Soaring Falcons
March Edition 2020
Falmouth Elementary
LEARN with passion
LEAD with confidence
LIVE with character
Email: fewebmaster@staffordschools.net
Website: https://www.staffordschools.net/fes
Location: 1000 Forbes St, Falmouth, VA 22405
Phone: (540) 373-7458
Twitter: @FESNVA
***PRINCIPAL'S GREETING***
Dear Families,
Although our winter was very mild, we have experienced an increase in student illnesses during the past few months. As a result, student attendance is impacted. While we do not want families sending students if they are throwing-up, running a fever, or overall contagious, it is important to be knowledgeable regarding the Virginia Attendance Laws. In conjunction with the Virginia Attendance Laws, Stafford County Public school provides the guidelines noted below for students. At this point in the school year:
A letter will be sent to the family after a student has reached 8 excused OR 5 unexcused absences.
A letter will be sent to the family once a student has reached 14 excused OR 10 unexcused absences which requires an in-person/phone conference with the principal/school social worker.
An Attendance Improvement Plan is completed if attendance concerns continue beyond 14 excused OR 10 unexcused absences.
A referral to the Attendance Services Department is made if the student accumulates additional unexcused absences following the completion of an Attendance Improvement Plan.
If all of the above interventions fail to improve attendance, then attendance officers can either make a complaint that the student is a Child in Need of Supervision (CHINS) or file charges against the parent(s) relating to violations of the compulsory school attendance law.
Student attendance is essential to student achievement and we need to work together as a team to ensure success!
In well-being,
Ms. Sallie Johnakin-Putnam (aka Ms. JP)
Principal
HELP WANTED!
Need a part time job? Falmouth needs you!
We are having difficulty securing substitutes when some of our staff members are absent. Please consider applying and attending the substitute training on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 or Thursday, May 14, 2020 from 10am til Noon at the Stafford County School Board Office chambers, 31 Stafford Avenue, Stafford, VA 22554. For more information, please click this link. https://app.peachjar.com/flyers/897990/schools/147907
For Salary rates and other information, please click this link
Exciting Things are Coming!
Family Literacy Night (Book Fair also open)
Early Release/Holidays
March 3 - Presidential Primary/No School
March 13 - Teacher Workday/No School
March 16-20 - Spring Break/No School
PTO Meeting
Book Fair in Library
March 4 - 8:30am-3:30pm and 6:00pm-7:30pm (Literacy Night)
March 5 - 8:30am-3:30pm
March 6 - 8:30am-1:00pm
Falmouth Follies Tryouts
Parent/Teacher Conferences
***FALMOUTH FOLLIES ARE COMING***
***StarBooks Cafe!***
***FALCON CLINIC NEWS***
It is hard to believe it is already March! Although we are seeing a decrease in numbers of students sick with the flu, there are still cases of the flu being reported in Virginia and in our area. Flu- like symptoms include: fever, body aches, headache, fatigue, chills, cough, sore throat, and runny or stuffy nose. Please keep your child home from school if they have flu-like symptoms. Contact your health care provider to determine if your child needs to be seen. **For more information, please go to http:/ www.cdc.gov/flu
We are always encouraging students to wash their hands regularly throughout the day to reduce the spread of germs. Please encourage your students to do the same at home! Here are some everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs.
■ Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
■ Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
■ Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
■ Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
To help keep our students healthy, please remember to keep your students home for the following reasons:
- Fever over 100 degrees within the last 24 hours without fever reducing medication
- Active vomiting within 24 hours
- Active diarrhea within 24 hours
- Severe cough
- Undiagnosed rash
- Communicable disease such as strep throat (may return after 24 hours of antibiotics) or the flu (doctor will provide return date)
When your child returns to school, please send a note in with them or report the absence online through the Falmouth Elementary School website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Nurse Anna at krushinskiam@staffordschools.net or 540-373-7458
Spring is approaching! For students who have a history of seasonal allergies and/or asthma, it is important to have an asthma action plan and medication at school. These documents are available from the school nurse and must be completed by your health care provider.
***LIBRARY NEWS***
The Scholastic Book Fair is coming the week of Mar. 2-6. Although school will be closed on the 3rd, we will be open on Family Reading Night which is Wednesday the 4th. Informational flyers have been sent home; however, you can access the digital flyer through this link:
http://bookfairsfiles.scholastic.com/flippingbooks/S20-custom-booklist/S20-custom-booklist.html
The last page of the digital brochure gives you information on how to setup eWallet in case you prefer to use that method of payment. You can also browse and shop the fair online at:
Mr. Ward, Librarian
*NEWS FROM OUR MATH SPECIALIST*
When young children play with blocks, they are beginning to develop their mathematical understanding. Children need lots of exposure to objects around them to develop mathematical knowledge. Young children playing with blocks are seeing patterns, geometric shapes, and spatial reasoning. Playing is key to developing an understanding of the world around them. To help with their mathematical understanding you can ask them to count their blocks, create a simple color pattern with blocks, ask them to place the green block next to the red block. Your child will love interacting with you in play and you will be assisting their mathematical understanding. When they are a little older do puzzles, play board games, play card games, create more complex building structures. Learning math can be a fun enjoyable activity for you and your child. They will love spending time with you and you will be growing their mathematical brain. For more information see the link below.
Why early math is just as important as early reading.
Ms. Smetts, Math Specialist
***NEWS FROM THE READING ROOM***
MARCH 4, 2020
6:00pm - 7:30pm
BOOK A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
March is National Reading Month. To celebrate, FES will be enjoying our annual Literacy Night, which is just around the corner! On Wednesday, March 4, FES students will attend assemblies to kick off the literacy fun! They will each receive a plane ticket that has all of the details of the evening’s BOOK a Trip Around the World! That evening, FES families will journey around the world, reading stories and participating in activities related to a variety of countries. The Scholastic Book Fair will also be open that evening, so be sure to stop by our library and purchase new books. We hope you will join us as we grab our passports and fly off on a wonderful literacy adventure together!
March 2nd is Read Across American Day. This day celebrates the birthday of children’s book author Dr. Seuss. Also on this day, children, parents, and teachers in every community are encouraged to celebrate the joy of reading. Grab a book and join the fun!
Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Hall, Reading Specialists
***PE NEWS***
Thank you to all of our students and families that participated and collected donations for Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart! It is a great feeling to know that our families and the Falmouth community can have such a positive impact on something as important as helping fight heart disease!
Our Kindergarten through 2nd graders just finished a 3 week basketball unit and are now involved in rhythmic movement along with tumbling and basic gymnastics. This will all culminate in a week of tumbling just before spring break.
Third through fifth graders are finishing up a four week volleyball unit where it has been rewarding to witness students’ skills progress over that period of time. We will be playing an interesting game called All Sports Ball soon that requires team cooperation with equipment from several different sports. After that, if the weather permits, we hope to begin our spring Run for Fun.
Mr. Emerson and Mr. Brown, PE Teachers
***FOCUS NEWS***
Our Focus students have been working so hard on their Independent Study projects. Please join us in attending the Focus Festival at Brooke Point High School on Thursday, April 2nd from 6-7:30pm where students’ projects will be displayed. This is a night in which Focus students at the elementary, middle, and high school level have the opportunity to showcase their research and creativity. Thank you in advance for supporting these students!
Ms. Pickett, FOCUS Teacher
***News from the Art Room***
Stafford County Public Schools
Fine Arts Festival
Saturday, March 28th: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 29th: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Brooke Point High School
Explore art exhibits from every school in the county. Enjoy free performances, demonstrations, hands-on art activities for the whole family. Visit Falmouth’s exhibit, Inside Out, featuring artwork by every FES student!
Inside Out Week at FES
Wear the colors of your favorite characters to celebrate our upcoming art show!
Monday, March 23: Yellow
Tuesday, March 24: Red
Wednesday, March 25: Purple
Thursday, March 26: Green
Friday, March 27: Blue
Want to get involved? We need parent volunteers to help setup at 4PM on March 27, and pack up at 4PM on March 29 at Brooke Point. Students can also sign up to be a “docent” at our Inside Out exhibit. Email Mrs. Clark for more info at clarkcg@staffordschools.net.
***COUNSELORS' CORNER***
Please click this link to view all the wonderful information from our Counselors!
Ami Brown, M.Ed. and Jennifer Crane, M.Ed.
FES School Counselors
***TECHNOLOGY NEWS***
By improving access to information, knowledge, and educational opportunities, the Internet can help students to achieve better outcomes and develop the skills that they need and society requires. FES has Chromebooks and wireless hotspots available for students to checkout. This program will give students without internet access or devices the ability to complete web-based homework and projects or access educational games and activities that reinforce learning. If your child could benefit from this technology checkout program, please contact their teacher for further information.
Mr. DuPont - ITRT
***NEWS FROM ROCKET'S NEST***
Starting immediately, there are a couple of new changes in the cafeteria regarding lunch choices.
Firstly, all students are now allowed to have with their lunch tray 2 different vegetable choices and 2 fruit choices. The fruit choice can either be 1 fresh fruit and 1 can fruit or 2 canned fruits without the fresh option. The 2 canned fruits can be the same type though. Students do not have to choose all 4, but they must have at least 1 fruit or vegetable with their meal.
A salad option for a student now comes with 1 fruit and 1 vegetable choice (it can be french fries now)!!
Unless a student has an allergen, entrees like spaghetti or nachos can be separated but all components must be on the tray. For example, on Nacho Day the student can ask for the nachos without the meat but the meat portion would be placed on the tray on the side instead of on top of the nacho with cheese portion. We will also now be serving the Walking Taco with its ingredients separated. The Walking Taco will now be the unopened bag of Doritos, a meat cup and cheese cup separately placed on the tray and the students can mix or dip their own.
So to recap what consists of a full lunch tray, buyers can get:
1 choice of milk
1 choice of main entree with at least 1 fruit or vegetable but can choose 2 different vegetables and up to 2 fruits (1 fresh and 1 canned or 2 canned)
Salads come with:
1 choice of milk and the option of 1 fruit and 1 vegetable.
I think that these are some great changes that the students will enjoy!
Lori Wiley
FES Cafe Mgr.
***LOST AND FOUND***
** IMPORTANT REMINDERS FROM THE FRONT OFFICE **
Student Dismissal
Changes to the way a student will be traveling home from school will not be taken after 3:00pm except in cases of emergency. This is our busiest time of the day and it is not always possible to ensure that changes can be made safely after this time. Sending a note to school with your child in the morning is the safest and easiest way to notify us of a change. It is appreciated if you do not arrive between 3:15 and 3:45 to pick up your child as this is a very busy time in the office.
Reporting a Student's Absence
Please be sure to report your child's absence online (CLICK HERE). If you prefer, you may call the attendance line at (540) 373-7458 prior to 9:30am.
Lost and Found
Please take a moment to label all items including lunch boxes and jackets for your children. It will assist us in returning lost items to the proper students instead of filling our Lost and Found. If you are missing items, please remind your child to check the Lost and Found, located in the cafeteria hallway.