Conway Catch-Up

Hi Conway #OneFamily!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. I hope it was filled with lots of rest, relaxation, and fun with your kiddos. Welcome back to another awesome week at Conway!

Information for the week:

• Ramadan Mubarak to all of our Muslim families that celebrate Ramadan.
• Celebrate Diversity Night: Every family has culture, no matter where you are from! Even if you are from Mars, PA (that's me), your family has traditions, customs, and beautiful things to share! So, please, consider, no matter where you are from, sharing what makes your family special to you with others at our Celebrate Diversity Night. See the flyer below and also on the flier to sign up to share with others! This night is only possible if amazing people like YOU are willing to talk about your family.
• Youtube Blocked: Your kiddos may have noticed a change starting this past Wednesday on their Chromebooks. We began blocking "regular" Youtube on all of our Chromebooks and are now only allowing educational videos on Youtube. It is not a perfect filter, but it should help to stop some of the things we hear or see kids watching on their computers. We hope this helps you at home as well. We have heard that this is a battle for many families, so we sure hope it helps prevent them from being exposed to things that are far beyond their years.
• Ned Show Flier: The Ned Show is visiting virtually today at Conway. This is a fun show for kids that builds their growth mindset. They are selling YoYos to help us pay for the show and for kiddos to have their own YoYo. This is not required by any means, but they are available for sale if you wish to purchase one. Information on how to purchase these are attached to the email and are below.
• I Survived Author Visit: The author who writes the "I Survived" series, Lauren Tarshis, is coming to Conway virtually on April 22nd! How cool is that! :)
• Cougarpalooza Planning Team: This is our annual spring carnival event and it is a full go! We need some help planning it and pulling it off. We are meeting today in person or at 3:00 at this link meet.google.com/ppn-mqck-uct. Thanks for any help you can provide. If you can help, but just can't make it today, please email our PTA president at becky@totalcsi.net.
• Purple Up Day: This is Month of the Military Child and to celebrate our military families and show them our love and appreciation, we are going to wear purple on April 14th. Why purple you ask......when you take all of the colors of the military and combine them, they make purple! So, bust out that purple shirt on April 14th and show our military families how grateful we are for them.
• Great Kindness Challenge This Week: Our annual Great Kindness Challenge Week is HERE!!! This week is packed with Kindness Dress Up Days. Monday is hat day! Here is the dress up day line up and the links for the checklists: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jHKJgr-sPbSELPJuF259BizneQk4N1EV/preview
• SOL Schedule for 3rd - 5th Graders: Click HERE for the upcoming SOL assessment schedule.

V/r,

JR

P.S. Morning Announcements are below.

• Family Reading Night - We sure hope you enjoyed this night and are loving your new books :)
• Celebrate Diversity Night: April 21st from 5pm to 7pm

  
  

  Conway Elementary PTA invites you to travel around the world and experience the food, sights, crafts and cultural traditions of our Conway families.
  
  If you would like to be a part of this magnificent event and share some of your family's heritage, traditions, or knowledge (food, crafts, clothing, decor, travel pictures), we would be honored with your participation.
  
  Everyone can be a part of this event. You may sign up for an individual booth, a contribution, or gather a team to highlight a country, region, or state.
  
  Please provide a brief description when signing up. Set-up begins at 3:30. The doors will open at 5pm.
  
  If you have any questions or need assistance in setting up your display or acquiring necessary items, do not hesitate to reach out to Becky Machleit at machleitrs@staffordschools.net

  
  

  Click HERE to sign up to be a part of Celebrate Diversity Night: https://forms.gle/kAfBhAN5YPN9HuUX7

  
  

Zones of Regulation: Every week, I am going to share a different session from our Family University for those who could not attend. This week, we have information on the email I sent this on about the Zones of Regulation. The zones help kiddos identify their emotions at that moment and then help them learn ways to help them through big emotions.

• Celebrate Diversity Night: April 21st IN PERSON !!!!!
• Science Night (virtual): May 12th at 6:00 PM.

Celebrations:

• CougarPalooza is a full go this year! Save the date. May 14th. Think Spring Carnival, but bigger :)
• Kinder Celebration: This is an event to celebrate our kindergartners' successful completion of kindergarten. We will have an in-person celebration!
• 5th Grade Moving On Celebration: This will be in-person this year as well!

• List of Great Math Websites for use at home:

• Clothesline Math https://clotheslinemath.com – Students place cards with numbers, exponents, variables, algebraic expressions, statistics, and more on a string and move them to make sense of size, sequence, and relationships.

• Esti-Mysteries https://stevewyborney.com/2019/09/51-esti-mysteries - Students view a picture of a container full of objects and estimate the number, then use clues that mathematically help them adjust their estimates.

• Graphing Stories www.graphingstories.com – Short video stories that help students learn to graph on a plane.

• Math Talks www.mathtalks.net/teachers.html - Number and pattern talks help students explain their thinking and help teachers gain insights into what students understand.

• Splat! https://stevewyborney.com/2017/02/splat/.Splat! – An interactive number sense strategy for any grade level.

• Would You Rather Math www.wouldyourathermath.com – Students are given scenarios with two choices, and the goal is to use number sense strategies to make a choice and justify it.

• Cooking Autism Race Towards Acceptance: Check out this awesome event! The races begin on April 2nd at 7:30-9:00 but the free festival starts at 8:00 and ends at noon. We have bounce houses, food trucks, live music on the race route, and a DJ at the festival. There will be life-sized yard games, vendors, competitions, Buzzy the Bee from B101.5 and The Fred Nats mascot will be in attendance. And we will even have a a bubble dance party!!! Our hope is to celebrate our community while raising awareness during autism awareness month.

  The entire event is held at Old Mill Park, on April 2nd from 7:30-noon. It will be fantastic!
  

• Crossing Guard Sub: If you would like to help make a difference in your community, help people get to work on time and safely, AND want to help people smile out in front of our school for an hour in the AM and the PM WHILE GETTING PAID :), please email JR. We are looking for a crossing guard /traffic patrol sub to help us in the AM and PM when Ms. Nancy cannot be here. Thanks in advance!
• Family Support: If you would like further information on how you can support your child at home, we have created two different sites to support your family.

Click HERE for math, reading, and tech help from our coaches. They are also always available to meet with you to support your family as well.




Click HERE for any mental health support and resources from our counselors and social worker.

• 2022-2023 Conway Elementary PTA Board Nominations
  

  
  

  It has come time to call for nominations for the 2022-2023 PTA Board. We will be conducting a Call for Nominations at our next General PTA Meeting on April 28th. We are looking for parents, staff, and community members that would like to be more involved with the enrichment of our students experience at Conway Elementary School. You may nominate yourself or another person for any of the positions below. All nominees must be active PTA members and must be present at the nomination meeting on April 28, 2022.
  
  NOMINATIONS ARE DUE BY APRIL 28, 2022. Please address any questions to Becky Machleit at machleitrs@staffordschools.net .
  

  
  

  https://forms.gle/UzZZoRMD971aBaW7A

• Breakfast and Lunch: Breakfast and lunch will be free for every child every day for the entire school year. Click HERE for the menu.

• Other Information for SCPS Nutrition: https://www.schoolcafe.com/SCPS-Nutrition.

• How to Translate Smore newsletters: If you would like to translate this newsletter into another language, please click on these links for directions on how to do that. Directions in English click here. Directions in Espanol click here. Directions in Pashto click here . Directions in Dari click here.

• Need Help with Transportation: Click here for free help: https://www.rappahannockunitedway.org/get-help/transportation/

• Food Pantry: Every Tuesday behind St. George's Church (downtown Fredericksburg) from 12-2 pm they provide free fresh produce donated from local farms. In addition, families/individuals can obtain dairy products, bread, and meats - all for free. But you must arrive early to get these limited items. The Fred bus stops at the church. Click Here for more details:

  
  https://www.stgeorgesepiscopal.net/outreach-and-mission/the-table-at-st-georges/

• The Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank (FRFB) is excited to open their newest program, OrderAhead, to anyone in need of food assistance. OrderAhead allows the convenience of online supplemental grocery ordering and scheduled pickup at the FRFB warehouse or Love Thy Neighbor pantry in King George. For more information on OrderAhead, call (540) 621-5155.
  

• FredFoodVA: Download this App to locate all of the food resources in the area.
  

• Family Resource Access Line - This free communication tool helps provide equitable access to SCPS resources. Families may leave a message for translators in seven native languages: Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Pashto, Spanish, and Urdu. Translators will return your call in 2 business days. To access this service, please call (571) 492-9270.

Email: rayboldws@staffordschools.net
Website: https://www.staffordschools.net/ces
Location: 105 Primmer House Road, Fredericksburg, VA, USA
Phone: 5403611455
Facebook: facebook.com/Conwayelemsch
Twitter: @conwayelemsch