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Churchill Chatter - Issue 9, January 5, 2024
Dear Churchill Road Families,
Happy New Year! We trust you had a wonderful winter break full of family memories and relaxation! This week we jumped right back into engaging learning opportunities! Everyone worked really hard to get back into our structures and routines.
We also have some exciting news to share with you! Several volunteers certified by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) have generously offered to visit Churchill Road Elementary with their dogs for the remainder of this school year. The first dog volunteer, Frankie, the Husky, will begin visits on January 19th.
We are thrilled with the possibilities this experience will offer, including working with students in small groups, reading with children, and helping children practice their fluency skills. Additionally, the simple presence of a dog at school can bring joy, provide support, and lower stress levels of children, which optimizes learning capacity. Every dog that plans to visit Churchill Road has passed all the requirements of ATD, is insured, and is up to date on all vaccinations. You can learn more about the ATD at https://www.therapydogs.com/.
If you do not want your student(s) to participate, fill out the form linked here as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email Hannah Tappan at hbtappan@fcps.edu.
We so appreciate your support and look forward to working with you to support your child in 2024 and beyond!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Cherith Pierson-Barr and Ms. Jen Niccolls
In This Week's Issue
- Open House for Franklin Sherman Families Affected by McLean Elementary Boundary Adjustment
- FCPS Math Week January 8-12
- Rise Against Hunger Update
- Character Strengths -- Focus on Prudence and Perseverance
- Dual Language Immersion Program Registration
- Important Dates
Open House for Franklin Sherman Families Affected by McLean Boundary Update
Churchill Road welcomes Franklin Sherman families to our Open House on Thursday, January 25th at 3 PM. (Each elementary school affected by the McLean Elementary boundary update will hold an Open House for new families on Thursday, January 25th at 3PM.)
Chesterbrook ES- 1753 Kirby Rd, McLean, VA 22101
Churchill Road ES- 7100 Churchill Rd, McLean, VA 22101
Haycock ES- 6616 Haycock Rd, Falls Church, VA 22043
Franklin Sherman ES- 6633 Brawner St, McLean, VA 22101
As previously communicated, FCPS made its recommendation for a boundary adjustment to address the overcrowding issue at Kent Gardens and recommended "Scenario B". A map of affected homes can be found here (scroll to Scenario B).
- Rising Kindergarten and 1st-grade students will be reassigned to attend the newly assigned school for the 2024-25 school year.
- Rising 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade students have the option to attend the newly assigned school or remain at their prior assigned school for the 2024-25 school year and until they matriculate to middle school.
The adopted phasing plan allows students/caregivers the option to remain at their current school or change schools now, addressing the different perspectives voiced in public feedback.
Students that are involved in phasing over the next several years will be provided bus transportation to their elementary school. Please understand that with a current shortage of bus drivers in our area and the requirement of additional bus runs to accommodate phasing, your patience will be required as all of these new runs are established. We need those that are involved in the affected neighborhoods to fill out the form indicating which school your child will attend by the February deadline.
The McLean Elementary Boundary Webpage will continue to be updated with important news going forward.
Help FCPS Reach 1 Million Minutes of Math
FCPS Family Math Week starts on Monday, January 8! Participate in games and stories online. FCPS is working toward a total of 1 million minutes logged by families. The event is free, with activities from ST Math geared toward students in grades K-6 and their families.
Math Week offers families an opportunity to experience math, literacy, history, and geography in a fun and positive way. All content will be available for families in English and Spanish beginning Monday, January 8. Visit the Math Week website.
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Rise Against Hunger Update
We will be starting our annual Rise Against Hunger Service Learning project next week. Collection boxes will be sent home in next week's (January 10) VIP folder along with more details.
All students are encouraged to earn some extra money at home through doing chores, saving, or set aside a portion of any allowance to donate to our Rise Against Hunger initiative. Our school goal is to collect $3,050, which is approximately $5 per child, however we welcome any donation amount. Regardless of how much your child donates, we encourage all children to donate some amount of money towards helping us reach our goal to support an organization with a goal to end world hunger.
For the Langley pyramid, the goal is to raise $35,000 to purchase 75,000 meals which will be given to families in need around the world. If it is $.50, $2.00, or $20.00, we want our students to know that they are never too young to make a difference, and we appreciate your support in sending this message as well.
We will be tracking the percentage of participation. We hope 100% of our students will participate by donating any amount of money they can. Every $.46 purchases a meal which feeds 5-6 people.
Families may also donate online (details to follow next week). NOTE: If you donate online, please have your child inform us of that, so we can count their participation.
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Character Strengths Focus
Over the next two weeks our school community is focusing on the character strength of Prudence and Perseverance.
Prudence means you plan for the future and achieve your goals by making careful everyday choices
Perseverance means you complete what you start despite obstacles. You never give up.
To practice and encourage the character strengths with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2), where together you will watch a video, read a quote, and talk about the answers to three questions about these character strengths.
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Dual Language Immersion Program Registration
Registration for the countywide lottery for Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs will open on Monday, January 22. Current pre-K students may apply for the kindergarten immersion program, and current kindergarten students may apply for the first grade immersion programs for the 2024-25 school year. Programs are available in French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
Parents/caregivers who are interested may want to attend an informational meeting. Meetings are held at the school site. Check the FCPS events calendar for the most current information. Meetings will begin on Tuesday, January 16.
A virtual meeting hosted by the World Languages Office will include general program information. Access to this virtual meeting will be made available on the FCPS events calendar and the Dual Language Immersion registration site on the day of the meeting.
Did You Know...
… Here are 7 tips to help keep your New Year’s resolution.
FCPS News
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- Dual Language Immersion Program Registration
- Conversation to Raise Awareness of Fentanyl and Other Drugs
- School Safety and Security
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving the weekly newsletter, sign up today
FCPS Cares Program
Recognizing employees who go above and beyond
FCPS Cares is an opportunity for parents, staff and community members to recognize those who go above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can all acknowledge the outstanding work of FCPS, and more specifically, Churchill Road employees.
Important Dates
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Monday, January 15 - MLK Jr. Birthday Holiday - School Closed
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Thursday, January 25 - End of Quarter, 2-Hour Early Release, 1:20 PM
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Thursday, January 25 - Open House for Boundary Update, 3 PM
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Friday, January 26 - Teacher Workday - Student Holiday
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Friday, February 2 - PTA Family Bingo Night, Time TBD
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Monday, February 19 - President's Day Holiday
Calendar for 2023-24 School Year (for a printable version)
Calendar for 2024-25 School Year (for a printable version)
Quick Links:
Important Health Authorization Forms including Epipen and Inhaler Authorization forms can be found here.
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