A Message from Principal Yacubovich

math with blocks

PTA Logo

The Pine Spring PTA Spirit Store is now open!

  • Free shipping on orders of $50
  • Free shipping on all orders from 9/5-9/22
  • Orders are typically received within 10 days. 

 


Join the PTA

Are you looking for a way to stay connected to Pine Spring this year? If so, we encourage you to join the Pine Spring PTA.

It's easy to connect with other families, volunteer, have your voice heard, build new student programs, and stay informed.

This Thursday, September 1, at 7 PM, is the first PTA meeting of the year. It's an in-person meeting, so join us in the Pine Spring library.  

This year our PTA has changed platforms to match the Virginia PTA requirements. This change means that all families will need to sign-up on the new platform. 

Please take a moment and click on https://vapta-pses.memberhub.com/store. This year a family membership is only $10! 



PTA Dance

Click on the picture to sign-up for the PTA.

If you needed yet another reason to sign up for the PTA, how about free entry to the annual Pine Spring PTA Dance! That's right, with your $10 PTA membership fee, you get into the dance for FREE! 

Not a member? That's ok, it's only $5 per person to participate. 


Student Rights and Responsibility (SR&R)- ACTION REQUIRED

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:

SR&R

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.


Family Life Education Instructional Program Information

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve.  Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.

Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program.  Students who are opted out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices.  If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt out forms will be included in your child’s Wednesday Folder and are available online for Elementary (K-6). Please fill in the opt-out form and return it to your child’s school prior to Family Life Education instruction.

Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at Elementary (K-6). FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in Schoology.  Parents/guardians login to Schoology using the same username and password as their Student Information System (SIS) Parent account.  Grade level-specific lessons are also available at the City of Fairfax Regional Library (this location does not have media).  Grade level-specific lessons and media that is not streamed online are available for review at your child’s school library.  Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.

Program questions may be addressed by contacting Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or fle@fcps.edu. 


Virginia Growth Assessments (VGA) for Grades 3-6

State assessments measure the extent to which students have learned the content and skills reflected in state standards and may also be used to measure growth in learning state standards.

The format and timing of state assessments vary by grade level and content area, as noted in the table below. These include:

  • Fall and winter Virginia Growth Assessments (VGA) standardized tests in reading and mathematics. More information is available on the VGA webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/node/43932);
  • Spring Standards of Learning (SOL) standardized tests in reading, mathematics, and science. More information is available on the SOL assessments webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/node/35021);
  • Ongoing local alternative assessments (LAAs) including performance-based assessments (PBAs) completed as part of classroom instruction in science, writing, and social studies; More information is available on the LAA and PBA webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/node/45043).

Your student is scheduled to take the standardized Fall Virginia Growth Assessments (VGA) standardized tests during the week of September 19th-23rd. A notification letter will be sent home next week in your child’s Wednesday folder.

The Grade Level Tests webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/student-assessment/grade-level-tests) provides information by grade level about the general assessment schedule and reporting method for each required assessment type in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).

If you have questions about state assessments, contact Jennifer Ganci at jlganci@fcps.edu.


Schoology

Pine Spring will continue to use Schoology again this year. Schoology is our learning management system. 

Teachers can use Schoology to post their classroom materials online; to provide a safe forum for students to discuss their ideas and collaborate on projects; and to assign and collect homework electronically. It helps students stay organized and it keeps the class connected. This is also our platform for Back to School Night this year.  

Parent Accounts

A Schoology Parent Account gives you access to:

  • Your child’s classes and assignments.
  • School, class, and group announcements.

To access Schoology, parents will need to have an active SIS/ParentVUE account. More information on how to login and use Schoology is available online


Back to School Night

On Tuesday, September 13th, we will have our virtual Back to School Night. This is an opportunity for you to learn about the grade-level curriculum, how to access and understand your child’s learning progress, and understand how attendance impacts learning progress. You will access the event through Schoology. We encourage you to create a parent account in order to access the event without using your child's account. 


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 here


Here Comes the Bus

During the school year, you can get real-time information on bus routes via Here Comes the Bus app which you can access from your App or Google Play store.

Click the links below to get started.

Here Comes the Bus!  Know when your bus is approaching your stop.  Here Comes the Bus® app is a school bus tracking app that can simplify morning and afternoon routines for parents and students by giving them real-time bus location and text or email notification alerts, helping them get to the bus stop on time. 

Bus Delay Notification System - Stay up-to-date on school bus arrivals with FCPS' bus delay notification system.  This system provides parents with timely notification of late bus route information.

​​​​​​​Office of Transportation Services  - 703-446-2000


Parent Homework

We know that at this time of year there are several forms to complete. We also understand that it can seem overwhelming. To help streamline some of the parent "homework" we have created virtual forms below.

To complete the forms:

  • Click on the blue link at the start of each explanation.
  • Complete the form
  • Click "Submit" at the bottom of the form
  • This will take you to an email with the form loaded. Click send. 

Laptop Parent Permission: Please complete this form  for your child to participate in the student computer/device check-out program. For more details, check out FCPS student device guidelines.

 

DRC (digital resource consent) Elementary School Letter: This letter is sent home in compliance with the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) to provide you with information about the measures FCPS takes to keep student data secure when using digital tools. You can also use the FCPS link to complete this form.

 

Parent/Guardian Tech Homework(Optional):

Student MiFi Checkout Program: Please complete this form if you are interested in receiving a MiFi device to support school-related activities for your child.

 

Screen Activity Report Flyer (Lightspeed): This flyer goes over FCPS’ program called Lightspeed. This program is a report that informs you about your child’s screen activity. For more information visit FCPS Lightspeed resources page. To sign up for this report you will need to use this link, please make sure you have the enrolling parent email address on file in SIS and your child’s student ID number.


Health Information and Emergency Care Forms

The Health Information Form (HIF) (SS/SE -71) Health Information Form and the Emergency Care Information form (SS/SE-3) Emergency Care Information provide valuable information regarding student health conditions. These forms are critical in the early identification of students who may need healthcare support in the educational environment.

 

Along with the development of Healthcare Plans (HCP) and Action Plans, the Public Health Nurses (PHNs) utilize the information contained in the HIF to develop teaching strategies for FCPS staff in order to meet the requirements of Regulation 2104 Health Services-School Health Related Needs.

For SY 22-23, these forms will be required for all students. Parents/guardians may submit these forms either through electronic submission accessed within the weCare@school (weCare) module; or through Back to School packets for those families without ParentVue accounts


Anonymous Tip Line Puts Safety First

If you or your child have concerns or information relating to feeling unsafe in any way at school, the FCPS Office of Safety and Security has a safety tip line that you can access anonymously online, by text (888-777; Keyword TIP FCPS), or by phone (571-423-2020).

 

If your tip is an emergency and immediate assistance is necessary, please dial 911.

 

Students, staff, and community members should report school safety issues such as threats, unsafe or dangerous situations, illegal drug activity, theft, gang activity, the existence of weapons, vandalism, and concerns about student wellness. Tip line users may identify themselves or remain anonymous.

Concerns that do not impact the safety of our schools—concerns or information about programs, regulations, or policies—can be sent to the FCPS ombudsman online, at 571-423-4014, or ombudsman@fcps.edu.


Covid Updates

Last week, FCPS sent an update on COVID-19 layered prevention strategies that will continue to be in place this school year. While we had hoped that the pandemic would be behind us, it seems that COVID will be something we must manage as a community for the foreseeable future. FCPS will continue to follow the guidance of national, state, and local health experts when determining the layered prevention strategies that are needed to keep our schools safe and open for learning. It is important that we all work together towards this goal. 

Highlights from that guidance include: 

  • FCPS continues to require families to review the Daily Health Screening before sending students to school. 
  • The 5 Day Isolation Period will continue for COVID positive students and staff.
  • The CDC recommends the COVID vaccine as a safe and effective way of significantly lowering your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death if you get infected. Vaccines are now available for our youngest students. However, COVID vaccines are not part of the required immunizations for school entry. 
  • At this time, masks are not required. The current CDC COVID-19 Community Level for Fairfax County is low. However, should the community level rise to “high,” FCPS would then require all students, staff, and visitors to wear a face covering when indoors on school property (to include the buildings, school buses and other school provided vehicles; except while actively eating/drinking). The Code of Virginia allows parents/legal guardians to elect for their child not to wear a face covering while on school property.
  • Diagnostic testing will be available beginning Tuesday, August 16, for FCPS students and staff who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. Information on diagnostic testing will continue to be updated on our website.
  • FCPS will no longer send a daily or weekly COVID case update. Parents/Guardians will only receive an email from their child’s school when several cases of COVID-19 occur in a single classroom, sports team, or extracurricular activity within a 14-day period. Individual case reports will be available on the FCPS COVID-19 Dashboard on our website.

To stay up to date, please continue to review our Health and Safety Guidance on our website.


What is Title I?

The Title I Central Office will facilitate a virtual “What is Title I” Town Hall for all 42 Title I schools on Tuesday, September 20th from 7 PM- 8:15 PM .  Families are invited to learn more about Title I and what makes our school unique.  

Connect here:  Title I Town Hall