Dragon Tales

Arcola Families,

Thank you to all families for everything that they do for our school community! These past few weeks have been quite busy and it has been wonderful to see so many of you around. Just a few quick notes for this week:

5th Grade Parents: DARE graduation will be held on 5/22 at 8:30 AM in the gym.

We are still looking for 3 long-term substitutes; if you are interested and have a college degree, please e-mail Mr. Charlish.

Coming Up This Week:

5/22 - DARE Graduation @ 8:30 A.M. (5th Grade Parents)

We hope to see you soon!

Andrew Y. Stevens

Principal

andrew.stevens@lcps.org

Parents/Guardians who are interested in serving as the 2024-2025 LEAF representative should possess a desire to focus on engaging with the school administration and the PTA/PTO (if applicable), as well as developing opportunities for two-way communication, through which learning, feedback and information sharing with positive outcomes for children are at the forefront. If applicable, check in with your PTA/PTO about their thoughts on nominations for next year. You can also visit www.lcps.org/leaf to learn more or chat with me about how your LEAF representative can support your school community.

If you are interested in serving as Arcola's LEAF Representative, please email Mr. Stevens.

Every year LCPS stakeholders have an opportunity to nominate exceptional educators, programs, parents, and students who have gone above-and-beyond what is typical and what is expected to include, support, and create opportunities for students with disabilities. This year every staff member, student, and program were notified of their nomination. Most recently, those nominated and selected for this prestigious award were notified. A list of awardees can be found 2024 SEAC Award Winners Announcement. Please take an opportunity to recognize and celebrate any individual awardee(s) who are part of your school community!

You are also welcome to join the SEAC executive board and LCPS leadership as we recognize and show appreciation for these individuals. We are grateful to Rock Ridge High School for their willingness to host this year’s award ceremony. Please take an opportunity to join us there on Wednesday, June 5th from 6:30-8:00. SEAC Awards Ceremony Invite

It's FIELD DAY Time! We are looking for volunteers to help work our Field Day stations on June 6th (Rain date of June 7th). If you are able, please sign up at: https://bit.ly/arcolafieldday2024. We need morning & afternoon helpers and would like as many Arcola Alumni to come back as possible!

We are also asking for donations of Freezy Pops for the event.

If you are able, please purchase a box of Freezy Pops and send it to the school so the students can enjoy a nice cool treat on a hot day.

For any questions, please e-mail Coach Bango at andrew.bango@lcps.org

William & Mary’s Center for Gifted Education is excited to share its Summer/Saturday Enrichment Program (SEP) with your family. SEP is an academically challenging program with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning. The program is not meant to replace the regular school curriculum; rather, it recognizes the importance of allowing able children to explore additional specialized areas of science, mathematics, humanities, and the arts. There are in-person and virtual courses available in the areas of engineering, music, STEM, coding, writing, social science, and many more.

We are now registering for:

Summer

June 24th-28th

July 8th-12th

August 12th-16th

For more information, and to see what classes are available please visit our website!

There has been a noticeable increase in the use of student smart watches during instructional time. As a reminder, per LCPS Policy 8650, students are permitted to have personal electronic devices in school, however they should not be used during instructional time. This applies to cell phones, smart watches, video game systems and other personal technology items. Parents, we need your help with this because the majority of the use of smart watches during instructional time is between you and your child. Please do not send messages to your child during the school day. If smart watches or cell phones become a distraction, students will be required to keep them in their backpacks until the end of the school day.

The online pre-registration portal for kindergartners and all new students is open! Once pre-registration has been submitted, the school will contact parents/guardians to schedule a registration appointment. Parents/guardians may also contact their zoned school directly. Registration appointments will occur starting March 1. Pre-registration is only for:

• Students, grades kindergarten to 12, who are new to LCPS

• Current LCPS pre-kindergarten students entering kindergarten

• Students who were formerly enrolled and may be returning to LCPS

LCPS has partnered with Lightspeed Systems to foster safe and secure device usage in Loudoun County. You will receive a weekly summary of your child's LCPS device usage and have meaningful conversations with your children about Digital Citizenship and Internet Safety.

SIGN UP FOR LIGHTSPEED!!!

We want to ensure that every LCPS family is made aware of the STEM opportunities that will be available to them in the coming years at the Academies of Loudoun.

The Office of Admissions and Outreach has created a video that contains important information about our curricular programs, the admissions process and the criteria associated with applying to the Academies of Loudoun.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Office of Admissions and Outreach at (571) 252-1992 or at AcademiesAdmissions@lcps.org

Link to 5th Grade parent video: https://vimeo.com/671215445

Loudoun County Public Schools is offering new resources for all staff and parents/guardians to use to support students through www.parentguidance.org. You can learn more about this initiative by clicking here.

These resources include easily accessible video-based courses on difficult parenting topics, individualized parent coaching for any LCPS parent/guardian, on their schedule in their home, and weekly interactive webinars to let parents know the mental health needs of our students are a critical concern of Loudoun County Public Schools. Your unified mental health team members are ready to assist parents in accessing the support. You can watch this video about the services available.

LCPS has launched Care Solace, a care coordination service to help students, staff, and families find mental health and substance use treatment matched to their needs. Care Solace’s multilingual and culturally sensitive Care Companion™ team is available 24/7/365 to quickly connect individuals to community providers regardless of need.

How Students, Staff & Families Can Access Care Solace Services:

Care Solace is available to all members of the LCPS community – staff, students and their families – and can be accessed by calling (888) 515-0595 at any time. A dedicated Care Companion™ will help research treatment options matched to their needs, secure appointments, and follow up to ensure satisfaction with the provider and treatment.

Staff and family members can also search for help on their own at: https://www.caresolace.com/loudoun

Resources:

Care Solace Admin Best Practices Information

Marketing Materials - English and Spanish

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h1G4bxRUMDAkf35Qv-k5AFd0QsVIqJrY/view

When you sign up for the Shop to Give program through Givebacks, Arcola PTA will receive a donation every time you shop or dine at over 25,000 participating merchants - at no cost to you! Plus, we’ll receive a $5 bonus donation after your first qualifying purchase!

Simply sign up, link your card for in-store offers, and add the desktop and mobile browser extensions for online offers.

SIGN-UP TO SUPPORT ARCOLA PTA WITH SHOP TO GIVE: https://www.givebacks.com/join/arcola

Take a look below for info on LCPS Family Workshop

As you plan ahead and/or if you had to take a trip during the school year, please use next year's calendars (LCPS has the next few years planned) to plan the leave around already scheduled days off from school to minimize the days missed of school. We know you agree that it is imperative for your students to be here every single day. Yet, we also know that other aspects of real life occur and it might be nice to know the days for next year (or the year after) to perhaps plan around with the LCPS scheduled days off of school. Please see below for next year's calendar and/or go HERE for more information and subsequent year calendars.

LCPS 2024-2025 Calendar