In this Paw Print:
-
School News:
-
PTA News:
- Library Volunteers 📚
- FREE T-SHIRTS!! 👕
- Join the PTA! ❤️
Dear Poplar Tree Families,
We've had a wonderful start to the new school year! As we wrap up our second week, we're filled with gratitude for the incredible energy, enthusiasm, and smiles that have filled our hallways and classrooms. It's been a joy to watch our students reconnect with friends and teachers and dive into their learning.
As we celebrate our own successful start, our hearts are with the school community in Minnesota that experienced a school shooting this week. We send our deepest love and support to them as they navigate this difficult time. The safety and well-being of our students and staff are our top priorities. We are committed to fostering a secure environment where every child feels safe.
We look forward to seeing all our parents and caregivers at Back to School Night in starting next week. As a reminder, Grades K-2 will be on Wednesday, September 3 and Grades 3-6: Wednesday, September 10 starting at 6:00 pm!
We hope you have a relaxing Labor Day weekend. Enjoy this extra time with your loved ones, and we look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday!
Sue Andujar, Principal
Amy Alley, Assistant Principal
Where in the school is Ms. Andujar!?
Click the image below to see what Ms. Andujar is up to this week!!
👚 House T-Shirts! 💪
It's that time of year where we ask our students to help us design our House T-Shirts! This year's shirt design:
- 💪🐾 Should represent our theme Uniquely Strong: You and Us
- 🖤🩶 Must be done in black or gray so it can be printed on a Green, Blue, Orange, or Red Shirt.
- 📝💻 Can be paper/pencil or digital
To submit a design, complete the form in the Student Schoology Course or at this link: http://bit.ly/ptshirtdesign25 by Friday, September 19!
We can't wait to see all your creative designs! 🧠🎨
🦺 Lockdown Drill 🔒
Keeping students and staff safe is a priority for all of us. We have a crisis management and emergency preparedness plan for our school that is reviewed and updated regularly. Our plan includes procedures on how to respond to incidents such as fires and tornadoes. Students and staff regularly practice these drills every school year. We also practice lockdown drills.
A new Virginia Law (22.1-137.2) requires schools to notify parents at least 24 hours before a school practices a lockdown drill. We will have our first lockdown drill of the year on Thursday, September 4. We are required to practice lockdown drills two times a year. FCPS lockdown drills do not include any type of active shooter scenario training, they are instruction and classroom based.
We will conduct a lockdown drill at our school soon. Our pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students are exempt from mandatory participation in lockdown drills during the first 60 days of the school year. They will participate in our second and final drill later this school year.
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 to keep our school safe.
💻Paw Tech Squad Applications📑
Students in Grades 4-6 can apply to be a part of the Poplar Tree Paw Tech Squad. This group of students support the technology needs of our school community and meet bi-weekly for lunch to learn new things and work on various technology projects
Students must apply for the Paw Tech Squad just as they would apply for a real world job. They must complete a digital resume highlighting some of their technology skills. They also have to complete a form indicating why they want to be a part of the squad. After they have submitted their application, they will also have a short interview!
The applications are now open will be due by Friday, September 12. The applications are available in the Student Schoology course. There have been announcements on the Good Morning Poplar Tree news show about how to apply and there will also be flyers put up around the school.
If your child has any questions about the application process, feel free to reach out to Ms. Leisey, lfleisey@fcps.edu. THANK YOU!
👟 Asha Jyothi 5K 🏃♂️➡️
Join our Poplar Tree team as we celebrate health and wellness and register for the Asha-Jyothi 5K on Saturday, September 21 at 8am at Fairfax Corner. This exciting event not only supports a great cause but also gives money back to our school!
- Fun Run @ 8am
- 5K Run @ 8:30
- Use coupon code AJ4Schools for $10 off
Register HERE!
Ensuring Student Safety:
Register for Volunteer FCPS
At Poplar Tree Elementary, our volunteers are a vital part of our school community. We deeply value the time and care they give to our students.
Recent updates to our volunteer process focus on one primary goal: keeping students safe.
These updates — such as checks against the sex offender registry and, in some cases, criminal background checks — are safety measures that will help us maintain a secure and supportive learning environment for every student in our care.
We encourage all our parents and community members interested in supporting our students by volunteering at Poplar Tree to visit this website to sign up. After you create a profile, you will view an orientation video and complete a volunteer application.
Volunteer FCPS ensures a safe, consistent, and welcoming environment at all of our schools. All volunteers must be registered in Volunteer FCPS. This includes individuals who volunteer to chaperone on field trips, work at book fairs, and help out regularly in classrooms, libraries, or cafeterias. Volunteers who work unsupervised with students will also be required to undergo a background check.
We understand these changes may seem disruptive, especially for long-time volunteers. Our intent is to ensure that our students feel safe and supported with each and every person they encounter at school.
As a reminder, all volunteers — and visitors to a school — are required to sign in by scanning their ID at our visitor kiosk. Visit the Volunteer FCPS Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more.
The Virginia government requires assessments for the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) in all schools. These assessments help state officials understand literacy and school readiness needs across Virginia. Additionally, the mathematics assessment in grades 1-2 fulfills a Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) MultiTiered Systems of Support (MTSS) requirement. Test results help teachers, school leaders, and parents know how to support each student’s learning and development. The Academic Screening, Growth, and Diagnostic Tests webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/academic-screeninggrowth-and-diagnostic-tests) provides more information on these tests.
|
Grade
|
Literacy Assessment
|
Mathematics Assessment
|
Behavior Assessment
|
|
PreK -K
|
Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS)
|
Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS)
|
Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS)
|
|
1-2
|
VALLSS
|
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Math
|
none
|
Teachers assess all PreK-2 students with the VALLSS in fall, winter, and spring. Grade PreK-K EMAS and CBRS tests are given in fall and spring. In grades 1-2, all students take the MAP Math test in fall, winter, and spring. Tests are delivered within the classroom instructional block. Teachers set specific testing dates for each class. General timing for required screening is available on the Grade Level Tests webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/academics/student-testsassessments/grade-level-tests).
Based on academic screening results, some students may require a reading plan or math intervention plan. Some students may need additional diagnostic tests to help teachers determine specific areas for support. If you have questions about academic screening, growth, or diagnostic tests, please contact your student’s teacher or the school's test coordinator.
The Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) require schools to provide reading and mathematics screening tests for all students in grades 3-8. These assessments also fulfill a requirement for reading and mathematics growth assessments within the Virginia Assessment Program (VAP). Test results help families and teachers know how to support each student’s learning and development.
- Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Math - required for all students who are scheduled to take the spring Standards of Learning (SOL)
- iReady Reading - required for all students who are scheduled to take the spring SOL
- Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS) - required for certain students based on other reading performance data
If your student is identified to participate in VALLSS, you will receive additional communication from your student’s school with details about this assessment. Families may also choose to opt-in to VALLSS participation by contacting their student’s teacher.
Teachers assess grade 3-8 students with MAP Math, iReady Reading, and VALLSS in fall, winter, and spring. The Academic Screening, Growth, and Diagnostic Tests webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/academic-screening-growth-and-diagnostic-tests) provides more information on these tests.
iReady and MAP tests are generally delivered during the classroom instructional block. VALLSS may be delivered within classroom instruction or at another time, such as an intervention or advisory period. The division schedule for iReady, MAP, and VALLSS tests can be found on the Grade Level Tests webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/academics/student-tests-assessments/grade-level-tests). Teachers set specific testing schedules for students in their class.
Based on academic screening results, some students may require a reading plan or math intervention plan. Some students may require additional diagnostic tests to help teachers determine specific areas for support. If you have questions about academic screening, growth, or diagnostic tests, please contact your student’s teacher or the school's test coordinator.
✅ Important Action Items ✅
- Complete the digital consent forms for your child. You will use your ParentVUE username and password to login to the Parent Digital Consent. Here you will provide consent for your child to use many of our digital resources, complete a form regarding the 3 hour early release Wednesdays this year, and give your permission for retakes of state assessments. In addition, you have the option to opt your child out of various things such as Family Life Education and SEL Screener participation.
- Complete THIS FORM indicating your plan for our first 3-hour early release Wednesday, September 17. This is in addition to the form mentioned above as this gives us more details about the Early Release that we will need.
Thank you for your help in getting these done!
🍽️ Cafeteria Hostess Needed🍕
We are in need of a cafeteria hostess! This a job that would be needed Monday - Friday from 10:30 am - 2:00 pm. If you are interested, please email our Assistant Principal Amy Alley avalley@fcps.edu.
📚Volunteer in the Library!📚
We invite parents and guardians to volunteer in the school library to help Mrs. Riddile during their student's weekly library time! Volunteers will help re-shelf and check out books. You're welcome to sign up as often as you'd like!
Information on how to sign up is available here: https://www.poplartreepta.org/library.
Email pteslibrarycoord@gmail.com with any questions!
👕FREE House Shirts for ALL Students!!👚
Send us your size and you might win a prize!
Now that the sorting hat (or Ms. Andujar) has spoken, make sure you send the PTA your student's t-shirt size HERE for their free house t-shirt, sponsored by the PTA! Make sure you submit one form for each of your students.
If you submit your form(s) by September 5, you'll automatically be entered to win a Harry Potter board game!
❤️ Join the PTA! ❤️
Please join the PTA to help support our school!!
If you haven't joined yet, please do so HERE!
|
