Sangster ES News You Choose
 Sangster students participated in Wellness Wednesday this week!
Upcoming Events
October 29: End of 1st Quarter
Character Day
November 1 & 2: Student Holiday
November 9: Fall Picture Retakes Day
Celebrate on Character Day - October 29th
To celebrate our school-wide love of reading and our curricular units on character, students are encouraged to dress up as a favorite character from a book on Friday, October 29th. Students should bring a copy of a book that includes the character they are representing. The book must be one that the child has either read or listened to an adult read. During the school day they will discuss the character they’ve chosen with their classmates, and they will describe how they are similar to and/or different from their book character.
Guidelines for Book Character Costumes:
- Characters must be school-appropriate and from elementary/age-appropriate books.
- Costumes may not involve blood or other horror type elements.
- No weapons or masks that cover the entire face.
- Costume must allow students to take care of personal needs, sit in desks, and participate in school and classroom activities throughout the day, including shoes for PE/ recess!!
SR&R Reminder
Over the next several weeks, administrators will be meeting with students and classes to review SR&R policies and procedures.
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:
- 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.
- Download and sign the Parent Signature Sheet and please return the signed signature sheet to your child's teacher.
Signatures are due by October 29, 2021
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Wellness Wednesdays &
Sangster Spirit Day Fridays
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Happy and healthy students and staff continues to be a focus at Sangster. Now more than ever, it’s important that our students learn and practice skills and habits that promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. As a school community we want our staff and students to have self-care strategies and routines that they can use throughout the school day and beyond! We are happy to announce two new spirit days that we encourage everyone to take part in. First, Wellness Wednesdays will give staff and students a chance to build both physical and mental wellness routines such as calm breathing and walking a few extra laps around the track at recess. Teachers will share new ideas and strategies with students along the way, and of course, athletic wear on Wednesdays is encouraged! Secondly, let’s show our Sangster pride every Friday by wearing Sangster Spirit Wear OR by our school colors – blue and yellow. Let’s take care of ourselves, each other, and our nest!
Veterans Day Celebration Photos Wanted!
We will be collecting pictures of our military families for our virtual Veterans Day Celebration again this year. No later than Monday, November 1st, please send us photos of your military families, pictures of service members in uniform from your immediate family, and/or any images that include Sangster students and families with the American flag to Jennifer Redford at jaredford@fcps.edu. We plan to use these in a picture slideshow during our Veterans Day Celebration this year.
Updated Health Information
With the cold and flu season upon us, the likelihood your child may be sent home from the care room after presenting COVID-like symptoms will increase. We appreciate everyone doing their part by not sending students to school while sick. While we follow the necessary COVID mitigation strategies, we also want our students back in the classroom as soon as they are well. Starting yesterday, Monday, October 4, FCPS has revised our required protocols related to the return to school following a trip to the care room. The Return to School form that was previously used is no longer needed for students sent home from the care room. We will now follow the guidelines below.
Students may return to school when their symptoms have improved and they have not had a fever without fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours, AND have at least one of the following:
 Please note, if your child has been identified as a potential close contact or close contact to a positive case, your child will follow the guidance provided by the health department to be cleared to return to school, which is different from the process above.
Sixth Grade Youth Survey News
Students in Sixth Grade should have received a letter in their Thursday folders about the Fairfax County Youth Survey, which includes an- opt out form on the reverse side. The survey will be administered online to all Sixth Graders on Wednesday, November 17th. The parent opt- out letter and additional information can be found here:
https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/youth-survey
The Fairfax County Youth Survey asks questions about risky behavior, mental health, physical health, and safety. There are questions about behaviors related to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription drugs. Additional questions about depression, student stress, bullying and harassment, and questions about personal health will be included in the survey. Students are also asked about specific protective factors concerning health and safety.. The 6th grade version can be found here https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/SSAW-FFX-Youth-Survey-6.pdf .
For further questions please feel free to reach out to Paula Augenstein, School Counselor for 6th grade at phaugenstein@fcps.edu
Opt Out of PTA Directory- Deadline October 15th
2021-22 Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights
Fairfax County Public Schools wants all parents to understand its policies regarding surveys, records, curriculum, privacy, and related rights.
In its Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights and Opt-Out Forms (Annual Notice), FCPS provides explanations of the rights listed above as well as forms that may be used to exercise opt-out choices. Two versions of the Annual Notice are available—a grades K-8 version and a grades 9-12 version. Parents with children at different grade levels should read each applicable version of the Annual Notice because the notices and opt-out rights vary depending on the student’s grade level.
Get more information and view the 2021-22 Opt-Out Booklets.
Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Information Meeting
There will be a Sangster AAP Level IV Screening and Identification meeting held virtually on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 7:00pm. A link to the meeting will be provided closer to the meeting date. At the meeting, parents will learn how to refer students in grades 2-6 for the full-time Level IV Advanced Academic Program for the 2022-2023 school year and have the opportunity to ask questions.
Level IV referral forms are due by December 15, 2021. Referrals will not be accepted after the deadline.
Referral form: https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/AAPLevelIVReferralForm_1.pdf
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Biberaj, Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) at lbiberaj@fcps.edu.
FCPS CARES is an opportunity for staff, parents, students, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others. Every month, a nominated employee from each region and Central Offices will be recognized as an FCPS CARES of the Month recipient. We’ll share their names in Employee News, and they will also have access to a new FCPS CARES banner for their profile photo in Outlook. Watch this video to learn more about FCPS CARES. We also encourage you to acknowledge a staff member who has gone above and beyond! We love our Sangster staff members, let's tell them how we feel!
Emergency Care and Health Information Forms –
Complete ASAP in WeCare
As the school year begins, it is important that Emergency Care Forms and Health Forms for your student are updated as soon as possible.
Both of these forms are required for all students for SY 2021-22 and are available for electronic submission by parents within the WeCare@School module. Please find more information at the link below!
https://www.fcps.edu/resources/parent-communication-overview/wecareschool
Positivity Project
This year, Sangster will continue implementing the Positivity Project(P2). P2 is dedicated to empowering America’s youth to build strong relationships and to understand, appreciate, and exemplify the character strengths in us all. Every 1-2 weeks, students learn about a new character strength.
Positivity Project - Week of Oct 10, 2021
This week’s character strength is Integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is watching. People with integrity practice what they preach and maintain a consistent pattern of behavior aligned with their values. They have the courage not to follow the crowd if it means going against their beliefs. Integrity is closely aligned with the terms of honesty and authenticity. People with integrity tell the truth and have alignment in their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
The site P2 For Families is available for connecting P2 to your home and you can learn more about the site here. Many of the slides are password protected and the password is P2 (case-sensitive).
Next Week’s Character Strength: Forgiveness
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