 Dear Families,
I love that Teacher Appreciation Week and Mother’s Day coincide on the calendar each year. Our children thrive when they know they are loved and encouraged at home or at school. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for the time you took to express your appreciation for our teachers last week. On this Mother’s Day weekend, it’s your turn.
I want to take a moment to honor our students’ mothers--or the aunts, grandparents, guardians or fathers who serve as primary caregivers for our students every day. I honor the adults in our students' lives faced with the challenges of nurturing them through a pandemic.
Teachers have had to reinvent what it means to be teachers this year. But we have had to reinvent what it means to be mothers, too. If you are anything like me, you've labored over every parenting decision you’ve made since last spring.
In past years, it felt like we were parenting without a roadmap to guide us. This year, it feels like we are parenting without a compass.
In past years, we’ve collaborated with a village of other caregivers. This year, we been our children's teachers, childcare providers, coaches, counselors, activity leaders, grandparents and even playmates and friends. The world narrowed down to just us and them for days, weeks, months.
In past years, we balanced safety and risk to encourage our children to grow, learn a new skill, or make a new friend. This year, getting the right balance between safety and risk feels impossible. And even if we come to peace with the balance we've struck, we might feel judged as overprotective for staying virtual, or as reckless for letting them play with friends.
In past years, we might have struggled with our decisions about working outside the home. This year, we might not have had any choice at all. Many of us have had to telework and parent simultaneously. Or we may have lost jobs or had to sacrifice activities that brought us joy because we put our kids' needs before our own. Our daily lives are now dictated by decisions we didn't get to make.
So on this Mother’s Day, I hope you are showered with homemade cards and flowers and chocolates and…a little time to yourself. As we strive to return to a sense of normalcy in our family lives, I hope you have a few quiet moments to reflect with pride on all the challenges you have met since last spring. Give yourself grace for not always knowing the answers. Nobody could have mothered your children better than you did.
My mom’s favorite definition of parenting is captured in the quotation above: letting your heart forever walk outside your body. This year, we watched our children go through trauma we couldn't protect them from. And that, maybe more than anything else, traumatized us. Our hearts have been bruised on their journey through 2020-2021. May they beat stronger and steadier as we find our way to healing on the other side. Remember that a mother’s love is the only compass we will ever have. Love is the only roadmap we will ever need.
Happy Mother’s Day to you all.
Warm regards,
Diane Henry Leipzig, Dr. L
Principal
On May 3, our wonderful team presented information about our Kindergarten program. If you missed the session, the recording is here:
Dr. L - recording_32
In order to plan for a successful start to the 2021-2022 school year, we would like to learn a bit about their in-person experiences over the past year and a half. If your child is a rising Kindergartener, please fill out this brief survey about their recent social experiences:
https://forms.gle/xBoX9CRCVscHANED7
Please encourage friends and neighbors with Kindergarten-aged children to register with aldecatur@fcps.edu or by clicking the registration link on our website: https://canterburywoodses.fcps.edu/student-services/student-registration
And sign up for a tour of our school to start building excitement for 5-days of in-person school each week next year. These tours are led by our wonderful office staff, available each morning in May at 9:00 AM.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4AAFAC2FA3F8C16-canterbury2
During the orientation, our beloved Mrs. Callahan announced she will be retiring this spring. We are so grateful for her years of service to the youngest students of CWES! Please take a moment to drop her a note of gratitude at sbcallahan@fcps.edu if your family was lucky enough to cross paths with hers.
Families whose students are currently enrolled in 100% virtual (and no monitoring) or who are new to FCPS received information last week about the process to request 100% virtual for next school year.
Virtual instruction will be offered centrally (i.e., not by CWES) for a limited number of students with qualifying medical conditions. Students will not be able to select virtual due to a household member with health risk.
If your child(ren) has a health/medical need for instruction in the Virtual Program, please:
- Fill out the Intent to Apply form BY MAY 9, and CWES will contact you with next steps on the Virtual Program eligibility and enrollment process.
- Download the COVID-19 Health Eligibility Form, which requires a health/medical certification of need that must be completed by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, or a licensed clinical psychologist.
- Submit completed COVID-19 Health Eligibility Form with health/medical certification to virtualenrollment@fcps.edu between May 17-21. Upon submission, families will receive an electronic reply with detailed instructions on how to complete the Virtual Program Enrollment Application via the online application portal between May 17-21.
FCPS’ Central Virtual Program Enrollment Team will contact you with a decision by June 1.
We will be holding an in-person promotion ceremony for our sixth graders in the WOODSON HIGH SCHOOL auditorium on THURSDAY June 10 at 2:30 PM. The larger indoor space at Woodson HS will allow for students and 2 guests each to attend with 3-feet distancing.
We will also have a virtual option for student and guest participation.
Students who ordinarily attend school in-person will be bussed to Woodson for the ceremony. Students accessing virtual instruction are also welcome; families should plan to bring them by 2:15 PM on June 10 to Woodson HS, Door 18.
Students who ordinarily attend school in-person will have the option for being dismissed to families after the ceremony or brought back to CWES in time for dismissal at 4:15.
If your child is a sixth grader, please fill out this Google Form to let us know your sixth grader's plan for participation and dismissal:
https://forms.gle/6yE2hkhdgVEmEAyq6
Registration for VIP Summer Camp is now open
What is your middle school child doing this summer? Like you, we believe your child is a very important person and deserves a summer experience that is safe and full of fitness, friends, fun and enrichment. FCPS and the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services (DNCS) have teamed up to offer a 5 week camp for rising 7th, 8th and 9th graders attending Frost, Irving, Lake Braddock, Robinson, and South County Middle Schools. There is a $50 camp supply fee. Breakfast & lunch will be served each day. Campers will have a great time playing sports, games, doing arts and crafts and cooking. We will have fun in-house field trips activities on Fridays. The staff is comprised of FCPS teachers and support staff, After School Program Specialists, and trained DNCS staff. Transportation is provided to and from each middle school to Irving Middle School.
Camp Details
Dates: Monday, June 28, 2021 - Thursday, July 29, 2021 (students are encouraged to attend all 5 weeks)
Hours: 9:00am-3:00pm (8-9 is drop off, camp begins at 9am)
Location: South County Middle School 8700 Laurel Crest Drive, Lorton, VA 22079
Transportation: FCPS bus pick-up and drop-off available at Frost Middle School
Registration Procedure: Use the registration link provided here: https://forms.gle/1zwrQAynAVHK9aN69
Registration Fee: $50 – pay information in on the registration application – Camp will fill up fast!
Refund Policy: To request a refund of the Camp Supply Fee, contact Chris Woodby, After-School Specialist at Frost MS, by emailing cwwoodby@fcps.edu prior to the cutoff date of Friday, June 25, 2021. Refund requests submitted after the cutoff date will not be considered. Refunds will be in the form of a check. Please allow 3-4 weeks for processing
Please note: You will receive an email confirmation, once the registration fee has been paid, from Deb Metzker that your child has been accepted into camp.
Questions? Please contact Debbie Metzker at dlmetzker@fcps.edu
Each year, CWES solicits parent input that we take into consideration as we create classes for next year.
Complete the Parent Input Form for Class Placement for each of your rising CWES students by May 25 to let us know a bit about your child and the type of learning environment in which he/she thrives.
Take a moment to watch this video featuring CWES students' artworks, as part of the Woodson Pyramid Art Show. Many thanks to Ms. Ko and Mrs. Shapiro for inspiring our young artists!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOaZQj3EbnU&feature=youtu.be
Our teams have finalized their plans for administering the Standards of Learning Tests this Spring. Remember that ALL TESTS WILL BE GIVEN IN PERSON at Canterbury Woods on the dates below.
Tuesday, May 11: Grade 4 Reading
Tuesday, May 18: Grade 5 Reading
Wednesday, May 19: Grade 3 Reading
Thursday, May 20: Grade 6 Reading
Tuesday, May 25: Grade 4 Mathematics
Wednesday, May 26: Grade 3 Mathematics
Thursday, May 27: Grade 5 Science
Wednesday, June 2: Grade 5 Mathematics
Thursday, June 3: Grade 6 Mathematics
For any SOL assessments this spring, you have the right to refuse testing for your child. This will result in a “No Score” or “NS” on student score reports with a footnote that the student did not take the test due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Right to Refuse Assessments webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/node/34277 ) offers information and considerations as you make this decision. If you choose to refuse testing for your child this Spring, please email Mindy Milliron at mamilliron@fcps.edu as soon as possible.
May 10 @ 10AM: Parent Coffee, Supporting Your Child in Virtual Instruction
LINK:
May 31: Memorial Day Holiday
June 8: Election Day--Virtual Day; No in-person classes
June 10 @ 2:30 PM: Sixth Grade Promotion at Woodson HS
June 11: Last Day of School; 2-hour early dismissal
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