RiverHawk Updates
Week of March 30th
Updates from Mrs. Johnson
Hello RiverHawk Families:
- I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy. We miss your children dearly and our daily time with them. We are passionate about our students and our profession so we share in students' disappointment on how our traditional way of learning and interacting has been altered. Please know that we are here to support them during this time both emotionally and academically. We are #BELMONTstrong and will navigate this new world of distance learning together.
- As shared on Friday, students have been invited to join Google Classrooms by their teachers. Please be sure they join these classrooms so they can dive into learning on Monday.
- Students will receive a weekly learning plan from each of their teachers by 12:00 pm on Monday. As a reminder, this will be review material on previously taught content. Students will be able to complete this work at their own pace with teacher support and feedback throughout the week. New content learning will begin the week of April 13th.
- Belmont Ridge teachers have used Grackle (an accessibility app) to ensure all work is accessible for all learners. Again, if you have any questions or concerns, please have your child reach out to their teacher and grade-level dean.
- Additionally, our teachers have used the same format for their lessons so students can more easily navigate each teacher's resources.
- If your child has any difficultly accessing a teacher's Google Classroom or needs support, please have them email their teacher and CC their grade level dean so we can quickly address any concerns. Please include your child's case manager as well if your child has an IEP.
- During this time, I encourage you to visit the LCPS COVID-19 website for the most up to date information: https://www.lcps.org/Page/227558.
- The LCPS Continuity of Learning Website continues to share resources for Middle School Education, Special Education, English Learners, and Mental Health and Wellness Resources. https://www.lcps.org/ContinuityOfEducation
- As always, parents, guardians, and teachers play a critical role in helping children cope with crises. When a crisis has occurred and traumatic events have stopped, caregivers can provide children an essential source of social support they need during this difficult time and promote their resiliency and recovery through simple ways of responding. Benjamin Fernandez, LCPS Lead School Psychologist and past Chair of National Association of School Psychologists’ School Safety Crisis Response Committee, has prepared a short Caregiver Training video that helps build basic skills in parents and other caregivers for providing effective social support to children who have experienced a crisis event. The link to that video and an additional resource from the National Association of School Psychologists can be found below.
- If your child needs emotional and social support during this time, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Unified Mental Health Team. Our Team can assist parents and guardians with information regarding the best approach for supporting their student’s mental health needs. Upon receipt of an email, a member from the school UMHT staff will respond within 24 hours on workdays (not including weekends, holidays, or non-work days). This resource is intended to connect families with UMHT members located at their school. The UMHT email resource should not be used in an emergency situation. In emergency situations, parents or guardians should contact emergency services or their mental health professionals.
- Meal pick-up continues at Riverside High School from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm on weekdays as well as bus stops throughout the community. Here is the link for local stops: http://lcps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=615171005a9a4ccf8f38c86b387632a0
- There are a number of community resources that are coming together to provide meals for our healthcare workers. If you would like more information on sponsoring a meal, please contact Susan Ferguson at Susan.Ferguson@lcps.org.
- Likewise, if you are a family in need of resources to help you in these difficult times, you can also contact Susan Ferguson at Susan.Ferguson@lcps.org.
- As always, please don't hesitate to reach out to our administrative team- Katie.Johnson@lcps.org, David.McKenzie@lcps.org, or Michael.Surma@lcps.org or your grade level dean if you have further questions.
- Thank you for your consistent support of our RiverHawk/Ram Family.
At Belmont Ridge, we value Academic Excellence, a Culture of Equity, and a Safe, Supportive, and Positive Learning Environment. Thank you for all you do to support us as a school!
** Any messages sent from BEMS through our Blackboard account (noreply.belmontridge@lcps.org) come from an account that is not monitored. Please use our website to locate the email addresses of any staff members you need to contact. Thank you. **
Students- Please join our schoolwide Google Classroom for spirit events! The code is: 474wst7
Mrs. Johnson's Message from March 27th
Good evening Belmont Ridge Families,
We hope today finds you and your family healthy and well. The purpose of this email is to describe what learning will look like for students for the week of March 30th.
Students should have received multiple invitations from their teachers to join their Google Classrooms. If students have not yet done so, we ask that students accept those invitations.
Virtual Learning: Starting Monday, students will receive a learning plan from each one of their content area teachers, i.e. English 7, PE 6, Math 8, Art, etc. This lesson will encompass a week’s worth of learning on a given review topic. It should take students between 2-2 ½ hours per week to complete each of the given subject areas (or approximately thirty minutes per day). We will not adhere to the A/B schedule. This will allow flexibility for families to create learning schedules that meet your family's needs (Please see the Superintendent’s Remarks to the LCPS Community from March 23rd for further details).
Teachers will have “office support hours” between 9 am – 3 pm every weekday starting Monday. During that time, teachers will be collaborating on next lessons, meeting and training virtually, answering emails from parents/students, and providing formative feedback to students as they work through their learning activities. Teachers will reply to questions within 24-hours but often sooner during the week.
Grading for Virtual Learning: There is no new grading, at this time…all feedback is formative, and lessons will cover previously covered skills and knowledge. We recommend students complete all lessons, enjoy the learning and respond to feedback, so our teachers can help them with this content and any technology issues that may arise. Directions for new content learning will continue to evolve as LCPS awaits more guidance from the VA Department of Education.
Reading: We expect all students will read 30 or more minutes per day, at least 5 days a week, in the book/online resource of their choice. This is consistent with our daily reading time at school and LCPS’ vision for continuity of reading. Click on this link for access to digital books and resources via the BEMS Library -
https://www.lcps.org/Domain/154.
Riverside will continue to serve as a grab-and-go breakfast and lunch site and buses are distributing meals to stops across the county. Please refer to the interactive map to determine the location nearest you to pick-up meals for your students. Additionally, the building remains closed at this time to all students and staff. For student and staff safety, we are unable to all students to retrieve items from their lockers at this time.
Please know that the entire Belmont Ridge Team is here to support you and your child(ren). Please feel free to reach out to your grade level dean, counselor, or any administrative staff member during this time if you have any questions or need any support.
Thank you for your time this evening. We believe in our students; we believe in our committed staff, and we believe in this community.
Sincerely,
Katie Johnson, Principal
Update on BASAP Clubs
Dear Belmont Ridge families,
We hope you are safe and well.
Thank you for registering your Riverhawk for our Spring BASAP Session. Like you and your family, our hearts are heavy with the abrupt closure of school and the unanticipated end of the academic year. We will look to address the situation of unfinished classes in the coming days. As you would expect, there are many issues to sort out before we can answer the question of possible refunds. We ask for your patience as we begin to comb through it all.
Should you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me at Susan.Ferguson@lcps.org.
Thank you again for your patience.
Susan Ferguson on behalf of the 2019-20 Belmont Ridge PTO board
Parent Liaison, Belmont Ridge Middle School
Updates from LCPS' Department of Digital Innovation
We are expanding our remote technical support on March 27th and will begin offering additional support for physically damaged LCPS computers assigned to students and staff. If a student or staff experiences physical damage with his/her assigned computer, the Department of Digital Innovation will be operating a temporary hardware repair center through April 10th.
The hardware repair center will operate out of the Staff Training Center, located at 43711 Partlow Road Ashburn, VA 20147, adjacent to Cedar Lane Elementary and will be open weekdays from 8:30AM - Noon and 2PM - 4PM, by appointment only
To schedule an appointment, please visit: https://bit.ly/DDI-REPAIR
In an effort to limit the in-person visits to the center, we encourage students and staff to continue utilizing the Technology Support Center for remote help as much as possible (i.e. passwords, account access, etc). The Technology Support Center is available by phone, M-F, 8AM - 5PM. The hardware repair center will primarily be available to support physically damaged hardware assigned to students and staff.
When visiting the hardware repair center at the Staff Training Center, please continue to exercise social distance recommendations to include:
- Stay home if you are sick.
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Practice cough etiquette.
- Cough or sneeze into your elbow or tissues.
- If you cough into tissues throw them in the trash and wash your hands immediately.
- Maintain the 6-foot space between one another. If passing documents or equipment, place items on the table in front of you, step back and allow the recipient to step-forward to pick up the item.
Please call 571-252-2100 when you arrive in the Staff Training Center parking lot. We will check you in and call you back when allowed to enter the building. Please remain in your car until you are called to enter the building.
Belmont Ridge Middle School
Email: katie.johnson@lcps.org
Website: https://www.lcps.org/Page/124256
Location: 19045 Upper Belmont Place, Lansdowne, VA, USA
Phone: 571-252-2200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BEMRiverHawks/
Twitter: @BelmontRidge