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From the desk of Mr. Smith!
Dear DRES Families,
Thank you for your assistance and patience this week as we welcomed back over 750 students into our building. About 170 students (all of Kindergarten and roughly half of our 1st grade students) have not experienced afternoon dismissal at Daniels Run until this past week. We continue to build and revise our routines and procedures to make sure students are safe and exit the building as quickly as possible. Please review the message we sent on Wednesday (8/25) regarding dismissal procedures.
Join us for our Back to School Night Open House and Picnic on Wednesday, September 1st. The school will be open from 5:30-6:30 for you to visit your student's classroom, say hello to their teacher, and meet their specials teachers. We also will providing help to families in the cafeteria with ParentVue and Schoology. We encourage students to attend the Open House with their families. The picnic will start at 6:30 on the playground and fields. Bring a picnic dinner or buy dinner from one of the food trucks available. There will be music, games and friends to meet. Be sure to stop by the PTA table for a free treat for our students!
A reminder that all FCPS schools will be closed on Friday, September 3rd and Monday, September 6th for Labor Day Holiday.
Always feel free to contact me directly at cmsmith@fcps.edu if you have any questions, concerns, or if there is anything our team can do to support you.
Chris Smith
DRES Principal
Return To School
The Latest on Bus Transportation
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Thank you for your patience and understanding these first few days of school as we work to address the impact the national bus driver shortage has on FCPS and your students. On the first morning of school FCPS saw 7,000 bus runs with just a handful of delays.
However, if these delays impacted you or your family, we understand your frustration. As we continue to recruit drivers and make adjustments to routes to be more efficient, there are three things you can do:
- Check the The Here Comes the Bus® app, a school bus tracking app that can simplify morning and afternoon routines for parents and students by giving them real-time bus location and text or email notification alerts, helping them get to the bus stop on time. Here Comes the Bus® utilizes FCPS GPS data and an easy-to-use customizable map that works on one or multiple devices, such as a tablet or smartphone. More information about the Here Comes the Bus app is available online.
- Stay up-to-date on school bus arrivals with FCPS' bus delay notification system. This system provides parents with timely notification of late bus route information. Parents may access the Bus Delay Notification System online or use the Here Comes the Bus mobile app (mentioned above) to receive the delayed bus report. Morning route information will be available until noon. Afternoon bus route information will be available from 1 to 7 p.m. e-Notify (SchoolMessenger) email messages will also be sent to announce bus delays of at least 30 minutes. Need assistance or have questions? Contact the Transportation office listed for your school. For any concerns after hours (after 5:30 p.m.), contact Safety and Security at 571-423-2000.
- Walk or bike to school if you are able to do so. If you plan to walk or bike to school, watch this short video on pedestrian safety with your child.
More information about transportation to and from school is available online.
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Lockdown Drill
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Keeping students and staff safe is a priority for all of us. We have a crisis management and emergency preparedness plan for our school that is reviewed and updated regularly. Our plan includes procedures on how to respond to incidents such as fires and tornadoes. Students and staff regularly practice these drills every school year. We also practice lockdown drills.
A new Virginia Law (22.1-137.2) requires schools to notify parents at least 24 hours before a school practices a lockdown drill. However, we are not required to share the exact date and time of the drill. We are required to practice lockdown drills two times a year. FCPS lockdown drills do not include any type of active shooter scenario training, they are instruction and classroom based.
We will conduct a lockdown drill at our school soon. Our pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students are exempt from mandatory participation in lockdown drills during the first 60 days of the school year. They will participate in our second and final drill later this school year.
Additional information on our lockdown drill program to include parent tips and FAQs can be found on the Emergency Planning and Crisis Response web page. After reviewing this content, you should discuss the value of these safety drills with your child.
Keeping our school safe and secure for all students and staff involves the participation of the entire school community, and we thank you for your help to keep our school safe.
Health Guidance
To ensure a safe start to the school year students, staff and vistors will wear masks while indoors. . Read more about why these measures are important and how we’ll practice safety this fall.
FCPS has been planning for the return to school since spring, and we cannot wait to have students back in classrooms five days a week! You can prepare for a strong start to the school year by visiting the Return to School page, frequently checking the Return to School FAQs, and reading FCPS This Week for the latest information.
Family Life Education
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve. Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.
Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program. Students who are opted out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices. If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt out forms will be included in your child’s back-to-school/orientation packets and are available online for Elementary (K-6) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-school-academics-k-6/elementary-family-life-education , Middle School (7-8) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/middle-school-academics-7-8/family-life-education-fle, and High School (9-12) https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-academics-9-12/family-life-education-fle. Please fill in the opt-out form and return it to your child’s school prior to Family Life Education instruction.
Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at Elementary (K-6) , Middle School (7-8) , and High School (9-12). FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in Schoology. Parents/guardians login to Schoology using the same username and password as their Student Information System (SIS) Parent account. Grade level-specific lessons are also available at the City of Fairfax Regional Library (this location does not have media). Grade level-specific lessons and media that is not streamed online are available for review at your child’s school library. Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.
Program questions may be addressed at your child’s school or by contacting Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or by contacting Carrie Reynolds, Health and Physical Education Coordinator at cfreynolds@fcps.edu.
Free School Meals for All Students
FCPS’ Food and Nutrition Services staff are ready to serve healthy meals to students and staff. This year, all students receive FREE breakfast and lunch.
Find out more about school meals go to: www.fcps.edu/news/free-meals
Schoology Information
We are excited to share that students, families, and teachers throughout FCPS and in our school community will use Schoology (pronounced /SKOO-luh-jee/) as our learning management system beginning this school year.
- Schoology has a connected web conferencing tool, Zoom
- Schoology works with Google Drive
- You need a SIS/ParentVUE account to login to Schoology
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Click here to learn more about Schoology
- Parent accounts will be available in mid-August
- Information about how to login to parent accounts will be shared with you closer to the start of the school year
- Students will have a Schoology account by August 18, 2021
- Students will not see any classes until the grading period starts
- Students use their FCPS student ID and password to login to Schoology. Look for the FCPS logo to make sure you are on the correct login page.
Katherine Johnson Story Walk
Fairfax City’s Office of Economic Development in partnership with the City of Fairfax Schools is excited to announce the Katherine Johnson Middle School StoryWalk® in support of the 2022 school year at the newly named middle school.
During the month of August (8/1-8/31), students and families are invited to take a walk through Fairfax City as they read pages from a book displayed in business storefront windows. The Katherine Johnson StoryWalk® will feature two different books for students to read along the way, one in Old Town Fairfax City and the other in Fair City Mall. Each book will allow for students to learn more about Katherine Johnson while engaging with the City’s business community.
To start the walk, students and families can pick up an official map at the City of Fairfax Regional Library at 10360 North Street, participating businesses, download a StoryWalk® map or Google form for each book below. With the map in hand, follow the route to read the book. Each business will have a new set of pages to read. Enjoy the StoryWalk® at your own pace but make sure to follow the path in the correct order. Fill in the blanks with the missing words or look for the answer on the page.
Completed maps should be emailed to EconomicDevelopment@fairfaxva.gov no later than Sunday, September 5. The first 100 completed maps received for each story will receive a copy of the book and be entered into a raffle drawing to win one of six gift cards to a Fairfax City business of choice.
Old Town Fairfax City StoryWalk®
- Book: DK Life Stories: Katherine Johnson written by Ebony Joy Wilkins.
- Number of Stops: 15
- Fillable PDF of map and activity page here.
- Downloadable Google form of activity page here.
Fair City Mall StoryWalk®
- Book: Hidden Figures written by Margot Lee Shetterly.
- Number of Stops: 8
- Fillable PDF of map and activity page here.
- Downloadable Google form of activity page here.
Back to School Open House and Picnic - Sept. 1
Join us for our Back to School Night Open House and Picnic. We are combining back to school night and our welcome back picnic. The school will be open from 5:30-6:30 for you to see your student's classroom and stop by and say hello to their teacher. The picnic will be from 5:30-7:30 on the playground and fields. Bring a picnic dinner or buy dinner from one of the food trucks available. There will be music, games and friends to meet. Be sure to stop by the PTA table for a free treat for our students!
FCPS Multilingual Family Podcasts
The Office for ESOL Services and the Office of Professional Learning and Family Engagement are pleased to offer FCPS Multilingual Family Podcasts in Spanish, Arabic, and Korean. The podcasts bring families timely, important information related to school news.
Listen and subscribe to a FCPS Multilingual Family Podcast to hear timely, important information related to school news. The podcasts are produced in conjunction with the Office for ESOL Services and the Office of Professional Learning and Family Engagement. The goal of every podcast is to help families access key resources and understand how to best support their children’s education.
Listen and Subscribe:
Spanish Podcast: https://anchor.fm/enpocaspalabrasfcps
Arabic Podcast: https://anchor.fm/inafewwordsarabicfcps
Korean Podcast: https://anchor.fm/inafewwordskoreanfcps
Calendar Reminder: Schools Closed September 3-September 6 for Labor Day Break
Virginia legislation requires that schools opening prior to Labor Day must be closed the Friday immediately preceding Labor Day.
As a result, Friday, September 3, is a holiday for students and staff members in addition to the Labor Day holiday, Monday, September 6. See the complete 2021-22 school year calendar.
Music News!
🎵 5th Grade Chorus Begins Wednesday, Sept 1; 8:45-9:30; Cafeteria. All 5th grade students are welcome.
🎵 6th Grade Chorus Begins Thursday, Sept 2; 8:45-9:30; Cafeteria. All 6th grade students are welcome.
🎵 August Musician of the Month: YOU! We celebrate all of our students. Can you share some music with your family? Sing, dance, listen, or play an instrument!
🎵 September Musician of the Month: The Gypsy Kings. “The Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in the south of France, who perform in a mixture of languages, mostly in Spanish” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gipsy_Kings)
Listen here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=RDEMA-sxamFr763FjBY9H6dYig&playnext=1
Volunteer Fairfax!
Join Volunteer Fairfax on Saturday, September 11, 2021 for a special VolunteerFest that will take place on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Together we will engage in good deeds as we remember those lost and honor the first responders who continue to serve the community.
Daniels Run is participating in this fantastic volunteer opportunity. This in-person event supports the environmental education program. You will be laying down mulch, planting native plants, and weeding the vegetable garden or other grounds beautification projects in the outdoor classroom habitats. Click here for more information!
Service projects are taking place across the county and there are many ways to participate. Whether you are interested in volunteering in-person, or from your home, VolunteerFest has a variety of ways to get the whole family involved!
Register Today!
PTA News!
Join the PTA
The Daniels Run PTA has lots of fun things planned for this year. Please join us by becoming a member. Membership fees are $10 Individual, $18 Family, and $5 Staff. Join online at dres.memberhub.store
Back to School Night PTA Picnic
We are combining back to school night and our welcome back picnic. The school will be open from 5:30-6:30 for you to see your student's classroom and stop by and say hello to their teacher. The picnic will be from 5:30-7:30 on the playground and fields. Bring a lawn game and picnic dinner or buy dinner from one of the food trucks available. There will be music, games and friends to meet. Be sure to stop by the PTA table for a free treat for our students!
Important Dates
September 1 - Back to School Open House and Picnic - 5:30-7:30 pm
September 3 & 6 - Labor Day Holiday - Schools Closed
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