Principal's Message
Dear Franklin Sherman Elementary School Community,
This week we had an amazing guest speaker, Stuart Gibbs. Thank you, Ms. Essimi Menye, our wonderful librarian, who worked with surrounding librarians to bring in Mr. Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs has written the Spy Camp novel series among others. The students really enjoyed hearing his thought process for writing these books and he was able to answer their questions.
It is hard to believe we are just two weeks away from spring break. I wanted to take this time to give shoutouts to our amazing specialists and I invited some of them to share the work they are doing in the classroom currently and prior to spring break.
In Art, Ms. Eaton is preparing for the McLean Pyramid Art Show that takes place March 13-30 at the McLean Community Center. She has selected artwork by one to two students per class to be featured in the show. All are welcome to see the creativity and talent on display by neighboring elementary, middle and McLean high school. Art classes are also currently work on: K Stamping paper to be woven on paper looms, 1 Painting our Slab Dishes, 2 Finishing up our Duck Architecture, 3 Printing our Emotion Faces, 4 Painting Time Travel Landscapes, 5 Paper Mache to be exhibited at the Tephra Institute at Reston Town Center, and 6th Initiating our Micrography Portraits
In music class this past month, students enhanced their music learning in MILAs – Musical Independent Learning Activities (centers or stations). Students work with their assigned groups doing different activities at each center – recorder, xylophone, music history, music literacy, and music composition.
In PE, students are finishing up the chasing, fleeing, & dodging unit for the upper grades and the lower grades are finishing up the cooperative games unit. The next unit will be 4 weeks of striking with a bat. Tee ball for the lower grades and soft ball for the upper.
We also had another great turnout this past Thursday for our PTA meeting. Ms. Stoermann was the guest speaker who presented on AAP. She explained the process, what FCPS offers, what AAP looks like at Franklin Sherman, and answered parent questions. If you do have any questions, please feel free to reach out to her as she is a wealth of knowledge and loves empowering our community to know more about AAP at Franklin Sherman.
Farris Thomas
Principal
Franklin Sherman Elementary School
 Important Dates
March Women's History Month
March Equity in Education Month
March Celebrating Arts in Our Schools Month
March 14 Pi Night
March 21 6th Grade Musical Performances
March 22 End of Q3
March 25-29 Spring Break
April 1-2 Student Holidays
April 2 Kindergarten and 1st Grade Orientation
April 10 Student Holiday - Eid al-Fitr
April 12 Bingo Night
April 13 Spring Garden Clean-Up
School Calendar: 2023-24
Contents
Kindergarten and 1st Grade Orientation Event
On Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 1:45 p.m. we will hold an orientation and registration event for students who will enter Kindergarten and 1st Grade in the 2024-25 school year. Parents and students will get to meet the teachers and other staff members as well as enjoy a tour of the school.
Stayed tuned to the Franklin Sherman FLASH Newsletter for additional opportunities to visit the school and prepare for SY 2024-25.
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The book fair was a great success!! Thank you so much to all the parents who volunteered at the fair. Your help allowed us to pull it off without a hitch. Thanks especially to those who stayed longer than the hours they signed up for to help us set up and pack up the fair. Thank you for the bottom of our hearts!
Now that the live on-site book fair is closed, don't forget families can still shop online until June. All the proceeds go to our school. Don't forget to check out our teachers’ wish lists while browsing the online bookfair.
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Parents/caregivers received the FCPS’ Family Engagement Survey Sunday, March 3, from independent research firm K12 Insight. Please participate — your feedback is critical in helping to inform and improve practices to best support our students.
Taking this survey will also help strengthen the partnership between your family and our school. When that partnership is strong, students can experience a range of benefits including improved school readiness, higher student achievement, better social skills and behavior, and an increased likelihood of graduating high school. The survey will take about 10-15 minutes to complete and will be available in 10 languages.
Please visit the Family Engagement Survey webpage for more information. Your voice matters!
Fill out the survey today!
This year, spring break is March 25-29. We will be eager to welcome your children back to school on Wednesday, April 3, after two teacher work days. Student attendance is very important. Every day, our teachers will be teaching, and students will be learning. Studies have shown that just two absences per month can cause students to fall behind. Let’s finish this school year strong. Visit FCPS’ website for attendance resources.
As part of our commitment to creating a safe and focused learning environment for our students, our school is using a classroom management tool that will help teachers better connect with student devices during classes. We are continuing to expand our use over the coming weeks. This tool will provide teachers with a number of helpful features:
- Easily view student screens in real time from the teacher console to see which students may need guidance or support.
- Focus student attention on a particular website on their device to minimize distractions.
- Pause student access to the internet to focus on other classroom tasks.
We believe this classroom management tool will allow us to maximize class time to support your student’s learning while at school. Please note that student devices will not be monitored outside of school hours. The regular filters remain in place on school devices, but once they are home, teachers cannot monitor students. As parents, we would like to encourage you to sign up for your own Lightspeed reports, which will allow you to see how your child is spending time on the computer during and after school hours.
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In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- Take the Family Engagement Survey!
- New Regulation on Meditation and Reflection Spaces
- Solar Eclipse Resources
- Browse Summer Camps and Learning Programs
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving the weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
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Pi Night is Almost Here!
3/14, 6 - 7:30 pm
Join us Thursday evening as we celebrate the mathematical constant π--and indulge in delicious pies! Activities include a Math Maze, Pi Memorization contest, Math Trivia game, Pi Crafts, Explore Pi hands-on activities, and, of course, delicious PIE!
No Pi Night celebration would be complete without eating pies! We encourage all families to bring a pie--homemade or store-bought; no peanuts, please!--for our pie walk (similar to a cakewalk). Sign up to bring a pie.
And for those who can't imagine celebrating Pi Night without pizza, we've got you covered! Order your own pizza pie for Pi Night by TOMORROW, March 12, at noon. Pizza will be available for pre-order only; we will NOT have extra pizza for sale at the event.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to celebrate the beauty of mathematics and the deliciousness of pie! We look forward to seeing you on March 14 for this very special event!
After-School Activities are Back!
Registration opens TODAY at 10 am!
Would your child love to play chess or soccer, explore karate or LEGO robotics, learn Mandarin or dabble in the Messiest Art Class Ever? If so, you're in luck; Baroody is offering classes immediately after school at Franklin Sherman, Tuesday through Thursday, beginning April 9. Miss Pam also is returning on Thursdays with her very popular Young at Art class, which begins on April 4. Space is limited, so register today! If you are not already a member of the PTA, you must first join the PTA in order for your child to participate.
Join the PTA Board
Work with other dedicated parents to foster our strong school community; bring much-needed resources to support Franklin Sherman; and offer enriching programs, events, and activities for our students and families.
The following positions are available for the 2024-25 school year:
- President
- Treasurer
- VP, Fundraising
- VP, Programs
- Secretary
We also are seeking help with Web design, social media, philanthropy, Food Bus, and dine-out fundraisers. If you can help in any of these areas, we would greatly appreciate your support. We have experienced current and former Board members who can answer questions and help get you settled into your role, in whatever capacity you would like to serve. Please reach out to Melissa Vayra at mdavistwh@yahoo.com if you can help.
Annual PTA membership costs $20 per family and is due EACH school year. Join here!
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FCPS Rec-PAC 2024
Rec-PAC (Pretty Awesome Children), operated by Fairfax County Park Authority, is a six week structured recreation program with emphasis on leisure skills designed for elementary school children.
Participants will have an opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of activities such as: fun and fitness, indoor and outdoor games, team sports, nature, crafts, storytelling, sports festivals, talent shows and supervised play sessions. Each location has a ratio of 1 staff person to 18 participants.
- Rec-PAC takes place June 24 to August 1.
- Registration for Rec-PAC 2024 opens on March 12! Register anytime from March 12 to June 14.
- Qualified individuals are encouraged to submit scholarship applications for the Rec-PAC program now.
- C.I.T. registration will open in April.
Important Forms for SY 2024-25
The Survey of Preschool Children form (IT-112)should be submitted if you have a child who will be entering kindergarten this fall, please complete this form and email it to Ann Rajabi by March 31.
Non-profit Distribution of Fliers
Review Regulation 1367 on Distribution of Fliers
FCPS offers the opportunity for nonprofit organizations to make their materials available, through local schools, to students and parents. Fliers will be sent home in student’s backpacks. Fliers, sorted into 15 groups of 25, need to be at the school by 12:00 p.m. on the Friday before the below date.
May 17, 2024
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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 specifically Franklin Sherman.
FCPS Cares Program
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