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09/10 Back to School Night (5:30-7:00pm)
See below for BTSN session information
09/17 Parent Coffee (2PM-3PM, Parent Center)
Topic: Social Emotional Strategies- Setting up students for
a successful transition back to school
09/21 Fall Picture Day (8:45am, Gym)
09/24 Parent Coffee (2PM-3PM, Parent Center)
Topic: FRM forms and using cell phone to access,
complete and submit forms
Dear ATES Families,
As the number of cases increase around the county, we want to share some additional information about the COVID processes in place. Thank you for your help in keeping all our students and staff safe at school.
Keep your child home from school with any symptoms that are COVID-like.
The most important way you can help as a parent is to keep your child(ren) home if they present with any illness or symptoms that are associated with COVID.
Parents, caregivers, or guardians are strongly encouraged to monitor their children for symptoms of infectious illness every day through a home-based symptom screening, and students who are sick should not come to school. Please consider the questions in the Health Screening Questionnaire each morning before sending your child to school. If you answer “YES” to any of the questions, please keep your child home.
Keep your child home if you suspect your child may have come in contact with someone who has COVID.
If you keep your child home, and they are feeling better the next day, then they do not need documentation from a medical provider to return.
If your child comes to school and presents with COVID-like symptoms, they will be placed in the Care Room and will be sent home. Your child must then be seen by a medical provider in order to return to school.
Please be overly cautious and keep your child home if you are waiting for COVID test results.
Communicate Quickly with the School
As soon as you have information that your child has COVID or likely has it, please let us know. The sooner we have information, the sooner we can alert the health department to begin the contact tracing.
Ensure Your Children Come with an Appropriate Mask
Aligned with guidance provided by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has established procedures for the use of face coverings/masks (cloth or disposable) for students, staff, and visitors designed to mitigate the spread of COVID. This document highlights the types of masks that are appropriate for students to wear to school. Mask types are also listed below.
    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.
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.
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.
ATES Families,
I hope you are having a wonderful beginning of the school year. Back to School Night will be on Friday September 10, 2021 from 5:30PM – 7:50PM. Each grade level will present 2 sessions together so we can utilize larger rooms, enabling our families to space out. The schedule has been created to accommodate families with more than one elementary aged child. Families with children in the PreK/Head Start program have had home visits and orientation so their teachers will not be presenting during Back to School Night.
Links to the presentations will be shared in the Community Updates, following the event for families who are unable to attend BTSN. As a reminder, masks are required by all who attend. Additionally, out of an abundance of caution, this event is for parents/guardians only. If you have any questions, please contact the main office.
Thank you!
Lisa Pilson
Principal
Parents can update their student’s emergency care information online using weCare@school (weCare) which is now linked within SIS ParentVUE. Learn more about weCare and ParentVUE here.
At Annandale Terrace Elementary School, our teachers will use a variety of digital resources to support student learning and promote communication and collaboration with students and families. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. You can find our school’s list of the resources that require parental consent here: https://annandaleterracees.fcps.edu/student-links
Additionally, you can find more information about approved digital resources in FCPS here: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/technology/digital-resources
Included on this page is also a link to a form where the enrolling parent or guardian will need to indicate whether or not their student is allowed to use the list of digital resources this year. This page also provides more information about how FCPS carefully reviews digital resources for approval and why we must request your consent before using certain tools. We encourage you to complete the parental consent for digital resources form as soon as possible, as your child will not be able to use the digital resources until we have received your permission. Please reach out to Carlie Taylor (ctaylor@fcps.edu ) if you have questions or concerns about the digital resources we’ve chosen to use this year.
FCPS is beginning using Schoology as an online platform for many student assignments. It has many similar features to Google Classroom, and students should be able to navigate it easily to find and submit assignments after their teachers show them how to use it in school.
We anticipate continuing to use FCPS laptops in school for many assignments, especially in the upper grades. However, being back to in-person school allows for hands on and paper/pencil activities that support learning.
FCPS is no longer using BBCU and will instead use Zoom as a virtual meeting tool, when necessary.
Please click the link below to access the Schoology log-in instruction.
ISD-Schoology-HowDoILogin-Families-English.pdf
Families are reminded to keep sick children at home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 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.
We know the pause process may be confusing. The flowchart below is posted to the FCPS website to help our community understand the process better.
Flowchart outlining process for students identified as a close contact
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.
FCPS Covid-19 Dashboard
We are extremely happy to have your child in our school with us this year!
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. 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.
Once you log on, you will see the following message:
 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.
Please take a moment to log into ParentVue in your child’s SIS account to access the SR&R. Signatures are due by October 29, 2021.
Please contact us if you are having difficulty accessing the booklet.
Dear Parents/Guardians of Students in Grades 4-5,
You may pay Instrument Rental Fees using My School Bucks beginning September 1st.
My School Bucks (MSB) is a FCPS system for payments of student fees and activities. It is easy, secure, and there are no fees for parents.
Follow these simple steps:
- Go to www.MySchoolBucks.com, or the My School Bucks link on the Annandale Terrace webpage.
- Add a child by school & student ID or birthdate. You will receive a confirmation email.
- You may now pay the Instrumental Rental fee using a credit or debit card, or e-check.
- A confirmation email will be sent to your child’s teacher to let them know you’ve paid.
Thank you!
*Note: Families are also able to submit $20 and the contract to the main office. A box marked “Band and Strings” will be in the main office for students to place their forms and money as they enter the building in the mornings. Please note that students will not be able to take the instrument home until the instrument fee has been paid. If there is a financial concern, please contact Ms. Blacksten (Band) at lsblacksten@fcps.edu or Ms. Leckner (Strings) at heleckner@fcps.edu.
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.
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. Please send your child to school with a mask every day.
Wearing a mask protects us all:
- Children under 12 and the immunocompromised are not able to be vaccinated at this time.
- By wearing a mask, we all help create a safe environment for those who are unable to be vaccinated.
- When recommended social distancing is a challenge, universal masking is an approved substitute - meaning more students can engage in learning in classrooms and other spaces within the school building.
- Reducing the spread of COVID-19 also reduces student absences and missed extracurricular activities and athletic events.
Buses: The CDC federal order requiring masks be worn on public transportation remains in effect, and applies to buses and school transportation operated by Fairfax County Public Schools.
Outdoors: Masks are not required when outside, including athletic activities.
Mealtimes: Students may remove their masks while eating and will put their mask back on as soon as they are finished with their meal.
Band: Band members will use covers/special masks inside the school.
Students with Disabilities: A small group of students with disabilities and staff who work with them will have access to clear masks (e.g. center-based students with hearing impairments, teachers of deaf/hard-of-hearing, speech language pathologists, and some students receiving speech services as needed).
Student Exemptions: Students can request an exemption from this requirement through the process outlined in Regulation 2109.
Staff: Vaccinated staff are not required to wear masks if they are not in the presence of students. Unvaccinated staff will wear masks at all times.
Visitors: All visitors, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear masks in buildings.
Every student is eligible for one no-cost breakfast and one no-cost lunch each school day. However, if your student would like to purchase additional meals or a la carte items, they will need to pay. The best way to purchase items this year is to use MySchoolBucks. Set up your student’s MySchoolBucks account and help them memorize their pin. If you have questions about MySchoolBucks, ATES front office staff can help.
Setting up a MySchoolBucks account for your student is especially helpful during the current nationwide coin shortage. FCPS cash registers will have limited coins available at the start of the school year to provide change for cash purchases. Purchases made with MySchoolBucks also keeps lines moving quickly.
Your child may choose to bring their meals and snacks to school this year. ATES encourages this practice for students who have specific dietary requirements or are particularly picky. Bringing food from home ensures your child will have the meals and snacks they enjoy to fuel their day of learning.
Be ready on day one by setting up your child’s MySchoolBucks account and looking over the menus.
Children who reach the age of five on or before September 30, 2021 are eligible to attend Kindergarten. Visit https://www.fcps.edu/registration for all necessary registration information OR contact Jose Vega, our Student Information Assistant, at jlvega@fcps.edu or 703 658 5600 to schedule an enrollment appointment.
The Office of Transportation Services is excited to share that our school bus fleet includes eight new electric buses! This is an exciting achievement for our school system as we move towards the bus fleet of the future!
FCPS Needs School Bus Drivers
New Incentive - New drivers will receive a $3,000 signing bonus - $1,500 after consecutive employment of 90 workdays, and $1,500 will be given after the first 180 working days (paid school days) if the driver receives a satisfactory evaluation, and is recommended for continued employment with Transportation Services. We hope this helps us to add many new bus drivers to our team!
New Hourly Rate for School Bus Drivers - We are also excited to say our starting bus driver pay has increased to $22.91.
A $1,000 recruiting bonus is available for any FCPS or Fairfax County employee who recruits a school bus driver. Certain conditions apply. Applicants must be able to pass hiring and training standards and must drive for a minimum of 90 school days. For more information, contact the Applicant Center - Connie Lovejoy at 571-423-3023.
FCPS will require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October. Staff who choose not to, or are unable to be vaccinated, will be required to submit proof of a negative test on a regular basis. FCPS is planning division wide vaccination clinics, beginning in the next few weeks, to help staff and students get vaccinated and receive booster shots when eligible. More details will be shared over the coming weeks.
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