Sterling Jaguar Journal

Sterling families,

We are preparing for 2024 to come to a close as we welcome a new year in 2025. Thank you for your support of your children in their education. As of today, December 18, our chronic absentee rate has dropped down to 5.8%. Currently, only 5.8% of our students are considered chronically absent. This is a great improvement! In previous years, this number at this time of year exceeded 15 and 20%, depending on the year. We are now down to our more typical pre-pandemic rates. We know how important regular school attendance is for our children. Students who are chronically absent have a decreased likelihood of achieving grade level standards. They are more inclined to read below grade level, and their rate of graduation is reduced drastically. The ripple effect continues into adulthood where research shows that individuals who do not graduate high school make lower wages. The habits we instill in our children today impact them into adulthood. Thank you for being our partners in your child's education! Your commitment to getting your child to school will benefit them for a lifetime!

Winter break begins Saturday, December 21, and it extends until Sunday, January 5. While your children are home over winter break, please read with them daily or ask them to read independently. They can also access digital content such as Lexia, Dreambox, and Reflex. Ask them about their winter break reading challenge and the two free books they received today! Our students will return to school on Monday, January 6, 2025.

Sincerely,

Jennifer M. Short, Principal

It is almost time to register your new LCPS student for the 2025-2026 school year! The online pre-registration portal for kindergarteners and students new to LCPS will open on Monday, January 6. Current LCPS students do not need to complete this process. The LCPS student registration process involves two steps: online pre-registration and in-person registration appointments. The online pre-registration process includes determining your student’s home school, gathering the documents required for registration and uploading them to the pre-registration portal. Once pre-registration is complete, your student’s school will contact you to schedule a registration appointment to be held after February 3, 2025. Paper registration forms are also available at your student’s home school, or you may download them from the LCPS website. If you have questions, please contact your student’s home school or LCPS Student Registration at RegistrationServices@lcps.org. See more information about Student Registration on the LCPS website.

Makeup/Retake Day images are now viewable online.

use your student ID when prompted for the online code.

For questions regarding school pictures

please email: underclass@vosphoto.com

Congratulations to Dylan Hibbard our 2024-2025 Sterling Elementary Spelling Bee champion. He will represent our school on February 26 in the county-wide run-off bee to determine the final contestants for the March 26 regional bee. Way to go, Dylan!

We've been working on a bunch of three-dimensional art this month! Kindergarten wrapped up their study of different types of lines by creating line sculptures. First and third grades have begun their clay projects: pinch pots for first and coil pots in third. Finally, fourth grade has been creating the illusion of three-dimensional art through the shading of their sweet treats using oil pastels. The treats will be on display outside of the art room in early January.

-Mrs. Ajima

As the weather has turned colder, we're celebrating all things winter in the library this month! We are reading winter stories, exploring winter centers, sharing winter traditions, and choosing new books for the winter break. Our second and fourth graders have also been learning about being safe online and giving our brains breaks from our devices. Enjoy our kindergarten bear den creations after reading Karma Wilson's The Bear Snores On.

-Mrs. Burel

-Mrs. Jeffries

This month we will focus on our younger Jaguar musicians. First graders have been working on reading rhythm notation through games and playing instruments. Our kindergarteners have been loving practicing our performance skills by surprising our school family with caroling. We think the people we surprised loved it, too!

-Mrs. Scarboro

Happy Holiday Season, Jaguar Families! Before Thanksgiving, we worked on dodging, chasing, and fleeing skills and played a fan favorite game called Stuff the Turkey. Check out those big turkeys in the pictures below! We followed up with bowling and will finish quarter two with cup stacking and hockey. In other news, some generous folks donated money towards our P.E. budget, so once we receive the order, every single student will get to take home their very own jump rope! Be on the lookout for those following Winter Break.

-Mr. Horvath

-Mr. Hosti

-Mrs. Daniel

We would like to invite you to attend our January family coffee to enjoy a light breakfast and coffee with other Sterling families. Our next family coffee following winter break will be held in the Sterling Elementary Cafeteria on January 31, 2025, from 8 -9 am. For this family coffee, we will be discussing the five key elements to EI: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills and much more. What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)? The ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you. We hope to see you there!

-Mrs. Redlin

-Ms. Westrick

At the beginning of this school year, after extensive community, staff and student feedback, LCPS implemented Policy 8655, Student Personal Device Use. This policy covers the student use of personal technology in schools, including cell phones, tablets, earbuds, personal gaming devices, and other technologies during the school day. We are asking for feedback on these changes. We want to know what is working well and what might still be confusing or need further clarification.

We are using ThoughtExchange so everyone can share their perspectives and understand what’s most important to the group.

You may recall that the goal of this policy was to foster a productive academic environment and help ensure that LCPS students participate in their classes undistracted by cell phones. It was our belief that this change would boost student engagement in class, help promote more positive interactions between classmates and help reduce feelings of anxiety to help promote student’s mental health and wellbeing.

This policy did not deny students with a valid accommodation access to their personal devices. Parents/guardians and multi-disciplinary team members supported students who required and requested access to personally owned devices as an accommodation.

Your input is valued and appreciated. Simply use the QR code below or this link to participate in the Policy 8655 ThoughtExchange, which closes December 20. All ThoughtExchanges can be found at www.lcps.org/thoughtexchange. Your participation is anonymous.

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) has launched a podcast to share the division’s news and stories. Feedback from families and staff has shown a significant desire for more positive and uplifting stories about the school division, including its students and staff. Now listeners can tune in every Thursday to a new episode on topics surrounding our work, initiatives and successes. The LCPS Podcast can be accessed at www.lcps.org/podcast and is available on all major streaming services.

Email: jennifer.meresshort@lcps.org
Website: https://www.lcps.org/sterlinges
Location: 200 West Church Road, Sterling, VA, USA
Phone: 571-434-4580
Twitter: @SterlingElem