Mustang Message - November 20, 2022

We are a community of learners thriving in a diverse world!

We are a family.

We are capable.

We are caring.

We all belong!

 

Technology Night

Thank you to all of the families who joined us for our Technology Night.

 

No School: Thanksgiving Holiday

There is no school for staff or students on Wednesday, November 23 - Friday, November 25 for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  The front office is closed to the public during these days.

 

Stay Healthy This Cold/Flu Season

Although the community level of COVID-19 in Fairfax County is currently low, cases of RSV, the flu, and other viruses are on the rise. It continues to be important to wash your hands regularly, cover coughs and sneezes, monitor your health daily, and stay home if you are sick.

For more tips, visit our Return to School website

 

Human Growth and Development 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 back-to-school/orientation packets 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.

We will be holding a Family Preview session on Wednesday, November 30th at 9:15am, in the cafeteria, for families. This is an opportunity for families to see the resources and ask questions.

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

 

Specialist Spotlight

Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship is an important topic at Bren Mar Park.  Every student has a laptop or iPad, which opens up so many opportunities for learning, but also brings a lot of responsibility to be a good digital citizen.  We just wrapped up Digital Citizenship Week, which took place from October 17th - 21st. Students learned how to use their devices in appropriate and responsible ways to engage in learning.  Throughout their time in elementary school, FCPS students learn about the six core components of digital citizenship through the Common Sense curriculum, which are:

  • Media Balance: How can we balance technology with other activities?
  • Privacy and Security: How can we stay safe online?
  • Digital Footprint and Identity: How can we be mindful of the information we are leaving behind when we go online?
  • Relationships and Communication: How can we interact with people respectfully while online?
  • Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, and Hate Speech: How can we stand up for others while online?
  • News and Media Literacy: How can we be critical consumers?

There are many ways you can reinforce digital citizenship at home.  On Common Sense’s parent page, you can find family conversation starters and activities to support each core component of digital citizenship.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Kristin Kurtz at kmkurtz@fcps.edu.

 

The Many Faces of BMP

Faces of BMP

Building a Brighter Future Together: Renovation Updates

The planning process for the renovations of the Bren Mar Park school building continue!  We have had a variety of architects and structural engineers visit our school as part of this phase.  The community feedback committee met with the lead design team on Wednesday, November 2nd to review and share thinking on the latest aspects of the proposals.  

All families and community members may come to the Bren Mar Park front office to view hard copies of the latest information and design proposals.

 

FCPS Strategic Plan - Your Voice

Our students are preparing for careers that don’t exist today. In order to keep pace with these needs, we need to rethink our plans for the future—and how we will best serve our students for this new era. Employees, parents/caregivers, students, and our FCPS community must share the same purpose in order to recognize how we can move forward together. 

We are all much more motivated, and successful, when we share clear end goals. Learn more on our Strategic Plan webpage

 

Labsite Visits

ESSER funds allows teachers to engage in collaborative professional learning.

 

Bren Mar Park ESSER Updates

ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds have been allocated to FCPS and BMP to to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on schools across the United States.  Each week we will highlight one way ESSER funds support the children our school community.

Math Strategy 1 - Students will engage in overt representations of strategies so that teachers can use this information to inform in-the-moment feedback and future Tier 1 instruction.

This week, K - 5 teachers engaged in professional development called Labsite visits.  Teachers work together to gain a better understanding for identifying and resolving challenges that students may have in math by anticipating student thinking and framing questions to deepen and advanced thinking when monitoring student work.  Teams learn together, implement lessons with students, collaborate to problem-solve, and reflect on the impact.  ESSER funds allowed the school to pay substitute teachers to cover classroom teacher duties so they could participate.

 

Advanced Academics Information

If you are interested in having your 2nd through 5th grader screened for Full-Time (Level IV) services, please submit all documents no later than the deadline, December 15, 2022. The Level IV Referral Form is required and is linked below. The Parent/Guardian Questionnaire is optional, however it is highly recommended that you submit this as well. You may also submit up to two digital pages of work samples. Please email all documents to our AART, Cathy Trope, at cjtrope@fcps.edu  on or before December 15, 2022. Please reach out to Mrs. Trope with any questions.

Level IV Referral Form

Parent/Guardian Questionnaire

If you missed the AAP Parent information night on September 27, the slides from the presentation can be found on the BMP website.

Important Upcoming Dates/Events

November 21             Picture Re-take Day

November 23-25        No School: Thanksgiving Holiday

December 19 - January 2             No School:  Winter Break

January 16                 No School:  Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

                                   PTA Sponsored:  Day of Service, 10:00 - 12:00