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Welcome back and Happy New Year! After a unexpected extension to our Winter Break last week, it was great to see all of our students and staff back at school yesterday. Everyone jumped right in – and it was as if we never left! As always when we return from a break, staff will be taking time to review expectations and procedures with students over the next few days.
Please ensure that your child comes to school with two masks every day – one to wear and one as a spare. While we do have child-sized masks available, we are currently running low and waiting for our order to arrive. It would be helpful to make sure that as many students come to school with masks as possible.
Our Superintendent announced in October our inclement weather plan for the 2021-22 school year. Since it is only January and we have already had five (5) snow days, Bush Hill staff is making preparations in case we have a virtual snow day at some point in the future. We are attempting to be proactive so that if this does happen, we are able to transition smoothly. This means we are checking to ensure that every student laptop is working properly and reviewing with students how to access Schoology and Zoom. Students in grades 3-6 will continue to bring their laptops and chargers home each day. During the winter months, students in K-2 will begin bringing their laptops home on Fridays and if inclement weather is forecasted during the week. Please be sure to send the chargers and laptops back to school each school day.
Due to the surge in COVID cases, we are once again limiting in-person visitors to our school during the day. Most parent meetings will occur via phone or Zoom link. As always, if you need to speak with Mrs. Duffy or Mrs. Collins, please call the Main Office at 703-924-5600 to schedule a meeting time. Unfortunately, due to the nature of our positions, we are often in meetings or out in the building working in classrooms with students and staff. This means that we are not normally available for unscheduled meetings.
PTA Meeting:
Our next PTA General Membership meeting will be on Tuesday, January 18th at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will send a link next Tuesday.
Please Welcome:
Please join us in welcoming two student teachers to our school!
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Jenson Shipp will be joining Ms. Goddin’s 2nd grade class. Ms. Shipp is a student at Brigham Young University and will be joining us until Friday, April 15th.
- A note from Ms. Shipp: Hi Bush Hill Elementary! My name is Jensen Shipp and I will be joining Mrs. Goddin’s 2nd grade class for the next 13 weeks as a student teacher. I am from Kansas City, Kansas and have been attending Brigham Young University studying Elementary Education. I will graduate this coming April. I enjoy hiking, traveling with my family, the KC Chiefs, and reading. I have family that lives near DC and have always enjoyed coming here and visiting. I am so excited to be a part of your community and school and cannot wait to get to know you and your students.
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Serena Clark will be joining Mr. Drake’s art classes. Ms. Clark is a student at Brigham Young University and will be joining us until February 25th.
- A Note from Ms. Clark: Hi! I’m Serena Clark, and I am student teaching in the art classroom. I do a lot of drawing and painting, but am a fan of all art media. When I am not in the classroom, I love to go hiking or play the piano. I am from Boise, Idaho, I am finishing my undergrad at Brigham Young University in Utah, and am excited to be here in Fairfax County.
Help support the Bush Hill ES PTA at Panera in Kingstowne tonight, Tuesday, January 11th from 4 PM - 8 PM. Order online at panerabread.com and enter code PRFUND at checkout. You can also bring a flyer or show a digital version to the cashier when ordering at the cafe to ensure that the Bush Hill PTA gets a portion of the proceeds.
Dear Bush Hill Families,
When bad weather or other emergency situations occur, it may be necessary for FCPS to cancel, delay or close schools early. As a proactive measure, here are some planning considerations for closures or virtual learning scenarios.
- K-2 Teachers will be sending laptops/chargers home on Fridays. We will send them home during the week if it appears that there is inclement weather headed our way. 3-6 students will continue to bring their laptops home each evening. A charger will also come home.
- Families should ensure devices are charged and returned to school the following day. If your child does not have a charger. Submit a request it ticket here. There is a charge of $28.00 for a lost charger.
- Log onto your laptop with your student ID and password.
- Connect your laptop to your internet connection.
- Log into Google Account. In the Chrome browser, go to www.fcpsschools.net. Sign in with your computer log in.
- Review resources on how to access Schoology and Zoom.
Resources
- If you have any issues with these steps from home, go to the Tech Support for Families page, to submit a help desk ticket for support or call the Parent Technology Help Desk at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS). This will be answered by staff members from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
- The county has two programs available if you do not have internet access. Cox Connect2Compete and a MIFi. The FCPS Connect2Compete program provides a monthly subsidy, paid by FCPS, to Cox’s home Internet product. MIFI’s are mobile hotspot devices for checkout to students identifying as not having Internet access at home. Send your MIFI request to jnwaters@fcps.edu or call the office to submit your request. More information on eligibility can be found here.
Respectfully,
Jessica Utech
M.Ed.
Instructional Tech Coach/School Based Technology Specialist (SBTS)
Bush Hill ES |
Happy New Year Panthers! We are excited for what 2022 will bring.
Please know what day your students has P.E. Here are some friendly reminders:
* Tennis Shoes are to be warn so students can participate and move safely.
Please do not wear snow boots, flip-flops, Crocs or slides on P.E. Days.
If you do please bring a change of tennis shoes.
* We are not using the water fountains at school still. Please have your student bring a water bottle to PE, we do a lot of moving and it’s important to stay hydrated.
* We do a lot of moving and sweating, students may want to have extra masks on PE days, if they get hot and sweaty.
Workout Wednesdays are the 2nd Wednesday of the Month.
To celebrate and promote a healthy lifestyle teachers, staff and students can wear workout clothes or one of their favorite sports jerseys. We share with classroom teachers some movement activities that they can use as movement breaks during the day to get the students moving!
Our next workout Wednesday is tomorrow, Wednesday January 15th!
Be sure to check out our Twitter page @BushHillPE to see some of the things we are doing.
Dear Bush Hill Parents, Guardians, and students,
Happy New Year and welcome back to school!
Hopefully you had a restorative winter break and are feeling renewed. Bush Hill ES staff was eagerly awaiting the return of students to full time, in- person learning for all grades pre-K to 6th.
All staff returned to work on Monday, January 10th, and all students will be expected to wear masks inside the building, in common areas, and walking throughout the building. The school is providing spare masks in all sizes for students, however we do ask that parents send masks to school with their child each day. Masks must be well fitted to the student’s face.
My utmost concern for your child, as well as all individuals, is their safety and well-being, especially as we face a new challenge in the pandemic as COVID cases again surge across the country.
Your partnership in educating your child is vital and your involvement has great benefits for your student’s academic success, therefore, I encourage you to stay connected with our school in order to build a healthy school-home-community relationship.
Stay warm, safe and connected!
Salima Intidame, M.Ed.
Family Liaison
Bush Hill Elementary School
sintidame@fcps.edu
https://bushhilles.fcps.edu/
Office: (703) 924-5600
Fax (703) 924-5697
School will be closed on Monday, January 17th for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.
Bush Hill ES will dismiss early at 1:55 PM on Thursday, January 20th. It is the end of the 2nd quarter. FCPS will be closed to students on Friday, 1/21 for a Teacher Workday. School is also closed for students on Monday, 1/24 for a Staff Development Day.
Please plan accordingly.
FCPS Announces Open Enrollment for Dual Language Immersion Programs
Online registration for the county-wide lottery for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) dual language immersion (DLI) programs will open on Monday, January 24. Current prekindergarten students may apply for the kindergarten immersion program and current kindergarten students may apply for the first-grade immersion programs for the 2022-23 school year.
For more information, please visit https://www.fcps.edu/news/fcps-announces-open-enrollment-dual-language-immersion-programs
Know any college students who will be home for spring break or at the end of the school year? Encourage them to apply to become an FCPS substitute while they are home for breaks!
https://www.fcps.edu/blog/calling-all-college-students-use-your-breaks-make-extra-cash-becoming-sub
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