Westlawn Family Message
September 10, 2021
Keeping Families Connected!
Hello Westlawn Families,
Three weeks into the 2021-2022 school year and our community is flying high! Teaching and learning is revving up as children adapt to being back at school five days a week. With social distancing in place to the greatest extent possible, teachers are working feverishly to design and implement learning opportunities to challenge our children and enrich the academic experience.
Today the Westlawn Family bid farwell to long-time custodial team member Delia DeGarcia. After 21 years in the Westlawn Community Ms. DeGarcia soars into retirement. Ms. DeGarcia poured her heart and soul into our community since joining the team in 2000. Thank you for always putting our children first. We will miss you.
- September 15, 16, 17 - Schoology Workshops for Parents (more info below)
- September 16 - Lockdown Drill
- September 17 - Fall Picture Day
- October 11 - Student Holiday
Next week we take another step on the road to recovery.
Together, we are strong. Together, we unite. Together, we soar.
We are Westlawn.
In Proud Partnership,
Christoph Hill, Anaya Bryson and Stephanie Carpenter, Westlawn Principals
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Community Conversation - Wednesday, September 15, 1:00PM
We will have a community conversation on Wednesday, September 15 at 1:00PM. We will provide updates to health and safety protocols and procedures, but the majority of the time will be dedicated to questions from families. Access our virtual meeting here.
Q & A From This Week's Community Conversation
Q: Can schools let families know if teachers are going to be out for a duration of time without giving a reason why?
A: Yes - if a teacher is going to miss a significant period of time we will contact families via email and provide information about classroom instruction during the teachers' absence.
Q: Will there be cohorting within families across grade levels to minimize student possible close contacts?
A: Cohorting across grade levels is challenging as there are limited interactions between different grade levels. We are, however, making targeted efforts to cohort within classrooms to limit possible close contacts.
Cornerstones Eviction Prevention Unit
Anyone currently residing in Fairfax County who is behind their rent should contact Coordinated Service Planning (CSP) at 703-222-0880. CSP will complete an assessment with the tenant and determine their eligibility for rental assistance. If they are determined to be eligible to receive assistance the tenant will be referred to one of the Community Based Organizations (CBO) in Fairfax County who are distributing these funds and payment will be sent directly to the landlord.
CSP Community outreach English Spanish Large RC print 4UP 12x18 (1).pdf
COVID-19 Testing Sites
If you are in need of a COVID-19 test please see the attached PDF for information and site locations.
covid19_testing_fairfax.pdf
Health Screening Questionnaire
To keep our community safe and our children in school it is imperative that we carefully monitor our students for signs of illness, and keep kids home if they display possible symptoms of COVID-19. We ask that each morning families self-assess their children using the Health Screening Questionnaire provided below.
HealthScreeningQuestionnaire.pdf
Schoology Workshop for Parents
Our Technology Team will be hosting workshops to familiarize families with Schoology and its user interface. Session dates and times are below. Links for these sessions will be sent to families next week.
English sessions – Thursday, September 16 @ 10-11am; Friday, September 17 @ 1-2pm
Spanish sessions – Wednesday, September 15 @ 2-3pm & 6-7pm
Back to School Night Videos
Here you will find welcome videos from Westlawn Principals and our Mason Crest School Board Representative.
Westlawn Computer and Technology Support
Our Technology Team has created a step-by-step resource to support parents in Schoology, Zoom, and other student learning applications. Access this website here.
Westlawn is seeking individuals to serve as student monitors!
Enjoy working with students? Westlawn is seeking individuals within our community 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!
Outdoor Learning and Dining Areas
In an effort to keep our outdoor learning and dining areas beautiful for our children, we ask for able community members to donate to our Westlawn Outdoor Learning Fund. Funds donated will be used for upkeep of our outdoor learning and dining spaces will include, but not limited to costs of materials, pond maintenance, gardening equipment, and ground cover.
Supporting our Families
Many of our families communicate more comfortably in a language other than English. We have staff members ready to support these families.
Families speaking Spanish can contact Ms. Hilda Reyes, family liaison, at hreyes@fcps.edu.
Families speaking Vietnamese can contact Ms. Vu, at tnquachvu@fcps.edu
Join Scout Night Event
Bus Transportation
Find out more about bus routes on our website and download the Here Comes the Bus mobile app.
If you or someone you know has interest in becoming a bus driver for FCPS, now is a great time to come on board! FCPS is offering up to $2,000 in a signing bonus for new bus drivers who meet eligibility requirements and complete the new driver employment criteria. Find out more and apply today!
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.
Forms, Documents, and Apps
Students' Rights and Responsibilities - Signed by October 29, 2021. You many print, sign, and send with your child to school, or log into ParentVue and sign electronically.
Here Comes the Bus - Information on bus schedules, routes, and live notifications
Opt-Out Forms
Parenting Education Program Offerings
Fairfax County Parenting Education Programs are offering virtual parenting classes for parents with children between the ages of 5-11. Parenting Education Programs are family centered sessions, proven to help parents and children develop healthy, nurturing relationships. This program builds upon families’ strengths and positive values. Due to COVID-19 social distancing recommendation, the class will be offered virtually via ZOOM which is a free web-based conferencing tool that allows us to meet on line. Each week, the parent will receive a Zoom link with a password by email to access the class. This class will be offered in English.
Sessions:
Sep 20 - Jan 17: Mondays, 6 - 8 PM; for parents with children ages 5-11; virtual setting
Oct 5 - Jan 18: Tuesdays, 6 - 8 PM; for parents with children ages 5-11; virtual setting
Contacts:
Debi Hackney 703-324-7790
Natalie Bailey 703-324-3617
Join the Westlawn PTA
Conservation Poster Contest
Girls on the Run
We are proud to announce the initiation of the Girls on the Run program at Westlawn! We have three coaches to support our program, which means a total of 24 girls can participate. Our first team of eight is complete, which leaves 16 available slots. If you are interested in having your daughter participate, you can still sign up here. We have extended the submission date to Monday, September 13.
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