Kings Glen Gator Bytes November 23, 2021

Gator Bytes: News and General Information for Kings Glen ES


Happy Thanksgiving

A Message of Gratitude

Thanksgiving Break, November 24-26

As the Thanksgiving holiday is approaching, we wanted to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for the entire Kings Glen community. 

The generosity of both Sock-tober and the Food drive was beyond generous and will provide for families in our community.  Each day the students are coming eager and ready to learn. The Kings Glen staff exhibits amazing passion for teaching, learning and supporting the students.

At Kings Glen, we are grateful for the trust you have in us to support your child’s development as a student. As we walk through the hallways and visit classrooms the students bring an abundance of energy, and we are filled with renewed purpose each and every day. We are grateful for the dedication of the entire school community.

The halls at Kings Glen are filled with gratitude. In addition to the sock and food drives over the last month, students have created garlands of gratitude and a gratitude graffiti wall; our gators truly have an attitude for gratitude!  Thank you for being a part of this community.

With extreme gratitude,

Dr. Ritter and Mrs. Agner


Where to Get a Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine

FCPS is encouraging all parents whose children are eligible to get vaccinated. We know that vaccination is the way out of this pandemic, and we are asking you to help us continue to make our schools as safe as they possibly can be.

The Fairfax County Health Department’s webpage has resources for finding and scheduling a vaccine appointment. Up-to-date information about vaccination opportunities is available on our website.

How to prepare your child for their COVID-19 vaccination:

We know you may have questions about the vaccine. We talked with local pediatricians to answer some of the most common questions. Find out how to prepare your child for their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and how you can make them more comfortable if they experience side effects in this short video


Local Level IV Parent Coffee Recording

In an effort to provide local access to full-time Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) services, our school is in the process of starting a Local Level IV Program. Level IV services will be available at Kings Park Elementary in Grade 3 and Kings Glen in Grade 4 beginning in the 2022-2023 school year

The Local Level IV Program will allow center eligible students to stay at their neighborhood school to receive full-time services and will also provide increased opportunities for students throughout the school to access AAP curriculum more often. 

A recording of the virtual parent coffee  hosted by Kings Park and Kings Glen via Zoom can be found here. Feel free to reach out to Lisa Rode, AART, with any questions.


Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson State Historical Marker Unveiled

Kings Glen 5th Grader Sullivan Massaro was one of several students who participated in the Virginia Historical marker competition. This past weekend the state historical marker, written and submitted by Sullivan Massaro, for Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson was revealed. The historical maker has been placed outside his former home in Falls Church, where he resided from 1910 to 1965.

Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson (1883-1977) was a pioneer for fostering African American participation in athletics in the greater D.C. region. Henderson worked to organize leagues and associations for Black athletes and referees in the early 20th century.

His civil rights advocacy also led to him organizing the NAACP’s first rural branch in Falls Church. Henderson also served as president of the Virginia NAACP. (More Information)


Kings Glen Community Resources and Opportunities for Holiday Giving

There are many resources in our community to support families with food, clothing, and other needs.  Please see below to view these resources and share this information with anyone that you feel may benefit.

Additionally, there are several ways for families to give during the holidays that benefit families in need in our community. Please see below to view these opportunities.


FCPS Cares

The FCPS Cares Program is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can acknowledge our Kings Glen staff members. 


Screen for Illness Every Day, Stay Home When Sick

As a reminder, any student who is ill or has COVID-like symptoms should remain at home. The daily health screening questionnaire and all translated versions can be found on our Health and Safety Guidance webpage. Daily completion of the health screening is done on an honor basis and does not need to be sent to the school.


Positivity Project

KGES Character Strengths:

The Positivity Project

Kings Glen ES is a Partner School in the Positivity Project (P2), where one "character strength" is featured each week.

P2 for Families 1-1-3 is an easy and effective way for families to discuss the importance of character strengths and positive relationships. Click on any character strength to learn more.  You’ll find 1 quote, 1 video, and 3 questions to help you and your children discuss The Positivity Project’s character strength of the week. Please see below to access P2 resources: 

Enjoy discussing this week's Character Strength with your children at home!

Nov 22 - Nov 26 ~ "Gratitude" Character Strength


KPKG PTA

 

 KP/KG PTA News


Care To Share

The PTA is excited to restart Care To Share at both Kings Park and Kings Glen! Through this program, kids can donate extra food from their school lunch, and volunteers will bring it to 'Food for Others' to help support our community.  Pre-pandemic there were more than 67,000 people in Fairfax County that were food insecure - and it's only gotten worse. We could use more volunteers to help pick up and drop off the food. If you're interested, sign up here.

PTA Membership Drive

Have you joined the  PTA for the 2021-2022 school year?  Remember that memberships must be renewed every school year!  Any PTA member that has joined for the PTA 2021-2022 school year before December 9th will be entered to win a prizes drawing at our December 9 PTA meeting!  If you haven't joined yet, join today on our website to be eligible to win!

Please join us for our December 9 PTA meeting!

The PTA plans to host this meeting IN PERSON at Kings Glen with a VIRTUAL option available.  In addition to our normal PTA business, we are very excited to welcome the Kings Glen Strings for a holiday performance!  We will also announce the winners of our membership drive. Here is the call-in/Zoom information: Go to join.zoom.us in your internet browser Meeting ID: 258 233 8875 Passcode: KPKG2020!


Dates to Remember

November 24-26:  Thanksgiving Break

November 29:  Chanukah (Religious/Cultural Observance)

December 8:  Bodhi Day (Religious/Cultural Observance)

December 9:  PTA Meeting (7 p.m. at Kings Glen, Virtual Option available)

December 20-31:  Winter Break (Kings Glen School and Office Closed)