Message from our School Counselors
Hello Parents and Caregivers!
We are excited to welcome your children back to school. We also understand that the challenges of the past year may cause you or your child to worry about the return to school. Here are some proactive steps recommended by The Childmind Institute to help your children manage these feelings and prepare for the transition back:
- Validate how your child is feeling.
- “You feel worried about returning to school. Let’s list/talk about your worries.”
- Model calm and positive thinking.
- Help your child practice identifying the positive aspects of returning to school. “Let’s talk about what good things will happen at school. Let’s list those, too.”
- Emphasize how safety measures like mask wearing and hand washing will help keep them safe.
- If separation is a worry, practice separating and develop a ‘goodbye routine’ to ease the transition.
For more details about these ideas, check out the article “Back to School Anxiety During Covid.”
Local psychologist Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble also recommends modeling calm. She encourages parents to be open and honest and to respond to children with age-appropriate answers. For more ideas and specific recommendations depending on your children’s age and grade (i.e. how to help students transition to middle or high school), check out this article: “How You can Help your Children Prepare to Go Back to School.”
If you have any concerns about your child’s transition back to school, we are here to help. Feel free to contact us at the email/phone number listed below.
Beth Mertens - Grades K, 1, 5 & 6 eemertens@fcps.edu 703-633-7400
Shari Hirsch - Grades 2, 3, & 4 swhirsch@fcps.edu 703-633-7400
Dear Poplar Tree Elementary Families,
Poplar Tree Elementary’s PTA supports critical academic needs, is an active voice on decisions that impact your child’s health, safety, and quality of education, and builds a stronger, more inclusive school community. We invite you to join and PTA For Your Child because increasing our membership, even by one, makes it possible to support the following things that fall outside of the school budget:
- School music and art programs and technology resources such as Pear Deck, Reading A to Z, and Book Creator
- Stipends for teacher supplies and teacher appreciation events
- New cafeteria tables, playground maintenance and installation of the Little Library
- Family spirit nights and parent access to a mobile app directory to connect with other families
There is no wrong or right way to be involved – anything you can give, whether it’s time or money, will support your child’s potential. We invite you to join the PTA because we can do more together than apart. Membership is $20 for up to 2 parents.
To access the new Poplar Tree PTA AtoZ Connect site and join the PTA, you will visit https://poplartreepta.membershiptoolkit.com/.
Even though you might have an AtoZ account from last year, this year you will need to create a new account because it's on a new platform.
We invite you to view open volunteer opportunities to help us make this an amazing year for our students and PTES teachers and staff!
We are also excited to share with you the 2021-22 School year PTES Spirit Wear!
View the options and place your order online at: https://ptes21.itemorder.com
The ordering deadline is August 30th.
This activity is sponsored by the Poplar Tree Elementary PTA and is operated independently of the Fairfax County School Board, Superintendent and Poplar Tree Elementary.
Questions? Contact us at poplartreepta@gmail.com
📢Homeroom Teacher Assignments📢
On Tuesday, August 17 between 3:30 - 4:00 p.m., please check your email. Your child’s teacher will be sending you an email introducing themselves.
☀️Welcome Walk☀️
On Thursday, August 19 between 1:00 - 4:00 p.m., your child’s homeroom teacher and another PTES staff member will be stopping at your home to meet you and your child and welcome you to the 2021-2022 school year!
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✏️Open House✏️
Poplar Tree’s Open House will be Friday, August 20 from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.. At Open House you can drop off your school supplies, visit the classroom, join the PTA, drop off any medication that needs to be kept in the clinic.
🏫Back to School Night🏫
Our Back to School Night will be virtual this year on Wednesday, September 22nd from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Links and additional details will be provided in early September.
Other Information
🔗Click here for Grade Level Supply Lists🔗
⏰2021-22 School Hours are 8:40 - 3:25⏰
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