dulles schools newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
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Dulles Schools
Newsletter Fall 2015 Edition of the Dulles Schools Newsletter
Welcome to the eleventh edition of the Dulles Schools Newsletter. In this edition I reflect on
celebrations, new resources, new leadership, issues and awards.
To be added to the electronic distribution list, please contact me via email:
Important Dates:
Aug 25th - Sep 21st: Back to School Nights. (See matrix below)
Aug 31st: First Day of School for Students
Sep 7th: Labor Day Holiday…all schools are closed
Saying Goodbye to the Class of 2015:
Freedom High School All Night Graduation Celebration was a complete success! Thank you to all of the volunteers and
businesses who stepped up to support this event!
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John Champe Graduating Class of 2015 in a packed house enjoying their final ceremony at the school.
Congratulations all LCPS students who graduated this summer!
Expansion Continues with new “Freedom Wing” The newest school expansion in Loudoun opened last week, with the ribbon cutting for the new
“Freedom Wing”. Thank you to Freedom Eagle Leadership Team (FELT) members Admed
Altaweel, Brooke Haymore, William Hom, Jisoo Lee, Jordan Posey, and Mary Sciortino for their
help with the festivities.
This wing, consisting of 10 classrooms/laboratories and space for 250 students will match
Freedom’s capacity with J. Michael Lunsford Middle School, just as the addition on Mercer last
year matched its capacity to John Champe High School. Freedom added some finesse with a
new student lounge, donated by the graduating class of 2015. Congratulations Principal Fulton,
Freedom students, staff, and community!
From Left to Right: Jeff Morse, Matt Letourneau, Dr. Eric Williams,
and Freedom Eagle Leadership Team (FELT) members
William Hom, Brooke Haymore, Jisoo Lee and Jordan Posey
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Freedom Student Lounge
Donated by the Graduating Class of 2015
New Employee Orientation: Welcoming New Educators to our
Dulles District Schools!
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New Leadership for Dulles District Schools and LCPS
Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Carrie Simms on her selection as the new Principal for J.
Michael Lunsford Middle School. Mrs. Simms comes to us from Mercer Middle School
(another “School to Watch”), where she has been serving as the Assistant Principal for the last
four years. Prior to her assignment as AP, she was a Dean at Mercer, and an English Teacher at
both Mercer and Sterling Middle Schools.
Mrs. Carrie Simms
Principal
J. Michael Lunsford Middle School
Mrs. Simms will be replacing Neil Slevin, who has been promoted to the Director of LCPS
Middle Schools Education. Congratulations to Mr. Slevin!
Finally, the School Board approved Dr. Williams’ appointment of Dr. Cynthia Ambrose as
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction. The appointment came after a special School Board
meeting on Thursday, July 23rd, at the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Administrative
Offices in Ashburn. Ambrose comes to Loudoun after serving as chief academic officer for
Horry County, S.C., Public Schools. She started her position with LCPS on August 17th.
Clarity is out: Phoenix/ParentVUE is in
A change in how LCPS will keep parents informed has been implemented with the Phoenix
Grade Book Parent Portal and ParentVUE. For the 2015 school year, all teachers will transition
from using the CLARITY gradebook to the Phoenix Grade Book to enter student grades. Parents
will also transition to a new (and improved) parent portal called ‘ParentVUE’.
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Parent Portal Highlights:
The purpose of an academic parent portal is to provide parents with near real-time access
to information on assignments and grades, attendance, class schedules, graduation status
and more.
ParentVue offers a single sign-on to view school information for all siblings, regardless
of the grade level or school of attendance.
ParentVUE is available as a mobile app or via the web-based parent portal accessed on
any internet enabled device.
For more information about Phoenix and ParentVue, please see the LCPS website:
http://www.lcps.org/Page/141445. Or the frequently asked questions (FAQs) page:
http://www.lcps.org/Page/150204.
Freedom High School’s Odyssey of the Mind State Champions
Congratulations!
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Back to School Night Schedule The Back to School Night for Dulles District Schools is captured below. For more detail on
BTSN, please see your School’s webpage at www.lcps.org using the school selection tab at the
top of the front page, or at the LCPS site:
http://www.lcps.org/cms/lib4/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/1/Back%20to%20School%20Nig
ht%20Schedule%202014_Alpha%20OrderV3.pdf
School Date Start Time Grades
Moorefield Station 25-Aug 6:30 K-2
Rosa Lee Carter 25-Aug 6:00 Grades 3-5
Cardinal Ridge 27-Aug 6:00 Grades K-3
Cardinal Ridge 27-Aug 7:15 K, 4-5
Hutchison Farm 27-Aug 6:00 K, 3-5
Hutchison Farm 27-Aug 7:15 K, 1-2
Liberty 27-Aug 6:00 K, 1-2
Liberty 27-Aug 7:15 K, 3-5
Little River 27-Aug 6:00 K, 3-5
Little River 27-Aug 8:15 K, 1-2
Moorefield Station 27-Aug 6:30 Grades 3-5
Rosa Lee Carter 27-Aug 5:00 SPED
Rosa Lee Carter 27-Aug 6:00 K-2
Mercer 2-Sep 6:30 6
Freedom 3-Sep 7:00 all
Eagle Ridge 3-Sep 6:30 6
Arcola 8-Sep 6:30 K-2
Buffalo Trail 8-Sep 6:30 K-2 ++
Lunsford 9-Sep 7:00 6
Mercer 9-Sep 6:30 Grades 7-8
Stone Hill 9-Sep 6:30 Grade 6
Arcola 10-Sep 6:30 Grades 3-5
Buffalo Trail 10-Sep 6:30 Grades 3-5
Pinebrook 10-Sep 6:00 K-5
Pinebrook 10-Sep 7:00 K-5
Eagle Ridge 10-Sep 6:30 Grades 7-8
Champe 16-Sep 7:00 all
Lunsford 16-Sep 7:00 Grades 7-8
Stone Hill 16-Sep 6:30 Grades 7-8
Academy of Science 17-Sep 6:00 "B" Day students
Academy of Science 17-Sep 7:00 "A" Day students
Rock Ridge 21-Sep 7:00 all
Briar Woods 21-Sep 7:00 Grades 9-10
Briar Woods 19-Oct 7:00 Grades 11-12
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Claude Moore Foundation, Orbital STK and Apple Credit Untion
Fund Another Round of Teacher Grants
Once again the Claude Moore Foundation, Orbital STK and Apple Credit Union
supported our teacher grant requests, with four more awards to our Dulles District
Teachers. Congratulations on your outstanding proposals! Clockwise from top
left: Andrew Schlaf of Moorefield Station Elementary; Jennifer Matner of Cardinal
Ridge Elementary; Cathy Polanski of Arcola Elementary, and Cristin Pozniak and
Collen Phalen of Rosa Lee Carter.
Playgrounds funded and built for Moorefield Station Elementary,
Cardinal Ridge Elementary
Following the unanimous approval of construction funding for the two playgrounds, the School
Board constructed playgrounds at both Moorefield Station and Cardinal Ridge Elementary
Schools. The policy to fund playgrounds was also modified, meaning that all future elementary
schools will have playgrounds included in their bond funding.
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I led the effort to have LCPS pay for the playgrounds for two reasons: first, middle school track
and fields, and all high school fields and stadiums are fully funded in the bond referendum.
Secondly, both Cardinal Ridge and Moorefield Station serve families who transferred in
predominantly from other new schools, which means their families have already contributed to
one (or more!) playgrounds. The Full School Board supported this initiative, and a special
thanks to Chairman York and Supervisor Letourneau for their assistance in leading the effort to
garner Board of Supervisors support.
Cardinal Ridge Playground Ready for School!
Transportation Challenges in the Dulles District
I spent the summer engaged in discussions over bus transportation, primarily for the Rosa Lee
Carter and Liberty Communities. The Rosa Lee Carter community is in a unique situation, for
two reasons: the incredible backup of car drop-off students and the unbelievable detour needed
to drive children to school. For those reasons, I have solicited the assistance of our At-Large
School Board Member Tom Reed-Chairman York and Matt Letourneau of the Board of
Supervisors are also supportive of our cause. It is an uphill battle, but we will continue to press
for restoral of bus service, at least until the Loudoun County Parkway is connected through to
606.
Two other areas of concern are the Barnstead Drive area of Loudoun Valley and the Mandolin
Street walk zone for Liberty Elementary. I have asked the department of transportation to review
both sites for walk zone safety to ensure the students are not being placed in harm’s way. With
the school year starting next week, I do not anticipate any changes prior to the first day. I will be
out at these locations on the first week of school to see first-hand the traffic challenge and the
walking routes of the children.
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Closing Comments
I’d like to thank those of you who are donating time and energy to our Schools and our
Community. There is no way LCPS could be successful without the selfless dedication of all of
volunteers. Remember: our children mimic our behavior: if we care about our schools and
community, they will too!
Boy Scout Troop 828 helps beautify the community
Sincerely,
Jeff Morse
Jeff Morse
Loudoun County School Board
Dulles District Representative