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Dear Franklin Sherman ES Parents/Guardians,
On Monday, March 24, you will receive an email with a link to the FCPS Principal Evaluation Parent/Guardian Feedback Form. This questionnaire is part of the Performance Evaluation Program and provides an opportunity for you to share anonymous feedback on key aspects of our school, including:
- Instructional leadership
- School climate
- Management (human resources and organizational)
- Communication and community relations
- Culturally responsive and equitable leadership
- Professionalism
The questionnaire will be open March 24 – April 4 and will be collected online. When you receive an email from FCPSSurvey@fcps.edu, please take a few minutes to complete it.
Your feedback is important and helps shape the future of our school. Thank you for your time and participation!
Sincerely,
Farris Thomas
Principal
Franklin Sherman ES
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March Women's History Month
March Arts in Our Schools Month
March 17 3 Hour Early Release
March 18 5th Grade Integrated Writing Exam (Writing SOL)
March 26 6th Grade Musical 6 p.m.
March 27 5th Grade Natural History Museum Field Trip
March 28 End of Q3 (full day for students)
March 31 - April 1 Student Holidays
April 4 PTA BINGO Night
April 14 - 18 Spring Break
School Calendar: 2024-25
We Need Your Help!!
Each spring, we begin the essential task of determining class placements for the next school year. The school staff works collaboratively to create classroom assignments. It is the task of the grade level teachers, specialists, and administration to determine distribution of students to optimally create classroom groupings. A variety of factors such as student personalities, friendships, and academic abilities, and services to students are also considered as we create our new classes. Many factors are taken into consideration and multiple perspectives are considered.
As parents, you can assist us in determining class placement by sharing your insights about your child with respect to academic and behavioral information by completing this form. Please note that we do not accept requests for specific teachers for the upcoming grade placement. This includes hints that reference specific teachers. We cannot guarantee multiple friend requests nor exceptions for other students with whom there may be a conflict.
Completion of the form is optional; however, the deadline for any correspondence is April 11. The form will no longer accept responses after that date. Any input you share will be shared with the grade level team. Please complete one form per child and we appreciate your input regarding your child’s class placement.
Please fill out this student intentions form for each child who WILL NOT attend Franklin Sherman. The parents/care givers of current 6th grade students should fill out the form if their child will not attend Cooper/Longfellow next year.
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Students in grades 3-6 participate in state Standards of Learning assessments (SOL assessments) each year. The SOL assessments measure how well the students are learning the state standards. 5th grade students at Franklin Sherman will be taking the IRW test on March 18, 2025. The IRW is a short reading passage followed by a few multiple-choice questions and a chance for students to write a summary of the reading passage.
Students in grades 3-6 will be taking the SOL exams on May 13 (Reading), May 15 (Math) and May 20th (5th grade only, Science). SOL assessments are untimed, multiple-choice tests in the different content areas.
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The book fair is upon us! The book fair will run from March 27 to April 4.
Your children will be able to shop during school hours. On Thursday, March
27 the book fair will open for browsing. Then Friday to the next Friday students and families will be able to purchase from the fair.
Tuesday, April 1, is a student holiday but the book fair will be open all
day from 8:30 to 4:00.
Also, as we did in the past, we will keep the book fair open for Family Night on Friday, April 4 from the end of the school day until 6:00 p.m.
Check out the Spring Flyer.
As usual you are welcome to send in cash or check for payment with your
child. But if you are going to use an electronic payment system, we
recommend that you set up an e-wallet in advance.
We do need lots of help and encourage parents to volunteer if you are able. To volunteer or for any questions please contact our Librarian, Rosalie Essimi, at
rmessimimen@fcps.edu.
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 We are keeping up with the work in our garden. Parents and students cleaned and primed planter tires that we will paint bright colors on the next good weather Friday. Raised vegetable beds are getting installed, more to be done on those the next time we meet. If you plan to join us on a Friday after school at 4:15, please email either me lreaton@fcps.edu, Mrs. Essimi rmessimimen@fcps.edu, or Ms. Michalski rlmichalski@fcps.edu. We need to know how many helpers we will have on a given day. Parents must accompany their children. Your child can also attend our Tuesday morning meetings in the Library at 8:15 with a signed permission slip. No need for parents to attend. Thank you!
Earth Week is April 21-25, the week we get back from Spring Break. It will be like a Spirit Week similar to what we are doing this week, with students and staff wearing certain things, such as colors. Be on the lookout for more info!
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It's hard to believe the end of the third quarter is almost here! Projects will start coming home now if you have been wondering where they are. I like to hang onto pieces to display at school. We had a successful McLean Pyramid Art Show at the McLean Community Center this past week with 35 students' work displayed. Here is exciting work we've been doing:
K-- We made "If I Built a House" prints with edges of cardboard, bottle caps, forks, etc. and black tempera paint, then colored in with crayon. We will move into "When I Grow Up" portraits.
1-- We finished our "Favorite Foods" prints in the style of Andy Warhol with brightly colored paper and inks. Paper Weaving our family colors will be next.
2-- We sculpted out of clay our Favorite Birds that we see around our area. Next, we will print Collagraphs of animals in their habitats.
3-- We made Animal Vessels out of clay where we researched our animal on laptops. We are getting ready to print Emotional Faces on our monoprints.
4-- We painted with tempera large, colorful, Time Travel Landscapes, and are moving into building coil pots out of clay.
5-- Our cut paper Triptychs were a success, telling a Migration Story. We are now starting a tempera paint project inspired by Contemporary Artist Dominic Chambers.
6-- I was so impressed with our sixth graders' Micrographies, portraits with words, of a person they admire. See the photo above. We are moving onto Identity Mugs out of clay.
Enhanced AUT-- We made coffee filter prints with colors of the rainbow, sprayed with water to make a beautiful print, and are working on cutting paper fruit to arrange in a bowl with overlapping.
I enjoy teaching your children! --Thank you, Ms. Eaton
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Calling all Future Longfellow Lancer Families!
Please join us for a PTA meeting on April 9 starting at 5:30 to be followed by an informative and engaging Parent & Student Panel at 6pm in theFranklin Sherman cafeteria. You will hear from current Longfellow students and parents that came from Franklin Sherman. They will share to expect as you transition to 7th grade such as classes, homework, clubs and activities, making new friends, and managing lockers. Parents will also have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about resources available to support their child's transition to middle school. This is a fantastic chance to get a head start and ease any anxieties about the exciting journey ahead. We look forward to seeing you there!
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As part of the new Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) 2024 Accountability System, the School Performance and Support Framework (SPSF) will introduce changes in how school accountability calculations are made when the student is a multilingual learner acquiring English, when the student is enrolled only a portion of the school year, and when a parent or guardian refuses participation for the student in state assessments. These changes will impact how schools fare under the SPSF.
- Under the previous Standards of Accreditation accountability system, multilingual learners were allowed up to 11 semesters of Virginia public schooling before their Standards of Learning (SOL) test scores were counted against the school’s performance. This timing was in keeping with research showing that language acquisition typically takes between 8-14 semesters. The new SPSF system, on the other hand, permits only 3 semesters, or 12 instructional months, in U.S. public schools before a multilingual learner’s test results are included in accountability calculations.
- Similarly, under the previous SOA system, the performance of students who had received the bulk of their instruction prior to enrolling in a school was not counted against that school’s performance. This practice was intended to ensure that performance reporting reflected the school’s instructional delivery. However, the new SPSF system will now under count student test performance toward the school where the assessment was taken whenever the student is enrolled at the school for 50% of the academic year.
- Within Virginia’s original Every Student Succeeds Act Consolidated State Plan approved by the U.S Education Department, when a parent or guardian chose to refuse testing for their student, the student received a zero on their score report, but it was not counted against school performance. Under the new system, the zero score for parent/guardian refusals will be counted against a school’s overall performance rating when the school has less than 95% participation.
These shifts in the calculation rules for school accountability in the Mastery component of SPSF will require schools to consider different strategies when communicating to families about test participation and when preparing students for SOL testing, particularly where the factor may be outside a school’s direct control. Within FCPS, our energy will continue to go toward providing the supports necessary to help each individual student demonstrate their greatest potential within the constraints of state assessments.
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Franklin Sherman's 2024-25 yearbook ordering is open online.
Visit www.buytheyearbook.com and use the code 725681 in order to order our school's book.
The cost is $21.50.
Ordering will close on April 18.
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PTA Meeting Dates 2024-2025 - Save the Date!
Wednesday, 4/2 8:00-9:00 am
Wednesday, 5/21 8:00-9:00 am
Join the PTA
You can make a difference in your school community and will receive the weekly PTA Newsletter. Annual PTA membership costs only $20 and is due EACH school year. Join the PTA Today!
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In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics and others:
- Second Annual Food Show
- Cameras on School Bus Stop Arms
- Comprehensive Boundary Review Process Explained
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
FCPS Cares
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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FCPS Trust Policy
April 28, 2022, the School Board voted to adopt the Trust Policy affirming our commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all students and their families. This policy aligns Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) policy with Fairfax County Government's Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy. This policy ensures that students and families can access the division’s benefits and services without fear of information being disclosed, directly or indirectly, to federal immigration officials. To review the FCPS Trust Policy, please click here.
Reporting All Day Absences
FCPS has created clearer guidance for reporting attendance. Please use using one of the methods below:
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ParentVUE: Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, parents or legal guardians can submit up to two consecutive full-day absences using SIS ParentVUE. Learn more about attendance reporting through ParentVUE on the FCPS website: fcps.edu/attendance.
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Call the school's attendance line at 703-506-7979.
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Email the front office at franklinshermanelem.attendance@fcps.edu. When emailing an absence or tardy, please include your child's first and last name and their teacher's name.
All Day Absences Only: The Attendance feature in ParentVUE is the FCPS secure web solution for reporting all day absences.
Partial Absence: To report late arrivals, early dismissals, or to update already submitted attendance, please contact the school. Our school's office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 am-4:30 pm.
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