|
|
| FAQs | |
Q: Why has the PTA meeting moved to January 12th at 7 pm?
A: We moved the meeting so that we could accommodate the busy schedule of our guest speaker (Supervisor Foust). He is coming in response to concerns from some Chesterbrook families about the safety of children and adults along Kirby Road. We would like to hear how traffic (both pedestrian and cars) is being evaluated to explore how it can be made safer and less stressful for all. Come and listen to what the County's perspective is and join in the dialogue.
Check out our new FAQs section on the website for more as the year goes on. Send any questions to Ask Chester and we'll answer them here and/or on the website.
|
| Chesterbrook Business Friends | |
Jake
Sullivan Realtor
|
|
|
|
Chesterbrook PTA Digest PLUS
December 20, 2011
Dear Chesterbrook Families,
I am always so proud of our school community's generosity during the Toys for Tots and SHARE drive, details below. Thank you to our own young people of the Student Council & their leaders who organize these annual events. These are not PTA events and yet they are integral and important aspects in enhancing our children's lives and our community.
May we all enjoy the riches of good character in the young lives we are bringing up!
Wishing you a wonderful and happy holiday season,
Beth Mahood,
President Chesterbrook PTA |
|
|
PTA After School Program Registration Coming Soon! |
By: Julie Hay, After School Programs Chair
Registration for January sessions of before and after school activities will be held January 10th at 7 pm on the PTA website. Details on the new sessions of Fitness Warriors, Drama, Yoga, Science Enrichment, Girls on the Run, and the Newspaper Club are on the website now and will be coming home in Thursday folders as well.
We heard your feedback from the fall registration and are making a few changes, including a later start time, and you will be able to fill out the emergency contact form after you have completed registration and payment. All payments must be made during registration via PayPal. If you completed an emergency contact form for a fall session, you will be able to re-use that form as long as you do not need to update any of the information.
All of the other after school activities are full year programs and will not have a new registration in January. Fitness Warriors and Science Enrichment will also have spring sessions with a separate registration in March or April. Please email me at afterschool@chesterbrookpta.org
if you have any questions. |
|
Holiday Spirit |
Chesterbrook Staff's Nutcrackers are gracing the front display window in their annual display of holiday cheer |
|
QR Codes Decoded | |
By: Laura Zimmitti
Have you ever wondered, what are those puzzle-looking square barcodes that seem to be popping up everywhere? Have you noticed that they have popped up around Chesterbrook? These are QR codes (short for "Quick Response"), and they are a new way to make learning and exercising fun and exciting for our children. QR codes contain within them embedded information and links to websites that can be decoded with a smart phone or laptop (or any other mobile device with a camera) armed with a QR reader app.
When you scan a QR code using your device you might receive a message or be sent to a website or a song or video might play. The black and white block, or "electronic thumbprint," can store a tremendous amount of information. The denser the black within the block, the greater the volume of information it possesses. And this information can be static or dynamic, changed by its creator over time. Anyone can generate their own QR codes using one of several free websites.
Kurt Kohls, Chesterbrook's School Based Technology Specialist, has been pioneering the use of QR codes as educational tools at Chesterbrook Elementary. He has also been sharing his knowledge, expertise and passion regarding these cutting edge tools with the greater Virginia education community, giving presentations in such forums as the Virginia Society for Technology in Education.
 
With the help of other enthusiastic Chesterbrook teachers such as Mr. Brown (6th Grade) and Mr. Levesque (PE), Mr. Kohls has been installing these codes around the school over the past two years. You can currently find them in such varied places as the library, classrooms, living classrooms and (coming soon) a fitness trail which will connect to the track.
These codes can perform as many varied functions as places in which they can appear. And our children will be able to use them with mobile devices available to them in school. For example in the library, the codes are used to introduce layers of information to the already engaged historical mural recently installed. When the code is scanned, the student is linked to a website with more information about the subject pictured. One picture can actually speak a thousand words!
 
Alternatively, the codes can be used as part of a knowledge "scavenger hunt." The codes are also in use in various Chesterbrook living classrooms, such as the one on Kirby Road across from Chesterbrook School which tells about trees native to Virginia. The living classrooms provide the opportunity to see real items in their natural elements. With the addition of the codes, any mobile device is turned into a nature pocket guide. Keep an eye out for future applications of QR codes!
For information on how to download a free QR reader or to create QR codes, visit www.fcps.edu/ChesterbrookES/qrcodes.htm |
|
Toys for Tots and SHARE Collection a Big Success! | |
 
  
By: Sue King, School Counselor
Thanks to Chesterbrook families, the SCA had fantastic success with the Toys For Tots and SHARE drives! As a result, the SCA was able to deliver 58 toys, 44 craft kits, 16 games, 12 puzzles, 8 books, 10 stuffed animals, 10 dolls, and 35 other items to Toys for Tots.
Sixth grader, Reagan, reported that Chesterbrook families donated "a lot of different toys for little children. It's really good to think about people giving gifts to children who wouldn't otherwise have them." Maddy, also a sixth grader, agreed, saying "It's really nice that so many people donated items!"
For SHARE of McLean, Chesterbrook collected a total of 47 toothbrushes, 38 tubes of toothpaste, 85 bars of soap, 38 shampoos, 17 conditioners, 17 shampoo/conditioner combinations, 18 bottles of body wash, 61 bottles of lotion, 16 deodorants, 10 packages of dental floss, and 24 other items.
Thank you to everyone who brought in something for Toys For Tots or SHARE of McLean! |
|
Its That Time of Year Again -- Goin' Once, Goin' Twice |
  
By: Julia Nelson and Delia Swigart, Auction Co-Chairs
Chesterbrook's Online Auction will open in 8 weeks on February 12th!
How can you help, you ask? Simple. One way is to JOIN OUR TEAM! We could use your help in the following areas:
- Solicitations -- following-up with donors from last year or working on new ideas
- Marketing and publicity -- helping us get the word out!
- Entering auction items into our online catalog
- Proofreading items that have been entered
- Packaging and mailing items to winning bidders who live outside our area
Many jobs can be done at home when it's convenient for you. Helping with the Auction is a fun way to raise money for the PTA and also to get to know other Chesterbrook parents. For more information, please contact Julia Nelson at auction@chesterbrookpta.org.
The other way is to DONATE OR PROCURE AN ITEM, SERVICE OR CONTRIBUTION. We are looking for all kinds of things.
Some examples:
- gift certificates to restaurants, salons, gift shops, garden centers
- weekend or week-long getaways - near or far
- airline miles, train tickets, or hotel points
- tickets to a show or sporting event
- golf outings
- athletic gear or lessons
- special tours -- White House, CIA, Smithsonian, etc.
- anything kid-related -- parties, childcare, toys, etc.
- electronics, Wii games, autographed books...the possibilities are vast!
- If you get a holiday gift you don't want, donate it!
A link to the Donor Form can be found on our PTA website under Online Auction. All auction items and Donor Forms may be delivered to the front office at school or to Julia Nelson's house. We will also be happy to make arrangements to pick up your item(s).
Thanks in advance for your support!
|
|
Keep Saving Those Box Tops!
| |
 As we head into the holidays, please remember to save up any Box Tops and start sending them to school in January. Our spring collection will take place at the end of February. Each coupon is worth 10 cents for our school...and bonus coupons are worth even more. Box Tops can be found on hundreds of products from brands like these:
- General Mills
- Ziploc®
- Pillsbury®
- Kleenex®
- Betty Crocker®
- Hefty®
Thanks for your support! Judy Lukehart, Box Tops Chair
|
Missing a Jacket? Lunchbox? Check the Lost and Found | |
 |
|
Upcoming Events |
December 23 - January 2 -- Winter Holiday
January 3&4 -- Fourth Grade goes to Library of Congress
(Half the Grade Goes Each Day)
January 12 -- PTA meeting 7 p.m. (NEW DATE AND TIME) Supervisor
John Foust will be our guest speaker to address traffic on
Kirby Road
January 16 -- Martin Luther King's Birthday - No School
January 20 -- Band Concert 2:15 p.m.
January 24 -- Evening Band Concert 7 p.m.
January 26 -- 6th Grade Science Fair
January 27 -- Second quarter ends
January 30 & 31 -- Student Holidays The Digest PLUS is co-edited by Elizabeth Ende and Gina Manning. If you have a story idea or any comments, please share them with us at editor@chesterbrookpta.org. Thank you! |
|
|
|
|
|
Chesterbrook PTA Newsletters Disclaimer
The Chesterbrook PTA Newsletter (Weekly Digest and Digest PLUS) may contain external links to non-Chesterbrook ES PTA websites 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 website or use of any third-service service. Any external link to a non-Chesterbrook ES PTA website or service accessed from the Chesterbrook PTA 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 website or service. Any such website 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 website 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 website or service. By using any such website or service, you expressly release the Chesterbrook ES PTA from any liability arising from your use of such third-party website and service and any related content. |
|
|
|
|
