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From the desk of Mr. Smith!
Dear DRES Families,
Although we have had our challenges the past couple weeks I reminded on a daily basis how incredibly awesome it is to have all of our students back in the building. They provide us all with joy on a daily basis that helps us overcome any challenges.
We are planning to offer some outdoor seating for lunch and need additional adult support. If you are interested in a paid position with limited hours (M-F, 11:00-2:00), providing supervision to students and supporting staff, please email me directly at cmsmith@fcps.edu
Also, we want to answer some questions regarding COVID protocols:
1. What will happen if there is a student who tests positive for COVID in my child’s class?
If a student tests positive and was at school during the infectious period (within 48 hours of onset of symptoms), we will alert the entire school community. The school reviews seating assignments throughout the school day and identifies potential close contacts to the student who has tested positive for Covid-19. If your child is considered a potential close contact, we will notify you immediately. If your child is currently at school, we will ask you to come pick your child up from school.
2.What determines if a student is a potential close contact to a known positive case?
The following are examples of individuals who would be considered a potential close contact:
- Students wearing masks who were less than 3 feet from a student case for 15 minutes or more in a school day
- Students not wearing masks who were 6 feet or less from a student case for 15 minutes or more in a school day
Students masked or unmasked who were within 6 feet or less of a staff case for 15 minutes or more in a school day
3.What happens if my child is determined to be a potential close contact by FCPS staff?
Out of an abundance of caution, any student who is identified as a potential close contact by FCPS staff will have to stay home from school until the Health Department completes its contact tracing and closes the investigation. We have been told that this could be up to 72 hours. While your child is at home, your child’s teachers will provide assignments for them to access. If your child does not have their computer at home, we will work with you to pick it up at school. Please note that FCPS staff can only identify potential close contacts; we are not identifying students who have to quarantine. Only the Health Department can determine if your child needs to quarantine through their contact tracing investigation.
4. Can the school provide additional case information?
We cannot disclose details of the positive case to include the child's name, grade, class or any additional information; or the staff member's name or assignment. The health department will contact you directly and will direct the appropriate students to quarantine. The school will notify the entire community when the contact tracing is complete. Once the Health Department has completed their investigation, we will also invite any student who was staying home per FCPS staff direction and who has not been required to quarantine per the Health Department to return to school.
We recognize that the idea of your child being considered a potential close contact or having a classmate who tests positive for COVID can be upsetting. We also recognize that the current FCPS protocols will mean that families may be impacted unexpectedly because they have to be home with their child. Our hope is that sharing information about the current process will help alleviate some of the stress that is inherent in this situation. We also hope that if we all work together, we can minimize the number of positive cases at school, which will minimize the number of students who must remain at home. We are carefully reviewing our plans to find even more ways to limit student exposure to one another so we can control the spread of infection and minimize the interruptions to instruction 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. Thank you for your continued support, flexibility and patience
Chris Smith
DRES Principal
Return To School
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.
Tech News!
Our Daniels Run students are off to great start with concern to technology!
During the first two weeks of school Daniels Run students received their laptops. Grades 3 – 6 are expected to bring them home each night. Please encourage your child to charge their laptop each night so it is ready for school in the morning. Kindergarten through 2nd grade received their laptops as well but the expectation is that that stay at school.
Also, our teachers have been working hard to prepare their Schoology environments for students. Inside each teacher’s course there will be learning activities and other resources as well as access to Zoom video conferencing. Parents will have a view of their child’s Schoology environment after they enroll in Schoology.
Lastly, as our technology use grows we want to continue to build and nurture those digital citizenship skills we have to come to rely on so much. Daniels Run students learn that empathy, principles and respects are the pillars of our digital citizenship experience. Learn more about our digital citizenship efforts here.
Ventilation on FCPS Buses
Beginning Friday, August 27, drivers are required to increase air circulation in their vehicle by OPENING every other window (bus and van if possible) during student transport. Windows will remain OPEN during all routes and closed during the post-trip at the parking location. Window height adjustments can be made for inclement weather, such as rain. This action is out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of students and our staff.
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
Music News!
🎵 5th & 6th Grade Chorus: All 5th – 6th grade students are welcome to rehearsals (during school: Wednesdays-5th grade; Thursdays – 6th grade.) Click here.
🎵 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
Band/Strings News!
Dear Parents,
Please register your students for Band and Strings! Strings is offered to all students in 4th-6th grade, and band is offered to all students in 5th and 6th grade. Registration forms are due on Wednesday, September 8th. If you need a registration form please contact either your child’s classroom teacher or the band and strings teachers!
Band: Dawn Meltzer dmmeltzer1@fcps.edu
Strings: Katie Venne kavenne@fcps.edu
Anna Sengstack amsengstack@fcps.edu
We can’t wait to start making music with your students! Sincerely,
Dawn Meltzer, Katie Venne, and Anna Sengstack
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!
Join the PTA during the month of September and be entered into a raffle to win a $25 credit for our spirit wear store! Also, the class with the most memberships will win popsicles and a spirit wear item for their teacher! Join online at dres.memberhub.com
Dragon Spirit Wear Now Available!
Show your DRES Dragon spirit with new spirit wear including youth and adult sizes in t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags and more! Our fall sale will run until September 15th. Order online at shop.burkesports.com and enter our group code DRES. The teal short sleeve shirt will be available in-person to purchase at the Back to School Night Picnic in all youth sizes!
Important Dates
September 3-6 Labor Day Break
September 7 Rosh Hashanah
September 16 Yom Kippur
October 11 Indigenous Peoples' Day-Student Holiday
November 1-2 Día de los Muertos
November 1-Teacher Workday-Student Holiday
November 2 Election Day-Student Holiday
November 4 Diwali
November 11 Veterans Day-Two Hour Early Release
November 24-26 Thanksgiving Break
November 29 Chanukah
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