 The sixth grade enjoyed participating in the House Sorting Ceremony last week. Students are placed in "houses" based on Positivity Project character strengths and designed to encourage collaboration, new friendships, and positive behavior.
Dear Wakefield Forest Families,
We’re excited about week two of our new school year. It’s been nice to have the halls and classrooms filled with the sounds of learning and laughter. We appreciate your trust in our taking care of your children. We do not take the responsibility lightly. We continue to watch the news and make adjustments to keep our students safe while at school. Our newest team member, Charity Ehrenreich, started in the cafeteria yesterday. We’re grateful to have her working alongside other members of our team to support lunch inside and outside.
Last week we highlighted our new information platform and teacher management tool, Schoology, which replaces Blackboard and GoogleClassroom. A large benefit of the transition to this new system is that families have their own access to this portal and do not need their child’s information to access newsletters, announcements or assignments. Staff is still building their familiarity with this new tool. Keep your eyes posted for information as this tool will be used frequently this school year. Teachers will share more information at our virtual Back to School Night on September 22. Stay tuned for more information about this new format.
Should you have questions or concerns, please email your classroom teacher or me at sbprindle@fcps.edu.
Sharyn Prindle
Principal
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School Safety and Security |
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 instructional and classroom based practice of what to do.
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Health and Safety Resources |
Health and Safety Guidance Webpage
Our Health and Safety Guidance Webpage has the most current information about our layered prevention strategies, what happens if your child becomes ill at school, and the process when there is a pause in instruction or activities after a positive COVID case.
Flow Chart
We know the pause process is frustrating and sometimes confusing for families. The flowchart below is posted to the FCPS website and is something you can share with your community to help them understand the process better.
Flowchart outlining process for students identified as a close contact
COVID Dashboard
All FCPS COVID-19 cases are reported via a dashboard posted to the FCPS website and updated daily. While this does not outline the number of students quarantining, it does allow families to understand changes in the situation at their school. Feel free to share this with your families in your newsletters!
FCPS Covid-19 Dashboard
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Welcome to Schoology |
We are excited about Schoology (pronounced /SKOO-luh-jee/), FCPS' new learning management system. Schoology is a learning space that enhances communication, collaboration, and personalized learning for students, teachers, and families.
Through it families will have access to their student’s digital assignments and access to many of the virtual resources they will use. The following are some resources that will help you prepare to use Schoology this year:
Over the next few weeks your student’s homeroom teacher will begin posting information within Schoology. Stay tuned for updates!
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Beginning of Year Forms |
It is important that we have updated information from all families to start the school year.
In ParentVUE, you can access the weCare module to update emergency care information and health information. If you don’t have an SIS ParentVue account, please contact Ms. Holmes at 703-503-2300 or at ksholmes@fcps.edu for an activation key. Each school year parents need to verify the information in weCare for each student. We are required to have this completed at the start of each school year to meet regulations. For information on accessing weCare in ParentVUE, click here.
You received most of the below forms in your child’s Open House folder. If you haven’t already turned in the forms or need new copies, you may use these links to reprint them:
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Counselor Check In |
We would like to remind our families that we are here to support you and your students! If your child needs a check in with Nancy Garcia-Henderson or Chelsea Boateng, WFES counselors, please complete this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sN3uJzbb-O4cRpECBzHOD9ysu07rT8s_QhBrFIcUPlc/viewform?ts=6123e7df&edit_requested=true
Friday, September 3 - Student Holiday
Monday, September 6 - Labor Day Student Holiday
Wednesday, September 8 - PTA Meeting at 7:30 pm (Virtual)
Wednesday, September 15 - General Patrol Meeting at 2:50 pm
Friday, September 17 - Woodson Football Feeder Night
Wednesday, September 22 - WFES Back to School Night (Virtual)
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