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Bailey’s Upper Families,
We hope you’re staying warm! I’m looking forward to a full week of school next week and the promise of slightly warmer weather.
A quick reminder: Quarter 2 ends on January 28th, which means we’re officially halfway through the school year! Our students have grown tremendously—academically, socially, and even in height! I’m so proud of them every single day.
If you haven’t heard, we’ve launched the Bailey’s Upper Family Center YouTube Channel! Subscribe here. Currently, our plan is to summarize the weekly newsletter, but we’re also exploring ways to use this platform to showcase our students’ amazing work, highlight staff contributions, and share valuable resources with you.
We’d love to hear your thoughts! If there’s something you’d like to learn about, see, or experience, please let us know. While we always prefer connecting with you in person, we hope this can be the next best thing.
Thank you for your support!
Bailey's Upper Administrative Team
🐯Holly Dowling
🧡Tricia Wayland
💙Christie Fuller
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January 28th- End of Quarter 2
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January 29th- No School- Student Holiday
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February 10th: 3 Hour Early Release (Dismissal starts at 12:15 p.m.)
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February 12th: Class Photo Day
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February 24th: Parent Coffee- Literacy Focus 9:15-10:30 at Bailey’s Upper Cafeteria
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Attendance Line: Phone: 703-503-2727 or email: baileysupperelem@fcps.edu
- Kiss and Ride Drop Off/Pick Up Schedule For Upper 8:25-8:35 a.m. and 3:25-3:35 p.m.
Congratulations to Principal Dowling for being named Region 2’s Outstanding New Principal. We are so proud of Ms. Dowling! Ms. Dowling will move on to the final round and compete against the Outstanding New Principals from the other FCPS regions.
At Bailey’s Upper ES, our number one responsibility is to always ensure the safety of our students and staff. We continually work with county leaders to ensure coordinated responses to potential safety concerns, and we practice emergency drills on a regular basis throughout the school year. We will hold fire drills, Lockdown Drills, Bus Evacuation and Tornado drills periodically throughout the year.
Keeping students and staff safe is a priority for all of us. Virginia Law (22.1-137.2) requires schools to notify parents at least 24 hours before a school practices a lockdown drill. However, we are not required to share the exact date and time of the drill. FCPS lockdown drills do not include any type of active shooter scenario training, they are instruction and classroom based.
We plan to have our second lockdown drill of the school year during the week of January 27th at Bailey’s Upper ES.
Additional information on our lockdown drill program to include parent tips and FAQs can be found on the Emergency Planning and Crisis Response web page. After reviewing this content, you should discuss the value of these safety drills with your child. Keeping our school safe and secure for all students and staff involves the participation of the entire school community, and we thank you for your help in keeping our school safe.
During a lockdown drill:
- All students stay in place with a teacher or staff member.
- Students and teachers remain in locked classrooms, unobservable from outside (lights-off, window blinds closed, door windows obscured with paper) and outside potential lines of fire.)
- Students and staff members disregard fire alarms.
- No one enters or exits the school, except public safety personnel.
- Persons in trailers remain in locked trailers.
Your child may come home and talk about their experience during the drill. We encourage you to talk with your child about the importance of being prepared for emergencies. Please review these frequently asked questions to support your students before and after school lockdown drills.
⚠️ Know Our Security Terms
FCPS uses specific terminology to describe the actions school staff and students should take to ensure safety in a variety of situations. It is important for staff, families, and students to understand what the different terms mean and how they impact school operations.
Watch this video to learn about safety terms including lockdown; secure the building; and stay put, stay tuned.
If students, staff, or community members have a safety concern at school (that is not an immediate emergency), they should submit a tip to the FCPS Safety Tipline. In an emergency, please call 9-1-1.
This is a reminder that Bailey’s Upper will have a three-hour early dismissal on Monday, February 10th at 12:25 p.m. to accommodate teacher training in the afternoon.
You will receive a message from Bailey’s Upper on Monday reminding you that your child is scheduled to either go home at 12:25 p.m. or stay due to childcare difficulties or BUAE practice.
Please contact the office by February 7th to update your child’s status.
iReady Reading and Math Assessments:
- Testing for all grade concluded this week with just a small number of make-up tests to be completed in the next week.
WIDA Assessments Begin Next Week
All students identified as multilingual learners (MLs) are assessed annually to monitor their progress and proficiency in English as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In Virginia, all divisions use the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs for this purpose.
The WIDA ACCESS for ELLs is aligned with the WIDA English Language Development standards and assesses English in the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Listening Assessment Dates
- 3rd Grade – Monday, January 27th
- 4th Grade – Tuesday, January 28th
- 5th Grade – Thursday, January 30th
Reading Assessment Dates
- 3rd Grade – Tuesday, February 4th
- 4th Grade -Wednesday, February 5th
- 5th Grade – Thursday, February 6th
Writing Assessment Dates
- 3rd Grade – Tuesday, February 11th
- 4th Grade – Wednesday, February 12th
- 5th Grade – Thursday, February 15th
Speaking Assessment Dates
- For all grades will be complete from February 18th – March 14th by our ESOL teachers in small groups of 4-8 students at a time
If you have any questions regarding past, current, or upcoming assessments, please contact Nicole Cassidy or Mary Iannicola our School Testing Coordinators at 703-503-2700
All Bailey’s Upper parents are invited to attend our Literacy Workshop on Monday, Feb. 24th 9:15 a.m-10:30 a.m, it will be held in-person at Upper’s Cafeteria. We will be covering the items listed below:
- Learn about Benchmark Advance and the integration of social studies, science, and literary topics.
- Learn about UPPER’s Walk to Read program!
- Receive school-wide data
- Visit our incredible classrooms!
Current 5th Grade Families:
You are invited to attend Glasgow’s Rising 6th Grade Middle School Transition Night on Thursday, January 30th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm. All students/children in attendance must be accompanied and supervised by an adult.
It is a wonderful opportunity:
- Meet Ms. Lisa Barrow, new GMS Principal
- Learn about various programming options such as Multilingual Learner, Special Education supports, Math options, AVID, etc.
- Attend Student panel where current GMS students will be available to answer questions you or your child may have.
- Attend a Family Engagement Session that will be focused on how families can support their child’s success at Glasgow.
Bus transportation is available for families who need it. Buses will pick up and drop off at the following locations:
- Baileys Elementary 6111 Knollwood Dr, Bailey's Crossroads, VA 22041
- Skyline 5599 Seminary Rd, Falls Church, VA 22041
- Willston Community Center 6131 Willston Dr, Falls Church, VA 22044
Busses will pick up for the event at 5:45 pm and will leave Glasgow at 8:00 pm.
*Snow Date: February 6th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.
We are thrilled to invite you to Loving Solutions, a free 10-week parenting course designed specifically for Bailey’s parents with children aged 5 to 10 years old. This empowering program offers a supportive environment where parents can connect, share experiences, and gain practical strategies to address their child’s behavioral challenges at home and how to strengthen the relationship between child and parent.
Highlights of the program include:
- A built-in parent support group to provide emotional encouragement.
- A structured space to learn from other parents and build a sense of community.
- Practical, actionable advice tailored to real-life challenges.
Important Details:
- Language: The course will be conducted in Spanish.
- Schedule: February 3rd to April 28th
- Time: Dinner at 6:00pm & Class 6:30pm-8:30pm
- Location: Bailey’s Primary – Family Center
- Childcare will be available at no cost.
- Cost: Free!
Don't miss this opportunity to strengthen your parenting skills and build meaningful connections with other families.
Register now using the link below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8wv1NCB2M81iFmD9eeukCSCQ7y0sDh2LHYoUmMSWr1glqNA/viewform
📈 Virginia’s Student Assessment Summary for Families
This month, families of students who took any Standards of Learning (SOL) test between school years 2015-16 and 2023-24 will receive a Student Assessment Summary Report. The report shows a student’s state percentile ranking for each test. This allows families to see how their child ranked compared to all Virginia students who took the same test that year.
Reports are available now in SIS ParentVUE Documents. We will distribute them to students whose families do not have ParentVUE access. Learn how to access ParentVUE.
The report is intended to help families reflect on how their child performed across all tested subjects over the years. Our staff members are committed to working with families to help every student reach their highest potential. Learn more about student assessments in FCPS.
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