The Clearview Community Connect

The Clearview Community Connect

Volume 1, Issue 18; December 2, 2022

Stronger Together

To view a translated version of our newsletter, click here and select your preferred language. 

Para ver una versión traducida de nuestro boletín de noticias, haga clic aquí y seleccione su idioma preferido.


Dear Clearview Families,  

Thank you to Kari Kain, Lakisha Batts, and our fabulous PTA volunteers for providing an exciting and successful Book Fair experience for Clearview students.  It was awesome to see students so excited about books, posters, book marks, pencils, and other school supplies.  Several students used some (or all) of their money to purchase items for family members and/or friends which demonstrated the tons of kindness Clearview students have in their hearts.

This afternoon, students had a special treat.  The Herndon High School orchestra came to visit Clearview for a surprise performance!  We are so thankful for the strong fine arts programs in the Herndon Pyramid and throughout FCPS.

Orchestra

 

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or compliments you may have. If you have seen a Clearview staff member going above and beyond, fill out an FCPS Cares here.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Stephanie Almquist         Joshua Redford          Rachel Charlton  

Principal                           Assistant Principal     Assistant Principal



Welcome to Clearview Ms. Gissela Sandoval

Gissela

Ms. Gissela Sandoval joins Clearview as an Art Teacher Resident.  She is from Manassas and a graduate of George Mason University.  Ms. Sandoval is proud to be in a sorority that supports the advancement of minority communities.  Please introduce yourself to Ms. Sandoval and welcome her to Clearview!



Kiss & Ride Reminder for K-6 Families

Thank you for keeping our students safe during drop off and pick up at Kiss & Ride.  Please remember to arrive after 8:35 am so that teachers and staff can safely access the parking lot and neighbors of the school will have minimal congestion as they leave to get to work (and/or take their children to daycare/school).  If you arrive prior to 8:35 am, we ask that you park and walk your child to the sidewalk once a staff member arrives at Kiss & Ride duty.



Clearview Pantry

pantry

The SCA would like to thank all the students and families for their generous donations to our Food and Supply Drive. Together, we collected over 1,000 items for our community pantry! Your generosity is greatly appreciated!



National Special Education Day- December 2

National Special Education Day is recognized each year on Dec. 2 and commemorates President Gerald Ford’s signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975. We celebrate our teachers and staff who serve and support our students with special needs, as well as our families who are partners in the education and support of those students! 

sped

Learn more about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

FCPS Special Education Resources

-The Office of Special Education Procedural Support provides guidance to staff, families, and students in areas related to the implementation of and compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended. 

-Families of students in Special Education programs can find more resources in the Special Education Handbook for Parents (translations available from the Parent Resource Center).

-The Parent Resource Center (PRC) offers free webinars, consultations, a lending library, and resources to help adults support the success of all students, including those with learning challenges, special needs, and disabilities. Their YouTube Channel includes videos of workshops and webinars for families and educators to support student success. Sign up for their newsletter to receive information on upcoming webinars and other resources. Please contact the PRC with any questions at prc@fcps.edu or call 703-204-2941.

-Kathy Murphy, the assistant ombuds for special education, serves as a confidential resource, providing information and support to parents and students regarding special education services. The assistant ombuds provides transparency and understanding to families of children with special needs so that they may receive all the services and supports required to equitably access public education. The assistant ombuds can be contacted by submitting a question, calling 571-423-4014, or emailing ombuds@fcps.edu



Herndon High School Winterfest

Games, Food, Fun!

Join other schools from the Herndon pyramid on December 9, 2022 at 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM at Herndon High School for this free event to build community among future Hornets!  

This event will be an indoor block party with food, games, and fun to get HYPED before the *DOUBLEHEADER BASKETBALL* games vs. South Lakes High School!

***Enter through Door 1 or Door 8 please.



Inclusive Schools Week, December 5-9

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.”



Bodhi Day (O Day)

bodi

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.



Chanukah, December 18-26

People of the Jewish faith around the world celebrate Chanukah annually.  Lasting eight days, the joyous Jewish holiday celebrates a miracle from more than 2,000 years ago.Please click here for more information.

chanukah


AAP Level IV Referral Window Reminder for Parents

Although families have been notified multiple times of the window for AAP full-time (level IV) referrals, here is one last reminder before the window closes on December 15.



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:

-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. 

-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. 

-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. 



Sign up for FREE Books!

Any child under the age of 5 living in Herndon can receive FREE books through the Imagination Library Program. Books are mailed once a month to your home. All you have to do is register here..



The Strategic Planning Process

The success of our strategic planning process depends on our entire community being engaged. Watch as some of our amazing elementary students share their hopes and ideas for the future of schools. Also, stay tuned for information on upcoming opportunities to participate in the development of FCPS’ Strategic Plan.



Parent Advocacy Handbook Distribution

The Minority Student Achievement Oversight Committee (MSAOC) has created a Parent Advocacy Handbook to provide information and support to families as they navigate the FCPS system for their children. It is designed to be particularly useful for families who may be less familiar with such a large school division and/or with schooling in the U.S.  

The MSAOC Parent Advocacy Handbooks is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Korean at:  https://www.fcps.edu/parentadvocacyhandbook



Tech Talk

Tutor.com

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.

Headphones for school

If you can, please have your student bring in a set of headphones for their school laptops. If you need any assistance or have any questions please reach out to our school based technology specialist, Mr. Newbold, at mcnewbold@fcps.edu.

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. 

Need internet help? 

If you are in need of a MiFi for at home internet service, please reach out to your student's teacher. 

Do you have a ParentVUE account? 

ParentVUE allows parents to stay on top of upcoming school events, classroom happenings, assignments, tests, and academic performance. Parents can view their children's classroom assignments and scores, attendance, transcripts, graduation status and more.

Click here to log in/activate/reset your password. 

If you need assistance with accessing your ParentVUE account please reach out to Mr. Newbold at mcnewbold@fcps.edu.



Save the date

 

December 2  Spirit Night Chick-Fil-A (North Point) 7-9 pm

December 9 Parents Night Out Fundraiser 6-8 pm

December 12-16 Spirit Week (see details below)

Monday: Warm and cozy day

Tuesday: 80s day

Wednesday: Twin day

Thursday: Sports/Jersey day

Friday: Pajama day

December 13 PTA Spirit Night at IZZI @ Aslin, 5-9 pm

December 19 - Jan 2 Winter Break Holiday

January 16    Holiday: Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday (no school)

January 18   PTA meeting (in-person and Zoom), 7 pm

January 25    End of Second Quarter- 2 hour Early Release

January 26    Student Holiday (Professional Workday, no school)

January 27  Student Holiday (Professional Workday, no school)

See the complete 2022-23 school year calendar.



PTA

 

Mark your calendars 

-TONIGHT, Fri., Dec. 2: Spirit Day & Night @ Chick-fil-A (North Point Village). Mention Clearview for any in-person or mobile orders made from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

-Fri., Dec. 9: Parents Night Out Fundraiser from 6-8 p.m. at Clearview. Make a donation to support our field trip fundraising efforts, then enjoy a couple hours to yourself.

-Tues., Dec. 13: Spirit Night at IZZI @ Aslin from 5-9 p.m. at 767 Elden Street (next to Aslin Brewery)

-Wed., Jan. 18: PTA Meeting at 7 p.m. in the library and on Zoom (link will be posted on PTBoard)

 Check It Off Fall Fieldtrip Fundraiser

Another exciting update: on the evening of our final day of Check It Off, we’ve raised $8,745 toward field trips! Thank you so much to our 140+ donors, which included students, parents, grandparents, extended family members, staff, former Clearview families, and community members.

When we put together this year's PTA budget and saw that it would cost about $13,000 to fund a field trip for each grade level, it was daunting. When we set our goal to raise half that amount ($6,500) through Check It Off, we knew it was a big stretch. But you came through with so much generosity! Please know that we were grateful for every donation, but were especially touched by the dollar bills that arrived with paper forms filled out by students.

Since the final reminder flyer was in this week’s Tuesday Folders, we expect to receive a few more paper donations through the end of the week. Once we tally all the final paper donations, we’ll share the results of the class contests. The classes that raised the most money and had the greatest level of participation will earn an extra recess. And we’re working with Ms. Almquist and her team to schedule the school-wide pajama day, likely for when students return from winter break.

Just a few more THANK YOUs: Ms. Bobby and Ms. Buss for organizing all the incoming donations; Mr. Redford and Mr. Newbold for the WBZZ promotions; Ms. Charlton for the News You Choose promotions; Ms. Romoleroux and Ms. Webb for translations and outreach; classroom teachers for your encouragement and reminders; Alecia Nault for copying all the Tuesday flyers; and Amanda Robson for the “help the hive” graphic.

 Parents Night Out

  • Friday, Dec. 9 from 6-8 p.m. in the Clearview gym and cafeteria

Feed your kids, then drop off your current Clearview students while you enjoy two hours of free time to go out to dinner, do some holiday shopping, or just relax! Students will watch a movie, do a craft, and have a light snack. 

In return, we ask that you donate toward our field trip fundraising efforts. Our suggested amount is $20 per student but we welcome donations of all amounts and encourage you to give what you can.

Register and make your donation by Wednesday, Dec. 7 either online (https://bit.ly/3AlVCn1) or by completing the form in your child’s Tuesday Folder (please staple checks to the form and place any cash in a Ziploc bag).

 

 



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