Floris Friday Message 8/20/21

Welcome

In this Friday Message you will find:

  • Principals' Message 
  • Back to School Nights 
  • School Supplies 
  • Safety Information 
  • Breakfast and Lunch 
  • Cultural and Religious Observations 

Floris Families, 

It was wonderful to see so many of our Floris families at Open House yesterday and can't wait to see our students on Monday for the first day of school. 

Our doors will open on Monday at 9:00am. School officially begins at 9:15am, with dismissal at 4:00pm. Both arrival and dismissal will be staggered to allow us to have more space in the hallways. 

Please be aware that we are unable to accommodate visitors for lunch at this time. We have set up the cafeteria for social distancing and will have only students and staff during lunches as we start the school year. Please watch for details on when we are ready to accept volunteers and lunch visitors.  

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and we will see our students on Monday!

#FlorisStrongerTogether

Holly Walker, Principal, hjwalker@fcps.edu

Amanda Dorr, Assistant Principal, acdorr@fcps.edu


BTSN

Back to School Nights are a time for parents to learn about the curriculum and expectations in both the class and grade level for their children.

This year's Back to School Nights will be held virtually and links will be sent closer to the events. Details coming soon!

  • Tuesday, August 31: Kindergarten-1st Grade, 6:30-7:30pm 
  • Wednesday, September 1: 2nd-3rd Grade, 6:30-7:30pm 
  • Thursday, September 2: 4th, 5th and 6th Grade, 6:30-7:30pm

supplies

School Supplies

The school supply lists can be found on the Floris webpage. Teachers may share additional needs during the school year. 

If your student is in need of school supplies, please email Sarah de Kramer (school counselor) at shdekramer@fcps.edu


Returning to School

Safety Information 

Universal Masking: FCPS requires everyone (students,  teachers, staff, and visitors) to wear a mask inside schools and FCPS buildings. Students and staff may remove masks while actively eating, for outside recess, physical education class, or other outside activities.  

Cafeteria: We have redesigned the cafeteria and lunch plans for increased safety while students are unmasked. The tables are all facing the stage, so students are not facing each other as in previous years. We have adjusted our schedule so that only one grade level will be in the cafeteria at a time to allow distancing between students. Students will wear masks when they are not actively eating. 

Handwashing/Sanitizing: We will continue to focus on hand washing/sanitizing throughout the school day. Some examples include: entering and exiting the playground area, before and after eating, and when entering the classroom. 

Buses: FCPS school buses will seat more than one student to a seat as needed.  This is similar to the bus experience for students last spring and during summer school.  Masks are required on the bus.

Care Room: If a staff member observes a student displaying symptoms of COVID-19, s/he directs the child to our Care Room (separate from the Health Room, where kids get medications, band-aids, etc.) for care and parent pickup.  FCPS has protocols for our staff to follow when infections are known or suspected.

We want to ensure our families that while we can never guarantee total student safety, we have layered safety mitigation measures in place, and our staff takes them seriously. We are planning for a fabulous year of learning and fun and want all of our Eagles to be healthy and able to have a fantastic learning experience this year.


food and nutrition

FCPS Food and Nutrition Services staff are ready to serve healthy meals to students and staff. This year, all students receive no-cost breakfast and lunch! Breakfast will be “grab & go” at each school so students are prepared to begin their day of learning and five days of hot lunches are returning this year. The menus will be available at FCPS Nutrislice- Floris 


dates

Cultural Observances and Religious Holidays on the FCPS Calendar 

 

The Fairfax County School Board voted to approve a calendar for the 2021-22 School Year that is designed to recognize, respect, and honor the plurality of religious and cultural observances in Fairfax County. The calendar ensures students will not have to make choices between honoring their cultural or religious beliefs and missing a test or school activity. 

On the 15 observance days listed below, Floris will not schedule tests or quizzes. Tests and quizzes will be given before any of these days, so students are not expected to study on the observance day. 

In addition, Floris will not schedule events including field trips or special activities on any of the 15 observance days. 

The calendar recognizes 15 diverse religious and cultural observances including:

  • Eid al-Adha
  • Rosh Hashanah 
  • Yom Kippur
  • Día de los Muertos
  • Diwali
  • Bodhi Day
  • Three Kings Day/Epiphany
  • Orthodox Christmas
  • Orthodox Epiphany
  • Lunar New Year
  • Ramadan
  • Good Friday
  • Theravada
  • Orthodox Good Friday
  • Last Night of Passover
  • Eid al-Fitr 

The 2021-22 calendar also separates spring break from any religious or cultural observances.

 


Mark Your Calendar

August 23: First Day of School (Bell Schedule 9:15am-4:00pm)

August 31: Virtual Back to School Night for K-1st grade parents, 6:30-7:30pm 

September 1: Virtual Back to School Night for 2nd-3rd grade parents, 6:30-7:30pm 

September 2: Virtual Back to School Night for 4th, 5th & 6th grade parents, 6:30-7:30pm 

September 3 and 6: No School - Labor Day Break

September 7: Rosh Hashanah Observance 

September 16: Yom Kippur Observance  

October 11: No School- Staff Professional Development Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day 

Find the approved 2021-2022 School Year Calendar Here