From the Administration
Dear Belvedere Family:
Spring is in the air and our some of our students are returning to school! It is so exciting to see students in the building.
Please be aware that class groupings and days students are returning are final. Teachers have spent hours setting up spaces and figuring out the technology needs to keep students safe and engaged when back in the building. Requests to change a child from virtual instruction to in-person instruction will be placed on a wait list that will be revisited a month after the start date of a cohort of students. Thank you for understanding.
Our school hours are 9:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Arrival begins at 9:25 and ends at 9:45, the start of the school day. If your child arrives after 9:45, s/he will be considered tardy. Dismissal will begin at 4:15 p.m. Students who are walkers and those who go home by Kiss and Ride will be dismissed from the classroom first. Parents of walkers should meet students outside of door #8 in the back of our cafeteria by the parking lot.
Bus information has been mailed and emailed to families. Parents can also see their child's bus information in SIS ParentVUE. (In ParentVUE, click on your child’s name, then the “Student Information” tab. Bus information is listed under “Transportation” there.) If your child is a Bus rider, you may want to download the Here Comes the Bus App for your phone (For more information, click here.)
Lunch and breakfast will be served at no cost to students. Both meals will be prepacked and delivered to the classroom. Please send a water bottle with your child to ensure s/he always has water, as our water fountains are off limits. Children will be able to refill water bottles at the sink.
Best Regards,
Cecilia Vanderhye, Principal and Kelly Cabezas, Assistant Principal
Return of Student Forms
If you have paper forms that you need to return, you may return them to the office or place them in the bin outside Door 1, which will be checked regularly.
It is especially important that we have the Parent/Guardian Health Screening Commitment form on file if your child is returning In-Person. (Click here for an Arabic form, here for Chinese, and here for Vietnamese.) If you are not sure whether or not you have returned this form, please call the Belvedere office at 703-916-6800.
Student Intentions for 2021-2022 School Year
Hello Belvedere Families!
We would like to hear from you regarding your student's plans for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year. Please click on this link to complete a brief survey regarding your student's intentions.
Thank you!
En Pocas Palabras FCPS Podcast for Spanish Speaking Families
Welcome to En Pocas Palabras FCPS Podcast from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). Listen to En Pocas Palabras FCPS in Spanish and English to hear timely, important information related to school news. FCPS cares about all families. The podcast is produced in conjunction with the Office for ESOL Services and the Office of Professional Learning and Family Engagement.
The goal of every podcast is to help families access key resources and understand how to best support their children’s education. En Pocas Palabras FCPS will bring you something new to discover. We are a community. Together, we are stronger! Listen on:
Read Across America Week (March 1-5)
March 1-5, 2021 is Read Across America Week! We will celebrate by reading books that honor and celebrate diversity in literature. You can celebrate this week at home by doing follow-up activities from books that will be read each day.
Click here for the books that will be read and some suggested follow-up activities.
Specialists Newsletter
Click here to read about all the things your child is doing during their Specials Classes (Art, Music, Health & Phys Ed, Spanish & Library).
Fairfax Recharge: Free Child Care for Low-Income Families
Get free child care with the Fairfax Recharge program! Use the time to work, seek employment or take care of other responsibilities. Low income Fairfax County residents may be eligible to receive free child care for 15 hours a week for 8 weeks.
For additional details, see the flyer here.
Fairfax Water Bill Relief Program
Drinking water and wastewater utilities provide a critical service to the community, especially during a pandemic. To provide financial relief for customers in need, Fairfax Water is working to administer funds received from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s COVID-19 Municipal Utility Relief Program.
A application is available on Fairfax Water’s website at bit.ly/FWoptions. To qualify, you must meet certain eligibility requirements, attest that you are experiencing financial hardship due to the coronavirus public health emergency, and submit an application to Fairfax Water. Funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so please apply soon.
For additional assistance, call Fairfax Water’s customer service department to discuss payment options. The call center is available weekdays, 8:00am - 6:00pm at 703.698.5800 (TTY 711).
Chrome Sync
As part of FCPS’s ongoing effort to support student use of technology, Chrome Sync and the ability to save passwords will be available as an option starting on February 18th. Students are not required to use Chrome Sync and save passwords, but may choose to them in order to reduce their log-in time and access bookmarks and extensions across devices.
Chrome will remember and offer saved passwords when students are logging into different instructional applications. Chrome will also make bookmarks and extensions available on any device in which the student logs into Chrome and turns on Sync.
If your student would like to use Chrome Sync and save passwords, support resources are available on the FCPS website. If your child is logging into Chrome now, they may need to log out of Chrome and log back in to see the new features.
Library Book Pick-Up
Changes to Distribution of Library Books
Our bus drivers are now having to transport students, so buses can no longer provide book delivery to bus stops. Students can still request books as they have been doing (by noon Tuesdays), but books will only be available for pickup through the Kiss and Ride line at Belvedere on Fridays from 8:00-9:00 a.m. and 12:00-1:00 p.m. This new procedure began on Friday, January 29.
Students who are coming to school in person will receive their library books at school. If your child is remaining virtual, we will still offer library book pick-up on Fridays in the Kiss and Ride lane 8:00-9:00am and 12:00pm-1:00pm.
When coming to pick up your books, please stay in your car, drive through the Kiss and Ride line and come to the tent. Please have a sign with your student's name(s) on it, and please wear a mask.
For more details on how to reserve and pick up library books, click here.
Library Book Return
You can return library books on Fridays when you pick up your books. You can also drop off library books at the bin next to the main Belvedere entrance (Door 1) Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. You do not need to ring the doorbell--just put them in the bin labeled for library books.
If you have questions, please email Mrs. Atkins at: mfatkins@fcps.edu.
Backpack Friday Pickup
If you participate in the Backpack Friday program, you will be able to pick up your food during regular office hours on Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you would like to be added or removed from the Backpack Friday list, please call the school office at 703-916-6800.
FREE Fairfax Meal Kits
We are excited to announce that we will be distributing FREE Fairfax 7-Day Meal Kits at Belvedere on Wednesdays. Meal kits now include breakfast, lunch, supper and snack!
The kits will be available for pick up from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or until they run out. Meal kits will be available to ALL FCPS students and children 18 years of age and under at no cost. Each meal kit will contain breakfast, lunch, supper and snack for one person for a week. Parents and caregivers may pick up one meal kit for each child. Adults may purchase meal kits for $28.
For a full list of bulk sites where these fresh fruits and vegetables will be served, please visit https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/food.
Instructions on how to store the food and prepare it will be provided. Meal kits will be distributed every Wednesday unless otherwise noted.
Don’t miss out! Stop by Belvedere and pick up your no-cost Fairfax Meal Kit on Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.!
Elementary Magnet School Lottery
The Magnet Program registration window will open March 2, 2021. No late applications will be accepted.
Families wanting to apply for the Magnet Lottery must have a SIS account. If a student is not currently enrolled in FCPS, registration at the base school for the upcoming school year will be required.
A separate application must be completed for each sibling applying. Legacies also must apply to be eligible. Acceptances into one of the magnet programs is not transferable into another program or school.
Registration for the elementary magnet school lottery closes on Tuesday, April 6, at 4:00 p.m. No late applications are accepted.
For additional information, click here.
Employment Opportunities
New opportunity: Classroom Monitors
FCPS schools and centers will be hiring classroom monitors to provide in-person classroom assistance for students when a staff member remains virtual. If you would like more information about the position, please review the job description and qualifications online and apply if interested. Please feel free to share information about this opportunity with anyone else you think may be interested.
Substitute Teaching
Are you or somebody you know interested in substitute teaching with FCPS? Apply here or attend one of our Friday information sessions to learn more! To sign up for a session, visit our substitute information page here. Say Yes 2 FCPS!
PTA Direct Donation Campaign
As of now, our generous Belvedere community has raised nearly $1,000 for our school! The PTA supports Belvedere's students and staff in many great ways. For example this year, PTA funds will go towards school technology, teacher training, software licenses, school spirit, and so much more.
Instead of asking our students and staff to sell various fundraising products, we ask all members of our community to contribute to the important work of supporting our school by making Direct Donations. Our fundraising goal this year is $8,000 to help our school! Please consider donating whatever you can today. You may mail payments by check to "Belvedere Elementary School PTA, 6540 Columbia Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041" or through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/belvederePTA
From the PTA
In Case You Missed It
FREE COVID-19 Testing at George Mason Regional Library
Click here for information about a new FREE COVID-19 testing site at George Mason Regional Library.
Individuals who exhibit any symptoms, or who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, should get tested. Fairfax County has an incredible array of services and supports to help individuals who test positive!
Information about additional COVID-19 testing sites in Fairfax and surrounding jurisdictions is available here.
Upcoming Dates
- Friday, 3/5: Early Release Day (School ends at 2:45)
- Monday, 3/8: Student Holiday (Staff Development Day)
- Week of March 9: First- and Second-Grade Students return to In-Person Instruction (2 days per week)
- Week of March 16: Third through Fifth-Grade Students return to In-Person Instruction (2 days per week)
 Keep in Touch
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