Greetings Farm Families!

Happy November! It’s hard to believe we’re already nearing the holiday season, but there is much learning, growth, and excitement still ahead. This month, we’re focused on gratitude and giving, and we encourage all our students to look for ways to show kindness and appreciation at school, at home, and in the community. I am excited about the number of “Be An Includer” awards we have given out this school year. Let’s keep up the great work!

In November, we’ll continue to work hard on foundational skills in reading, writing, and math. You can support your child by setting aside time each day to read together or talk about what they’re learning in school. We also encourage families to check in with teachers and stay connected with classroom updates.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and for entrusting us with your child’s education. We’re grateful for each member of our school community and the contributions you make to make our school a wonderful place to learn and grow.

~Alissa Fraser, Principal

We are reaching out to our FFES families regarding our holiday assistance program. If you are in need of assistance this holiday season, please complete this form.

Link to Spanish Form

Link to English Form

The Multicultural Fair is a family engagement event designed to empower multicultural awareness for students, families, staff, and the community. Schools, staff, and students are invited to share authentic elements of their culture or ethnicity with other members of the Stafford community through storytelling, student organizations, children's activities, food, performance, and additional styles that make cultures unique. This Fair will allow families to feel more welcome in Stafford County by creating social connections within their specific school and the greater community. Families are invited to assist in hosting a table showcasing their culture and heritage. Students and families are also invited to perform dance, music, theater, and other performance art to demonstrate student talent and culture. If interested in participating please email fraseraa@staffordschools.net. The division-wide Multicultural Fair will take place on Saturday, November 16th, 2024, at Stafford HS from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

As the weather is getting colder please remember to send your child with a jacket. They go outside throughout the day for recess and sometimes during PE and will need a jacket or sweater.

Also as a reminder of when to keep your child home:

At Mental Health America, we recognize the urgent need for accessible mental health resources for all youth, particularly those in communities facing additional language and cultural barriers. To address this, MHA is proud to now offer the complete set of Supporting Young Minds guides in Spanish.

En Mental Health America, reconocemos la necesidad urgente de recursos de salud mental accesibles para todos los jóvenes, particularmente aquellos en comunidades que enfrentan barreras lingüísticas y culturales adicionales. Para abordar esto, MHA se enorgullece de ofrecer ahora el conjunto completo de guías de Supporting Young Minds en español.

We have several items in our Lost and Found. Please take a look at the below pictures (taken Oct 31st) and see if your child has any items that need to be collected. All items that are not claimed by Thanksgiving Day break, will be donated.

The article on Common Sense Media offers tips for parents on discussing news with children. It encourages adapting conversations based on age, using clear language, and offering reassurance. It suggests helping kids distinguish between reliable information and sensationalism, and guiding them on managing feelings around difficult news. The focus is on fostering understanding, emotional support, and critical thinking. For more details, the article is linked below.

Explaining the News to Our Kids

With the Thanksgiving season approaching, it would be a great time to continue fostering your child's love of reading. Follow the links below to suggestions on Thanksgiving picture books and activities that you could do at home!

15 Picture Books to Celebrate Thanksgiving

11 Thanksgiving Reads

29 Diverse and Thoughtful Thanksgiving Books

Thanksgiving Literacy Games

As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, each month I will introduce a strategy that will focus on fluency. Using strategies rather than memorization helps students work towards automaticity to become efficient, flexible, and accurate. This month’s strategy is called “Use Doubles”. This strategy can be used for both addition and multiplication. Please click on the short videos below to learn more!

Teaching the Use-Doubles Strategy for Addition

Teaching the Doubling Strategy for Multiplication

We’ve been busy celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in the art room. Fifth graders made Ojos de Dios out of yarn. Fourth graders created El Dia de Muertos Remembrance print art focusing on balance, unity, color, shape, & placement. Third graders are learning about the contemporary artist Jen Stark. They are creating a multimedia piece inspired by her drip murals. Second graders are observing paintings by Georgia O’Keefe particularly her Leaf series. They are painting oversized larger than life leaves. We also discussed the science of why leaves change color in the fall. First graders & kindergarteners heard the story Walter’s Wonderful Web. They learned how spiders aren't so scary. Spiders are beneficial to our ecosystem in so many ways. Students created spiders & their webs using shapes, lines, colors, emphasis, fine motor skills, & composition.

Some of our students have collaborated with the group called Hearts of Gold. Hearts of Gold helps shelters all over the world. Students have drawn cats & dogs that are currently in shelters & need homes. They created pet portraits for shelters in Bosnia, United Kingdom, Iowa, Georgia, & Florida. They also drew pet portraits for our local animal shelter, the Fredericksburg SPCA. Some of their drawings are highlighted below. Check out these local amazing dogs & cats that need a loving home!

Fredericksburg SPCA shelter animals

https://fredspca.org/

New School Store- New this year, we have a fully online Spirit Wear store! In addition to our typical selection of sweatshirts and t-shirts, we now have expanded our product inventory to include many new customizable items in multiple colors. Simply click on the TYPE of item you want (ex: youth pullover sweatshirt) then you'll be able to select the color and choose design under "View More Designs". Support the school and look great doing it -- shop online anytime and everything will ship directly to your home!

FFES Spirit Shop

How to join the PTA- Want to help support the teachers and school? Join the PTA! Your paid membership requires nothing of you (unless you want!) but helps the school provide and plan for fun events like Trunk-or-Treat, Pancake Breakfast, Spring Carnival and more! If you DO want to help out, there will be plenty of volunteer opportunities throughout the year -- follow the Official Ferry Farm PTA page on Facebook for updates.

Memberships can be purchased here:

ffes.givebacks.com/store