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Dear Washington Mill families,
As the Return to School schedule draws closer, we will be offering a series of Parent Coffees for families. The first one will take place this week and will focus information about the COVID vaccine. The others in the series will be directed toward parents of students in specific grade levels. Each session will focus on topics including Concurrent Instruction, Safety Protocols, Bus Transportation, Student Laptops, and Becoming Ill at School. Parents will be able to ask questions and each session will be recorded and posted to our website should families not be able to attend.
As always, please don’t hesitate to email me, our assistant principals, or call our office if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Brad Bennink, Principal
Estimadas familias de Washington Mill,
A medida que se acerca el horario de regreso a la escuela, ofreceremos una serie de cafés para padres para las familias. El primero tendrá lugar esta semana y se enfocará en información sobre la vacuna COVID. Los demás de la serie estarán dirigidos a los padres de estudiantes de niveles de grado específicos. Cada sesión se centrará en temas como la instrucción concurrente, los procedimientos de seguridad, el transporte en autobús, las computadoras portátiles de los estudiantes y el tema de enfermarse en la escuela. Los padres podrán hacer preguntas y cada sesión será grabada y publicada en nuestro sitio web en caso de que las familias no puedan asistir.
Como siempre, por favor no dude en enviarme un correo electrónico, a nuestros subdirectores, o llamar a nuestra oficina si tiene alguna pregunta.
Sinceramente,
Brad Bennink, Director
Upcoming Virtual Parent Coffee Schedule:
Please join the sessions using the following link: WMES Return to School Parent Coffee
Washington Mill Elementary School Parent Coffee with Administrators:
PreK-K Parent Coffee / Wednesday, February 17
9:30am English session & 10:45am Spanish session
1st & 2nd Grade Parent Coffee / Wednesday, February 24
9:30am English session & 10:45am Spanish session
3rd-6th Grade Parent Coffee / Wednesday, March 3
9:30am English session & 10:45am Spanish session
Black History Month Weekly Highlight
Watch an interview with Captain Stephanie Grant and Mr. Wilson, Assistant Principal
Reminder: Requirement of Parent/Guardian Commitment Form
Parents or guardians who chose in-person learning for their child are required to complete a Parent/Guardian Health Screening Commitment form as students are phased back into in-person learning. This document indicates the parent or guardian’s agreement and commitment to completing a daily health screening prior to sending the student to school and also to keep ill students at home. The commitment form is available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Additional information is available in this guidance document.
Parents or guardians who have indicated that their child will attend in-school instruction will receive the commitment form electronically, or via hard copy, in their preferred correspondence language. Parents or guardians may choose to provide their response electronically or they may choose to return a hard copy form with their signature
Kiss-N-Ride Sign-Up Information
Need to sign up your child for Kiss & Ride?
Registration for 2020-2021 Kiss and Ride is only needed if you plan to pick up your child(ren) in the AFTERNOONS from the Kiss and Ride Loop.
Please read over our procedures below and sign up using the link at the bottom of this page.
Kiss & Ride is a designated loop for parents to drop off and/or pick up children before and after school. Our Kiss & Ride is located on the side of Washington Mill Elementary School. For Kiss and Ride to function properly, we are asking parents to follow these procedures:
- Washington Mill school staff members will provide supervision for Kiss & Ride from 8:35 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
- Children will load and unload from the passenger side of the car only, so that they do not cross in front of the carpool cars.
- Drivers of school-aged children must remain in the car.
- Cars must stay in a single file line as they move to and from the Kiss & Ride area. For the safety of the children, no passing will be permitted in the Kiss & Ride area.
- Parents intending to enter the building must park in the front parking lot and report to the main office.
- Inclement weather presents an added safety concern for children who are privately transported. Extreme caution is necessary on rainy days when traffic is unusually heavy.
- Please be kind and patient while using Kiss & Ride. It is important that all adults set a good example of cooperation and consideration for all of our children.
- Each student and parent will be assigned a matching number. Please place the Kiss-N-Ride Number on your rear-view mirror when you pick up your child(ren) for afternoon dismissal.
- Parents carpooling other students must have those students’ Kiss & Ride numbers.
Thank you for your efforts to keep Washington Mill Elementary School a safe place for children!!
If you have any questions concerning Kiss-N-Ride, please contact Michael Wilson, Assistant Principal at mjwilson@fcps.edu or 703-619-2500.
To register your child for Kiss & Ride, please click here to fill out this online form. You will need to complete a separate form for each child using Kiss & Ride.
Positivity Project
Each week, students at Washington Mill are introduced to a new character trait on the WMES Morning News Show from the Positivity Project. Administrators give a brief explanation of the character trait to the school community, and each classroom is assigned a character trait to present to the school community. In the past students have created videos, read books, talked about their personal experiences with the character trait, and illustrated pictures.
For the week of February 16th - February 18th , we will be focusing on
HUMILITY
with Mr. Rathman's 4th Grade Class.
WHAT DOES HUMILITY MEAN?
Humble people have an accurate (not underestimated)
sense of their abilities and achievements. They hold the
capacity to acknowledge their mistakes and limitations, and
are open to advice and new ideas. They do not show off
their possessions or accomplishments.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Developing humility is associated with positive
developmental outcomes in individuals. It allows a person
to honestly reflect on their abilities and acknowledge how
and where they can improve. Humility opens them up to
new ideas, advice, and (consequently) abilities that pride,
arrogance, or pretentiousness often block. Therefore,
humility makes them desired members of a team.
Calendar Reminder - Bell Schedule
Families are reminded that in preparation for the phasing in of student groups, our new bell schedules begin tomorrow. The new bell schedule for Washington Mill students is 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM. We’re looking forward to seeing you in the morning!
Parent Resources
FCPS Grab and Go Meals
Meals will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. As a reminder, it is important to follow social distancing guidelines. Be sure to stand a minimum of 6 feet apart from others and practice regular hand washing, including prior to leaving a residence to pick-up meals, upon returning home, and before consuming food. Please wear a mask when picking up meals.
For more information, visit FCPS' Food Distribution Site.
Executive Function Focus of the Week
" Online Etiquette"
What Does Executive Function Mean?
Our executive function skills allow us to control the multiple inputs, outputs, and connections that we experience everyday.
Executive Function is the ability to do the following:
● Monitor one’s own behavior, including thoughts and actions
● Regulate emotional responses
● Think about one’s thinking and behavior
● Problem solve
● Persist through tasks with the end goal in mind
● Begin a task or activity independently
Register for Upcoming Free Webinars from the FCPS Parent Resource Center
The FCPS Parent Resource Center (PRC) is offering free parent webinars in February. They are:
- Strategies to Support Social Emotional Learning at Home: A Webinar for Families, on Wednesday, February 17, 6:30 to 8 p.m., or Friday, February 19, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
- Is it Over Yet? How to Help your Child Cope with the Pandemic and the Eventual Return to Normalcy: A Webinar for Families, on Friday, February 26, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
More information on each session and how to register is available online.
Note: Previous webinars have been recorded and can be viewed on the PRC YouTube channel.
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