Soaring Falcons
January 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
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 Thursday, January 9 , 2019 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
***PRINCIPAL'S GREETING***
Dear Falmouth Falcon Families,
One of the most common phone calls our office receives is related to transportation. I know that at times our transportation system can be very frustrating. Unfortunately, we are located and live in an area where traffic is unpredictable and our school-system is currently understaffed in the area of bus drivers. Given the concerns, I would like to take an opportunity to provide some resources for our families to use when transportation questions arise. Please note that our office does not have access to any additional resources; therefore, the quickest way to resolve your concerns is to use these contacts directly.
Please review these and keep these handy.
Ms. JP (Ms. Johnakin-Putnam)
Principal
__________________
Concern #1: How do I find my child’s bus information?
The Versatrans e-Link gives parents/guardians the ability to locate the most up to date bus route information.
Concern #2: What do I do if my child’s bus is late in the morning?
Students should arrive at the bus stop at least 5-10 minutes before the scheduled arrival time. If the bus is more than 20 minutes late, you should call the Transportation Services Dispatch Office at 540-374-8585. The My Stop app is a feature you may use to see via GPS the location of your child's bus.
https://scpsbussystem.staffordschools.net/onscreen/MyStop/LoginMobile.aspx
Concern #3: What do I do if my child left an item (coat, glasses, book, etc.) on the bus? How does he/she get it back?
Drivers check their buses after every run. If an item is found, it is usually returned to the school at the earliest convenient time or to the student the next morning.
Need Transportation Help?
For assistance with bus stop information, changes or any school bus related issues, please visit our Issue Registry. Our office will address the issue and follow-up with you as soon as possible. You may also call us at 540-373-6095, Monday through Friday, 06:00 am to 05:00 pm.
When addressing any school bus transportation issue, please provide the student’s name and the school the student attends. Having this information greatly assists us in responding to you inquiry.
***FALMOUTH FOLLIES ARE COMING***
Exciting Things are Coming!
PTO Meeting
Early Release/Holidays
1/1-1/3 - No School
1/6 - No School for students (Teacher Workday)
1/17 - Early Release
1/20 - No School
1/27 - No School (Teacher Workday and Conferences)
Geography Bee
Chorus Concert
DARE Graduation
Family Movie Night
***FALCON CLINIC NEWS***
Happy 2020! I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break! As we head into the new year, please be aware that cold and flu season are in full swing and we often see a significant increase in illness with our students. We are always encouraging students to wash their hands regularly throughout the day to reduce the spread of germs. 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
***LIBRARY NEWS***
1. Looking ahead to our learning in January:
Lower Grades-Second half of our VA Reader’s Choice books, Biographies-MLK Jr., Digital Book Reviews
Upper Grades-Plagiarism, Reference Resources, Green Screen Research Project (5th Gr.), Finding Call Numbers, Biographies-MLK Jr.
2. A reminder that World Book Encyclopedia is available to our students online at:
Log-in: falmouth1
Password: falcons
The Early World of Learning edition makes World Book more accessible for emergent readers.
World Book is a great resource for doing research for a project or report or for just exploring a fun topic. You can access this at home as well as at school.
Mr. Ward, Librarian
***NEWS FROM OUR MATH SPECIALIST***
Ever wonder what your children are learning using Dreambox? Well you can sign up for a Parent Portal and receive updates, information, even tips to help your child with math. To join the Parent Portal follow the steps below.
You need to have the Falmouth unique code: uzat/mzza
Step 1: Go to the Falmouth website staffordschools.net/FES, Scroll down to the Student section, under Quick Links click on Clever. Have your student log in using the same information they use at school and then go to Dreambox.
Step 2: Click on Setup Parent Access at the bottom of the page.
Step 3: Follow the instructions provided to create a new login and password.
Step 4: Read Terms and Use and Privacy Policy.
Step 5: Click Submit
If you use a Tablet of any kind at home, you must download the free app to use Dreambox. The students still login through the Falmouth Webpage and use Clever. The app must be loaded but the students will not use the app.
If you have a kindergartner or a first grader, please contact the teacher or me to get your child’s unique login. They do not have a badge at home to use, but we will happily provide the information for their login.
Ms. Smetts, Math Specialist
***NEWS FROM THE READING ROOM***
Happy New Year from all of us in the reading room at FES! We hope you enjoyed a restful break, filled with lots of reading and hot chocolate!
Literacy Links was a huge success! Our Falmouth readers read hundreds of books, and our links quickly reached the cafeteria, then the music room, and finally the gym! After that, we criss-crossed the entry hall with our colorful links. Wow! Kudos to our Falmouth students for reading so many books! We’re proud of you! And kudos and Mrs. JP and Mr. Kennedy for being such good sports and helping us celebrate by both taking pies to the face and being duct taped to the wall!
We have planned more reading fun for 2020. We will be celebrating Reading Month in March, with Literacy Night and the Book Fair. Also, we will again hold our Battle of the Books competition for students in grades three through five. This competition will be held towards the end of the year. Please stay tuned for more details on these exciting events!
Happy, happy New Year!
Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Hall, Reading Specialists
***PE NEWS***
It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through the 2019-2020 school year! Let’s hope for a happy and healthy 2020!
Kindergarten through 2nd recently finished a jumping unit. The ultimate goal is for our students to learn how to jump rope so that they can jump with friends and practice on their own outside of the PE setting. When we return from winter break, these students will do a week of review stations followed by a week of Scoops and Balls.
In the upper grades, 3rd - 5th, all classes spent the last two weeks of the year practicing hockey skills and playing floor hockey. Starting in January, these students will spend a couple weeks working on jump rope skills in preparation for Jump Rope for Heart which will be held in late February or early March.
Mr. Emerson and Mr. Brown, PE Teachers
***FOCUS NEWS***
We are so pleased to announce the winners of the FES Spelling Bee! Congrats to Cian Cole, our winner and the runner up, Lydia Minnifield, both 4th graders! These two students had quite a battle and will compete in the countywide Bee on January 9th, 2020 at Colonial Forge HS. Good luck to them both! We will also be hosting the FES Geography Bee on Friday, January 10th at 2pm. The finalist will be a combination of 4th and 5th grade students. Good luck to all those participating in our January competitions!
Ms. Pickett, FOCUS Teacher
***COUNSELORS' CORNER***
Please click on the link below for valuable information.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16NngX2514cjgkCRkz31uh_J0e6LlZXQvVnxpZcoFh-c/edit?usp=sharing
Ami Brown, M.Ed. and Jennifer Crane, M.Ed.
FES School Counselors
***TECHNOLOGY NEWS***
Hello again FES families. Statistics show that your child will very likely be working in a STEM field when they enter the workforce. December 9th-15th was Computer Science Education Week. This is an annual event to get students excited about CS by allowing them an opportunity to try coding and other CS activities. FES, with outstanding resources from Code.org, and Google is proud to be a part of an ongoing effort to broaden CS experiences and opportunities for students. I encourage you to support your child in continuing this excitement at home.
Resources:
https://csfirst.withgoogle.com/s/en/home
Mr. DuPont - ITRT
***LOST AND FOUND***
*** 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
Lost and Found
Please take a moment to label all items including lunchboxes and jackets for your children. It will assist us in returning lost items to the proper students instead of filling our Lost and Found.