Fairfax County Council of PTAs

November 21, 2013
In This Issue
3rd Annual EMLC
Don't Forget . . .
Citizen's Guide to Understanding the FCPS Budget
Superintendent's Listening Tour
Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America
Teen Sexuality in the Digital Age
Keep In Touch (KIT) & KIT PLUS
Be Prepared For Emergencies
Quick Links   
FCCPTA
Friends of Fairfax Community PTA
Our Children
October/November 2013 Edition
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Schedule A "Blueprint for Change" Adolescent Sleep Health Presentation
 
Judith Owens, MD., MPH, Director of the CNMC Sleep Medicine Department and Danny Lewin, PhD, D.ABSM, Director of the National Institutes of Health's National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, are
Blueprint for Change
available for Adolescent Sleep Health presentations to members of local unit PTAs and PTSAs through December 2013 and possibly into January 2014.

 

Schedule a Blueprint for Change presentation now by contacting Jennifer Williams at 
jenniferkwms@gmail.com or 571-232-5139.

 

REMEMBER:  First graders have a habit of growing into high school freshmen.

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Become Familiar With Relevant FCPS Regulations And Notices

Following is a non-inclusive list of FCPS Regulations that PTA Boards should be familiar with:

Regulation 1370.6;  Fund-Raising (Establishes guidelines for elementary and secondary school-sponsored or non-school-sponsored student participation in fund-raising activities.)

Regulation 4630.7; Payment of Personnel Supporting Community Use of School Facilities

Regulation 8420.7; Community Use of School Facilities 

Regulation 8424.8; Booster Club, PTA and PTO Managed Fee-Based Classes, Clinics, Leagues, and Youth Summer Camps in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Facilities (Procedures and Guidelines)

Notice 8424;  Booster Club- and PTA-Managed Fee-Based Classes, Clinics, Leagues and Youth Summer Camps in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Facilities (Fees)
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Join Friends of Fairfax Community PTA
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JOIN Friends of Fairfax Community PTA and start making a difference TODAY! 

 

We need you and all of our Community Members' support and involvement to be successful! Community memberships make our PTAs strong.

 

Friends of Fairfax Community PTA encourages parental engagement in our schools and supports programs for students and teachers to help bridge the financial and academic gap for PTA schools in Fairfax County.

 

Membership Dues fund the development of PTA leaders, student enrichment programs, and teacher enhancements through a grant process.

 

Please Click HERE To Download the Friends Of Fairfax Community Membership Form.

 

Have questions? Contact: friendsffxcompta@gmail.com

 

 
Emerging Leadership
3rd Annual FCCPTA Emerging Minority Leaders Conference

 

The Third Annual FCCPTA Emerging Minority Leaders Conference scheduled for Saturday, November 23 from 8:30 AM to 11:00 PM at Edison High School (Lecture Hall, 5801 Franconia Rd, Alexandria) is the perfect opportunity for you to build a Fairfax county network of peers, and to learn how to overcome the challenges you face as a PTA leader, parent, caregiver or advocate of ethnic diversity in your community.  

 

FCCPTA's Emerging Minority Leaders Conference offers anyone working in minority communities the opportunity to obtain usable information and resources to help better engage in diverse communities across the county.

 

Register HERE

 

For more information about the program, please contact FCCPTA Diversity and Inclusion Chair Dr. Roger Baskin at diversity@fccpta.org.

Don't Forget
Submit State and National Dues to Virginia PTA by December 1.  Use the 2013-2014 Dues Remittance Form.  Virginia PTA now requires local units to submit their current membership lists with their dues to membershiplist@vapta.org.

Submit FCCPTA Dues by December 1.  Use the webform on the FCCPTA website.  Please consider contributing to our FCCPTA Scholarship Fund.  (Membership lists not required.)

Did your treasurer submit your local unit's IRS Form 990 on November 15?  If not, refer to Form 990 Requirements for more information.  

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Citizen's Guide to Understanding the FCPS Budget 
 
Under the leadership of Dr. Karen Garza, Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools, the Citizen's Guide to Understanding the Budget was
"created as a tool for our community to make the 
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) annual budget more transparent.  Developing the budget is very important because it reflects the priorities of the FCPS community. As a division, our primary purpose is to support the learning of all students.  [The] guide details FCPS revenues and expenditures, and shows that FCPS is efficient and effective in using public dollars as [FCPS] invest[s] in our children's education. This year, it's especially important to understand the FCPS budget so we can have thoughtful conversations about our priorities. We will face a critical challenge as our revenues have not kept pace with our growth and needs."
Dr. Karen Garza, Superintendent, FCPS
Superintendent's Listening Tour

 

"Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Karen Garza invites parents, students, employees, andcommunity members to share their thoughts about the school system during a listening tour that will begin this fall and continue in early 2014. Winter dates will be announced in early January. 

 

Dr. Garza will be visiting every magisterial district with Fairfax County school board members to hear attendees' concerns and questions about school issues and priorities. Dr. Garza also will ask meeting participants to provide their feedback to questions that will be used to develop a Portrait of a Graduate and a long-range strategic plan for FCPS."

 

There are two dates remaining in the fall listening tour:

Those planning to attend the fall listening tour are requested to Register HERE and indicate if an interpreter is needed.

Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America

The one year anniversary of the Newtown Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting is Saturday, December 14.  
 
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (MDAGSA) is a "non-partisan grassroots movement to mobilize moms and families to advocate for stronger gun laws. [Their] common-sense, middle-ground solutions to the escalating problem of gun violence in America are straightforward. Formed in the wake of the devastating mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, MDAGSA now has more than 100,000 members and a chapter in every state across the country. [They] educate, motivate and mobilize moms and families to take action that will result in stronger laws and policies to save lives."
 
Contact Ruth Hoffman, Virginia Membership Coordinator for MDAGSA, for a presentation about what you can do to assure sensible gun laws and policies.  Ruth's email address is rhoffman.virginia@gmail.com and her phone number is 703-628-2592.
Fairfax Partnership for Youth
Fairfax Partnership for Youth - Teen Sexuality in the Digital Age: Promoting Safe and Informed Behavior

 

"How to encourage healthy teen sexuality and protecting one's public image in the digital age. Conversation will also focus on the equality of messaging for boys and girls...that sexual interest and behavior is normal and natural for both sexes, and that both sexes have a responsibility to behave safely and establish and respect boundaries."
 
WHEN:  Tue, Dec 03, 20132:30 - 4:00 p.m.
WHERE:  Room 206A, Pennino Building, 12011 Government Center Pkwy., Fairfax, VA 22035
COST:  FREE, however RSVPs are appreciated.
Keep In Touch (KIT) & KIT PLUS

Parents of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students and employees of the school system are automatically enrolled in the KIT Basic service.
 
KIT Plus is a self-subscribing, self-updating, and self-unsubscribing service. Anyone interested in news, events, and updates from FCPS may subscribe to receive information on the following topics: 
  • Adult and Community Education (ACE) classes and news
  • Current issues (budget, boundary studies, summer programs)
  • Delayed openings and school closings
  • Family and School Partnerships
  • FCPS job opportunities
  • Magnet schools and advanced academic programs
  • My FCPS - Employee (newsletter) - replaces Supergram
  • My FCPS - Community (newsletter)
  • My FCPS - Family (newsletter) - replaces Familygram
  • News releases and media tips
  • Parent Resource Center (PRC)
  • PTA, PTSA, PTO information
  • School Board news and updates
  • School Board Member news
  • Special education services
  • Summer programs
  • Visual and performing arts

In addition to these topics, subscribers may also receive announcements from up to five schools of their choice. 

Digital Preparedness Kit; Stay Informed During Emergencies

 

Digital preparedness is an important part of staying informed and connected before, during and after an emergency.  Follow these Top 10 Digital Preparedness Tips:
  1. Tell your friends & family you are OK via text, email, Twitter, Facebook and other social media.
  2. Learn how to send updates via text and internet from your mobile phone to your contacts and social channels in case voice communications are not available. Avoid calling by phone.
  3. If you have a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1. Remember that you cannot currently text 9-1-1. If you are not experiencing an emergency, do not call 9-1-1.
  4. Save important phone numbers to your phone.
  5. Keep charged batteries and car-phone chargers available as back-up power for your cell phone.
  6. Conserve your cell phone battery by reducing the brightness of your screen, placing your phone in airplane mode, and closing apps you are not using that draw power.
  7. Immediately following a disaster, resist using your mobile device to watch streaming videos, download music or videos, or play video games, all of which can add to network congestion. Limiting use of these services can help potentially life-saving emergency calls get through to 9-1-1.
  8. If you do not have a cell phone, keep a prepaid phone card to use if needed during or after a disaster.
  9. Charge your digital camera or buy batteries for your film camera if you need to document storm damage afterwards.
  10. Get connected with us through the tools listed on this page: texts, Twitter and more.
Stay Informed During Emergencies.  

 

Fairfax County has multiple means of communicating information to us during emergencies.  Click HERE For More Information.