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8/22: First Day of School!
8/27: Woodson Pyramid Instrument Petting Zoo (flyer below)
9/2: Labor Day Break: Student / Staff Holiday
9/5: Labor Day Break: Student / Staff Holiday
9/7: Fall Picture Day-Sign-up to help!
9/14: Back to School Night 6:00-7:30
9/14: PTA Meeting 7:30
Dear Families,
It was so wonderful to see so many families yesterday at our open house. You could feel the joy throughout the building! We are so excited for the first day of school! This newsletter has a lot of important information, please be sure to read through it all.
Please join us for a Superintendent Community Conversation at Woodson High School on Wednesday August 24, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Learn more about Dr. Michelle Reid, FCPS superintendent, and help her get to know our school community. Language interpretation will be provided, as available, as well as child care and light refreshments. Please register to attend.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Leslie Malkowski, Mindy Milliron, and Scott Reeder
CWES Adminstrative Team
In addition to staff members on duty, we have an incredible force of Student Safety Patrols in grades 5 and 6 who have been trained by Patrol Sponsor Debbie Rozek to support both arrival and dismissal procedures. Please help us keep everyone safe by respecting the guidelines we have set for arrival and dismissal each day.
ARRIVAL
For the security of our students and staff, we do not allow parents to escort their children to the classrooms. We have found over the years that students are happiest and most ready for the day when goodbyes are said at the bus stop for Bus Riders, in the car for Kiss & Riders, and outside Door 1 for walkers.
If your child is bringing supplies that they cannot carry independently, please label them with your child's name and teacher and drop them off in the office for us to get to the classroom.
To ensure the security of all staff and students, ALL WALKERS MUST ENTER THROUGH DOOR 1.
At 9:10 AM, Door 1 will open for all walkers who should proceed directly to their classrooms or if your child is eating breakfast, they should wait for the doors to be opened and go directly to the cafeteria. Kindergartners will be collected by class in the lobby and brought to their classrooms by student safety patrols.
Students being dropped of in a car will enter the school through the Gym door and that door will open at 9:10 as well.
Bell rings at 9:20 AM and all students should be in class by that time.
DISMISSAL
Bell rings at 4:05 PM.
All students K-6 should know how they will be going home from school each day, whether they are a WALKER, BUS RIDER or KISS & RIDER. Please also work on remembering the following, especially for students in grades 2-6:
- WALKERS: Who they walk home with and where they are supposed to meet them
- KISS & RIDERS: Their Kiss & Ride number
- BUS RIDERS: Their bus number and bus stop
Please discuss this information with your child.
KISS & RIDERS
Kiss & Ride numbers are the same from year-to-year. If your family is new to the building this year, your child(ren) will be given a Kiss & Ride hangtag that you should display on your rearview mirror.
Lost your hangtag? You can always write your Kiss & Ride Number on a piece of paper and put it on your dashboard.
Kiss & Riders in grades K-2 will dismiss from the gym. Staff and patrols will be on hand to ensure they go outside when their car arrives.
Kiss & Riders in grades 3-6 will remain in their classrooms and watch for their Kiss & Ride numbers on our Silent Dismissal slide, which is displayed on the Smartboard in every classroom. When they see their number, they will come to the gym and exit through the gym doors to load into their cars. Teachers will encourage students to remember and watch for their numbers.
WALKERS
In the afternoons, Kindergarten walkers are met at Door 6 (by playground) and first grade walkers are dismissed nearby out of Door 5. Walkers in grades 2-6 are free to exit the building through whichever door is most convenient for their family, so discuss with your children where on the school grounds you wish to meet up if you are escorting them home. NOTE: Kindergartners are required to have an adult escort.
BUS RIDERS
Students in K-1 will be escorted to their buses.
Students in Grades 2-6 will watch for their bus numbers on our Silent Dismissal slide. Teachers will have bus number information to encourage students to leave at the appropriate time.
Need to communicate an early dismissal or a change in dismissal plans for a particular day? Please use the Change in Transportation Form BEFORE NOON on the day of the change to notify both front office staff and classroom teachers of these changes. (The Form is also available on the Canterbury Woods website. Scroll down and look for the blue box on the right.)
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Hello! My name is Sara Lanza and I am thrilled to be joining the Canterbury Woods Elementary team as a third grade teacher this year. I recently moved to the area after spending a year in beautiful Nantucket, Massachusetts, and then several years in St. Augustine, Florida before that. While I have been to many wonderful places, I am excited to now be settled in a community that I can call home. My standard poodle, Lily, seems to be loving it so far as well! I can't wait to meet you and your students and look forward to a wonderful year ahead!" |
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My name is Kelley Fay. I am a strong believer in “teamwork makes the dream work”. We are all in this together. I have been teaching for 6 years in Virginia. I have taught third grade for most of my career and taught one year as a special education teacher in grades K-5. I love teaching and having many laughs with my students. I love spending time with my family during visits to Philadelphia and hanging out with friends all over the world. I love spending time with my dogs, Darby and Thor. I enjoy outside activities like going on walks/hikes with our dogs, playing on a DC adult field hockey team and going to the beach and pool (farewell summer!). I am very excited to join Fairfax County as an educator and develop my career with the many opportunities it has to offer. I am especially excited to join the Canterbury Woods family and meet my team of future leaders! |
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My name is Matt Hounsell (pronounced “hown-sill”). I am originally from New Zealand and have been teaching in Seattle for the past four years. I am so excited to be living in Northern Virginia with my wife, Amy, and two daughters, Winnie (5), and Alice (3). As a family, we love listening to music, dancing, reading, and having lots of fun together. I love to go camping, hiking, and bike riding. My favorite sport is called cricket, a popular game in some countries around the world. See you all at Canterbury Woods soon! |
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My name is Cameron Mondschein (Mahnd-sheen), and I will be a new Speech-Language Pathologist at Canterbury Woods. I am a Double Duke from James Madison University, and I bleed purple (Go Dukes!!). I love baking, cooking, and spending time with my two family dogs, especially if it involves them swimming. I am a born and bred FCPS student and Woodson HS graduate. My mom even worked at CWES for many years, and I got to know many staff members and students during my four years substitute teaching. I am so excited to officially return to the CWES family! |
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Hello all! My name is Paula Naanou and I am incredibly excited to be joining the team at Canterbury Woods ES. This will be my third year working in Special Education for FCPS. As a massive music-lover and foodie, I would throw a dinner party with a coursed meal and a perfectly curated playlist every night if I could. I also love to travel as often as I can. I look forward to building strong connections this school year, and to the learning opportunities that will come from them! |
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Hi! My name is Kristen Mihalick and I am a new school counselor at CWES. I have spent the last 16 years in various schools in VA and PA as a teacher and as a school counselor. I am from Pennsylvania but have enjoyed making a new home in Fairfax, VA. I have two kids, Milo who will be starting kindergarten this year, and Cleo who just turned 3. In my free time I enjoy adventures with my kids, visiting my family and friends, reading, home projects, and puzzles. I cannot wait to get started as a school counselor at CWES! |
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My name is Lee Braddock. I have been teaching for 15 years. I have 2 daughters, Izzy and Kora. I love cooking, spending time with family, and spending time outdoors. I am learning ASL and love to travel and try new foods. I am excited to be joining the Canterbury Woods family! |
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