Thoreau Matters

December 4, 2023

Dear Thoreau Families,

With two weeks left of school before break, the holiday spirit is alive at Thoreau! As I mentioned earlier this year, our theme is “You Matter” so students wrote gratitude notes to staff before Thanksgiving and our peer helpers delivered them to mailboxes last week. Additionally, many heartfelt messages are on display on the windows of Student Services. In the spirit of giving, I would like to ask for your help with our canned food drive. Thoreau set a goal of 1000 cans, but as of today we only have 380 cans. Students have until December 13th to bring food donations to school and place them in the boxes in their science classes.

During the winter months, we continue to hold outdoor recess. As the temperatures drop please make sure your child is bringing a coat to school. Thank you to the many families who signed up for our winter coat drive! We are still looking for a few more if you are able to donate a new coat. We need to have all coats submitted to the main office by Friday, December 8th.

Our SGA has designed a fun-filled spirit week for the week of December 11th so please encourage your child to participate!

• Monday- Winter PJ Day
• Tuesday- Favorite Holiday Headwear
• Wednesday- Winter White Out
• Thursday- Cozy Slipper Day
• Friday- Ugly Sweater Day

We are looking forward to our orchestra and band concerts this week! There's nothing quite like amazing music to put us in the winter spirit.

Sincerely,

Teresa Khuluki

Principal

Crosswalk and Kiss & Ride Safety

As the winter weather has finally arrived, there is an increase in the number of students being dropped off by parents and guardians in the morning. We have also seen an increase in the number of students who are arriving late to school, either as drop-offs or as walkers. We would like to prioritize on-time arrival to the first class of the day as it helps students start their day in a positive manner and minimizes lost learning time.

We attempt to have our Kiss & Ride process move as smoothly and efficiently as possible and it is a partnership we share with our families and students. Thank you for reviewing the reminders below.

• Plan your departure time with a cushion to allow for on-time drop-off. Students will be marked tardy if they are not seated in their classroom at the 7:30 AM bell
• Pull forward as far to the front of the drop-off zone as possible, to allow multiple cars to unload efficiently and then exit campus
• Only drop students off in the designated drop-off zone. Dropping students off in the staff parking lot can create unsafe pedestrian situations during a busy 20 minute timeframe
• Do not stop along Cedar Lane to drop-off

Thank you again for your partnership in making sure our Eagles can arrive to school safely and on time every day.

Lightspeed Classroom Management

As part of our commitment to creating a safe and focused learning environment for our students, some teachers in our school have started using a new classroom management tool that will help them better connect with student devices during classes. This tool will provide teachers with a number of helpful features: 

• Easily view student screens in real time from the teacher console to see which students may need guidance or support.
• Focus student attention on a particular website on their device to minimize distractions.
• Pause student access to the internet to focus on other classroom tasks.

Please note that student devices will not be monitored outside of school hours. The regular filters remain in place on school devices, but once they are home, teachers cannot monitor students. As parents, we would like to encourage you to sign up for your own Lightspeed reports, which will allow you to see how your child is spending time on the computer during and after school hours.

Thoreau Substitutes Needed

We are 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! If you are interested in this opportunity, please email Chris Pinkerton, Administrative Assistant, at cpinkerton@fcps.edu and apply online.

Substitutes will receive their hourly pay plus an additional $80 for each of the 18 designated high-volume day they work. All substitute instructional assistants will receive their hourly pay plus an additional $55 for each high-volume day they work. See the list of high-volume days.

A bonus program for substitutes:

• Substitutes working 50 days within a school year will earn a $200 bonus.
• Substitutes working 100 days within a school year will earn a $300 bonus.
• Substitutes working 150 days within a school year will earn a $400 bonus.

Bonuses will be paid quarterly in December, March, June, and July. Get more information about the pay schedule. 

TMS Math HW Help Club

Thoreau has Math teachers available to support students after school 3 days a week.  Each day that the After School Program is operating, there is a math teacher available to work with students regardless of what math course or math teacher for which they are receiving instruction.  Please encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity to receive support on classroom topics or assignments, homework completion as well as for retake opportunities on available assessments. Please refer to the following schedule for teacher locations on specific days. This information is available online in the All School Course in Schoology- After School Program.

Ms. Griffin and Ms. Hooymans are also available but their day varies each week- please see the sign outside their classroom A126.

QUESTIONS/CONCERNS? 

Email Ms. Colleen Myers at cmmyers@fcps.edu or call 703.846.8089.

Spring Screening Referrals

Spring screening referrals for full time level-IV advanced academic placement are due no later than December 15, 2023 to Hannah Converse. If you would like to complete a referral or learn more about the advanced academic program at our school, please feel free to reach out to Hannah Converse at hpconverse@fcps.edu.  For more information on Level IV AAP services and the timeline for spring screening, please consult this page.

Yearbooks

Yearbook sales have started! Order the Thoreau Yearbook at myschoolbucks.com for $40. Hurry-the price goes up to $45 in February!

We need Yearbook Photos!   We are working on Thoreau’s 2023-24 Yearbook and we are excited to announce we will be using YOUR photos to do that! Follow the directions below to send in your photos. This week we need:

Last Call: Sports Photos.

Please send Sports Photos of your child and their Thoreau classmates!

Yearbook Snap code: eagles 

How do I do this? 

To send in photos through Mobile phone:

Step 1: Download Yearbook Snap from the app store (orange icon)

Step 2: Type in the school name (enter school name here)

Step 3: Enter school code (school code is anything you want it to be)

Step 4: Hit enter

Step 5: Click the orange arrow after the school name to select photos from your camera roll

Step 6: Choose yearbook special requests

Step 7: Pick up to 5 photos to send and then on the bottom right hit the box with the arrow pointing up

Step 8: Click on the photo to enter a note (students names in picture, Grade, etc.)

Step 9: Click upload

Step 10 : Enter in your first and last name and email and submit photos!

To send in photos that are on your computer:

Step 1: Go to yearbookforever.com

Step 2: Enter in the school name (put school name here)

Step 3: Click shop the store

Step 4: Click on Community upload Submit photos for your school yearbook-center near top

Step 5: Enter school code eagles and click enter

Step 6: Upload your photos and make notes on each one (students in picture etc.)

Step 7: Enter your first and last name and email

Step 8: Click that you certify

Step 9: Submit Photos!

Thank you for your support. If you have any questions contact Ms. Rumberger at rmrumberger@fcps.edu

TROOP 1978 for GIRLs and BOYs INVITES YOU

Boys and Girls from 11-18 years of age (5th graders and up) this is for you!  Interested in Fun with Friends, camping and leadership skills?  Parents, are you looking for fun and challenging activities for your children with a group of people of the same age?  Cheaper than most other activities and year round - yes Troop 1978 is for you.  Troop 1978 has a Boy Troop and a Girl Troop and we are seeking new members! 

Come visit and participate with the scouts:

• December 5th for First Aid Olympics (a Patrol competition for medical skills) at the Vienna Fire Department,
• January 16th at St. Marks for Duct Tape Night (a fun night of making a device with duct tape and cardboard with a time limit,
• February 13th at St. Marks for Iron Chef (a cooking competition).

All meetings begin at 7:30 pm on Tuesday nights. 

Scouts plan the fun monthly activities including canoeing, rock climbing, backpacking, hiking, STEM merit badges, first aid, swimming, beach camping, and ski trips. We  perform service projects to help our local schools, churches, and the Town of Vienna. Leadership is developed in the great young adults of Troop 1978.  Go to troop1978.com or https://www.troopwebhost.org/Troop1978Vienna/Index.htm for more information or follow us on FACEBOOK at Troop 1978.

2505 Cedar Lane Vienna, VA 22180  | Main Office: 703-846-8000
Attendance: 703-846-8080 | Web | Twitter