Important Upcoming Dates
* See information below.
1/25: Two-hour early release at 2:00 PM
1/26 and 1/27: Teacher Workdays (Student Holidays)
*1/26: Rising 7th Grade Virtual Orientation
*1/31: Fairfax Villa Junior Troop 54072 Shoe Drive Deadline
2/8: Winter Band Concert
*2/9: Frost Family Festival
2/13: 100th Day of School (Projected)
*2/15: Woodson Pyramid Drug Education Information Night For Parents
2/16: PTA Meeting
2/20: George Washington’s Birthday (Holiday For Staff and Students)
2/22: 3rd Grade Family Folk Dance Night
*3/2: Read Across America Day
3/3: School Planning Day (Student Holiday)
4/3 - 4/7: Spring Break
4/17: Woodson Pyramid Spring Art Show
IN THIS ISSUE
- NEW:Two-hour early release tomorrow
- NEW:Read Across America!
- Upcoming Events for 6th Grade Families
- UPDATED: Celebrations of Lexia
- NEW: Updated POG Communication News
- Fairfax Villa/FCPS Inclement Weather Plan
- The Science of Reading
- Tutor.com Free Resources
- Score Reporting To Families
- Drug Education Information Nights For Parents
- Fairfax Villa Junior Troop 54072 Shoe Drive
- Woodson HS Dessert on Broadway
- Monday and Friday Fairfax Villa Clothing
- Fairfax Villa Contacts
- Be Informed; Stay Involved!
- Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
1.Two-hour early release tomorrow
This will be a short week for students. Wednesday, January 25th, will be a two-hour early release for students, with school dismissal being at 2:00 PM. Thursday, January 26th, and Friday, January 27th, are staff development and teacher workdays, and there will be no school for students on those days.
2.Read Across America
Students and staff will kick-off our month-long love of literacy on Read Across America Day (Thursday, March 2nd)! On March 2nd, students will have a schoolwide Read-In and can wear their PJs and bring a stuffed animal (that can fit into their backpack) to read with at school. Throughout March, classes will participate in read-alouds of books that reflect diverse readers and have opportunities to engage in Reading Bingo (boards will be sent on March 1st) to win bookmarks and be a part of a raffle to win class books.
Kaitlyn McGrath, Meteorologist for WUSA9, spoke to our 6th graders about weather and how she prepares for her broadcasts.
3.Upcoming Events for 6th Grade Families
Frost Middle School is eager to begin the upcoming transition activities with their future Frost Falcons! Please mark your calendars for the Rising 7th Grade Orientation on January 26th and the Frost Family Festival on February 9th.
The Rising 7th Grade Orientation is for current 6th grade students who will be attending Frost in the 23-24 school year - and their parents. This will take place virtually on January 26th at 6:30 PM. During this event, students and families will hear from administration and school counselors who will provide an overview of Frost Middle School, course selection opportunities, and the selection process. The link for this event will be sent in January. A recording of the event will be available for those who cannot attend on the Frost Student Services website here.
Please submit questions you may have about transitioning to 7th Grade at Frost Middle School. They will do their best to incorporate as many answers to your questions during the orientation. Please use this link to submit questions.
FMS will also be having the Frost Family Festival (in-person) on February 9th beginning at 5:30 PM. This is a great opportunity to get a school tour and visit elective classes to help confirm desired course selections. More information to come!
4.Celebrations of Lexia!
17 = The number of Lexia Certificates given this past week!
1312= The number of Lexia Certificates given this year!
67% = The percentage of students working at or above grade level!
Parents - ask your child to show you their Lexia Superstar Certificates for the completion of each level!
Congratulations to all of our students who are working hard on their Lexia lessons and making so much progress. At the beginning of the school year, 32% of our students in grades K-6 were working on grade level material in Lexia. We now have 67% of our students working on grade level. For the other 33% of students, we are also proud of them for working toward their end of the year goal.
It is VERY important that families do NOT help students with the Lexia lessons. We need for students to do their own learning so that we get a true picture of what they have learned and what teachers need to support them with here at school. Each week, teachers get a report of the areas of growth and lessons that each student needs and, if families assist with Lexia, this will change the learning results. We need students to do the Lexia work themselves so that they will be most successful in their learning.
Look for a weekly update on our continued Lexia successes!
If your child wants to practice their reading skills with Lexia at home, they can go to https://clever.com/in/fairfax/student/portal
to log into Clever using their FCPS google accounts. They then click on the Lexia icon to get started. It is strongly recommended that our K-6 graders spend 15-30 minutes each night learning with this Lexia program. Please be aware that they will also be using this program during the school day in one of their language arts blocks.
Another way to get to Lexia is through their Schoology account. After they go to https://lms.fcps.edu/ and log into Schoology, they click on the waffle in the upper right corner, click on Clever, and then they will see their Lexia.
If your child does not have a school issued laptop to use at home, he/she may access Schoology via the FCPS website. Schoology is the first option available in the dark blue toolbar.
Kaitlyn McGrath, Meteorologist for WUSA9, spoke to our 2nd graders about weather. They had great questions for her!
5.Updated Portrait Of a Graduate (POG) Communication News
Students have been working on their POG Communicator Skills in music classes over the past several weeks. In Mrs. Hood’s 6th grade classes, students were given the choice to create a soundscape to a poem or write a story based on a selected piece of music. Students used their communicator skills of using technology to find and share ideas by using WeVideo to create a video presentation of their work. They also demonstrated the skill of writing to share ideas when writing their stories and making connections to what they heard when choosing instruments to accompany the poem that they chose.
6.Fairfax Villa/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.
On those days, teachers will have students access a Zoom link from their class Schoology site. We will be starting the day at 10:30 and ending at 2:45 to give a “Family Recess” at the end of the day. There will also be a 45 minute lunch built in from 12:15 - 1:00. All students will have had a practice with their teachers so that all students know how to access the Zoom and what behaviors are expected as to attendance and working.
Please consider bookmarking FCPS' Weather Cancellation Procedures to stay informed in case of winter weather or other emergency situations.
7.The Science of Reading
What is the Science of Reading? Maybe you’ve heard the term or about Equitable Access to Literacy. What does this mean for your child’s instruction? These slides below from FCPS can help support your understanding about our transformation in reading and writing instruction and access to effective literacy practices that are aligned with what we now know about how the brain learns. When we know better,we do better! As always, please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have questions about this shift in our instruction.
To access the slides, please log into your parent Schoology account and look at our Fairfax Villa parent course for the Science of Reading folder. https://lms.fcps.edu/course/6049662884/materials
If you are looking for ways to support your children at home with literacy skills, the Virginia Literacy Partnership (VLP) has a variety of free resources to support families here: https://literacy.virginia.edu/resources-families
Another great family resource from the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy and the Atlanta Speech School will help develop literacy skills. This is free but does require signing up. https://www.coxcampus.org/families/
 Kaitlyn McGrath, Meteorologist for WUSA9, shared the features of the eco-hybrid ECO9 car with our 6th graders.
8.Tutor.com Free Resources
Fairfax Villa students continue to have unlimited access to live, 24/7, one-on-one online tutoring services through Tutor.com at no cost to families during the 2022-23 school year. 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.
9.Score Reporting To Families
For the academic screenings that students complete in the fall, score report letters will be generated by FCPS, not each individual school. Most reports can be found in ParentVUE/SIS. If you do not yet have a ParentVUE/SIS account, please contact Ms. Schmidt at bdschmidt@fcps.edu.
- VRKP grades PreK-K will be sent via U.S. Mail before winter break
- iReady grades 1-3 will be sent via U.S. Mail before Thanksgiving
- iReady grades 4-6 will be posted via SIS ParentVUE before winter break
- Fall VGA scores will be mailed by FCPS to parents the week of December 5
- Fall CogAT scores were sent home in the Wednesday Folders on November 30.
- Fall SEL Screener reports are scheduled to be mailed by FCPS in early January.
- Fall NNAT3 scores were sent home in the Wednesday Folders on December 14.
Fall and Winter VGA Scores for reading and math will be sent to parents by FCPS by the end of March.
10.Drug Education Information Night For Parents
Click Image to RSVP
11.Fairfax Villa Junior Troop 54072 Shoe Drive
The deadline for donations to this has been extended to January 31st! Please check your closets and send in your worn out shoes!
WUSA9’s eco-hybrid car ECO9 was a big hit with both our 6th graders and 2nd graders. Thanks to meteorologist Kaitlyn McGrath for sharing the exciting features of it with our students.
12.Woodson HS Dessert on Broadway
Click image to purchase tickets
13.Monday & Friday Fairfax Villa Clothing
Students and staff will be wearing the same clothing to kick off and end each week during the 2022-23 school year!
- On Mondays, we will be wearing our Positivity shirts to highlight our character strengths and virtues that we will be learning throughout the school year. The Boosterthon team distributed these green shirts during the fun run for the past 2 years. The shirts highlight our Villa dragon and Positivity logos on the front of the shirts.
- On Fridays, we will be showing off our favorite Fairfax Villa spirit wear. If your son or daughter has outgrown their Fairfax Villa spirit wear clothing, our PTA has some new ones.
14.Fairfax Villa Contacts
Fairfax Villa Main Phone Line: 703-267-2800
Fairfax Villa Attendance Phone Line: 703-267-2828
Fairfax Villa Attendance Link: https://fairfaxvillaes.fcps.edu/attendance-form
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
FCPS Transportation Phone Line:703-446-2050
Candace Davis, Transportation Supervisor, 703-446-2050, CEDavis@fcps.edu
Dave Gerstner, Principal, drgerstner@fcps.edu
Shelia Sobeski, Assistant Principal, sdsobeski@fcps.edu
Karen Wells, Administrative Assistant, kewells@fcps.edu
Julie Scoville, Office Staff, jgscoville@fcps.edu
Silvia Dossmann, Student Information Assistant, smdossmann@fcps.edu
Barbara Schmidt, School Based Technology Specialist, bdschmidt@fcps.edu
15.Be Informed; Stay Involved!
16.Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
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This is the time of year when winter weather and children’s illnesses can take a toll on school attendance. However, it’s important to get your children to school every day possible.
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If you are unsure whether to send your children to school, consult your doctor for guidance. Our school nurse is also a terrific resource for chronic health conditions.
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Do what you can to keep your children healthy. Dress them warmly for the cold weather and make sure they’ve got hats and gloves. Encourage them to wash their hands regularly and send them to school with a bottle of hand sanitizer.
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Help your child learn to persevere. Today, they learn to overcome a snowdrift. In the future, they will have the grit to triumph over even greater obstacles to their dreams.
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Please remember, schools are closed on January 26 and 27. We are eager to welcome your children back in school on the following day. Teachers will be teaching and students will be learning.
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