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In this Friday Message you will find:
- Principals' Message
- FCPS Resources
- Tip of the Week
- Kids' Clubs
- Save the Date - Next Read and Ride is March 15
- Soaring Eagles
- Positivity Project
- Staff Spotlight
- TJHSST PTSA Diversity in STEM Talks
- Upcoming Dates
Dear Floris Families,
We are so proud of our students, staff and families as we navigated the teacher/class changes for our students in grades 1-6 together. It was wonderful to see the positivity as they were meeting new teachers and classmates and building relationships.
We once again ask for your grace and flexibility as none of us have ever taught concurrently or worked in this new school environment until now. We continue to learn as we go and adjust to make improvements. Transportation is also tweaking and adjusting the bus routes, stops and times as we go and all of FCPS appreciates your patience.
Today, March 5, students will be dismissed at 2:15 PM. Monday, March 8, is a student holiday and our staff will be participating in various professional learning opportunities. There will be no Morning Meeting, assigned work or interventions on Monday. Our entire staff will be participating in an Equity Professional Development session. During that training, our main office will be closed from 12:45-3:15pm.
Reminder, our 1st-2nd grade in-person students return to the building next week. Group “A” will start next Tuesday (3/9) and Group "B" next Thursday (3/11). If you have requested bus transportation, the bus number and bus stop information is in your ParentVue account and you have received an email with the details.
Thank you all for your continued support and have a fabulous weekend.
#Eagles:SoaringHigherTogether
Holly Walker and Amanda Dorr
hjwalker@fcps.edu
acdorr@fcps.edu
FCPS Provided Resources- Is Your Child Ready to Return to the School Building?
Here are tips on how parents can help reduce anxieties some students may feel returning to in-person learning for the first time in nearly a year.
Also, be sure to visit the return to school checklist online to make sure they have the items needed for in-person learning.
This week's tip comes from our wonderful Floris Instructional Coach, Jo Gordon.
Writing for Life
By Jo Gordon, Instructional Coach; Teacher Consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project
My children - both grown up now - still have the notes they received years ago from the tooth fairy, and I still have the notes they wrote back (the tooth fairy gave them to me for safe keeping). Those are precious artifacts of years that pass by with lightning speed. When children appreciate that writing is not a tedious academic process, but a way to make sense of the world and their place in it, they become authentic writers. Here are some suggestions for ways families can impact the confidence of young writers:
- Buy or make a journal for an ongoing written dialogue with your child. Begin with a note from you that affirms the child’s strengths. Share memories about your own childhood. Sign the note with love and invite a response. No rules! No spelling corrections! No critiques! Welcome all entries – written and/or drawn – and then keep the written conversation going. It will be a treasured keepsake one day.
- Going to the grocery store? Ask your child to make a shopping list for you. Have her code it with needs in one color and wishes in another.
- Encourage your child to make a pretty card with a sweet message for someone who is ill, write a letter to a relative/friend he hasn’t seen in a while, or craft a thank you note after receiving a gift or treat. Then mail those written messages. If responses are received, the reciprocal nature of writing will be further reinforced.
- Has your child been asking for a pet, a new pair of shoes, a game, a trip to the ice cream store? Ask her to write a list of the pros and cons of receiving the wished-for item, and then sit down to talk it through together.
- Regularly share the importance of writing in everyday life: If you are making yourself a to-do list, explain how that helps you stay organized. When you read a newspaper article that makes you think, share a passage with the family over dinner. If using a recipe to make a meal, show your child how it is organized and point out transition words that make clear the order of the steps (first, then, before, after, finally...). Draw attention to signs or directions that are confusing and others that are clear - discuss the difference. Create a color-coded chart with upcoming family activities and appointments, using this writing strategy to keep everyone organized and in the loop.
- Leave little notes with loving messages or silly jokes tucked into drawers, under pillows, in lunch bags, or attached to the fridge. Make writing fun.
According to the National Writing Project, “Writing is essential to learning, critical thinking, and active citizenship. Writing is the currency of the new workplace and global economy, but more importantly, writing helps us clarify ideas, solve problems, and understand ourselves and our changing world” (https://www.nwp.org).
If you ever have questions about encouraging your child to write, please be in touch at jgordon@fcps.edu. I'd love to strategize with you.
Floris Kids' Clubs
Save the Date
Next Read and Ride is March 15th
From 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Monday, March 15, Read and Ride Day will provide students the opportunity to check-out and return library books from the comfort and safety of their cars. Our librarian, Ms. Dowling, will offer a wide variety of books for all ages from which students can make several selections. To ensure that students get books that are just right for them, we will have one collection for students in grades K-2 and another for students in grades 3-6. Watch this space next Friday for a list of genres from which students will be able to choose. We hope to see many of you in our Read and Ride line. It is exciting to put books in students’ hands!
Books checked out in past weeks may be returned on March 15 too. Returned books are quarantined for seven days prior to check-in.
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
Humility
What does Humility mean? You do not seek the spotlight. You let your actions speak for themselves. Humble people have an accurate (not underestimated) sense of their abilities and achievements. They hold the capacity to acknowledge their mistakes and limitations. They are open to advice and new ideas. They do not show off their possessions or accomplishments.
Why does it 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.
Quote of the week: “A true genius admits he knows nothing.” -Albert Einstein
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.
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.
AMANDA BROWN-BEDELL
Amanda Brown-Bedell is in her fifth year as a Kindergarten IA, four of which have been at Floris Elementary School. “Since I was a little girl in kindergarten and we had to draw what we wanted to be when we grew up, I have always dreamed of becoming an educator,” she shares. Her greatest passion is math, so she is currently working on a master's degree in mathematics.
Mrs. Brown-Bedell recently had a baby boy who fills her life with sweetness. She loves to dance and make up songs to help her students learn. For many years, she taught dance and color guard for high school students in Florida, so she’s had good training for bringing movement into the kindergarten classroom.
When she was younger, Mrs. Brown-Bedell lived in Germany for several years. In fact, she was in Germany when the Berlin wall came down, living through a powerful historical moment. “I was in Germany because my uncle and aunt were stationed there and my mom was asked to nanny for them,” she explains. “We lived there for three years before moving to Michigan where we stayed two years, finally returning to Florida in time for me to start kindergarten. I was so young during the Berlin Wall coming down that I don’t remember much about it, but I do like to think it left an imprint that made me fight for what I believe in and be proud of who I am. I feel like I can break down any barrier that someone places in front of me,” she says.
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March 8: Staff Development Day- No School for Students
March 9: First day for 1st and 2nd grade A Group in-person
March 11: First day for 1st and 2nd grade B Group in-person
March 14: Daylight Saving Time Begins at 2:00am - remember to turn your clocks forward on Saturday night
March 15: Read and Ride, Door 1, 1:00-3:00pm
March 16: First day for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade A Group in-person
March 17: PTA Meeting, 6:30pm, Zoom Link
March 18:
- First day for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade B Group in-person
- Floris PTA Science Fair, 6:30pm
March 26:
March 29-April 2: Spring Break
April 5: Teacher Workday - No School for Students
Find the 2020-2021 School Year Calendar Here
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