Terra Centre Families,
We had a great first week back! Our students arrived with smiling faces and were excited to see new and old friends and meet their teachers. This week our focus has been building relationships, learning routines, having fun, and even conducting our first fire drill of the school year!
Our theme this year is "Word Collectors", inspired by author Peter H. Reynolds' book "The Word Collector". At our back to school kick off, staff shared their stories by creating six word memoirs and students are adding to our school wide art installation by painting rocks with their word on it . These will be added to the rock garden in the front of the school!
The power of words is what brings our community together and reinforces our belief that at Terra Centre we will build meaningful relationships within our school community through collaboration and communication with the goal of supporting, including, and giving access to all students.
As a reminder, school is closed for the labor day holiday from Friday, September 2nd to Monday, September 5th.
Please read below for important updates and reminders.
Rebecca Gidoni, Principal
Teresa Lewis, Assistant Principal
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September 2: Labor Day Holiday - School Closed
September 5: Labor Day Holiday - School Closed
September 26: Teacher Workday-No School for students
September 27: PTA General Membership meeting
https://meet.google.com/gxe-ocng-qyh
September 29: Community Conversation with Dr. Reid at Robinson Secondary School: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
FCPS 2022-2023 Calendar
FCPS School Year 2022-2023
Community Conversations with Dr. Reid
Please save the date for a very special event! Dr. Michelle Reid, FCPS superintendent, will host Community Conversations at our feeder high school
Robinson Secondary School
Thursday, September 29 ~ 6:30 PM -7:30 PM
Please register to attend: Registration form
These events will be a unique opportunity to help Dr. Reid get to know our school community and learn more about her vision for our district.
Language interpretation will be provided, as available, as well as child care and light refreshments.
[SPANISH - AMHARIC - ARABIC - CHINESE - KOREAN - URDU - VIETNAMESE]
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DID YOU KNOW?
- Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
- Missing 10 percent (or about 2 days per month) can make it harder to learn to read.
- Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day every few weeks.
- Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
- Absences can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Set a regular bed time and morning routine.
- Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
- Find out what day school starts and make sure your child has the required shots.
- Introduce your child to her teachers and classmates before school starts to help her transition.
- Don’t let your child stay home unless she is truly sick. Keep in mind complaints of a stomachache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home.
- If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors, or other parents for advice on how to make her feel comfortable and excited about learning.
- Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor, or another parent.
- Avoid medical appointments and extended trips when school is in session.
Labor Day
Friday, Sept, 2, and Monday, Sept. 5, are Labor Day holidays for all FCPS employees and students. We hope everyone takes the long weekend to celebrate a strong start to the school year and enjoy time with family and friends. See the complete 2022-23 school year calendar.
Feria por el Día del Trabajo (Feriado)
El viernes, 2 de septiembre, y el lunes, 5 de septiembre, son días festivos del Día del Trabajo para todos los empleados y estudiantes de FCPS. Esperamos que todos tomen el fin de semana largo para celebrar un comienzo fuerte del año escolar y disfrutar tiempo con familia y amigos. Vea el calendario completo del año escolar 2022-23.
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Parents who speak Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, or Vietnamese can call a telephone information line for general information about FCPS and to receive support if they are having difficulty communicating with their children's schools due to a language barrier.
Safety Drills During the School Year
Keeping students and staff safe is a priority for all of us. Each school has an emergency preparedness plan to respond to incidents such as fires and tornadoes. Schools are required by state law to practice emergency drills, including lockdown drills, each year. Schools are required to notify parents and guardians at least 24 hours before a school conducts a lockdown drill. However, schools are not required to give the specific date and time of the drill in advance. The first lockdown drill of the school year must take place within the first 20 days of school. Preschool and kindergarten students are exempt from practicing the first lockdown drill. Your child may come home and talk about their experience during the drill. We encourage you to talk with your child about the importance of being prepared for emergencies. Here are some helpful tips for families to use to support their students before and after school lockdown drills. Working together, we create a safe, secure environment for students to learn and grow in our schools.
Sign and Return Student Rights & Responsibilities
We are extremely happy to have your child in our school with us this year!
FCPS’ updated Student Rights & Responsibility booklet is now available online and in the ParentVue section of the Student Information System (SIS). The SR&R booklet explains expectations for student behavior, and adult responses to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment.
Each year, we ask parents to review, sign, and return the SR&R to their child’s school. In ParentVue, you may now download and digitally sign the SR&R. Every parent/guardian with a ParentVUE account will see the SR&R upon login to ParentVUE until the SR&R acknowledgement has been completed.
Once you log on, you will see the following message:
Your name in the digital signature box must match the parent/guardian’s first and last name in SIS exactly before the signature will be accepted.
Please take a moment to log into ParentVue in your child’s SIS account to access the SR&R. Signatures are due by September 30, 2022.
Please contact us if you are having difficulty accessing the booklet.
 Calling all Terra Centre military families! We are collecting information from our families so we can support our military connected students. Please take a moment to click and fill out the following form: Military Connected Families.
Lightspeed Parent Report on Child’s Device Activity
FCPS has tools to help parents and guardians know more about their child’s activity on any FCPS device. These tools are provided by Lightspeed, our internet content filtering service, at no cost to families. You may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites your child visited. If you want more detailed information, sign up for the Internet Use Parent portal and log-in anytime to see more detail about your child’s browsing and “pause” access to the internet during non-school hours. Find out more and sign up for these services on our website.
Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights
Please look for an email that you should have received August 18 in which FCPS shared the Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights and Opt-Out Forms (Annual Notice), FCPS provides explanations of the rights listed above as well as forms that may be used to exercise opt-out choices. Two versions of the Annual Notice are available—a grades K-8 version and a grades 9-12 version. If you have children at different grade levels, please read each applicable version of the Annual Notice because the notices and opt-out rights vary depending on the student’s grade level.
Get more information and view the 2022-23 Opt-Out Booklets.
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SOL Test Results
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has announced 2021-22 Standards of Learning (SOL) data for school divisions that shows Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has made steady progress towards a return to pre-pandemic levels.
FCPS annual pass rates for 2022 indicate that, while the road to recovery continues, FCPS students made promising gains in reading, mathematics, and science over the course of the 2022 school year. Read more about our plans for continued improvement of the SOL pass rates.
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Text Messages for Parents
Make sure your cell phone numbers are listed in the parent/guardian contact information section on the emergency care information form for each of your children. Parents and guardians can view and update emergency contact information online using weCare@school.
Text messages will be sent in the event of emergencies, delays or school closings, if buses are running more than 30 minutes late, if your student missed the morning attendance deadline, and for other important reminders.
Standard message and data charges may apply for text messages depending on your cell phone service plan. More about text messages is available online.
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 COVID-19 Information
- Terra Centre continues to follow FCPS and CDC Guidance.
- Masks are optional for all individuals.
- Care Room is a supervised location separate from clinic/health room for students exhibiting COVID-like symptoms.
- Students/Staff who test positive are still required to stay home for five days from symptom onset or positive test date if asymptomatic.
Health and Safety Guidance Document
The Health and Safety Guidance Document for 2022-23 provides guidance regarding school health and safety practices. The daily health screening questionnaires are available in all languages.
COVID-19 Testing
COVID-19 diagnostic testing is available at no cost for all currently enrolled FCPS students and current employees. Diagnostic testing is provided at designated times and locations for those who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
View the COVID-19 Testing webpage for locations and schedules for diagnostic testing.
COVID-19 Tracking (Health Metrics)
FCPS shares updates regarding COVID-19 cases that have been self-reported to us that have impacted our division, both at school sites and central office locations.
FCPS in the News
Fairfax County Public Schools welcome students for the new school year (WUSA9, August 22)
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