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Upcoming Events
Jan 26 - Student Holiday
Feb 1 - Spelling Bee (Cafe)
Feb 6 - Parent Coffee (Library)
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
🗺️ Dual Language Immersion Program Registration
Registration for the countywide lottery for Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs opened 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 have begun.
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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 WSHS & Lewis Varsity Gymnastics Camp
This is a camp they are running for elementary schoolers. The camp is this Friday, January 26th from 9-12 AM, at West Springfield High School. It costs $30 per student, as they are attempting to raise funds for the team. Scan the QR code to register.
 Donate your paper towel/toilet paper tubes!
STEAM is looking for donations for their upcoming marble run project. Please send in tubes with students and they can drop them in the STEAM room or outside the library in the bin. Thank you!
Friendly Reminders!
 ❄️ 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.
💝FCPS Cares!
The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story, so we can all acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees at Sangster ES. We love our Sangster staff members, let's tell them how we feel!
 Rising 7th Grader News
A Message from Ms. Augenstein
The transition to middle school process is an exciting and new academic journey and we recognize it comes with many questions. Since late December, Mrs. Augenstein has been meeting with individual Sixth Grade classes to introduce them to the course selection process for Seventh Grade, including how to explore interests and select elective courses, the difference between honors and general education courses, and general differences between middle school and Sixth Grade. Lake Braddock and Irving held transition parent programs as well. Students toured Irving Middle School and this Thursday Thembi Rudisel, one of Lake Braddock’s School counselors, will speak to all of our students going to Lake Braddock to further review the course selection process and answer their questions.
Students will bring home paper course selection sheets this week for Lake Braddock and Irving. Please complete, sign, and return to Mrs. Augenstein at Sangster by January 30th. Academic advising will take place to ensure the forms are filled out accurately. Parents will be contacted if a change needs to be made or a course difficulty level discussed, etc. Next, Mrs. Augenstein will meet with small groups of students to add their course selections into SIS by February 15th. It is important that you are registered for your SIS ParentVue account. You will need to have your account activated to review your child’s courses once we input them into SIS. As always, please reach out with any questions to phaugenstein@fcps.edu or call 703-644-8200.
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 Social Intelligence. You show this strength when you are aware of other people’s thoughts and feelings and understand why they do things. Social intelligence refers to a person’s ability to understand and manage interpersonal relationships. It involves emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Social intelligence helps individuals build relationships – and is important to numerous aspects of a person’s life. It allows an individual to form friendships and alliances. And, it assists a person against being taken advantage of. People with social intelligence can “read” other people’s faces and know what motivates them. Social intelligence builds over time and as a person ages. In this sense, it is similar to the character strength of perspective.
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: We will review the character strengths we have learned so far this year.
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 Parent Coffee
Tuesday, Feb 6th
9:30-10:30am in the Library
Come connect with other Sangster parents and families. Meet with our Parent Liaison, Stacy Huisman, and our registrar, Jackie Fant.
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.
Learn About Family Liaisons
Family liaisons serve as an important link between families and schools. They represent a variety of cultures, languages, and races, and can help families access the information and assistance they need to support their children and ensure their academic success.
Find out how family liaisons can support you and your family.
  Decades Day was a hit!
Sangster's SCA sponsored spirit day was so totally rad! Students and staff dressed up and had a wicked good time. Everyone was looking so bodacious!
Catch you on the flip side!
News from the Sangster PTA
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