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Dear Mantua Families,
Our week started with a ROARing visit from our friendly Mantua dinosaurs! Our admin team kept their promise to our students to provide a surprise as a reward for working so hard in the Run for Rocky fundraiser. Our admin team, dressed as dinosaurs, greeted students at arrival and dismissal. We have pictures below; the students loved the fun!
The Lion King performances this past weekend and our special shows today wowed audience members. I was moved by the incredible talent on our Mantua stage Opening Night! A huge thank you goes to our fabulous Drama Club and PTA for their incredible work in making this production possible! The show was truly outstanding! The audience, filled with parents, staff, and students, shared laughter and even a few tears. It was another fine example of our students’ passion and talent and the commitment of our community and staff to find ways for them to shine.
We wish you an excellent rest of your week!
Linda Shannon, Principal
Amy Alley, Assistant Principal
Rich Deixler, Assistant Principal
Important Dates
December 8: Bodhi Day, Religious and Cultural Observance
December 14: Fall Picture Retake Day
December 18-26: Chanukah
December 25: Christmas
December 19-January 2: Winter Break, School Closed
See the complete 2022-23 school year calendar
Bodhi Day
Bodhi Day, Thursday, December 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. Learn more about Bodhi Day in this video from the Miami Children’s Museum.
The school calendar recognizes many religious and cultural observances during the school year. Schools are open on these days, however, the School Board has directed that certain events that cannot be made up at another time will not be held on these observance days. See the complete 2022-23 School Year Calendar.
Inclusive Schools Week Dec 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.
MANTUA News
Advanced Placement Programs
Parents/guardians of students in grades 2-7 who would like their student to be considered for full-time advanced academic programs (Level IV AAP services) may submit the AAP Level IV Referral Form no later than December 15. This deadline may not be extended. Referral forms may be found on the FCPS website by typing “AAP forms” into the search bar. If you need help accessing forms, you may contact our Mantua Advanced Academics Resource Teacher (AART), Kathy Van Dyke, at kkvandyke@fcps.edu. Completed forms may be dropped off at the Mantua main office, or may be emailed directly to Ms. Van Dyke.
Dismissal & Playground
Due to safety and supervision concerns, students cannot remain on school grounds after dismissal. Students may not play on the playground during dismissal because all available staff are supervising dismissal.
Lost and Found Items
Our lost and found is overflowing with coats, water bottles, lunch boxes and books! If your student is missing an item, please have them check Lost and Found to claim it. The Lost and Found is currently located just outside the 2nd grade classrooms. A shout out to Ms. Zimmerman who has already been helping some items find their owners!
FCPS News
FCPS Strategic Plan
The strategic planning process is a community-wide effort. There will be many opportunities to share feedback or participate in a community meeting. We want our community to stay informed and be involved. You can help!
If you are an active member of a community organization or group who people look to for information, please consider signing up to be a key communicator during the strategic planning process. FCPS key communicators should have an interest in sharing information about the school division and encouraging involvement. Key communicators will:
- Receive regular updates including news, information, future events, and engagement opportunities.
- Share the information they receive with their group in a timely manner.
- Encourage group participation in engagement and feedback opportunities where appropriate and possible.
Talking Points
FCPS has recently adopted TalkingPoints, a two-way messaging app that allows parents and caregivers to communicate with teachers. Look for messages from Mantua or your child’s teacher. Messages will come directly to the phone number that is registered in our system as a SMS text or through the TalkingPoints Parent App. Families will receive messages in the language they have listed as their correspondence language. You can reply by text or through the app. If you prefer to not receive text messages from TalkingPoints, you can reply with "GOODBYE" at any time. For more information, visit the FCPS TalkingPoints webpage.
The app translates messages, so teachers can input messages in English and parents can respond in their preferred language. TalkingPoints supports 125 languages, making it easier and faster for our Mantua families to connect with our school. If you need to update your preferred correspondence language, contact the front office at 703-465-6300 and ask for Ms. Mergie Kakouris.
Contacts
Linda Shannon, lcshannon@fcps.edu
Amy Alley, Assistant Principal, avalley@fcps.edu
Rich Deixler, Assistant Principal, radeixler@fcps.edu
AnnMarie Delvalle, Administrative Assistant, adelvalle@fcps.edu
Mergie Kakouris, Student Information Assistant, mbkakouris@fcps.edu
Fadwa Finaish, Office Assistant, ffinaish@fcps.edu
Susan Palomino, Office Assistant slpalomino@fcps.edu
Technology Support for Families/Parent Help Desk: 1-833-921-3277
Parent Information Phone Lines/Support for parents who do not speak English as their first language: Parent Information Phone Lines
Parent and Student technology support: IT Support Portal
Our Mental Health Team is available if your child needs support.
Richard Hang, Counselor, rhang@fcps.edu
Susan Song, Counselor (Returning soon!)
Austin Swift, School Psychologist, atswift@fcps.edu
David Glasser, Psychologist, dmglasser@fcps.edu
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