Bristow Run ES Panther Press
February 2023
Dear Panther Families,
I wanted to thank our Bristow Run families for your support this week! I understand the panic that parents feel when they receive a letter stating that there was even the possibility of a threat to our school community. I want to assure all parents that all safety precautions were immediately implemented and PWCS Risk Management Department was always accessible for support. As a parent myself, please know I take safety seriously and my top priority is to ensure the safety of students and staff.
Since February is the month of love. I encourage you to take time to reach out to a staff member at Bristow Run to let them know how much you appreciate their hard work! It’s mid-year, and our staff is working hard to meet the needs of all our students and a word of encouragement can go a long way!
February is busy with Black History Month, Kindness Week, the 100th day of school, Valentine’s Day, Pastries with Parents, and the beginning of 3rd quarter. Please take time to read our newsletter for additional celebrations and events coming up! Thank you for your partnership in ensuring our students always receive the best at BRES!
Your Partner in Education,
Mrs. Jeck
Quarterly Parent Survey
Dear Panther Families, As we close out the second quarter, we are requesting your feedback to help us gauge our progress on our Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP). Please take a few minutes to answer the questions below so we can determine how we are doing on our schoolwide goals. We value your input and look forward to a successful 2022-2023 school year.
Kindness Week 2/13-2/17
Bristow Run Kindness Week is next week. We will celebrate with a Spirit Week! Everyone is invited to participate:
Monday: Sport kindness: Wear your favorite team’s gear
Tuesday: We love kindness: Wear something red
Wednesday: Crazy for kindness: Crazy hair day
Thursday: Dream of kindness: Wear your Pajamas
Friday: Panthers choose kindness: Wear your Panthers spirit wear or purple/teal
Special Announcement! Are you interested?
Bristow Run’s proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school year includes a full time Parent Liaison which is funded from the county budget as part of Dr. McDade’s’ strategic priorities outlined in the Division Strategic Plan. Per the job description, this person is a full-time employee who facilitates communication and relationships with families of diverse backgrounds within our community. They should excel at facilitating interpretation assistance and/or be able to interpret for multilingual families. BRES is extremely diverse with families representing 35 languages! Our focus will be to find a candidate who has a strong knowledge of diverse cultures and backgrounds, excellent relationship skills, and the ability to facilitate and organize opportunities to bring diverse communities into the school.
We will advertise this position for hiring in the coming weeks and welcome any members of our community who feel they may be strong candidates for this position to contact Mrs. Jeck directly. More information on the PWCS job description is available here.
Yearbook Contest
Bristow Run is looking for student artwork to go on the cover and inside the 2022-23 yearbook! Seven works of art will be selected. One work of art will go on the cover, and one work of art from each grade level will be picked to go inside the yearbook to start the grade-level sections. Please read the flier to learn more information about the rules/criteria of the contest.
SCA Updates
Canned Food Drive
SCA is sponsoring a canned food drive for families in need. The drive will be held from February 6th until March 6th. There is a box outside the office where cans/non-perishable items will be collected. Thank you in advance for helping those in need.
Valentine Candy Grams
SCA will be selling candygrams on Valentine's Day. Each candygram will be $0.50. Your SCA representatives wanted to have options available for students, so we will be selling chocolate kisses, heart lollipops, and heart erasers as a part of the candy grams this year. All money collected will be donated to charity.
Kids Heart Challenge (KHC)
KID’S HEART CHALLENGE Thank you for a successful Kids Heart Challenge this year. With your help we were able to raise a total of $16571.30 and are #3 for the most monies raised in the state of Virginia. We had total of 105 students enrolled. Prizes that we have on hand have been distributed. Additional prizes will be mailed and should be delivered in the next 4-6 weeks.
Thank you again for our most successful year at Bristow Run Elementary School.
Mrs. Francis and Mr. Carlson
Encore Journal: Winter Edition
Our students have been working hard in their encore classes. Take a look at the Winter Edition of the Encore Journal to see what they have been learning.
Winter Wonderland Party: THANK YOU!
Our students ALL had a fantastic time at the Winter Wonderland Party! A massive shout out to all the parent volunteers who helped behind the scenes and at the Winter Wonderland this past Friday!
3rd-Quarter Celebration: Spring Luau
Garden Update
We are excited to announce the Bristow Run Garden won a MLK Service award from Monrovia Plants. A special thanks to a 2nd-grade parent for recommending the garden!
You may have noticed many of our plants currently don’t have leaves. This is because, during the winter, the garden goes dormant to protect itself during the cold weather. This is similar to a bear hibernating. As the weather gets warmer, the plants will regain their leaves and begin to grow. These plants are called perennials because they go dormant during the winter and return the following year. As the weather gets warmer, we will also have our next garden workday. Stay tuned for the official date!
Fifth Grade Graduation T-shirts: DUE 2/13/23
Fifth Grade Graduation t-shirts are available to order. Forms were sent home with fifth grade students and need to be returned by Monday, Feb 13. Please remember that these t-shirts are ADULT sized.
Download and print a new ORDER FORM if needed.
Watch D.O.G.S. Dad's of Great Students!
Our Watch D.O.G.S. have been amazing and such a help to our whole BRES staff and students. Please consider signing up to be a Watch D.O.G.!
Our Watch D.O.G program helps provide positive male role models for students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important. Watch Dogs also provide an extra set of eyes and ears to enhance school security, reduce bullying and provide a greater sense of safety throughout the school day. The program's mission is to support principals and teachers by providing willing volunteers while contributing to improved student outcomes.
To learn more about the program, reach out to Bristow Run’s Top Dogs Pete Rossi at pete.g.rossi@gmail.com or Dale Thoman at dalejthoman@yahoo.com.
BRES Integrated Pre-School Program
PTO Information
The BRES PTO has a lot planned for the Spring Semester and we need your help to make it a success!
1. This Saturday, February 11th we are hosting Pastries for Panthers and Panther Parents (see flyer) from 9-11am in the gym. Stop by for donuts, coffee, hot chocolate, juice, and fruit. You are welcome to drive by and grab and go, but we are really hoping to see families take a few minutes to enjoy breakfast and good conversation with your student! If you have time Saturday morning to help out, please sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0549A8AB2BA0F49-pastries
2. Lights, Camera, ACTION! Mark your calendars for the PTO’s Family Movie Night coming up on Friday, March 10th at Bristow Run. Families are invited to bring blankets, pillows and refillable water bottles as we camp out in the gym and watch a movie. Limited space for camp/beach chairs at the back as well. Pizzas can be pre-ordered online at a discount and concessions (pizza/popcorn/candy) will be available for purchase that night--Bring $1 bills. Keep an eye out for flyers coming home with students the week of 2/21 with Pizza Pre-Order link and event timing. This is a family event so a parent/guardian must attend with children (no drop-offs). If you are interested in volunteering to help us make the night a success, please sign-up here: https://tinyurl.com/BRESMovieVolunteers. Thanks!
3. We are excited to kick off our Bristow Run Panther Fun Run on 03/15/2023. Our goal is to raise $20,000 for School Improvements and a Learning Garden and to strengthen our school community. Our school has always relied on fundraising to provide exceptional opportunities to enhance student learning and we need YOUR HELP registering your student(s) and sharing with friends and family. Mark your calendars for the Bristow Run Panther Fun Run fundraiser kicking off soon!
4. The PTO's coordinator, Steve Fine, is working hard to bring back the Student Enrichment Program. We are aiming to start this in March once we get all the details worked out. Stay tuned for more information!
5. PTO is looking for volunteers to help coordinate Silent Auction donations. This can be done from home, during the day or in the evening. Or on your lunch break! It's just a matter of reaching out to local businesses to see if they are willing to donate and then following up with a donation letter (template already exists). Erin Blankenship is the lead and would love volunteer help. Please email us or message us on facebook.
6. Another open position we have is Sidewalk Art contest chair. If you are interested in planning this event - using the existing process guide from last year as a starting place - please reach out!
Stay connected to the PTO: PTO Webpage, PTO Facebook Page, PTO Volunteer Form
Yearbook Information
Yearbooks are sold ONLINE by advance purchase only. Order your yearbook now to guarantee a copy! The price will increase after the deadline noted below. Order your yearbook by: March 31, 2023
Please continue to send any photos you have from spirit nights, field trips, etc to BRESPANTHERPICS@gmail.com. These photos are vital in helping to create a wonderful yearbook! Thank you in advance!
Important Information & Dates
2/20/23: No School: Presidents' Day
Bristow Run Elementary School
Website: https://bristowrunes.pwcs.edu/
Location: 8990 Worthington Drive, Bristow, VA, USA
Phone: 703-753-7741
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BristowRunES/
Twitter: @BristowRunES