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Dear Lee District Families,
Hope you all are doing well as we navigate through the start of our second quarter!
It’s been a busy week here in Lee District! During our last School Board meeting, we voted on the school year 2022-23 calendar and the purchase of devices for students in the PreK-2 grade level.
On Tuesday, I had the honor as our Federal Legislative Liaison to be part of the Virginia School Board’s Advocacy Day. Joined by School Board colleagues from around the state, I had the opportunity to speak with Senators Kaine and Warner and the staffs of Congress members Beyer, Connolly and Wexton. We touched upon many issues including staffing, student achievement, the funding surrounding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Title 1 funding, the USDA free lunch program and much more.
Earlier this week, I helped to surprise our dedicated principal at Key Center, Ann Smith, who has been named Region 3 Outstanding Principal (read more here). Congratulations Principal Smith!
We are continuing our nationwide search for our next Superintendent, please see the additional details below.
Finally, if you have the opportunity -- check out some of the fabulous student performances happening this weekend!
Stay well,
Tammy
 From Left to Right: Sue Tenney, Kristen Wiley, Jesse Kraft, Dr. Nardos King, Dr. Grace Taylor, Principal Ann Smith, School Board Member Tamara Derenak Kaufax, Leona Smith-Vance, and Dale Rumberger
Upcoming School Board Meetings
- Forum (Gatehouse): Tuesday, February 8 - 10 a.m. - Preventing Gun Violence; Comprehensive Title IX Training
- FY23 Budget Work Session (Gatehouse): Tuesday, February 8 - 11 a.m.
- Regular School Board Meeting (Jackson Middle School): Thursday, February 10 - 7 p.m. - CIP
- Governance Committee Meeting (Gatehouse): Tuesday, February 15 - 11 a.m.
- Audit Committee Meeting (Gatehouse): Wednesday, February 16 - 4 p.m.
Visit the citizen participation webpage to sign up to speak at a regular meeting. Visit BoardDocs for more meeting logistics, agendas and handouts.
The meetings can be viewed on FCPS Cable TV Channel 99 (Verizon Channel 11) and on the FCPS website. Meetings are recorded for future viewing and posted to the FCPS School Board YouTube page.
Superintendent Search — The Qualities We Value in a Leader
As part of the development of the profile for the next superintendent, we asked you to share your thoughts in town halls, stakeholder meetings and a survey. On Monday, January 31, the School Board heard the feedback from these sessions at their work session. To learn more about what our community and employees shared, watch the meeting. You can also watch the Superintendent Search Town Hall meetings held for the community online.
FCPS is conducting a nationwide search for a new superintendent to lead the school district when Superintendent Brabrand's contract expires at the end of the 2021-22 school year.
Learn more about the superintendent search on our website.
School Year 2022-23 Calendar
The Fairfax County School Board voted to adopt a calendar for the 2022-23 school year. The first day of school will be Monday, August 22. Read a news release on the new calendar.
Important Dates:
- Monday, August 22, 2022: First day of school.
- November 23-25, 2022: Thanksgiving break.
- December 19, 2022 - January 2, 2023: Winter break.
- April 3-7, 2023: Spring break.
Changes:
- Veteran’s Day will be a professional work day.
- Spring break is aligned with surrounding districts.
- New instruction will be allowed to take place on days denoted as religious and cultural observances, or “O” days.
- Four observances will be student holidays:
- Rosh Hashanah.
- Yom Kippur.
- Orthodox Good Friday.
- Diwali.
See other highlights of the 2022-23 school year calendar. Stay tuned for more information on the 2022-23 Employee Calendar. We will be sharing more on the updated use of O Days later in the spring.
PreK-2 Devices
The School Board voted to approve the purchase of up to 43,000 devices at the total cost of $18.4 million with the local share of $2.1 million to be funded from School Board Flexibility Reserve and upon delivery file for reimbursement with the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) grant fund for $16.3M.
The proposal includes purchasing more age-appropriate iPad devices with keyboard case for students in grades PreK and K, and standard Windows laptop devices for students in grades 1 and 2. More information can be found on Board Docs.
View the video of the January 27, 2022 Fairfax County School Board meeting.
Making Summer Plans for Students? Sign up for CTE Summer Academy or Tech Adventure Camp
Two great opportunities for students to explore their interests this summer are open for registration.
Students in grades 7-11 can dive deeper into CTE program areas, develop new skills, and explore future careers in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Summer Academy.
Students currently in grades 2-6 may participate in Tech Adventure Camp, where they will explore STEAM, culinary, health, trades, business, and marketing areas.
Space is limited, and registration is on a first-come basis until seats are filled.
Registration and more information about the CTE Summer Academy and the Tech Adventure Camp is available online.
Ensuring Mental Wellness in our Schools: Parent/Guardian Reports and Upcoming Screener Windows
In partnership with our families, FCPS supports mental wellness (social and emotional learning and skill development) for our students. These factors are critical to students as they become successful and reflect our Portrait of a Graduate. Students have the opportunity to participate in the social emotional screener, providing valuable information about their social and emotional skills, relationships, school environment, and mood. School teams and families use this information as they work together to develop supportive school cultures.
In the coming weeks, parents and guardians of students in grades 3-12 who participated in the fall 2021 screener will be mailed a letter with their student’s self-reported ratings. The report includes tips for understanding the ratings and discussing them with your child. We encourage you to use these screener results alongside your own current knowledge of your child and other sources of information as you develop a more complete picture of your child’s current strengths and needs. You may be in touch with your child’s school to partner on next steps as needed, as well as to learn more about the many supportive practices schools are using to support mental wellness and social emotional skill development for all students this school year.
In response to current needs, slight changes have been made to upcoming screener windows. Grades 3-12 students will be screened once more in the spring. Grades K-2 students will be screened in the winter and spring. More information about the SEL Screener is available online.
Future IT and Trades Workers: Join us for Back2Fairfax 2022
Current FCPS juniors, seniors, and recent FCPS graduates considering an operational career with Fairfax County Public Schools are encouraged to join the Back2Fairfax Operational Seminar on Tuesday, February 22, from 5-8 p.m. The event will be held virtually this year.
The event is a great opportunity to network with current employees in various operational and administrative positions. Learn more about your future career during a live operational employee panel and breakout sessions on various topics including Apprenticeship 101, Computer Hardware Repair, Network Engineering, Technology Support, Trade Careers, and more.
For more information, please email Back2Fairfax@fcps.edu.
Registration is available online.
FCPS Student Artists Recognized in 2022 Regional Scholastic Art Awards
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The 2022 Regional Scholastic Art Awards program has awarded Fairfax County Public Schools students in grades 7-12 a total of 497 awards for outstanding artwork, including 160 Gold Key awards, 160 Silver Key awards, and 177 Honorable Mention awards. Four works by FCPS students were nominated for the best-in-show American Visions Award.
See who received a Regional Scholastic Art Award.
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From the Healthy Minds Blog: Teaching Children about Healthy Diet and Exercise
We routinely emphasize the importance of learning the ABC’s as they pertain to the alphabet and learning to read. According to the American Psychological Association, it is also important that we teach children a different set of ABC’s...ABCDE: Act Boldly to Change Diet and Exercise.
Parents and guardians are in a unique position to positively influence children’s healthy eating habits and exercise. Check out these tips on how to do so from the American Psychological Association on the Healthy Minds blog.
Lee District Performing Arts News
Hayfield Secondary School
February 3-5, 10 & 11 at 7 p.m.
Hayfield Secondary School
7630 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, VA
A post-electric play by Anne Washburn. Score by Michael Friedman and lyrics by Anne Washburn.
For more information, click here. Buy tickets here.
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Mount Vernon High School
TONIGHT: Friday, February 4, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Mount Vernon High School
8515 Old Mount Vernon Road
Alexandria, VA
Produced by special arrangement with Stage Partners. Based on the stories of Lewis Carroll
"Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Mad tea parties, sarcastic caterpillars, depressed turtles, and one, very, very irrational Queen. Will Alice ever escape this dream-like landscape? Or was she never meant to at all?"
For more information, click here. Buy tickets here.
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Friends of Lake Accotink Park (FLAP): High School Showdown to Help Clean-Up
A special thank you to all the students from around Fairfax County Public Schools who participated in the annual Trash Off: A High School Showdown at Lake Accotink last month. Six schools participated. Congratulations to West Springfield High School for winning first place and a pizza party for collecting the most trash. Congratulations also to Woodson High School who received a special recognition for collecting the most trash amongst the smaller teams.
This goes a long way to keeping our local parks a beautiful place and a safe environment for all the park wildlife - thank you to all those who participated. I also want to thank Ms. Yasmine Marrero who coordinated this event.
GrandInvolve: Enews Update - January 2022
GrandInvolve’s Mission is to:
- Support the education of our most vulnerable populations through in-person and virtual volunteering in Fairfax County, Virginia
- Reduce ageism by growing intergenerational relationships between our youngest and oldest community members
- Increase intercultural understanding.
Read GrandInvolve's latest e-newsletter here, See highlights below:
- From Our Executive Director
- Go Caps! $13.6K+ & Counting, Thanks to Burke & Herbert Bank
- Volunteer Celebration Set for Feb. 14
- Upcoming Volunteer Trainings
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The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© 2020 Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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