Message from Dr. Smith
Hello Bruin Families,
We have several new announcements below with important updates regarding late/activity buses, lunches and high school pictures. We also have an opportunity for students, staff, parents and community members to participate in our School Planning Council which meets several times this year to focus on this year's school theme: Every Bruin has a Story. If you are interested in participating in our School Planning Council, please complete this form by September 24th.
We continue to be committed to creating a culture where all feel welcome, celebrated and valued. Next week is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. With each of the FCPS Religious and Cultural Observance Days on our school calendar we provide a background regarding this day through our morning announcements to raise awareness and understanding of the different perspectives that make up this great Lake Braddock community.
This morning we acknowledged the 20th anniversary of September 11th with a dedicated moment of silence and students learned about this historic event in their Social Studies classrooms. We acknowledge September 11th has impacted our community in different ways, and we hope to learn from the impact of these events and reflect on ways we can be a community of support and acceptance of one another.
If you have any questions regarding the information in this newsletter, please reach out to us. We are here to support you and your family with any of their Lake Braddock needs.
United as Bruins,
Daniel W. Smith, Ed.D.
Mural painted by Lake Braddock Senior Jessica Hosken.
In this Issue
NEW Information
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener
9-11 Commemoration
Late Buses Have Officially Started!
School Lunch Update
HS Picture Update
School Planning Council
Calendar Reminder - Yom Kippur
Enforcement of Tardies will Begin September 13th
High School Information
Introductory Lesson with High School Counselor
12th Grade College Planning Parent Night
PSAT/NMSQT for all 10th and 11th Graders Wednesday, October 13th
Middle School Information
Middle School After-School Registration NOW OPEN
Middle School Picture Day-September 16th-17th
Important Reminders
Digital Consent
SR&R Reminder
Family Life Education (FLE) Opt Out
Free/Reduced-Meal Applications
Reminder of New Traffic Pattern
FCPS is Seeking Individuals to Serve as Student Monitors!
FCPS is Seeking Individuals to Serve as Substitute Teachers!
AVID is Hiring!
PTSA Information
Join the PTSA!
FCPS Information
Sharing Our Success!
Encouraging Outdoor Mask Use
Student-Athlete Vaccination Requirement: Your Questions Answered
New Process to Speed Up the Return of Fully Vaccinated Students to Classrooms
COVID-19 Case Notification Update
Key COVID-19 Terms Videos- Now in Spanish
Multilingual Parent Podcast: Fairfax Health Department Specialist Talks About COVID-19 Safety Protocols
Safety Reminder: Mask Wearing on School Buses
Telephone Parent Information Line Available in Eight Languages
Important LBSS and FCPS Resources
How to Stay In Touch
LBSS Attendance Lines
Procedures for Picking Up a Student Early
Purchase Tickets to Lake Braddock Athletic Events thru ETIX
Schoology
FCPS Technology Support for Families
FCPS Mental Health Resources
New Information
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener
This year, all FCPS schools are administering an SEL Screener throughout the year. At Lake Braddock, students will complete this 18 question screener on October 14th, 2021 during Advisory. Please click here for more information.
9-11 Commemoration
This year, in recognition of the 20th anniversary of September 11th, Lake Braddock commemorated and acknowledged the loss of life, the heroism of our first responders, and the resilience of our country with a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day.
The United States Congress designated September 11th as “Patriot Day'' to remember and honor those whose lives were lost and those who took
action to help. Lake Braddock teachers also connected this historic event in classroom lessons.
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Late Buses Have Officially Started!
Late buses have officially started. Late bus days are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Buses will pick up students in the front of the building with a departure time of approximately 4:45 pm. Please check StudentVue and ParentVue for your student's late bus number and stop. If you have any questions, please contact your student's appropriate subschool.
School Lunch Update
We apologize for the confusion with the purchasing of ala carte lunches. Food Services is continuing to work on a solution, and we hope to have ala carte purchases open soon. We will keep you updated.
HS Picture Update
We have added a third photo day for HS students. Any student who wasn't photographed Thursday or today, can have a photo taken next Thursday, September 16th.
Make up photos will be October 28th.
School Planning Council
We are excited to announce that LBSS will continue our School Planning Council (SPC) as we enter the 2021-2022 school year! The purpose of the SPC is to bring together various stakeholders to provide input and guidance on the direction of Lake Braddock. Providing an excellent and equitable education for all our students is our primary goal and we recognize the important role our community plays in shaping the direction of our school. Last year’s SPC focused on putting Equity at the center of our work. During the 2021-2022 school year, the SPC will focus on our school’s theme, Every Bruin Has A Story. We will be exploring how we support the individual needs of our students and celebrate the individuality of all Bruins. The council will meet in person four times during the school year (10/13, 12/15, 2/16, 5/18) from 6:00PM-7:30PM with dinner provided during the first 30 minutes. We ask that members be able to commit to attending all sessions. If you are interested in participating, please complete this form by September 24th. Returning SPC members should still complete the form to continue their service on the committee.
Calendar Reminder - Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is the holiest day in Judaism. To mark this day, Thursday, September 16 is noted as a religious/cultural observance date on the FCPS calendar. We will also not schedule events on the evening of September 15.
The FCPS 2021-22 School Year Calendar ensures students do not have to make choices between honoring their cultural or religious beliefs and missing tests or school activities. Tests, quizzes, field trips, graduation, homecoming, or FCPS-scheduled athletic events cannot be scheduled on any religious and cultural observances. Tests and quizzes will be given prior to any of the 15 days so that students will not be expected to study on these days.
Enforcement of Tardies will Begin September 13th
We will start to enforce tardies (late arrivals to class during the school day) starting September 13th. Any student arriving late on a bus will receive a special pass to enter late to class without consequence.
High School Information
Introductory Lesson with High School Counselor
All 9th graders will be meeting with their counselor during Advisory/WIN time during the week of September 13th. Students will be assigned to meet with their counselor, based upon their Advisory Teacher.
12th Grade College Planning Parent Night
Parents of 12th grade students are invited to join LBSS High School Counselors for a virtual College Planning Parent Night on September 14th at 6:30 pm. There will be sessions for those interested in 2-year and 4-year college options. All 12th grade students will have their own in-person postsecondary planning workshops to choose from the prior week.
The virtual sessions will take place through Schoology parent accounts, which use your SIS ParentVue login, so please be sure your account is active. If you need to request an account, please submit a ticket. Recordings will be stored in Schoology for those who cannot attend.
Directions to access the virtual sessions
When the sessions are set to begin you will login to Schoology, click on courses, click on “All Parents,” and then click on “Zoom.” Review the list of scheduled sessions and select the one you will attend. The sessions that will be offered are:
2-Year College Planning - 12th Grade Parents
4-Year College Planning - 12th Grade Parents (Student Last Names A-M)
4-Year College Planning - 12th Grade Parents (Student Last Names N-Z)
PSAT/NMSQT for all 10th and 11th Graders Wednesday, October 13th
On Wednesday, October 13th LBSS will host both the PSAT/NMSQT for all 10th and 11th graders. Students are automatically registered and no further action by families is needed. All 10th and 11th grade students who report to school on Wednesday, October 13th will take the PSAT/NMSQT at no cost to families. All FCPS students have access to Khan Academy’s free online test preparation, whether they are taking the PSAT for the first time or preparing for eleventh grade National Merit Scholarship qualification. The Khan Academy online curriculum is customized for students based on any previous PSAT or SAT scores, and their website also offers general test preparation tips for students. Students will receive their testing locations in early October.
Middle School Information
Middle School After-School Registration is NOW OPEN
- Open to all 7th and 8th grade Lake Braddock students
- Program is scheduled to begin September 20, 2021 (Updated Clubs & Activities Calendar – COMING SOON!)
- FREE for middle students (please note – some clubs may have a small fee for competitions or material costs)
- REGISTER HERE.
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Middle School Picture Day-September 16th-17th
Middle School Picture Day is next week on
September 16th-17th. Pictures will be available in the week or so following. Your students should have received a paper order form already. Save time and Pre-order online here.
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Important Reminders
Digital Consent for Students
Attention Bruin Families! Don't forget to submit your Digital Consent Form!
Parental Consent for HS Digital Resources
Parental Consent for MS Digital Resources
SR&R Reminder
FCPS’ updated Student Rights & Responsibility booklet is now available online and in the ParentVue section of the Student Information System (SIS). The SR&R booklet explains expectations for student behavior, and adult responses to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment.
Each year, we ask parents to review, sign, and return the SR&R to their child’s school. There are two ways for parents to acknowledge that you have received the document:
1. In ParentVue, you may now download and digitally sign the SR&R. Every parent/guardian with a ParentVUE account will see the SR&R upon login to ParentVUE until the SR&R acknowledgement has been completed. E-signing for one child will suffice for all siblings within the household. Your name in the digital signature box must match the parent/guardian’s first and last name in SIS exactly before the signature will be accepted.
2. Download and sign the Parent Signature Sheet and please return the signed signature sheet to your child's subschool.
Signatures are due by October 29, 2021.
Family Life Education (FLE) Opt Out
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 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, please complete the form that accompanies this letter or access the opt out forms online. The detailed grade-level program descriptions and opt-out forms are available on the FCPS website at
Please fill in the opt-out form and return it to your child’s school prior to Family Life Education instruction.
For more information or questions regarding the FLE program, please contact Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or email Carrie Reynolds.
Free/Reduced-Meal Applications
While every student in FCPS is receiving free meals this year, the application for Free/Reduced Meals will still need to be completed if you require reduced/waived fees for course fees, instrument rentals, parking passes, etc. Parents/guardians must also complete the Consent to Share form. These forms can be found here.
Reminder of New Traffic Pattern
We hope that everyone is finding the new traffic pattern beneficial and efficient in easing congestion during our morning arrivals. Please read the following carefully for instructions:
KISS AND RIDE: Parents entering from Burke Lake Road will need to stay in the far right lane and follow the direction of security to drop off students at Doors 15 and 16. The secondary entrance is from Lake Braddock Drive and students may be dropped off at Door 3. Do not park or leave your car unattended in either of the two drop-off locations.
STAFF AND STUDENT PARKING: From Burke Lake Road, students and staff will be able to park in the lot on the right hand side of the school. If entering from Lake Braddock Drive, students and staff will only be able to park in the lots on the left side of the building. No one will be permitted to cross through the median for entrance to another parking lot. Hang tags must be displayed to obtain entry to either of these parking lots. Students must park in the white parking spots. Yellow parking spots are reserved for Lake Braddock Staff.
BUSES: All buses will enter from Burke Lake Road and will use the far left lane. They will merge with cars as they exit the school parking lot; this process will be facilitated by security.
Please be patient and respectful at all times. Every Bruin’s safety is our priority.
FCPS is Seeking Individuals to Serve as Student Monitors!
Enjoy working with students? FCPS is seeking individuals to serve as student monitors . Student monitors provide supervision support in the classroom, lunchroom, and outside. If you would like more information about the position, please review the job description and apply online.. Please feel free to share information about this opportunity with anyone else you think may be interested.
FCPS is Seeking Individuals to Serve as Substitute Teachers!
Are you or somebody you know interested in substitute teaching with FCPS? Apply here or attend one of our Friday information sessions to learn more! To sign up for a session visit our substitute information page here. Say Yes to FCPS!
AVID is Hiring!
AVID is hiring…Tutors may work 1 to 25 hours per week, depending on tutor availability and openings in select Fairfax County public schools. They earn $17.71 per hour. Candidates must be currently enrolled in college or be college graduates. They should be willing to serve as positive role models for middle and high school students. Comfort with higher-level math is especially needed, though not required.
Tutors must have reliable transportation as most of our schools are not accessible using public transport.
Interested applicants should send a resume to Bridget Wright.
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PTSA
Join the PTSA!
Join the LBSS PTSA today. Your membership will include our bi-weekly newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, free access to the student A to Z directory, discounts with PTSA partnerships, eligibility for student scholarships, voting rights at our membership meetings, and more. The PTSA has membership options for students, faculty, adults, and families (includes 2 adults and unlimited students).
Visit the PTSA website to join.
FCPS Information
Sharing Our Success!
Our strong return builds on a foundation of success. Take a look at Sharing Our Success, stories and highlights from the 2020-21 school year. We love reading about the great things happening in FCPS and Lake Braddock!
Encouraging Outdoor Mask Use
We are making use of our outdoor spaces as much as possible for meals/student breaks. We have noted that a large percentage of students remove their masks while outside. Masks are not required outside, but they are strongly encouraged. We ask you to consider talking with your child about keeping their masks on when outside and gathering in larger groups if they can comfortably do so.
Student-Athlete Vaccination Requirement: Your Questions Answered
Fairfax County Public Schools requires student-athletes be vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus for the winter and spring sports seasons as an additional safety measure to support our layered prevention strategies.
We want to thank you for your patience while we worked through the operational details of this important decision. We have hopefully answered many of your questions about the implementation timeline, how vaccination status will be verified, exceptions, safety, and more in these Frequently Asked Questions.
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New Process to Speed Up the Return of Fully Vaccinated Students to Classrooms
FCPS heard from many of you about your concerns regarding the amount of time fully vaccinated students are being paused from in-person instruction when identified as a potential close contact to a COVID-19 positive case.
FCPS collaborated with the Fairfax County Health Department to adjust this process and speed up the return to the classroom for fully vaccinated, asymptomatic students. We all share the goal of ensuring our students are in the classroom as much as possible, while also keeping our schools safe and healthy for everyone—staff, students, and visitors.
The new process benefits all students, including those of elementary school age who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated. Because contact tracers will no longer have to contact families of students who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, they will now be able to focus more resources on elementary school investigations. This will allow elementary school students, among others, to return to the classroom quicker.
More information is available online.
COVID-19 Case Notification Update
We have heard from our Ombudsman that many families are finding it stressful and overwhelming to receive a new COVID notification email every time there is a positive case in their child’s school. We have updated our process to provide families some relief.
UPDATE: Once a week, either on Friday or the last day of school for the week, school leadership will share an update if there were any COVID-19 positive cases confirmed in the school that week.
Potential close contacts of the positive case that are paused from in-person instruction and activities will continue to receive real time notifications.
- Outbreak letters will continue to be sent to staff and the community as they occur.
- Staff will continue to receive notifications of any individual cases within 24 hours of notification of the positive case in accordance with the Department of Labor requirements.
The FCPS COVID-19 Health Metrics webpage will still be updated daily for families who wish to know about cases in real-time.
Key COVID-19 Terms Videos - Now in Spanish
We are pleased to provide the videos that define key COVID-19 terms in Spanish.
Key COVID-19 Terms
Contact Tracing
Pause
Quarantine
Isolation
Outbreak
Multilingual Parent Podcast: Fairfax Health Department Specialist Talks About COVID-19 Safety Protocols
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 English as a Second Language (ESOL) Services and the Office of Professional Learning and Family Engagement.
In this week’s episode, meet Kirsten Buchner, a community health specialist at the Fairfax County Health Department. Buchner answers questions about wearing masks for COVID-19 safety protocols and COVID-19 vaccinations. For more information, the Fairfax Health Department COVID-19 phone line is 703-324-7404.
At the end of the podcast, the hosts offer families information on the FCPS Parent Resource Center’s newest resource, PRC Packs, which are pre-packaged tote bags with books for adults and children on important topics such as supporting children and teens with attention deficit disorder, anxiety, and motivation.
Listen and subscribe:
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Safety Reminder: Mask Wearing on School Buses
Masks are an essential tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting those unable to be vaccinated. To ensure a safe start to the school year, masks will be required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, inside FCPS buildings and on school buses.
Telephone Parent Information Line Available in Eight Languages
Parents who speak Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, or Vietnamese can call a telephone information line for general information about FCPS and to receive support if they are having difficulty communicating with their children's schools due to a language barrier.
Important LBSS and FCPS Resources
How to Stay In Touch
Please stay in touch with us throughout the year by:
Attendance Lines
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS:
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS:
Procedures for Picking Up a Student Early
Prior to 8:00 am, the student must present a note from the parent to their subschool office. Notes must include time of dismissal, reason for leaving, and a contact number. Parents of middle school students must also include the name of the person picking the student up. Please note that this person must be listed as an emergency contact. If you use the online attendance form for an early dismissal, please tell your student to stop by their subschool office to pick up the dismissal pass.
At the time of early check-out, middle school parents must come in Entrance 1 and meet their student at the security desk. Anyone picking up a middle school student must bring a photo ID with them. High school parents may pick up students outside Entrance 1.
Without advance notice provided by a note, there may be a wait until our staff is able to locate the student, particularly if the student is at lunch or in a physical education class. We further regret that without advance notice, we are unable to accommodate requests for early dismissal after 2:15 pm.
Read our full Attendance procedures at our website.
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Purchase Tickets to Lake Braddock Athletic Events Thru ETIX
Are you planning to attend a Lake Braddock home game to support the Bruins? Purchases may be made well in advance, before you leave the house on game day, or at the gate with your cell phone using posted QR Codes! All home game admission tickets must be purchased through ETIX.
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Schoology
Students, families, and staff throughout FCPS and in our school community will use Schoology (pronounced /SKOO-luh-jee/) as our learning management system.
Here is what you need to know now:
FCPS Technology Support for Families
The Parent Technology Help Desk is available to support parents and students through this new school year. Parents and students can visit the Parent and Student IT Support Portal to find self-help resources or submit a tech support request ticket.
FCPS Mental Health Resources
- If you are depressed, in crisis, or just want to talk, please text NEEDHELP to 85511 or call 1-800-273-TALK. Someone will be there to listen.
- If you're going through a tough time, don't go it alone. Reach out to a parent, friend, or trusted adult. You can also text NEEDHELP to 85511 at any time–day or night.
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