Summer at Central Office

Summer at Central Office: Back to School Edition

Dr. Peter J Noonan, Superintendent

August 11, 2021

As the waning weeks of summer are upon us, I genuinely hope you and your family have been enjoying the time together. On the flip side, we have been busy planning for what promises to be a different and exciting school year this year. Yesterday we had our annual administrative kick-off retreat for the day, and today we are hosting all of the new teachers to FCCPS at Meridian. Seeing everyone in person has been a real thrill and is an excellent reminder of how relational our work as a learning community is! These are just a couple of the events that we had to cancel last year.

Future FCCPS Calendars

Last night the School Board held their regular August Regular Meeting and a Work Session with a section regarding the calendar for the upcoming school year. See Fast Forward Links below for a video of the discussion and the slides presented. The School Board requests explicitly that the FCCPS community view the calendar presentation below and provide comments and thoughts. Send your comments to Board Clerk, Marty Gadell gadellm@fccps.org. 

COVID and the 2021-2022 School Year

The School Board meeting also included decisions on COVID Mitigation for the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.  As a school division and learning community, we continue to be committed to the health and safety of our FCCPS family. This is especially true as we return for many events together to celebrate the reopening of school. While the rate of transmission in Falls Church City is very low, unfortunately, that is not the case for the rest of our region due to the Delta variant. So please review the mitigation strategies that are in place for all at any FCCPS school:

  • Universal mask/face covering when indoors, regardless of vaccination status, is now in effect. (If you do not have a mask, we can provide one)

  • Anyone unvaccinated must wear a mask/face covering at all times inside all FCCPS properties. Masking outdoors is optional but encouraged if you are not vaccinated. If in a large group setting, in close contact, you are expected to wear a mask if unvaccinated. (Anyone eligible for vaccination who wishes to get vaccinated can email Rebecca Sharp (rsharp@fccps.org))

  • Please complete the Student Self-Monitoring Health Screener regarding your child before attending each day.  If your child isn’t feeling well or has any symptoms of COVID, PLEASE keep them home.  

  • Encourage and engage in hand hygiene by washing/sanitizing your hands frequently. There continue to be hand sanitizer stations located in all of our facilities.

  • FCCPS is committed to 3 feet of social distance when possible in classrooms, lunch areas, and on buses.

The decision to universally mask indoors is in line with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations as well as our local health district who helps monitor the local spread of disease. 

Further, we must do as much as possible concerning mitigation to keep schools open. We all want our students to be in school full-time for the entirety of the year. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding of this decision. This is a team effort, and if we all work together, our kids thrive.

BACK TO SCHOOL REMINDER: REGISTRATION, IMMUNIZATIONS & MORE

Registration is well underway for the 2021-22 school year! FCCPS  sent an email to all families earlier this summer. If you have not received it or lost it, please contact your respective school.

Along with the return to school, some timely reminders:

Immunizations

Virginia law requires that all students entering seventh grade have tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) booster immunization before the first day of school. Additionally, all new students enrolling into grades seven through twelve must also have a Tdap booster.  There are also new updates for students entering Kindergarten. Please be prepared for the new school year with your student’s immunizations. Here is a link to the requirements.  

SCHOOL & DAY CARE MINIMUM IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

REQUISITOS MÍNIMOS DE INMUNIZACIÓN PARA LA ESCUELA Y LA GUARDERÍA  

If you need help getting an appointment with a health care provider, please contact your school’s Social Worker. You can also get your child immunized at many retail providers such as CVS and Walgreens who have provided healthcare services. Families can also access immunizations at Fairfax County Health Department Clinics as well. (Health Department Clinic Locations | Health)

FCCPS Communications

FCCPS Communicates essential information to parents via a variety of vehicles — direct email to parents, our division and school websites, Social Media, Text Messaging, and the FCCPS Mobile App. Visit www.fccps.org/alert  to make sure you are connected!  

And also signup for the daily Morning Announcements!

As you may have noticed during Registration, we are adding Optional Phone Calls to our messaging options for those who Opt-In for the service this year.  In addition to our familiar Attendance Calls, phone messages are now available for:

  • Emergency Messages — School closings, snow closures, shelter in place, etc.

  • Important Information — Superintendent Updates and Principal notices.

Again, FCCPS will only send these calls to those who Opted-In for the service during registration. As with all information shared during the registration process, contact your school’s Registrar to update the information throughout the year.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

As mentioned previously, the School Board met last evening, and the following are links to the sections of the meeting in case you wish to hear the discussion:

Agenda on BoardDocs

Full Meeting Video on YouTube 

The topics of the evening were:

Patricia Minson, Chief Legal Counsel

Work Session

The School Board’s next regular meeting is on September 14th at 7:00 PM.

BACK TO SCHOOL TOWN HALL

Just a reminder that I will be holding a Back to School Town Hall meeting on August 24th at 7 PM. An FCCPS YouTube link for this event will be sent in the next week or so.

Have a great rest of the month, and we can’t wait to see all of our students returning to the classroom on August 30th.

That’s all for this update!

Sincerely,

Peter