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In this Friday Message you will find:
- Principals' Message
- Read and Ride
- Kids' Clubs
- Virtual Parent Coffee
- Soaring Eagles
- Positivity Project
- Food and Nutrition Services
- Staff Spotlight
- Diversity Talks Series Opportunity from TJHSST
- Information on FCPS Dual Language Immersion Programs
- Upcoming Dates
Dear Floris Families,
Happy 2021! We have so enjoyed seeing our Eagles during this first week of school in the new year. We are wishing our families an amazing and healthy start to 2021!
As many of you have seen in other communications, FCPS has paused the return to in-person learning due to the current metrics and rising COVID numbers. We know it is challenging to keep up with these changes and will continue to update you as we get more information.
Next week is a busy week at Floris.
- Monday is Ms. Dowling's wonderful Read and Ride, and our amazing specials teachers will be offering the Floris Kids' Clubs.
- Wednesday evening at 6:30pm is the monthly PTA meeting on their Zoom link.
- Thursday morning at 10:30 is our Monthly Virtual Parent Coffee, which will be lead by our fabulous Reading Specialist, Shannon Daly.
Thank you for your support and understanding as we continue to navigate these challenging times. Please-wash you hands, maintain social distancing and wear your mask!
Have a super weekend,
Holly Walker and Amanda Dorr
hjwalker@fcps.edu
acdorr@fcps.edu
Read and Ride Day
When: Monday, January 11 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Who: Floris Students
What: An opportunity to check-out and return library books from the comfort of the car.
How:
- Families drive up to Door 1
- Remain in the car with face masks on
- Have a piece of paper with their child’s name and student ID number ready
- Student tells a staff member the book choice
- Books will be delivered to the car
Book choices for Monday, January 11 include:
- Curious George
- Dr. Seuss
- Historical Fiction Picture Books
- Funny Picture Books
- American Girl Historical Fiction Chapter Books
- Rick Riordan Chapter Books
- Adventure Chapter Books
- Beverly Cleary Chapter Books
- Dork Diaries Chapter Books
- All about Art
- All about Europe
- All about Military Vehicles
- All about Mammals
- How to Make Origami
Floris Kids' Clubs
Virtual Parent Coffee
Please join us for our January Parent Coffee, Thursday, January 14, 10:30-11:30am. Our super Reading Specialist, Shannon Daly, will be presenting on reading tips and ideas for parents.
Please use this link to access the Parent Coffee.
Soaring Eagles
Please continue to share your love, gratitude and kindness with our staff on Soaring Eagles, the new online tradition at Floris. Please take a moment to say thank you and/or show appreciation for our staff and the hours of hard work happening day and night!
Please click HERE to share your Floris Soaring Eagles!
#EaglesSoaringHigherTogether
#PositivityinAction
Positivity Project
SELF-CONTROL
What does Self-Control mean? You have the ability to control your emotions and behaviors. You think before you act. Self-Control is the act of managing behavior in a way that positively influences goal attainment and living up to standards. They have the ability to experience and navigate difficulty while remaining poised.
Why does it matter? For individuals, Self-Control helps them delay the short-term gain in pursuit of a greater, long-term success. A group's ability to demonstrate Self-Control often appears in the form of "self-monitoring." This means that individuals demonstrate honesty with one another about successful group practices.
Quote of the Week: "The first and best victory is to conquer self." - PLATO
You may also visit P2 for Families and use the password P2 to access activities and tools for you to use at home with your children.
Food and Nutrition Services
The Office of Food and Nutrition Services will be distributing fresh, local fruits and vegetables at the meal kit sites throughout January and February. Families that pick up no-cost meals from these sites will also be provided a whole, fresh fruit or vegetable sourced from a local farm for each child, along with an activity sheet and recipe for that item. This item will vary each week and will be available on the following dates:
- 1/13
- 1/19 (please note that distribution will be on Tuesday 1/19 as Wednesday 1/20 is a school holiday)
- 1/27
- 2/3
- 2/10
- 2/17
Floris is a Meal Kit Distribution Site and kits are available from 8:00am-12:30pm each Wednesday.
For a full list of bulk sites where these fresh fruits and vegetables will be served, please visit https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/food.
This week's spotlight...
We started the school-year sharing about our new to Floris Staff and are now sharing some fun details about more Floris Staff members.
NANCY BAKER
Ms. Baker always wanted to work with children. Born and raised in Minnesota (“the home of cold hands and warm hearts”), she has now taught for 33 years. “I started teaching when I was 10. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” she quips. This is her 19th year at Floris and 20th year with FCPS. She believes that what she has learned from her students and their families has helped her be a better person and teacher, and Ms. Baker counts all of her students as blessings and inspirations.
A prolific reader, Ms. Baker’s current reading list is long. It includes The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners and Starting Strong: Evidence-Based Early Literacy Practices. She also loves reading children’s stories – a recent favorite is The Thankful Book which she shared with her students around Thanksgiving.
“I live in Sterling with my husband Terry, daughter Angela, and son Andrew. We have a lot of fun together. I like to hang out with my friends and family, bake, do crafts, sew, and eat good food,” says Ms. Baker, who also spends a lot of time studying. She earned her 3rd degree in December, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason University. Congratulations, Ms. Baker!
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KEN LARSON
After being in the U.S. Army and then spending a few years in the insurance industry, Ken Larson began his teaching career at Floris in 1998 and has been here ever since.
Mr. Larson shares that his father was the oldest of seven boys, the youngest of whom was born hard of hearing and with other physical disabilities. There were no services for deafness in rural Central Oregon at that time. One of the middle brothers, Jim, took it upon himself to learn sign language, helping his youngest brother communicate. Jim enlisted in the military after graduating from high school and then used the GI Bill to become a teacher for deaf and intellectually challenged students, later becoming head of the San Mateo School District’s office for those students. In honor of his father’s two brothers, Mr. Larson was named Kenneth James.
Mr. Larson is a car enthusiast and actively involved with the Porsche Club of America (PCA). “Since I sold my minivan and bought an old Porsche six years ago, I’ve travelled to Europe and about a dozen race tracks. I’ve learned to drive on a track, became an instructor for others learning to drive on a race track, and I’m now club racing with PCA. I still drive the old car on sunny days and for autocross, but I use a dedicated race car for track driving now,” he says.
A life-long learner, Mr. Larson is always seeking “to learn something that’s a reach.” This year, he is working on learning basic welding and laying fiberglass panels as he wants to be able to build different parts for his race car. We love Mr. Larson’s creativity and passion for learning!
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Parents register at this Zoom Link.
Submit questions in advance on this Google Form.
FCPS Announces Open Enrollment for Dual Language Immersion Programs
Fairfax County Public Schools’ online registration for the county-wide lottery for Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs will open on Monday, January 25. Current prekindergarten students may apply for the kindergarten immersion program and current kindergarten students may apply for the first grade immersion programs for the 2021-22 school year.
The kindergarten DLI programs are available in Korean and Spanish. Korean is available at Powell and Spanish is available at Bailey’s Primary, Fort Hunt, Lake Anne, Laurel Ridge, London Towne, and Rose Hill Elementary Schools. First grade DLI programs are available at 12 elementary schools and are offered in French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
Information Meetings Start on January 13
Parents who are interested in the DLI programs in FCPS are encouraged to attend one of the upcoming informational meetings. All meetings are held virtually. Information regarding virtual meeting access will be made available on the Dual Language Immersion registration site by the day of the meeting.
Get more information on Dual Language Immersion programs.
January 13: PTA Meeting, 6:30pm, PTA Zoom Link
January 14: Parent Coffee, 10:30-11:30am, presentation by Shannon Daly, Floris Reading Specialist
January 18: No School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday - Schools and offices closed
January 20: No School, Inauguration Day Holiday - Schools and offices closed
January 22: End of 2nd Quarter, Two Hour Early Release
January 25: No School, Teacher Workday
Find the 2020-2021 School Year Calendar Here
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