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Dear Mantua Families,
I hope that each of you enjoyed a wonderful break with family and friends. Here at Mantua, we wrapped up 2022 with many festivities and fun! I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our students, entire staff, parent volunteers, PTA, and community members for making our last week in December so special! Our staff felt the love with our PTA’s Hot Cocoa Mugs and enjoyed sweet treats from colleagues. It was exciting to see all of the class activities and winter parties! We closed out our week with the annual Mantua Winter Sing-along. Being together to sing in person brought a special feeling that so many students and staff missed and others were able to experience for the first time! We have shared a few pictures of the activities below.
Take good care,
Linda Shannon, Principal
Amy Alley, Assistant Principal
Rich Deixler, Assistant Principal
Laura Totoro, Acting Assistant Principal
Important Dates
January 6: Three Kings Day/Epiphany, Religious and Cultural Observance
January 12: Mantua Band Concert, 7 PM, Gym
January 13: PTA Meeting, 9:30 AM, Cafeteria
January 16: No School - Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
January 19: Orthodox Epiphany, Religious and Cultural Observance
January 25: Two-Hour Early Release for Students; End of Quarter 2
January 26 & 27: Teacher Workdays (Student Holidays)
See the complete 2022-23 school year calendar
Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for this year's FCPS Excellence Awards. It is wonderful to have so many of our staff members acknowledged. The following staff members were nominated by their colleagues and parents, and a committee of our peers made Mantua’s selections. We greatly appreciate Mr. Hang’s hard work serving as our Excellence Awards Liaison and supporting this process.
- Outstanding Teacher: Jamie DeRosa
- Outstanding New Teacher: Olivia Kang
- Outstanding Professional Employee: Austin Swift
- Outstanding Operational Employee: Maria Romero
- Outstanding Leader: Richard Deixler
- Outstanding New Principal: Linda Shannon
Welcome & Well Wishes!
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Ms. Laura Totoro |
As some of you may know, Ms. Alley’s mother has developed significant health needs in recent weeks, and Ms. Alley is on leave at this time to care for her. Our hearts and thoughts are with Ms. Alley and her family, and we look forward to her return.
Please join us in welcoming Laura Totoro as she serves as Acting Assistant Principal in Ms. Alley’s absence.
Laura Totoro is excited to be joining the Mantua community. Ms. Totoro comes from Woodson High School, where she held the position of Systems of Support Advisor (SOSA). In this role, Ms. Totoro implemented academic and behavioral interventions, provided instructional and classroom support for teachers, and developed the Cav Kudos program, which recognizes students who help promote a positive school climate while demonstrating kindness and good citizenship. Ms. Totoro graduated from SUNY Buffalo and earned a master’s degree from D’Youville University and an administrative endorsement from Shenandoah University. Ms. Totoro has previously served as Dean of Students, Interim Assistant Principal for both elementary and secondary settings, and Assistant Principal of Marshall High School Credit Recovery Academy. Ms. Totoro is passionate about ensuring all children feel a sense of belonging to their school and that each student has what they need to be successful and reach their full potential. Ms. Totoro grew up in Buffalo, NY, and currently lives in Loudoun County with her family. She has three children; Owen, Luca, and Francesca. In her free time, Ms. Totoro enjoys cooking and spending time at the beach and is an avid Buffalo Bills fan.
Upcoming Growth Assessments in Grades 3-6
Students in grades 3-6 will continue participating in the Winter Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA). Please see the schedule below. It is important that your child attends school on these days. Make-up sessions will be available for any absences. It is helpful to ensure your child has a good night of sleep and a healthy breakfast at home or school.
Additional information about VGA tests is available on the VGA public webpage.
3rd Grade Math - Friday, 1/13
4th Grade Math - Wednesday, 1/11
5th Grade Reading - Tuesday, 1/10 and 5th Grade Math - Wednesday, 1/18
6th Grade Reading - Thursday,1/5 and 6th Grade Math - Tuesday, 1/17
Mantua / FCPS Inclement Weather Plan
As you have read from the FCPS announcements, the inclement weather procedures for FCPS 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 have unscheduled virtual learning days, whenever possible, to maintain the continuity of learning. Virtual learning on these days will be synchronous/live instruction.
Teachers will have students access a Zoom link from their class Schoology courses on those days. Our instructional day will begin at 10:30 and end at 3:15. There will be a lunch/recess break from 12:00- 1:00. All students have practiced accessing zoom with their teachers. Please review FCPS' Weather Cancellation Procedures to stay informed. We will send more detailed information in the coming weeks. You can read more about preparing for an inclement weather day here.
Plan for Devices
Student devices will continue to come home to prepare for the potential of a virtual learning day. Students in Grades K-2 will take devices home on the weekends and when there is a potential for inclement weather. Students in Grades 3-6 will continue to take their devices home daily.
At Home - Technology Readiness Steps for Students
- Log onto your laptop with your student ID and password.
- Connect your laptop to your home internet connection.
- In the Chrome browser, go to www.fcpsschools.net to sign in to your fcpsschools.net account.
- Log into Schoology. Make sure you can access your courses.
- If you have any issues with these steps from home, go to the Tech Support for Families page to submit a support ticket.
Parent Advocacy Handbook
The Parent Advocacy Handbook is for parents and guardians -- a child’s first teacher and advocate. It is believed that parents and guardians should advocate and support their children’s academic, social, and emotional growth from preschool through high school, and beyond.
Information and resources within the handbook are designed to help parents and guardians:
- Learn about their rights and responsibilities as an FCPS parent or guardian.
- Learn more about what is going on in the student's school.
- Gain skills to advocate for your student at school.
- Learn more how to monitor and help your student at home.
- Find extra help and resources.
The handbook contains answers to the many questions parents may have about the school system and how they can best advocate for their student at the various stages of their school experience.
Be an advocate for your child. Know what is happening at school. Ask questions. Express your ideas, comments, and concerns. Check to see that promises made are kept.
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 that 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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