Upcoming Dates:
January 11 - Asynchronous Day - No morning meeting - all work is asynchronous for teacher planning
January 14 - Rising 7th Longfellow Curriculum Night 6-8 PM (info below)
January 15 - Parent Coffee link introducing Sarah Talley, Assistant Principal 8 a.m.
January 18- No School, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday
January 20- No School, Inauguration Day
January 21 - Immersion Information Night 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
January 21 - Rising 7th Longfellow Virtual Family Registration Night 6-7 PM
January 22- End of 2nd Quarter, Two Hour Early Release Day for Students
January 25- No School, Teacher Work Day
Note from Administration
Dear Parents,
It has been quite the rollercoaster over the past few months and we are just entering our second week of January! That said, we hope that all enjoyed the winter break as we return to virtual learning. The return to school is paused until the School Board and our FCPS Leadership Team with Dr. Brabrand meet again on February 2nd. We will continue to prepare for the return to school with our staff. For now, our bell schedule will remain intact until students return to school so no changes at this time.
We are focusing on strong instruction whether it be virtual or face to face and keeping it at the forefront of our work. With the events this past week, it definitely gives us all a time to reflect and acknowledge how we work together. Happy to have our our KG family and recognize the strength in our school as a strong family/community that learns together and respects each other. #kgpride #strongertogether #stilloneschool
We have included dates above that are forthcoming and will affect your child(ren). Monday, January 11th is an all county asynchronous day and your child will not have a morning meeting but will have asynchronous activities assigned to them. Teachers will use this time to prepare for the return to school.
As we approach the end of the second quarter, we are reviewing the progress made by each and every student. We are working to include in small groups and provide appropriate interventions. If you have concerns, please do reach out to your teacher for support.
We are excited to announce that Sarah Talley is our new assistant principal. We interviewed a number of very qualified candidates and are excited to have her on board in this position. Below, we have included an introduction. Join us on January 15th at 8:00 a.m. at this link.
Once again, we thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you at the parent coffee.
Warmly,
Holly McGuigan, Principal
Introducing Sarah Talley, Assistant Principal
Dear Parents and KG Community,
I am so excited to have the opportunity to continue at Kent Gardens as an Assistant Principal. For those of you who may not know, I have worked the last 3 1/2 years as the School Based Technology Specialist. During this time, I thoroughly enjoyed working with the amazing Kent Gardens staff and students. My passion is meeting the needs of students and seeing all of them succeed academically but also in developing the needed skillset of collaboration, communication and problem solving. These 21st century skills will support them as they grow and move through life.
On a personal level, I earned my undergraduate degree in geography and psychology at the University of South Florida. I earned a Master of Science in learning technologies from Drexel University and Master of Education and endorsement in leadership and supervision from George Mason University. I have been a school-based technology specialist in Fairfax County for the past 10 years, first at Bucknell Elementary for several years and then at Kent Gardens. I love to spend time with my husband, three children, family, and friends. I am an avid fan of the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Eagles and can’t wait to cheer for them in person again. In my spare time, I enjoy playing golf, cooking and spending time on the Outer Banks, NC.
I look forward to meeting all of you at the coffee. It is my desire to build relationships, continue to support strong instruction and ensure all students achieve high levels of success.
Warmly, Sarah Talley
Immersion Information Night - January 21st 5:30 - 6:30
Kent Gardens will host a virtual immersion information night on January 21, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. The World Languages webpage has additional information regarding the lottery at this link. To join the session at 5:30 p.m. use this link. The World Languages office will provide information on the various immersion programs in the county including Kent Gardens’ program. Immersion teachers from Kent Gardens will also be present virtually. The lottery application date is for rising first graders (there is no kindergarten program) is January 25 – February 18. The link for more information about the immersion program is here. The application link is here. Please email Holly McGuigan, hsmcguigan@fcps.edu or Sarah Talley at sjtalley@fcps.edu or Tia Hawkins at tnhawkins@fcps.edu for additional information.
ParentVue - Progress Report View
SIS ParentVUE (PVUE) is an essential tool for parents/guardians to keep up with their student’s attendance, progress report cards, and more. In order to view your child's progress report, you should use this option in order to download a pdf version of the progress report. ES parents/guardians should “Go Paperless” for all report cards and progress reports. Here are directions to download your child's progress report from the past quarter and to save for the next quarter.
If you have not yet created a PVUE account, we encourage you to do so by reaching out to the our school SIA, Tracy Dean, tadean@fcps.edu to provide an activation code. Details on what can be found in PVUE and how to activate a new PVUE account using your activation code can be found here - Student Information System - SIS Parent Account Overview
Yearbook - We Want Your Child's Submission for the Cover!
Attention Kent Gardens ARTISTS!!!
Draw, paint, or sketch a piece of art for the Kent Gardens Yearbook!
The front and back cover image will be featured by two or possibly designs from students in grades K-6. In addition, artwork from grades K-6 will be featured on each grades’ title page. This contest is open to ALL students in grades K-6. The criteria is as follows:
- Art needs to include the proper school name, (Kent Gardens Elementary with no abbreviations) and school year (2020-2021). Write clearly and avoid typos.
- This year’s theme is “Kent Gardens Lions #strongertogether and #stilloneschool”.
- You may also draw about how "Kent Gardens Lions thrive during virtual learning".
- Artwork needs to be on an 5” x 11” or 9”x 12” sheet of white paper.
- Artwork needs to be positioned vertically in portrait, not landscape format, to fit the yearbook cover.
- All artwork must be submitted by Friday, January 29, 2021.
- All artwork must be original and individually done.
- Check that everything is spelled correctly and remember to color in completely and write neatly!
Ask your Art Teacher to show how to take a high-quality photo of your work for submission.
Submissions MUST include students First Name, Last Name, and Grade!
Submissions can be emailed to your art teachers:
Ms. Devlin hedevlin@fcps.edu or hedevlin@fcpsschools.net
Ms. Butler kabutler@fcps.edu or kabutler@fcpsschools.net
Yearbook Pictures - Coming Soon!
Stay tuned - we will be collecting individual pictures from you soon! These portraits will create our individual pictures for our classrooms in the yearbook. Details will be shared next week.
Positivity Project: Prudence
|
|
|
This week, we are focusing on Prudence. You plan for the future and achieve your goals by making careful everyday choices.
“When you make the right decision, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.”
~Caroline Kennedy
|
Questions you might enjoy talking about:
- What does making good decisions have to do with prudence?
- Is it hard to make decisions in certain situations? If yes, which situations?
- Do you find it becoming harder or easier to make good decisions as you get older?
Want to Participate in a Science Exploration?
Climate Lions will be an after school program at Kent Gardens Elementary School introducing students to climate topics from global warming, rising sea levels, deforestation, and tropical storms. It will run after school on January 12, 19, 26 and February 2 from 4:00-4:45 for students in grades 4-6. The program will feature FCPS high school volunteers from Youth Climate Action Team Inc. (www.ycatinc.com), a national 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, and McLean Science National Honor Society. These groups aim to foster student engagement, classmate bonding, and socio-emotional wellness in the virtual setting through interactive environmental activities, videos, debates, slideshows, etc. Students will be able to learn from students from their generation who understand the difficulties of learning in the virtual format firsthand. Join Climate Lions to safeguard planet Earth and have fun in the process! Sign up here for your child to participate in this wonderful opportunity.
Kent Gardens International Night!
Dreaming of your next vacation?
Join us for a virtual tour around the world during Kent Gardens' Virtual International Festival which will kick off on February 1, 2021!
To participate, first select a country/region and sign up here by January 15, 2021.
Next, visit the International Festival's website here and learn about exciting opportunities to get involved.
Celebrate our school's diversity by:
- Waving your flag and/or wearing a traditional costume in the Inaugural Parade
- Sharing your favorite vacation memory in KG’s World Photo Album
- Teaching us how to say KG PRIDE in a different Language
- Enlightening us with fun facts about your country in the Country Displays
- Sharing your favorite recipe and/or teaching us how to prepare it in the Cooking Tutorials
- Showing your creativity and artistry by making a craft in the Craft Tutorials
- Enjoying special discounts from local Restaurantsoffering international cuisine
- Dazzling our community by performing in the Talent Show
- Testing your knowledge by solving Triviagames and making your KG teachers proud!
The first 20 participants to upload a video for the Flag Parade will receive a special prize!!!
Lastly, if you would like to join our amazing team of volunteers or have any questions, please contact Miriam Gomez at miriamlgomez@gmail.com.
Rising 7th Grader Longfellow Information
We are dedicated to supporting your student’s transition to middle school and look forward to “seeing” you at our transition events! Presentation slides will be posted on the Longfellow homepage shortly after each event concludes. If you have any questions, please contact Marissa Brooks, Director of Student Services, at MLBrooks@fcps.edu
Virtual Curriculum Night- January 14 from 6:00pm-8:00pm
Please join us for our Virtual Rising 7th Grade Curriculum Night. You will learn about middle courses, student life, the after school program, and the registration process. *Early sessions for Special Education and ESOL Information will take place at 5:30pm.
Curriculum Night Links
- Special Education early session- 5:30pm-6:00pm- click here
- ESOL early session- 5:30pm-6:00pm- click here
- LMS Rising 7th Grade Curriculum Night- 6:00pm-8:00pm- click here
Virtual Family Registration Night- January 21 from 6:00pm-7:00pm
Please bring your students and join us for Family Registration Night. Longfellow counselors will walk you through the process of how to select courses and be available to answer questions. Click here to join this event.
Elementary Visits- January-February
Longfellow counselors will be visiting your student’s 6th grade class to help support the registration process and answer any questions they may have. Dates will be scheduled in collaboration with each individual elementary school.
Thomas Jefferson Diversity Talks Webinar
The PTSA Diversity Committee of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) is launching a series of Diversity Talks webinars in January! This series is especially for elementary and middle school students in grades 4-8. Join us to hear from people working in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. What sparked their interest in STEM? What did they study in school? What kinds of jobs do they do? What else would you like to know?
Mark your calendars for Monday, January 11, at 6 p.m. to hear the first speakers of our Diversity Talk series: Suresh Shenoy, Neena Shenoy and Nikhil Shenoy. Suresh Shenoy, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, is a business leader and philanthropist who has contributed deeply to many aspects of the northern Virginia community. He was executive vice president at Alyx Technologies Inc., a Virginia-based consulting and technology services company. Mr. Shenoy was a founding member of the Thomas Jefferson Partnership Fund and served on its board until 2002. Neena Shenoy is a Mechanical Engineer (Tufts University 1981 and MIT 1985) and founder of Technology & Engineering providing engineering services. She was involved in designing aircraft engines for GE and worked on the Space Shuttle program for NASA designing and installing Special Payloads. Nikhil Shenoy graduated from TJHSST in 2002, MIT in 2006 and the University of Chicago in 2014. After working at Goldman Sachs, Proctor and Gamble, and Kastle Systems, he is now CEO of Colvin Run Networks, a company that he started in northern Virginia to offer artificial intelligence and blockchain solutions to governments.
Parents, register at this Zoom link: https://bit.ly/TJDiversityTalk1
Submit questions in advance here: https://bit.ly/tjdiversitytalks
|
