Important Upcoming Dates
4/19 - Dragon Dreams
5/3-5/7 Teacher Appreciation Week
5/3 - Dragon Dreams
5/31- Memorial Day Holiday
6/11 - Last Day of School (Early Release - Dismissal at 2:15)
IN THIS ISSUE
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NEW: Our New Meal Procedures
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Testing Information
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Kindergarten Enrollment For the 2021-2022 School Year
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UPDATED: Positivity Information
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Dragon Dreams Bedtime Stories
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April School Spirit Days
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NEW: Your Lifetouch Pictures
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PTA
 1.Our New Meal Procedures
Beginning on April 20, we are adjusting our meal practices in school. Because most of our classrooms are switching from the 6 feet to 3 feet distance requirement per CDC guidelines for classrooms, students may no longer eat in that smaller setup. Students must remain 6 feet apart when eating.
Breakfast
- We will be going back to our previous breakfast routine of students going to the cafeteria to eat breakfast.
- Since we are a late start school, we highly encourage all of our students to eat breakfast at home.
- Due to a smaller number of students attending in person in some classes, some classrooms are still in the 6 foot guidance. In those classrooms, students are still allowed to eat there.
- At 9:30 am, students needing breakfast will enter the building and proceed directly to the cafeteria. They will have until 9:45 am to finish their meal and transition to their classrooms for attendance and morning meeting.
- When students leave the cafeteria, they will not be allowed to take any leftover food to their classrooms. However, for any student arriving late, our cafeteria manager, Mr. Lilly, will deliver 3 additional breakfast bags to each classroom.
Snacks
- As a school, we are building this into our mask breaks or recess and will have the students eat their snacks outside.
Lunch
- All K-6 students will eat in the cafeteria except 6th graders because of the cafeteria capacity limits. 6th graders will remain in their classrooms with the support of an FCPS staff member.
- Similar to their breakfast routine, students will now be going to the cafeteria to eat their lunch.
- Per CDC guidelines, there are desks that have been spaced 6 feet apart and all face the same direction. There are no longer tables in the cafeteria.
- Students will still have 30 minutes to eat their lunch.
2.Testing Information
- Universal Screener I-Ready Spring Window (April 19-June 4)
Spring window for Universal Screener iReady is April 19-June 4. During this time frame, some students in grades K-6 will be taking the spring iReady tests. If you would like to know specific dates of your child’s iReady tests, please contact your child’s teacher.
- Virginia Remote Student Progress Test
For those parents who opted out of the SOLs for their all-virtual students, you will soon receive a message about an alternate assessment that you may have your student take. It is called the Virginia Remote Student Progress Test (VRSPT). It is meant only as a means for you to have information about your child’s academic achievement on grade-level content standards. It is an optional assessment that you will monitor at home while your child takes it during the hours of 7:00pm - 10:00pm Monday - Friday from May 10 - June 4. We will send all families who quality for this assessment a separate email with the details of how to access it.
We will be sending out our SOL schedule next week. If your child is virtual and you did NOT opt out of the SOLs, you will receive an email with the date and time for your child to come to the school and take them. If you have not yet opted out and wish to, please email Ms. An (kan@fcps.edu ) and Ms. Schmidt (bdschmidt@fcps.edu) now. Please indicate that it is for a Covid-related reason. Students who are virtual AND students who are in person may be opted out.
3.Kindergarten Enrollment for the 2021-2022 School Year
Fairfax Villa ES needs your help in projecting the Kindergarten enrollment for the 2021-2022 school year. Virginia Law, section 22.1-254, requires that children who will reach their fifth birthday on or before September 30, 2021, must be enrolled in Kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year unless the parent or guardian notifies the school in writing that they do not wish the child to attend school until the following year.
If you have a child who will be five years old on or before September 30, 2021, please fill out the form at https://fairfaxvillaes.fcps.edu/student-services/new-student-registration no later than March 26, 2021. You can also find the survey of preschool children / kindergarten enrollment form on the reverse side of this letter. Our kindergarten staffing of teachers and instructional assistants is based on our kindergarten enrollment and our first staffing meeting for the 2021-22 school year is in early April. We appreciate you filling out the form by that date.
If any of your neighbors have children who will be eligible for Kindergarten, please share this information with them, as we are especially interested in reaching those Fairfax Villa families who do not have children currently attending our school.
Please email any questions to Silvia Dossmann, Fairfax Villa Student Information Assistant, at smdossmann@fcps.edu.
 4.Positivity Information April 19 - 25:
APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY AND EXCELLENCE
What does APPRECIATION mean? Appreciation of beauty and excellence is the ability to identify and enjoy that which is admirable in the world. There are three types of goodness in which positive psychology focuses: physical beauty (e.g. a sunset, song, or building); an exceptional skill or talent; and moral goodness (e.g. a character strength). Appreciation of beauty can generate awe; appreciation of a skill can generate admiration; and appreciation of moral goodness can generate moral elevation. All of these feelings (awe, admiration, and moral elevation) help us forget ourselves and find increased joy and meaning in the world. You believe that all people have value. You approach situations with an unbiased mindset and treat everyone with respect.
WHY DOES IT MATTER? Appreciating excellence and beauty helps an individual experience positive emotions and connect to the world around him/her. It’s an outward facing strength, meaning the individual is focused on the world outside his/her head. And, not only is the individual outwardly focused, but often deeply absorbed in a sense of awe or admiration, freeing him/her to forget anxieties and troubles. And it is associated with other strengths, such as gratitude, curiosity, love of learning, and connection/purpose.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough.” -TONI MORRISON
 5.Dragon Dreams Bedtime Stories
Thank you to all those families who joined us on April 5 for our Dragon Dreams Bedtime Stories.We loved hearing Ms. Rubin, Ms. Romano and Ms. Bayder read their favorite books to us.
Our next Dragon Dream Bedtime Stories will be on Monday, April 19 at 7:00. Our readers this time will be Ms. McNamee, Ms. Stoll, and Ms. Quinn!
Please join us then using this link. The BBC link will be available beginning at 6:45 PM. Because of the large group, the audio, video, and chat are automatically turned off.
We can’t wait to see you! Put on your coziest pajamas and join us for some delightful stories.
 6.April School Spirit Days
Let's continue to show how excited we are to be Villa Dragons during the month of April with more Virtual Villa Spirit Days. Showing our school spirit helps us to feel connected to each other even when we can't be together. Get ready to show us your Villa Spirit!!!
 7.Your Lifetouch Pictures
Lifetouch Pictures have arrived! If your student is Virtual, you may pick up his/her pictures in the main office Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm. For all IN-PERSON students, your pictures are being sent home with your student.
8.PTA News
The following message is sent on behalf of the Fairfax Villa ES School PTA. Its content reflects the PTA.
Are you the next Fairfax Villa PTA Treasurer??
Have you ever thought about being one of our amazing PTA board members? Are you good with numbers and want to get more involved? Interested in keeping the financial books for the PTA? Maybe the Treasurer is the position for you! Please contact Jessie at villapta@gmail.com if you'd like to discuss or to put your name on the candidate list.
PTA General Membership Meeting
Please join us for our next PTA general membership meeting on Wednesday, April 28 at 7 PM.
https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/e553065b5c314a049de3492858780664
AmazonSmile
We raised $55 in our first 3 months with AmazonSmile! You can continue to support the Fairfax Villa PTA, and our kids and teachers, while you shop. Visit smile.amazon.com and choose the Fairfax Villa Elementary PTA as your charity, and AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your order total to the PTA.
Outside Activities
Girl Scout troops are forming for girls entering Kindergarten next year! If you know any girls who are interested, please share this upcoming meeting.
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