Important Upcoming Dates
12/15 Interims for Second Quarter (As Needed)
12/21 - 1/1 Winter Holidays
1/4 - School Resumes
1/14 - Frost MS Virtual Orientation
1/18 - Martin Luther King Day - Holiday
1/20 - Inauguration Day - Holiday
1/22 - End of Quarter 2 2 Hour Early Release (2:00)
1/25 - Student Holiday for Teacher Workday
See the complete 2020-21 school year calendar
IN THIS ISSUE
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Last Chance: Fairfax Villa Book Fair News and Link
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NEW: Virtual Villa Days of Cheer!
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NEW: 2nd Quarter Interims
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NEW: Outstanding Staff Members
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NEW: Kindergarteners Need Your Help!
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NEW: Support Homeless Students for the Holidays
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REMINDER: Don’t Forget Your Child's Art Supplies
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REMINDER: Parent Choice Survey for Grades 3-6
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PTA News
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Send us your pics!
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UPDATE: Grab and Go Meals
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Frost MS transition
 1. Last Chance: Fairfax Villa Book Fair
Our Fairfax Villa Book Fair ends Sunday, December 6. All purchases benefit our school and connect kids with new books, favorite characters, complete series, and more.
Visit our Book Fair Homepage and click “Get Started” or “Shop the Store”:
https://www.scholastic.com/bf/fairfaxvillaelemschool
There are many features of our online Book Fair, including:
- Over 6,000 items, including new releases, best sellers, and value packs
- All orders ship directly to your home
- Free shipping on book-only orders over $25*
- All purchases support our school and earn 25% in rewards
Happy reading!
*Free standard shipping is available on book-only orders of $25 or more, after all discounts are applied. Free standard shipping (books) must be selected during checkout. Orders containing products other than books are not eligible for this shipping promotion.
 2. Virtual Villa Days of Cheer!
Dashing through December with some Virtual Villa Days of Cheer! This is totally optional but a fun way to keep you dashing to Winter Break!
 3. Second Quarter Interims
On December 15, teachers will be emailing the 2nd Quarter Interims to parents of students who have 1s or 2s in core subject areas or citizenship areas.
4. Outstanding Staff Members
We are proud to announce this year’s outstanding staff members from Fairfax Villa. Each of these will now be presented to our Woodson Pyramid for consideration as the winners for the Pyramid in each category.
Outstanding New Teacher: Melissa Torres, music teacher
Outstanding Teacher: Melissa Eddy, 6th grade teacher
Outstanding Professional Employee: Nicole Lee, intervention specialist and previous 3rd grade teacher
Outstanding Operational Employee: Karen Wells, administrative assistant and previous office assistant
If you would like to contribute any information about these staff members who receive the pyramid award that we can use in the nomination packet for our Region, please use the form that is linked to their name. The deadline to submit a form is December 15.
5. Kindergarteners Need Your Help!
Some of our newest Villa Dragons need your help! Kindergarteners are picking up weekly materials at Door #1 to support their learning. However, some of our materials have been taken without student and teacher permission. Please help remind your child if they come up to the school to not touch the Kindergarten Materials on the cart. We want our youngest students to have everything to help them learn just like their older Villa Role Models. Thank you!
The Foundation for FCPS’ Kids in Need initiative is partnering with FCPS for our annual gift card drive to benefit homeless students. FCPS typically identifies up to 3,000 children per year as homeless. Many of them are unaccompanied, living without a parent or legal guardian. Securing essential needs such as clothing, medicine, emergency food, and hygiene supplies is even more of a struggle since the pandemic began.
If you are able to help, please make a donation which will be used to purchase gift cards and empower students to make purchases for their own personal needs. If you would like to donate a physical gift card(s), please mail it to:
Patti Parisi
Gatehouse Administrative Center, 4214
8115 Gatehouse Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
Please contact Patti Parisi with questions at poparisi@fcps.edu. Thank you!
7. REMINDER: Don’t Forget Your Child's Art Supplies
Art Material Pickup for general education grades 1-6 have been going on for 3 weeks and we still have many students that need to pick up their art supplies for upcoming lessons.
You can pick up the materials Monday-Friday from 9-3 in the front lobby.
- EACH student gets ONE bag of art materials.
- Each bag includes: sketchbook, construction paper, a watercolor set, and modeling clay.
- Please bring a pen to sign your child’s name and grade when you pick up a bag of materials
8. REMINDER: Parent Choice Survey for Grades 3-6
We still have about 140 parents who have not filled out the form. If you have not sent us your preferences, please do that now. Please help us in our planning for your child by giving us your preferences.
If you did NOT fill out the survey sent to you from Ms. An in October that had you choose between the 4 days of virtual learning and the 2 days of in-person/2 days of virtual learning for your child, please do that now. We need this information now for each student. We will analyze this data to determine if we can continue to maintain our current classes or if there becomes a need to adjust teacher assignments based on the families that decide to do in-person vs. virtual instruction.
On October 15, the FCPS School Board voted to approve FCPS’s schedule to bring additional student groups back to school for in-person instruction in the near future. We will follow strict safety and health protocols to minimize health risks for students and staff. To learn more about those protocols, visit here.
Third Grade Survey
Fourth Grade Parent Survey
Fifth Grade Parent Survey
Sixth Grade Parent Survey
9. PTA News
The following message is sent on behalf of the Fairfax Villa ES School PTA. Its content reflects the views of the PTA.
Original Works Deadline!
Today is the deadline to order Original Works keepsakes! Visit www.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.
Next PTA Meeting
Join us for our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, December 16 at 7 PM. We are hosting special guests Principal Gerstner and Ms. Cat Wilkins, our FVES Advanced Academics Resource Teacher. They will be sharing information about a local Level IV AAP program at Fairfax Villa.
The meeting link is https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/e553065b5c314a049de3492858780664.
Viewing of “The Kids We Lose” Documentary
Fairfax County SEPTA (Special Education PTA) and Fairfax County Council PTA (FCCPTA) are co-sponsoring a viewing of the documentary “The Kids We Lose” on Monday, December 7 at 7 PM. FCPS is in the process of finalizing its restraint and seclusion policy by January 1, 2021. In advance of the scheduled FCPS School Board vote on December 17, the Fairfax County SEPTA and the FCCPTA have joined together to advocate for schools to be free from restraint and seclusion. In order for the community and policymakers to understand this difficult issue, they present this award winning documentary, "The Kids We Lose," which outlines the challenges AND the solutions.
For more information and to register, please visit: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2161479742863343371
AmazonSmile
Do you shop at Amazon.com? If so, you can support the Fairfax Villa PTA, and our kids and teachers, while you shop! Visit smile.amazon.com and choose the Fairfax Villa Elementary PTA as your charity, and AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your order total to the PTA.
PTA Membership
PTA Membership is still open! 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.
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 Fairfax Villa Kindergarten girls not currently in Girl Scouts. (COVID-19 safety guidelines can be found at gscnc.org.)
One meeting left in this introductory program!
Sunday, December 6 via Zoom
$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
10. 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.
11. Important Update on Grab and Go Meals: Delivery Times and Some Bus Stop Locations Have Changed
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.
As of November 9, grab and go bus delivery times and some bus stop locations have changed. The updated bus schedule is now available online. Bus delivery times were changed to accommodate the need for more buses to transport students returning to school buildings for in-person learning.
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.
12. Frost MS Transition
Families of current 6th grade students who will be attending Frost Middle School during the 2021-2022 school year are invited to an upcoming transition event. On January 14th at 6:30 PM, Frost will be hosting a virtual Rising 7th Grade Orientation. Students and parents will be provided an overview of Frost, the registration process, class options, and more. More information, including the link to access the event, will be sent later this month. We look forward to seeing you there!
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