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Calendar
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JANUARY
27 Staff meal-4th grade parents
27 Kids Helping Kids-3rd grade
30-31 Teacher workdays
FEBRUARY
3 6th Grade Talent Show
7 PTA meeting
10 Science Fair registration deadline
20 President's Day holiday
22 Science Fair judging
23 Science Fair showcase
24 Staff meal-3rd grade
24 Kids Helping Kids-2nd grade
Full PTA Calendar.
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PTA Information
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Next PTA meeting:
Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in the school library. Join us to learn more about the new math curriculum with a guest speaker from FCPS.
PTA Meeting Minutes |
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Fox Prints January 23
Message from the Principals
Dear Parents,
On Friday, Jan. 6, the Fox Mill PTA held their third annual Father-Daughter dance, which was attended by approximately 240 fathers and their daughters. We would like to thank Mrs. Diane Swecker and her team of volunteers for coordinating this successful event.
On Jan. 12, the fifth and sixth grade chorus had a wonderful winter concert. We appreciate the many hours of student practice and the skillful direction of our music teachers, Mrs. Rosa and Mrs. Vajda.
Mark your calendars! Our Band and Strings Winter Concert will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria. We hope to see you there.
The second grading period ends on Jan. 27. Monday, Jan. 30 and Tuesday, Jan. 31 will be teacher workdays and inservice days. Children will not attend school on 1/30 and 1/31. Progress reports will be distributed to students on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Our second edition of "Fox Mill Kids Helping the Community" should be in the Feb. 7 Tuesday Packets. Our office assistant, Mrs. Sandy Vigen, is the editor and we are most grateful to her for publishing this newsletter. One of our educational objectives here at Fox Mill Elementary School is to encourage our students to participate in community service projects. We feel that participation in community service teaches our students to become responsible citizens. Has your child recently done something to benefit the community? We would like to recognize them in the next quarterly issue of "Fox Mill Kids Helping the Community". Please e-mail your child's contribution to Sandy Vigen in the office at m.vigen@fcps.edu. Scouts are also encouraged to submit information.
Parents of the students who have been identified for the second grade screening pool for placement in the full-time Advanced Academic Program (G.T. Center) will be notified by mail during the week of Jan. 23. Students who are not in the 2nd grade pool will not receive notification. The benchmark score used to create the 2nd grade pool will be published on the Advanced Academic Programs website in mid-January. Parents or guardians of students not in the second grade screening pool may initiate the full-time AAP (Level IV) screening process by completing and submitting an AAP Level IV Referral Form to Mrs. Eileen Dunne no later than Feb. 3, 2012. No late referrals will be accepted. Second graders not in the pool and all third through seventh graders are screened only by referral. Forms are available on the AAP website
(http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/forms.shtml) and in the Parent Information Packet available at the local school. Please contact Advanced Academics Resource Teacher, Eileen Dunne at EGDunne@fcps.edu with any questions.
Sincerely,
Pat Sheehy Brian Moose
Principal Assistant Principal
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Robotics Class Registration Due Jan. 27
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Mobile Robotics (Grades 4-6)
Mobile Robotics is back! Classes start on Wednesday, Feb. 8 and run until April 4. There will be no class on Feb. 20. The eight, 1 1/2 hour classes will run from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the cafeteria. The cost is $180 per session, with a $15 materials fee, for a total of $195. To run each class, a minimum of eight students is required. Fairfax Collegiate caps classes at twelve students to ensure a high quality of instruction. This class is open to grades 4-6 only. There will be a class for younger grades later this school year.
Please note that the nature of this class requires students to listen carefully and pay attention to detail. Parents will be asked to come and help keep class disruptions to a minimum. If a child is too distracting, Fairfax Collegiate reserves the right to remove that child from the class, with a limited refund.
This class is an introduction to LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics for older elementary school students. Students learn to build and program mobile robots using the graphical NXT-G programming language. Activities include programming exercises with NXT-G, experimenting with wheel sizes and gear ratios, implementing robot speed control and turning, making robots respond to sounds, and programming robots to detect and avoid obstacles. There is no free play with the robot components during this class. Students must follow strict instructions on how to build and program a robot.
Classes will be filled by lottery. Please fill out a registration form and send it to school with your student. The lottery will take place at noon on Friday, Jan. 27. Do NOT send the check with the registration. If your student gets a place in the class, then payment will be required. For a registration form, click here or see foxmillpta.com/robotics_classes.
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Running Program for Boys Needs Coaches
|  Fox Mill PTA has found a running program that we can offer to boys! It is called Running with the Stars. Running with the Stars is a Loudoun-based organization that provides a twelve-week lesson plan, on-road running experience, a special 5K race, and T-shirts for the runner and a buddy -- all for $125 per student. Runners would meet straight after school twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The first meeting would be on Wednesday, Feb. 29. The 5K race, which is open only to participants in the Running with the Stars, is on Sunday, May 20 at 7:30 a.m. in Lansdowne.
Thank you to the volunteers who have contacted us. However, we still need a few more coaches to get this wonderful program off the ground.
The lesson plan gives advice on nutrition, stretching, and running tactics to complete a 5K. If you are interested in nutrition counseling, being a stretching coach, or just want to focus on running, please contact us. Ideally we would have a team leader and a number of volunteers to divide up the responsibilities. Coaches can be of either gender.
If we have enough volunteers, boys from Grades 1-6 will be eligible to participate. E-mail Jennifer Bower at jdbower1@cox.net or Marion LaRow at marion.larow@cox.net with your questions and/or area of interest. We could even have a Wednesday coaching team and a Friday coaching team if two days commitment is too much for your schedule. |
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Math Curriculum Meeting Feb. 7
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On Feb. 7, during our PTA meeting, we will have members of the county math department join us to discuss the new math curriculum. If you have any questions or concerns that you would like to have addressed at that time please forward them to Lorraine Mietlicki (lmietlicki@verizon.net) by Jan. 29. Please take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the curriculum.
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Fox Mill Family Festival Needs Volunteers
| It's coming ... the best family evening out ever at Fox Mill! On Friday, March 16, the PTA will launch the Fox Mill Family Festival, an evening of fun for students and parents alike! There will be face painters, magicians, balloon artists, games and competitions with prizes, DJ and dancing, arts & crafts, raffles, door prizes, and so much more. Mark your calendars now! The Boosterthon Fun Run was so successful that this will not be a fundraising event. The focus will be on fun with family and friends.
Watch Fox Prints for more information and updates on the Fox Mill Family Festival. If you would like to assist in planning the Fox Mill Family Festival, contact Tina Anderson at 703-919-3075 or via e-mail at tina@novakbiddle.com. Tina needs a co-chair to help with daytime meetings. Please consider helping Tina plan a fantastic Fox Mill Festival!!
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Online Auction Needs Your Help!
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This year's online auction will take place March 5-9, and we need your help to make it a success! While the event seems far in the future, in actuality the bulk of the work to acquire donations for the auction takes place NOW. Here is how you can help:
- Ask if your company would donate products, services, or perhaps tickets to a sports event.
- Solicit area businesses that you frequent! Click here for a flyer that you can drop off at your favorite business!
- Donate your own goods and services. If you're a small or large business owner, please consider donating to the online auction. You would be making a tax-deductible charitable donation while supporting your school at the same time!
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3rd Grade Donations Due Jan. 24
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All third grade grade students will participate in the Kids Helping Kids program on Friday, Jan. 27.
Families with third grade students are invited to donate food items by Tuesday, Jan. 24.
To sign up to donate an item, click here to open a Sign Up Genius form or go to www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F4BACA7292-kids2
Questions? E-mail Amy Fujii at wooster92@yahoo.com. |
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JCC Matsuri Planning Meeting Feb. 7
|  The Japanese Cultural Committee (JCC) is meeting on Feb. 7 at 8:45 a.m. in the cafeteria to discuss the Matsuri (Japanese Festival) as well as other JCC activities. All are invited to attend the meeting; newcomers, latecomers and siblings welcome. If you are interested in helping with the Matsuri but cannot attend the meeting, e-mail Liz Pfeifle at elizbethpfeifle@gmail.com. |
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Reflections Results
|  The following awards were awarded to Fox Mill students at districts:
Film--Katy James--Award of Excellence (2nd place)
Photography--Carolin Kiewel and Robbie Owens--Awards of Merit
Art--Olivia Posz--Award of Merit.
Others who represented Fox Mill at districts included: Madison Saunders, Megan Allison and Megan Saunders
Well done!
Next Year's Theme (2012-2013): "The Magic of a Moment ..." |
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AAP Referrals Due by Feb. 3
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REFERRALS FOR FULL-TIME ADVANCED ACADEMIC PLACEMENT LEVEL IV (Grades 2-7)
Parents or guardians of students not in the second grade screening pool may initiate the full-time AAP (Level IV) screening process by completing and submitting an AAP Level IV Referral Form to the school office no later than Feb. 3. No late referrals will be accepted. Second graders not in the pool and all third through seventh graders are screened only by referral.
Forms are available on the AAP website (http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/forms.shtml) and in the Parent Information Packet available at Fox Mill. (Please note: Parents or guardians of students who are in the 2nd grade pool will be notified by the school. Students who are not in the 2nd grade pool will not receive notification. The benchmark score used to create the 2nd grade pool will be published on the Advanced Academic Programs website in mid-January.)
E-mail AAP Resource Teacher Eileen Dunne at EGDunne@fcps.edu with any questions.
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Shopping for Dollars with Giant Food
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Shopping for Dollars Contest by
Giant Food's A+ School Rewards Program
Giant Food is sponsoring a coloring and drawing contest through their A+ School Rewards Program. If your family has registered their Giant Bonus Card with Fox Mill's Shopping for Dollars 2011-2012 school year program read on...
A+ Art Coloring & Drawing Contest
 Giant's A+ school rewards program is having a coloring and drawing contest. If you are an artist or just like to draw and color and in kindergarten though 5th grade, the Giant A+ program needs your help! Giant is looking for the best drawing of a healthy plate. Use only the images shown here to create your Healthy Plate. All images must be your own work to qualify. Remember to use Giant's A+ plate by downloading a blank plate and see official rules and prizes at http://www.giantfood.com/our_stores/bonus_bucks/art_contest.htm. Contest ends Feb. 3.
Mail your healthy plates to:
Crane Communications
Attn: Coloring Contest
111 Presidential Blvd., Suite 252
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Be sure to include your name, school name (Fox Mill Elementary),
School ID (01960), and grade (K-5 only). There will be one winner from each age group (K-2 and 3-5).
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Science Fair: Register by Feb. 10
|  Announcing the 2012 Fox Mill Science Fair! The Fox Mill Science Fair is back and will be bigger and better than ever! All students in grades 3-6 are invited to enter individually or in teams of 2 or 3. Student judging, Science Showcase, and an awards ceremony will be held on the Feb. 22 from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (snow date is Feb. 29). As a special bonus, students will display their projects for the entire Fox Mill student body on the following day. NOW is the time to start thinking about your ideas. Deadline to register is Feb. 10. Click here for the registration form. Click here for the science fair guidelines and rules. Click here for a project guide. All documents are also available at foxmillpta.com/events/science-fair. All you need is to have an inquisitive mind and be ready to have fun experimenting and showing off your investigation. All students who enter receive medals and gift bags! Don't miss the fun. |
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Summer Camp Fair on Jan. 24
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Summer Academic Programs and Enrichment Camp Fair
Oakton High School, 2900 Sutton Rd. in Vienna
Tuesday Jan. 24 from 7 p.m to 9 p.m.
Admission is free and open to the public
- Meet representatives from summer enrichment programs
- Visit the exhibits, ask questions, and network with others
- See what your children (K-12) can explore next summer
Academic Programs: music, chess, drama, computers, robotics, language immersion, math, science, engineering, and test prep
Enrichment Camps: TIC (Tech is Cool), Fairfax Collegiate, Math Enrichment Services, Traveling Players Ensemble, Writopia, FCPS Institute for the Arts, Congressional Day Camp, iD Tech Camp, Potomac School, Concordia Language Villages, Interlochen Arts Camp, Madeira School Summer Camps, A Class Act: Acting for Kids, and more!
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