Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
We look forward to our week ahead. As a reminder, it will be a short week to finish out the second quarter.
As anticipated, along with the Fairfax County positivity rates, we have seen a rise in Covid cases after the break. Thank you for being diligent about checking on the health and well being of your child before sending them to school each day. Children are showing slight symptoms such as headache, stomach-ache, low grade fevers, funny noses and slight cough. If in doubt, please keep them home and let us know. The absence will be excused and teachers will support children with instruction while symptoms are evaluated.
We held a PTA meeting last week and updates are posted below. Your collaboration and open communication is greatly appreciated. During the meeting it was mentioned whether parents or the PTA can support the purchase of better masks for students. If you are having any difficulty securing high quality masks for your children and need help, please let us know ( you can use the parent survey linked below) so we can support your family. FCPS will continue to utilize masks as a prevention strategy.
Our office team has worked hard to support families while managing Covid cases and necessary quarantines. Please reach out to our office if you need assistance.
Sincerely,
Stacy Kirkpatrick
Resource - Highly-Filtering, Well-Fitting Masks
This information is shared as a PTA follow-up and provided to parents as a resource only. FCPS allows a variety of masks including cloth masks and parents make the decisions best for your children.
If you are interested in reading more about choosing a mask, this information from a reputable Texas-based epidemiologist was shared. epidemiologist.
Both reputable KN95s and KF94s are considered highly filtering. Each mask provides a different fit, and one size really doesn’t fit all face sizes/shapes.
Examples of Student Masks (please note these may not be in stock but are examples of the types of masks that provide a good fit and are highly filtering)
Blue KF94 Tiger 3D Mask
Wellbefore Kids KN95 Petite Regular
Small Group Zoom Check Ins for Student Learning at Home - ONLINE this Tuesday!
Various staff including our Librarian, SBTS, Counselors, Social Worker and AART will rotate in supporting small group sessions. They will provide an opportunity for the students to gather and do a short activity together. The check-ins will be mixed groupings of primary or upper grades to support social-emotional needs.
This schedule of Tuesday/Thursday small groups will be ongoing through January while we evaluate the need of our students during these difficult times. We hope they will benefit from this support and time with peers.
When to Connect- Tuesday and Thursday
9:00 AM Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Graders
1:00 PM 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Graders
How to connect for your group check-in - CES Library Schoology Course
Connections will take place in our Library Schoology Course using the Zoom link provided to our students. Only our students accounts will link to the zoom so your child will need to be logged into their FCPS account to access the meeting.
Principal Updates Shared with the PTA
Summer Quest - Chesterbrook will be closed this summer due to building upgrades on our A/C units. Summer programs will continue and held at Kent Gardens ES. Planning is already underway and information will come out in February.
Vaccination Records - Send to DATroskey@fcps.edu (parents cannot update records in ParentVue)
Technology Purchases - Summer Quest proceeds from each year support technology purchases. We have completed our purchases of interactive projectors this year in our final round of this four year project. All specialists will receive updates in this round.
Parent Contact Information - Parents have shared difficulty in connecting with all others from their class or grade level due to the fact that the PTA directory is opt-in. We would like teachers to be able to provide class contact directory in a secure way on their schoology class page but want to provide an opportunity to let your parents know if parents DO NOT want their information shared. Teachers would post parent name, child name, parent phone and parent email for the children in their grade level. If you would prefer to NOT share information, please respond here. Respond to the form by Friday 1/21 if you DO NOT want your contact information shared.
PTA Shared Resource - Highly-Filtering, Well-Fitting Masks
This information is shared as a PTA follow-up and provided to parents as a resource only. FCPS allows a variety of masks including cloth masks and parents make the decisions best for your children.
If you are interested in reading more about choosing a mask, this information from a reputable Texas-based epidemiologist was shared. epidemiologist.
Both reputable KN95s and KF94s are considered highly filtering. Each mask provides a different fit, and one size really doesn’t fit all face sizes/shapes.
We have had some donations of KN95 Masks for staff and they are in demand and greatly appreciated. Thank you! Your donations of masks and wipes this year have been appreciated.
Examples of Student Masks (please note these may not be in stock but are examples of the types of masks that provide a good fit and are highly filtering)
Blue KF94 Tiger 3D Mask
Wellbefore Kids KN95 Petite Regular
Parent Check In/Survey - Ongoing Support
If you have needs, we ask that you continue to report cases and needs on the survey. This survey will allow us to ensure we have responded and track all cases and needs in a timely manner.
In an effort to support any questions you may have and support our community, you are invited to share any concerns or questions with our administrative team so we can be proactive in our return. Complete Parent Check/In Survey form here.
Upcoming Dates
Thursday, January 20: End of Quarter (2 hour student early release at 1:35)
Friday, January 21: Student Holiday (Teacher Workday)
Monday, January 24: Student Holiday (Professional Development Day)
YEARBOOK ORDERS - Order Your Yearbook Today
2021 FCPS Student Calendar Quick Glance
|
