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Please join me in congratulating Kaira (5th grade, Ms. Freer's class) Adhvika (5th grade, Ms. Freer's class), Vetri (5th grade, Ms. Freer's class), Ishwarya (5th grade, Ms. Freer's class), and Shivay (5th grade, Ms. Freer's class) for their participation in the VA-DC First Lego League (FLL) challenge tournament this fall. They won both the Championship Award and earned the highest robotic run score across both divisions. Because of their excellent performance, they have qualified for the states challenge in January. Congratulations, Mustangs! We could not be more proud of your great achievement!
Hello McNair Upper Families,
It was so nice seeing many of you at yesterday's Thanksgiving Luncheon! I sincerely appreciate you taking time out of your day and spending it with your Mustang and their friends- it meant a lot to them!
Don't forget that next week all schools in FCPS will be closed in celebration of the Thanksgiving Holiday on Wednesday, November 26th-Friday, November 28th. Both Monday, November 24th and Tuesday, November 25th are regular school days.
When we come back to school, it'll be December! We have a lot of fun activities planned for our staff and students to include our 5th & 6th Grade Winter Chorus concert, our annual door decorating contest, and our annual school wide winter sing along! We are also hosting our first-ever MUES Family Game Night, which you can read more about this week's message.
On behalf of the entire staff of McNair Upper Elementary, we wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving season, I am thankful that I am able to come to work everyday so that I can work alongside the very best and most dedicated group of school staff who care so deeply about your children. I am also thankful to spend my days with your children-. They bring me lots of laugh and make me proud with their kindness and willingness to try their very best each and every school day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Your Proud Principal,
Mrs. Goddin
MMGoddin@fcps.edu
McNair Upper Elementary is excited to host our first-ever MUES Family Game Night on Thursday, December 4th. The event begins at 5:00 PM and will end at 6:30 PM.
We invite your family to join us for an evening of learning and spending some quality time together without the distractions of technology.
The evening will begin with school administration sharing a presentation on The Power of Words with families. All students have already met with Mr. Credle and Ms. Goddin to discuss the importance of the words we choose to communicate with, and the intent behind them and the impact they have. We will provide families the same opportunity to engage with us about this very important topic. Your Mustangs will help us facilitate this conversation.
Then, from 5:30-6:30 PM, members of the McNair Upper staff will invite you to play their favorite board game with them! If you haven't played it before, no worries, we will be there to support you.
A few general reminders...
- All students must be accompanied by a parent (not an older sibling) in order to attend.
- We will also be raffling off some board games, which your family can enjoy playing over the upcoming winter holiday break.
- We also invite you to wear your favorite pair of pajamas.
- We will also be offering a "Game Swap." If you have any gently used board games at home that include all of the correct playing pieces and would like to swap it out for a new game, please bring it to MUES Family Game Night and place it on the "Game Swap" table located in the cafeteria.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email Ms. Goddin, Principal.
We hope you and your family can join us!
- November 25th: Turkey Trot during Specials
- November 26th-November 29th: Thanksgiving Break
- December 3rd: Fall Picture Retakes
- December 4th: MUES Family Game Night at 5:00 PM
- December 17th: Three-Hour Early Release Day, 12:30 PM dismissal
- December 22nd-January 2nd: Winter Break; all schools in FCPS are closed
On Tuesday, our Mustangs will gather with their grade level for some fun and physical activity before the holiday break! Mustangs will be participating in their grade level Turkey Trot during their specials time.
Parents- you are welcome to join us this year! We invite you to come and walk, jog, or cheer on your Mustang! We ask that you sign-in at the table located outside of Door 7 in order to obtain your visitor's pass before your child’s fun run time. If it is raining, the run will be cancelled.
- 5th – 9:15-10:15 AM
- 6th – 10:50-11:50 AM
- 4th – 1:00-2:00 PM
- 3rd – 2:20-3:20 PM
Don’t forget to have your Mustang:
- wear their House t-shirt
- wear sneakers
- dress in layers
- bring a full bottle of water
- wear a turkey hat & crazy socks
We can’t wait to see you!!
Google recently made changes to how educational applications are managed and accessed on the Chrome Browser and Chromebooks. Many applications are moving from the Chrome Web Store to the Google Play Store.
To ensure your student(s) can continue accessing all approved instructional tools, FCPS has updated its digital consent platform to include both the Chrome Web Store and the Google Play Store.
Please review and provide your consent for these two new options through our easy-to-use Parent Digital Consent system:
- Additional Google Services – Chrome Web Store
- Additional Google Services – Google Play Store
Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting safe and effective digital learning experiences for all students.
For questions or support, please visit FCPS’ Family Technology Resources page or open a ticket with the Technical Support desk.
Winter weather will be here before you know it! Watch this video to see how weather closing decisions are made at FCPS.
FCPS’ website is generally the first place to find out about emergency weather closings. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible, including email, text, social media, the new FCPS mobile app, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated.
Be sure to plan for the winter season. Update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE, bookmark the FCPS website, and arrange emergency child care if needed.
We will monitor the weather for low temperatures, wind chill advisories and warnings, and weather advisories that may prevent children from being outside. Make sure your child is dressed appropriately with a warm coat and other cold-weather clothing, so they can comfortably enjoy their time outdoors. View the National Weather Service’s tips on staying safe during cold weather.
If you need assistance getting cold-weather clothing for your family, please call Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) at 703-222-0880. Their multilingual staff can assist with any challenges you are facing, including food, shelter, employment, financial assistance, and health.
All FCPS schools use an approach called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to make sure every student gets the help they need to learn.
MTSS helps school teams deliver high-quality instruction for all students and provide extra time, support, and interventions as needed. Families are partners in this process. We will share information about your child’s individual learning, needs, and progress.
You may view your child's intervention plans and progress in SIS ParentVUE. Expect progress to be updated quarterly, with report card due dates.
The Power of Restorative Justice Practices to Support Students and Families in Schools and at Home: Part 1
November 19, 10-11:30 a.m.
Come join this webinar to learn about Restorative Justice (RJ) Practices in FCPS! You’ll learn about what’s available to students and families in schools and how RJ Practices support students and families feeling empowered and connected to their school communities. We will also share how you can implement a simple restorative justice practice to create connection in your family.
Register here
The second one will be Friday, December 19th from 10:00am-11:30am. The link to register is here to share. We will cover Tier 3 Restorative Justice in this session.
The Power of Restorative Justice Practices to Support Students and Families in Schools and at Home: Part 2
December 19, 10-11:30 a.m.
Come join this webinar to learn about Restorative Justice Practices in FCPS! You’ll learn about what’s available to students and families in schools and how RJ Practices support students and families feeling empowered and connected to their school communities. We will also share how you can implement a simple restorative justice practice to create connection in your family.
Register here
This is the link to the webinar page in general.
- FCPS has enabled new parent controls within the Lightspeed Parent Portal to support families in managing screentime on FCPS devices at home. Parents can now manage their child's access to YouTube and pause web browsing on district-issued devices, during designated "After School Hours" while students are off the FCPS network.
- These parental controls are only active Monday-Friday from 3:30 PM to 6:00 AM, and all day on weekends and student holidays when students are off the FCPS network. Parental controls do not interfere with district filtering policies during the instructional day. Parents can register for the Parent Portal using the link provided in their weekly Lightspeed Online Student Activity Report email.
For more information on Parent Portal, please visit the Lightspeed Parent Portal page on the FCPS website.
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If your child has missed 4-5 school days during the first quarter of the school year, they are on track to be considered chronically absent by the Virginia Department of Education. Chronic absence is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year. Students who miss 10% or more of the school year are less likely to succeed in school and are more likely to drop out of high school. We are here to support your family and your child’s school attendance. Please let us know what we can do to help.
Debbie Bradner, dgbradner1@fcps.edu
Shannon Choi, sschoi@fcps.edu
MUES School Counselors
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Full-Time AAP Referral Deadline: December 15th
The deadline to refer your child to be screened for Full Time Advanced Academic services is approaching. All materials for current G3-6 McNair Upper students should be submitted to Mrs. Janofsky, the McNair Upper AART, by Monday, December 15th at 11:59pm.
Resources to support you:
- Attend the Full Time Screening Information Meeting on Monday November 10 from 5-6 p.m. in the McNair Upper Cafeteria. (Spanish Translation will be available)
- Reference this Screening Checklist from the McNair AARTs
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Attend Office Hours with either McNair AART (Mrs. Burg – PreK-2; Mrs. Janofsky – G3-6) to ask specific questions about putting together a referral package for your child.
December 15th is a firm deadline. Please plan ahead and ask questions early! You are welcome to email Mrs. Janofsky at mljanofsky@fcps.edu for assistance.
Some families may be looking for additional resources to help support their child’s academic success. The FCPS Family Resource Center (FRC) maintains a list of FCPS employees who hold a valid Virginia teaching credential and who are available to hire as tutors. This list is a resource offered by the FRC, but families are responsible for contacting and working directly with the tutors. This list is not approved by FCPS and is only meant to be a resource to families.
FCPS also partners with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors' services, at no cost, including weekly live online classes, on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests.
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