 |
|
To read this newsletter in other languages, please visit our website.
Para leer este boletín en otros idiomas, visite nuestro sitio web.
Để đọc bản tin này bằng ngôn ngữ khác, xin quý vị truy cập vào trang mạng của chúng tôi.
|
A Message From Your Principals
Westlawn Community:
This week, we kicked off the third quarter of the school year with excitement and opportunity!
We concluded our series of planning days with our fifth grade team. These days provided professional learning and planning time for teams to review student achievement data, look ahead to upcoming units, and prepare for the second half of the school year.
World Read Aloud day was recognized on February 1st where mystery guest readers read stories to all ages of students. Every member of the leadership team had the opportunity to share our love of reading with multiple classrooms.
The salad bar was a huge success! Our cafeteria team worked tirelessly to refill fruits and vegetables between each lunch shift to ensure all students had access to fresh choices when they came to lunch.
On Friday, our kindergarten students came in their finest dresses, suits and ties, ready to visit the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. They watched an incredible performance of “Beauty and the Beat” and made our school proud with their theater manners.
We look forward to seeing your amazing children in the morning for another week of teaching and learning.
At Westlawn, we soar together.
Individually Unique … Together Extraordinary
We are Westlawn.
Your Proud Principals,
Cindi Choate, Christoph Hill, Anaya Bryson, and Stephanie Carpenter
Upcoming Dates:
February 13: 100th Day of School
February 17: Bingo Night (6:00 - 7:30 PM)
February 20: Student and Staff Holiday (President’s Day)
February 21: PTA Meeting (Link)
February 27 - March 2: Read Across Westlawn Week
March 1: 6th Grade All County Choral Festival Rehearsal #2
March 2: Early Release Day for Students (dismissal at 1:30 PM)
March 3: Student Holiday (Professional Workday)
March 15: FCHS Pyramid Art Show (6:00 PM)
March 24: 6th Grade All County Choral Festival Rehearsal #3
March 25: 6th Grade All County Choral Festival (3:00 PM)
March 30 : Westlawn Spring Choral Concert (6:30 PM; Westlawn Gym)
April 3-7: Spring Break (no school for students)
April 13: Family Adventure Night (evening event)
April 13: Early Release Day for Students (dismissal at 1:30 PM)
April 21: Student Holiday (Professional Workday)
April 28: Westlawn Art Night (6:00 - 7:30 PM)
May 13: TJHSST Techstravaganza (10:00 AM)
May 13: FSO Concert (3rd/4th grades)
May 29: Student Holiday (Memorial Day)
June 5: Westlawn Spring Band/Strings Concert (6:30 PM)
June 16: Last Day of School for Students
Salad Bar Menu
We are excited to announce our self-serve salad bar is returning on January 31! Students will receive instruction regarding use, and Westlawn staff will support the process during the first few weeks.
Please review the menu options with your children so they are prepared when it is time to make healthy choices at lunch.
https://fcps.nutrislice.com/menu/westlawn-elementary/elementary-salad-bar/2023-01-29
Tutor.com - Extra Help for Students at No Cost to Families
With Tutor.com through Schoology, FCPS students are able to get learning help at any time, even from bilingual tutors! Students in FCPS meet with tutors thousands of times each week to practice reading, prepare for an upcoming math test, write computer programs, study for the SAT, or to get feedback on scholarship essays–all at no cost to their families! If you haven’t already, we encourage you to take just a few minutes to connect with a tutor with your child. More info about Tutor.com in FCPS is available here.
Morning Kiss and Ride Reminders
Families who drop off their children via kiss and ride in the morning are reminded that students and staff will begin opening car doors at 8:25, and will close kiss and ride promptly at 8:45. Families who arrive at or after 8:45 will need to drop children at Door 1. Children will then pick up a tardy slip in the main office before reporting to class. If your family uses morning kiss and ride, please try to bring children on the earlier end of the window to ensure they are arriving on time and not missing any instruction.
Deadline Extended for Feedback on Draft School Year Calendars
Thank you to the approximately 27,000 families, staff, students, and community members who completed FCPS' Calendar Feedback Form!
The School Board discussed the feedback during their January 31 work session. If you haven't had a chance to share your thoughts about the draft school year calendar options, please participate today. The form will close on Monday, February 6, at noon. The School Board is scheduled to vote on a calendar on Thursday, February 9.
Learn more about FCPS' calendar development process.Click to edit this placeholder text.
Talk. They Hear You.
The Community Services Board of Falls Church and Fairfax is having a series of webinars about speaking with children about alcohol use. Some are in English and some are in Spanish. Learn more and sign up for a webinar!
Low-Cost Internet for Free and Reduced-Price Eligible Students
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program to lower internet costs for families with children who have been eligible for free or reduced-price meals within the last 12 months. A qualifying household will receive $30 per month toward internet services and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet. Families can check their eligibility and register at AffordableConnectivity.gov or by calling 877-384-2575.
February Webinars and Events for Parents
FCPS’ Parent Resource Center (PRC) is dedicated to helping adults support the success of all students. The PRC will present the following webinars in February:
Friday, February 17, and Friday, February 24, at 10 a.m., Supporting Mental Health Through Play
Does Your Child Refuse to Go to School?
Each year, nearly 5% of youth experience school refusal. This refers to a child refusing to go to school on a regular basis or remain in school throughout the day due to significant emotional distress. School refusal includes kindergarten students with relatively mild separation anxiety and more severe cases where a student misses weeks or months of school because of debilitating anxiety or depression.
Read how to get your child back to school in the Healthy Minds Blog or learn more about attendance policies.
Eating Disorder Parent Information
The Code of Virginia, 22.1-273.2, requires Virginia Public Schools to provide, on an annual basis, parent educational information regarding eating disorders for pupils in grades five through twelve. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA 2022),
“Eating disorders are serious but treatable mental and physical illnesses that can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights. While no one knows for sure what causes eating disorders, a growing consensus suggests that it is a range of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. Eating disorders are not fads or phases, and can have serious consequences for health, productivity, and relationships.”
In collaboration with the Fairfax County Health Department, FCPS has developed a webpage with detailed information and resources to be provided to parents and guardians of Fairfax County Public Schools. This information may be found at the following link:
https://www.fcps.edu/node/37440
Filling Your Child’s Emotional Bank Account
Read the latest Healthy Minds blog to understand why relationships are like savings accounts, and how you can help build trust and security with your children.Click to edit this placeholder text.
Find Free COVID-19 Testing in Your Community
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched a COVID-19 Testing Locator website, which can help families find no-cost COVID-19 testing sites:
The locator is part of the CDC’s Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) program, which focuses on at-risk communities. Testing is available at pharmacies and other locations and is provided at no cost to individuals with or without health insurance and in areas with an increased demand for testing.
More information via the CDC’s recent announcement is available at the following link:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/s0124-testing.html
Summer Learning Programs Registration: Opening Soon!
FCPS’ Career and Technical Education (CTE) camps and Institute for the Arts (IFTA/E-IFTA) camps will open for registration on Wednesday, February 1.
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Tech Adventure Camp (TAC) is a week-long exploratory camp designed to give current K-6 students an opportunity to explore STEAM, culinary, health, trades, and business and marketing areas. Visit the TAC webpage for more information. Click to edit this placeholder text.
Text-to-Speech Available on FCPS Websites
FCPS is introducing an innovative way to address the diverse needs of the community. A new text-to-speech feature, available on the FCPS website and each school website, will read the words aloud from webpages.
The feature will help those with accessibility needs, such as visual impairments, dyslexia, or other difficulty reading large amounts of online text. The text-to-speech feature is available for English, Spanish, and Korean. Learn more and try out the new feature.
Strategic Plan: Make Your Students’ Voice Count!
Strategic Planning is in process and will incorporate feedback from school staff, families, students, and community partners and organizations. Please encourage your students to participate in this unique opportunity to share their voices.
FCPS is currently seeking secondary students in grades 7-12 who are interested in participating in a Strategic Plan focus group. This focus group provides an opportunity to share feedback in a small group with other FCPS students and a trained facilitator. FCPS is hosting four virtual focus groups for secondary students in February and March:
February 9, 3:30-5 p.m. or 5:30-7 p.m.
March 16, 3:30-5 p.m. or 5:30-7 p.m.
Interested students should check their email for a form to sign up for the focus groups. Students will be asked to provide their student ID, so their parents/caregivers can be identified and contacted to ask for consent to participate.
If you have any questions about the student focus groups or you would like to learn more about this opportunity, please contact strategicplan@fcps.edu.
Register Now to Attend a Community Forum!
Check out the schedule of Community Forums and register for the one that is most convenient for you. Community Forums will provide every resident an opportunity to participate in and influence the direction of FCPS’ Strategic Plan, prior to its completion and formal adoption by the School Board. Learn more about our strategic planning process.
Girls on the Run
We are looking for a new Girls on the Run coach for the upcoming Spring season! If you are interested, please contact Stephanie Carpenter, slcarpenter@fcps.edu to express interest.
Community Conversations with Principals
Each week Westlawn Principals host a Community Conversation, designed to connect with families and provide salient information. Our Community Conversations are held each Wednesday at 10:00 am using this link.
Slide decks from each Community Conversation can be accessed on the Get Involved! section of our school webpage.
Family Event Participation
Family partnerships are a cornerstone at Westlawn. It is our goal to involve all our families in events, communications, and other school-related functions. To gauge the number of families attending family events we ask you to complete this brief Google Form to identify events your family attended. Thank you for your consideration.
Portrait of a Graduate at Westlawn
Children at Westlawn engage daily in Portrait of a Graduate skills: Communication, Collaboration, Goal-Setting, Resilience, Critical and Creative Thinking, and Global Citizenship. Check out our First Friday Photos to see these skills in action!
Virtual Learning Resources at Westlawn
In the event that weather events lead to virtual learning we have created a page on our website to support families. Check it out here.
Winter Weather Procedures
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.
FCPS Cares
The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize Westlawn staff for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story, so we can all acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees.
Family Resources
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.
-
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.
Techstravaganza at TJHSST
We will be holding the 19th annual Techstravaganza on May 13, 2023 from 10 AM to 4 PM at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, and we would like to invite your school’s students to attend Techstravaganza.
Admission is free, food will be for sale. Register for the event here.
 
Sub and Save the Day! Bonus Opportunities!
FCPS is always looking for kind and caring substitute teachers and substitute instructional assistants to ensure our students continue to thrive when teachers and instructional assistants need to be out of the classroom. Substitute teaching is a great opportunity for future teachers, stay-at-home parents, retirees, college students, part-time employees, and anyone who wants to make a difference.
FCPS has started offering bonuses for substitutes who are available to teach on high volume days. Additionally, substitutes who work more, will earn extra bonuses when they reach 50, 100, or 150 days worked in a school year.
Substitute Teacher and Substitute Instructional Assistant information sessions are held virtually on Wednesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Candidates will receive an email link to the virtual information session the Monday before the session. Sign up for an information session.
Parent Advocacy Handbook
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.
Contact Hilda Reyes, Westlawn Family Liaison, with additional questions.
Westlawn on Social Media
Westlawn is active on social media, we encourage families to access our Facebook and Twitter accounts for a glimpse into daily school life.
|
