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Bus Driver and Custodian Appreciation Week
October 8-12 is Bus Driver and Custodian Appreciation Week, when we take the opportunity to say thank you to the bus drivers and custodial staff who do so much to keep the school beautiful and transport our students safely.
Our custodial staff consists of Building Supervisor Laverne Brown, Freddy (Fredesbinda) Sierra, Nhouthasack Keokhontong (Mr. Sak), and Berta Gallo. The bus drivers are Michelle Campbell, Thom Dolinger, John Kravchonak, Harry Kendall, Ms. Beslic, Luisa Rodriguez, and Mohammed Saoui.
This is Laverne Brown's 26th year at Ravensworth! She loves the kids and they can tell. She can bring any kid out of his or her shell and can mediate any dispute. And she is very patient with parents who can't figure out how to unfold a cafeteria table.
One of Ravensworth's bus drivers is also a Ravensworth parent. Harry Kendall has three sons attending Ravensworth. Mr. Harry reports that Ravensworth students are better behaved than most of the students he has driven. He says that the biggest miconception about him, and the other bus drivers, is that "his bus has wings" and can get anywhere quickly despite the traffic. He asks that parents remember to give the school buses plenty of room whenever they are driving.
Please thank our staff during appreciation week. We are lucky to have them!
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Ravensworth ReveillePTA/School Newsletter October 2012
October Events 3 ! New Progress Report Meeting, 7pm 4 !Chess Club begins 8 !Columbus Day, No School 8-12 !Bus Driver & Custodian !Appreciation Week 11! Kindergarten field trip to Cox Farms 12 !6th Grade Field Trip to Inner Quest 12 !Movie Night 12-19 Book Fair 23 GLOBAL classes begin 26 Field Day 29! SACC/School Fall Festival, 2:30 31 !Storybook Character Day
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PRINCIPAL’S CORNERPam O'Connor
The Boo Hoo Breakfast on the first day of school was well attended. Parents had a chance to mingle with PTA board members, staff members and other parents and ask questions about school experiences in general, including what it is like to be ‘full day’ in Kindergarten. Although most of our attending parents had Kindergarten students, several parents of older students who are new to our school also joined the group.
Also on the first day of school all 1st through 6th graders met to go over ways to safely leave the campus at dismissal and where to load school buses and after school program buses, and cue up for Kiss and Ride. Please help us keep children safe by reminding your student(s) not to run through parking lots or across the street between buses when they become excited to see you.
The PTA Ice Cream Social was a great success. Thanks to all workers and supporters! The weather was lovely and families were able to enjoy their ice cream and socialize with friends both inside and outside.
Back to School Night opened with enthusiasm as PTA Board members painted a picture of exciting opportunities for involvement and the annual budget was quickly passed. Joey Stengell, our PTA President, also announced plans to move away from traditional fundraisers and focus on Lap for Learning in the spring to generate funds for our school.
We are all adjusting to the earlier start time and bus arrivals have been very timely to get our students here on time for them to be in class ready for the tardy bell at 8:15 AM. Thank you to everyone who has allowed that extra driving time (traffic remains a challenge) to make sure kids are also here to be in classrooms by the tardy bell. Be reminded that student safety is paramount and that supervision is not available for students who arrive prior to 7:55 AM and that outside duty staff (for car pool) ceases at 8:15 AM, when school begins.
Breakfast is available beginning at 7:55 and students eat in the cafeteria until grades are dismissed at 8:05. Between 8:05 and 8:15 breakfast is still available, but it becomes a ‘grab and go’ variety and students get their breakfast and then go right to classrooms to eat their breakfast so that they do not miss the beginning of the day.
Donations Needed
Ms. Condit says the Health Room is in need of new or clean used underwear, socks, t-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants. Please take donations to the Health Room.
Preschool - Preschool is starting off the year getting to know each other and our new school. We are also focusing on our bodies and what we can do with them. As always, language is a focus of our class. We use a variety of high and low technology resources to help children request needs and wants, comment on classroom activities, participate in story retelling, and engage in conversation with peers and adults.
Kindergarten - Kindergarteners are excited about fall! They will explore the season by going on nature walks to observe the colors, shapes, and changes that the season brings. Apples and pumpkins will fill the kindergarten classrooms and be used for observations, sorting, counting, measurement, art projects, and cooking. A field trip to Cox Farm will be the highlight of this month!
First Grade - In first grade we are building our classroom communities. We are learning to be good citizens as per the first grade Social Studies SOL. We are excited about being back at school! It is going to be a GREAT year!
Second Grade - We have been learning how to be good citizens in second grade. Our second graders are having a great time exploring place value. We are working with magnets in Science. We are learning to make predictions and connections while we read. We are coming up with creative ideas for stories and writing each day. This month we are reviewing the Student Rights and Responsibilities booklet that was sent home; so, please review this material at home and return the SR&R sheet confirming that your
child understands his or her rights and responsibilities. Homework has started, so please check your child’s red folder every night to see if there is a note or work that needs to be completed. We understand that children are busy with after school activities and the evenings can be a little hectic, but try and have your child read to you, or you read to them 15 minutes a night. !Third Grade - Third grade is off to a great start! Beginning of the year assessments are completed and Reading Groups are underway. Our ladybugs arrived this week and the students are having a wonderful observing and exploring with these insects!
Fourth Grade - The fourth graders are reviewing the relationships with numbers including place value, rounding, fractions and decimals. In Virginia History, the geography of the state is being studied. Children are reviewing reading and writing skills. Magnetism is just around the corner.
Fifth Grade - The fifth graders are working on settling into the routines of their classrooms. A number of pre-assessments have been administered in various subjects and the new learning has kicked off. The students have been practicing their vocabulary, reading, and writing skills in language arts and have dug into the “Landforms” unit in science. We are all excited about this 2012/13 school year!
Sixth Grade - !The sixth grade will be participating in their annual Inner Quest field trip at the Madeira School in McClean on October 12th. This is a team building field trip, and the highlight of the trip is a ride on the zip wire.
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In the Classrooms
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FUNDRAISERSBox TopsThis year Box Tops Coordinator Jeanne Leoni is offering prizes for the class that collects the most Box Tops. First prize is a $100 gift card to the teacher to spend on the classroom and a pizza party for the students. Second prize is $50 gift card to the teacher to spend on the classroom and individual prizes for the students from the PTA box of prizes.
Last year the PTA earned over $1700 from box tops, which are worth ten cents each! So make sure to clip your box tops and send them in to school, in a baggie with your child’s name and homeroom teacher on it. Ask your family, friends an neighbors to collect for you too.
You can also earn “e-box tops” at www.boxtops4education.com. There are opportunities to earn box tops by watching a short video online or linking through the site when you do online shopping. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Jeanne Leoni at [email protected].
ESCRIPPlease register your grocery cards and designate Ravensworth ES as a recipient. You can register your Giant, Harris Teeter and Safeway shopper cards, and your Target charge card can be registered in the same way. Please go to http://ravensworthpta.org/fundraising to find the links to register.
Contact newsletter editor Michelle Mueller at [email protected] with information for Reveille. The deadline for the November issue is October 22.
UPCOMING EVENTSBook Fair - October 12-19Mark your calendars for the book fair! The book fair is coming to the library October 12-19. It's a fun, educational way to raise money for our school. Parents, help get your kids excited about reading by visiting the fair together. Let them show you items on their "wish list", find gifts for your school-aged Ravens, younger sibs and teacher classrooms too.
Sales hours will be: Friday October 12, 5-7pm, Monday October 15, 12-1pm,Tuesday October 16, 3-4pm, Wednesday October 17, 7:45am-7pm, Thursday October 18, 7:45am-4pm and Friday October 19, 7:45-8:30am.
The new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book #7 will be available for presale--you will receive it when it comes out in November. Volunteers will be needed to stock shelves, to assist students in selecting books, and to be cashiers. Sign up at http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/1074306938080.
Movie Night - October 12On October 12 at 6:30pm in the cafeteria there will be a free showing of The Lorax. The movie and popcorn are free; drinks and candy will be available for purchase. A Flippin’ Pizza truck will be at the school 6-8pm, and the school will get 25% of the proceeds. Please bring blankets and cushions, as there will be floor seating only. Book Fair will also be open 5-7pm in the library.
Bingo Night - November 16Bring the whole family and join us for an evening of fun and prizes! Bingo Night will be held this year on Friday, November 16, from 7:00 to 8:30 in the Ravensworth Cafeteria. Bingo Cards and Raffle Tickets will be available for purchase starting at 6;30pm and will continue to be sold throughout the evening. There will be free popcorn, and drinks and snacks available for purchase.
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Around the SchoolStrings News - Ms. TrachtenbergAny student in grade 4, 5, or 6 may learn to play a stringed instrument this school year. Free group lessons are available during the school day. Music books are also provided by the school. Local music stores have instrument rental plans for Violin, Viola, Cello or Bass. This fee may be applied toward the purchase of the instrument. By the way, if you have an unused violin, viola, cello or bass sitting at home, please consider donating it to our school. A letter acknowledging your donation can be furnished upon request for tax purposes.
Library News - Ms. Ferret In September, Ravensworth students all visited the library for an orientation and checkout. We reviewed library manners, use of shelf markers and choosing just the right book. Kindergarten through third-grade students have been learning or reviewing the parts of a book and how to locate a book in the library by referring to the call number on the spine label. Fourth- through sixth-grade students are doing a fabulous job picking out books and locating them in various areas of the library. The library is in need of parent volunteers to help shelve the many books that are returned by enthusiastic readers each day! Please email [email protected] or phone Helena Ferret at 703 426-3616 if you’d like to volunteer. ESOL News - Ms. Helm Mark your calendars! The Office of Language Acquisition and Title I (formerly The Office of ESOL Services) is once again holding its Biannual Regional ESOL Parent Nights. These meetings inform parents of the services and opportunities offered to English learners by Fairfax County Public Schools.
The meetings will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the following dates and locations:October 10 Hayfield Secondary School October 22 Chantilly High School November 13 Woodson High School
Meetings are open to the public. A light dinner and childcare will be provided. Pre-registration
(online or by phone) is requested but not required. Interpreters will be available for speakers of Arabic, Farsi, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. For additional information contact Ravensworth Elementary ESOL Department, or FCPS Instructional Services- ESOL: http://www.fcps.edu/is/esol/parents.shtml
PE News - Ms. RocheOn Friday, October 26th the Physical Education department will host our annual field day. As always, we rely on parent volunteers to help make the day a success for our 1st-6th grade students. Volunteer forms will be sent home in your child’s Wednesday folder in October. If you plan to volunteer, please know our first grade students only participate in the morning activities and our Kindergarten students have their field day in May.
Art News - Ms. FortenberryThis past month, we have been very busy creating designs of peace for our annual Chalk 4 Peace day. Students were able to take their designs outside to the sidewalks and draw their ideas of peace all around Ravensworth.
Students also drew these ideas on Post-Its to create our first ever Post-It art installation. It is located in the hallway outside of the art studio and library.
Students are starting to create collages, drawings, and paintings in the art studio, so if you would like to volunteer to help hang artwork or even help in preparing supplies for the art room, please contact Ms. Fortenberry at [email protected].
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SACC News - Ms. RobinsonMiss Tish reports that Ravensworth SACC (School Aged Child Care) students will take another field trip to the Wakefield Farmers' Market on Wednesday, October 10.
On October 18 at 7:30 pm the Ravensworth SACC Flag Football Team will play rival Braddock Elementary SACC during halftime at the Annandale High School JV game. Ravensworth SACC Cheerleaders will be there cheering as well.
SACC will be hosting a Fall Festival at the school on Monday, October 29 at 2:30. There will be food, games, music and arts & crafts. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Special Ed. News - Ms. GibsonThe FCPS Parent Resource Center is a hidden gem for parents (and not far from Ravensworth). It seeks to promote awareness of the many services provided by FCPS for children with learning challenges or special needs and their families (or community members interested in a variety of their topics and services). Located at the Dunn Loring Center for Parent Services at 2334 Gallows Road, Room 105 in Dunn Loring (near the Dunn Loring Metro and just past Merrifield Garden Center), the PRC manages a lending library, has its own newsletter, offers homework help, maintains a list of PRC tutors (including speech), has translated materials and shares numerous contacts/links. Hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Don’t miss the wonderful (and FREE) upcoming events: 10/3 Intro to Special Education 10/3 Celebrate Calm (Presented by nationally recognized expert Kirk Martin and his son Casey) 10/5 Dyslexia 10/11 Anxiety in Children & Teens (by NIMH) 10/17 Managing Meltdowns At Home For additional information, to view brochures or presentation details, and to register for upcoming events, visit: www.fcps.edu/cco/prc/index.shtml. Questions? (English) 703-204-3941 or (Español) 703-204-3955.
PROGRAM NEWSChess ClubRavensworth Chess Club for grades 2 through 6 will begin October 4. The cost is $80 per student. Parent volunteers are needed from 3:05 pm – 4:30 pm to monitor hallways for bathroom breaks and assist with snacks and keep general order with children in the cafeteria. Send questions via email to Suzanne Amra at [email protected].
GLOBAL After-School Spanish Online registration is now open for GLOBAL. This after-school Spanish program is similar to Flex, but it will be taught by Ravensworth Spanish Immersion teachers in their classrooms. Classes will be held on Tuesdays starting October 23, and cost $249 for 25 weeks. Each class will have 15-20 students. Mrs. Cantu will teach 1st-3rd grade, and Mrs. Llano and Mr. Gunn will each teach 4th-6th grade classes. To register go to https://aceclasses.fcps.edu and search on GL08625 for 1st-3rd grade, or GL08425 for 4th-6th grade and select one of the two Ravensworth sections. Contact Afifa Bolte at [email protected] with questions.
Grow TeamWhether we attended the ice cream social or back to school night, or we deliver our children to school each day, we have all had the opportunity to admire the improvements to our school sign on Nutting Drive. What we may not realize is that we can thank scout member Ben Fields, Troop 991, sponsored by Ravensworth Elementary, for his efforts. Ben chose to build this raised garden bed for his Eagle Scout project as a way to give back to his school while serving his community. Ben attended Ravensworth Elementary for grades four through 6, and is now a junior at Lake Braddock. He designed the structure, drew up plans, met with Principal Pam O’Connor for approval, and led fellow scouts from his troop in hand building, staining, and filling the planter. Thanks to Ben, we now have an eye-catching, beautiful and permanent space to show off our school entrance. This improvement gives back even more with plans for our GROW Team to involve students in adding bulbs and plants to the space. This project will help Ben achieve the Eagle Scout award, the highest honor in Boy Scouts. We wish him luck in his future endeavors.
Last year Ravensworth was the SACC Superbowl Champion
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