Dear Parents,

Welcome back from Spring Break!  Thanks for continued support as we move forward into 4^th Quarter! We want to remind you of a few highlights that take place during the month of April.

April is Autism Acceptance Month

This year, the Autism Society of America is formally shifting reference of Autism Awareness to Autism Acceptance month.  As we all believe, awareness is no longer enough.  We will continue to share resources and the important discussion to bring acceptance of ALL of our students. See this link for more information about the change, and this link for information about the Autism Society of America.

April is the Month of the Military Child 

Join us in celebrating the calendar events shown below!

We love our military children!

Each week in our newsletter this month, we’d like to share some information about military-connected youth.  We’re sure many of our families are aware of these things, but we encourage you to share them with others in your circles!

Military Children Interstate Compact Commission

Military Children Interstate Compact Commission – The goal of the Compact is to replace the widely varying policies affecting transitioning military students. The Compact leverages consistency: It uses a comprehensive approach that provides a consistent policy in every school district and in every state that chooses to join.

The Compact addresses key educational transition issues encountered by military families including enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility and graduation.

Military Student Identifier

With the adoption of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), military-connected students are now recognized as a distinct subgroup, including students with a parent who is a member of the Armed Forces (defined in section 101(a)(1)(4) of title 10, United states Code) on active duty (as defined in section 101(d)(5) of such title. Over 80% of military-connected pupils attend US public schools. Students with parents/guardians who serve full-time in the military move and change schools frequently. In addition, they experience separations from a parent/guardian due to their parents’ service to the U.S. Military. The Military Student Identifier (MSI) provides educators with critical information to personalize attention to military dependent children. MCEC MSI

Kindness Challenge 

FCPS Approved 2021-22 Calendar

The Fairfax County School Board voted to approve a calendar for the 2021-22 School Year that is designed to recognize, respect, and honor the plurality of religious and cultural observances in Fairfax County. The calendar recognizes 15 religious and cultural observances in the school year, decouples Good Friday from Spring Break and ensures students will not have to make choices between honoring their religious or cultural observance, or taking a test this coming school year.

Parent Approval Needed for Digital Resources!

At Fort Belvoir Elementary, our teachers will use a variety of digital resources to support student learning and promote communication and collaboration with students and families. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. You can find our school’s list of the resources that require parental consent here.

Included on this page is also a link to a form where the enrolling parent or guardian will need to indicate whether or not their student is allowed to use the list of digital resources this year. Please note, that the form will need to be filled in for each enrolled child. This page also provides more information about how FCPS carefully reviews digital resources for approval and why we must request your consent before using certain tools. We encourage you to complete the parental consent for digital resources form as soon as possible, as your child will not be able to use the digital resources until we have received your permission. Please reach out to your child’s teacher or our School Based Technology Specialists Rejane Martinez (Upper School) or Lauren Damico (Primary School) if you have questions or concerns about the digital resources we’ve chosen to use this year.

Technology Support for Families

The FCPS Technology Resource page provides tip sheets and support in multiple languages. These tip sheets provide answers to basic questions about FCPS technologies. Often you can find the answer to your question in these resources. For technical support questions about your online parent accounts, your student’s FCPS laptop, or technology your student uses for online learning, contact the Parent Technology Help Desk (toll free) at 833-921-3277 or enter a support request ticket via the Parent and Student IT Portal.

The Parent Technology Help Desk will be answered 7 a.m.-11 p.m., seven days a week. Parents who need help in a language other than English should let help desk staff know, and an interpreter will join them on the line. (FCPS has Parent Information Phone Lines available in eight languages to assist with general questions about FCPS.)

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