Hello, Scottie families!
Renovation is around the corner, and our students have been enjoying the relocated and newly opened temporary playground this week! Last night at the Bonnie Brae school construction community meeting we learned more information and updates to our impending renovation. The BBES renovation website is linked here, and the slideshow from last night is available on the website. Construction is expected to begin sometime this month, with an estimated completion date of summer, 2026. As always, we will share renovation related information with the community as soon as we receive it.
We are looking forward to two awesome family events coming up, the PTO Glow Dance next Friday (February 9, 6-9 PM) and our Valentine's Day Luncheon, in which we "spread the love" on Valentine's Day, February 14. Full details on these events, including the Valentine's Day lunch schedule, below!
Have a great weekend with your family and friends, Scotties!
Morgan Birge, Principal
Natalie Vershaw, Assistant Principal
Melissa Johnson, Assistant Principal
Family. Relationships. Success.
Next Week's Events
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February 6 - PTO Paisanos Burke Restaurant Night, 4-9 pm
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February 8 - 100th Day of School
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February 9 - PTO GLOW Dance, 6-9 pm
Positivity Project
Upcoming Weekly Focus: OPM Cheer Successes
Character Strengths: When other people succeed, I am happy for
them and cheer them on.
Quote of the Week: “Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others,
you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.”
-ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
A few amazing highlights that happened this week...
Our relocated playground is open and ready for students to enjoy!
Students in Mrs. Hovey's class participated in their Biomimicry PBL Showcase.
Importance of Attendance and Attendance Report Card
This is the time of year when winter weather and children’s illnesses can take a toll on school attendance. However, when not sick, it’s important to get your children to school every day possible. Do what you can to keep your children healthy. Dress them warmly for the cold weather. Encourage them to wash their hands regularly and send them to school with hand sanitizer.
Visit our website for more attendance resources.
To support families with understanding the importance of attendance, we will soon be sending home quarterly attendance progress reports. Regular school attendance is critical to student growth and success, and we appreciate your efforts to ensure students attend school when they are not sick.
Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Learn more about the heritage months, celebrations, and traditions celebrated in FCPS. Learn more about Black History month.
Presidents Day (Holiday)
All schools and offices will be closed on Monday, February 19, for the Presidents Day holiday. Learn more about Presidents Day in Britannica.com. Classes will resume on Tuesday, February 20. See the complete school year calendar.
Valentine's Day Lunch
We are excited to invite Bonnie Brae families in for lunch on Valentine’s Day, February 14! Parents and guardians are invited to attend lunch during their child’s lunch period, as we celebrate the Positivity Project character strength of Love the week of February 13-17. Students will be able to purchase lunch from the cafeteria on February 14, and while we do not have enough for parents to purchase from Bonnie Brae, we encourage any family members who attend to bring a lunch to eat with their child. (On this day, family members can also bring a lunch for their child if they wish.)
If you would like to volunteer to support before, during, or after lunch on February 14, please email the PTO at secretary@bonniebraepto.org to let them know you can help!
Lunch Schedule:
10:45-11:15 Grade 5
11:05-11:35 Grade 3
11:20-11:50 Kindergarten
11:30-12 EAC
11:40-12:10 Grade 1
12:05-12:35 Grade 4
12:30-1:00 Grade 6
12:40-1:10 Grade 2
Order Your 2023-2024 Bonnie Brae Yearbook!
Bonnie Brae yearbooks sales are on sale! Yearbooks ordered by April 15, 2024 are $23. Families can order a yearbook via our Yearbook page on our Bonnie Brae website (credit card only). If families wish to purchase a yearbook via check or money order, please see our Barksdale Yearbook flyer. Yearbook Order flyers will be sent home in Tuesday Folders on February 6th. All yearbook orders are due by April 15, 2024.
***We will have a limited number of yearbooks for sale on-site in June at a cost of $25 per yearbook. ***
Yearbooks are expected to arrive late-May/early June.
Want to Substitute at Bonnie Brae?
Bonnie Brae has a strong group of substitute teachers and we are always looking for kind and caring substitute teachers and substitute instructional assistants to add to our pool! Substitutes 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!
We provide substitutes with a flexible work schedule that a substitute teacher or substitute instructional assistant can tailor to their needs. This includes choosing the grade level(s) and subjects a substitute would like to teach, schools they would like to work at, and more!
Substitutes to Receive High-Volume Pay on High-Volume Days
The School Board has approved a list of 18 days for substitutes to receive high-volume pay. All teacher substitutes will receive their hourly pay plus an additional $80 for each high-volume day they work. See the list of high-volume days and more information.
A bonus program for substitutes who accept more than the 10 required days has also been approved. 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. Get more information on this sub bonus program.
FCPS is always looking for kind and caring substitute teachers. Weekly virtual substitute teacher information sessions are held each Wednesday from 2 to 3 p.m.
Bonnie Brae Lost and Found
Has your child lost a winter coat, sweatshirt, water bottle, or lunch box? View our January Lost and Found images to see what is currently in our Lost and Found. If you see something that belongs to your child, have them come pick it up from our Lost and Found located inside the Bonnie Brae cafeteria.
Loving Solutions - A Class for Families with 5-10 Year Olds
Join other Robinson Pyramid families for a 10-week free family workshop focused on improving communication, boosting self-esteem, supporting strong willed children, and creating spaces of harmony at home. The course kicks off on Tuesday, February 6 at Terra Centre with dinner and childcare provided.The course is free to families and most sessions are virtual. Please see the weekly topics below. View the Loving Solutions flyer for more details and to register for the workshop.
Superintendent to Present FY 2025 Proposed Budget
Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid will present the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Proposed Budget at the School Board meeting on Thursday, February 8, at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Reid’s presentation, as well as other budget documents, will be available after she presents to the board.
View the meeting on FCPS Cable TV Channel 99 (Verizon Channel 11), the FCPS YouTube Channel, or the FCPS website. To watch School Board meetings dubbed in Spanish, please visit the FCPS en Español YouTube channel.
If you would like language interpretation or American Sign Language support for any School Board meeting, please contact the board clerk. Find your School Board member and how to contact them on the School Board Members webpage.
So much to learn in 2nd grade while discussing stories and creating poetry.
Here Comes the Bus
Want to know if your child's bus is on schedule or where the bus is? Here Comes the Bus® is an easy-to-use website and app that enables parents to see the location of their child’s school bus — almost in real time — on a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer.
Parents can track multiple buses if their children don’t all ride the same bus; know exactly when children arrive at school or the bus stop; and receive customized text and/or email notifications about bus locations, schedule changes, or delays.
To get started, download the app from the Apple iOS or Android app store. Check out the Here Comes the Bus and Frequently Asked Questions webpages for more information.
Already using the Here Comes the Bus app? Send your feedback to HCTB@fcps.edu.
Note: eNotify text messaging will continue to be used for reporting bus delays and bus incidents.
Get Information About Your Child’s Internet Activity on Their FCPS Laptop
There is a online service that is free to FCPS parents who are interested in knowing more about their child’s internet activity on an FCPS device. Parents can sign up to receive a weekly Parent Report from Lightspeed, our internet content filtering service, which will provide a list of the top sites the child visited that week.
Additionally, if parents wish to get more detailed information, the weekly Parent Report offers parents the ability to self-sign-up to the free Internet Use Parent Portal. Parents who sign up for the Internet Use Parent Portal can log-in any time to see a little more detail about their child’s internet browsing. The portal also offers the parent added ability to “pause” access to the internet during non-school hours on the FCPS device.
Interested parents can submit a request directly via the Technology Support for Families page for weekly Parent Reports. FCPS will validate the enrolling parent’s email in SIS, and once processed, the parent will receive a weekly report over each weekend. The weekend report will come from our internet content filtering service, Lightspeed.
Kindergarten students enjoyed playing on the recently opened playground!
Spring Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener
The Spring Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener will be administered to students in grades 3 -6 during February 28–March 7. Students use the SEL Screener twice a year to share their perspectives on how well their school and community help them develop skills they need to succeed. The screener works by asking questions or presenting statements that students can think about and respond to. More information is available about the SEL Screener by accessing this link:
https://www.fcps.edu/student-tests-and-assessments/student-assessment-details/social-emotional-screener
If you have any questions, please reach out to our SEL Screener Lead, Cori Lonnett, at calonnett@fcps.edu.
Elementary Institute for the Arts Summer Program - Registration Opens Feb. 1st!
Elementary Institute for the Arts, E-IFTA, is a weekly arts camp for elementary-aged students who love to sing, dance, act, perform, make, and create! Students take part in four classes every day related to dance, music, theatre, and visual art. They work with FCPS fine arts teachers who create classes that are fun and engaging. Visit the Elementary Institute for the Arts webpage for more details.
Glow Dance is Coming!
When: Friday, February 9th from 6-9pm
Where: Bonnie Brae Elementary School
Grab your dancing shoes and join us for a night full of fun and excitement at the Bonnie Brae GLOW Dance!
Save time at the door and buy your tickets online now! Entry is $3 per person, or $10 for a family of 4 or more. This is not a drop-off event, and an adult must accompany students for the duration of the dance. Buy your tickets here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/8be91c9a-e96d-4511-b393-f7ebdf9816db
Don’t forget to bring your appetite for some delicious BBQ dinner options for purchase by our favorite local caterer @cateringbyjesse. Check out the menu here!
Support Our Scotties Direct Donation Drive -- EXTENDED TO 2/16/2024!!!
The Bonnie Brae PTO direct donation drive "Support our Scotties" has been extended to 2/16/2024! There's still time to make a direct impact, where ALL FUNDS will go back to the Bonnie Brae community!
Visit our donation site and make a payment by check, credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay today! https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/341b5732-1c1b-4d0b-97d0-6bc84b98d520
NOTICE: Moving to Zeffy for all Payments/Donations
We are thrilled to announce that the PTO is moving payment and donation processing from PayPal to Zeffy! This site is safe, FREE, and allows us to easily track payments. Since PayPal charges a transaction fee, please discontinue use of PayPal moving forward.
One thing to note is that Zeffy requests an optional donation to their site since it is free to use. When using Zeffy, just remember to change the optional donation to their site to "Other" and the amount to $0 (see example below). While this is indeed a small extra step compared to the previous process, the move to Zeffy will significantly improve the administrative work being done by volunteers behind the scenes, offer credit card payment options, and we won't lose any money to processing fees!!!
We appreciate your support as we work to automate processes, increase payment options, and ensure more funds go directly to our community.
Restaurant Night COMING SOON!
Paisano's Restaurant night is coming soon! Support our PTO with 20% of sales from the event while also enjoying a delicious pizza!
When: Tuesday, February 6th from 4-9PM
Where: Paisano's on Burke Centre
Dine-In or Carry-Out ONLY! Not valid for delivery!
Thanks for supporting our Scotties and helping the Bonnie Brae PTO receive a “pizza” the pie and help raise some “dough”!
Boosterthon T-Shirt Sponsorship
Help us spread the word! For a limited time only, local businesses and families can help support our Scotties through sponsorship of our upcoming Boosterthon t-shirts! Please share the following link for more information and payment options: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/635f76cd-235a-4dd3-8cb4-9d74bcd27518
RunFit Kidz Spring Registration COMING SOON!
Learn about nutrition and proper running technique by joining the Bonnie Brae RunFit Kidz Spring Team!
- Open to boys and girls in grades 1st – 6th
- Games, activities, and drills to bring running concepts alive
- Registration Opens on February 9th
- Each session is 1hr 15min
- We will offer one session: Tuesday’s AFTER-SCHOOL starting March 19 th from 3:30 – 4:45 PM
- Note: Built into the schedule – we will have no class during spring break and on April 2nd
- 5K Celebration Run is Sunday, May 19th at Fairfax Corner
- $115 includes training with a certified coach, entry into the chip-timed 5K, milestone tokens, commemorative RFK t-shirt, finisher’s medal, and post-5K festivities
- More information about the program, school-specific information, and how to register can be found at https://www.runfitkidz.com
- Register early and secure your roster spot.
Event Volunteers Needed!
Wonderful volunteers are needed for upcoming events! Your time helping with these events is what makes this all possible! Consider signing up for a shift, or even sign up your former Scottie for some service hours! Many hands make light work ❤️ Make some new friends, support our Scotties, and help make the magic happen!
***We're still in need of a Lead for the Spring Carnival so we can keep it on our calendar. If you're interested, please email president@bonniebraepto.org
GLOW Dance SignUp Genuis
Valentine's Day Lunch SignUp Genius
Bonnie Brae Staff Basketball Game SignUp Genius
Stay up to date on all things BBES! Subscribe to our School Calendar.
View the 2023-2024 FCPS School Calendar
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February 14 - Valentine's Day Lunch
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February 19 - George Washington's Birthday & Presidents' Day Holiday (no school for students and staff)
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February 21 - PTO Meeting (In-Person), 6-7 pm
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February 23 - Parent Coffee (BBES Cafeteria), 8:40-9:15 am
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February 29 - BBES Spirit Day: Dress Up/Dress Down Day
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March 5 - School Planning Day (no school for students)
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March 6 - PTO Chipotle Restaurant Night, 4-8 pm
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