Terra Centre Families,
We hope you had a restful and relaxing Thanksgiving break filled with fun family time. We have two weeks left before our winter break and our classes are busy with lots of excitement and learning!
We want to thank all of our volunteers for supporting our Fall Book Fair. It was a huge success and our staff are appreciative of the many book donations to classroom libraries.
Our student lost and found is overflowing and we will be sending out a message with pictures, so if you recognize anything, please stop by to pick up items. All remaining items will be donated over winter break.
The holidays are upon us, and we are here to help you! If your family is in need this holiday season, please reach out to our family liaison, Michelle Anderson, at 703.249.1400.
Please see below for reminders, updates, and special events.
Rebecca Gidoni, Principal
Teresa Lewis, Assistant Principal
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December 5-9: Inclusive Schools Week
December 5: VGA Math, Grades 3-6, 9:00 AM
December 6: STEAM Night, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
December 8: Bodhi Day
December 13: Winter Band/Strings concert, 7:00 PM
December 15: Referrals for AAP Level IV services due
December 19-January 2: Holiday - Winter Break
January 3: Classes Resume
FCPS 2022-2023 Calendar
FCPS School Year 2022-2023
Bodhi Day, Thursday, Dec. 8, is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni), experienced enlightenment, also known as bodhi in Sanskrit and Pali. The school calendar recognizes many religious and cultural observances (O days) during the school year. There is school on these days, however, the School Board has directed that tests, quizzes, field trips, graduation, homecoming, or FCPS-scheduled athletic events will not be held on these observance days. Learn more about Bodhi Day in this video from the Miami Children’s Museum.
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Inclusive Schools Week has celebrated the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference, and other factors. The week also provides an important opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what else needs to be done in order to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children. This year, the Inclusive Schools Week’s theme is “Unity Within Our Community.”
The Office of Special Education Instruction provides schools with ideas regarding ways that they can celebrate Inclusive Schools Week by sharing ideas and resources provided by the Inclusive Schools Network which include ideas for students and staff. While the celebratory ideas from the Inclusive Schools Network are provided to schools, schools are certainly able to celebrate Inclusive Schools Week in other innovative ways.
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Dining Room Assistant Needed
Terra Centre has a current opening for a dining room assistant. Below is more information about the position and how to apply.
Description: Assists students during lunchtime. Supervises student clean-up, keeps order and dismisses students to their teachers.
Qualifications: Friendly, energetic, and assertive in maintaining expectations of cafeteria behavior, and loves working with children.
Rate: $12.03 per Hour (no benefits)
Hours: 10:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Monday through Friday
To Apply: Interested applicants should send their resumes to Julie Hart at jkhart@fcps.edu
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ESSER III Community Conversation on December 13
Please consider supplementing this update with any specific ESSER-funded projects that have supported students at your school.
Thanks to everyone who provided input in October on ESSER III funding–federal funding which was allocated to FCPS to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and student learning. Community feedback indicated that there is a general unawareness of the impact of ESSER funding and a perceived lack of communication around how the funds are being used.
To help address this, Superintendent Reid and Sloan Presidio, chief academic officer, will host a Community Conversation on ESSER on Tuesday, December 13, at 6:30 p.m., at the Gatehouse Administration Building in the Café. Please stay tuned for more details. Visit BoardDocs for a detailed update on ESSER.
Multicultural and Language Resources for Families
FCPS’ Office of Family and School Partnerships would like to remind families of some of the many resources available to them:
- Bilingual community liaisons support student registrars by providing families with information about school and community services offered in Fairfax County. Liaisons are available to help families speaking Spanish, Korean, and Arabic. Once registered at a school, families can contact their family liaison for assistance.
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Early literacy programs are available to Fairfax County residents for parents of children up to 5 years old. These programs help prepare children for school and build confidence in parents as their child’s first teacher. They also help parents become active partners in their child’s education. Programs are available in African-Heritage, Arabic, Spanish, and Korean.
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Parent Information Phone Lines are available in eight languages for parents who speak languages other than English.
- A Multilingual Family Podcast is produced by the offices of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Family and School Partnerships, and Professional Learning and Equity. It covers important information for parents in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Korean.
- ESOL services are available in Fairfax County not only for students, but also for adults and families. Information on Spring classes will be posted in March 2023.
Visit the Family Engagement webpage for more resources.
Preparing for Winter Weather
Winter weather will be here before you know it! Watch this video to see how weather-related closing decisions are made.
FCPS’ inclement weather procedures will remain the same as last year. The first five inclement weather days will be traditional “snow days” with no school activities. After those five days, we will use the flexibility provided by the Virginia General Assembly to have unscheduled virtual learning days, whenever possible, to maintain the continuity of learning. Virtual learning on these days will be synchronous/live instruction, following the inclement weather virtual learning day schedule (includes a two-hour delay).
FCPS’ website is generally the first mode of communication during emergency weather closings. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible including email, text, social media, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated.
Be sure to plan ahead for the winter season. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date in weCare@school, bookmark the FCPS website, plan for childcare, if appropriate, and know what items your child may need to take home before a weather event.
Keep Your Child Warm During Outdoor Activities
Administration will monitor the weather for low temperatures, wind chill advisories and warnings, and weather advisories which may prevent children from being outside. Make sure your child is dressed appropriately with a warm coat and other cold-weather clothing, so they can comfortably enjoy their time outdoors. See the National Weather Service’s tips on staying safe during cold weather.
If you need assistance supplying your child with cold-weather clothing, please call Fairfax County's Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) at 703-222-0880. The multilingual staff can assist with any challenges you are facing, including food, shelter, employment, financial assistance, and healthcare.
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We are excited to have your family come to our Terra Centre Family STEAM Night on Tuesday, 12/6 from 6-8 pm. We have 35 stations planned for interactive and demonstration of different STEAM resources, including 19 stations from career and community organizations! Families stay together and work together to participate at each station. There will be many careers represented as well as robotics, engineering challenges, art projects, and a variety of others. The 6th Grade will be hosting a food table for purchase, including drinks, snacks, popcorn, cotton candy! The PTA will have a Spirit Wear table. A STEAM Selfie Station will be ready for capturing your memories as well.
Entrance is at Door 1 for a quick check in and then your STEAM family adventure will begin!
Referrals for the Full-Time Advanced Academic (Level IV)
Referrals for current 2nd-7th graders are accepted through December 15, 2022. More information about the referral process can be found on the FCPS.edu website, search AAP Level IV. FCPS AAP information The Level IV Referral and Screening presentation is also available on the Schoology Terra Centre Parent Course in the Advanced Academic Presentation folder. Please submit referrals to Melanie Jewell, AART, MCJewell@fcps.edu
Monthly Folder Content
Terra Centre uses Schoology for all monthly folder content. All flyers are posted to Schoology Course: Terra Centre All Parents
December Updates
- Level IV AAP referral information
- Food Assistance in Burke
- Alcohol and the Holidays
- Community flyers
- Community Table Dinners
- Girls Lacrosse Clinic (Robinson Secondary School)
- Breakfast with Santa (West Springfield High School)
- PTA flyers
- Winter After School Club flyers-2 new clubs added!
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In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- Preparing for Winter Weather
- Keeping Your Child Warm During Outdoor Activities
- Proposed Process for Special Education Enhancement Plan
- Provide Feedback on Secondary World Languages Basal Resources
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving the weekly newsletter, sign up today.
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FCPS in the News
‘In dire need’: How a former World Bank staffer became a Fairfax Co. substitute teacher (WTOP, November 23)
Thomas Jefferson High School project getting a ride into space (WTOP, November 22; also ran on WJLA and Fox 5)
Get in the holiday spirit at the Langley High School Renaissance Feaste (WJLA, November 22)
Play is crucial for middle schoolers, too (Hechinger Report, November 17)
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