Gator Bytes: News and General Information for Kings Glen ES

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A Message from Principal Ritter Dear Kings Glen Families – I hope you all had a wonderfully restful and restorative Thanksgiving break, filled with warmth and time with loved ones.  It was truly a highlight for our entire school to host our annual Thanksgiving Lunch last week. Seeing so many of you, our amazing families, filling our cafeteria, sharing a meal, and enjoying this special moment was heartwarming. It meant so much to us to bring back this cherished tradition. Thank you for making it such a successful and memorable return! Now that we are back in our routine, we are hitting the ground running and embracing the exciting weeks ahead. This time of year is crucial for deep learning and consolidating skills before the winter break. Our students and staff are focused on finishing the calendar year strong. Thank you, as always, for your partnership. We look forward to a fantastic few weeks of learning and growth before the holidays arrive!

Current 6th Graders and Their Families - Save The Date!

Monday, December 15 at Lake Braddock SS

Mark your calendars for the Lake Braddock Middle School Curriculum Fair! This is your chance to meet and speak with LBMS staff about all the amazing courses available.  

Event Details:

• What: Curriculum Fair for Rising 7th and 8th Graders
• When: Monday, December 15th, 6:30-8:00 PM
• Where: Lake Braddock Middle School (In-Person Event)

There will also be an optional Advanced Academic Program session from 6:00-6:30 PM in the Lecture Hall.  Come celebrate academic advising season in the best possible way by joining us! Students must be accompanied by a parent. We look forward to seeing you there!

Next 3-Hour Early Release Wednesday

Wednesday, December 10 ~ Students Dismiss at 12:25 p.m.

Camp Out with a Great Book!  Fall Book Fair Needs You! December 6-12 in the Kings Glen Library Our Fall Book Fair begins this week!  We need your help to make Book Fair magic happen in our library, which will transform tomorrow into a pop-up bookstore that will stay open until December 12.  It’s a great way to meet other KG parents!  Daytime, evening, and Saturday shifts are available.  Sign up to volunteer to help with setup, decorations, student wish lists, book sales, and break down here.  Your student will visit the Book Fair this week to preview and make a wish list.  Book sales open on Saturday!   Family Shopping Dates: Saturday, December 6th (9 a.m.-12 p.m.) Tuesday, December 9th (5-7:30 p.m.) Wednesday, December 10th (Early Release Day, 1-4 p.m.) Thursday, December 11th (5-8:30 p.m.) Students will also be able to shop during school hours with cash or check made payable to Kings Glen ES.  To avoid losing cash at school, we recommend setting up a Bookworm Central eWallet in advance.  An eWallet connects to a credit or debit card, and you pre-set a limit for purchases.  Your card will only be charged what is actually spent by your child: Family or friends can also purchase an eGift card for your child, if your child has loved ones at a distance who would like to treat them to books!  Send this link to family/friends, and ask them to use your email address as the recipient’s email (please do not use your child’s "@fcpsschools.net" Google email address, as emails from outside FCPS are blocked). Your support for Book Fair helps build your home library and it benefits our library by raising funds to grow our library collection.

Advanced Academics Spotlight

Check out the KP-KG AAP December newsletter for information about upcoming AAP deadlines, information about AAP services, and ways to engage with Critical and Creative Thinking strategies at home.

Full-Time Screening Info (Grades 2-7)

• December 15:  Deadline for Referrals for Full-Time AAP screening
• Full-Time Checklist:  Use this checklist to see which items are required for submitting a full-time AAP referral for your student.

Spirit Week ~ December 5-12

Friday, Dec. 5: Kick off the book fair by dressing as your favorite book character

Monday, Dec. 8: Cozy up with a good book and small stuffed animal (wear comfy clothes)

Tuesday, Dec. 9: Teacher Tuesday, (dress like a teacher)

Wednesday, Dec. 10: Winter Wednesday, bring on the snow! Wear white, a scarf or hat

Thursday, Dec. 11: Gators love books! Wear Gator green

Friday, Dec. 12: Festive Friday, wear festive clothes (chorus, strings were good with this for concert wear)

Positivity Project at Kings Glen Kings Glen is partnering with The Positivity Project (P2) to empower students to build positive relationships and become their best selves. During our classroom Morning Meetings, short videos, class discussions and activities focus on one of the 24 character strengths that are the foundation of Positive Psychology. Gators explore their strengths and how to have positive relationships. P2 also offers short lessons for families at home. Week of December 1-5:  Kindness

Yearbook Cover Design Contest Deadline Friday, December 19 We are looking for our next yearbook cover design. This year’s theme is EXPLORE! Students must submit designs by Friday, December 19th to Ms. Fitzgerald.  Front Cover Winner gets a FREE Yearbook!  See details below (also on printable flyer): Design a cover for the yearbook that includes: School name: Kings Glen Elementary (check your spelling) Year: 2025-2026 School mascot: The Gator  Theme: Explore! (Think: exploring new ideas? New skills? New friendships? New books? New places?) Write your FIRST/LAST NAME and HOMEROOM TEACHER on the BACK of your DESIGN Materials Needed: 8 ½ x 11 in white paper (printer paper) Markers, crayons, or colored pencils. Entries MUST be colorful. Make sure pencil lines are erased or outlined in black. Once completed, turn your submission in to the GREEN FOLDER on the ART ROOM DOOR.

Attendance Matters!

Every Day Is a Stepping-Stone to Success

Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child later in life. It’s a good habit to build now to help them graduate from college on time and routinely report to work on time once they have a career.

Please take a look at the FCPS Calendar. It is important to schedule any trips or family events on weekends and school holidays. Every day of learning is a day toward success. Keep in mind that absences add up quickly. Students who are absent 10% of the school year (or just two days per month) are considered “chronically absent.”

If your child needs to miss school because of an illness, you must report the absence.  Please call the attendance line at 703-239-4040 or email KGNotes@fcps.edu.

Prepare for Winter Weather

Winter weather will be here before you know it! Watch this video to see how weather closing decisions are made at FCPS. 

FCPS’ website is generally the first place to find out about emergency weather closings. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible, including email, text, social media, the new FCPS mobile app, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated.

Be sure to plan for the winter season. Update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE, bookmark the FCPS website, and arrange emergency child care if needed.

Keep Your Child Warm During Outdoor Activities

We will monitor the weather for low temperatures, wind chill advisories and warnings, and weather advisories that may prevent children from being outside. Make sure your child is dressed appropriately with a warm coat and other cold-weather clothing, so they can comfortably enjoy their time outdoors. View the National Weather Service’s tips on staying safe during cold weather.

If you need assistance getting cold-weather clothing for your family, please call Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) at 703-222-0880. Their multilingual staff can assist with any challenges you are facing, including food, shelter, employment, financial assistance, and health.

Social and Emotional Learning Screener: Parent Reports

Students in grades 3-12 took the SEL Screener last month, providing information on skills like achieving goals, understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining relationships, and making responsible decisions. The screener also asks students how well their school community makes them feel valued, included, and supported. 

Individual student SEL Screener results will be available to families in the Documents section of SIS ParentVUE the week of November 17. For families who do not have an active ParentVUE account, results will be shared by our school.

For support in understanding your individual student’s results or for ideas on how to support them at home, please review the Family Guide or reach out to school staff.

Action Required! Update Your Permission for Google Tools

Google recently made changes to how educational applications are managed and accessed on the Chrome Browser and Chromebooks. Many applications are moving from the Chrome Web Store to the Google Play Store. 

To ensure your student(s) can continue accessing all approved instructional tools, FCPS has updated its digital consent platform to include both the Chrome Web Store and the Google Play Store.

Please review and provide your consent for these two new options through our easy-to-use Parent Digital Consent system:

• Additional Google Services – Chrome Web Store
• Additional Google Services – Google Play Store

Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting safe and effective digital learning experiences for all students. 

For questions or support, please visit FCPS’ Family Technology Resources page or open a ticket with our Technical Support desk.

KP/KG PTA News

Our December PTA newsletter is now available - find it here!

Our next PTA General Membership Meeting will take place NEXT Wednesday, December 10th at 5:00 pm at Kings Park during their family book fair shopping (and on zoom: Meeting ID: 258-233-8875; Passcode: KPKG2020!)).  We look forward to seeing you there!

The PTA will be setting up a Cookie Swap for staff appreciation on Thursday, December 18th at both schools.  Please check out our sign-up and consider contributing some homemade goodies for the staff to enjoy!  Donations are due on Wednesday, December 17th.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated candy and cards for our annual Treats for Troops initiative - we collected over 125 lbs of candy!

Are you looking to say thank you to a teacher or staff member during the holiday season?  All Kings Park and Kings Glen staff have been given the option to fill out a “Staff Tastes & Tidbits” form with information such as favorite stores and restaurants, classroom needs/wants, favorite authors and more.  Staff responses can be viewed here.

Dec. 6-12:  Fall Book Fair (See Details Above)

Dec. 5-12:  Spirit Week (See Above)

Dec. 6:  Book Fair Family Shopping Saturday Hours (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Dec. 10:  3-Hour Early Release (Students Dismissed at 12:25 p.m.);  Book Fair Family Shopping from 1-4 p.m.

Dec. 10:  PTA General Membership Meeting (5:00 p.m.; See Above)