PTA Presidents; please forward this information to your Reflection Chair(s).Make sure they sign up with Patricia Franck at reflections@fccpta.org to be placed on the Reflections Distribution list.

Welcome to the 2011-2012 "Diversity means..." reflections year for the Fairfax County Council level for all Fairfax County PTA schools in good standing. Any PTA that has paid dues by June 30, 2011 and whose bylaws are current on December 1, 2011 can sponsor a reflections program for their students. http://www.fccpta.org/DuesPayment

The suggested Local PTA deadline date for collecting entries is October 21, 2011.

Fairfax County Council's deadline date of collecting all local PTA winning entries is Thursday, November 11, 1 - 7 PM. Location to be announced once confirmed. Stay tuned for particulars to come as finalized.

There are numerous changes to the processing of works this year. For Fairfax County Council, this means we do not have the convenience of having clusters coordinators; this means all schools will use the Thursday, November 11, 1 - 7 PM drop-off for their works. These works will be judged by clusters and winners will be honored at the cluster level. The only change is the drop of process.

There are several new changes from the National PTA mostly for submitting works to the next higher level. Please take the opportunity to participate in PTA E-Learning Reflections 101 - An overview and how-to for local units on running PTA's popular Reflections program. (NOTE: The username and password located on the back of your membership card is required to take e-learning courses.)  http://www.pta.org/local_leader/elearning/reflections101/signin.asp

All entries and documents must be labeled. The label is put in the bottom right hand corner of each page. No writing on the back of any page or form.

For example: Label the Artist Statement in lower case letters exactly as follows:

"state abbreviation. arts category.grade level.statement.student last name.student first name" Examples: va.dance.mid.statement.smith.mary.doc (if typed) or va.film.mid.statement.smith.mary.pdf (if handwritten)

Only one format will be accepted for each category.  They are as follows: 

Dance Choreography: .flv,                                                Music Files: .mp3, Music Scores: .pdf

Film Production: .flv,                                                          Photography: .jpg, 

Literature Files: .doc (if typed), .pdf (if hand written)   Visual Arts: .jpg

Entries must be enclosed in or attached to a manila envelope with a clasp.  All entries must have titles. "Untitled" will not be accepted.Consent forms are required this year whenever others appear in the student's work.

NEW! Virginia PTA Reflections Form must accompany every Student Entry Form. This form validates the PTA School's 'good standing' and defines the levels a student's work travels.

The Local PTA Participation Form is now a downloadable excel document.  Fill it out correctly and send electronically to the next higher level as well asemail an electronic copy to the National PTA at reflections@pta.org.

ALL forms and rules pages have the above information explained more fully. These forms and pages can be found at the Virginia PTA website at www.vapta.org in the Arts in Education Committee link. Or they are at the National PTA website at www.ptareflections.org in the How to Begin section. For those chairs who are new or want to refresh your processes, there is at the National website a training module for local chairs in the left column listing under Resources.

Both of the above links also have a Local Chair Handbook that describes all the new information and requirements. The National Handbook does not have the specific requirements of the Commonwealth of Virginia included. This is found in the state handbook and above.

Remember that we are here for you. Feel free to contact us at reflections@fccpta.org  or call Patricia Franck at 703-803-6318. Check www.fccpta.org for updates.

Downloading Reflections?

If you're having trouble downloading Reflections Rules in .pdf, try this: update your Adobe Reader, or download Adobe Acrobat. We've also just added the rules in Word .doc to help you. Check out the Reflections downloads page for all of the forms you need.

Monthly Volunteer Program and Parent Center Workshops

Office of Family and School Partnerships offers monthly workshops, beginning in October for those who supervise or work with their school volunteer programs or parent centers.

·Learn what other school volunteer programs and parent centers are doing,

·Share what's working in your school, and

·Gain new information and resources

Participants will receive a copy of the revised Volunteer Program Guide and the new Parent Center Guide (excluding binder).

To register, click on https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S7M7C3L and follow the instructions for registering for one or more of the following workshop (through December). Advance registration is required; registration is limited to 30 people per workshop.

Friday, Oct . 14, 2011 10 am - noon--Recruiting diverse parents: The importance of engagement

and empowerment

Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011 11 am - 1 pm --Engaging families and the community: How to make the most out of your volunteer program and parent center

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 7 pm - 9 pm--Building positive relationships: Working with teachers and administrators

Al l workshops are held in room 108 at Dunn Loring Center, 2334 Gallows Road, Dunn Loring, VA 22027; enter through door #2 on the Idylwood Road side of the building. For questions/additional information and volunteer program or parent center support, contact Mary.Shepherd@fcps.edu, or call 703-204-4340.

FCPS embraces International Walk to School system wide in 2011--We need MORE schools to participate on October 5th

Over the past year, interested parents, citizens and representatives of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB) http://www.fabb-bikes.org/,Washington Area Bicycling Association (WABA) http://www.waba.org/ and Trails for Youth http://www.trailsforyouth.org/wordpress/  have been meeting with leaders from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the FCPS School Board, the FCCPTA and the Fairfax County Education Coalition (FEC) to encourage FCPS to address the decline in children walking and biking to school. As a result of these meetings, on October 5th, FCPS is embracing a system wide promotion of International Walk to School Day - an effort to promote physical activity and reduce traffic congestion and pollution near schools. 

Superintendent Jack D. Dale and Fairfax County Executive Tony Griffin are joining forces to encourage county residents to participate in International Walk to School Day. "Walking is a simple way to incorporate physical activity into your day," said Dale. "We encourage all FCPS students and families to participate in this day and to use walking or biking as a means of getting to school whenever possible."

Students at all school levels are encouraged to walk or bike to school or walk to their bus stop on October 5.  Parents are encouraged to accompany their children to school and to work with their school and PTA or PTO to assemble walking groups for the event. Schools that want to participate can register online at the Walk to School website http://www.walktoschool.org/register/.  

We need your assistance in getting the word out so that local schools can join with the SIX that have already signed up and started their planning for International Walk to School Day. In addition, the FCCPTA passed a resolution http://www.fccpta.org/SafeRoutestoSchool earlier this year in support of Safe Routes to School.

In 1969, approximately 50% of children walked or bicycled to school and 87% of children living within one mile of school did. Today, fewer than 15% of school children walk or bicycle to school. As a result, kids today are less active, less independent, and less healthy. So as to better understand how to find solutions to this 35% decrease, FCPS has created a Safe Routes to School working group made up of FCPS and County employees, members of the community from the groups mentioned and the Fairfax County Police Department.

Wolftrap Elementary School and Vienna Elementary School are two of several Fairfax County public schools to establised bike and walk to school initiatives.   Wolftrap began its program with general bike and walking education for all students in addition to establishing a monthly run Wolfie's bike train http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzJmKBexTZI where students bike to school together when weather permits.  The school also moved its Kiss and Ride drop-off and pick-up spots in order to separate automobile traffice from pedestrian traffic.  Vienna Elementary is embarking on a plan to create Walking Wednesdays and has applied for a grant to install missing sidewalks along many of its walking routes.  

Both combined joined Cunningham Park Elementary School in May 2011 to have a Bike and Walk to School Challenge between the three schools http://vienna.patch.com/articles/elementary-schools-receive-awards-for-bikewalk-challenge. Over the course of the week 400 children biked and 2100 walked to school and each school saw parent use of  Kiss and Ride drop by nearly 50%. Several public officials joined in during the week and some shared their perspective on walking to school.   In addition, you can read about how the installation of a bridge near Kilmer Middle School ultimately led to more bikers and their PTA installing a rack.

For more information, read up on Safe Routes http://www.fabb-bikes.org/resources.html#srts on the FABB site and contact safe routes@wolftrappta.org.  

Enrichment programs - FCPS Adult and Community Education (ACE)

Children learn in a variety of ways - inside and outside of the classroom. Take this opportunity to give your child a creative learning experience that will complement their school studies. ACE offers educational courses focused on enriching learning adventures.

World Film 850--Saturday Matinee for Young Film Aficionados

Spark the imagination with "coming-of-age" cinematic masterpieces. Based on literary classics, these gems were accomplished with no computer graphics. Films: Scaramouche, The Egyptian, Ivanhoe, and Joan of Arc. Films rated PG-13. Offered at FCPS Plum Center in Springfield.

Foreign Language Experience

Through stories, games, activities, and music, children experience a world of language and its culture. Offering Chinese, French, Hindi, Italian, German, Korean, American Sign Language, Spanish. Offered at FCPS elementary schools.

French and Spanish Immersion

Students hone conversation skills and continue to learn correct grammar, and apply what they are learning by writing short paragraphs. Offered at Laurel Ridge and White Oaks elementary schools.

American Sign Language - Basics for Parents and Babies

Enjoy interacting with your child as you learn to communicate with each other using non-verbal means. Offered at Woodson HS.

SAT Test Prep

Focus on the testing component you need. Offering courses in critical reading, math, writing, tips and strategies for the SAT, online SAT test prep. Offered at FCPS secondary and high schools.

Enrichment

• Concepts of programming
• effective study skills
• essential skills for success in middle school
• young writer's workshop
• Thomas Jefferson Admissions test prep
• behind the wheel driver education

 Get more information about these and other ACE offerings at: www.fcps.edu/aceclasses

FCPS SUPERINTENDENT ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Jack D. Dale announced his intent to retire effective July 1, 2013, at the end of his current contract. "I have served an extraordinary 42 years in public education, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to lead this world-class school system," Dale said.

In my mind, there is no other school system that has the same level of commitment of its school board, engagement of its community and parents, and talents and skills of its employees," he said. "I look forward to spending more time with my three grandchildren and family on both the East and West coasts and pursuing my personal interests as a pilot, reader, and golfer. I also hope to contribute to public education in some way. For the next year and a half, however, I will be focused on helping our new school board craft the direction that will guide our system for the next decade.

Dale successfully led the school system through an historic budget crisis, maintaining the high quality of education for which FCPS is internationally known while creating a streamlined central office with hundreds of fewer positions and generating efficiencies throughout the school system.

He is also widely known for his leadership in closing the achievement gap among groups of students by emphasizing professional learning communities and launching the priority schools initiative, which drives additional support to those schools that need it most to reach their student achievement goals. In addition, one of Dale's major initiatives was the teacher leadership program, which provided extended teacher contracts designed to promote teamwork, improve instruction, and raise student achievement.

"Jack Dale's leadership will be sorely missed," said School Board chair Janie Strauss. "He moved the School Board and FCPS forward as we developed our strategic governance initiative, which made us more effective governors of this school system. In addition, his collaborative and collegial style has been a welcome approach to handling tough issues and challenges we faced. I personally hope that, after he retires, he will stay connected to public education for the benefit of students and educators everywhere."

Dale became FCPS Superintendent in July 2004. From 1996 to June 2004, he served as superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools, Md., where he was named Maryland's superintendent of the year. Dale has served in education as a teacher of mathematics, assistant principal, director of instruction, director of personnel, and associate superintendent for school administration. Born in Seattle, he holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and education; a master's in educational administration; and a doctorate in education, with an emphasis on school leadership and organizational change, from the University of Washington.