Below are the links to the announcements for May 20th - May 24th . Links will go live each morning at 6am.

Monday, May 20th : https://youtu.be/6p7jgVleZgI

Tuesday, May 21st : https://youtu.be/YYV18KxSpvY

Wednesday, May 22nd : https://youtu.be/g59rWnhh9zU

Thursday, May 23rd : https://youtu.be/x6IRmjSsZDI

Friday, May 24th : https://youtu.be/GYdJu_y6oJU

May’s Local Harvest of the Month is Strawberries! Fresh Strawberries are hard to beat, especially when they are local and in season! PWCS Nutrition serves them fresh on their Self-Serve Garden and Fruit Bars, and they also feature them in their beloved Scratch-Made Strawberry Shortcake! Below is the Strawberry Shortcake recipe if you would like to make this School Lunch favorite at home! PWCS Nutrition uses frozen strawberries in their Strawberry Shortcake because it is made it year round, but you can use fresh strawberries too!

Did you know the PWCS Food and Nutrition Department has its own Social Media accounts? Follow @PWCSNutrition on Instagram and Twitter/X (and on Facebook, soon)! This is a great way to stay informed about the menu and learn more about the food that is served in the PWCS cafeteria! Have you ever wondered how our many scratch-made menu items are actually prepared? Follow @PWCSNutrition’s #ScratchMadeMondays to view some behind-the-scenes footage of our PWCS Nutrition team making food for our students! Learn more about the staff behind the aprons in the weekly #WhoMakesYourFood employee spotlights, and learn about the local farmers growing fresh produce for our students in their #ThinkLocalThursdays feature! As we head into summer and the next school year, check these social media accounts for important program information such as Summer Meal service locations, Free and Reduced-Price Meal Benefit applications, upcoming Job Fairs, and special events such the Annual PWCS Nutrition Food Show!

Medication Pick up:
Please remember to collect any unused medication for your child by 12:00 pm on June 7. We recommend making arrangements promptly through the school. Medications not picked up before the deadline will be safely disposed of by school personnel.

Immunizations:
Parents, please note that the deadline for students to meet the immunization requirement for public school enrollment is Thursday, August 15, 2024. Make sure to submit proof of immunization to the school before this date to ensure your child can start the school year on time. If you’re unsure whether your child’s immunizations are up to date, we recommend checking with their healthcare provider.

Clothing Return:
If your student has borrowed shirts or pants from the clinic this year, please wash and return them to the school by June 7.

Additional Resources:
Immunization Requirements
Student Health Services

Tomcats Got Talent Virtual Talent Show is back! We would love for our students to share their talents! Play a sport? Enjoy telling jokes? Taught your dog a new trick? Know a cool dance? The sky is the limit!

Participating students will upload a video up to 5 minutes in length to a FlipGrid. The public talent show FlipGrid will be sent out to all families and students on Friday, May 24. If your student would like to participate, please fill out the application link below together by Friday, May 10 at 3:30pm. Once the application is submitted and approved, you will receive an email from Mrs. Jacobs containing the FlipGrid code. Please reach out to Mrs. Jacobs jacobsmn@pwcs.edu with any questions.

https://forms.office.com/r/EsrvJg0J0h

Grades four and five classroom teachers deliver instruction on Human Growth/Development and Reproduction. Students learn the maturational process, including changes that occur during puberty and processes related to reproduction. Students view age-appropriate videos and participate in lessons that teach these concepts in meaningful ways. Students begin to examine the influence of media on behavior and attitudes and how gender stereotypes are perpetuated in society, including the message that careers are gender specific. Emphasis is on the importance of terminology used to describe career roles (e.g., gender specific to gender neutral: "police officer" versus "policeman;" "server" or "wait staff" versus "waitress" or "waiter").

4th Grade Learning Objectives:

Objective 4.1 Students will recognize physical changes that occur during puberty.

Objective 4.2 Students will identify the human reproductive organs.

5th Grade Learning Objectives:

Objective 5.1 Students will recognize the physical, social, and emotional changes that occur during puberty and relate the physical changes to the need for new hygiene practices.

Objective 5.2 Students will identify structures of the male and female reproductive systems and their functions

Objective 5.3 Students will develop a basic understanding of human reproduction

Objective 5.4 Students will identify messages in mass media related to gender stereotyping

These lessons are taught in gender-separated classrooms:

5th Grade is scheduled for Friday, May 31st

4th Grade is scheduled for Monday, June 3rd

Parents have a right to preview full curriculum resources for FLE content upon request. To do so, please contact your child's teacher to request access to the Parent Portal link (a public Canvas page) where non-copyrighted materials are available digitally.

If you would like to opt your child out of these lessons, please complete the form attached and return it to your child's teacher.

https://www.pwcs.edu/academics___programs/summer_school/summer_enrichment_programs

Current Grade Level(s): 2-8

Description: Join us for a two-week immersive visual art experience. During this program, students will have the opportunity to explore a wide variety of techniques with both two-and three-dimensional art media. An art exhibit for students and families serves as our culminating event. Participants will need to attend both weeks of the program.

Dates and Location:

July 15-26, 2024
Pennington Traditional School or Porter Traditional School

Hours: 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Tuition: $250 for Prince William County Public School students

Tuition payments should be made through Student Quick Pay.

Transportation: Transportation service is provided. Bus stops will be different from the regular school year bus stops. No special bus stops will be established for individual students.

Bus stop locations will be communicated in June. Please see the Summer Program Transportation webpage.

Questions? Please contact Jasmine Hawkins at hawkinsjr@pwcs.edu.

We know your summer plans are filling up fast, but do not forget to make room for some Summer Camp fun! Comet Robotics of Battlefield High School is hosting STEAM Summer Camps July 15-July 19 at Battlefield HS.

Rising 2nd through rising 4th graders will have camp 9am-12pm.
Rising 5th through rising 6th graders will have camp 1pm-4pm.

All campers may choose between 4 camp options:
Coder Crafters - Introduction to Programming
Shop Skills - 3D Printing, CAD, and Woodworking
Brushstrokes and Beyond - Art Principles and Graphic Design
Engineering the Future - Solving Problems through Experiments and Game Challenges

Registration can be completed via this link: https://forms.office.com/r/nn5zqnA3H0
Questions may be directed to the email in the registration form.

Current chronic absenteeism rates per grade level are below. Schools must be below 15% in order to be accredited by the state.

KG: 21.62%

1st: 12.35%

2nd: 11.11%

3rd: 5.80% (A decrease!)

4th: 8.70%

5th: 6.17%

Total: 10.88%

Children who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the third grade. Students who cannot read at grade level by the end of third grade are four times more likely than proficient readers to drop out of high school.

This week we were joined by Mr. Carter. Thanks for helping out!

If you would like to volunteer as a Watch DOG, please visit https://tyleres.pwcs.edu/for_parents/watch_dogs.

Parenting in 2024 is challenging, especially with the significant increase in social media and ability for students to interact online. We are seeing more students using social media at younger and younger ages and often without supervision or even awareness of their parent/guardian. In a recent polling of KG, 2nd, and 4th grade students, below is the percent of students who self-identified using the apps listed below (they were not provided the names of any apps).

Total KG Students: 66

Youtube: 44/66 66.6%

Tiktok: 20/66 30.3%

Snapchat: 19/66 28.7%

Instagram: 22/66 33.3%

Total 2nd Grade Students: 79

YouTube: 68/79 86%

Tiktok: 35/79 44.3%

Snapchat: 28/79 35.4%

Instagram: 23/79 29.1%

Facebook: 15/79 18.9%

Discord: 23/79 29.1%

Total 4th Grade Students: 90

YouTube: 78/90 86.6%

Tiktok: 34/90 37.7%

Snapchat: 37/90 41.4%

Instagram: 20/90 22.2%

Facebook: 13/90 14.4%

Discord: 31/90 34.4%

Below are some helpful resources so parents/guardians can put parental controls in place and learn more about how to safely monitor their child's online behavior. Thank you to Mr. Miller for putting these valuable resources into one place.

Digital Safety Resources for Parents

Our Super Tyler Tomcats Robotics Team is seeking a business sponsor to join us for the 2024-2025 season. Our team consists of passionate young engineers, programmers, and problem-solvers, that explore the exciting world of robotics and compete in First Lego League (FLL) events. Our team embodies the spirit of Gracious Professionalism and wholeheartedly supports the FLL Core Values. If you have a business or know of a business that might be interested in sponsoring our team we would love to connect. Please email Mr. Miller at millerjm3@pwcs.edu for more information. Many have also requested if they can make a donation to the team, so we have made that option available on the student quickpay website. The link can be found below or by scanning the QR code on the picture. Donations will go directly to supplies like team shirts, Lego pieces, innovation project materials, and other items needed for competitions.
https://www.studentquickpay.com/pwcs/MyAccount/Main.aspx

• Did you know that PWCS has a Spanish Facebook page? Follow @PWCSespanol on Facebook for the latest PWCS news in Spanish.

• ¿Sabías que PWCS tiene una página de Facebook es español? Sigue a @PWCSespanol en Facebook para conocer las ultimas noticias de PWCS en español.

Registration for the full-day summer camp provided by School Age Child Care and AlphaBEST Education opens on April 22. This opportunity is open to currently enrolled PWCS students in grades K-5.

Registration:

Summer Camp Locations:

Our 2nd graders loved their field trip in the fall to learn basic swimming and water safety skills. Below are two opportunities put on by the PWCS Aquatics Center.

Please note the following dates that remain for SOLs in the Spring. This year, as a division, all reading and math SOLs will be given over two days.

Expediated Retakes – May 22nd - May 29th

Tyler Elementary Yard Signs for 5th grade students are available to order now! Signs are $17.49 and come individually packaged with a stake.

Click the link to order yours! If you have questions about your sign, please email sales@orionpros.com or call (703)396-8811. https://orionpros.com/shop/ols/products/tyler-elementary

Coming Soon- The Pre-Game Experience!
On May 30th, Bull Run Middle School will host 5th Grade Tyler Students during the school day for this transition event from 10-11:30 am. Bus transporation is provided.

Accidents happen, whether it’s a bathroom accident, a spill in the cafeteria or maybe a slip in wet grass/mud at recess. The school clinic needs any gently used or new spare clothes for students to borrow when an accident occurs. Items most in need are listed below.
- Sweatpants: Boys & Girls – All sizes
- Leggings: All sizes
- Unopened packs of underwear: Boys and Girls - All sizes

When your child uses clothes from the clinic, please wash and return them to the school for other students to borrow. Underwear does not need to be returned; we don’t reuse them.

If you do not want your child to borrow clothes from the school, please provide a full, season appropriate change of clothing in their backpack. This includes undergarments, socks, shirt and pants. Place items in a large Ziploc bag with your student’s name clearly marked on it. This spare set will be kept in your student’s cubby, classroom restroom, or in their backpack for the remainder of the school year.

At Tyler, we offer a visitor table for visitors to enjoy lunch with their student. Unfortunately, due to limited space, students cannot bring classmates to join them. Please note that we also offer an optional allergy table for our students who have a life-threatening allergy. When space is tight, visitors should not be sitting at the allergy table due to the risk of cross contamination of allergens (ex. some fast food restaurants fry their food in peanut oil). Depending on the day, we may have more visitors than the available space can accommodate. We apologize if this occurs and thank you for your patience in advance.

*As a reminder, all visitors must have a government-issued photo ID. Digital copies cannot be accepted.

When PWCS calls a Code Orange, synchronous, live instruction will be provided to students using Zoom. Teachers will email families directly with the day’s schedule which will include hyperlinks for each Zoom. Schedules can also be found on the teacher’s Canvas page. Note that employees are teleworking during normal work hours and will respond to emails.

Tyler Staff Directory

General PWCS Code Orange Information

Resources for Families

Navigating a virtual learning day can seem difficult because there are many devices and ways to connect digitally. The Code Orange YouTube playlist, (and linked videos below), are designed to help make things easier for our Tyler families. You can watch the entire playlist of videos, or jump right to the video that you need by clicking the links below. As always, please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Link to the Entire Code Orange and Virtual Learning Playlist of Videos

Code Orange and Zoom "How To" with a School Issued iPad (K-2)

Code Orange and Zoom "How To" with a School Issued Laptop (3-5)

Code Orange and Zoom "How To" with a Personal Tablet or Phone

Code Orange and Zoom "How To" for Any Student Using a Personal Laptop or PC

How To Authenticate A Zoom Account

Veterans Virtual Guitar Workshops

Musicians of all skill levels are invited to participate in a 10-week series of virtual lessons.

These workshops are open and free to Veterans, Service members, military family members, and military caregivers.

Click the link ☝️ to register.

Songwriting Series for Military Kids

This four-week virtual series is designed for military kids where they will learn songwriting skills in a virtual, collaborative environment.

Click the link ☝️ to register.

We are seeing an increase in the number of students who are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of the school year). When possible, please be sure to plan vacations and trips during regularly scheduled school breaks. Below are links to this year's school calendar as well as next year's calendar for planning purposes.

2023-2024 Student Calendar

2024-2025 Student Calendar

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance

Please use this new online form instead of sending an email to the front office staff or teacher. Using the form ensures that the school has all the information we need, instead of it possibly getting lost in emails. Make sure to fill out all the needed information. Click here to go to the new form:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=bZqwF-SVHk2F4xzg1N5_wT6O6RBRn_FLjLMFAwYIiqRURTRMUjhOODlINzU5OVkxUVBHTUhUTTRPMy4u

Tyler is excited to welcome our visitors and volunteers! Please, don't forget that all visitors and volunteers must present a photo ID and be checked into our RAPTOR system upon arrival. Please note that digital IDs cannot be accepted. Remember, we try our best to keep our children safe!

PWCS staff members utilize School Status as the primary way to communicate with families. You will see this image at the bottom of email communications. We are learning that these messages may be going to 'junk mail' for many of our families. Please check your 'junk mail' folder for these message. Additionally, we are able to make phone calls using School Status which will appear to come from a new phone number (area code may be 804). Thank you for your patience as we familiarize ourselves with this new system.

Top Dog Coordinator: Drew Blincoe
Contact: tylerwatchdogs@gmail.com

What is Watch D.O.G.S.?: Fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, uncles, and other father figures volunteer to serve at least one day a year in a variety of school activities as assigned by the school principal or other administrator.

To volunteer: Online sign-up calendar

To learn more about the program: visit https://dadsofgreatstudents.com//

PWCS is committed to ensuring safe and welcoming environments for students and staff. If a safety concern or crisis occurs in or near our schools, PWCS uses standard terms to communicate with families. Watch this video to become familiar with the terms.

Download the MYSCHOOLBUCKS app and get convenient access to meal balances, purchases, and make payments right from your phone. You will be able to view your student's meal purchases and current account balance at a glance.

Meal Prices for 2023-24

Students

• Breakfast – $1.60
• Elementary school lunch – $2.60

Applying for Free and Reduced Price Meal

Applications for free and reduced-price meals can be accessed using the links below.

• Free and Reduced Price Meals Online Application
• Solicitud en Línea para Comidas Gratuitas y a Precio

PWCS offers breakfast and lunch. Menus are posted on School Meals information

You can subscribe to receive monthly emails with school menus.

PWCS school menus can also be viewed using the The Web Menus by Isite Software mobile app available through the App Store and Google Play.

We want every student to feel celebrated on their special day. As a regular part of our morning announcements, birthdays are announced. Students are invited to come to the office for their birthday pencil. This has become a popular tradition at Tyler that we look forward to continuing. We understand that families may also want to do something special for their child's birthday.

Open Special Day Certificate for more information on student birthday celebrations.

*Birthday party invitations are NOT permitted to be passed out at school. Thank you for helping us to keep the focus on learning.

Special Day Certificate (Word)

We are so excited to announce that our spirit wear items are now for sale! We have added many new items including pajama pants, a zip-up hoodie and a shoe charm!

The site will be open year round and all items will be delivered directly to the school. You can purchase your items directly from the Home Sweet Home Creations

Please see attached flyer:

site.https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:21fccb26-1112-4c5e-b22a-9737bc543c59

The PTO is excited to announce that Discount Cards are now for sale! We have partnered with 13 local businesses to offer year round discounts for our Tomcats and friends. Flyers will come home in Wednesday Folders. Please see the attached link for more information:

Discount Card

Tyler Webpage

Tyler Facebook Page

Tyler Twitter Page

Tyler YouTube Channel