FCPS This Week - August 14, 2024

A student prepares to look into a microscope during a Computer Science/STEAM Fair at Braddock Elementary School. The fair showcased innovative projects for the students.

🎉 Five Days Until the First Day of School! 

Are you ready? Join our countdown on the FCPS homepage, Facebook, and Instagram! Since Friday, we’ve provided reminders to:

1. Register your children for school. 
2. Bookmark the School Year Calendar. 
3. Make sure your child has their required immunizations. 
4. Sign up for SIS ParentVUE and update your contact information. 
5. Sign up for your school’s newsletters and follow them on social media.  

Check out today’s tip to learn all you need to know about preparing your child for meals at school. 

Share in the countdown fun with us and make sure you, too, are ready for #FirstDayFairfax.

📅 Start Strong: First Day of School

The first day of the school year is Monday, August 19. Parents/caregivers, students, and staff members are invited to share their favorite pictures and videos from the first day of school on FCPS Facebook and Instagram, and on your school’s social media. Follow the fun with the hashtag #FirstDayFairfax!

📵 Phones Down, Engagement Up: FCPS Cell Phone Policy and Storage Pilot

Keeping cell phones off during the school day helps students focus and learn. It also boosts positive social behavior. Review FCPS’ cell phone expectations by grade level with your child and help keep our classrooms free of distractions! If you need to reach your child during the school day, please call their school’s main office. 

At the May 9, 2024 School Board meeting, the School Board directed the superintendent to develop a pilot program for cell phone storage at FCPS. Starting with the 2024-25 school year, select middle schools will be cell phone free and each student will use a personal storage pouch. Select high schools will be cell phone free during all instructional times by using cell phone storage units in each classroom. Find more information on our cell phone storage webpage. 

Update Your Child’s Immunizations and Records

Please check with your healthcare provider to make sure your child is up-to-date on the immunizations required by the state of Virginia as soon as possible. Starting Monday, September 30, students who have not provided proof of immunization will not be allowed to attend school. 

You can check your child’s immunization compliance and submit their immunization record in SIS ParentVUE. Records may also be delivered to a  school’s front office. 

If your child needs a vaccine, please make an appointment with your healthcare provider, visit the Fairfax County Health Department website for a list of child immunization clinics, or access other local services. If needed, families may also provide other immunization documentation including a healthcare provider’s written statement of a permanent or temporary medical exemption or a notarized Religious Exemption Form. 

Find more information on immunizations on the FCPS website. 

📊 Middle School and High School Grading Updates

FCPS worked with students, teachers, parents/caregivers, and school leaders to evaluate recent changes in grading policies and review current policies. The goal was to increase consistency and clarity in grading policies across the school division. Based on this work, FCPS put some new grading policies in place for all middle and high school students for the 2024-25 school year. Visit the FCPS website for information on secondary grading policy updates.

Catch Up on Your Child’s Classwork in Schoology

Teachers use Schoology to post their classroom materials online, to provide a secure forum for students to discuss their ideas and collaborate on projects, and to assign and collect homework electronically. It helps students stay organized, and it keeps the class connected.

A Schoology parent account gives you access to:

• Your child’s classes.
• Your child’s upcoming assignments.
• School, class, and group announcements.

Parent accounts will be available after Monday, August 19. To access Schoology, parents will need to have an active SIS ParentVUE account. Find more information on how to log in and use Schoology.

🛑 Traffic-Related Back-to-School Safety

Back to school also means back to more traffic congestion in the mornings and evenings. Review safety advice from the Fairfax County government on how to keep students and commuters safe on the roads. 

📞 Family Information Phone Lines

FCPS phone lines are available in nine different languages. An FCPS employee will respond to your call in your preferred language within 24 hours, Monday through Friday. Call the phone line with any question about your child’s education or FCPS and someone will help connect you to resources or arrange for you to speak to the appropriate school employee. Learn more about family information phone lines and phone numbers.

Preparing for a Successful Start to the School Year

The start of a new school year is an exciting time filled with promise and potential. As a parent or caregiver, you play a crucial role in helping your child navigate this transition smoothly. Read this Healthy Minds blog for tips to set your child up for success this school year. 

🏐 New Varsity Sports at FCPS

Boys volleyball tryouts recently began at FCPS high schools. This winter, girls wrestling tryouts will follow. Both sports came to FCPS high schools this year after students and families suggested them to the School Board. Read more about the beginnings of FCPS boys volleyball. 

✨ Strategic Plan Connection

The addition of two new varsity sports to the division is a great example of the important work guided by the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan Goal 4: Equitable Access and Opportunity. This goal guides FCPS to provide resources, including extracurricular activities, to support the success of each and every student. 

Learn more about how FCPS is achieving Goal 4 and the four other goals listed in the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan.

🎓 Summer Graduation Includes Students Getting an Early Start on Their Futures

Some FCPS grads walked across the stage on July 31, almost a full year ahead of schedule. These students took advantage of FCPS summer offerings to graduate early and get a jump start on their future goals.

Shuhei Tajima, an 18-year-old Langley High School graduate, is one of those students. Read about what inspired him to complete high school in just under 3 years. 

💬 Superintendent’s Weekly Reflections

Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid writes about great things that are happening around FCPS in her Weekly Reflections email. Some of the activities she attended last week included teacher and staff kickoffs and a multilingual learners summit, as well as visiting several schools, such as Braddock Elementary School (pictured above). View Dr. Reid’s latest Weekly Reflections and subscribe now.

Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights

FCPS wants all parents/caregivers to understand its policies regarding surveys, records, curriculum, privacy, and related rights.

On the Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights and Opt-Out Forms webpage, explanations are provided of the rights listed above as well as forms that may be used to exercise opt-out choices. 

Two versions of the Annual Notice are available — a grades K-8 version and a grades 9-12 version. Parents/caregivers with children at different grade levels should read each applicable version of the Annual Notice because the notices and opt-out rights vary depending on the student’s grade level.

View the 2024-25 Opt-Out Booklets.