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Upcoming Events
Jan 15 - School Holiday
Jan 17 - Winter Concert
Jan 25 - Two Hour Early Release
Jan 26 - Student Holiday
Feb 7- Clubs and Candids Picture Day
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Order Yearbooks on ybpay.com
Order Deadline: February 23, 2024
Yearbook ID Code: 13246524
School Name: Sangster Elementary School
 FCPS Math Week
Come together as a community for students in K-8 for 5 nights the week of January 8, 2024, with delightful math games and stories - all on your own time and from the comfort of your own home. All content will be available for free directly to all families in English and Spanish.
Through rich story-based mathematics experiences, math week offers families an opportunity to experience math, literacy, history, and geography in a positive way. The games and stories feature several countries including Lesotho, Madagascar, Ghana, and China.
All content will be available completely free on the website starting January 8, 2024. To access the games, families will be able to simply click on the day of the week and find their child's grade and language. View the website at anytime for explanations and videos.
🗺️ 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 updated information. Meetings will begin on Tuesday, January 16.
One 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.
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Friendly Reminders!
🗓️ Calendar Reminder: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday
FCPS schools and offices will be closed on Monday, January 15, for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. The holiday marks the birthday of King, who was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement. The movement protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr.
❄️ 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 announce 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. Update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE, bookmark the FCPS website, and plan for childcare if needed.
🔖Labeling Student Items
Now that the weather is getting colder, please make sure student names are in jackets, sweatshirts, coats, hats, mittens, etc. When they inevitably get lost or forgotten somewhere, if we can find a name we will return the item to the student. Labeling these items helps to keep our Lost and Found collection to a minimum. Thanks for your help!
🧼 Staying Healthy This Cold/Flu Season
Cases of RSV, the flu, and other viruses often rise this time of year. It is important for students to wash their hands regularly and cover their coughs and sneezes. Please monitor your child’s health daily and follow recommendations for when to keep them home due to illness. Visit FCPS' Health and Safety Guidance webpage for more tips.
 Rising 7th Grader News
2023-2024 Transition Timeline
Feeling lost in a sea of information regarding 7th grade transition? Don't worry, Ms. Augenstein is making it easier to keep up!
Click Here for a quick and easy to read timeline of events for your current 6th grader.
Ms. Augenstein will be updating it as more information and more dates become available from Lake Braddock and Irving. So, check back often!
LBMS Curriculum Fair
Lake Braddock is offering a virtual Curriculum Fair! Parents and students can go to the LBSS Curriculum Fair Site to learn more about the courses we offer. The site includes a synchronous parent presentation, course descriptions, videos and Padlets for questions organized by department.
Instructions - Click Here
A Message From Irving Middle School
Although we are not yet to the middle of this school year, we are already beginning the registration process for next school year. Over the next few months, we will host various activities to help transition your child to Irving Middle School. If you have any questions throughout the process, please feel free to call the school. Below are important dates regarding the selection of your child’s classes for next year:
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Mid to Late January - After course selection sheets are returned to your child’s elementary school, teachers and counselors will review the selections and reach out to families if they have questions or concerns with a selection.
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January 30 - Transition to Middle School - This presentation will be conducted fully in Spanish. Our principal, Cindy Conley, will discuss how best to support your child as they transition to middle school. (The English version of this program will happen on April 3).
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Early February - Students will enter course choices electronically in SIS. Parents/guardians are able to see (but not change) the courses their child has registered for by logging into their ParentVue account in SIS. If you do not have a ParentVue login, please contact your elementary school. ParentVue is used in middle school to view your child’s grades, attendance and additional information.
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February/March/April/May - Elementary teachers and Irving staff review course requests. If there is a concern that a class might be too easy or difficult, a staff member will reach out to parents/guardians to discuss it.
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April 3 - Transition to Middle School - Our principal, Cindy Conley, will discuss how best to support your child as they transition to middle school.
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Late May/June - Mock schedules will be mailed home. These show the classes registered for, but not the actual schedule.
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June 7 - Last day for schedule change requests.
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Summer review by Irving for support class placement
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August 5-7: Irving Academy is a transition program designed to give students a “jump start” into middle school. The program equips students with some of the skills they need to be successful in middle school, as well as gives them an opportunity to meet peers and ask questions about Irving. Enrollment is open to all WIMS rising 7th graders. Transportation is not provided, but lunch will be provided for all participants. Students will attend a one-day in-person program on EITHER August 5th, August 6th OR August 7th from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm. Information about registering will be sent in early June, but we want to provide the date range to you for planning purposes.
Our course catalog is an additional resource to help with the course selection process. Elective teachers have included videos of the course to provide more information about what happens in their classes. When you choose a specific class, there is a description of the class and the link to the video is at the bottom of the description. Our catalog can be found here:
https://insys.fcps.edu/CourseCatOnline/frontPanel/395/nocourselist/0/1/0/1.
If you are not able to attend curriculum night, we will post the presentations on our website. We look forward to getting to know you and your student over the next two years.
This week’s character strength is prudence. Prudence is the ability to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. It’s a future-oriented way of thinking that helps a person set goals, make plans, and have the discipline to accomplish them. It is cognitive- more a strength of the head than of the heart.
The site P2 For Families is available for connecting P2 to your home and you can learn more about the site here. Many of the slides are password protected and the password is P2 (case-sensitive).
Next Week’s Character Strength: Perseverance
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Resources from Sangster's Family Liaison
Family Resource Center
The Family Resource Center offers free, confidential consultations by videoconference and phone for families and FCPS staff.
FRC professionals have extensive knowledge, training, and experience. They can brainstorm strategies and possible solutions to help you address your concerns. They can draw upon resources and support from FCPS, as well as community, state, and national centers.
They can help families and educators of all students, including those with learning challenges, special needs, and disabilities. Contact us at 703-204-3941 or frc@fcps.edu.
Free consultations are offered by FRC’s professionals.
Meet the FRC staff
Mary Beth Harrison-Cunningham, Manager
Mary Beth Harrison-Cunningham is the manager of the Family Resource Center. She has worked in public education for 39 years, gaining experience in special education, school administration, and family engagement. As a seasoned FCPS administrator, she is passionate about empowering families, educators, students, and community members in their advocacy for children.
Areas of interest: twice-exceptional (2E) students and programming; secondary education; post-secondary options and planning; special education; emotional and learning disabilities; social-emotional wellness; behavior management; autism; FCPS IEP development and processes; and FCPS and community resources.
Lisa Milman, Specialist
Lisa Milman is a specialist at the Family Resource Center. She has 29 years of experience in FCPS as an administrator and teacher. She is passionate about helping parents advocate for their children. She strives to make FCPS transparent so all students can have equal access to opportunities offered by FCPS.
Areas of Interest: autism; emotional disabilities; early childhood transition; FCPS continuum of special education services; FCPS systems and structures; and inclusive and accessible activities.
Amal Elsayed, Family Resource Center Liaison
Amal has worked as a Family Liaison and Arabic Interpreter in FCPS for almost 4 years. As an immigrant, she is interested in helping immigrant families understand FCPS. She is also passionate about assisting families to be actively engaged with their children's education and the community. Amal is fluent in Arabic and Spanish.
Areas of interest: general parenting, social and emotional skills, special education, and community resources.
Diana Wertz, Family Resource Center Liaison
Diana Wertz is a Family Liaison at the FRC. She has worked in education for over 16 years with experience as both a classroom teacher and early childhood administrator. She is passionate about building relationships with families and ensuring that they have access to the supports and services that they need.
Areas of interest: early childhood, military-connected families, foster care and adoption, general parenting, and community resources.
Fairfax County - Coordinated Services Planning
Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) 703-222-0880. That's the number to call for assistance with any difficulties you are facing - including food, shelter, employment, financial assistance, healthcare and more other needs.
Looking for a Sport League?
Check out this GIANT list of all things sports in Fairfax County
Fairfax County’s Sport League Directory
Still feeling new to the area?
Checkout this list of places to visit while stationed in Northern Virginia.
10 Things to Do - PCSGrades
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) understands that our military families may need support beyond the classroom. The unique challenges of military service, deployments and post traumatic stress also impact our military families.
Operated by the Department of Veterans Services, the Virginia Veteran & Family Support Program (VVFS) offers outreach, connection, and support to veterans and their families as they manage the challenges of military life. The VVFS provides resources on a variety of topics such as mental health, leisure activities, healthcare, and military children. Their calendar of events also offers information about upcoming opportunities to connect with community resources.
For more information and to join the VVFS listserv, please visit the Virginia Veteran & Family Support Program. To connect with FCPS resources, please email militaryfamilies@fcps.edu.
FCPS Family Resource Center – Upcoming Webinars
Register for Free Webinars
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:
- Learn about the tools and strategies to help your child navigate this period of change successfully.
- Learn about how to help your child establish and maintain a strong support system.
- Learn how to help your student balance the increased academic responsibility while trying to expand their horizons into clubs and extracurricular activities.
- Learn how parents and families can stay involved and keep the lines of communication open.
January 12, 2024, 10-11:30 a.m.
  Braving the Storm
Thank you to all our families for your support and patience at dismissal in the rainstorm on Tuesday!
News from the Sangster PTA
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