A Note from the Principal
DRES Families,
We kicked off our Positivity Project (P2) with a schoolwide mega morning meeting this morning. Thanks to our staff members, Megan Oris and Lawrence Veasley, for organizing a great event! You can learn more about P2 here.
Hopefully I have been able to meet each of you through our opening of school events. You can view this welcome message to learn more about our priorities for the school year.
If you have any questions or concerns you can contact our main office at 703-279-8400 or contact me directly at cmsmith@fcps.edu
Enjoy the fall weather this weekend!
Chris Smith
DRES Principal
VGA Testing
Each year students in grades 3-6 are required to take a series of state assessments that help measure the extent to which students have learned. The content and skills reflected in state standards and may also be used to measure growth in learning state standards. The format and timing of state assessments vary by grade level and content area. The first of these assessments is the Fall Virginia Growth Assessments (VGA) standardized tests in reading and mathematics. Below is the testing schedule for students at DRES.
Week of September 18th (Reading)
Grade 3-September 19th
Grade 4-September 20th
Grade 5-September 21st
Grade 6-September 22nd
Week of September 26th (Math)
Grade 3-September 26th
Grade 4-September 27th
Grade 5-September 28th
Grade 6-September 29th
If your child misses a VGA test, they will make it up the week of October 2nd-6th.
More information is available on the VGA webpage:
https://www.fcps.edu/node/43932
Field Day at DRES
DRES Field Day is Friday, October 6th! *Rain date Friday, October 13th* If you are interested in volunteering to run a field day station or chaperone your child’s class throughout the stations, please use the links below to sign-up. Thank you!
Field Day Chaperone Volunteer Sign-Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4EAAAD2EA1F85-dres2#/
Field Day Station Volunteer Sign-Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4EAAAD2EA1F85-dres1#/#%2F
Questions? Mrs. Heffron dmheffron@fcps.edu or Mr. Murray twmurray@fcps.edu
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Students Are Learning Every Day
As you plan upcoming trips and other family events, please remember the importance of sending your child to school every day. Review the FCPS School Year Calendar and try to plan any time away during long breaks from school.
Children who show up for school regularly develop fundamental reading and math skills while building a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers. Research shows that children who were chronically absent (missing 18 days or more) in kindergarten and first grade were far less likely to read proficiently at the end of third grade.
Read more about how families can help form good attendance habits.
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PTA Membership
Don't forget to support the PTA by joining as a member!
Membership is just $10 for an individual and $18 for a family.
Members must join each year.
Your membership helps to support all the programs and events the PTA organizes for our students throughout the year.
Click to learn more and join: Join | website (danielsrunpta.org)
Girls on the Run
We are looking for a few volunteers to help organize our Girls on the Run club. Contact cmsmith@fcps.edu if you are interested.
Substitute and Instructional Assistant Hiring
Information Session for Substitute Teachers and Instructional Assistants
Learn more about becoming a substitute teacher or instructional assistant at a virtual information session on Wednesday, September 20, from 2 to 3 p.m. Register for this session.
Visit the Recruitment Events calendar for a list of all FCPS job fairs.
The FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan
Goal 4: Equitable Access and Opportunity
The 2023-30 strategic plan sets five main goals to create positive change in FCPS. 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 monitor our progress toward these goals.
Under Goal 4, high-quality academics will be available to all students. They will have access to excellent resources that support their success. Visit the Strategic Plan webpage to learn more about how we will measure the success of Goal 4.
TJHSST Invitational Science Fair 2024!
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology we will be hosting our 11th annual science fair on March 16, 2024 and we would like to invite 5th-8th grade students from your school to participate. Admission to the science fair is completely free.
Participants will complete a research project of their choice and present at the fair in-person on March 16, 2024. We help students prepare for this fair by holding multiple sessions to teach them important skills in STEM like brainstorming, collecting data, presenting, writing an experiment summary, using statistics, creating an experimental diagram, etc.
Our first interest/brainstorming session is Friday October 6th, 2023 at 6:00 pm. We will be holding this session in-person at TJHSST. During this session we will go over the goals and guidelines of this fair and introduce students to a multitude of project ideas. All interested students should sign up using the form at the link: https://forms.gle/RMfQYuvACK3YajRw8
Music News
🎵 The September Musician of the Month is Gloria Estefan. She is a Cuban American singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman. She was born in 1957 and her musical style is Latin Dance & Pop. Click here to listen, sing-along and dance!
🎵 Chorus has begun! Any 5th or 6th grader is invited to come and sing in the chorus. This optional vocal ensemble meets Thursdays during school once a week. There is no cost. Registration due September 28. Click here for chorus registration.
🎵 Pyramid Choir is open for any 4th-6th grader that wants to sing! The 2023 Fairfax Pyramid Elementary Honors Choir will meet and rehearse in the Katherine Johnson Middle School Auditorium for 3 Thursdays after school and will perform at the Fairfax Pyramid Concert at Fairfax HS. Students in the honors choir will have the opportunity to meet and interact with advanced level vocalists at their own grade level and learn three very fun and challenging songs. There is no cost for being a part of this choir and it is a short commitment – only 4 weeks after school. Click here for the pyramid choir registration. Registration is due September 28.
Join Afterschool Club!
Important Dates
September 22 - Fairfax High School Family Fun Fest, 5:30
September 25 - Yom Kippur - FCPS Schools and Offices Closed
October 6- Field Day
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