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Terra Centre Families,
We had a lot of fun at our 1st annual Pumpkin Drop and PTA movie night! Even though the weather was chilly, it was great to see so many families partaking in all the festivities! Scroll below to see pictures from the event.
As a reminder, students should dress in appropriate layers since lunch and recess are still taking place outside as much as possible. Also, our Kiss and Ride is becoming a well-oiled machine and parents are reminded to pick up children from Kiss and Ride by 3:30 pm and please use Pick Up Patrol for reporting any late arrivals or early dismissals and submit changes to the default dismissal plan days by 2:00 pm. For 2-hour early dismissal days, changes need to be made before 12 pm.
Do you know a Terra Centre employee that deserves to be recognized and honored? If so, please take some time to click on one of the links below to nominate one of our many outstanding Terra Centre employees.
We are pleased to share that our PTA raised over $12,000 and completed over 230 acts of kindness! We are so proud of our students and so very grateful to our supportive families! Thank you to our PTA board for organizing this amazing fundraiser!
In honor of Veterans Day, we are encouraging all staff and students to wear Red, White, and Blue on Thursday, November 11th. Also, as a reminder, students will be released 2 hours early on Thursday, November 11th.
Enjoy your weekend!
Rebecca Gidoni Bunny Lancaster Teresa Lewis
Principal Interim Assistant Principal Assistant Principal
PTA 1st Annual Pumpkin Drop
Upcoming Dates
Friday, 11/5 Federal Impact Aid Forms Due for All Students
Sunday, 11/7 Daylight Savings Time – Set Your Clocks Back 1 Hour!
Tuesday, 11/9 7:00 Virtual PTA Meeting
(http://meet.google.com/stk-mgmp-xtv)
Thursday, 11/11 Veterans Day - 2-hour Early Release (1:25 dismissal)
Quarter 1 progress reports distributed
11/24 – 11/26 Thanksgiving Holiday Break – No School
11/29-12/3 Scholastic Book Fair
Wednesday, 12/8 Bodhi Day
12/20 - 12/31 Winter Break - No School
Monday, 1/3 School Resumes
FCPS 2021-22 School Year Calendar
Quarter 1 Progress Reports
Your child’s Quarter 1 progress report will be distributed on Thursday, November 11th and it demonstrates achievement, effort and citizenship skills after the first 9 weeks of a return to in-person learning. The purpose of any system of reporting to families is to strengthen the home-school partnership and to inform families about student progress. This 1st quarter was unique and presented new opportunities for teachers to prioritize social-emotional health and wellness, as well as identify academic needs through a variety of assessments. Getting to know each child is the best way to match instructional programming to student needs. School staff continues to assess and monitor students’ strengths and areas for growth using a variety of assessments. Your child will continue to have opportunities to demonstrate mastery towards grade level standards throughout the school year and your child’s teacher will continue to communicate your child’s progress.
For more information about elementary grading and reporting, please visit the FCPS website (https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/elementary-school ) or refer to the information included on the progress report envelope.
 Tuesday’s news that an FDA panel has recommended Pfizer’s low dose vaccine for children ages 5-11 brings hope that we can add another layer of prevention for children during this pandemic. As we await a final decision, please know that Fairfax County Public Schools and our community partners including the Fairfax County Health Department, Inova Health System, and local pediatric groups, are working together to ensure that every family who wishes to vaccinate their children ages 5-11 will have access to the vaccine. For the latest information on our vaccination rollout plans, visit our website.
Optional COVID-19
screening testing for students
Optional COVID-19 screening testing for students will begin November 15, not November 8 as previously announced. The change aligns all student screening testing start dates, making it more convenient for families with students in different grade levels. Preregistration and consent information will be shared with families soon. For all the details about COVID-19 screening testing, visit our COVID-19 Screening Testing webpage.
Screening testing is an important layered prevention strategy that helps keep our school a safe place for all students to learn. I hope you will consider enrolling your child in screening testing until your child is eligible for vaccination.
2022-23 School Year
Calendar Survey
Wednesday, FCPS shared the 2022-23 Calendar Survey with the community and staff. Due to some technical issues, you may have had trouble opening the survey or it may have been redirected to spam or junk folders. We apologize for the inconvenience.
We will be sending out an updated version of the survey as soon as the technical issues are resolved.
We encourage you to complete the survey at your earliest convenience. Employees and students in grades 7-12 will be invited to take a similar survey as well. The results will be used to inform and support FCPS staff as well as the Fairfax County School Board as they work to adopt the 2022-23 calendar. All responses are confidential. If you have any questions about the survey, please email FCPSsurvey@fcps.edu.
Also, mark your calendars for a virtual Calendar Community Meeting on Monday, November 8, 7-8 p.m. Stay tuned for more details.
This year, FCPS is using a different process to develop the calendar. Learn about the criteria being used in the development of the 2022-23 calendar. about the calendar process in general.
Library News and Updates
We have been having so much fun in library during the first quarter of 2021! After many months of teaching from classrooms and navigating curbside book pickup during the earlier stages of the pandemic, it has been wonderful to return to having students in the physical library space learning together this year. So far this first quarter, we have built routines and procedures around library behavior and lessons, interactive story read alouds, and selecting, checking out, and returning library books. I’ve introduced our state reading programs, Virginia Readers’ Choice and Virginia Reads to our students, sharing many of the primary picture book selections with our kindergarten through third grade students. Throughout the year we read and discuss these stories, and then at the end of the year they get an opportunity to vote for their favorite book from each program (which provides a great opportunity for our younger students to learn about the importance of voting, ballots, and the democratic process!) Votes from students across the Commonwealth of Virginia are added up to select the winning picture book for each category! Since the books selected for the VRC & VA Reads’ older students are mostly chapter books and thus cannot be students during lesson time, students in 4th to 6th grade were introduced to the Terra Centre State Reading Challenge where they can participate in an optional challenge to read the 20 books for their grade levels and vote for their favorite at the end of the year as well! Many students have already finished over half of the books in the challenge, and it seems to be creating a great buzz about reading!
In other library news, we’ve recently added hundreds of new books to the library, thanks in part to a generous gift from the PTA last June, and to funds received due to the Terra Centre community’s support of our previous Scholastic Book Fair! Thanks again! Additionally, I’ve resumed my popular segment on our student news program called “Ms. Petruzzellis’ Book Recommendations,” where I share a great book with our TC students each Thursday to promote diversity and build excitement about books and reading! I usually share a timely recommendation in honor of any holidays or monthly celebrations that may be going on that week. For example, I recently shared several books in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, as well as a book to honor Indigenous People’s Day. Upcoming book recommendations in November will celebrate and center Diwali, Veteran’s Day, and National American Indian Heritage Month. If you are interested in learning more about the books I’ve recommended as well as other library updates, please follow my Twitter account at www.twitter.com/MsPetruzzellis.
Lastly, I wanted to share an exciting “save the date” announcement for our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair. This fair will be happening in the library from November 29- December 3, 2021. We are planning our first fully in-person fair for the first time since before the pandemic! More details will come closer to that date! I hope you enjoyed this update, and feel free to reach out with any questions!
Happy reading! Ms. Petruzzellis (she/her), Librarian, Terra Centre Elementary School aepetruzzell@fcps.edu
FCPS Outstanding Employee
Award Nominations
Attention Terra Centre Staff and Community! Nominations will be open for the Outstanding Employee Awards beginning on Friday, Nov 5, through Monday Nov. 22! Please consider completing a nomination form for a Terra Centre Elementary School Outstanding Employee in one of the categories below. To complete a nomination form, click on the nomination category. Here are the various categories and suggested criteria for nominating an outstanding employee.
Outstanding Operational Employee (School-Based)
To be eligible for nomination, a school-based operational employee must:
Have completed at least one year of contracted full-time or part-time operational employment in FCPS.
Currently work on the Schedule-A, Schedule-H, or Classroom Instructional Support (CIS) Scale in an FCPS school
Be aware of and in agreement with this nomination.
Common positions in this category: administrative and office assistants, custodial staff, food service staff, IA, PHA, PHTA, all parent liaisons
Nominees should be school-based operational employees who:
Provide a unique and exceptional contribution to FCPS through their work.
Demonstrate commitment and leadership in their field.
Foster cooperative relationships with colleagues and/or the community.
Foster an environment where diversity in all of its forms is valued and appreciated and demonstrate keeping equity at the center of their work.
Contribute to one or more of the following Ignite Goals, in the FCPS Strategic Plan:
Student Success
Caring Culture
Premier Workforce
Resource Stewardship
Outstanding Professional Employee (School-Based)
To be eligible for nomination a school-based professional employee must:
Have completed at least one year of contracted full-time or part-time professional employment in FCPS in their current position
Currently work as a Schedule-B employee in an FCPS school or center, or in a non-instructional position that supports school leadership.
Be aware of and in agreement with this nomination.
Common positions in this category: School-Based Technology Specialist, Technology Support Specialist, Assessment Coach, Career Center Specialist, Instructional Coach, Psychologist, Social Worker, Speech Pathologist School Counselor, Systems of Support Administrator, Safety and Security Specialist other employee paid as a Resource Teacher who serves in a non-instructional or administrative role in the school
Nominees should be school-based professional employees who:
Provide a unique and exceptional contribution to FCPS through their work.
Demonstrate commitment and leadership in their field.
Foster cooperative relationships with colleagues and/or the community.
Foster an environment where diversity in all of its forms is valued and appreciated and demonstrate keeping equity at the center of their work.
Contribute to one or more of the following Ignite Goals, in the FCPS Strategic Plan:
Student Success
Caring Culture
Premier Workforce
Resource Stewardship
Outstanding Leader (School-Based)
To be eligible for nomination a school-based leader must:
Currently work as a full-time or part-time Schedule C or School-Based administrator who has completed at least one contracted year of employment with FCPS in this position.
Be aware of and in agreement with this nomination
Common positions in this category: Associate Principal, Assistant Principal, Director of Student Services, Director of Student Activities
Nominees should be school-based leaders who:
Provide a unique and exceptional contribution to FCPS through their work.
Demonstrate commitment and leadership in their field.
Foster cooperative relationships with colleagues and/or the community.
Foster an environment where diversity in all of its forms is valued and appreciated and demonstrate keeping equity at the center of their work.
Contribute to one or more of the following Ignite Goals, in the FCPS Strategic Plan:
Student Success
Caring Culture
Premier Workforce
Resource Stewardship
Outstanding Principal
To be eligible for nomination a principal must:
Currently work as an elementary, middle, secondary or high school principal in FCPS (Assistant or Associate principals are not eligible for this particular award – consider nominating them for Outstanding Leader)
Have begun their fourth year as a building principal (experience in an acting capacity is not counted)
Be aware of and in agreement with this nomination
Nominees must be principals who:
Manage effectively
Demonstrate and encourage creativity and innovation
Foster cooperation between the school and the community
Maintain a continuing dialogue with students and parents as well as faculty and staff
Keep abreast of developments in the field of education
Encourage team spirit
Demonstrate leadership and exemplify commitment
Continue to play an active role in the classroom
Foster an environment where diversity in all of its forms is valued and appreciated and demonstrate keeping equity at the center of their work.
Contribute to one or more of the following Ignite Goals, in the FCPS Strategic Plan:
Student Success
Caring Culture
Premier Workforce
Resource Stewardship
Outstanding New Teacher
To be eligible for nomination a new teacher must:
Be within the first 3 years of their teaching career
Be aware of and in agreement with this nomination
Nominees must be new teachers who:
Exhibit superior instructional skills
Interact exceptionally well with students
Demonstrate excellent ability to communicate and engage with faculty, staff, parents and the community
Foster an environment where diversity in all of its forms is valued and appreciated and demonstrate keeping equity at the center of their work.
Contribute to one or more of the following Ignite Goals, in the FCPS Strategic Plan:
Student Success
Caring Culture
Premier Workforce
Resource Stewardship
Outstanding Teacher Nomination
To be eligible for nomination a teacher must:
Have completed at least three full years of teaching
Be aware of and in agreement with this nomination
Nominees must be teachers who:
Instill in students a desire to learn and achieve.
Understand the individual needs of students, encourage their talents and foster their self-esteem.
Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of subject matter and the ability to share it effectively with students.
Foster cooperative relationships and engage with their colleagues and the community.
Demonstrate outstanding leadership.
Foster an environment where diversity in all of its forms is valued and appreciated and demonstrate keeping equity at the center of their work.
Contribute to one or more of the following Ignite Goals, in the FCPS Strategic Plan:
Student Success
Caring Culture
Premier Workforce
Resource Stewardship
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