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From the desk of Mr. Smith!
Dear DRES Families,
One of our goals has been to expand and enhance our afterschool activity program. All students received a flier this week with information about our offerings We are planning three sessions throughout the school year, and the first session will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays (4-5 pm) from October 12-November 18. We are able to provide bus transportation for eligible students in order to expand opportunities for all of our students. Students should return the completed permission form to their teacher as soon as possible as spaces are limited in each club. More information can be found on our website.
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 and enjoy your weekend!
Chris Smith
DRES Principal
Return To School
Student Monitor Positions Available
Daniels Run and schools across the school division, have the opportunity to hire hourly positions to help with assorted functions. If you, or someone you know, is looking for hourly work please share this.
Student Monitor
Description: Provides supervision of students throughout the school day to include, but not limited to, the classroom, hallways, lunch, recess, specials and at arrival/dismissal; helps maintain order and discipline and assists in managing the behavior of students; operates technology; performs administrative and non-instructional duties; ensures all layered prevention/safety protocols and procedures are implemented and followed; works with individual and small groups of students.
Qualifications: Any combination of education and experience equivalent to graduation from high school. Must be comfortable managing student behaviors in large and small groups, ensuring all layered prevention/safety protocols and procedures are implemented and followed; and has general familiarity/skills with basic office technology in support of teachers, students, and the classroom.
Hourly Band 4: $15.73/hr
DRES has a few options for the Student Monitor position(s):
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Full day position from 8:30 AM- 4:30 PM(8 hour day plus 30 minute break)
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Part-time option 1: One shift from 8:30 AM- 12:30 PM
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Part-time option 2: One shift from 12:30 PM- 4:30 PM
How to Apply: Apply online through FCPS at https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/home/HomeWithPreLoad?PageType=JobDetails&partnerid=25103&siteid=5042&jobid=1412690#home
AND
Email your resume and which option (full-time, part-time #1 or 2) you are interested in to cmsmith@fcps.edu
Field Day Volunteers!
Fall Field Day is Coming! Field Day is scheduled for Friday October 15th with a rain date of Monday October 18th. Grades kindergarten through second grade will have Field Day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and grades third through sixth will have Field Day from 1:30-3:30 p.m. WE NEED PARENT VOLUNTEERS!! If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email to Tyler Murray at twmurray@fcps.edu by Friday October 1st, 2021. In the email please include the following:
- Name of volunteer (s)
- Time of day you are willing and available to volunteer: Morning, Afternoon, Both
- Whether you plan to volunteer on only October 15th or can volunteer on the rain date October 18th as well.
After signing up to volunteer, you will receive an email during the week of October 11th with details. Thank you in advance for your help to make Field Day a success for our DRES students!
Fall Picture Day: October 7th
Preorder pictures using the DRES Picture Day ID code EVTCSG3NK at the Lifetouch website.
Volunteers are needed! Please contact Gina Byron at gabyron@fcps.edu if you are interested in volunteering. All volunteers will receive a discount on photo packages.
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Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Information Sessions
The Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Fall Newsletter was sent home to families in this week’s Thursday folders.
Fairfax County Public Schools offers a continuum of advanced academic services for students in K-12 that builds upon students' individual strengths and skills and maximizes the academic potential for all learners.
Our Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), Beth McCrodden, collaborates with the school staff to determine the appropriate level of advanced academic services. Ongoing observation and assessment ensures that student needs are being met.
Parents may refer their child for advanced academic services or get additional information on the screening process or advanced academic opportunities at our school by contacting Ms. McCrodden at bamccrodden@fcps.edu.
Additional information including parent presentations, AAP forms, and screening/identification timelines can be found at the FCPS AAP Website.
AAP K-6 Overview Parent Meeting
If you are interested in learning more about advanced services at Daniels Run, you are invited to attend one of our virtual AAP Parent Information Sessions on Tuesday, September 28 or Wednesday, September 29.
Ms. Beth McCrodden, our Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), will provide information about the levels of AAP service in FCPS for K-6 students and give an overview of the referral/screening process. All are welcome to attend.
We are offering a choice for an evening or morning virtual session. You can join either session using the Google Meet links below.
Evening Session: Tuesday, September 28 from 6:00–7:00 PM (AAP Meeting Link)
Morning Session: Wednesday, September 29 from 9:30–10:30 AM (AAP Meeting Link)
Health Guidance for Parents
The health and safety of all students is paramount to everything we do. Here is some information from FCPS that gives tips on how to stop the spread, as well as explains the process we use when there is a positive case.
FCPS 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.
Flow Chart for Notification of a Positive Case
We know the pause process can be confusing for families. The flowchart below is posted to the FCPS website and explains the exact process Daniels Run, FCPS, and the Fairfax County Health Department use to identify and notify close contacts after a positive case.
Flowchart outlining process for students identified as a close contact
COVID Dashboard
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 has tabs showing total number of cases, cases by school and cases by date.
FCPS Covid-19 Dashboard
Safety Tools & Scenarios
Since the beginning of August, the majority of COVID-19 cases have been acquired through community spread, outside of school buildings.
FCPS’ layered prevention strategies are working to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our schools. Pausing, quarantining, and isolating are tools we use to keep schools safe when a positive COVID-19 case is reported. Understanding the difference between the three scenarios can help families be prepared.
Pause
A pause to in-person instruction is a short-term safety measure used by FCPS and the health department to allow time to investigate and determine the safest way to address a positive case within the school community.
To learn more about pausing in-person instruction, watch this video.
Close Contact
A close contact is any person, regardless of vaccination status, who is within 6 feet of a COVID-19 positive individual for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24 hour period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) K-12 Exception indicates that students will not be identified as close contacts if they are at least 3 feet apart and are consistently wearing masks in the classroom setting. Adults are not included in this exception.
To learn more about close contacts, watch this video.
Quarantine
When a student is identified as a close contact, there are two things that may occur as a result:
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Not fully vaccinated students who are identified as a close contact with someone with COVID-19 must remain home for 14 days after their last exposure. FCPS will notify a student of their return date.
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Fully vaccinated students must remain home until their vaccination status is verified. Upon verification of vaccination status by the FCHD, and if the student/staff is asymptomatic, they may return to in-person learning and activities once notified by FCPS of their return date.
To learn more about quarantines, watch this video.
Isolation
Isolation is the response when someone tests positive for COVID-19. Students who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, may not return until:
- It has been at least ten (10) days since the student first had symptoms AND
- The student must be fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication AND
- The student’s symptoms are getting better
To learn more about isolation, watch this video.
Outbreak
It is important to note that more than one case reported by a student, staff, or visitor to a particular school or building does not always mean there is an outbreak. An outbreak is defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with onset within a 14-day period who are epidemiologically linked (a case in which the person has been exposed to a confirmed case in a way that a known transmission can occur), do not share a household, and were not identified as close contacts of each other in a setting outside of school during the health department investigation.
To learn more about outbreaks, watch this video.
FCPS’ goal is to keep students learning in-person all year. We are doing our part by implementing layered prevention strategies and working with FCHD to address positive cases and potential exposures. Every FCPS student and family can do their part by wearing masks, getting vaccinated when they are eligible, practicing healthy hygiene, and staying home when sick.
iReady Assessments
The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board adopted iReady as an academic universal screener for use with all elementary school students in grades 1 through 6. The iReady assessment includes a reading test and a mathematics test.
The purpose of this assessment is to identify students who may have gaps in foundational literacy and mathematics skills. Based on iReady results, some students may require an additional assessment to further diagnose the specific learning areas that may need support. An example of an additional diagnostic assessment is the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). The iReady reading test, together with any necessary follow-up diagnostic assessments, also fulfills state testing expectations for primary grade students.
iReady and any necessary follow-up assessments are given at the beginning of the school year. Depending on the grade level and previous screener performance, students may receive the assessment again in the winter and/or in the spring. Schools set the specific dates for testing in each class.
Additional information, including a short video, about the universal screener in FCPS can be found at the iReady Universal Screener webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/us). If you have further questions about this assessment, please contact your child’s teacher or our school’s test coordinators, Lauren Hein and Michael Parker.
Virginia Growth Assessment
Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) is a new test required for students in grades 3-8. The state legislature introduced this requirement to measure student growth and progress within the school year in reading and mathematics.
For fall 2021, VGA will address content that was taught in the previous school year. The purpose of this fall’s VGA is to identify potential learning gaps resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no “passing” or “failing” outcome for the VGA. Results will provide a starting point to measure growth and will offer information about areas of strength and areas for growth in reading and mathematics.
Students enrolled in grades 3-8 will generally take an assessment in both reading and mathematics. However, elementary and middle school students enrolled in a high school credit-bearing math course, such as Algebra 1, will not take a VGA for mathematics.
The following points may help you and your student better understand this assessment.
- VGA must be taken in-person at school.
- This online, computer-adaptive test is about half as long as the spring SOL test.
- Questions use Standards of Learning (SOL)-like items to measure current knowledge and skills in the content area.
- Student results will be used to help school staff plan for instruction and supports.
Across Fairfax County, elementary and middle schools will give students the VGA in September or October.
If you have questions about this state assessment for your student, please contact Lauren Hein or Michael Parker
Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP)
The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) assessments provide actionable information that will assist teachers, school leaders, and parents/guardians in supporting student success in school and to better understand school readiness skills across the state of Virginia. This fall, your student will participate in the three assessment components of the VKRP, which measure literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills. More information about the assessment can be found on the FCPS Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program Parent Notification webpage.
For questions, please contact your child’s teacher.
Parenting Resources
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.
Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions. Thank you.
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10/5/21 – 1/18/21
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Tuesday 6:00-8:00 p.m.
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5-11 Age Range Nurturing Parenting Curriculum
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This class will be held virtually
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Debi Hackney 703-324-7790 Natalie Bailey 703-324-3617
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Music News!
FHS Homecoming 2021
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Join Us for Fairfax HS Homecoming!
Friday, October 1
Parade on Old Lee Highway 4:00 P.M.
Tailgate/Food Trucks FHS Parking Lot 4:30
Game vs. Edison HS 7:00 P.M.
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Students to Participate in International Walk to School Day on October 6
Fairfax County Public Schools will participate in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 6, in an effort to promote physical activity and reduce traffic congestion and pollution near schools.
Students and employees are encouraged to bike or walk to school and work where safe to do so on October 6. Parents are encouraged to accompany their children to school, and to work with their school and PTA or PTO to assemble bike trains or walking groups for the event. Schools are encouraged to register online with Walk and Bike to School.
Get more information about Walk to School Day.
FCPS Special Education Handbook Is Available to Families
The Special Education Handbook for Parents includes details of the special education process. This process occurs sequentially, over a period of time, with each step building upon the previous step(s).
It is important for families to understand how the special education process works, so they can effectively participate and collaborate with school staff members in making appropriate decisions regarding their child’s educational needs. Families are an integral part of the decision-making team.
Contact the Parent Resource Center (PRC) at 703-204-3941 or prc@fcps.edu with any questions including access to this document.
How Can I Receive Text Messages from FCPS?
Parents can receive text messages from FCPS for emergencies and essential information. How? Make sure your parent cell phone numbers are listed in the "cell telephone" fields in the parent/guardian contact information section on the emergency care information form for each of your children.
Parents and guardians can view and update emergency contact information online using weCare@school.
Standard message and data charges may apply for text messages depending on your cell phone service plan. More about text messages is available online.
PTA News!
Online Directory Opt-Out
The PTA will be publishing an online directory of our students this fall via our online platform, Memberhub. If you do not wish to be included in the directory, please email dresecretary@gmail.com.
Save the Date - October Events
October 12th-22nd - Fundraiser (more details to come)
October 13th - PTA Meeting
October 18th - Dine for Dollars at Chipotle
October 22nd - Dragon Dance-a-thon
October 23rd - Outdoor Movie Night at DRES
Important Dates
September 28-Virtual AAP Information Session-6:00pm
September 29-Virtual AAP Information Session-9:30am
October 11 Indigenous Peoples' Day-Student Holiday
October 15-Field Day
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
December 8 Bodhi Day
December 20 - 31 Winter Break
December 25 Christmas
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