 You can view more pictures from our first week on our school Twitter and Facebook pages.
Dear Woodburn Families,
It has been an incredible week at Woodburn. You cannot help but smile as you walk through our hallways and visit our classrooms. Students are happy to be back together and our staff are fostering warm and welcoming communities for every student. This is evident throughout every part of our day. We are humbled by the work of our teachers and staff, and hope you will join us in thanking them for a wonderful first week.
You have received information from us earlier this week about our lunch arrangements. We have established safe indoor and outdoor eating spaces that students will rotate through. Our students are adapting to this change with grace and prioritizing safety as they eat.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and look forward to next week.
Together We Grow,
Katy and Bridget
Upcoming Events
September 3 & 6: Student Holidays (Labor Day)
September 14: Schoology Info Night, 6 pm
September 22: Back to School Night, 6 pm
FCPS 2021-2022 School Year Calendar
 Hold Up! Pause before heading to school or work. Do you feel sick? Are you having any symptoms of COVID-19? If so, stay home until you are better.
Arrival and Dismissal
Thank you for your patience this week during arrival and dismissal. Students are learning the routines and dismissal for our walkers and kiss & ride students is getting faster each day.
We ask that all parents of walkers wait outside to pick up their child. Families can wait to the right of the main entrance by the native garden or by the flag pole. This will ensure a path is clear for our bus riders and kiss & ride students.
Please contact the main office at 703-641-8200 if your child will experience a change in how they will get home. We ask that you notify the office of any changes by 1:00 each day. Thank you for your help with arrival and dismissal. It truly is a team effort!
Our Thursday folders will be paperless this year! Each week you will receive a text message with a link to the virtual Thursday folder. It will be located on our school website. Teachers will continue to send home student work and other items in a paper format.
Schoology Information Night
Mark your calendars! We will be hosting a virtual Schoology Information Night on Tuesday, September 14th at 6:00pm. The purpose of this night is to inform our school community about our new learning management system, Schoology, and how we plan to use it as a school. A zoom link will be sent out prior to the event and Spanish translation will be provided.
Student Rights & Responsibilities
The Students Rights & Responsibilities handbook will be transitioning to a digital format. All students will have the handbook on their laptop and parents can access the SR&R here.
Starting this school year, parents/guardians with a ParentVUE account can download and digitally sign the SR&R in ParentVUE. Every parent/guardian with a ParentVUE account, regardless of relationship to the student, will see the SR&R upon login to PVUE until the SR&R acknowledgement has been completed.
ACTION REQUIRED: The SR&R Parent / Guardian Signature Sheet is due October 29, 2021.
Wellness Wednesdays
We want to remind families about our "Wellness Wednesday" practice. Four years ago, we implemented "Wellness Wednesdays" as a way to celebrate mindfulness and movement. Our tradition continues this year. You will see our entire staff in workout attire on Wednesdays and we invite our students to wear the same. Students will receive wellness tips through the morning news show and will participate in movement breaks and mindfulness practices that our teachers implement each day.
As we return to school each fall, there are certain mandatory forms that need to be filled out. Thank you for completing these forms and submitting them to us as soon as possible. Many forms can also be completed online and have been linked below.
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Emergency Care Form or access through WeCare@school.
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Health Information Form or access through WeCare@school.
- Student Rights & Responsibilities Form
- Opt-Out Forms
Title I Parent Advisory Council
Thank you to Abby Jenkins for representing Woodburn on the Title I Parent Advisory Committee. Representatives are asked to provide input into the planning and implementation of Title I family engagement expectations and gain access to professional development opportunities focused on best practices for family engagement. We are in need of an alternate representative. If you are interested in filling this need, please reach out to Katy Richman.
Woodburn is thrilled to partner with "Kids Give Back," a nonprofit organization in Northern Virginia that provides volunteer opportunities for kids, ages 6-12. Students in our area will be creating "You've Got This" baskets for our very own Woodburn teachers! You can support our teachers and partnership by donating supplies or gift cards. Donations can be made here.
Our Woodburn PTA is instrumental in providing enriching opportunities for all of our students. Don't wait! Join the PTA today! You can sign up and become a member here.
Meet our PTA Board & Committee Chairs
Mary Cunningham is the PTA President for 2021-2022, her second year serving in this position. Her daughter Josie is a rising 4th grader at Woodburn. Mary has served previously as the PTA secretary and vice president. She loves crafts, native plants, Maine, podcasts, and midcentury modern design. Her favorite childhood book is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg.
Katie Sessa is the PTA Vice President for 2021-2022, serving her 1st year on the Board. She and her husband Dave have two children: Will is a rising 2nd grader at Woodburn and Sam is a future Wildcat, heading into Pre-K this fall. She loves reading, hiking, yoga, crafts, and – as a new hobby – she enjoys playing the oboe. Her favorite book from childhood was The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Rebecca Leach is serving her third term as PTA Treasurer for this school year. She has three Wildcats this year - David (6th grade), Nathaniel (3rd grade), and Hannah (kindergarten). She loves gardening, cake decorating, tidepooling at the ocean, and collecting shark teeth from the beach. As a younger person, she really enjoyed any and all books written by Beverly Cleary as she grew up in Oregon, where many of the books take place.
Leslie Borkenhagen is serving as the PTA Secretary for 2021-2022. She and her husband, Ryan, have two sons - a third grader and a two year old future Wildcat. In addition to spending time with family and working, she enjoys gardening, reading, and listening to podcasts. One of her favorite series as a child was the Mandie books, which helped to spark her love of historical fiction and mysteries.
Linnea Kessler-Gowell is the Membership Chair for 2021-2022. Her son Miles is a rising fourth grader, and she previously served as the Arts Chair. She loves any documentary focused on food, watching baseball with her son, and mid-century furniture. Her favorite childhood book was To Kill a Mockingbird, but she also read almost every Babysitter's Club book published
Bridget Gannon is Communications Co-chair for 2021-2022. Her daughter Maeve is a rising first grader, and they agree that Never Tease a Weasel by Jean Conder Soule continues to be excellent advice. Bridget is a Woodburn alumnus and likes to spend time swimming with Maeve, hanging out with her dog Fima and visiting art museums.
Matt Levi is Communications Co-chair for 2021-2022. He and his wife Paula Katz have a rising 2nd grader at Woodburn. This is his 2nd year on the board. He likes video games, live poker, and reading anti-racist non-fiction. His favorite childhood book is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Tania Nacios Enrichment Coordinator. She and her husband have a 2nd grader and Kindergarten at Woodburn. Tania loves to be outside and active with her children and husband. Her favorite thing to do is ride horses. Marguerite Henry was her favorite author growing up because most of her books were about horses.
Ashley and Nate Maines are the Chairs for Teacher Appreciation this year. Their boys have long looked forward to this golden year when they are all proud wildcats: Drew (6th), Teddy (3rd), and Zach (Kinder). Ashley enjoys dark chocolate chips, piano, walks with her kids, and learning Spanish on DuoLingo. Nate is an avid baker, aspiring writer, and a lake enthusiast. Their favorite childhood books are A Wrinkle in Time (Nate) and the Narnia series (Ashley).
Abby Jenkins is the Co-chair for the Arts Program. She has two sons: Forest (4th grade) and Sonny (7th grade). Abby loves to be outside running, camping, hiking, and doing yoga. She also loves going to art museums and building her own art collection. Growing up, her favorite book was A Wrinkle in Time.
Laura Lawal is the Co-chair for the Arts Program this year. She and her husband, Akins, have three proud Wildcats - a 6th grader (Isaiah), 3rd grader (Aderemi), and 1st grader (Damilola Mia). Laura loves music, plants, living room dance parties with her family, spending time with girlfriends, popcorn, and being near the water. Her favorite childhood books growing up are by Judy Blume (Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.) and Shel Silverstein (Where the Sidewalk Ends).
Greg Garman- is the Fundraising Chair. Greg and his wife Kristen have identical twin boys (Danny and Scott- we can usually tell them apart) who are going into the 4th grade. He enjoys watching baseball, hockey and college basketball- or whatever the boys are playing. His favorite books growing up were Charlotte's Web and the Choose Your Own Adventure series.
Sonja Garvey is Clean Kitchen Night Coordinator for a second year. She and her husband, John, have two children at Woodburn - Pippa, a 3rd grader and Hunter is a rising Kindergartener. She served on the fundraising committee for six years at Sleepy Hollow Cooperative Preschool. She loves reading the Magic Treehouse series with her children and enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie series as a child.
We are a fun group! If you are interested in joining us by volunteering your time, please email president@woodburnpta.com
Woodburn School Website
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