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Dear Stenwood Families,
We hope you all have a relaxing winter break. Most of our staff is on leave during winter break and Ms. Marrero and I will be working from home during most of this time. Our staff will be taking some much needed time for rest after a challenging year, and we hope you and your family have the opportunity to do the same. If you need something over the break, feel free to send an email/call the office and we will get back to you as soon as we can. The office is completely closed on 12/24, 12/25, 12/31, and 1/1 as those are designated holidays by FCPS.
It was great to see many of you at our Principal’s Coffee where we discussed the latest information from FCPS and the School Board on Return to School Plans. Attached below you will find the recording from this session and a summary of the impact on Stenwood’s schedule. We were notified yesterday that our eNotify vendor had issues with the transmission of emails to some gmail users. If your child is in Grades 3-6 and you did not receive an eNotify from us, please let me know.
Also in today’s newsletter is a link to our Intention Form for next school year. We need a response from every Stenwood family, so please take a quick moment to complete this survey so that we can ensure we have the staffing we need for next school year.
Also in today’s newsletter:
- Return to School Highlights (*New*)
- Response Needed: Intention Form for SY2021 - 2022 (*New*)
- Monday Enrichment Schedule
- Winter Break Meal Distribution
- Thank You Letters and Cards for Deployed Service Members and Veterans (*New*)
- Employment Opportunity: Work for FCPS
- Positivity Project: Optimism
- Yearbook Updates (*Updated*)
- Curbside Library Checkout (*Updated*)
- Library Mystery Bags
- Don't Forget to Return Your Library Books
- Technology Help for Families
- Grab and Go Sites - Updated Schedule
We hope you have a great break and see you in 2021!
Sincerely,
Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu
Twitter @esriley1
Meredith Mitchell, Assistant Principal
mamitchell@fcps.edu
Twitter @MereMitchellAP
Return to School Highlights
Here are the recording and slides from Tuesday’s Principal’s Coffee. *Note: our bell schedule has changed since the Principal’s Coffee was held. See below.
Summary of Changes:
- All FCPS students will be virtual the week of January 4th.
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Stenwood’s bell schedule will be changing effective January 12th to 9:00am - 3:30pm. This is a change to the tentative time that we communicated early this week and what was shared at the Principal’s Coffee. This bell schedule WILL begin on January 12th regardless of the phasing in timeline. Prior to this occurring, we will send out new schedules to all Stenwood families.
- The School Board will vote on January 5th about the addition of a new mitigation metric which will change the decision-making process for the conditions required for groups to phase in.
- The proposed phase in timeline is summarized in the chart below:
Response Needed: Intention Form for SY2021-22
To ensure adequate staffing for the 2021-2022 school year, we are asking all Stenwood families to fill out this Student Intention Survey. We request this form be completed by all families by Friday, January 15, 2021.
STUDENT INTENTION SURVEY FORM FOR ALL STENWOOD FAMILIES
Also included in this survey is a question regarding any preschool children you may have who will be attending Kindergarten at Stenwood in 2021-2022. If you have any neighbors with preschoolers who have no other children attending our school, please share this form for them to complete and return to our school by January 15th, 2021. The preschool children survey forms can be submitted via email to Sonja Hunt, snhunt@fcps.edu.
Our Kindergarten Parent/Student Orientation meeting will be held on Monday, March 15, 2021 from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. We will be sending information about this meeting to those who complete the Intention Form or who call the school indicating interest in our 2021-2022 kindergarten program.
Monday Enrichment Schedule
Sessions can be found in the All Students course in Schoology. Once there, click the Collaborate Ultra tab to locate the live sessions.
Click here to view the schedule!
Winter Break Meal Distribution
Meal Service at Stenwood ES (12:13 - 12:23pm):
- Friday 12/18: will offer 4 days of breakfast and lunch
- Monday 12/21: will offer 4 days of breakfast and lunch
- Tuesday 12/22: will offer 4 days of breakfast and lunch
- Wednesday 12/23 through Friday 1/1/21: no meal service
- Monday 1/4/21: will resume regular daily breakfast and lunch delivery
See bus route webpage for more bus stop information.
See full list of sites here: https://www.fcps.edu/node/42545
Thank You Cards and Letters for Deployed Service Members and Veterans
America’s Adopt a Soldier® program is celebrating the 10th year of its National Care Letter Campaign to honor deployed service members and veterans in state homes and hospitals. Writing letters of appreciation would be a great activity for students and families to engage in during the winter break. Now more than ever, veterans in veterans’ homes and hospitals are feeling isolated. Many have no family or family nearby and eagerly await visits from volunteers. However, these visits have not been possible due to health and safety restrictions resulting from the pandemic.
Cards and letters will be accepted through Tuesday, December 29, and should be mailed to:
America’s Adopt a Soldier
5400 Shawnee Road, Suite 300
Alexandria, VA 22312
For more information visit: www.americasadoptasoldier.org or call 703-278-3718.
Employment Opportunity: Work for FCPS!
New employment opportunity in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)!
FCPS schools and centers will be hiring classroom monitors to provide in-person classroom assistance for students when a staff member remains virtual. If you would like more information about the position, please review the job description and qualifications online and apply if interested. Please feel free to share information about this opportunity with anyone else you think may be interested.
FPCS is seeking individuals to serve as substitute teachers!
Are you or somebody you know interested in substitute teaching with FCPS? Apply here or attend one of our Friday information sessions to learn more! To sign up for a session, visit our substitute information page here. Say Yes 2 FCPS!
Positivity Project: Optimism
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This week, we are focusing on Optimism. You expect the best from the future and work to achieve it.
“When the world says, “Give Up”, Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
~Author Unknown
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Questions you might enjoy talking about:
- When were you optimistic in a situation? How could that situation have turned out differently if you weren’t optimistic?
- Do you believe that hope and optimism are “contagious”?
- What is your dream for your future self? What will you have to do to achieve that goal?
Order Your Yearbook Today!
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Yearbooks are sold ONLY online; they can be purchased for $16.25 using a credit card or PayPal account. Yearbooks and order options will be delivered to the school at the end of the school year.
Simply go to yearbookforever.com and enter our school name.
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DEADLINE IS January 15th, 2021 FOR ALL YEARBOOK ORDERS.
We need your help filling up the yearbook with photos from this year! We are looking for photos showing:
- Fall Festivities
- Winter Photos
- Virtual Work Space
- Winter Break Photos
- Ringing in the New Year.
- And anything else you want!
You can upload the photos to Yearbook Snap. Access Code: stenwood.
We will also be asking to collect photos from you, we ask that they are either camera images or cell phone photos without the live feature attached. If you upload photos and the ending is .HEIC instead of .JPG, we are unable to use them in the yearbook. We look forward to seeing everyone’s photo in the yearbook this year!
Curbside Library Checkout
We will NOT be having curbside pickup on Monday, January 4th. We will resume on Thursday January 7th between 3:45-4:30pm.
Stingers can now go to Destiny Discover, the library catalog, and put books on hold!
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Please note that the catalog may give you a pop-up message saying the book is ready – do not believe it! Only come to the school AFTER you receive an email from us letting you know the items are ready and what time you’ll be able to pick them up. Be sure to mark your calendar because after one week, the books will be returned to the library so other students may enjoy them.
Click here for directions on how to put books on hold.
Need to return books? You may return library books on Mondays from 2:00-4:00PM and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30PM. Drop off location will be in the Kiss-n-Ride loop in the back of the school. As always, please contact Mrs. Cole, our librarian, if you have any questions.
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Library Mystery Bags
Need new books? Not sure what to search for in the catalog? Well, look no further – Mrs. Cole to the rescue! Fill out the appropriate grade level form and she’ll put together a “Mystery Bag” for your child. It might be great, or maybe not – but trying new things is what education and reading are all about.
(Note: Separate forms for K-2 and Grades 3-6)
Grades K-2 "Library Mystery Bags"
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Please fill out this form (Gr K-2) if you would like to request a "Mystery Bag" from the Stenwood Library. The "Mystery Bag" will include 5 books selected by Mrs. Cole. It may include a combination of Picture books, "I Can Read" books, Quick Reads (early chapter books) and/or Nonfiction books. |
Grades 3-6 "Library Mystery Bags"
If you need inspiration, you can look at the included pictures and/or access the Library/Materials Schoology course for a look at previous years’ pumpkins. As always, please contact Mrs. Cole if you have any questions.
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Please fill out this form (Gr 3-6) if you would like to request a "Mystery Bag" from the Stenwood Library. The "Mystery Bag" will include 3 books selected by Mrs. Cole.
Remember, if you have a specific book you are looking for, please log into the Destiny Catalog to place a book on hold. (Directions are in your grade level folder here in the Library Course.)
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WAIT FOR AN EMAIL BEFORE COMING TO STENWOOD
TO PICK UP BOOKS.
If you have a Yahoo email account, please check your spam folder. Yahoo is blocking emails automatically generated by the library software. If you are concerned that you missed a pick up time, please contact Mrs. Cole.
Questions? Please contact Mrs. Cole, our librarian, if you have any questions.
Don’t Forget to Return Your Library Books!
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While Mrs. Cole is happy that students are getting books during virtual education, she’s really happy when they come back so other students can enjoy them! You can return books during curbside pickup. See information above. |
If your child doesn’t know what has been checked out, they can log into Destiny Discover and see what they have checked out. As always, contact Mrs. Cole with any questions you have.
Technology Help for Families
There are a wealth of resources available on the Stenwood website to assist with technology questions, including: setting up your SIS Parent Account, logging into and navigating Schoology, and resetting student passwords. You can find all that information and more here:
Stenwood ES: Return to School 2020
You can also find tech help and tips on our YouTube Channel:
Return to School Resources - YouTube Playlist
Parent Technology Help Desk: 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS)
Grab and Go Sites - Updated Schedule
Here are the updated schedules for our food distribution routes:
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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 here, or by calling the Office of Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800.
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications are available for those who qualify and wish to initiate or renew their applications for the 20-21 school year. Your child(ren)’s application from last school year is only good for the first few days of this school year. You must send in a new household application for each school year. The application is available HERE.
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