routes.

Beginning Monday, November 9, grab and go bus delivery times and some bus stop locations will change. The updated bus schedule will be posted on November 6. 

Breakfast and lunch meals are offered Monday through Friday (excluding holidays). Breakfast and lunch are served at the same time. Breakfast and lunch are also offered at no cost to any student who attends in-person instruction at a school Monday-Friday. Meals for Saturday and Sunday are offered at sites and on bus routes every Friday.

More information is available online, or by calling the Office of Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800.

3. ParentVue Account

This year more than ever, SIS ParentVUE (PVUE) is an essential tool for parents/guardians to keep up with their student’s attendance, progress report cards, and more. This will be the first quarter that we have offered a PDF version of the progress report and elementary school parents/guardians now have the option to “Go Paperless” for all report cards and progress reports. 

Please take some time to log into your Parent Vue account here. If you have forgotten your password, click on “More Options” to reset or change it. There is a language option in the bottom right corner.

If you have not yet set up a ParentVue account, please email Ms. Schmidt at bdschmidt@fcps.edu and request that she send you your activation code and instructions.

4.Technology News

  • If  you are having any problems with the laptop you were issued from Fairfax Villa, the first place to go is this parent help website. It has troubleshooting ideas for everything from finding your child’s google account to how to resolve audio/video issues.There is a helpline  (833-921-3277) that you can call from 7am to 11pm 7 days a week. If you need a translator for your call, please let them know. 
  • If none of those fix your problems, there is also a link where parents can put in a RequestIT to the FCPS Service Desk. Please do not let your students put in a RequestIT. There are also parent information phone lines in different languages. Please do not contact your child’s teacher about technology problems unless it is a classroom specific issue (i.e. Google classroom code). 
  • If you do not have internet in your home and would like to learn how to obtain low-cost internet service  for qualifying families from Cox, please email our social worker, Maria Marris, at msmarris@fcps.edu.

5. PTA News 

The following message is sent on behalf of the Fairfax Villa ES School PTA.  Its content reflects the views of the PTA.

School Directories & Membership

Fairfax Villa Elementary directories are coming soon! Directories are a special benefit for PTA members. 

We need fewer than 40 more members to match our membership from last school year! Can you help us get there? Please join online at https://fairfaxvilla.memberhub.store/. Memberships are $10/person. If you would like to pay by check or need financial assistance, please contact Jessie at villapta@gmail.com.

Original Works

Does your child love making art?? We are excited to be running the Original Works Online at Home program this year! Original Works will turn your child’s artwork or photo into custom keepsakes to share with family and friends. Visit originalworks.com/atHome for instructions, and use our school code FAFA at checkout. Please see the Fairfax Villa email from 10/28 for more details, or contact Jessie at villata@gmail.com.

Questions for the School or School Board

A main role of the PTA is to advocate for all Villa students. You may always contact the school or the school board directly, but the PTA Board is happy to pass along questions, comments, and suggestions. We can look for trends in questions from our families and send back consolidated answers. Contact us at villapta@gmail.com.

Outside Activities

Girl Scouts make the world a better place! Become a Daisy Girl Scout while making new friends, playing outside, and having fun! This is an introductory program for Kindergarten girls not currently in Girl Scouts. (COVID-19 safety guidelines can be found at gscnc.org.)

Thursdays October 22, November 5 & 19, and December 3  - alternating Zoom / Westmore Park (join anytime!)

$25 (financial assistance available)

For more info, contact Elizabeth Wood at ewood@gscnc.org or 703-372-4344 (call/text)

@ FairfaxVillaPTA on Instagram & Twitter 

@ PTAFairfaxVilla on Facebook

6. Send us your pics!

Over the next couple of weeks, if you have created learning activities that your children have enjoyed or have pictures of your children learning online, please email us at drgerstner@fcps.edu and DRSutter@fcps.edu with a picture and a brief description.  We would like to share them in our upcoming Friday News You Choose messages and they may also be included in the 2020-21 yearbook.