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Dear Families,
It was disheartening to learn of new COVID cases at CWES last week. It brought to mind Amy Cuddy’s and JillEllyn Riley’s August 11 article in the Washington Post, “Why this stage of the pandemic makes us so anxious”. In the article they coined the term, “pandemic flux syndrome” to describe the emotional ups and downs many people may be experiencing right now. Perhaps you might find yourself in their description of this “combination of acute anxiety, sadness and detachment:”
- You might have had unrealistic expectations for how happy you’d be to return to “normal” and are feeling let down.
- You might miss some of the family rhythms you developed before the world reopened for business.
- You might be feeling guilty for not resuming relationships or activities that you cared about pre-pandemic.
- You might feel new anxiety around the Delta Variant you didn’t have in July or August.
- You may be trying to exert more control over some elements of your life because you are feeling you have lost control in others.
- You may resent continuing to modify your life for a pandemic you had hoped would be in our rearview by now.
- You may feel hopeless that there is no clear end in sight to pandemic challenges.
- You may just be plain exhausted.
If you are feeling any of the above, know that you are not alone. Give yourself grace if you find yourself more impatient or less cheerful as you navigate your days and weeks. And realize that your children may be experiencing their own mix of emotions right now as well.
The Mental Health and Wellness Conference this week might be a great resource for you. Information about the virtual conference, which began today, is below this message.
Reach out for help if you need it. Visit the Mental and Physical Health and Community Resources webpage for a full list of organizations that can provide support and care.
If your child needs support, please reach out to their classroom teacher or school counselor.
Tiffany Sutton, Grades K-3 tsutton@fcps.edu
Becca Wilson, Grades 4-6 rawilson3@fcps.edu
We are here for you. We are here for your children. We are in this together.
Warm regards,
Diane Leipzig, Dr. L
The 8th Annual FCPS Mental Health and Wellness Conference and Inova Act on Addiction presents Strategies for Today and Beyond. The conference will be virtual this year September 27-October 1.
On Tuesday, September 28, keynote speaker, Dr. Dan Siegel, will present The Resilient Brain: Cultivating Courage and Curiosity to Expand a Child’s Capacity to Build Inner Strength. Dr. Stacey Hardy-Chandler will be the featured keynote speaker. She will discuss how to embrace our strengths as a means of coping during uncertain times.
Our Minds Matter will host a student session on Tuesday, September 28. Students learn how to use journaling as a method to support their mental health and well-being.
Registration information and the complete schedule and list of speakers are now available online
Presented in three rotations (6:30-6:50, 6:50-7:10, and 7:10-7:30), families will have an opportunity to attend virtual synchronous sessions with classroom teachers, specialists and administrators to learn more about the instructional program at Canterbury Woods Elementary School. Teachers may be sending presentation materials ahead of time and using the rotation for live Q&A or they may be presenting sessions live during the Our first PTA general membership meeting will follow at 7:30 PM that evening.
See our rotation schedule below:
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Time
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Administrators/ Resource Teachers
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Specialists
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Classrooms
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6:30-6:50
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Overview session
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Band/Strings/STEAM
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K-1
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6:50-7:10
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Overview session
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Chorus/General Music
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2-4
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7:10-7:30
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Overview session
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Art/PE
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5-6
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Session materials, videos and links to participate in each session will be sent via eNotify this Wednesday afternoon. We look forward to seeing you all there!
Students, families, and staff throughout FCPS and in our school community are using Schoology (pronounced /SKOO-luh-jee/) as our learning management system. Schoology is a learning space that enhances communication, collaboration, and personalized learning for students, teachers, and families. As a parent or guardian, you will be able to use Schoology to view:
- your child's class
- your child’s assignments and participation
- your child’s calendar
- teacher comments, scores, and feedback
We are asking that you try logging into Schoology sometime before Back to School Night this Thursday.
Use your SIS/ParentVUE username and password to login to Schoology:
https://lms.fcps.edu.
(Look for the FCPS logo to make sure you are on the right login page.)
You may also want to explore some of the following FCPS resources about Schoology.
Students use their regular FCPS login information to login. Student resources
for Schoology are also available: https://www.fcps.edu/schoology/students
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Wondering what the FCPS "STREAM IN/CHECK IN" initiative might mean for your child at CWES? Whether your child is isolating for 10 days, quarantining for 14 days, or paused while awaiting guidance from the Health Department, your child can access a variety of supports from CWES teachers. |
All students will continue to access asynchronous assignments from their classroom teachers each day. By the third day of extended COVID-related absences, students will also have the option to access:
- Asynchronous activities from specialists on Schoology.
- Livestreaming (StreamIN) of direct instruction via Zoom.
- AM lesson to start sometime between 9:30 and 10:45 AM
- PM lesson to start sometime between 12:00 PM and 2:30 PM.
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NOTE: This is NOT concurrent or hybrid learning. The remote student’s camera and audio will be off, but they will be able to watch and listen. Alternatively, teachers may choose to pre-record lessons.
- Interactive check-ins with teachers every other school day for academic and social-emotional support. Classroom teachers will communicate a 10-15 minute window during the school day for paused students to gather on Zoom for this check in with the teacher and one another. An assigned staff member will also reach out sometime during the week for an additional check in.
Read more at https://www.fcps.edu/news/streamincheckin.
The purpose of STREAM IN/CHECK IN is to provide meaningful instructional support for your child: to help your child feel connected to their teacher and the activity of the classroom, and to support them academically, socially and emotionally during their extended absence. You know your child best and we want to ensure that these supports will indeed serve the intended purpose. In that spirit, upon learning of your child's extended absence, we will send you a link to a Google form to collect information about which of these supports you intend for your child to access during their absence. Your responses will inform our planning. Thanks for your partnership!
Thursday, September 30: (6:30-7:30 PM): Back to School Night (Virtual)
Thursday, September 30: (7:30-8:00 PM): First PTA Meeting (Virtual)
Monday, October 11: Student Holiday (School Planning Day - Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
Friday, October 22: (5:00-8:00 PM): PTA Monster Mash
Friday, October 29: Two-hour early release; End of Quarter 1; SR&R Signature page due
Monday, November 1-Tuesday, November 2: Teacher workdays (Student holidays); Family conferences; Dia De Los Muertos
Did you see the CWES PTA September Newsletter that just came out?
Be sure to sign up at:
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