Chesterbrook PTA
Friday Digest
No.24

Look For The February Chronicle Next Thursday!

The Yearbook Committee Needs Your Snow Pictures.

Please send photos to [email protected].

In This Issue
Makeup Days
Rising 7th Graders
Box Tops Collection
Online Auction Bidding in Progress
Fun Fair News
Girls on the Run
Cuts To K-12 Funding: Governor McDonnell
FCPS FY 2011 Advertised Budget
FCPS Budget Forum
McLean Citizens Association
Help for Haiti: Learn What You Can Do
Chesterbrook Online Auction
Donate An Item
 
Auction Updates
School & PTA Partners
 
ATK:  A Premier Aerospace Company
 
Corporate Visions, Inc., The Creative Ideas Company
 
Wheat's Landscaping 
 
The Chesterbrook PTA Executive Committee Offers Our Sincere Thanks To Our School and PTA Partners.
Auction Sponsors
 
  A Chesterbrook Grandmother
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Khani Family
 
The Brandon Family
  
 The Russo Family
 
The Clancy Family
 
The Chesterbrook PTA Executive Committee Offers Our Sincere Thanks To Our Auction Sponsors.

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FCPS Logo
The teacher workday/student holiday scheduled for Monday, 12 April is a Make-Up Day.  It will be a full 7-hour day of school. 
 
Here is the recent News Release about make-up options recommended by Superintendent Dale: 
 
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Jack Dale has recommended turning a teacher workday on April 12 into a full day of school for all students and adding 30 minutes to each school day-including early release Mondays for elementary students-from March 8 through June 21 to make up four instructional days lost due to inclement weather.  The Fairfax County School Board will consider this option, along with two others, at its meeting on February 17 and will vote at its meeting on March 4.

The Superintendent's recommendation notes that schools following the modified calendar would hold a full day of school on Friday, April 16, which is designated as an intersession day.  The Superintendent's recommendation will generate an additional seven hours for standard calendar schools and four hours for modified calendar schools, which could allow for additional closures, delayed openings, or early dismissals that may occur during the remaining school year.

The second option would also turn the teacher workday for standard calendar schools and the intersession day for modified calendar schools in April into instructional days but would add 45 minutes to each school day-including early release Mondays-from March 8 through June 21.  This option will generate an additional 24.25 hours (four days) for standard calendar schools and an additional 18.75 hours (three days and 2.25 hours) for modified calendar schools to deal with remaining closures, delayed openings, or early dismissals.

Option three would turn the teacher workday for standard calendar schools and the intersession day for modified calendar schools in April into instructional days and add makeup days to the end of the school year on June 23, 24, and 25.  It would not add any time to the instructional day.

Parents are welcome to provide their input on the three options by:

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Longfellow MS Electives Fair Wednesday, February 24 for Parents & Students
LMS PTA LogoThe Longfellow MS Electives Fair is Wednesday, February 24th from 4:00 to 7:00 PM in the Cafeteria and Gym 1.  The LMS course catalog was sent home in today's Thursday envelope.  The Electives Fair is for students and parents.
 

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Box Tops Scissors Please send in your Box Tops for Education coupons by Thursday, February 25. Although this will be the final collection for the 2009-2010 school year, we encourage you to continue collecting coupons for next school year. 
 
Thank You For Your Support.

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 BiddingForGood
 The Online Auction will remain open until 
10:00 PM, Sunday, March 7.
Winning Bidders may pick-up their items during the PTA's Saturday, March 13 Fun Fair.
Here are a few of the items that will be available for bids:
The Dog Den Pinehurst Golf Package
Bon Jovi Tickets
Assaggi Osteria (New McLean Restaurant!)
The Auction Committee Continues To Accept Donations From Parents And Local Businesses.

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Jurassic Adventure Fun Fair:  Saturday, March 13
 Jurassic Adventure
Room Parents are currently contacting parents to fill specific general volunteer slots that are derived from the Master Fun Fair Volunteer Spreadsheet.    The shifts are generally 2.25 hours long.  Positions include selling tickets, operating games (no training required), supervising moon bounces, handing out prizes, selling Fun Fair food, etc.  No job is better than another.  Working in the kitchen has its advantages because you get to see everyone come through.  Supervising the moon bounces can be fun, too.  Each job has at least two people assigned per shift.   
 
Cake Fund Donations and Ticket Pre-Sales are available on our new Chipmunk Avenue online store.  Credit card and personal checks are acceptable forms of payment in Chipmunk Avenue
 
Donate $5, $10, $15 or more to the Cake Walk Fund to help the Chesterbrook PTA purchase 100 small cakes from the Chesterbrook PTA.  The kids really enjoy competing for the cakes. 
 
Pre-purchase Fun Fair tickets now and you get 5, 10 or 15 FREE tickets.  The door price for tickets is 4 for a $1, plus you have to stand in line while the kids struggle to get to the Fun.  However, pre-purchase tickets and you have the choice of paying $15 for 65 tickets; $25 for 110 tickets; or, $35 for 155 tickets.   
 
Know a former Chesterbrook student currently in middle or high school who needs Community Service Hours?  Encourage him or her to volunteer for the Fun Fair.
 
Candace Stromberg and Melinda Settles are our Fun Fair Co-Chairs and can be contacted at [email protected]

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UPDATE:  GOTR Lottery Registration Dates
  • Deadline to submit registration/lottery webform extended  to Friday, February 19 at Noon.
  • Participant Selection (Or Non-Selection) Notification By GOTR: Week of February 22.
  • Deadline For Tuition Payment To Chesterbrook PTA/Chipmunk Avenue: Sunday, March 7. (Chipmunk Avenue will open to enrollment payment on Friday, February 26.)
  • First Day Of Program: Tuesday, March 9.
  • Date And Location Of 5K Running Event: To Be Determined.

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Possible Commonwealth K-12 Funding Cuts
The Washington Post
From the Wednesday, February 17 Washington Post:
 
"Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) has privately recommended cutting $730 million from K-12 education and $300 million from health programs, as well as changing the state retirement system and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to help offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over two years, according to sources familiar with the plan.
The K-12 reductions would loosen the state's basic educational standards while reducing funds for support staff, supplemental salaries for coaches and teachers who serve as club sponsors, and health insurance for teachers."   

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FCPS FY 2011 Advertised Budget
FCPS Logo
Earlier this month the School Board approved the FY 2011 Advertised Budget with amendments.  
 
Here are a few of the amendments/revisions included in the Advertised Budget: 
  • Restore funding of $17.1 million to eliminate the class size increase of one student per teacher for all classes except special education; 
  • Restore $2.2 million for the Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) teacher positions in elementary schools, as well as the FLES support position in Instructional Services;  
  • Restore funding of $1.4 million for assistant principal positions;  
  • Restore funding of $0.8 million for instructional assistant positions;  
  • Recognize additional reductions in central office support to schools of $0.9 million;
Here are a variety of budget presentations that should serve to inform you about what parents, teachers, administrators -- but most of all, students are facing come July 1, 2010.
 
 
 
 

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FCPS to Host Budget Forum On Saturday February 20
FCPS Logo

Fairfax County residents are invited to attend a budget forum hosted by the Fairfax County School Board on Saturday, February 20, at George C. Marshall High School from 9:00 AM to Noon. 

"More people are engaged in this year's budget process than any in recent memory, and since this budget is a very complex one that affects virtually every family, we felt it would be productive to offer citizens the opportunity to hear factual information and get answers to their questions," says Kathy Smith, Fairfax County School Board chair. "The purpose of this meeting is to educate the community on how they can participate in the budget process. It is not designed to be a forum for citizens to advocate for individual programs or against specific proposed cuts."

The FCPS FY 2011 advertised budget is scheduled to be adopted by the School Board at its business meeting on February 4.

Participants will learn more about the budget and the budget process as well as how to communicate effectively for change. In addition, two breakout sessions will feature principals who will discuss the budget impact on schools. Other session topics include how central office staff members support schools and budget realities and misconceptions. There will be ample opportunity for questions and answers. Citizens who are planning to attend are asked to e-mail [email protected] or call 571-423-1075. 

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McLean Citizens Association:  Tysons Corner Redevelopment Panel Discussion, Q&A 
McLean Citizens AssociationAt 7:30 PM on March 2, at the McLean Community Center, the McLean Citizens Association is sponsoring a presentation and discussion about the final plan for Tysons Corner that is being considered by the Fairfax County Planning Commission for recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Attached is our flyer. All of our meetings are open to the public, and we welcome you, your friends and neighbors.
 
Dranesville Planning Commissioner Jay Donahue and At-Large Planning Commissioner (and chair of the Tysons Corner Committee for the Planning Commission) Walter Alcorn will be speakers. We will also be presenting additional information that we have gathered. Hear what is proposed and learn how you can submit your views, whatever they might be, to the County.  

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Fairfax County Public Communications Channels:  CEAN, Twitter and Facebook

Stay Informed With These Useful Communications Tools:

Fairfax County does an excellent job of
keeping subscribers informed.

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Chesterbrook Chronicle Newsletter Disclaimer
The Chesterbrook PTA Chronicle Newsletter may contain external links to non-Chesterbrook ES PTA web sites and access to certain third-party services, which may include, without limitation, social bookmarking services. These external links and services are provided as a convenience, and the Chesterbrook ES PTA is not responsible for the content of any linked web site or use of any third-service service. Any external link to a non-Chesterbrook ES PTA web site or service accessed from the Chesterbrook PTA Chronicle Newsletter is independent from the Chesterbrook ES PTA, and the Chesterbrook ES PTA has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policy, terms of use and practices of such web site or service.  Any such web site or service has terms of use and a privacy policy different from the Chesterbrook ES PTA's privacy policy.  In addition, an external link to any non-Chesterbrook ES PTA web site or access to a third-party service does not imply that the Chesterbrook ES PTA endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content or use of such web site or service.  By using any such web site or service, you expressly release the Chesterbrook ES PTA from any liability arising from your use of such third-party web site and service and any related content.