Four Nests... One Family News
September 20, 2021
Rockledge Elementary School
Website: rockledgees.pwcs.edu
Location: 2300 Mariner Drive, Woodbridge, VA, USA
Phone: (703)491-2108
Facebook: facebook.com/rockledge.elementary
Twitter: @RockledgePWCS
Hello Rockledge Families,
We hope everyone had a relaxing, fun, and restful weekend. This will week will be our first full week of school, since the first week back in August.
A couple of fun recaps from last week include, we finished our Color Spirit Days of color learning fun with kindergarten. Our youngest Eagles (kindergarten) also hatched into their Nests on Friday. Now that all Eagles have joined their Nests, we will have Nest Monday Spirit Days going forward. On Mondays we encourage students to either wear their Nest shirt or the colors of their nest. Information about our Nest system can be found below.
This past week we also kicked off our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Check out some snapshots on our social media pages, of a schoolwide Zoom read aloud. Our very own ESOL teacher, Mrs. Pimentel shared about her Hispanic Heritage and culture. We also had a great time on Friday celebrating International Dot Day and celebrating creativity, collaboration, and courage.
Very important for this week, if you have not completed your New School Year Packet on Parent VUE, this needs to be completed ASAP. If you need help completing this, please reach out to Cristina Rodriguez at the school and she can support you.
We are excited to kick off another week of learning!
Your Principal & Assistant Principal,
Mrs. Steptoe-Coleman
Mrs. Everett
Upcoming Important Dates
September 15- October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month
October 5th: Back to School Night (Kindergarten- 2nd Grades; Autism Program)- 6pm
October 7th: Back to School Night (3rd- 5th Grades)- 6pm
October 8th: Fall Pictures (during school day)
October 11th: Indigenous People's Day/ Professional Learning Day (No School for Students)
October 14th: Advisory Council (6pm)/ PTA Meeting (7pm)
About the Nest System at Rockledge
The Rockledge Nest System is used to promote positive character, academic success, school spirit, a family atmosphere, and a culture of excellence in our school. Staff carefully assign students and their siblings to a Rockledge Nest. The students will remain a member of the same nest throughout their entire tenure at Rockledge. The nest system will be used as a vehicle to inspire and motivate students to be their personal best-self, every day. Students may earn nest points by following school rules, also known as the Rockledge Rule and Eggspectations (expectations), and by demonstrating positive character traits aligned with our character education program.
New School Year Packet
No more paper back-to-school documents!
Emergency Cards and annual acknowledgements and consents are online in ParentVUE
The New School Year Packet, where parents/guardians can review emergency cards, update contact information, and complete annual policy reviews and acknowledgements, is now available in ParentVUE.
All families should complete the New School Year Packet as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, September 17, 2021.The information you provide will allow school staff to ensure the safety of your child this school year.
- Log into the ParentVUE app or the ParentVUE website using your ParentVUE UserID and password.
- Once logged into ParentVUE, click the Online Records button at the top of the screen.
If you need assistance, or do not have an active ParentVUE account, please contact your child’s school.
Instruction & Assessment Updates
Families' Vision for Learning
As we journey into a new school year, Rockledge Elementary School will be revisiting our current vision statement. As part of the process, we would like you to share your personal educational values with us. We will use this information, along with information from our staff and students, to review and revise our vision statement. We appreciate your input in this very important process.
Click HERE to share your vision.
Student Growth Assessment (Grades 3rd-5th)
Dear Rockledge Parents and Guardians,
Last week you received information regarding the Virginia Growth Assessment for students in grades 3-8. Students at Rockledge in grades 3-5 will be participating in the Fall VA growth assessments in both reading and math. The purpose for the Fall assessment is to gather baseline data to measure student progress throughout the year. This assessment is approximately 20 questions for reading and 25 for math. Assessments will be administered in the classroom following breakfast. Students with EL service delivery plans or IEPs will receive their accommodations as they do on any statewide assessment. All students are expected to participate in the assessment. Virtual students will be expected to attend in person for testing on the dates listed below.
Rockledge Student Growth Assessment Schedule:
Tuesday, September 21st: 5th grade math
Wednesday, September 22nd: 4th grade math
Thursday, September 23rd: 3rd grade math
You may review additional information regarding the growth assessments on the PWCS testing website: https://www.pwcs.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=340225&pageId=45154951 or on the Virginia Department of Education website: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/test_administration/growth-assessment/index.shtml
If you have any questions about this assessment please contact Assistant Principal Everett, your school test coordinator.
PTA Updates
Rockledge PTA Needs YOU!
We are looking for energetic and motivated volunteers to help fill our board and chair positions for this school year. Please see the attached flyer for open positions and important dates. Candidates can be parents, grandparents, or any other relative or community member that wants to help make a difference – you just need to complete your 2021-2022 PTA membership.
Membership can be purchased here: https://rkes.memberhub.com/store
Help make your voice heard and join us today!
Have Questions? Email rkespta@gmail.com for more information or to submit a nomination!
Daily Attendance Notes
If your child is going to be absent or tardy, please call the office between 8am-9:10am. Under some circumstances, a doctor's note will be required. Parents must bring their students to the reception office and sign them in if they are tardy, the student will be given a tardy slip and sent to class.
Change in Dismissal Plan:
Please make sure your child knows how they are getting home each day, before coming to school. If there is a change in your child's dismissal procedure, we require written notice from the parent/ guardian. If you email the teacher this notice, copy Mrs. Geck (gecksj@pwcs.edu) and Mrs. Rodriguez (rodrigcn@pwcs.edu) to the email so that the front office is aware of the change in dismissal. There will be no changes in dismissal or student sign-outs made after 3:15pm daily, unless there is an emergency.
For full attendance guidelines of PWCS, click here.
Health Mitigation and Safety Updates
Updated Health Mitigation FAQs
Daily Health Screening
By clicking on the image below you can access the screener in multiple languages.