October is National Audiology Awareness Month. This month is dedicated to spreading awareness about the services provided by audiologists — including those in the FCPS Department of Hearing and Vision, pictured above, who support our deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
👩⚕️ Open Enrollment Is Underway!
Open enrollment is your annual opportunity to enroll or make changes to your medical, dental, and/or flexible spending account (FSA) benefits for the upcoming year.
Now through Friday, November 3, you can log in to UConnect to review your current benefit elections and make any changes. Your login information is your FCPS user ID and password. Visit the UConnect Quick Start Guide for step-by-step instructions for using UConnect during Open Enrollment.
The Office of Benefit Services (OBS) staff will be hosting an open house on Thursday, October 19, 4-7 p.m., at Hayfield Secondary School. (By the way, welcome to OBS’ new Director of Benefits Services Lisa Edmonds!) Chat with benefits vendors, including Cigna and Kaiser Permanente representatives, and OBS staff to get answers to your questions.
You must enroll in a flexible spending account (FSA) through UConnect during open enrollment if you wish to participate in 2024. Current FSA participants are not automatically re-enrolled.
Please visit the Open Enrollment webpage for additional information.
🏆 Celebrating Employee Excellence
FCPS Excellence Awards recognize employees who have exhibited extraordinary achievement in one of four areas: Growth, Impact on Others, Innovation, and Student Achievement. Among those honored for Innovation was the West Springfield High School Spartan Tech Team. Pictured above (from left) are Jerry Mason, Miriam Lynch, Betsy Fawsett, and Julie Halse.
There were 227 employees nominated across the individual excellence and team excellence awards. Of those, 29 individuals and 70 other employees across 12 teams were selected as recipients. These employees represent 25 schools and nine central office departments.
See the full list of Excellence Awards recipients.
🔔 “My First Year” Teacher Series: Episode 2 - The First Bell
Ms. Vivi is back for episode 2 of the “My First Year” teacher series. With her first school year well underway, watch how she fosters a sense of community in her classroom and juggles the tasks that come with being a teacher, all while developing personal connections with her students.
Watch the second episode and read more about Ms. Vivi and her journey as a first year teacher.
🗳️ Calendar Update for March 5 Presidential Primary
The Fairfax Board of Elections has requested schools to close on Tuesday, March 5, to accommodate the administration of the 2024 presidential primary election.
As a result, March 5 will be a school holiday for students and a virtual School Planning Day. As outlined in Regulation 4421, School Planning Days are directed by school-based administrators in order to devote time to school improvement efforts, including collaboration around data, common assessments, and responsive instruction. Central offices and school offices will remain open.
FCPS CARES Recipient Advocates for Students
FCPS CARES is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. One of the summer FCPS CARES recipients was Iris Stubblefield from West Potomac High School.
“Iris will always seek out information or assistance from her colleagues and former co-workers to help her students,” her nominator said.
Iris brought a recent West Potomac graduate to Bryant High School, so they could work with Bryant Principal Karen Hertel to help advocate for vocational training. “The young man worked through the steps of applying and followed up with professional email communication and is well on his way to career training. Iris is an amazing teacher, encourager, and advocate!! Thank you, Iris!"
Congratulations to Iris and our other summer FCPS CARES recipients:
- Latika Barnes, Stonecroft Transportation Center
- Juliet Frimpong, Blanca Hernandez, Deron Elmond, and An Tran, Navy Elementary School
- Lisa Russell, Timber Lane Elementary School
- Maria Canas, West Springfield High School
- Blair Smith and Paul Osei Akrasi, Woodson High School
- Sabrina Kessenich and Scott Saunders, Lewis High School
Read more about all the recipients. Do you know an employee who deserves to be recognized for going above and beyond? Submit their story.
|
🎤 Share Your Thoughts About FCPS
The final Employee Conversation for the fall will be held Thursday, October 19, 4:30-6 p.m., at Langley High School. Dr. Reid invites all employees to share their thoughts and questions. Visit the superintendent’s webpage at any time to submit a question to Dr. Reid or email superintendent@fcps.edu.
🔒 Enhancing Security: Transition to Stronger MFA Methods
Many employees have their Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) method set to send a text message with a code to verify their identity. The Department of Information Technology will be phasing out the use of text message-based MFA, also known as Short Message Service (SMS) MFA, in favor of more secure MFA authenticator apps.
FCPS will soon require all staff to retrieve authentication codes from an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator to strengthen the security of our systems and protect your accounts. Both authenticator apps work on Apple and Android devices. These apps only generate MFA codes, so installing one on your device does not make it subject to FOIA requests. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to set up an authenticator app for your FCPS accounts today.
Please review the Multi-Factor Authentication FAQs on the Employee Hub. Contact your TSSpec or the IT Service Desk if you have questions.
🚶🏽♀️ Register for the Walking for Mental Health EAP Webinar
Register for the Walking for Mental Health webinar to boost your emotional, spiritual, or mental well-being for a healthier, happier you! The event will take place on Wednesday, October 18, at 4:30 p.m. Participants will learn meditative techniques, how to appreciate the therapeutic influence of nature, how to get started with labyrinth walking, and grounding practices through barefoot walking.
Find additional Employee Assistance Program (EAP) events on the Hub EAP page.
Federal Impact Aid Survey: Now Online
FCPS is asking all families to fill out the Federal Impact Aid Survey. To make it easier, the form is available online in SIS ParentVUE this year. School-based staff, please encourage families to complete the online form for each school-aged child in every household. This is important, because information from this survey results in an additional $3 million in grants each year from the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers. For more information, visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page.
📊 Academic Matters: SAT Outcomes
During the Academic Matters segment of the Thursday, October 12, School Board meeting, Dr. Reid shared SAT outcomes and opportunities for FCPS students. View her slide presentation.
As in years past, the FCPS class of 2023 average score of 1181 was higher than the state average (1113) and the global average (1028). The percentage of FCPS seniors taking the SAT has also remained consistent, despite the sharp decrease in participation statewide.
🏅 Submit a Nomination for FCPS Hall of Fame
Do you know an FCPS alum who has made significant contributions to their chosen field and/or our local, national, or global community? If so, we would love to celebrate them! Educate Fairfax believes that FCPS alumni are something special, and they are excited to share alumni stories.
Over the past two years, Educate Fairfax has recognized leaders from the realms of business, education, community service, entertainment, military, sports, and government.
Nominations for Spring 2024 FCPS Hall of Fame inductees will be accepted through January 12, 2024. Learn more about the FCPS Hall of Fame.
🏗️ Updates to School Facilities
Trends of development and housing turnover are inconsistent across the county and continue to present a facilities capacity challenge. Spaces in schools may be outdated from when buildings were originally built.
Projects funded by the 2023 Bond Referendum may be updated to meet the current needs of students or may increase space to help relieve overcrowding and provide spaces for small-group and specialized instruction.
Additionally, all updates to school facilities are made with energy efficiency in mind. FCPS has 220 buildings and 26.5 million square feet of building space. These buildings cost tens of millions of dollars to power each year. As the footprint of FCPS continues to grow, conserving energy for cost savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions is of the utmost importance.
The 2023 Bond Referendum will be on the ballot in November. Vote on Tuesday, November 7. Learn more about registering to vote.
America’s Safe Schools Week
The National School Safety Center, state governors, and state school superintendents sponsor America's Safe Schools Week, which is celebrated this week.
School safety includes keeping campuses free of crime and violence, improving discipline, and increasing student attendance. Schools that are safe and free of violence, weapons, and drugs are necessary to ensure the well-being of all children and the quality of their education. Thank you to all our school and central office staff — including Joseph Morton (left) and Joseph Goins (right) from the Office of Safety and Security — who work together to keep our students safe!
🚌 National School Bus Safety Week
Thank you to our more than 1,800 bus drivers and Transportation Services staff who work every day to ensure our students get to and from school safely.
The FCPS bus fleet is one of the largest in the U.S., transporting approximately 131,000 students on 1,625 buses each day. Read about how some bus drivers tested their safety skills last year at FCPS’ Road-eo competition.
Calendar Reminders: Dia de los Muertos and All Saints Day
Día de los Muertos is an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones. Wednesday, November 1, and Thursday, November 2, are “O” Days this year. Watch this video to learn more about Día de los Muertos.
While Día de los Muertos is largely celebrated in Mexico and Latin America, it also coincides with All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). These days are celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, and some Protestants worldwide to honor those who have died and are believed to have gone to heaven (All Saints Day) and those who may still be in purgatory (All Souls Day).
The school calendar recognizes many religious and cultural observances (O days) during the school year. There is school on these days, however, the School Board has directed that tests, quizzes, field trips, graduation, homecoming, or FCPS-scheduled athletic events will not be held on these observance days. See the complete school year calendar.
Staff Staples
Note: Some links in this email require a VPN connection. You can connect to VPN using Pulse Secure VPN (Virtual Private Network). Email ITServiceDesk@fcps.edu with questions.
Submit an Employee News request. Submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Thank you!
|
