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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.
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A Message From Your Principals
Westlawn Families:
It may only be a four-day week for students but we are packing in the action! STEAM Clubs begin on Tuesday for those registered, our partners at Nightwatch Urgent Care join us Wednesday evening for a medical information night (dinner included for those who attend), and our 6th graders travel to the nation’s capital for a monument walking tour!
At Westlawn Elementary we pride ourselves in providing our students with an educational experience that not only provides nurture, teaches self-advocacy, and empowers children to reach their full potential, but also prepares children for the 21st century and beyond. STEAM clubs are an opportunity unique to Westlawners, free of charge, funded through our partnership with Northrop Grumman and directed by Ms. Gretchen Maxwell and Ms. Meghan Winters. We are excited to begin clubs this week!
The Westlawn team is committed to providing a learning experience that nurtures your child’s natural abilities, advocates for growth and excellence, and empowers your child to reach their full potential.
Stay up-to-date with school events by accessing our Westlawn All Families Schoology Calendar. Access an overview of the entire school year, including holidays and cultural observance days, by clicking here.
And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
At Westlawn, we soar together.
At Westlawn, we soar together.
Individually Unique … Together Extraordinary
Somos Westlawn.
Your Proud Principals,
Christoph Hill, Anaya Bryson, and Stephanie Carpenter
Important Dates:
October 9: Student Holiday (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
October 11: Restaurant Night at Red Robin (Seven Corners Location (4:00 - 8:00PM)
October 11: Night Watch Urgent Care Family Information Event (500-600PM, Westlawn Cafe) Spanish
October 12: 6th Grade D.C Walking Trip
October 14: STEAMOLOGY STEM FEST (1130AM - 300PM @ South County High School
October 14: Fall Festival at FCHS (1000AM - 300PM @ Falls Church HS)
October 19: 4th Grade Field Trip to Kennedy Center (900AM - 1230PM)
October 20: Marine Corps Band Assembly for 5th and 6th Graders (900AM - 1000AM)
October 23: Fall Picture Day
October 26: Fall Family Breakfast (all families welcome) (9:00AM - 10:00AM)
October 27: Westlawn’s International Night (600-730PM) English Spanish
October 28: Young Scholar’s Family Field Trip to Smithsonian Museum for the American Indian
November 1: Restaurant Night Community Drop - Lebanese Taverna (400PM pickup at Westlawn)
November 3: End of Quarter 1
November 3: Two-Hour Early Release (students dismiss at 1:30PM)
November 6-7: Student Holidays
November 22-24: Student Holidays (Thanksgiving Break)
November 28: FLE Parent Preview Night
December 14: Winter Concert (Evening Event @ 6:30PM)
Level IV AAP in FCPS/Westlawn Family Information Session
Please join Gretchen Maxwell as she discusses full-time, Level IV AAP in FCPS and at Westlawn, and the process to refer a student for this. This meeting will be virtual at the zoom link below on Wednesday, October 18 at 6:30 pm.
Join Zoom Meeting
Nightwatch Urgent Care Information Event - Wednesday @ 5:00-6:00PM
Nightwatch Urgent Care is a medical facility, servicing children and adults, newly located in the Graham Road Shopping Center. They will be hosting a family event in the Westlawn Cafe this Wednesday evening from 500-600PM. Dinner will be provided, free of charge, for familes in attendance. Join us for some good eats and learn about how this urgent care facility can help your family!
Spirit Wear Shop - Update
We are proud to offer the Westlawn Spirit Wear Shop, now with certain items in youth/children’s sizes, stocked with well-crafted options at a variety of price points. Check out our virtual store and represent Westlawn Elementary with pride! The store is open through October 15, all items ordered will be shipped within two weeks of closing date.
Fall Family Breakfast - October 26
We welcome our families to join us in the Westlawn Cafe on October 26 at 9:00AM to spend time together and celebrate the Westlawn Community. This will also serve as an opportunity to uncover new ways to involve families in the Westlawn experience!
Low Cost Internet for Free and Reduced Price Eligible Students
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a 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. Check your eligibility and register at AffordableConnectivity.gov or by calling 877-384-2575.
Bus Delay Information
If a bus is delayed or more information is needed, parents and guardians can access the FCPS Bus Delay Website or contact the Area Transportation Office.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to sign up to receive Here Comes the Bus notifications.
Parents and guardians can be notified by text, phone call and/or email when a bus is delayed 30 minutes or more by indicting these options through their SIS ParentVUE account.
📖 Students Reading by the Third Grade
During the Academic Matters and strategic plan update segments of Thursday’s School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid presented on the divisionwide target to have students reading by third grade.
FCPS has continued to improve its approach to reading over the last several years through our Equitable Access to Literacy (EAL) plan. Reading by third grade is also one of the measures of Goal 3: Academic Growth and Excellence in our 2023-30 strategic plan.
By focusing on foundational skills for our young readers and literacy intervention for upper grades, FCPS has made significant progress towards narrowing the achievement gaps in this critical skill. Visit the Strategic Plan webpage for more information.
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Westlawn Spirit Days
To help our kindergarteners learn colors, we will be celebrating Not-So-Secret Staff and Student Spirit Days each Wednesday. This Wednesday dress your child(ren) in pink!
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Community Conversations with Principals
Join Mr. Hill, Ms. Carpenter, and Dr. Bryson for Weekly Community Conversations this school year. Weekly sessions will be held virtually on Wednesday mornings at 11:00AM. You can access these sessions using this link.
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Do you want to celebrate a Westlawn staff member who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way, or goes beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to share with everyone. |
🙋 Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
The beginning of the school year is the best time to develop strong attendance habits! Students who attend school regularly are more likely to perform well in reading and math, develop strong social and emotional skills, and graduate from high school on time. Help prepare your child for future success. Watch this video with tips from Fairfax Pyramid principals and visit FCPS’ Attendance webpage for tips and strategies.
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!
How to Register for Pre-K or Early Head Start
Fairfax County offers pre-K for students 3-4 years old whose parents meet income requirements and Early Head Start is for infants, toddlers, and expectant mothers who meet income requirements. To register, parents or caregivers should:
- Complete the application form.
- Make a copy of the child’s birth certificate and a residency document (lease, dead, or mortgage).
If your child is selected for one of the programs, the following will need to be completed:
- A school physical.
- Dental exam.
- FCPS school registration forms.
Child Find Screenings
Child Find is the process of identifying children with potential special education needs as well as educating the community about child development and the importance of early intervention. Child Find screenings and services are provided by the FCPS Early Childhood Identification and Services program for children ages 20 months through 5 years who live in Fairfax County or Fairfax city. Learn more on the Child Find website.
FCPS Early Childhood and PreK Programs
Fairfax County Public Schools offers programs for the youngest learners:
Community liaisons are available to assist families with the registration process and answer any questions. For more information, visit the Early Childhood Registration webpage.
What Is ParentVUE and How Can You Sign Up?
If you do not already have a ParentVUE SIS account, sign up now to monitor and support your child’s academic success! Through ParentVUE, you are able to monitor your student’s attendance, grades, and assignments at any time. You can also access special reports for your student like progress reports and assessments score reports.
Once you have activated a ParentVUE account for an FCPS student, you will keep the same account until the student graduates. Information about students in the same family can be accessed through the same ParentVUE account. SIS ParentVUE can be accessed using an app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android devices.
Need help creating a SIS ParentVUE account? This video walks you through the steps on how to do so. You can also find out more about SIS ParentVUE on our website.
Update Your Emergency Care Information Through weCare@school
Fairfax County Public Schools provides weCare@school (weCare), an emergency care information system, to parents/caregivers who have registered for their own parent account. weCare helps manage emergency medical information by allowing parents to enter and update their children’s medical data online at their convenience. That contact information automatically enrolls parents/caregivers to receive eNotify communications from the district and their child’s school. eNotify is the communications tool for FCPS emergency, transportation, attendance, weather closing and delay, and essential outreach messages. Messages are sent via email, text, and occasionally phone. Click to edit this placeholder text.
🔍 Lightspeed Parent Report on Child’s Device Activity
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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 Instagram accounts for a glimpse into daily school life.
Westlawn 2023-2024 PTA Board
We are excited to announce our PTA Cabinet!
Simone Rose, President
Deirdre Ladd, Vice President
Christine Lusk and Dave Jones, Treasurers
Jordan Kislear, Secretary
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