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For a translated version of this newsletter, please click HERE. Next click on the language con in the upper left corner to choose your preferred language.
Para obtener una versión traducida de este mensaje, haga clic AQUÍ. Luego, haga clic en el icono IDIOMA en la esquina superior izquierda para elegir su idioma preferido.
Principal's Message
DRES Families,
All FCPS students continue to have unlimited access to live, 24/7, 1-to-1, online tutoring services through Tutor.com at no cost to families during the 22-23 SY. Student participation is optional and parents/guardians can opt their student(s) out of accessing the services. Detailed information and FAQs are available on the Tutor.com Online Tutoring Services website.
Students can access Tutor.com via a link in Schoology. Additional information about how to log in and access a tutor is provided to families via the following: Elementary - How It Works and Middle & High - How It Works. Questions not answered in the posted resources may be sent to onlinetutoring@fcps.edu.
A reminder that Monday is a student holiday and we will see students back at school on Tuesday morning.
If you have any questions or concerns you can contact our main office at 703-279-8400 or contact me directly at cmsmith@fcps.edu
Have a great weekend!
Chris Smith
DRES Principal
Student Monitors!
We are looking for energetic family members, friends, grandparents, or older adult siblings, who may be looking for an opportunity to work, to come to join our Daniels Run Elementary staff. DRES is a positive work environment, and we are ready to fill the following opportunity with members of our community. Applicants must be 18 or older.
Student Monitors
Hourly 8:45 a.m. - 4:15p.m., Monday-Friday, $16.36 per Hour
Description
Provides supervision of students throughout the school day, including but not limited to the classroom, hallways, lunch, recess, specials, and at arrival/dismissal; helps maintain order and discipline and assists in managing the behavior of students; operates technology; performs administrative and non-instructional duties; ensures all layered prevention/safety protocols and procedures are implemented and followed; works with individual and small groups of students.
Qualifications
Any combination of education and experience is equivalent to graduation from high school. Must be comfortable managing student behaviors in large and small groups, ensuring all layered prevention/safety protocols and procedures are implemented and followed, and have general familiarity/skills with basic office technology in support of teachers, students, and the classroom.
Please pass this information along to anyone you may know. Interested applicants should contact Mrs. Van Aalst smvanaalst@fcps.edu or at 703-679-6000.
Field Day Volunteers Needed!
Good morning DRES and Fairfax City community,
Field Day is scheduled for Friday, October 7th (rain date Friday, October 14th ). 9:30-12:15 for our K-2 group, and 12:45-3:30 for our 3-6 groups. Please use the links below if you wish and are able to volunteer at a station, or to chaperone your child’s class. We are hoping to have at a minimum two at each station, along with members of the GMU Baseball team! We are looking forward to a great field day this year, and appreciate your time and consideration!
Field Day STATION sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4eaaad2ea1f85-dres
Field Day CHAPERONES are needed to escort classes through their field day stations. If you are available to chaperone your child's class, please click on the button next to your child's homeroom teacher to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4eaaad2ea1f85-field
We appreciate you taking time out of your day to help make this a fun and memorable day for our DRES students! Feel free to reach out to twmurray@fcps.edu or dmheffron@fcps.edu if you have any further questions.
Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
September is Attendance Awareness Month. Some of the ways parents can help their children create healthy routines and a habit of getting to school on time every day include:
- Set a regular bedtime and morning routine. (Need help? Download this checklist in English or Spanish.)
- Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
- If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors, or other parents for advice on how to make them 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.
- When possible, avoid medical appointments or extended trips when school is in session.
Visit our website for more attendance resources.
When Should a Student Stay Home?
Help your student succeed by encouraging them to miss as few days as possible. However, do make sure your student stays home if they are sick. So when should your child stay home? Visit our site for helpful ideas regarding absences and how to work with your child and your school.
Whether students are absent because of illness or any other reason, missing school leads to learning loss.
Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) Elementary Continuum of Services
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is committed to challenging all students through talent development efforts and differentiated instruction to meet the needs of advanced learners.
FCPS offers a continuum of advanced academic services for all students in Grades K-12. The continuum of services approach recognizes unique student needs and focuses on matching services, not labeling students. Through the continuum, students have:
- Multiple entry points for deeper learning opportunities in specific areas of need as they develop.
- A cluster group of students with similar academic needs to continue growing in their learning.
Teachers, Advanced Academic Resource Teachers (AARTs), and school administrators work together to provide the following levels of service at the elementary level:
Access to Rigor, Grades K-6 (Level I)
All students have opportunities to think critically, reason, and problem-solve.
- All teachers use critical and creative thinking strategies in their lessons.
- Classroom teachers provide opportunities using materials from the AAP Curriculum Framework a minimum of once per quarter.
Because Access to Rigor is for all FCPS students, there is not a screening process.
Subject Specific Advanced Differentiation, Grades K-6 (Level II)
Some students are strong in a specific subject area. Classroom teachers may adjust instruction for students in these area(s) by:
- Providing different assignments and resources in those subjects,
- Grouping students by their strengths, interests, and readiness, and
- Providing additional challenges using materials from the AAP Curriculum Framework.
Student needs for subject specific differentiation are re-evaluated each year at the local school.
Part-Time Services, Grades 3-6 (Level III)
Some students have advanced academic needs in multiple subject areas in addition to specific subject differentiation. They need part-time AAP services.
- Students work with other students that have similar academic needs through weekly pull-out classes or weekly co-taught lessons with the AART and classroom teacher.
- Teachers provide frequent opportunities to use materials from the AAP Curriculum Framework in Language Arts, science, social studies, and/or mathematics.
Part-time services continue through Grade 6. Students do not need to be evaluated each year.
Full-Time Services, Grades 3-8 (Level IV)
Some advanced learners need a full-time advanced academic program with differentiated instruction in all four core content areas (Language Arts, mathematics, social studies, and science).
Students eligible for full-time AAP services are cluster grouped on a full-time basis and receive:
- Full-time use of materials from the AAP Curriculum Framework in Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, and
- Curriculum that is differentiated through acceleration, depth, and complexity of content.
Full-time services continue through Grade 8. Students do not need to be evaluated each year.
Screening for Advanced Academic Program Services
Multiple data points are reviewed holistically to determine eligibility for all FCPS advanced academic services. Committees consider student work from opportunities with AAP lessons, examples of student reasoning or gifted behaviors from class discussions and activities, progress reports, achievement and ability scores, and parent input. Committees consider whether students have access to a group of students with similar academic needs to support academic conversations and growth in the classroom. No pieces of the data are weighted in the holistic screening process.
Eligibility decisions for subject-specific advanced differentiation and part-time services are made by a committee at the local school, and screening is ongoing throughout the school year. To refer for subject-specific advanced differentiation and part-time services, submit the AAP School-Based Referral Form to the AART at the local school.
Eligibility decisions for full-time services are made by the countywide central selection committee.
Screening for full-time services occurs during specific screening cycles:
- Fall screening is available for students who are new to FCPS since January.
- The fall screening referral window is from the first day of school - October 15.
- Spring screening is available for any Grade 2-7 FCPS-enrolled student.
- The spring screening referral window is from the first day of school - December 15.
Please do not wait for test scores before submitting a referral for your student in Grades 2-7. Referrals submitted after the full-time services referral windows noted above will not be accepted.
Referral forms for all advanced academic program services are found at https://www.fcps.edu/node/38893.
For more information, please visit the AAP website at: https://www.fcps.edu/registration/advanced-academics-identification-and-placement/current-fcps-students.
Ability Testing
FCPS uses ability testing as one consideration of the holistic screening process for advanced academic services. Test scores are not weighted or prioritized in the holistic screening process.
- All students in Grade 1 take the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT).
- All students in Grade 2 take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT).
- NNAT and/or CogAT may be administered to students in Grades 3-6 who do not have an ability test score during the regularly scheduled testing windows.
Parents or guardians may request a one-time retest of either the CogAT or the NNAT in grades 3-6. Requests must be made during the fall testing windows. Please contact the school testing coordinator Sara Van Aalst, smvanaalst@fcps.edu no later than September 15 to request the CogAT or October 15 for the NNAT.
Elementary Parent Information Meeting
A parent information meeting will be held VIRTUALLY on September 27th at 7:00 pm. Elyssa McKinnon, the AART, will provide information about levels of service, explain the screening processes, and answer questions about advanced academic services. The
Young Scholars
The FCPS Young Scholars model seeks to identify and affirm, from an early age, students with high academic potential from groups historically underrepresented in advanced academic programming. The goal of the model is to eliminate barriers for Young Scholars’ access to and success in advanced academic opportunities in elementary, middle, and high school.
Twice-Exceptional (2e)
Some gifted students with advanced learning needs may also have a learning disability. Twice-exceptional (or “2e”) students need strengths-based instruction while receiving advanced programming. The FCPS continuum of AAP services provides multiple entry points to meet student needs while also supporting their learning challenges. FCPS has created a 2e handbook to help schools and families understand how to identify and serve 2e students. You can find these resources by going to www.fcps.edu and searching “2e.”
Sign and Return the Student Rights & Responsibilities Booklet
FCPS’ updated Student Rights & Responsibility booklet is 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/caregiver with a ParentVUE account will see the SR&R upon login to ParentVUE until the SR&R acknowledgement has been completed.
Your name in the digital signature box must match the parent/caregiver’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.
Contact your school’s front office if you are having difficulty accessing the booklet. Visit the SIS Parentvue Account Overview page for help logging in to your account.
FCPS Special Education Handbook for Families
The Special Education Handbook for Parents includes details of the special education process. This process occurs sequentially, over a period of time, with each step building upon the previous step(s).
It is important for families to understand how the special education process works, so they can effectively participate and collaborate with school staff members in making appropriate decisions regarding their child’s educational needs. Families are an integral part of the decision-making team.
The Special Education Handbook for Parents is available in Arabic, English, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. Contact the Parent Resource Center (PRC) at 703-204-3941 or prc@fcps.edu with any questions.
How to Receive FCPS Messages in Other Languages
You may wish to read FCPS messages in a language other than English. There are several ways you can receive or view our communications in a different language.
FCPS This Week is distributed in other languages to parents/caregivers who have filled out the Home Language Survey form and selected a language supported by FCPS as their preferred language for communication. Home Language Survey forms are available in the following languages: Amharic | Arabic (العربية) | Chinese (中文) | Farsi (فارسی) | Korean (한국어) | Spanish (español) | Urdu (اردو) | Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt).
Learn more about receiving other FCPS communications in other languages.
AVID Tips
5 Tips for an Organized Backpack
- Sort and group supplies into categories. Next, assign each category to a compartment or zipper pocket.
- Map out the backpack. Have your child draw where each item should go. Keep a copy of the map in the front pocket of the backpack and another copy in the main living area so that you can help them check to make sure all supplies are where they need to be.
- Use a clear luggage tag to keep track of what needs to go to school and what needs to come home. Use a red marker to make a checklist on a piece of paper that will fit in the tag. It should list what your child needs to bring to school in the backpack. Use a blue marker to make a checklist of what needs to come home from school. Place the papers back to back and put them in the luggage tag. Attach it to the zipper tab of the backpack and show your child how to use the checklists as a guide
- Make a school to home folder. Place papers handed out by the teacher in the folder. Remind your child that the folder comes home every day. Check the folder each afternoon/evening. Sign anything requiring a signature, and take out anything that does not need to be returned to school.
- Schedule a regular time to do a backpack check in.
Positivity Project!
WHAT DOES TEAMWORK MEAN?
You work well as a member of a group or team. You are loyal, reliable, and dedicated to helping your team achieve its goals. Teamwork is the ability and willingness to place overall group success as a higher priority than individual
achievement. Citizenship is a willingness to work towards the community’s success, which includes but stretches beyond one’s own self-interest. Those who demonstrate this character strength help their teammates by cooperating toward shared goals. These individuals have a sense of duty and responsibility to the group’s short and long-term success. And, these individuals are willing to
commit their time and resources to achieve group goals. This strength is associated with naturally positive feelings that accompany being a member of a family, team, school, political party, ethnic group, or country. However, those
positive feelings can come with bad behavior towards the “out-group” in the form of blind obedience, disparaging words, or prejudice. This is important to guard against by leveraging a person’s other positive character strengths.
WHY DOES IT MATTER? For individuals, teamwork often means deferring or
delaying individual accomplishments in order to ensure that he group maintains a high level of success. Their commitment to the larger group effort makes them both good teammates and citizens. The positive feelings
associated with being part of a larger whole – can be highly beneficial and combat selfishness and egotism. Our ability to work effectively within group structures is tied directly to the group’s ability to succeed. In schools and
workplaces across the world, commitment to teamwork and to the group’s success helps to further learning and achievement for all group members. Maintaining the idea that “Other People Matter” is essential to any successful
team environment.
A Note from the Music Department
🎵 The September Musician of the Month is Celia Cruz – the Queen of Salsa. Click here
🎵 If your child takes private music lessons, please complete this very short 5 multiple choice question survey
PE News!
What a great start to PE we’ve had here at DRES! During our cooperative games unit, students worked on their communication and collaboration skills. Our younger students had fun practicing locomotive skills during a game called “Minion Tag”. We introduced a new field day game called, “Fit Tac Toe”. We observed lots of great strategies and problem-solving during this fast-paced relay game! Our older students worked on building their flexibility with an interactive video game where they had to dodge, slide, jump and duck. Thank you for ensuring our students are wearing appropriate footwear on their PE days!
Thank you, and have a great weekend! 😊
Superintendent Community Conversations
Please save the date for a very special event! Dr. Michelle Reid, FCPS superintendent, will host a Community Conversation at Fairfax High School on October 17th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. This event will be a unique opportunity to help Dr. Reid get to know our school community and learn more about her vision for our district.
Fall for The Book!
Fall for the Book invites all Daniels Run Elementary School families to join us for our Children's Day on October 8, 2022 at Old Town Hall, City of Fairfax. The day will feature experiential learning activities and book talks.
- 10 AM: Chiêu Ahn Urban, author of ABC Roar!
- 11 AM: Debra Kempf Shumaker, author of Peculiar Primates
- 12 PM: Fred Bowen, Kidspost columnist and author of Hardcourt: Stories From 75 Years of the National Basketball Association
- 1 PM: Jonathan Roth, author of the comic-style graphic novel, Rover and Speck: This Planet Rocks!
- 2 PM: Shana Keller, author of the picture book The Peach Pit Parade: A WWI Story
Our children’s program flyer is included. Please feel free to share with your school families.
Additionally, adult and YA events take place October 11–15. Fall for the Book’s headliner events feature international bestseller Emily St. John Mandel and two time National Book Award finalist and graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang. A full list of events is available on our website. https://fallforthebook.org/schedule/
We can’t wait to see you!
PTA News!
DRES Spirit Wear for Sale - Order Today! Daniels Run Spirit Wear is now available for purchase. Visit shop.burkesports.com and enter DRESPTA. Orders must be placed by September 29th.
Next PTA Meeting - October 11th - IN PERSON at DRES Please join us for our next PTA meeting on October 11th (date change!) at 7 pm in the Daniels Run Library. We are so excited to have our first in person meeting in over 2.5 years! We will have Q&A with Mr. Smith, PTA news and fall event planning and treats to celebrate our School of Excellence designation. Childcare will also be available. As a resource for parents, there will also be a special presentation from our FCPS Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist following the meeting.
Volunteer this Fall with PTA
We have lots of opportunities to get involved with the PTA this fall. Please take a look at this signup and consider volunteering! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A45ABAE23A75-fall
Online Directory Opt-Out The PTA will be publishing an online directory of our students this fall. If you do not wish to be included in the directory, please complete this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JG41aQbezYiqFXURIAv5gSDfSwsxDntb-queAzQHZXU/prefill
Testing Dates!
VGA Testing
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Grade 3 |
Grade 4 |
Grade 5 |
Grade 6 |
| Reading |
Thursday, Sept 29 |
Wedneday, Sept 28 |
Tuesday, Sept 27 |
Friday, Sept 23 |
| Math |
Monday, Oct 3 |
Tuesday, Oct 4 |
Monday, Oct 3 |
Friday, Sept 30 |
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| Friday, October 7: Makeups |
Important Dates
September 26 - Student Holiday - Rosh Hashanah - Kindergarten Welcome Walk (Dragon Dash!)
October 5 - Yom Kippur Holiday
October 6-PTA Meeting
October 10 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday
October 11-21: Dragon Drive Fundraiser
October 14 - Outdoor Movie Night
October 21 - Dragon Day
October 24 - Diwali Holiday
October 28 - 2 Hour Early Release (1:45)
October 31 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday
November 8 - Election Day Holiday
November 11 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday
November 23-25 - Thanksgiving Holiday
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