Oak View Review

Save the Date - Back To School Nights

Oak View will be returning to in-person Back to School Nights this fall. Our teachers love to welcome parents/guardians into the school and classroom and this evening is a wonderful chance to connect with others in the Oak View community. Oak View staff will share a yearly overview of the curriculum, classroom routines and expectations, general field trip information and more! We know the virtual option met the needs of some families and we will continue to offer this option to families as well in a hybrid approach.

As a reminder, this event is designed for parents/guardians only.

Mark your calendars for the dates and times below:

Tuesday, September 19

5:30 p.m. Grades 2 & 3

6:30 p.m. Grade 4

Wednesday, September 20

5:30 p.m. Grades K & 1

6:30 p.m. Grades 5 & 6

Upcoming Student Birthday? Consider a Birthday Book Donation to OV Library

Does your child have an upcoming birthday? We invite you to donate a book to our school library in your child’s honor during their birthday month! The book you purchase will receive a bookplate inside indicating the book was purchased in honor of your child’s birthday. Please see current wish list and book purchasing guidelines listed in Friday Folder Flyer linked here. 

You are also welcome to purchase the book from any local bookstore. Bard’s Alley, Scrawl Books, and One More Page Books would all be willing to order and ship books. 

If you wish to purchase something not on this list, please email our school librarian, Mrs. Atkins first (mfatkins@fcps.edu). All books in the library must follow the acquisitions guidelines from FCPS. 

This is a completely optional activity and one we thank you for considering. All student birthdays are recognized at Oak View through their name on the morning announcements and a post card and birthday pencil from administration. Oak View does not permit food celebrations due to severe and life-threatening food allergies. 

Green & Gold Fridays

Oak View reminds all families that every Friday is an Oak View Spirit Day when we ask all students and staff to wear Oak View Spirit Wear and/or school colors of Green and Gold! We loved seeing so much Green and Gold this past Friday at our assembly and our Oak View PTA will have new Spirit Wear available for order soon - be on the lookout!

Walker & Bike Safety Reminders

Oak View reminds all students and families who walk/bike to school to note the reminders below:

• Walkers and bikers must stay on sidewalks and crosswalks only
• Please do not cut through parking lots due to busy arrival and dismissal traffic (our students are not taller than cars moving through the lots and this creates unsafe conditions for all)
• Use crosswalks and wait for crossing guard at Sideburn Road

Hiring Student Monitors - Join Our Staff

Oak View is seeking interested community members to serve as Student Monitors. The hiring of monitors will promote additional valuable planning time for the teachers on a consistent basis and is required per county regulations. Monitors will be trained to cover recess for a classroom teacher a time or two a week and support in the cafeteria. Again, these are hourly paid positions and required at all schools. We look forward to welcoming Oak View community members to express interest via email to our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Hanson, at rnhanson@fcps.edu. The monitor position is needed between 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM most days. There is flexibility within this time and days of the week. Thank you for considering joining our Oak View team!

SAVE THE DATE - OV PTA Fall Festival - Saturday, October 28

Oak View PTA will host the annual Fall Festival on Saturday, October 28 from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. at Oak View. This large community event is designed to bring all students and families together in a fun, free atmosphere. This year's Fall Fest will include small games and activities for kids, food trucks, a trunk or treat style event and more! Volunteers are needed to support this event! There is a planning meeting for interested volunteers being held this Tuesday, September 12 at 8:00 p.m. via Zoom.

OV PTA Restaurant Fundraisers

Oak View PTA partners throughout the school year with local restaurants and chains to create community evenings for Oak View families and staff. Portions of proceeds from these events come back to the Oak View PTA who use them to support free family events such as Fall Festival, Book Swap Bingo, Teacher Supply Purchases and more. These will be ongoing throughout the school year and can be found on the Oak View PTA website and calendar. Upcoming fundraisers include:

Papa Johns: Every Thursday evening (see flyer for Promo Code)

Chick-fil-A: Burke Location - September 25 - September 29 - Must mention Oak View PTA when ordering

Taco Bamba: Fairfax Location - Tuesday, October 24 - Mention Oak View PTA when ordering

Important Forms for Caregivers to Complete

• ✔️ Caregiver Checklist: Have You Completed These Important Forms? 

During the first weeks of the year, caregivers receive many forms to complete. Several of the most important ones are below:

1. Digital Resources Consent: Some FCPS-approved digital resources require parent/caregiver consent before they can be used by students. Find the list of resources which require consent on the Digital Resources - Parent Consent page. This page also includes directions on how to provide permission.
2. Student Rights and Responsibilities: This document explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses. Parents using SIS ParentVUE will be prompted to sign the document when they log in to that platform. A printable version of the document with a signature sheet is available on the SR&R webpage.
3. Opt-Outs: The Opt-Out Booklet is online or available from your child’s school. It contains information on: 
1. Parents’ rights to inspect and consent or opt out before their child participates in certain surveys.
2. Parents’ rights to inspect instructional materials.
3. Rules regarding student records and disclosure of student information (including photo/video of students) and the right to opt out.
4. Parents’ rights to opt out of the Social Emotional Learning Screener, physical exams not required by state law, career or social emotional counseling, Library Equity Access Pass Project, and/or Tutor.com.
5. The process by which complaints may be filed if parents or students believe their rights have been violated.

Paper forms can be signed and returned to school.

COVID Guidance

• 😷 2023-24 Health and Safety Guidance for Schools

Although the COVID-19 hospital transmission level (previously the COVID-19 Community Transmission level) for Fairfax County is currently low, COVID-19 cases have risen in Virginia during the last few weeks, and flu season will soon be upon us. Be sure to review FCPS Health and Safety Guidance for the best ways to prevent the spread of disease and to find out when students should stay home from school. 

How to Access Free Resources from Tutor.com

All FCPS students continue to have unlimited access to live, 24/7, one-on-one online tutoring services through Tutor.com at no cost to families. Student participation is optional and parents/caregivers can opt their student(s) out of accessing the services. Get more information on the Tutor.com Online Tutoring Services webpage.

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 and Middle & High - How It Works. Questions not answered in the posted resources may be sent to onlinetutoring@fcps.edu. 

New to Schoology?

• What Is Schoology?

Teachers use Schoology to post their classroom materials online; to provide a secure forum for students to discuss their ideas and collaborate on projects; and to assign and collect homework electronically. It helps students stay organized, and it keeps the class connected.

A Schoology Parent Account gives you access to:

• Your child’s classes.
• Your child’s upcoming assignments.
• School, class, and group announcements.

Parent accounts now available. To access Schoology, parents will need to have an active SIS/ParentVUE account. Get more information on how to login and use Schoology.

Lightspeed Report on Child's Device Activity

Oak View distributed laptops to most students in Grades 3-6 at the end of this past week. The Oak View tech team of Mrs. Riddick and Mrs. Farris spent time reviewing safe usage and digital citizenship before the distribution.

In addition, FCPS has tools to help parents know more about their child’s activity on any FCPS device. These tools are provided at no cost to families by Lightspeed, the school division’s internet content filtering service.

Parents may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites your child visited. The report also offers parents the ability to sign up for free access to the Internet Use Parent Portal. Through the portal, parents may pause their child’s access to the internet on their FCPS device during non-school hours.

Learn more about Lightspeed Parent Reports.

Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights

Fairfax County Public Schools wants all parents to understand its policies regarding surveys, records, curriculum, privacy, and related rights.

In its Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights and Opt-Out Forms (Annual Notice), FCPS provides explanations of the rights listed above as well as forms that may be used to exercise opt-out choices. Two versions of the Annual Notice are available — a grades K-8 version and a grades 9-12 version. Parents/caregivers with children at different grade levels should read each applicable version of the Annual Notice, because the notices and opt-out rights vary depending on the student’s grade level.

Get more information and view the 2023-24 Opt-Out Booklets.

✨ 2023-30 Strategic Plan — Goal 3: Academic Growth and Excellence

FCPS’ 2023-30 strategic plan sets five main goals to create positive change in our schools. These five goals show where we should focus our attention and will help us align our efforts. Our equity commitment and a set of measures in each goal will measure our success. 

Under Goal 3, every student will learn to use critical and creative thinking. They will meet or exceed academic goals. Students will reach their full potential. 

Visit the Strategic Plan webpage for more information. Watch this video to learn more about the many voices that came together to create the plan.

Sub and Save the Day!

Oak View has a strong group of substitute teachers and we are always looking for kind and caring substitute teachers and substitute instructional assistants to add to our pool! Substitutes 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!

We provide substitutes with a flexible work schedule that a substitute teacher or substitute instructional assistant can tailor to their needs. This includes choosing the grade level(s) and subjects a substitute would like to teach, schools they would like to work at, and more!

Read here for more information.

Fairfax County Public Library - LEAP

FCPS is partnering with Fairfax County Public Libraries to provide Library Equity Access Passes (LEAP) to any FCPS student.

WHAT IS LEAP?

All students (PreK-12) in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) have LEAP accounts at FCPL. These public library virtual accounts allow students to check out up to three items at a time for six weeks each (no renewals).

WHY IS LEAP AWESOME?

• A student only needs their name, not a physical library card, to check out materials.
• LEAP accounts never charge fines or fees.
• A student can have a LEAP account as well as a standard library account (application online and in library branches). Standard accounts allow users to place holds on materials and access FCPL digital resources such as eBooks and databases.

Good News Around FCPS

Oak View is glad to share the good news happening around FCPS in this section. Each week check back for happenings around FCPS!

• 9/8/23 WTOP - Player of the Week: Hayfield Secondary School’s Ethan Osburn

Each week, WTOP is picking one student athlete to be featured on air and online as our Player of the Week. This week’s WTOP Player of the Week is Ethan Osburn of Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia.

• 9/7/23 WJLA - Athlete of the Week: West Potomac QB1 Dominic Sanchez

Ask any athlete and most will tell you there is a story behind the number they wear. At West Potomac High School, the number seven brings a lot more than just luck to Q1 Dominic Sanchez.

• 9/5/23 Connection Newspapers - The Dr. Larry Bussey Family & Community Library: FCSB approves renaming Family Resource Center library

Few people can match Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Bussey's thirty-year activism in Fairfax County Public Schools, putting minority student achievement and parent and family engagement first. According to school board member-at-large Karen Keyes-Gamara, Dr. Bussey personified the biblical phrase, “I am my brother's keeper.” 

• 9/4/23 NBC Washington - 11-year-old Thomas Jefferson High School student publishes book to share love of science

At age 11, Linda Pistun has already started taking college courses and has big dreams of working on the Mars mission. Over her summer, she wrote a children’s book sharing her love of science.