Important Upcoming Dates
1/11 - Monday, January 11 is an Asynchronous Independent Learning Day. This means no morning meeting or other time that students meet with teachers.
1/14 - Frost MS Virtual Orientation
1/18 - Martin Luther King Day - Holiday
1/18 - Dragon Dreams Bedtime Stories at 7pm
1/20 - Inauguration Day - Holiday
1/22 - End of Quarter Two (2 Hour Early Release at 2:00)
1/25 - Student Holiday for Teacher Workday
1/27- Mid-Year Check-In with Families (6 PM)
IN THIS ISSUE
- Superintendent Update on Return to School Plan
- Dragon Dreams Bedtime Stories
- January School Spirit Days
- Message to 5th and 6th Grade Parents
- Local Level IV at Fairfax Villa
- NEW: Employment Opportunities in FCPS
- PTA News
Our January 2021 school spirt days have become a huge success!
1.Superintendent Update on Return to School Plan
Dear Parents, Caregivers, and FCPS Staff,
At the January 5 Fairfax County School Board Work Session, I provided an update on our plan to bring students and staff back for in-person instruction. I shared a proposed timeline for a return to in-person learning that would bring back those staff and students who were already in buildings first, followed by a phased and measured approach to bringing in new groups of students and staff in January and early February.
Current community transmission of COVID-19 in Fairfax County remains high. After discussing the plan with the School Board and hearing from many parents and staff, we are going to continue to pause the plan to bring students and staff back into school buildings. I will provide an update on the Return to School plan to the School Board on Tuesday, February 2.
Using Metrics and Mitigation Strategies to Make Decisions
We have developed a decision-making tool for in-person instruction in partnership with the Fairfax County Health Department that includes all three CDC core indicators.
There is accumulating evidence that demonstrates that schools can be safe when infection-control protocols are consistently implemented. In other words, the rate of COVID-19 transmission in the schools does not match the rate of community transmission when strong health and safety measures are in place. FCPS is focused on the strict implementation of these measures through education of staff, students, and families and the use of safety teams to monitor and support the efforts.
Pausing will provide additional time to work on our health and safety mitigation strategies, training and education, and also give us time to hire more classroom monitors.
New Bell Schedule Paused
Because we will not be transporting students to school during the pause in our plan, we will not be moving to the new bell schedule on January 12. We will continue to use the current bell schedule until we have a revised Return to School schedule. We will communicate any future changes to the bell schedule in advance.
Looking Ahead
As previously shared, Monday, January 11 will remain an independent (asynchronous) learning day for students and a teacher preparation day.
When we move closer to students and staff returning for in person instruction in school buildings, we will need to provide preparation days for teachers. Students will be doing independent learning on teacher preparation days. We will communicate those dates once we confirm return to school dates in the future.
We remain vigilant and we are working to develop a plan that will allow us to bring students and staff back to school buildings. We must all work together to stop the spread of COVID. Keeping schools safe for in-person learning is a shared responsibility - staff, students and families - and it can be done when we all work together.
Thank you for your continued support of our students.
Sincerely,
Scott Brabrand, Superintendent
Fairfax County Public Schools
Please don’t forget to get outside and enjoy some fresh air and fun outdoor activities!
2.Dragon Dreams Bedtime Stories
Thank you to all those families who joined us on January 4th for our first Dragon Dreams Bedtime Stories.We loved hearing Mr. Gerstner, Ms. Nicole Lee, and Ms. Choi read one of their favorite books to us.
Our next Dragon Dream Bedtime Stories will be on Monday, January 18th at 7:00. Our readers this time will be Ms. Rivera, Ms. O’Lare, and Ms. Case.
Please join us then using this link. The BBC link will be available beginning at 6:45 PM. Because of the large group, the audio, video and chat is automatically turned off.
We can’t wait to see you! Put on your coziest pajamas and join us for some delightful stories.
3.January School Spirit Days
A great way to welcome in the New Year is to continue our Virtual Villa Days Of Cheer right on through the month of January. Showing our school spirit helps us to feel connected to each other even when we can't be together. Get ready to show us your Villa Spirit!!!
 4.Message to 5th and 6th Grade Parents
If you chose not to fill out the survey for your preference for your child for either virtual or in-person, please know that we need that preference so that we can plan for the possible return of students. If we don’t know how many in-person and virtual students we may have, we cannot plan for what the class numbers will look like. The number of students allowed per class is based on county and state regulations. If you have any concerns about choosing now and wanting to change later or any other questions about this process, please contact Mr. Gerstner. PLEASE help us by giving us your choices.
We are using this - and not the FCPS survey from earlier in the year - to determine the needs of our students so if you are not sure that you completed this new survey, please access it below.
We still have 19 fifth grade parents and 18 sixth grade parents whom we have not heard from and do not know how to place their students.
Thank you for helping us to honor your wishes for your child.
Fifth Grade Parent Survey
Sixth Grade Parent Survey
5.Local Level IV at Fairfax Villa
Fairfax Villa will be offering Advanced Academics Local Level IV (LLIV) services beginning in 3rd grade next year. Information about Fairfax Villa becoming a LLIV school was presented at the PTA meeting on 12/16. A recording of the presentation can be found here: LLIV Presentation.
Parents and caregivers are important partners in helping our program to be successful. Please complete the LLIV Parent Survey to provide your input as we plan for implementation next year. Surveys should be submitted by Jan. 13. Thank you for your support through this exciting time!
6.New Employment Opportunities in FCPS: Classroom Monitors and Substitute Teachers
FCPS schools and centers are hiring classroom monitors to provide in-person classroom assistance for students when some staff members continue to work virtually. If you would like more information about the position, review the job description online and apply if interested. Please share information about this opportunity with anyone else you think may be interested. Anyone who is interested in this position, please email the Fairfax Villa administrative assistant, Karen Wells at kewells@fcps.edu.
Are you or somebody you know interested in substitute teaching with FCPS? Apply online or attend one of our Friday information sessions to learn more. To sign up for a session, visit the FCPS substitute teacher information page.
7.PTA News
The following message is sent on behalf of the Fairfax Villa ES School PTA. Its content reflects the PTA.
Upcoming PTA Meetings
The next Fairfax Villa PTA meeting will be Wednesday, January 27 at 7 PM. There will be a mid-year family check in just prior, at 6 PM.
Little Run Elementary School is hosting a Q&A session with Megan McLaughlin, our Braddock District School Board representative. This meeting will be Wednesday, February 3 at 7 PM. Zoom link coming soon!
Technology Mini-Grant
Fairfax County Council PTA (FCCPTA) is pleased to announce our 2020-21 Student Technology Mini-Grant Program. Through a generous donation from the Fairfax County NAACP, FCCPTA is offering Fairfax County Public School students (in grades 3-11) an opportunity to obtain a $500 mini-grant for the purchase of a computer and/or technology-related device or equipment.
There are six (6) mini-grants available. In order to apply, the student or their parent/guardian MUST be a member of a PTA/PTSA.
Application deadline: Friday, January 15, 2021 Apply here
Virginia PTA Citizenship Essay Contest
Virginia PTA is committed to promoting a sense of citizenship and responsibility in the lives of our children – tomorrow’s leaders. To demonstrate the value that Virginia PTA places on good citizenship, we are proud to sponsor, support, and encourage Virginia students to write an essay for the 2021 Citizenship Essay Contest. This year’s selected theme is “How can we stand together when we are so far apart?”
Application deadline: February 1, 2021
Details and online submission is OPEN HERE.
On-Line Math Tutoring
A local Math tutoring company is offering Villa parents a special rate for anyone who wants to give their children some one-on-one math tutoring at a really reasonable rate.
https://www.learnzoe.com/
A percentage of all sales to Villa parents will go to math scholarship programs. Entering the code - ZOEFV2020 gets parents a free introductory offer!
Parents can redeem that gift code without entering credit card details at: https://www.learnzoe.com/purchase-assessment
AmazonSmile
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.
|
