Hello, Scottie families!
This week we celebrated Purple Up! Day on Wednesday, honoring our students of active duty and reserve military parents. We are grateful for all of our Bonnie Brae connected military families, active, reserve, and retired, and we thank you for your service!
Next week on Friday, April 26, we will hold our April parent coffee. Please join us as we share more about The Positivity Project and how it supports our school community. Also on Friday of next week we have our SCA Spirit Day - Decades Day! We always encourage full participation in any way: come dressed in clothing from a favorite decade; wear an Autism Acceptance shirt for Autism Acceptance month; or wear Bonnie Brae colors of blue and white!
Finally, a huge thank you to our PTO for all their support here at Bonnie Brae. We had another great PTO meeting this week, and we encourage all families to join the PTO, to voluteer to support our school, and to consider serving on the PTO Board. Thank you, PTO, for all you do for our Scotties!
Enjoy the weekend with your family and friends!
Morgan Birge, Principal
Natalie Vershaw, Assistant Principal
Melissa Johnson, Assistant Principal
Family. Relationships. Success.
Next Week's Events
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April 22 - Earth Day
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April 22-26 - Chick-fil-A Spirit Week @ Burke Center Parkway location
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April 26 - BBES Spirit Day-Decades Day
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April 26 - Parent Coffee: Positivity Project (BBES Cafe), 8:40-9:15 am
Positivity Project
Upcoming Weekly Focus: Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence
Character Strengths: You notice and value the world’s beauty and people’s skills. You don’t take things for granted.
Quote of the Week: “At some point in life the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough.”
-TONI MORRISON
Positivity Project for Families
Families can find resources to help continue the discussion of character strengths at home by visiting the Positivity Project for Families webpage.
A few amazing highlights that happened this week...
Purple Up Day at Bonnie Brae!
Chronic Absenteeism - State Board of Accreditation
Last school year, the Virginia Board of Education decided to not suspend chronic absenteeism as part of school accreditation determinations. The Board’s rationale was a desire to send a strong message to schools, families, and students about the importance of regular attendance for student success. The Board decision means that schools with Level 3 (red) in any indicator—including chronic absenteeism—based on end-of-year data will receive “Accredited with Conditions” designation.
Chronic Absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, regardless of reason. A student is determined to be chronically absent if the rate of their days absent divided by their total days in membership is greater than or equal to 10%.
As of April 18th, 15.4% of Bonnie Brae students are currently considered chronically absent, which is above the state threshold of 15% (of total students). As we finish out the remainder of this school year, we will continue to update this percentage with you in hopes that we can join other Robinson pyramid schools in having an acceptable chronic absenteeism rate that is below 15%.
Did you know?
- Regular school attendance in grades preschool through grade 6 makes it more likely that your child will read on grade level.
- The 2024-25 school year calendar has been published and we highly recommend scheduling vacations around the school year calendar.
- Even excused absences interfere with learning.
- A pattern of absences (whether unexcused or excused) is one of the main reasons children have lower academic achievement.
- Students who attend 90% or more of the school year are more likely to graduate from high school on time.
- Absences can mask deeper struggles. For example; absences may be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, he or she may be struggling with school work or peer relationships, or possibly facing a medical or mental health concern.
Support is available:
All staff members at Bonnie Brae are committed to supporting attendance. Additional resources can be found online at http://www.fcps.edu/attendance. We know that parents are the experts on their own child and our school team is here to partner and help solve attendance-related concerns. Our school counselors, school social worker, and family liaison are available to support:
Lisa Jeffries, school counselor, lmjeffries@fcps.edu
Cori Lonnett, school counselor, CALonnett@fcps.edu
April Bowman, social worker, adbowman@fcps.edu
Santanisha Chang, family liaison, schang@fcps.edu
Spring picture day was a success!
Social and Emotional Learning Screener Results Coming Soon
FCPS students in grades 3-12 took the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener during March, providing updated information on skills such as achieving goals, understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining relationships with adults and peers, and making responsible decisions. The SEL Screener also helps students evaluate their school community’s efforts to make them feel valued, included, and supported.
In late April, individual student SEL Screener results will be available for families in the Documents section of SIS ParentVUE. For families who do not have an active ParentVUE account, results will be sent via postal mail.
Get more information about the screener on the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener webpage. For support in understanding your individual student’s results or ideas on how to support them at home, please review the Family Guide or contact your student’s counselor.
SOL Testing at Bonnie Brae
Spring Standards of Learning (SOL) standardized tests in reading, mathematics, and science take place in May. The FCPS Grade Level Tests webpage provides information by grade level about the general assessment schedule and reporting method for each required assessment type in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). If you have questions about SOLs, contact your child's teacher or Natalie Vershaw, school test coordinator.
Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) School Health Services Internal Survey
The Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) employs school health aides and public health nurses who provide school health services to the students in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). To determine the quality of these services, a survey has been developed by the FCHD to be shared with all parents or guardians of FCPS students. Parents/guardians will be asked for feedback on the level of satisfaction with School Health services provided to the school community. The survey will be distributed electronically via FCPS This Week. The survey window is April 15 - April 26, 2024. Survey link: www.redcap.link/FCHDSchoolHealthSurvey.
Survey results will provide a basis for quality improvement of School Health services. The data-driven process is in alignment with the FCPS Strategic planning process, and the survey results will contribute positively to the FCPS Strategic Plan that reflects a shared consensus among stakeholders.
Summer Arts Camp
Don’t miss out on this summer’s most exciting arts enrichment program! At Elementary Institute for the Arts (E-IFTA), students take art, music, theater, and dance classes daily. E-IFTA is for current second through fifth grade students. Learn more on the E-IFTA webpage. Email EIFTA@fcps.edu with any questions.
Nominate Someone Today for the Bussey Memorial Equity Award
Do you know of an outstanding person or group that has worked for equity in an FCPS school? There’s still time to nominate a candidate for the 2024 Dr. Lawrence Bussey Memorial Equity Award.
This award recognizes staff, students, or community members who have demonstrated significant and impactful efforts to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of students from groups who are marginalized or underserved.
Any FCPS employee, student, or community member may nominate an individual or group for the award. All nomination materials must be submitted by Wednesday, May 1. Full details are available on the Dr. Lawrence Bussey Memorial Equity Award webpage.
Community Forums on Middle School Start Times
FCPS is exploring options for adjusting middle school start times and invites the public to be part of the process. All forums will deliver the same presentation and provide the same feedback opportunities. Register for an in-person forum by clicking on one of the following dates:
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Monday, April 29, 6-8 p.m., at Glasgow Middle School
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Monday, May 6, 6-8 p.m., at Whitman Middle School
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Monday, May 20, 6-8 p.m., at Hughes Middle School
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Wednesday, May 22, 6-8 p.m., at Frost Middle School
A virtual forum will be held on Monday, May 13, 6:30-8 p.m. That registration link will be available soon.
While registration is not required, it does help with planning. Language interpretation and childcare will be provided. Learn more about the project exploring middle school start times.
iCode Game Night - Parents Night Out - This Saturday!
Mark your calendars for our next Parents Night Out event with iCode! This is such a popular fundraiser, so make sure to register before space runs out! Drop off your kiddos and go out and enjoy your evening... they'll have access to games like Minecraft and Roblox and will be served pizza and drinks! Cost is $30/student. View the iCode flyer. REGISTER TODAY: https://shorturl.at/rGTU0
When: Saturday, April 20th from 6-9PM
Where: iCode in Burke
Who: Students grades K-6
Cost: $30/student
Chick-fil-A Spirit Week COMING SOON!
Chick-Fil-A Spirit Week runs all day, all week!
When: April 22th through April 26th
Where: Chick-fil-A Burke Centre Parkway location.
Mention Bonnie Brae spirit week, show the Chick-fil-A flyer or use mobile ordering code BBSpirit24 for the Bonnie Brae PTO to earn 15% of sales!
Stay up to date on all things BBES! Subscribe to our School Calendar.
View the 2023-2024 FCPS School Calendar
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May 2 - Grade 5 Reading SOL Test
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May 3 - Teacher Workday (no school for students)
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May 7 - Interims Sent Home
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May 7 - Grade 6 Reading SOL Test
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May 8 - Grade 4 Reading SOL Test
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May 9 - Grade 3 Reading SOL Test
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May 15 - Grade 5 Math SOL Test
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May 15 - Grade 6 Math SOL Test
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May 15 - PTO Meeting (virtual), 6-7 pm
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May 16- Grade 4 Math SOL Test
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May 17- Grade 3 Math SOL Test
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May 17 - PTO Spring Carnival
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May 21 - Grade 5 Science SOL Test
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May 27 - Memorial Day Holiday (no school for students and staff)
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