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The Feather Report
Volume 2, Issue 8
 Students in Ms. Riffeās room have been practicing different strategies to sort prime and composite numbers. To ensure that all students are comfortable using multiple strategies, Ms. Riffe routinely asks them to stand up and share their thinking with peers.
Leadership Ledger
Westlawn Families,
There has been a buzz of excitement around the building as our extracurricular programs start to kick-off! We were thrilled to host the first session of our Fall STEAM Academy this week, seeing our students dive into science, technology, engineering, arts, and math challenges with enthusiasm. Next week our Drama Club and Thriving Thursdays for Multi-Lingual Learners will host their first sessions.Ā If you have any questions about after school programming opportunities please reach out to Gretchen Maxwell (STEAM Academy), Meredith Jessen (Drama Club, Science/Math Olympiad), and Stephanie Carpenter (Thriving Thursdays).Ā
Next week we encourage all families to join us for our virtual PTA Meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 PM. This is a great opportunity to connect with other parents and hear updates on important school initiatives. Also, please mark your calendars for the same day, October 8, for Walk and Roll to School Day, sponsored by the Westlawn PTA! This event promotes healthy habits and safe routes for our students, and we look forward to seeing everyone participate in this fun, active community effort.
We encourage students to spend time each evening logging onto laptops for 20-30 minutes of Lexia (reading) and/or ST Math (mathematics).Ā Relatively short amounts of time on these adaptive platforms, 4-5 times per week, will reinforce skills taught in the classroom and close gaps in student learning.Ā Please contact our Technology Specialist, Andrew Dinkins, with questions about laptops and WIFI connectivity.
Finally, a great question came up in Community Conversations this week: can furloughed federal employees volunteer at Westlawn, even though they donāt know when they will be able to go back to work? The answer is yes! There are different levels of background checks required for volunteering in FCPS schools this year. Learn more and apply today, and check out current volunteer opportunities in Engage with Westlawn further down in the newsletter.
In partnership,
Christoph Hill, Stephanie Carpenter, Shana Curtis, Erin Theiss
Proud Principals
News
Webinars for Families
Did you know that FCPS has an entire Family Resource Center that includes free webinars for families? Webinars cover all kinds of topics including information for families of students with disabilities, for families with students planning to go to college, and more! For our Westlawn families, you might consider attending a new webinar offering: Supporting Your Child with Dyslexia: October 15, 10-11:30 a.m. This session will provide essential information about dyslexia and the resources available within FCPS to support students with this learning difference. There is translation available on an as-needed basis, so families are encouraged to register today to ensure translators are available.
š Every Day Is a Stepping Stone to Success
Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child later in life. Itās a good habit to build now to help them graduate from college on time and routinely report to work on time once they have a career.
Please take a look at the FCPS Calendar. Try to schedule any trips or family events on weekends and school holidays. Every day of learning is a day toward success. Keep in mind that absences add up quickly. Students who are absent 10% of the school year (or just two days per month) are considered āchronically absent.ā
When possible, schedule appointments for your child outside of school hours. If your child needs to miss school because of an illness or appointment, you must report the absence to our school. You can report absences by calling the main office at 703-241-5100, sending us an email, or reporting the absence through ParentVUE. Please do not report absences through TalkingPoints; it is not always monitored.
Visit FCPSā Attendance webpage for resources on attendance.Ā
Reminder: School Start Times
FCPS is considering changing school start times so that middle schools across the county will not start so early. The changes would also affect elementary schools. There are currently two proposed time changes under consideration. One, where Westlawn would go from 7:45 AM through 2:30 PM, and another, where Westlawn would go from 9:00 AM through 3:45 PM. Your feedback about these options is requested by the Superintendent. Learn more about the proposals. Provide your feedback via survey. The survey closes on October 6, so do not delay!
Reminder: Westlawn Families with Military Connections
We want to get a more accurate picture of the number of military-connected students we have at Westlawn. We sent a TalkingPoints message home to all families on Wednesday morning seeking information about military-connected students. If your child is military-connected, please reply to that message or contact Principal Theiss via email, TalkingPoints, or phone at 703-241-5100. Thank you to all the families who have shared their military connections!
P.S. This past week was Blue Star Welcome Week! Did you see our Blue Star Welcome Week announcement on social media on Monday? You can always catch great photos and news by following us on Instagram and Facebook!
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FCPS News
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- FCPS Welcomes Military Families
- October Community Boundary Review Meetings
- Community Conversations
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
Dates and Events
October 8: Westlawn Color Day: Wear Purple
October 8: Walk and Roll to School Day
October 8: PTA Meeting (6:30 - 7:30 PM; virtual)
October 11: Westlawn Day Fall Festival (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
October 13: No School for Students (Staff Development Day)
October 15: Wednesday Color Day: Wear Pink
To see more schoolwide and community events, remember to check out our website calendar! You can also subscribe to our calendar to make it even more convenient. Click on the little calendar icon in the top right corner of the calendar page of our website to add all current and future events to your cell phone calendar.
Engage with Westlawn
Yes, furloughed federal employees, we would love to have you as volunteers for as long as you are able! Here are our current opportunities, with staff submitting more as needs arise!
Fourth Grade Requests Soccer Referees
The fourth grade team would love to have two people to be soccer referees during outdoor recess, which happens each day from 9:55-10:30. Soccer referees would monitor the soccer game(s) happening at our new goals, and help students make positive choices and display good sportsmanship. Volunteers can work on a daily or weekly basis. Come out and enjoy some fresh air and help students become the best versions of themselves! If you are interested in becoming a soccer referee volunteer, please contact Ms. Schneider via email (or send her a TalkingPoints).
Still Requested: Art Class Volunteers
Ms. Terrell is looking for a few volunteers for art this year! She is hoping to have a parent volunteer on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and/or Thursdays from 10:15 to 11:15 to help with first grade art classes. As the art volunteer, you would help the students stay organized with their materials, give pep talks when their art is not going how they would like, and help manage the studentsā questions. Ms. Terrell would also love a volunteer to help with matting artwork (stapling it to colored construction paper and then hanging it in the hallways); time is flexible. Finally, Ms. Terrell would love a volunteer to wash the paint shirts over the weekend, about once per month. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please email Ms. Terrell or send her a TalkingPoints message!
Reminder: Walk and Ride to Westlawn Day
On October 8, volunteer to greet, cheer on, and hand little goodies to students who walk, bike, scoot, rollerskate, use a wheelchair, or otherwise get to school without using a bus or a car!
Reminder: Westlawn Day - Fall Festival
The PTA is looking for donations of supplies and/or time to make Westlawn Day a success! Sign up to donate items ahead of time or to volunteer your time and talents on the day of the event!
Reminder: Art Needs Books and Magazines
Ms. Terrell is looking for books and magazines to meet various art needs:
- Books in good used condition for students to read after they finish their art projects.
- Books featuring photos of animals for a reference library.
- Non-fiction books featuring photos of places that can be used as references for backgrounds.
- Beat-up books and/or magazines that can be used for collages.
If you have any of those materials, please send them in with your child or drop them off in the main office to the attention of Ms. Terrell.
Join a Community Conversation
Join us on Wednesdays at 11 AM on Zoom to hear the important news from the school from Principal Hill! If you miss a Community Conversation, you can catch up with slides and recordings on our website.
Volunteering in FCPS in 2025-2026 requires you to fill out an online application, and then select the school(s) where you want to be. Learn more and apply today!
Mind Matters
What is a MakerSpace?
A makerspace is a place for hands-on building, designing, and experimenting. Students explore strategies to solve problems while fostering creativity and critical thinking. Failures happen and students learn resiliency as they analyze a different solution. Here at Westlawn we have our famous MOBILE Makerspace so it can travel from room to room! Teachers have used it for dioramas of Native tribes depicting multiple resources, modeling ocean floors and plate tectonics, and mapping our river systems, to name a few.
But you can create this same fun experience at home too! Do you have a corner or a box that could hold some supplies? Do you have a mindset where a little mess is ok? Do you love to see a child really enjoying learning? If you answered yes, then hereās a few tips to help!
- Find a location that can get a little messy
- Put cardboard down to protect furniture
- Gather supplies like recyclables (food boxes, paper towel tubes, plastics) or household items (foil, tape, string, glue, old toy pieces, cotton balls, paper plates and cups).
- Organize into boxes or bins
- Give your child open ended ideas like āMake a bridge that will hold your toy car,ā or, āMake a boat that will float and hold 10 pennies.ā
- Display the completed projects in a place of honor!
Check out this video for more ideas!
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Tech Talk
Celebrate Digital Inclusion Week
This year Digital Inclusion Week is October 6-10, 2025! Digital inclusion refers to āthe activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).ā At Westlawn we practice digital inclusion by working to ensure that students and families have access to digital resources. We do this by:
- Helping qualifying families get connected with low cost internet access for their homes
- Helping families access MiFi devices when broadband internet access is not possible
- Partnering with the Thomas Jefferson Library and making it easy for families to sign up for library cards, which give them access to Chromebooks to borrow or internet-equipped desktop computer stations to use at the library
Unsurprisingly, Fairfax County is also in support of digital inclusion, and offers even more support to ensure that all residents have access to the internet and opportunities to learn how to use technology efficiently and effectively. Free tech classes across Fairfax County include programs for children, adults, and senior citizens.
Of course, one of the best ways to learn how to better use technology is by playing with it! Besides Lexia and ST Math, students at Westlawn are encouraged to use a variety of online resources that we share on our website. Some are games, some are puzzles, some are read-aloud books, and some are podcasts! If your child is asking to use their laptop this weekend, and you arenāt sure where to send them, we recommend Student Technology Links!
Lightspeed Parent Reports Update
Last week we gave you information about signing up for Lightspeed Parent Reports. Great news! We learned on Monday that Lightspeed Parent Reports will automatically be sent to all parents with SIS Records Rights starting the week of October 12! If you are in a shared custody situation and wondering if you have records rights, or you recently changed your email address, please call us at 703-241-5100 to make sure the information on file is correct so you receive that report!
Is there a technology topic you want us to tackle in a future issue? Email your questions to Ms. Dushok (school based technology specialist) and Mr. Dinkins (technology support specialist).
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Soaring Staff Spotlight
This week the Soaring Staff Spotlight is on Janeth Etter!
Mrs. Etter is an instructional assistant in one of our Preschool Autism Classrooms at Westlawn. Letās learn more about Mrs. Etter!
What is your favorite thing about working at Westlawn?
Students
What was your favorite subject in school?
Social studies
What is your favorite childrenās book?
Pete the Cat by James Dean and Eric Litwin
Whatās the best piece of advice youāve ever received?
Be yourself
What is your favorite color?
Red
What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas
What is your favorite season of the year?
Fall
If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?
Past
Is there someone you hope to see featured in an upcoming Soaring Staff Spotlight? Tell us by text to 571-355-2321.
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Connect with Westlawn
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