Soaring Falcons
October Edition 2018
Falmouth Elementary
LEARN with passion
LEAD with confidence
LIVE with character
Email: fewebmaster@staffordschools.net
Website: https://www.staffordschools.net/Domain/11
Location: 1000 Forbes St, Falmouth, VA 22405
Phone: (540) 373-7458
Twitter: @FESNVA
Principal's Greeting
Dear Families,
Welcome Back to a new school year! Falmouth Elementary is moving into its fifty-first year of serving students and the community through its dedication to education. We would like to welcome the many new staff members, students and families who are now proud to be called “Falmouth Falcons.” We are approaching a student body of 660 strong and are looking forward to a successful school year.
This year we will continue our focus on the concept of “Believing is Achieving.” We have an exceptional staff who will assist your child in achieving in various ways. Additionally, we cannot take on this challenge alone, we need you, as parents, to be a part of our team and we know you will continue to support our efforts in assuring we are the BEST school in Stafford County!
The administration and staff of Falmouth Elementary School continue to be committed to providing a high quality education resulting in academic achievement. We focus on our students learning with passion, leading with confidence and living with character. We are committed to creating an environment where students feel they are active participants in their learning and are excited to take on new challenges daily.
Wishing you all the best year to come!
Mrs. JP
Exciting Things are Coming!
Book Fair
Oct. 15-19
Open for STEM Night
on Oct 17
STEM Night
October 17
6:00pm-7:30pm
Early Release and No School
NO SCHOOL: Oct. 8th
*** News from Physical Education ***
Welcome back to another awesome year!
As we post on our webpage, we also ask to keep a few things regarding PE days in mind:
Please make sure your child wears tennis shoes on their P.E. day for comfort and safety purposes.
If your child has an injury that prevents them from participating, we ask please for a doctor's note to be sent in with the student to the nurse, which we will receive giving us the recommendations/modifications or restrictions for physical activity. If necessary, please call or send a note in with your child, but we strongly prefer the note coming from the medical physician regarding your child’s health.
Experts recommend 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Since your child does not have P.E. each day, we ask that you encourage them to be outside or doing some sort of activity while they are not in school. With your help, we can all take steps towards healthier lives!
At Falmouth, our program has been designed to focus on three major areas that contribute to one's physical health and well being:
Movement concepts. In the early grades, for example, we emphasize the variety of ways we travel (e.g. running, skipping, hopping), changes of directions and speeds, and different ways to balance, jump and land.
Skill themes. Basic motor skills such as throwing, kicking, volleying, and striking are taught in all grades. In the upper grades, the children are taught how to use these fundamental skills in games and sports.
Wellness & Fitness concepts are taught throughout the program. They include, for example, components of fitness and assessments for fitness, health integrated lessons, and ways to improve cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance and flexibility.
Here is a snapshot of what has been happening in our PE world at FES:
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Kindergarten, first, and second graders are beginning the year with different activities applying concepts of personal space and spatial awareness to tagging games, activities with music, and in relay lines. They are learning about being good teammates in our classroom community and exploring new equipment and games!
Third - Fifth Grade
Third through fifth graders are off to a great start as each student is applying our rules of respecting one another in different team building activities and in fitness-related stations. While the heat and rain delayed our start, FES students are now beginning to build endurance with our Run for Fun warm up. Seven laps equate to a mile on the outside course created with one lap extended from our baseball field. We strive to encourage 100% effort and improvement and will be recognizing students throughout the Run for Fun program for their hard work by awarding an individual paper shoe for each student who completes a mile to sign, color, and decorate to be posted for the fall in our PE room.
Ms. Pfahler and Mr. Emerson
*** Counselors' Corner ***
Welcome back! Mrs. Ami Brown and Ms. Christie Jones will be the school counselors for Falmouth this year. Mrs. Brown is the full time counselor while Ms. Jones will be with us on Mondays and Wednesdays.
For more information on the school counseling program at FES, please visit our webpage at www.staffordschools.net/domain/3756
For the months of September and October Mrs. Brown and Ms. Jones will be teaching lessons on introduction to the school counselor, bullying prevention and diversity.
In the month of October the counseling department will request recommendations of names of students who would benefit from a small counseling group. Small counseling groups will meet once a week, during lunch time. Topics that will be covered this year include, but are not limited to, anger management, friendship, self esteem/self worth and changing families.
Mrs. Brown and Ms. Jones
*** Library News ***
Welcome back to school and welcome to the library. Below is some background information about our library:
Grades K-1 can check out 1 book at a time and grades 2-5 can check out 2 books at a time.
Students come once a week for a 45 minute library lesson; however, students can also come during the morning or at times throughout the day to return and check out books at their teacher’s discretion.
Our online catalog, along with other useful links, can be found at the library’s webpage. https://www.staffordschools.net/domain/808
Lessons consist of read-alouds, information literacy activities, and various other activities that support the general education curriculum and reading.
Our makerspace is open in the mornings before the bell rings and is also used for certain library lessons.
Our school participates in Virginia Reader’s Choice. More information and this year’s titles can be found through the link at our website.
If you ever have a question or concern, please feel free to contact me by calling school or sending an e-mail to wardjd@staffordschools.net. I hope everyone is having a great start to the year and is ready to read.
Mr. Ward
*** News from ART***
*** News from our Math Specialist! ***
STEM Night October 17, 2018 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm
Mark your calendars for October 17th, to participate in Falmouth’s Annual Family STEM Night. All classes will have science experiments on display. The science coordinator, Mike Pratt, will be bringing a traveling planetarium. There will be lots of hands on activities all over the building. Each grade level will have a fun interactive activity for the students. Come out and enjoy a family evening at Falmouth Elementary.
Ms. Smetts
*** News from our Reading Specialists! ***
Welcome to another great year of reading at Falmouth Elementary! We have great things in store this year, including One School, One Book (details will follow soon), Literacy Night, and Battle of the Books, to name just a few. Our Literacy Committee is hard at work planning activities and events to support reading fun!
You can support your child’s reading by ensuring your child reads every day. Kindergarten and first grade parents, you should have received information about Raz-Kids, an online reading program. Click here to go directly to their website: https://www.raz-kids.com/. Your child has access to Raz-Kids at both school and home. This is an interactive program that provides books at your child’s reading level. Second through fifth grade parents, please encourage your children to take Accelerated Reader tests for the books they are reading. Accelerated Reader is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books on their reading level, read independently, and take an independent comprehension test on the computer. Each book is worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level. Students enjoy tracking their points.
During these first weeks of school, our students will be taking various reading assessments to help us plan instruction to best meet their needs. Please make sure your child(ren) are getting a good night’s sleep and eating breakfast, so they can do their best work.
We look forward to watching our young Falcons grow as readers!
Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Hall
*** The Focus on Focus ***
I am so excited this is a new school year! The students have gotten off to a wonderful start and they are ready do amazing things this year! All students are focusing on growth mindset and how to work through the challenges that not only I am giving them, but those in and outside their classroom. Each day I am so proud of their hard work and tenacity! Our third graders have already begun their unit on Archaeology. Next week, they will take a field trip to George Washington’s Boyhood home at Ferry Farm where they will have a chance to dig and learn more about the area. Students in fourth grade are beginning to learn about flight and the changes it has made over many years. Those students in fifth grade are in the beginning stages of making Public Service Announcements. They are very passionate about a few topics and I can’t wait to see their creativity! We are going to have a great year!
Ms. Pickett
*** Important Reminders from The Front Office ***
Student Dismissal
Reporting a Student's Absence
To assist the office staff, please be sure to call the office number to report your child's absence at (540) 373-7458 prior to 9:30am. If you would like to complete the Report An Absence form online, you may click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9Xs2qZZX-nUdHGBZxQycUTE35lTBac2-09TIJ6ELXz0GCJQ/viewform