Dear Bailey’s Upper Families,
Just a note to welcome you to hybrid learning at Bailey’s Upper #BUpper for the 2020-2021 school year starting on March 16th. As the principal, I want to share again that it is my mission that at school we provide each child:
- a safe and positive learning environment
- quality instruction to meet the needs of each child
- supports for nurturing social and emotional development
During this hybrid session, we will be focusing on meeting all CDC guidelines, supporting students in leaning new routines and procedures, and implementing for the first-time concurrent learning opportunities. Because we are hybrid and using concurrent instruction, I do ask for everyone’s patience as we navigate through this new environment for both in-person and virtual students. I also want to remind everyone that our implementation of CDC guidelines does mean that school in person will be much different than what we have know in the past. Recess and lunch in particular may no longer be as favored and as fun for our students as it once was as students do need to stay distanced by 6 feet and wear masks unless they are ten feet apart outdoors. We will do our best to support students during these times.
All of our classroom teachers will be returning to the building for in-person instruction. Please know I am always open to listening and collaborating with you to solve problems. I take children’s safety and learning very seriously and keep it as a top priority for any decision making. I look forward to seeing all returning students and families, and I am thrilled to welcome all new children and families to our school. Please do not hesitate to email or call me anytime.
Below you will find important information and instructions for all families. I would greatly appreciate you reading this carefully or contacting our office if you need help as this information impacts the safety of all children on the first day of hybrid in person school and helps everyone avoid frustrations and have a great start to this new opportunity.
Sincerely,
Marie Lemmon
Principal
Return To School Virtual Parent Information Sessions On March 10th
Please join us for a Return To School Virtual Parent Information Session on Wednesday, March 10th. We invite you to our session at 6:00pm in English and our session at 6:30pm in Spanish. A slideshow link will be sent in English and Spanish to all families next week via eNotify. Please review the information, as we will use the time on March 10th primarily for Q &A. Please click on the following link to join our sessions in BbCU: https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/e08cd3fbe25f4f839cd58c6a9044756f
Health Screening Commitment Form
The Health Screening Commitment Form is required prior to students returning to school buildings. As students return for in-person instruction, parents/caregivers will be asked to acknowledge a Health Screening Commitment form before their student(s) return to school buildings. This document confirms that a parent/caregiver/guardian will complete a daily health screening and will keep their students home when they are ill. The Health Commitment form can be submitted electronically through ParentVUE (PVUE) or via hard copy. Please contact our main office to have a hard copy sent to you.
Home and School Communication
We have a variety of methods for communication. First and foremost, a weekly News You Choose email will continue to be sent to you each Friday. Keep in Touch will be used for any emergency or timely messages. It will be very important for each family to enroll in the SIS Parent Account online tool. At Bailey’s Upper, we will not send home communication folders on Thursdays this school year. News and events will be posted on our school website.
First Day of Hybrid Learning
It is important for children to begin and learn the routine of coming to school. I ask all families to have the students arrive to school the same way you plan for them to go home. For example, if you want your student to ride the bus home, then please have her/him ride the bus to school. From years of experience, I will tell you children who are supposed to ride the bus home from school and come a different way in the morning are often confused about how to get home and are most likely to be in the office waiting for someone to pick them up at the end of the day. Please note no one is permitted to walk to school. Busses are provided to all students. All children either must ride the bus or you must utilize Kiss and Ride. No parent should park and walk their child in on the first day as this could create quite a bottleneck and safety hazard. In the future, this is only allowable if the parent has business in the school.
On the first day, all of our staff will be busy helping students. Teachers will be giving lessons to students on how to find class from kiss and ride and the bus. We will also have staff to support children looking for their class. Children should know the name of their teacher, their floor, and color of their pod.
Bus Riders
During the first week, your child should arrive at the bus stop a few minutes early until the bus driver establishes a regular routine. I highly encourage you to have your child ride the bus to school on the first day to get in the routine of which bus to ride home each day. We will use the list from transportation to check in with each bus rider and give them a card with the bus number home. You will need to view transportation in your ParentVue account that will provide you with your child’s bus stop pickup and drop off approximate times. If you would like to request a different bus stop or if your child attends school at the Upper but is in SACC at the Primary, please complete an exception to ride form which can be found at this link. http://www.fcps.edu/fts/tran/forms/index.shtml.
Requests will be processed on a case by case basis and only approved for transportation changes due to dual custody and childcare locations. Please email it to Route Supervisor Rattanasiri Wanamitar at rwanamitar@fcps.edu and cc: Principal Marie Lemmon at mmlemmon@fcps.edu. Only transportation can approve these requests. Please contact FCPS transportation at 703-446-2050 for all questions concerning transportation issues.
Kiss and Ride
For parents that are transporting their children to school, staff members will greet the students at the “Kiss and Ride” location starting at 8:45 a.m. and ending at 8:55 a.m. After 8:55 a.m., parents must park and walk student(s) to the front door and wait to be greeted by a staff member. Please have your child sitting on the right hand passenger side and ALWAYS exit on the right. Please practice this routine with your child. Our staff parks in the covered lot. This means parents will not be able to park and wait for kiss and ride to open in the covered area in the morning. Parents should not pull into the covered area until 8:45 a.m. We do not have many kiss and ride families. I encourage you to come as close to 8:45 a.m. as possible to avoid blocking the service road. As many returning families know, Kiss and Ride may take longer the first couple weeks of school as families and children learn new routines. By the end of March all kinks will be worked out and Kiss and Ride will be a very smooth process. Please be patient. Additionally, the first week of school, we do keep kiss and ride open later to support families as they adjust to a new school routine. For all returning families, the procedures are the same as last year.
School Visitors
Prior to arriving all visitors will be required to fill out a COVID-19 Health Screener via this link: https://forms.gle/f2nevZmEt3RZKDAx8. Once entering the building, we have the same visitor registration system as Bailey’s Primary ES. Parents new to Bailey’s Upper will need to register at their first visit. After that it will take under 15 seconds to sign in and get a visitor badge. Office staff will be available to help parents use the system. Having a driver’s license handy makes the registration process faster, but a driver’s license is not required.
School Meals
Students will have breakfast and lunch in their classrooms for the remainder of the school year at Bailey’s Upper Elementary School. All meals, including breakfast and lunch, are free for all students for the remainder of the school year.
Free and Reduced Meals Applications
Applications including translated applications are available on the food service website via the following link: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/food-and-nutrition-programs/free-and-reduced-price-meals . If you need any assistance in filling out the necessary forms, please call 703-503-2700 and ask for Ingrid Hernandez, Registrar or Hiba Abdulwahhab, Parent Liaison. They are very excited to help all families with this. Ms. Hernandez can provide assistance in Spanish and Ms. Abdulwahhab can provide assistance in Arabic. Both can support in English.
Birthday Celebrations At BUpper
Due to allergy concerns, we are reevaluating our policy for student birthdays this school year. You may consider non-food items such as pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. All items must be pre-arranged with the teacher and pre-packaged and delivered seven days in advanced to meet CDC guidelines. Birthday items may only be shared with students on the class roster and not with friends from other classes. Due to following safety procedures and guidelines, the “Birthday Booth” will be closed for the remainder of the school year.
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New Bell Schedule is 9:00am – 3:30pm
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Kiss and Ride drop off schedule for Arrival is 8:45-8:55am and Dismissal 3:30-3:40pm
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Return To School Virtual Parent Information Session is Wednesday, March 10th. A slideshow will be sent home next week with additional details.
Please Join Us Virtually On Monday From 7:00pm-8:00pm For Science and STEAM at Home!
Join us on Monday, March 1st, to learn about science at home! Danielle Miles and Nicole Cassidy will perform awesome science demonstrations! Join us and bring the below materials to participate!
Please plan to join with your child and make sure you have the following materials:
- 2 cups
- Water
- A paper towel
- Food dye (optional)
(*Translators for Arabic and Spanish will be available*) We look forward to “seeing” you for our Family Night!!
BBCU Link to Join the Family Fun!
Click on the following link from your phone or child’s computer. http://bit.ly/BUpperTalks
We Need Your Feedback!
Have you attended a Weekly Parent Conversation or Family Night? Been unable to attend but wanted to join us? Please fill out the survey below to give us feedback on the events or let us know why you were unable to attend. This will help us make sure we are doing the very best we can to support ALL of our families!
Please complete the survey by March 12th:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S2LDTQZ (English)
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M5JG5KD (Spanish)
Would you like more information or have any questions? Please contact the Bailey’s Upper Counselors or School Based Instructional Technology Specialist:
Maya Lidell - mlidell@fcps.edu
Derek Ryan - dgryan@fcps.edu
Nicole Cassidy - nlcassidy@fcps.edu
Upcoming Family Night Schedule:
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Health Screening Commitment Form Required Prior to Students Return to School Buildings
As students return for in-person instruction, parents/caregivers will be asked to acknowledge a Health Screening Commitment form before their student(s) return to school buildings. This document confirms that a parent/caregiver/guardian will complete a daily health screening and will keep their students home when they are ill.
The Health Commitment form can be submitted electronically through ParentVUE (PVUE) or via hard copy. Please contact our main office to have a hard copy sent to you.
Glasgow Middle School is looking forward to receiving our fifth grade students this fall! Please see below for key upcoming dates.
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March 1st - Office Hours with Glasgow Counselors
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March 5th - Deadline for Google form course selections to be completed
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April 15th - Welcome to Glasgow! video will be shared
Communications will be sent to our rising 6th grade families in January with details and links. As with many things these days, these dates and times may be subject to change. Everyone is working to make this transition smooth and meaningful for our students and families. Thank you for your support!
We are excited to announce our 8th Annual Read-A-Thon will start on March 2nd in conjunction with Read Across America Week! Next week we will share more details on how to participate, including how to track minutes, accept pledges/donations, and earn prizes!
To mark the start of our Read-A-Thon, we welcome you to attend the Tiger Tales Bedtime Stories Series kickoff event on March 2nd at 6:30 PM. The kickoff event and all bedtime stories will be held on BBCU.
To learn more about Zara González Hoang and see some of her work, check out her website.
3rd Grade WIDA Assessments at Bailey’s Upper Elementary School will begin on Friday, March 5th from 9:00am-12:00pm. If you received an eNotify invitation for your child to attend, please plan to bring your child to school by 9:00am and pick them up at 12:00pm on this day. If you cannot provide transportation, your child will be scheduled for a later date.
Breakfast will be provided at school and a grab and go lunch will be sent home with your child on this date.
If you have any questions, please contact our Assistant Principal and School Testing Coordinator, Elizabeth Convey at 703-503-2700 or evconvey@fcps.edu.
Available At Bailey's Upper
Fairfax Meal Kits will be offered at Bailey's Upper, containing seven (7) days of breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and supper items packed in bulk. Meal kits will be available for pick up every Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. or until supplies are exhausted.
All meals are available at no-cost to FCPS students and children eighteen (18) years of age and under. Parents/caregivers may pick up for children and adults may purchase kits for $28.00.
There will also be a distribution for fresh, local fruits and vegetables 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. For More information, please click here .
Dress up for Book Character Day, March 2nd
We’re celebrating books and reading for Read Across America Day on March 2nd!
Students are encouraged to dress up like a character from the book of their choice for school on Tuesday, March 2nd. Students will be able to upload a picture of their costume during morning meeting on March 2nd so their costumes can be shown on our daily news show, Bailey's News Network (BNN), during the Read-a-thon. Students can also choose to upload a Flipgrid of their costume at this link https://flipgrid.com/cf845b24 to share with Mrs. Lindgren. Flipgrids may be shared on BNN as well.
Other special events to celebrate Read Across America:
- Annual Read-a-thon March 2nd-15th
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Virtual Family Story Night and Readathon kickoffevent:Tuesday, March 2nd at 6:30 PM with Author Zara Gonzalez Hoang
- Story time each weeknight during the readathon – March 3-5 & 8-12. Join story nights at this link.
- Students can record minutes listening to the online story nights and include those in their Read-a-thon minutes each day.
Questions? Email Bailey’s Upper Librarian, Linda Lindgren, at LCLindgren@fcps.edu.
The Parent Technology Help Desk can be reached at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS) and will be answered by staff members between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week. Please specify if you need an interpreter when you call.
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Logging into my FCPS Laptop:
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Connecting a Mifi Device to your FCPS Laptop:
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Logging into FCPS Google Apps and Getting to BbCU Emails:
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Joining the BbCU Class from FCPS Gmail:
Access/Consent Form
All parents will need to access this link and complete the information BEFORE you can use any of the digital resources (websites) listed here: Bailey’s Upper Public School Website. Please note some of these resources will be used often and others may be used from time to time.
To provide your parental consent for each student in your family, please follow this link and complete the provided directions.
Please stay in touch with us throughout the year by:
Friendly Reminders
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Bailey’s Upper New Bell Schedule: 9:00am-3:30pm
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March 2: Magnet Lottery Opens (only NEW Bailey's students, including incoming siblings, need to apply)
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March 2: Book Character Day!
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March 2: Read-A-Thon Kickoff Event: Virtual Tiger Tales Story Night
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March 5: 2 hour early release
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March 8: Student Holiday (staff development day, no specialist clubs on this date)
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March 8: Rising 3rd Grade Virtual Information Session, 2:00 PM
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March 2-15: Read-A-Thon
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March 10: Return to School Virtual Parent Information Session
- 6:00pm (in English) BBCU
- 6:30pm (in Spanish) BBCU
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March 11 & 12: Teacher Prep Days For Concurrent Instruction
- Students will participate in asynchronous learning on these dates.
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March 16: Tentative Concurrent Start Date (Grades 3-6)
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March 17: PTA Membership Meeting, BBCU, 7:00 PM
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