Dates to Note
September 16th - Yom Kippur Observed
September 17th - Lockdown Drill
Chesterbrook Spirit Day - Show your school colors and CES spirit wear. Get ready to Celebrate McLean!
Celebrate McLean Event - 4:30- 6:30 - sponsored by McLean HS - McLean HS v. Fairfax HS football game that evening
September 22nd - AAP Information Parent Session 6PM (Virtual)
September 30th - Chesterbrook Kickball Kickoff
October 7th - Students NEW to FCPS (since January 2021), fall Level IV referrals are due for those seeking placement.
October 11th - Student Holiday
October 29th - End of First Quarter - 2 Hour Early Release
November 1st and 2nd - Student Holiday
School Calendar: 2021-22
Message from Mrs. Kirkpatrick
Thank you for joining us for Back to School Night. We had a wonderful turn out last week and are glad our virtual environment was able to support so many families safely. We hope that our virtual sessions met everyone's needs to learn a little more about instruction, structures and the support your child will have this school year. Education is a teamwork approach and we look forward to partnering with you this school year to support your child(ren).
We continue to have some later buses arriving and also getting students home in the afternoon. While, we are seeing some improvements over the past week, we still have room to improve. Transportation has a lot of new driver applicants in the month of August, but it will take time to interview, train and assess candidates. Thank you for your patience as we continue to work with transportation to provide safe and reliable transportation.
Kiss N Ride - As an important reminder, please do not turn right into the parking lot during the height of arrival and dismissal. We can create a faster flow of traffic and safer arear for walkers and drivers by going down to turn around. We are working as fast as we can to load and unload children and ask for your patience.
I want to close this message with a shoutout to our lunch volunteers. We have a phenomenal and dedicated group of parent volunteers that have jumped right in to support our outdoor lunches. There is nothing simple about supporting 200 students at school during a lunch shift, and the combined efforts of staff and volunteers has allowed us to accomplish the difficult task of spreading out students to increase of mitigation measures. Thank you parents! We can't do what we are doing without you.
Thank you,
Stacy Kirkpatrick
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Back to School Night Information
Recordings for BTSN can be found on Schoology. The main session is shared in our Chesterbrook Families course.
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Mitigation Measures & Updates
We made great progress last week with spacing students out during lunches thanks to our additional parent volunteers. Volunteers have gone through background checks and are working hard to support daily lunches. We are incredibly lucky to have dedicated parents providing precious time to support our students and staff.
Playground Mitigation
Our teachers will be working with students about outdoor mask wearing- when masks should be worn and when it is okay not to wear them. When playing closely with other children (within 6 feet) makes should be worn. This is mostly seen when children are playing with others on the playground equipment.
Classroom Spacing
We continue to work on classroom spacing during all aspects of instruction. The goal is to keep students at a 3' distance from peers. Keeping students at a distance will keep your child from becoming a close contact in case there is a positive student case. We know it can be hard, but our goal is to keep all children in school!
Chesterbrook Private Tutoring List
We often have requests for teachers that provide private tutoring. Linked, you will find a list of our Chesterbrook teacher tutors.
Schoology ~ How Do I Access?
We are excited for Schoology, FCPS' new learning management system. Schoology is a learning space that enhances communication, collaboration, and personalized learning for students, teachers, and families.
How do I create an account? First, register for a SIS/ParentVUE account.
How do I log in? Login to Schoology at lms.fcps.edu. Use your ParentVUE account log in and password
Lockdown Notification - Drill Scheduled 9/17
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 Chesterbrook on Friday, September 17th. 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.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Farris Thomas
Assistant Principal, Chesterbrook Elementary School
703-714-8230
Advanced Academic Program Parent Information Nights
Virtual AAP Information Session - September 22nd, 6PM
For students NEW to FCPS (since January 2021), fall referrals are due on October 7th. More information here. Questions, email Amy Vallath.
Parent Resource Center Webinars for FCPS Families and Staff
Military-Connected Students and School Transition: A Family Webinar
September 17, 2021 10-11:30 a.m.
Register for Military-Connected Students and School Transition: A Family Webinar
5 Ways to Stop Anxiety, Power Struggles, & Behavior Issues: A Webinar for Families
September 23, 2021 6:30-8 p.m. and September 24, 2021 10-11:30 a.m.
Register for 5 Ways to Stop Anxiety, Power Struggles, & Behavior Issues: A Webinar for Families
Health Updates
Daily Symptom Check
Parents are asked to screen their children every morning before sending them to school. If you have any questions about whether your child is able to come to school based on symptoms or exposure, please call the office. Please review this link as you make decisions for school attendance. https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/HealthScreeningQuestionnaire.pdf Please do not send your child to school if they have been identified as a close contact to COVID case. Please do notify administration if your child is pausing at home due to an exposure.
Important! A negative COVID test does not clear your child to return to school. A physician must complete return documentation when students receive the sick student notification form.
Sick Child at School ~ Guidance for Return to School
If your child is sent home from school with COVID like symptoms, parents must have a physician complete the Return to School form with appropriate documentation. Please do not return to school without the form completed by a care provider and appropriate documentation.
Administrative Verification Process for Return to School After Sick Student Notification from the School
The Sick Student Notification is received by a parent when your child shows any symptoms while present at school. This form is required for return to school with physician completion. It must be returned directly to an administrator before your child can return to school. Parents should not send children on the bus or drop at kiss n ride without having an administrator verify completion of health return documentation. An email with a photo of the documentation or checking in the office with your child on the morning of return will meet this expectation. Students without the correct clearance will not be allowed to return to class.
Guidance for Families ~ Pause, Contact Tracing and Quarantine
Guidance for families regarding pause, quarantine, contact tracing and close contacts and the meaning and impact of each of these, please see the following resource: Pause, Contact Tracing, Quarantining
COVID Notifications Update for FCPS
If there is a new COVID case within the school, we will send out a community notification on Friday or the last day of school for the week.
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