Hunt Valley Calendar
Mar. 4th - Student Holiday/Professional Development Day
Mar. 9th - PTA Mtg. 6:30pm - Virtual (see below)
Mar. 15th - Spring Picture Day
Mar. 31st - End of 3rd Qtr. - 2-Hour Early Release
Mar. 31st - Kindergarten Orientation 3pm-4pm
Apr. 1st - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday
Apr. 4th-8th - Spring Break!
Spring Picture Day
Spring Picture Day is Tuesday, March 15. We will have individual pictures as well as Class pictures. Look for order envelopes to come home early next week.
Kindergarten Orientation
Hunt Valley will have a Kindergarten Orientation on Thursday, March 31st, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm. One parent and the rising Kindergarten student will have an opportunity to learn about our kindergarten, music, art, library and PE programs. Please plan to attend this very special event. This program is for parent and student only. Please make arrangements for other children
Mask Update
Hunt Valley Families,
As Dr. Brabrand shared Friday, you may choose for your child to opt out of the division’s mask requirement starting March 1. There will be no formal process to let us know your choice– no notes or documentation will be needed.
We strongly recommend that students continue to participate in universal masking to help protect their classmates, teachers, and staff who have health concerns. The ability to not participate in universal masking only applies to students. We will continue to follow our roll back plan, shared earlier this month, which will be implemented when we reach moderate transmission, and remain there for seven days. This week, we saw our community transmission level drop into the substantial category and we anticipate we could be at or very close to moderate community transmission as early as next week. FCPS will formally announce when we are ready to make this transition.
Please talk with your child before March 1 about your family’s decision about wearing masks in schools.
Families of special needs children who may need additional consideration for health reasons should work with their IEP or 504 teams.
I assure all students and families that Hunt Valley will remain a caring and supportive place to learn. As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Mr. Fee
Principal
ESSER Online Feedback Form
We encourage you to participate in a public engagement opportunity related to how FCPS is meeting ESSER III requirements for ensuring a safe return to in-person instruction and providing continuity of learning. As a reminder, last fall, FCPS received $188.8 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) funding to address the impacts of COVID-19 on students. Grant focus areas include:
- Prevention and mitigation strategies to help keep schools open and safe for students and staff.
- Academic intervention services, such as tutoring, after-school programs, and summer learning programs.
- Equity professional development to ensure our schools are welcoming and culturally responsive to all students and families.
- Multilingual engagement to ensure information is accessible to all families.
- Additional support for students’ social-emotional needs.
All of these areas impact student success! Please provide input today via our online feedback form. For more information on the ESSER III grant, please watch this video and visit the FCPS website.
Calling HVES Military Families!
April is Month of the Military Child and we will recognize our military connected students at HVES. Our Military and Family Life Counselor, Kristen Mahoney, is working on ways to recognize our military connected students during that month and needs your help. See below for opportunities to get involved!
- Send in pictures of your military connected family for the school news show. Include student(s) name/grade and family branch(es) of the military when submitting pictures.
- Looking for military connected students interested in speaking about their experience on the news show.
- Opportunities for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade military connected students to help with decorating. Submit student(s) name(s) if interested.
- Need military connected parents who are interested in saluting HVES students at they enter the school the morning of Purple Up Day (4/20/22)
To make submissions or for questions, be in touch with Kristen Mahoney (kmahoney@fcps.edu or (202) 725-7018)
Parent Night Resources
Rachel Bailey
- Parent Workshop: How to Support Children with Anxiety - https://youtu.be/TyH3zv3Ajy4
- Website https://rachel-bailey.com
- Podcast https://rachel-bailey.com/podcast/
Websites
- https://copingskillsforkids.com
- https://www.hope-wellness.com/blog/24-resources-for-children-and-teens-with-anxiety-and-their-families (blog contains an excellent list of many helpful resources with links)
- www.Understood.org
- FCPS Parent Resource Center
- Child Mind Institute
Books for Parents:
- Freeing Your Child From Anxiety by Tamar E. Chansky, PhD
- Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD by Eli Lebowitz
- Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents by Reid Wilson and Lynn Lyons
Podcasts
- Ep. 67: Your Child’s Anxiety: When to Worry with Dr. John Piacentini
- Diverse Thinking Different Learning
○ Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diverse-thinking-different-learning/id1529362441?i=1000550450088
Apps
- HeadSpace for Kids
- Breathe 2 Relax
● Calm
Hunt Valley Updates
Safety
For everybody’s safety, please use one of our sidewalks instead of cutting across our parking lot or the bus loop during arrival and dismissal.
Good educational Practices
Attendance Matters
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of your student’s attendance on his/her education. We encourage you to use our student holidays and/or teacher workdays as days to schedule appointments like doctor and dental visits so that your student does not miss school. You can access this year and next year’s calendars on the FCPS website. Thank you.
Late Arrivals
Parents, we are noticing an influx of students arriving after the Tardy Bell as well as parents dropping off forgotten items for their children after the Tardy Bell. Instruction for the day starts when the second bell rings, it is very distracting for our teachers and their students when classmates walk in late, and when items have to be dropped off in the classroom after instruction starts. It also adds an extra burden on our front office staff. Our Tardy Bell rings at precisely 9:20am, any student arriving after that time must be signed in at the front door and their attendance will be marked as an unexcused tardy. Please plan to have your student arrive between 9:10 and 9:15 every morning, and have them double check their things before they leave so that we can avoid both of these issue. Let’s work together to make this a good learning environment for everyone.
Early Dismissals
The last half hour of school is a busy time for the teachers as they wrap up their lessons and prepare their students for dismissal. It is also the time that the busses arrive. We will, therefore, not dismiss students between 3:30pm and 4:05pm. Please plan accordingly.
Lost and Found
We have collected a lot of coats, hats, and gloves over the past month and a half since Winter Break. They are located outside the main entrance in order to make them easy access for parents and students alike. If your student is missing one of the items listed above, please take time to look through our lost-and-found bins. We cannot house these items indefinitely, so we will donate whatever has not been claimed on Friday, March 11th.
Our Outdoor Classroom
We were issued a tent this year from the FCPS, and it has been a great addition to our school. However, we have received complaints about children standing on the tables, hanging on the tent flaps, and splashing in the puddles nearby in the mornings while waiting for school to open and in the afternoons before and after the dismissal bell. Please help us by keeping a close eye on your children while on school property before and after school.
Thank you.
Box Tops!
Hunt Valley Hawks,
Please keep on collecting Box Tops! It helps out a lot, so please send Box Tops via the old way or new way. You can cut out box tops or scan the receipt and use the app. Instructions for using the app are linked here. It helps so much with everything and will only take a minute of your time. Thank you for supporting the SCA and our school.
Become a Friend of the Chesapeake Bay
The Second Grade Team is excited that our grant to restore our butterfly garden was accepted. This grant money is made possible through families and communities that purchase the Chesapeake Bay License Plate to help keep the bay clean. Proceeds from the sale of these plates will help citizens keep the bay healthy by restoring wetlands, planting buffers around waterways, promoting marine life restoration, decreasing pollution, and providing educational programs. Families can join the cause by becoming a friend of The Chesapeake Bay for an annual $25 dollar fee they can have personalized revenue-sharing license plates with $15 dollars going to the Chesapeake Restoration Fund. Here is the link to order the license plate: https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/onlineServices/
HVES 2022 Yearbook Orders
The 2022 HVES Yearbook is now available for purchase online. Orders are online only, NO surplus books will be available for purchase after the final deadline.
Please place your order at:
ybpay.lifetouch.com
with yearbook ID code 12740822
2022 Spartan Basketball Summer Camps
2022 Spartan Basketball Summer Camps for girls and COED camps. For more information and flyer with information contact Coach Gibson at: WRGibon@fcps.edu or to register here is the link.
2022 Lady Spartan Summer Basketball Camp
PTA
Paisanos Springfield Spirit Nights This Week! Monday and Tuesday (3/7 & 3/8)
- All day, both days
- Free garlic knots or zeppoles with any order
- $50 gift card for the "highest fundraiser supporting family" over the two
days!
- No online orders
Please mention the fundraiser when ordering on the phone or in person!
Springfield location only. 6133 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22150 / (703) 644-4000 / menu: https://paisanos-springfield.foodtecsolutions.com/ordering/home.
Read-a-Thon
The Hunt Valley PTA is excited to host the 2022 Read-a-Thon! We’ve partnered with ReadaFun.com to bring this exciting fundraiser to Hunt Valley, which encourages students to get excited about reading. We love that this fundraiser serves a dual purpose:
- Encouraging our students to establish reading habits that will take them far in the future and
- Raising much-needed funds for Hunt Valley Elementary School. The money raised from this fundraiser, of which the school receives 78%, will be used to supplement the take- home reading carts, classroom libraries, and library books that can be checked out and shared by all students.
Generic accounts have already been created for your students to keep in mind their privacy. Your child’s teacher sent this information home with your student last week. Once logged in, using the provided generic username and password, you will be prompted for parent authorization. We ask that you put in the name of your student and a personal parent email (i.e., do not use your students FCPS email). From here you can enter the minutes read, invite sponsors, see statistics, and more!
Students may start reading and inviting sponsors on Friday, Feb. 25, and not a moment before! The fundraiser lasts 15 days, ending on March 11. Prizes will be awarded for minutes read as well as fundraising efforts.
In the interest of keeping things fair, please talk with your reader about the rules of the read-a-thon road:
- Only reading OUTSIDE of the school day should be recorded.
- Please use a timer to keep things accurate!
- Unfortunately, we can't accept minutes read before 2/25 (the official start date).
Students can edit recorded reading anytime. So, please let them know that they can fix any misunderstandings/mistakes in their record throughout the two weeks. This is an honor system and, while we want to encourage students to read as much as they can, we also want to keep things fair! Parents may be asked to validate total minutes read in advance of issuing top reader prizes.
Finally, it's never too late to join the Read-a-Thon! Students can earn a raffle ticket for every hour read (up to 10 tickets), a raffle ticket for every $10 raised (up to 10 tickets), and a raffle ticket for every sponsor email sent (up to 10 tickets). Each students' reading helps the whole class work towards winning one of the class prizes.
Happy Reading!
For more information, please visit the Hunt Valley PTA website http://huntvalleypta.org or contact readathon@huntvalleypta.org. (Please COPY AND PASTE all links/email addresses contained in this Friday News.)
SPRING BOOK FAIR
Hunt Valley's Spring Book Fair with Bookworm Central will be March 21-25, 2022 in the library.
The Book Fair cannot run without our wonderful volunteers. Please COPY AND PASTE the Sign-Up Genius link below to volunteer your time.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080E4BA8AB2EA31-spring4
This year, parents and visitors will not be allowed in the building during school hours. Only volunteers that signed up will be allowed in the library.
Parents may attend during the following hours:
Tuesday & Thursday: 8:00am - 9:00am
Wednesday: 4:15pm - 7:30pm
Friday: 4:15pm - 5:30pm
On Tuesday and Thursday morning after shopping in the book fair or at 9:00am, parents will need to remain with their child outside until the doors open for arrival. On Wednesday and Friday afternoon, please pick up your child from school and enter the book fair at 4:15pm.
PTA Membership Meeting Wednesday, March 9th at 6:30pm
Join us for our PTA meeting in March as we hear from our own Health and Wellness Committee members. We hope to see you there! As always this year, please COPY AND PASTE the link into your browser to attend our virtual meeting.
Hunt Valley PTA President is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: PTA Membership Meeting
Time: Mar 9, 2022 06:30 PM -
Apr 13, 2022 06:30 PM
May 11, 2022 06:30 PM
Jun 8, 2022 06:30 PM
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZMrf-mtrT8pG9Q_chuGDC_dgcTwPOReJOjY/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGvqDMqH9eRsxiHRpwEBIqgc-_ztilejfpsoxztFgd3QTzyMeF2JYJQIt36
Join Zoom Meeting
*Please COPY AND PASTE the link.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87680534310?pwd=a2twTklkS0VadERkbVl1ZXdQUml3Zz09
Meeting ID: 876 8053 4310
Passcode: u8VUgx
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,87680534310#,,,,*850201# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,87680534310#,,,,*850201# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
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Meeting ID: 876 8053 4310
Passcode: 850201
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keuK6GoksO
The PTA Is Run By Parents Like You! There are many opportunities to serve our Hunt Valley students, both big and small. Our most urgent opportunities include, but are not limited to:
- Help elect next year's President/VP/Secretary by serving on the nominating committee!
- 2022-2023 President
- 2022-2023 VP
- 2022-2023 Secretary
Please email Meredith Stankiewicz at president@huntvalleypta.org or Dianna Carr at VP@huntvalleypta.org to volunteer or ask any questions.
Support your Hunt Valley PTA through Amazon Smile!
Choose Hunt Valley PTA as the charity you support and your Amazon dollars will help support our efforts here, close to home.
About Amazon Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/about/ref=smi_se_rspo_laas_aas
Hunt Valley ES PTA link: http://www.huntvalleypta.org
Hunt Valley ES PTA Instagram: @huntvalleypta
Hunt Valley ES PTA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntValleyPTA
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FCPS Cares
Do you know a Hunt Valley ES staff member who went beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to submit a brief description so we can all acknowledge the good work of Hunt Valley faculty and staff members!
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Have a great weekend everyone!
Mr. Fee
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