September 30 Update

Seldens Landing PTA

Join Us for a Family Night of Spooky Bingo!

Friday, October 25, 2019

Seldens Landing Elementary School

6:30-8:00pm

(Dinner from 5:30-6:30)

FUN! 10 Bingo games with prizes will run from 6:30-8:00pm.

FOOD! Pizza is available for pre-order ONLY and will be served from 5:30-6:30pm. A concessions stand will be available with snacks and drinks during the event.

PRIZES! Raffle tickets are available for purchase with proceeds supporting the PTA. We will be collecting canned goods for Loudoun Hunger Relief. Their donation request list is available here.

Children are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes for an extra chance at a raffle! Costumes must follow the LCPS dress code. In addition, no weapons (fake or real), dangerous objects, or masks will be permitted. The PTA reserves the right to ask a student to remove all or part of their costume if deemed unacceptable. Failure to comply will result in removal from the event.

This is a family event; parents or guardians must attend. If your student needs special assistance to participate, please contact the school no later than 5 business days before the event.

Spooky bingo is hosted by the Seldens Landing PTA. Please email seldenspta@gmail.com with any questions or registration issues.

Register for Spooky Bingo Night

Events Week of September/October 30 - 4

Monday, September 30-PTA after-school activities begin

Tuesday, October 1-Student and Staff Fall portraits (Picture packets were send home. Additional copies are available in the main office)

Wednesday, October 2-International Walk to School Day

Thursday, October 3- Cardinal Pride Ceremony

Friday, October 4-Riverside High School Homecoming Parade (Students are invited to participate in the RVHS Homecoming Parade. E)

September 23

Events Week of September 23 - 27

Fall Make-Up MAP Testing for students in grade 2-5

Wednesday-Students will participate in bus evacuation drill (The students will exit the bus via the emergency exit with assistance from staff members. The drill occurs during the morning arrival of buses.)

Lunch at Seldens Landing

Family members regularly join their children for lunch in the Seldens Cafe! As a friendly reminder, please come to the main office to receive a visitor's badge and checkout through the main office. You should only exit through the main entrance.

Upon entering the cafeteria, please inform the cafeteria hostesses that you plan to eat in the “Cardinal Café” with your child, which is located in the hallway across from the multi-purpose room. The hostess's first priority is to keep the students safe and they are accountable for the students during lunchtimes. You may not take other students from the cafeteria unless it was prearranged with the student's parent and the plan is communicated with the teacher.

Alternatively, you may choose to enjoy lunch with your child at their assigned lunch table. Kindly refrain from taking photos or videos of other students due to student privacy. Additionally, please do not offer food to other students because of food allergies.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We look forward to seeing you join us for lunch!

Thank you,

Mr. Brazina

Mrs. Colasuonno

Ms. Askari

Scholastic News Publication for Students

Please disregard message if you already submitted your scholastic news payment.

The cost for the yearly publication is $5.75. Payment can be made through the Online School Payment Portal at: https://osp.osmsinc.com/LoudounVA . Choose Seldens Landing from the dropdown under Elementary School. There will be a list of items that can be purchased. Select the Magazine Subscription for your child's Grade Level. See below for Magazine Titles and Grades. Then choose the teacher from the dropdown menu. There is no usage fee to use the online service. Please disregard message if you already submitted your scholastic news payment.

Thank you for supporting the purchase of Scholastic News for your child's learning.

Kindergarten – Let’s Find Out

1^st Grade – Scholastic News 1

2^nd Grade – Scholastic News 2

3^rd Grade – Storyworks Jr

4^th Grade – Storyworks

5^th Grade – Scholastic News 5/6

September 13

Events Week of September 15 - 20

MAP Testing Continues for students in grade 2-5

Monday-SLES PTA Enrichment Night at 6:00 PM (See even flyer below)

Tuesday-Constitution Day

Fire Drill and Lockdown Drill occur this week (4th fire drill and 2nd lockdown drill)

As previously shared, we are required to conduct two lockdown drills within the first 20 days of school. Students will participate in their second drill during the week of September 15th. We are providing common language for parents to use when responding to their children if questions arise about the lockdown drill.

How to respond and discuss lockdown drills with your child?

• Compare the drill to things they're familiar with (like fire drills)
• Tell them that the school's job is to keep student's safe

Try saying things like:

• "You are practicing in case a dangerous person comes into school and you need to stay safe."
• "There probably won't be a dangerous person in school/dangerous event while you're at school, but it's good to know what to do just in case."
• "A lockdown drill is just like a fire drill: we practice what to do in case there's a fire at school even though a fire probably won't happen."
• "It's OK to feel nervous. But this is just a practice."

Greetings parents,

We had a fantastic first PTA meeting of the year. If you couldn’t make it but would like to stay informed please check out the PTA Meetings section of our website where we always post agendas, meeting minutes, financials and other relevant information.

Thanks to all the families who joined us for the Back-to-School picnic - it was a great way to kick off the school year!

A few updates from us:

• Enrichment night is coming up! On Monday, September 16, 6:30-8:00, parents are invited to join us for an evening to learn about enrichment opportunities available to students. Details available on the event flyer.
• ASAP registration closes September 16 at 11 pm. Classes are starting to fill up so don’t miss this opportunity to sign your kids up for fun after school classes at Seldens. Students can enjoy gardening, sports theme classes, drama, science and much more! Remember, signing up for an ASAP class is a win-win: student enrichment and PTA support! Email seldensasap@gmai.com with any questions. Sign up today!
• Math Olympiad registration is now open. If you have a student in 4th or 5th grade who loves math and is looking for an opportunity to flex their mathematical muscles, the internationally recognized Math Olympiad program might be right for you. The program runs all year long and includes 20 class sessions, run by fabulous Seldens' teachers, as well as 5 contest dates. More information is available on our website and registration is available through our ASAP program. Don’t miss out on this great learning opportunity!
• Spirit wear sales are open! Visit our website to order your 2019 shirts today!
• Membership is still open and we are so close to reaching our goals! We are 70% of the way to our goal of 205 members and have exceeded our staff goal!! Help us bring it home by joining online today! We’ll have an update on the current winners for our classroom pizza party contest soon. Join by Oct 4 to help your class win!
• Save the date - Spooky bingo (Oct 25th) and the Riverside Homecoming Parade (Oct 4) are coming soon. More information to follow.

September 6

Our new Assistant Principal, Uzma Askari, will join our staff on Monday, September 6. Ms. Askari visited Seldens Landing on Friday morning and met the staff and students. She will attend our back to school picnic on Friday evening to meet the families. Please see her welcome letter below.

Greeting Cardinals!

My name is Uzma Askari and I am thrilled to be joining the Seldens Landing team as the Assistant Principal. I am a native of Toronto, Canada where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Education from York University. I earned my master’s degree of Education in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in Literacy from George Mason University. In the spirit of life-learning, I most recently completed my graduate studies in Administrative Leadership from Shenandoah University.

This is my 16th year in education and my 12th year as an educator with LCPS. Prior to coming to Seldens Landing, I was an administrative dean at Cardinal Ridge Elementary and a Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach at Potowmack Elementary. In addition to my time in Loudoun County, I have worked as a Third-Grade teacher in both Alexandria, VA and Richmond Hill, CAN.

My favorite pastimes are spending time with my family, traveling, cooking and cheering for DC/Toronto sports teams! I am extremely passionate about literacy and enjoy sharing my love of reading with students. I have two daughters, ages 8 and 12, both in Loudoun County Public Schools.

I am truly excited to serve the community and look forward to the many opportunities to support our students and staff so that they may experience a wonderful 2019-2020 school year!

Uzma Askari

uzma.askari@lcps.org

(571) 367-4020

Twitter @UzmaAskari

Seldens Landing School Counseling Department

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We wanted to introduce ourselves as your students’ school counselors and share a bit about the role we play in your child’s experience at Seldens Landing. We provide a comprehensive school counseling program focusing on academic, personal/social and career development, and strive to create a safe, caring and nurturing environment. The program is aligned with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) national model, covering standards set forth by the ASCA, the state of Virginia, and Loudoun County Public Schools.

We are currently visiting every classroom together, so that all students get to know our names and faces, learn how we are best able to help them, and understand how they can reach out to us if there is ever a need. We are also conducting Welcome Lunches to students who are new to our school this year during the first week of September. Throughout the school year, we provide counseling services in the following ways:

Classroom Lessons All students will participate in developmental lessons focusing on academic, personal/social, and career success. These lessons are led by the school counselor and take place every other week in each grade level classroom.

Student Leadership Opportunities The Student Leadership Council at Seldens Landing allows class-nominated student representatives to offer input regarding school practices and integrity. The application process for this council will begin in late September. Additionally, our 5th graders will have the opportunity to hold a job or responsibility within the school based on personal choice. These positions are important to our school functionality and include: flag duty, school store, morning news show, Tech Team, Safe Cardinals (safety patrols, assembly ushers, tour guides), and postal carriers (for a new in-school writing initiative we are implementing this year). Please be sure to encourage your child to participate in these leadership activities.

Small Group Counseling Small group counseling is an opportunity for students to learn and practice new skills, strengthen existing skills and learn ways to cope with difficult situations/problems with like-minded peers. Groups will begin in October, and typically take place for 6-8 week sessions during the school day at a time that is non-disruptive to academic instruction. Groups are formed based on student needs and require parent permission to participate. Details about referring students will be provided to parents/guardians in the coming weeks. Possible small group topics include: friendship/social skills, school success, stress management, changing families, and grief and loss.

Individual Counseling Brief individual counseling and check-ins are available at the request of parents/guardians, teachers, or student self-referral. While we are not able to provide intensive therapy or diagnostic services, we can provide referrals to professional outside agencies if a student’s needs require more support than may be available at school.

We look forward to working with you and your child(ren) at Seldens Landing. If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about the School Counseling Program, please contact us.

Annie Brinker, School Counselor-Grades K, 2, 5

annie.brinker@lcps.org (571) 252-2260

Becca Twentey School Counselor –Grades 1, 3, 4

rebecca.twentey@lcps.org (571) 252-2260

Updates for September 3

Upcoming events this week

The Measure of Academic Progress Assessment (MAP) is administered to our students in grades 2-5 beginning this week. MAP provides student growth data to support the LCPS Building Blocks of Powerful Planning, Personalized Learning, Data to Support Student Success, and Assessment and Internal Accountability to meet the needs of all students. The MAP assessment provides immediate results regarding student readiness to learn, flexible grouping and differentiation, growth data, and proficiency. MAP Growth uses the RIT (Rausch Unit) scale to help measure and compare academic growth. Specifically, the scale measures levels in academic difficulty. Schools and teachers use MAP Growth data, aligned to the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL), to support personalized instruction, meet your child's individual learning needs, and inform course placement decisions along with other related data.

Lockdown Drill - We are required to conduct two lockdown drills within the first 20 days of school. Our first drill will occur this week. Teachers practice the drill requirements before the exercise taking place and answer questions afterward. We are sharing this information with families in case you want to discuss with your child at home. A lockdown takes place if a threat is identified at the school. All school doors are locked, and students are confined to classrooms.

PTA Back-To-School Picnic

• Friday, 6th, 5:30PM-8:00PM, Back-to-School Picnic: Entertainment will be provided by the musical styling of Bach to Rock. Also, the first 100 kids to visit us at the Picnic will receive a free milkshake or sundae on us! The picnic is held outside on the school campus by basketball courts and playground area. Families may bring picnic dinners to enjoy with their family and friends.

Thank you,

Garett Brazina

Principal

Diverse Additions to Classroom Libraries

This year Loudoun County Public Schools is celebrating its student population with an investment in diverse text collections for all K-12 English Language Arts classrooms. In describing the texts the Division of Teaching and Learning, Elementary and Secondary Reading, noted that, “Classroom and school libraries reflect our values and contribute to developing student identities; therefore, our collections must reflect and honor our student population and those around them. Access to books in the home, school, and classroom has a strong correlation with reading proficiency. Students who read more also have stronger vocabulary, background knowledge, and empathy.” Classroom libraries complement our robust school libraries.

The addition of these texts to classroom libraries is a reflection of Loudoun County Public Schools’ commitment to providing staff, students and parents with resources and opportunities for an equitable education. As Superintendent Eric Williams said in the equity statement he issued on August 19, 2019:

“LCPS is committed to providing a safe, empathetic, respectful and supportive learning environment in order to empower every student to make meaningful contributions to the world. When students and staff experience racial insults, slurs, and/or other hate speech, we lack the positive culture and climate that supports students’ growth.

LCPS calls for all students, staff, families, and other members of our community to engage in the disruption and dismantling of white supremacy, systemic racism, and hateful language and actions based on race, religion, country of origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, and/or ability. LCPS rejects racist and other hateful behavior and language, recognizing that it encourages discrimination, hatred, oppression, and violence.

Every individual is valued in Loudoun County Public Schools. Let’s celebrate the diversity that helps define us as a school division.”

The diverse classroom libraries were created through the collaboration of LCPS teachers, librarians, administrators, and classroom book collection specialist teams trained to identify culturally responsive and diverse texts in accordance to LCPS School Board Policy 5-7 Regulation, Selection and Review of Instructional Materials. Several criteria were considered including representation, authorship, relevance to students’ lives, authentic voice, and developmental appropriateness. Information regarding the libraries can be found at this link – Diverse Book Collections.”