ATES Updates 11/09/2021

Upcoming Dates:

11/10         Report Cards Go Home
11/11         2-Hour (1:20 PM) Early Release for Students
11/15         Family Food Market (4:00pm - 5:00pm, Parking Lot)
11/24-26    Thanksgiving Holiday (No school)


Dear Parents and Guardians, 

We welcome you and your child(ren) to the 2021-22 school year in Fairfax County Public Schools. Your child’s Quarter 1 progress report 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 )

 

Thank you,

Lisa Pilson


Principal's Message-Happy Veteran’s Day

November 11th is Veteran’s Day and we would like to honor all the friends and families of the Annandale Terrace Elementary School community. Thank you for your sacrifice and dedication to keeping us safe at home and abroad.  Thank you to all our Veterans for your courage, immense strength, and limitless dedication to keeping us safe. Growing up in a military family, I know the sacrifice that countless men and women have made for each one of us. Please know that on Veteran’s Day and every day, you are appreciated, valued, and respected. We honor you!  


Optional COVID-19 screening testing students starting the week of November 15

In support of our commitment to safety, Annandale Terrace Elementary School will begin optional COVID-19 screening testing students the week of November 15.  

Routine testing is a highly recommended strategy to reduce COVID-19 transmission and keep our schools safe. Following recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 10% of students who are not fully vaccinated and have parent/guardian consent will be randomly selected for weekly testing. 

Parent/guardian consent is required for students to be part of the testing pool. Please complete the parental consent for COVID-19 testing available at this link https://fcpstestingsite.com/.

Test results will be kept confidential. Parents/guardians will be able to review results through the secure vendor portal. Parents/guardians may select an option to share their child’s test results with FCPS. Sharing results with FCPS is optional.

More information about COVID-19 testing in FCPS can be found on the FCPS website. As always, contact the principal if you have any questions or concerns.

 

VaxUp

COVID-19 Vaccinations for 5-11 Year-olds

Last 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.


Announcing FCPS Outstanding Employee-Nominate your amazing teachers!

FCPS has a special awards program to honor outstanding teachers and staff for each school.  Once the finalist from each school is selected then these winners will go on to the pyramid level to be selected then the five regions will select their region’s outstanding employee.  It’s a perfect way to celebrate your special teacher to be recognized.

 

All you have to do is go to the link below to nominate someone.  There will be 6 categories where you can nominate in the following categories:  Outstanding Teacher, Outstanding New Teacher, Outstanding Principal, Outstanding Leader, Outstanding Operational Employee and Outstanding Professional Employee.  If you’re unsure which category fits the person you would like to nominate, please email Essel Linton, ATES Awards Liaison.

 

The nomination forms may be accessed through https://forms.gle/Dfx7RBDYCMb1HKHC8 

 

All nominations must be submitted by November 23, 2021

We are excited about this program and that we can recognize so many Outstanding Employees at Annandale Terrace. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Essel Linton, awards Liaison at elinton@fcps.edu


November's Family Food Market

ATES is partnering again with the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) to offer these monthly distributions of nutritious groceries to members of the ATES community, free of charge for the school year 2021-2022.

When: November 15th at 4:00 PM-5:00PM

Where: Family Markets will be held outside in the front parking area with drive-up encouraged and walk-ups available.

What: The CAFB will be providing pre-packed boxes/bags of dry goods and produce. One box of each per household, please.

Help us keep Family Markets safe! Please note that masks are required for market participation, and we ask all participants to maintain social distancing by keeping 6 feet or further away from others.

Action required: Please complete November's survey provided in the link below prior to your visit to the school for the food distribution as this is a monthly requirement by CAFB.

https://forms.gle/oX4gnPMNYUYZGoQz7


Families, We Need Your Consent for Select Digital Resources

At Annandale Terrace Elementary School, our teachers will use a variety of digital resources to support student learning and promote communication and collaboration with students and families. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. You can find our school’s list of the resources that require parental consent here: https://annandaleterracees.fcps.edu/student-links

Additionally, you can find more information about approved digital resources in FCPS here: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/technology/digital-resources 

Included on this page is also a link to a form where the enrolling parent or guardian will need to indicate whether or not their student is allowed to use the list of digital resources this year. This page also provides more information about how FCPS carefully reviews digital resources for approval and why we must request your consent before using certain tools. We encourage you to complete the parental consent for digital resources form as soon as possible, as your child will not be able to use the digital resources until we have received your permission. Please reach out to Carlie Taylor (ctaylor@fcps.edu ) if you have questions or concerns about the digital resources we’ve chosen to use this year.


Power Pack Program

In partnership with Food For Others we are happy to continually offer this program to our families this year. Please fill out the form if you wish to participate.


Schoology - How Do I Login

FCPS is beginning using Schoology as an online platform for many student assignments.  It has many similar features to Google Classroom, and students should be able to navigate it easily to find and submit assignments after their teachers show them how to use it in school. 

We anticipate continuing to use FCPS laptops in school for many assignments, especially in the upper grades.  However, being back to in-person school allows for hands on and paper/pencil activities that support learning.

FCPS is no longer using BBCU and will instead use Zoom as a virtual meeting tool, when necessary.

Please click the link below to access the Schoology log-in instruction.

ISD-Schoology-HowDoILogin-Families-English.pdf


December 15th 2021: Deadline for Full-Time Advanced Academics Referrals

Students found eligible for placement in full-time Advanced Academic Programs Level IV through a central selection process receive a challenging instructional program in the four core subject areas. Screening for this level of service occurs in the fall for students who are new to FCPS and in the spring for all other students. The referral deadline for level IV services is December 15, 2021 for the 2021-2022 academic school year. Additional information regarding the level IV screening process can be found on the Advanced Academic Programs website via https://www.fcps.edu/academics/academic-overview/advanced-academic-programs .Please direct any questions regarding Advanced Academic services to the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), Antoniette McEntyre almcentyre@fcps.edu. please email the following items to Ms. McEntyre and the your child’s teacher if you would like to start the referral process:

1) Level IV referral form (required)

2) Parent/Guardian Questionnaire (optional but recommended)

    2 of single sided work samples (optional)


US Citizenship Online Class

Grace M