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Dear Mantua Families,
Last week started with fantastic classroom celebrations for Valentine’s Day. Our students continued to build community in many ways, such as creating Kindness Rocks, hosting a cultural Valentine's potluck, making friendship bracelets, and celebrating their love for Mantua. Later in the week, our 4th Grade hosted Virginia Day with many fun learning activities. They played Virginia Games, built Jamestown forts, and participated in a Jamestown/Yorktown Foundation presentation, where they observed artifacts and compared and contrasted the cultures of the Powhatan Natives, West Central Africans, and English who lived in America during the 17th century. Finally, many of our students closed the week at Woodson’s Stringsapalooza. We thank our Strings teachers for their support and commitment to providing our students with meaningful opportunities! What a fun-filled and exciting week for our students and staff!
Have an excellent rest of your week!
Take good care,
Linda Shannon, Principal
Amy Alley, Assistant Principal
Rich Deixler, Assistant Principal
Important Dates
February 23: PTA Guest Speaker, 7:00 PM, Virtual
March 2: Two-hour early release for students
March 3: School Planning Workday for teachers and staff, no school for students
March 7: Last day to turn in sign-up form for Mantua Heritage Night
March 10: PTA meeting (in-person) with a special presentation, Mantua Cafeteria 9:30 AM
March 21: Heritage Night at Mantua Elementary, 6:00-7:30 pm
See the complete 2022-23 school year calendar
Future School Calendars
The Fairfax County School Board approved a calendar for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years at their February 9 meeting. Learn more about the approved calendar. The first day of the 2023-24 school year will be Monday, August 21, and the last day will be Wednesday, June 12.
Seeking Candidates to Join our Team!
Student Monitor:
Student monitors can serve in full-time or part-time positions. Reach out to us to talk about opportunities! Monitors may supervise students throughout the school day, including the classroom, hallways, lunch, recess, specials, and at arrival/dismissal. Hourly, $16.36 per Hour.
Dining Room Assistant:
Dining Assistants help students during lunchtime by supervising students during lunch, clean-up, and dismissal. Qualifications: Friendly, energetic, assertive in maintaining expectations of cafeteria behavior, and loves working with children. Hourly, $12.03 per Hour.
PTA Parent Education Presents Children's Stress: The Curse and the Blessing by Dr. Rebecca Resnik
Don't miss the PTA's special guest speaker, Dr. Rebecca Resnik, on February Thursday, February 23, at 7 PM. Information and details are in tomorrow's PTA News!
Bullying & Harassment Prevention Intervention Session
We invite you to join us Friday, March 10th at 9:30 AM during our scheduled PTA meeting for a presentation given by Stefan Mascoll, Coordinator for the Office of Student Safety and Wellness at FCPS. Stefan will be giving a presentation for Mantua community members on Bullying and Harassment Prevention and Intervention. Topics to be covered are the definitions and examples of bullying, harassment, and other types of concerning behaviors, school bullying and harassment prevention and response, and tips and resources for parent prevention and response. We look forward to connecting with you on this important topic! We will be hosting this event in the Mantua cafeteria.
Mantua Heritage Night
Heritage night is a wonderful time to celebrate Mantua’s many diverse cultures and unique backgrounds! Come enjoy a special dish, make a craft, listen to music and look at pictures of the many different countries that the students at Mantua represent.
An informational sign-up form went home in Tuesday folders. Please look over the information and return the slip to the office or your child’s teacher no later than March 7th. We would love to have you join us!
It’s Yearbook Time!
The link is now open for you to order yearbooks for the 2022-2023 school year! The link to order can be found here. Orders are being accepted only online, and the deadline to order is April 14. After April 14, the link will be taken down, so make sure to order yours today!
Parents are responsible for taking group/team photos for the following activities and emailing them to kjeaston@fcps.edu: Kids Care Club, The Running Club, Mantua Basketball, Boy and Girl Scouts, Academic Clubs, and the Drama Club. All photos for these groups need to be received by Mrs. Easton, the yearbook producer, by March 1, 2023. In the email, include in the subject line the name of the activity, the grade level, and the team's name (e.g. Mantua Girls Basketball, grades 3 and 4, Team Blue). Photos should be in landscape mode, high resolution.
PUP Reminders
Absence Reporting
We want to thank our caregivers for your diligence and patience as we have transitioned to PUP this year. This is a friendly reminder that if you are reporting your student’s absence, it is essential that you list the reason for that absence under the “Note” section. This helps our attendance staff track absences more accurately.
The reporting absence feature is not intuitive from your view. We have contacted the company with this concern, but for now, please note that absence reporting is found under “Change” on the bottom toolbar. First, select the date. Next, select your child’s name. Next, select "Plan" and then "Absence". You will have the ability to make a note that should include the reason for the absence. It is important that you select "Absence" so that we do not show the student as leaving by their dismissal plan on this day. Finally, select “Submit” on the bottom toolbar.
Single Day Changes, Seasonal Schedules, and Afterschool Activities:
Daily changes or a temporary dismissal change, such as an afterschool activity for an 8-week period, should be selected through the same “Change” option pictured above. First, select the first date of the scheduled activity. Next, click on your child's name. Next, input the activity and the room location in the "More Info" box. Next, select “Dates” and click on any additional dates of the activity if it is a recurring event. Finally, select “Submit” on the bottom toolbar. Do not make these types of changes by clicking the “Default” button on the bottom toolbar, as pictured below. This is important because of how dismissal information is shared with staff. “Default Plans” are yearlong plans and based on permanent plans and schedules. Default plans should not be changed based on seasonal schedules.
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.
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, Principal lcshannon@fcps.edu
Amy Alley, Assistant Principal, avalley@fcps.edu
Rich Deixler, Assistant Principal, radeixler@fcps.edu
Ann Marie 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 sssong@fcps.edu
Austin Swift, School Psychologist, atswift@fcps.edu
David Glasser, Psychologist, dmglasser@fcps.edu
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