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PTA & WES Staff Collaboration
This past Wednesday night, the Westbriar PTA welcomed all three of our dedicated teacher liaisons—Ms. Meoni, Ms. Barnes, and Ms. Thompson—at the PTA meeting. Their presence underscored the strong partnership between our staff and parent community.
The role of these teacher liaisons is essential in bridging communication and fostering collaboration between the PTA and the school’s teaching staff. Here’s how they contribute:
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Facilitating Communication: Ms. Meoni, Ms. Barnes, and Ms. Thompson ensure that information flows smoothly between the PTA and teachers. They keep the teaching staff informed about upcoming PTA events, programs, and initiatives, while also sharing teachers' feedback, ideas, and concerns with the PTA.
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Providing Input: As liaisons, they offer valuable insights on educational matters, helping the PTA align its efforts with the needs and priorities of the school. Their perspectives ensure that decisions made by the PTA reflect what’s best for our students and staff.
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Encouraging Collaboration: The liaisons promote teamwork between teachers and parents, strengthening partnerships that support student success and school improvements.
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Supporting PTA Events: Ms. Meoni, Ms. Barnes, and Ms. Thompson are actively involved in helping organize and participate in PTA-sponsored activities, ensuring these events align with the school’s educational goals and encouraging teacher participation.
We encourage all families and staff members to join our Westbriar PTA and volunteer for all of the student events being organized for this school year.
WES and Growing Enrollment
As Westbriar Elementary continues to grow, we are excited to announce the addition of new class sections in both kindergarten and third grade to accommodate the increasing number of students. This decision allows us to lower class sizes, creating a more personalized learning environment that benefits all students.
During this transition, we ask for patience, flexibility, and trust from our families as we work to assign students to the newly developed classes. While we understand that parents will advocate for what’s best for their individual child, it’s important to remember that our responsibility extends beyond any one student. Our goal is to ensure the success of all Westbriar students, and reducing class sizes is a key step in achieving that.
We are committed to making this process as smooth as possible and appreciate your support as we navigate these changes for the benefit of the entire school community.
Updating Class Sizes at Westbriar: Our Process and Support
At Westbriar, we are dedicated to providing an exceptional educational experience, which sometimes means adding a new class after the school year starts to reduce class sizes and enhance student attention. Here’s a brief overview of how we manage this process:
Student Selection: Teachers select students based on academic and social factors, which are then reviewed by the grade-level team and administration to ensure balanced and representative cohorts. Specialist input is considered, and final decisions are communicated to families to explain the benefits of these changes.
Staffing Considerations: Due to a national shortage of educators, we may hire individuals who are not yet certified. We prioritize finding candidates who align with our school’s values and ensure they receive thorough onboarding and support, including mentorship from experienced teachers and ongoing professional development.
Support and Transition: The new teacher will integrate into the school with guidance from veteran staff and collaborative planning sessions. Smaller class sizes foster individualized attention and improved learning environments, benefiting all students.
Staying Connected: Westbriar’s Methods of Communication
At Westbriar Elementary, we are committed to keeping families informed and connected. To ensure clear and timely communication, we use several methods depending on the type of message being shared. Here's an overview of how we communicate with our school community and what to expect from each method:
eNotify – Essential Communication
eNotify is used to send out important, high-priority messages that need immediate attention. Examples include:
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High Priority: Attendance notifications and urgent updates.
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Emergency Situations: Late buses, inclement weather, lockdowns, or any unexpected events that require immediate response.
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General Alerts: Critical information such as back-to-school updates, health or wellness alerts, key instructional and testing details, boundary changes, transportation updates, school operation changes, and safety drills.
News You Choose – School-Wide Communication
News You Choose is used for non-urgent, general updates about events and activities happening across the school. This includes:
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Westbriar Weekly Newsletter: A roundup of important school information.
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School Events: PTA events or school-wide happenings.
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Fundraisers and Drives: Updates on fundraising efforts or donation drives.
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Extracurricular Activities: Information on after-school programs and special activities.
TalkingPoints – Grade-Specific or Individual Communication
TalkingPoints is primarily used for more focused, grade-level, or student-specific communication. You’ll receive updates such as:
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Grade-Level Notifications: Field trips or grade-specific events.
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Classroom-Specific News: Such as long-term substitute notifications or class-level updates.
What We Need from You
We encourage all parents to stay engaged with these communication channels and to ensure their contact information is up to date. Your patience and understanding are appreciated, especially in urgent situations. While we prioritize the safety and success of every individual student, our overall goal is to foster success for all Westbriar students.
By using these methods, we aim to create a partnership with our families that keeps everyone informed, involved, and supported.
Stay Connected: Ensuring You Receive Westbriar Communications
At Westbriar Elementary, we use multiple platforms to keep our families informed, including eNotify, News You Choose, and TalkingPoints. To make sure you receive all important messages, here’s how you can stay connected:
eNotify
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What it covers: High-priority and essential communications such as attendance, emergencies, and critical school updates.
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How to ensure you’re connected: Make sure your contact information (email and phone) is up to date in SIS ParentVUE. eNotify automatically pulls your contact information from the system.
News You Choose
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What it covers: School-wide updates, including the weekly Westbriar newsletter, PTA events, fundraisers, and extracurricular activities.
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How to ensure you’re connected: Subscribe to News You Choose through the FCPS website and select Westbriar Elementary to receive school-specific updates.
TalkingPoints
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What it covers: Grade-specific or individual student communication, such as field trips or classroom notifications.
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How to ensure you’re connected: Make sure your teacher has your up-to-date contact information. TalkingPoints messages are sent directly by grade-level teachers.
By keeping your contact information current and subscribing to these platforms, you’ll stay informed and engaged with all of Westbriar’s updates!
Important: Complete the Early Release Monday Survey
We kindly ask all families to complete the Early Release Monday Survey as soon as possible, if you have not done so already. This survey is crucial for us to plan and ensure student safety on these scheduled early dismissal days. We will be distributing the survey again on Monday, September 9th to those families for which we have not received a response.
Purpose of Early Release Mondays:
Early Release Mondays were introduced by FAESP to help address inequities in elementary teacher planning time, especially with the added demands of the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA), which requires up to 27 hours of additional self-paced training for classroom, ESOL, and special education teachers. To accommodate this:
- Students will be dismissed 3 hours early on seven Mondays throughout the school year.
- Families can choose to have their students stay at school for supervision at no cost. However, instruction will not be provided during this time.
Supervision Details:
Students who stay after dismissal will be supervised by FCPS staff who do not have VLA responsibilities, substitute teachers, and central office staff.
Activities may include:
- Quiet time/independent reading
- Completion of missed work/homework
- Computer time (ST Math, Lexia, etc.)
- Library time
- Physical activity
- Crafts and board games
Please complete the survey to let us know if your child will be staying after dismissal or going home. Your participation helps us ensure proper planning and supervision. Remember the first Early Release Monday is Monday, September 23.
Things to Remember When Visiting Schools
Please know we take the safety and security of our students and staff very seriously. All school visitors must enter schools by way of “Door 1.” Upon ringing a school’s front doorbell, visitors will be asked to identify the reason for their visit before the door is opened. All school visitors will need to check in to the school visitor system in the front office before entering the school.
When outside, visitors are not permitted to visit school buses or playgrounds or to observe students from parking lots or other areas on school campuses.
While you may want to peek in on your child during the day, this can be alarming to our staff. Parents/caregivers are welcome to check in with their child's teacher via email if they are anxious about how their child is transitioning.
Guidelines for Student Check-Out
To ensure a smooth and safe dismissal process for all students, we ask that you follow these guidelines for checking your child out of school:
When It’s Appropriate to Sign Out Your Student:
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Medical Appointments: If your child has a scheduled appointment during the school day.
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Emergencies: For urgent situations that require your child to leave school early.
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Pre-Planned Appointments: For appointments that you have arranged in advance and communicated to the school.
When It’s Not Ideal to Sign Out Your Student:
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During Dismissal Time: Please avoid checking out your child between 3:40 and 4:05 PM to help us maintain a safe and efficient dismissal process.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we work together to ensure a smooth end to the school day for everyone.
Arrival and Dismissal Guidelines
To ensure a smooth and safe start and end to the school day, please adhere to the following guidelines for arrival and dismissal:
Arrival Reminders:
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Safety Patrols: Students assigned as morning safety patrols should not arrive before 8:50 AM.
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Student Arrival: WES students should not arrive on school property prior to 8:55 AM. This allows us to ensure that all personnel and safety patrols are in their designated locations.
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Classroom Entry: At 9:05 AM, students will be instructed to report to their classrooms. Please avoid loitering in groups or waiting at the front doors as this can impede staff and visitor access.
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Tardy Policy: The first bell rings at 9:10 AM, with the tardy bell ringing at 9:20 AM. Students arriving as walkers, bikers, or via Kiss & Ride after 9:20 AM must be accompanied by a parent to the office to be signed in as tardy. Students arriving on late buses after 9:20 AM will not be marked tardy due to factors such as traffic, weather, or other extenuating circumstances.
Dismissal Reminders:
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Initial Bell: At 4:00 PM, the initial bell rings to signal staff and safety patrols to report to their afternoon duties.
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Dismissal Bell: The final dismissal bell rings at 4:05 PM. To ensure safety and efficiency, please avoid congregating at the front of the building as it obstructs traffic flow.
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Kiss & Ride: We encourage parents to use the Kiss & Ride lane rather than parking and collecting children at the walker door.
FCPS: In Case You Missed It
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics and others:
- Immunization Reminder
- Make Attendance a Priority
- How Is FCPS’ Redesigned Website Working for You?
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
1741 Pine Valley Dr., Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Office: 703-937-1700
Attendance: 703-937-1717 | Web | Twitter
