Robert Freeman Principal
Kara Colucci
Assistant Principal
Where Eagles Learn to Soar!
January 2019
Message from Mr. Freeman
UPCOMING EVENTS
January
3 Classes Resume
21 No School/MLK Holiday
23 PTA Spirit Night Panera
Central Park 4:00-8:00 PM
28 Early Dismissal 1:10 PM
End of Semester
29 No School/Professional Day
February 6 Report Cards Issued
8 Bingo Night 6:00-8:00 PM
14 Early Dismissal 1:10 PM
14 Jump Rope for Heart
18 No School/President’s Day
26 Spring Pictures
Happy New Year and welcome back! We hope each of you enjoyed the holiday season, and were able to spend quality time with family and friends. It is always so exciting to start a brand new calendar year. It’s a
time of reflection and renewal. For us here at Ferry Farm, it is a time for our team to return to school with a recharged energy and commitment to serving our community and to the success of every student. In fact, it is this very commitment to others that we begin this month’s newsletter.
We’d like to thank all of you who donated to our “Giving
Tree”. Because of the donations, many children were able to wake up to toys to play with or new outfits to wear during the Holiday season. It gives me a great sense of pride to be a part of an amazing community that is committed to pulling together to take care of
one another. Ferry Farm is a very special place and your generosity is greatly appreciated! Thank you for taking care of our Ferry Farm families.
A few notes as we reflect on last month. We were thrilled with the large turnout for the Pancake Breakfast and Super Singers performance. We appreciate our Ferry Farm families for supporting our
PTA and allowing their children to be present at this fantastic event. This great partnership between school and community is what makes Ferry Farm Elementary a very special place for kids. We had a wonderful evening turnout for our Super Singer and Instrumental Ensemble Holiday Concert. The Super Singers, under the direction of Mrs. Montrief and accompanied by Mrs. Sloan, provided us with two incredible
performances!
Winter is here, and it hasn't been consistently cold yet, however that
can change at any moment! We suggest you pay close attention to the forecast and have your child layer their clothing, which enables them to be comfortable in all parts of our school. Unfortunately, we’ve seen a number of little ones come to school without coats on or in their backpacks. Please
remind your child the importance of keeping warm by wearing their coats. If you are unable to provide the appropriate winter gear, please contact the school. We are happy to help you find assistance.
HOW COLD IS TOO COLD TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO PLAY OUTDOORS? During typical winter days, common sense requires us to look beyond a specific temperature and consider factors such as wind chill, whether the ground is frozen or the sun is shining, how well the children are prepared to play outdoors (jackets, gloves, and hats), what activity the children are participating in, and the length of time to be spent outside. When the weather turns extremely cold, we have to balance students' needs for physical activity with the dangers that come from too much exposure to the cold.
To keep our Eagles safe during these cold weather months, our classes will not go outside for recess or PE when the wind chill is below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, we want to remind you that occasionally the weather impacts the opening and closing of schools. Stafford County Public Schools has several methods of public notification in the event of school closings or changes to our school day due to weather. It is extremely important that the school have a valid phone contact for you to receive the blackboard notifications. If you have changed your phone number, please contact the school in order for us to update
your child’s contact information.
Thank you all for sharing your children with us each. Let’s continue to make memorable moments for our students and make it a GREAT year together!
Mr. Freeman
Clinic News
Happy New Year: Let’s hope we have a healthy start to
2019 here at the Farm!! As you are aware, we are right in the
middle of flu season…If you’re unsure if you should keep your
student home from school, here are the Stafford County
Public School Guidelines for sending students home or
returning to school:
Nurse Assessment of possible contagious condition or risk to health
Temperature > or = to 100 degrees within 24 hours with no fever reducing medications
Active vomiting within 24 hours
Recurring diarrhea within 24 hours
Swollen or painful joints from injury
Severe earaches (pain) or chronic cough
Suspected contagious disease (Using the Communicable Disease Reference Chart for
School Personnel Control of Communicable Diseases Manual APHA 19th Edition).
Chicken pox - return 5-7 days after first eruption.
Conjunctivitis - associated with itchiness or purulent drainage. Return after 24 hours of
treatment or when purulent drainage stops.
Pediculosis (Head lice) - return after treatment.
Flu or viral symptoms
Scabies - return after 24 hours of treatment.
Impetigo- return after treatment begun. May require covering area.
Any nose discharge that is green or yellow and unable to be contained
or personally cared for
Any undiagnosed skin rashes at the nurse’s discretion.
Any injury or illness requiring further immediate treatment
Antibiotic treatment of less than 24 hours treatment and possibility that student may be
communicable to others
Please make sure your kids come to school with clothing layers and the necessary cold weather
gear (warm jackets, hats, mittens, etc.). Let’s make sure they are warm and toasty at the bus stop
and, more importantly, during recess time!!
*Just a reminder that if your child has a history of asthma and they have a difficult time
with cold weather, please send an asthma action plan and inhaler to the clinic if you
haven’t already. You can find the necessary documents on the Ferry Farm website. And as
always, please call me with any questions/concerns.
Page 2 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
Page 3 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
SOL Testing
Grades Third, Fourth, & Fifth
May 22 – June 6
Please schedule appointments
around these dates.
HOW COLD IS TOO COLD TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO PLAY OUTDOORS?
During typical winter days, common sense requires us to look beyond a specific temperature and
consider factors such as wind chill, whether the ground is frozen or the sun is shining, how well the
children are prepared to play outdoors (jackets, gloves, and hats), what activity the children are
participating in, and the length of time to be spent outside. When the weather turns extremely cold, we
have to balance students' needs for physical activity with the dangers that come from too much
exposure to the cold. To keep our Eagles safe during these cold weather months, our classes will not
go outside for recess or PE when the wind chill is below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. When a grade
level has decided it is too cold to go out without proper attire, one teacher may choose to stay inside
with students who do not have a winter coat, gloves, and hat. In the event we must stay inside,
students will have indoor recess and they can play all kinds of games, including those that reinforce
what they learn in school.
Library News
First grade friends are helping each other solve a story puzzle on the computer.
Ferry Farm Elementary Faculty and
Staff Wishes Everyone a
CAR RIDER REMINDERS PLEASE REMEMBER
All Car riders are to be dropped off starting
at 8:35 at the back of the school.
Please be sure to stop at the stop sign and yield to the cars driving on Mercer Lane.
Cars are to line up single file in the morning
when dropping off children.
Children are to exit the vehicle on the right hand side and quickly enter the building.
Double lanes are used in the afternoon.
Teach your child their car rider number to keep the process moving quickly.
Make sure your children are secured safely in
their seats before leaving.
Please make sure all persons have cleared
the area before you pull away.
Page 4 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to Layla W., in Ms. Velardi’s
fourth grade class, our Spelling Bee winner, and
Maxwell F. runner-up.
The other participants are Evora B., Katelyn
C., Annabella C., Finn H., Loren H., Ella H., Jayda
J., Andrew M., Riley B., Sam R., Colton R., and
Ryan T. Good luck to Layla W. at the district
Spelling Bee.
PE News
Snowman building in PE
Page 5 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
Reflections Contest
Ferry Farm Eagles participated in the National
PTA Reflections program. This program
encourages students to explore the arts and
express themselves by giving positive recognition
for their artistic efforts. Students create theme-
based artwork in dance choreography, film
production, literature, musical composition,
photography or visual arts.
These creative artworks will now be entered in
the Regional PTA Reflections Contest.
Congratulations to the following Eagles:
Photography: Intermediate: 1st Alexa A., 2nd
Max D., 3rd James K.; Visual Arts: Primary: 1st
Lane E., 2nd Niamh O., 3rd Rozy J.;
Intermediate: 1st Alix F., 2nd Chloe A., 3rd Cristina
S., 3rd; Music Composition: Intermediate: 1st
Leola C.; Literature: Intermediate: 1st Brady M.,
2nd Layla W., 3rd Mark M.; Film Production:
Intermediate 1st Finn H., 2nd London J. and
Melina M., 3rd Sebastian T.; Dance: Primary: 1st
Madison L.; Intermediate: 1st Rachel A.; Special Artist: Intermediate: 1st Bryson M.
Second Grade
Second grade has been busy in December
learning strategies for adding numbers and how
to sequence a story while doing lots of fun
seasonal activities. The children enjoyed
learning about ways that other countries
celebrate Christmas as well as Hanukkah.
We began our unit on the American Indians
and will continue in January to learn more
about different American Indians. On January
11, Jamestown outreach will come and share
more interactive materials to
increase our learning of the
Powhatan Indians, who are native to our area.
No School
January 21 MLK Day
January 29 Teacher Workday
February 18 Presidents Day
Early Dismissals
January 28 1:10 PM February 14 1:10 PM
Page 6 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
The other participants were Ben G., Landen M., Samantha H., Laurel C., Tonijah S., Cristina S.,
Russell G., Clara B., Rachel L., Bodi M., Tyrone S., Parker D., Jason M., Hayden S., Kyle P., and Jayda J. Good luck to Walker at the district contest.
Congratulations to Walker H., in Mr. Bodnarchuk’s fifth grade
class, for winning our school Geography Bee. Alix F. was
runner-up.
PE Student of the Month
Page 7 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
November Effort
Second
Jaycielyn H.
Andrew C.
Ayla D.
Ryan L.
Yoalin P.
Third
Obed H.
Tyler B.
Za’Karan M.
Andrew M.
Evora B.
Fourth
Jack Y.
Benjamin G.
Valentino R.
Sebastian H.
Kayce H.
Fifth
Jaiyanna C.
Madelyn T.
Rudra S.
Melina M.
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Art News
First graders working on a Snowy Day Collage inspired by the author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats.
Fifth Grade
5th grade students researched European
explorers and presented their information with these projects.
SCA
The Ferry Farm Student Council Association is
collecting “pop tops” for the animal shelter.
Please support them by sending in your “pop
tops”. The class collecting the most wins extra
recess and lollipops.
Page 8 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
THANK YOU!
Thanks to all the generous parents and faculty who
participated in our “Giving Tree”. Many Ferry Farm families
benefited from your kindness.
Eagle Reminders
Stafford County School Policy: You must bring ID when entering the building for any reason, such as volunteering in a classroom, eating lunch with your child, attending an assembly or checking your child out for an appointment. Daycare van riders: Parents please remember to inform your child’s daycare facility when your child is absent or is picked up early due to illness or an appointment. Lost & Found: Please have your child check for their lost coats, clothing items or lunch boxes at Lost and Found. All unclaimed Lost and Found items will be donated at the end of every month. School hours are 9:00 AM to 3:40 PM. Students are not to be dropped off at the school before 8:35 AM, except for scheduled events. Students may not be picked up in the office after 3:10 PM, unless prior arrangements have been made. Early pick up: If you must pick up your child before regular dismissal time, please send a note to your child’s teacher. Student Accident Protection Insurance: Available through Scholastic Insurers. Forms can be picked up in the office. Attendance: Please call the school at 373-7366 if your child will be absent. Please note that all absences are considered unexcused until we receive an explanation of the absence in writing. Emergency Contact: Please notify the school office of any changes in address, phone numbers, and emergency contacts.
Smile!
Picture Day
Feb 26
Page 9 of 9 Ferry Farm Elementary
What to Do When Winter Weather Strikes
Winter weather is on its way, and with it comes emergency closings. Division staff makes the decision to either close or delay schools by 5:30 a.m. Once the decision is made, the
Office of Strategic Communication and Community Engagement begins to inform the community using a variety of media. Below is a list of the different channels of
communication you can use to gather updates on closing information.
Central Office Phone A voice message is placed on the Central
Office line at (540) 658-6000 in the event of an emergency closing.
Stafford Alert Stafford County offers a subscription-based
emergency alert system. Options for notification include text, email, phone call, and
TTY/TTD device. In addition to school updates, Stafford Alerts allows you to
subscribe to updates on traffic, government closures, parks and recreation, public utilities,
and more.
Local Media News media in the Fredericksburg, Richmond,
and DC areas are notified of our closings, including:
o Free Lance-Star o Washington Post o WFLS 93.3, The Vibe 99.3, The Rock 96.9,
WNTX 96.5 o WBQB 101.5, WFVA 1230 AM o Thunder 104.5, WGRQ 95.9 o WTOP 103.5, 103.9, 107.7 o ABC 7 WJLA o CBS 6 WTVR o FiOS 1 o NBC 4 WRC o NBC 12 WWBT o FOX 5 WTTG o CBS 9 WUSA
Social Media Closing updates are also available on the
division’s social media pages. Follow us on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/staffordschools or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/scpschools.
Stafford Educational Television Check out the division’s public access channel
for weather updates. SETV is available on Channel 18 for Comcast and Cox subscribers,
and Channel 38 for Verizon subscribers.
School Websites An on-screen alert is posted on the division and
school websites. Visit www.staffordschools.net or the website of
your child’s school. In the event of a school closing, an alert will appear on the screen and must be dismissed in order to access the site.
ParentLink
Phone Call/Text/Email/Mobile App
A phone call, text, email and mobile app notification are sent via ParentLink to all phone numbers and
emails subscribed to emergency alerts. Phone calls can occur as early as 5:30 a.m. Contact your child’s
school to update, add, or remove your contact information from the emergency alert system.