From the Administration
Dear Belvedere Families,
Happy New Year to all our wonderful families! We hope you had a fantastic holiday season. We're thrilled to be back at school and diving into 2024 with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
We have an exciting event planned for next Friday - a parent coffee session from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. We'll be discussing the upcoming PYP Evaluation Visit. Every five years, IB schools undergo an evaluation process where IB staff visits the school, and we're eager to share more about this important process with you.
Join us for an informative discussion about the evaluation visit and what it means for our school community. Your participation and insights are invaluable as we prepare for this milestone. We can't wait to see you there!
Cecilia Vanderhye, Principal
Tara Boone, Assistant Principal
Kelly Cabezas, Assistant Principal
Need Help with Food, Financial Assistance, or Medical Assistance?
You may qualify for federal benefits, such as Medicaid, Food Assistance (SNAP), TANF (Temporary Financial Assistance for Families), Energy Assistance (Fuel, Cooling), and more. Visit https://commonhelp.virginia.gov/access/ or call 1-833-522-5582 to apply. Call 703-324-7500 or visit Fairfaxcounty.gov/familyservices/financial-and-medical if you need help applying.
Children who do not qualify for Medicaid may qualify for the Medical Care for Children Partnership (MCCP), a reduced-cost healthcare program for children under 18 from low-income families. Call 703-324-7315 for more information.
Please click here for more information about food, financial and medical assistance available to students and families. If you need support or have questions, please contact the Belvedere parent liaison, Ivanova Plazas, at 703-916-6824 or at implazas@fcps.edu. We are here to support you and want to support all who may qualify to access this assistance.
🍲 Food Insecurity Resources for Families
Food insecurity impacts more than 60,000 Fairfax County residents. There are many resources available to support those who need food assistance. Find out how to receive or offer support on the Fairfax County website, or view their Human Services Resource Guide for assistance with food, clothing, housing, and other services.
Belvedere Spirit Wear
The deadline to order Belvedere spirit wear has been extended to January 14 - order today!
https://stores.blue84spirit.com/BULLDOGSBELVEDERE
Save The Date! Rising 6th graders curriculum night at Glasgow
Glasgow Middle School’s Curriculum night is January 24, 2024 with a snow date of January 31, 2024. Families will have the opportunity to learn about course offerings at Glasgow Middle School. Please stay tuned for communication from your student’s counselors with additional details such as timing. Please note, this event is held at Glasgow Middle School. Interpreters will be on site at Glasgow to provide translation for families in several languages.
Snow Days This Winter
For the current school year, FCPS will be returning to its previous procedure for snow days — there will be no virtual learning days when school is closed due to bad weather.
During snow days, students may still access Tutor.com, complete any supplemental learning opportunities recommended by their teachers, and view educational programming (available virtually and on public access television channels):
Eleven snow days are built into the existing FCPS calendar. Eliminating virtual learning days will allow us to maximize students’ in-person learning and provide equitable access to instruction and student services.
❄️ Preparing for Winter Weather
Winter weather will be here before you know it! Watch this video to see how weather-related closing decisions are made.
FCPS’ website is generally the first place where we will post an emergency weather closing. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible including email, text, social media, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated.
Be sure to plan for the winter season. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date in SIS ParentVUE, bookmark the FCPS website, and plan for childcare if appropriate.
🔢 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.
🗺️ 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.
Get more information on the immersion program webpage and registration page.
Conversation to Raise Awareness of Fentanyl and Other Drugs
In this video, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid interviews the Fosters, a family who tragically lost their son Cayden to a half pill of fentanyl mistaken for Percocet. This heart-wrenching yet eye-opening video of their experience is essential to raise awareness among parents/caregivers and students about the dangers of fake painkillers.
Please join Dr. Reid on Wednesday, January 10, at 6:30 p.m., at Edison High School for a community conversation about opioid awareness. You may register to attend. However, registration is not required; it is simply for space considerations.
The evening’s program is appropriate for parents/caregivers and students in grades 6-12. All attendees will receive free REVIVE! Narcan training during the event and learn about support services currently available within FCPS and Fairfax County.
FCPS’ website also has resources to help you to start the conversation and additional support for families struggling with substance misuse.
Safe Students, Safe Schools
Fairfax County Public Schools believes that academic success is built on the foundation of a safe learning environment. This includes physical safety, and mental health and wellness.
FCPS has a comprehensive approach to safety that involves physical security measures, online monitoring by security staff, and crisis intervention support. The division has created the Safe Students, Safe Schools Brochure (PDF) to enhance your awareness of potential hazards and to equip you with practical tips for how you can help. Visit the FCPS website for more information.
Register for The Transition from Elementary to Middle School and from Middle School to High School for Twice Exceptional (2e) students
Transitioning into middle and high school can be challenging for many children and their families, especially for twice-exceptional students.
Join Dr. Nonye Oladimeji, FCPS Educational Specialist for AAP twice exceptional (2e) children, as she shares ideas for families and schools on how to ease the transition for students.
Webinar Highlights:
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Learn about the tools and strategies to help your child navigate this period of change successfully.
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Learn about how to help your child establish and maintain a strong support system.
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Learn how to help your student balance the increased academic responsibility while trying to expand their horizons into clubs and extracurricular activities.
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Learn how parents and families can stay involved and keep the lines of communication open.
Digital Citizenship: Support at Home
Educate yourself and your children.
Digital citizenship is learning process and your child will need sustained support from parents and teachers. Visit bit.ly/fairfaxdigcit for a fun and interactive parent-child course that can help your family start conversations about navigating the online world.
Establish rules and expectations.
Have you thought about the rules you want to establish with your child for setting up accounts and the privacy settings you expect your child to use? What are your expectations and how will you monitor your child’s online activities?
Help your child monitor and manage their screen time.
It’s easy to spend hours on a device, especially when it's new. Use strategies to help your children learn to monitor and manage their screen time.
Discuss privacy settings and accounts.
Teach your child to protect their personal information and model the use of privacy settings. Discuss why these settings are important and teach them how to make privacy setting choices for every app and service they use. This resource can help you get started.
Give your child action steps.
Discuss potential situations that may arise before they happen and give your child action steps. Do they know what to they can do if cyber bullied, harassed, or if someone sends them something they don’t want to see? Every difficult situation is an opportunity to help prepare them for life beyond your home. These short parent advice videos, which can be filtered by topic and age, can help you identify action steps you can share with your child.
Teach your child to assess risks and make good choices.
Online communication is public and permanent. Talk with your children regularly and remind them that what they do online can impact future opportunities. Their online reputation can also affect their relationships in the face to face world.
Dads at Belvedere (DAB)
Dads at Belvedere (formerly Watch D.O.G.S.) is a program to help our school be positively impacted by the committed involvement of fathers and father-figures in their student’s life. Our goal is to have you spend at least one day this year at the school to be a positive male role-model. Dads this is your chance to get involved in a fun atmosphere at school!
Dads will volunteer at the school for one full day. School will provide the schedule to include activities such as: recess, lunch, specials, classroom time, etc.
Our kids love seeing the grown-ups in their life at school! Additionally, Dads are demonstrating through their presence that education is important.
Sign up for a day on our calendar using the Signup Genius below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090449A4A722A64-dads1#/
Download the flyer!
Buses and Delays
If a student’s bus is delayed, parents may access the Bus Delay Notification System or use the Here Comes the Bus mobile app to receive the delayed bus report. Use code 28982 when registering for Here Comes the Bus.
PTA News
Belvedere Spiritwear - Order by January 14!
The deadline to order Belvedere Spiritwear has been extended to January 14 - order today! https://stores.blue84spirit.com/BULLDOGSBELVEDERE
VIP and Me
VIP and Me is back and scheduled for January 25. Stay tuned for more information coming soon....
Become a Member of the PTA and/or Support Belvedere with a donation
Our PTA supports Belvedere in myriad ways: organizing school events, enrichment and outreach activities; providing funding for field trips, library books, and technology in the classroom; and building a school community outside the classroom through events like movie night, teacher appreciation, international night, read-a-thon, and more.
To purchase a membership or make a direct donation, please go to https://www.belvederepta.org/membership and choose your membership type (Staff $5 or Parent $10) and/or select Direct Donation to make a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you again for supporting the Belvedere PTA!
Visit belvederepta.org for more information about our PTA or to make a donation.
Save the date for our next meeting, Wednesday, February 7, 6:30 pm.
Questions or concerns? Email bespta.va@gmail.com.
Upcoming Dates
- Monday, January 15 - Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday (No School)
- Thursday, January 25 - Quarter End / Early Release
- Friday, January 26 - Teacher Work Day (No School)
- Wednesday, February 7 - PTA Meeting
- Monday, February 19 - President's Day (No School)
Keep in Touch
Visit the Belvedere website
Report student absences
Bus Delay Website
Follow Belvedere on Twitter
Change your email preferences
FCPS Calendar: 2023-2024
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