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Upcoming Events - October 2011
October 6:
October PandaGram Sent Home
Interims Sent Home
October 7:
November PandaGram Articles Due
October 10:
Columbus Day Holiday—No School
October 11:
PTA Parent Social, 9:30-9:45 a.m.
PTA Meeting, 9:45-10:30 a.m., Café
PTA Parent Volunteer Training, 10:30-11:00 a.m.
October 11 – 14:
Custodian Appreciation Week
October 17:
Blood Drive, 3:00-8:00 p.m., Gym
October 17 – 21:
Bus Driver Appreciation Week
October 17 – 28:
Cognitive Abilities Test, (CogAT) Testing Window for (Grade 2 and select 3-6 students)
October 20:
Advance Academic Programs Parent Information Meeting, 9:00-9:45 a.m., Rm. 216
October 21:
Family Movie Night: RIO, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Gym
October 24-28:
National Red Ribbon Week
October 29:
GBW 40th Year Celebration, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
November 2011
November 1:
Fall Pictures
November 2:
2nd Grade Performance for Parents, 9:30-10:00 a.m., Gym
November 3:
November PandaGram Sent Home
PTA Quarterly Luncheon, 10:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. , Teacher’s Lounge
November 4:
December PandaGram Articles Due
End of 1st Grading Period
November 7-8:
Parent Teacher Conferences, No School for Students
November 8:
Election Day
November 11:
Veteran’s Day Meet and Greet
PandaGram Archives
October 2011 PandaGram
Message from the Principal
Dear Parents,
Thank you so much for attending our Back to School Night(s)! We are thankful for your support in the education of your children. Please know that you are always welcome at Greenbriar West – we encourage you to be actively involved! You may choose to work from home, in the classroom or by volunteering on a regular basis. Your involvement is important to the success of your children. Also, please join the Greenbriar West PTA! My goal is that 100% of our staff members join the PTA this year. Everyone benefits when we work together on behalf of our children.
Message from the PTA President
I hope the first month of school was great for your children. I want to congratulate the nearly 400 students who turned in their ThinkStretch Summer Workbooks. The feedback we received was highly favorable for this program, and the PTA will be running this program again next summer.
PTA volunteers started working before school started to make sure each student had their Back to School Folder stuffed with all the necessary forms and information. Thanks to the many hands that came in during those hot August days! The PTA also treated the staff to a Back to School Lunch which many volunteers helped to make delicious. Thanks to everyone who made the tasty items enjoyed by the staff!
Counselors’ Corner
It has been a pleasure to get to know our new students and welcome returning families! We are here to provide help and support to you and your students, so they can learn and grow to their fullest potential. We hope this is your student’s best year yet!
We have designed our 2011-2012 guidance topics to complement and reinforce the expectations set forth in our school-wide Project Panda initiative.
Safety at Greenbriar West
The Greenbriar West staff works diligently to maintain a safe and secure school environment for your children. It is customary at Greenbriar West, as well as at all Fairfax County Public Schools, to review all of our safety and emergency procedures and expectations with students. During the month of September, the students will participate in weekly fire drills. Teachers and staff are extremely proud of our students for recognizing the seriousness of these drills and behaving in a safe and appropriate manner.
ESOL News
We have expanded!
Since our population has been growing recently, we have added another ESOL teacher to our team. Mrs. Franzen has joined the GBW family and will be here every morning to work with our students. Mrs. Franzen has many years of ESOL teaching in Fairfax County and is a great addition to the community.
Start the year right!
One of the greatest ways for how parents help their ESL children learn English is by attempting to learn English themselves. When parents are able to use English at home, more opportunities will arise for children to practice speaking and listening. Parents and children practicing their new skills together can be a great motivator. Even parents who are fluent in English can demonstrate the importance of learning by focusing on an area of improvement, such as studying a difficult novel to learn complex vocabulary or bettering their writing skills.
—Jeremy DePalma, ESOL Specialist
Art News
During the first month of school your children first reviewed old and then learned new drawing techniques:
- Kindergarteners used basic shapes to draw faces and figures.
- 1st graders refined drawing skills learned in kindergarten to create works of art about their family and friends.
- 2nd graders used size differences and overlapping to show perspective on drawings that told visual stories, providing clues as to who, what, where, and how.
- 3rd graders learned how to draw a face in proportion in addition to changing facial features to show different emotions.
- 4th graders learned to draw figures in proportion and using gesture, how to show movement.
- 5th graders turned off the left side of their brains to create contour and blind contour drawings. They were asked to really look at an object by drawing without looking down at their paper.
- 6th graders used conté crayons to draw a self portrait that also included a symbol to represent a personal attribute.
AAP NEWS
Parents of General Education students in grades K – 6: Please put Room 216, Thursday, October 20, 9:00 – 9:45 am on your calendars! There will be an informational meeting about Advanced Academic Services in Fairfax County. Topics to be discussed include: Levels of AAP Services available to GBW students, including Level 4 (Center); Screening procedures and forms; Resources used and answers to your many questions.
You are welcome in the meantime to visit the AAP website: www.fcps.edu/dis/gt and bring your questions/concerns to the meeting.
See you all on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20TH in room 216 @ 9:00 AM! If you need to contact me before then, please email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
. My days at GBW are Thursdays and Fridays.
—by Judy Gartlan
The Reading Corner
Read about it, talk about it, and think about it! Find ways for your child to build understanding, the ultimate goal of learning how to read. The tips below offer some fun ways you can help your child become a happy and confident reader. Try a new tip each week. See what works best for your child.
¡Hablemos español!
¡Qué fabuloso comienzo al año escolar!
What a fabulous start for this school year!
Our Spanish FLES program is growing and reaching more children this year. It now includes all the first, second, third, fourth and fifth grade classrooms at Greenbriar West. All around the school the students also learn from the Spanish vocabulary that is seen on posters, signs and displays throughout the school. Please stop to see the Spanish Word Wall in the cafeteria. How many words do you already know?
Don’t forget the "Month of Hispanic Heritage” (El mes de herencia hispanica). It begins on September 15 and ends on October 15. Check your local newspaper for articles, activities and events involving this holiday.
Library Link
Do you want your child to be a good reader? Of course you do! One of the best ways to raise a reader is to become a “Reading Role Model” yourself.
General Music
September has been a busy month in our music classes! We have been working on our singing skills and have reviewed our patriotic songs. Students have also participated in lessons that have focused on musical elements such as rhythm and steady beat. Each grade level has a specific composer whose life and music is highlighted. We have reviewed the previous grade level composers during September. Students are continuing to see what it looks like to contribute in a positive manner to the group effort of making music.
Physical Education - News That’s Fit to Print!
This month in PE, we continue our focus on Expectations, Routines and Cooperative activities. All students are progressing in learning the rules of PE and how to work together. Remember that students need to be properly dressed in order to participate fully in all of our PE activities. Shorts/sweatpants, t-shirts and most importantly, tennis shoes should be worn! Please help your child by noting the days they have PE and ensuring they are ready!
RC Corner: Morning Meeting Sets the Tone for Learning
Children’s learning begins the second they walk in the doors of our school. It matters to children whether they are greeted warmly or overlooked, whether the classroom feels chaotic and unpredictable, or ordered and comforting.
Each day classes begin with a Morning Meeting. All classroom members – adults and students – gather in a circle to greet each other, listen and respond to each others’ news, practice academic and social skills, and look forward to the events in the day ahead. Morning meeting is a particular and deliberate way to begin the day, and to build a community of caring and motivated learners.
Food and Nutrition Services
Food and Nutrition Services has developed monthly Energy Zone articles that schools are welcome to use in your monthly parent newsletters.
Kindergarten and 1st Grade Parents: We need help in the Cafeteria!
We are looking for extra hands to assist our kindergartners and first graders at lunch. Help our students help themselves as they get their lunch, open their containers, clean up after themselves, and talk about their day so far. We are a smiling face and a helping hand.
Welcome to Junior Great Books!!!!!
Junior Great Books is an excellent reading enrichment program offered through the PTA in grades 2-5 here at GBW. This exciting program stresses the enjoyment of literature for its own sake. At the same time, it develops comprehension, interpretive thinking, and written language skills. Children are encouraged to ask questions, explore, support and develop their own insights.
PTA Lunch Fund
Everyone knows how important lunch is and your child will not go hungry at GBW! The PTA has set up an account so that your child can borrow lunch money if he/she does not have enough money on his/her own lunch account or if lunch was forgotten at home. The PTA will not take money off of any student’s account, therefore we will ask for reimbursement of $2.65 (the cost of a complete lunch) via a green envelope in your child’s Thursday Folder. Cereal will be provided, free to students who have previously borrowed and have not yet repaid or in the event that the PTA’s lunch account runs out of money. It is very important that you check your child’s Thursday folder each week for these green envelopes among other important information sent home from the school, teacher, and PTA. We can only accept cash in the exact amount, and over payments will be considered donations to the PTA Lunch Fund. If the money is not repaid to the PTA promptly it hinders other students from being able to borrow lunch money.
SAVE THE DATE!!! GBW Fall Book Fair
SAVE THE DATE! SAVE THE DATE! SAVE THE DATE!
The GBW Fall Book Fair will be coming soon! The exciting theme for our Fall 2011 Book Fair is To the Book Fair and Beyond! Reading Is Out of This World! The countdown has begun and we will need volunteers to help launch our most successful Book Fair ever! We will be needing volunteers to help at the Book Fair in the GBW school library during the week of November 14-18 with a Family Book Fair Night scheduled on Tuesday, November 15. Watch for more information to come home soon in your student’s Thursday folder. This is a great opportunity for all our old and new GBW families to participate! We hope you will share your talents and join us as we bring an out-of-this-world reading event to our school.
GBW Celebrates 40 Years!
The GBW students, staff and community are excited to recognize GBW’s 40th year anniversary year during 2011-2012! The PTA has ordered a student-designed tee shirt for every student and staff member in the school, and plans are underway to take a whole GBW school picture during the week of Oct. 24-28.
The school staff, PTA and Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) will also be hosting a special celebration event on Saturday, October 29 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. (raindate, Nov. 5) Come join us as we bring our community together in song and a walk for charity through the Greenbriar neighborhood to learn about GBW history and how WFCM supports citizens in Fairfax County. We hope to see you there!
Get in the VAMPIRE Mood in October.....GIVE BLOOD!
Grab a friend, hang out in a lounge chair, eat cookies!
Donate that True Blood with friends. Make it sanguinary.
Kids? Bring 'em! Spouse? Bring 'em! Pet werewolves? Bring 'em too!
Need a break? Come alone, veg for a bit...or eternity--we won't tell!!
Please support the GBW/PTA Red Cross Blood Drive Monday, October 17 from 3:00-8:00 pm in the GBW Gym.
The need for blood is constant --one donation of your blood helps three people. It helps our community, the chronically ill, injured and it's good for you too!
Contact KC Axelrod via email at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
to register.
...And wear your garlic!
Juggling for Success!
Mark your calendars for Friday October 7th! The GBW Cultural Arts Committee and PE department is sponsoring the Juggling for Success™ program. Juggling for Success™ is a character education and behavior management program that helps reinforce academics through the lifetime skill of juggling.
This is a full day of instruction in juggling! Teachers will meet before school to talk about juggling breaks in the classroom. They’ll also be taught how to juggle with scarves to show the students what they’ll be learning. Throughout the school day, every student will be taught to juggle during a scheduled time. At the end of the day, there will be an assembly with the students as the stars of the show. From 6-7 pm the same evening is Family Juggling Night where students can teach their parents and siblings how to juggle. This is a powerful evening of family fun!!
Movie Night - October 21
Let's Go To The Movies!
UPDATED: The movie has changed!
Playing October 21 - Gnomeo and Juliet (rated G)
Concessions Available 6:00 pm and the movie Begins 6:30 pm.
Children must be accompanied by an adult to attend Movie Night.
Please fill out and return the reservation and pizza order form by October 18.
Download movie reservation and pizza order form.
Volunteers needed (middle school service hours available). Please contact Karin This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Kristin This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Veterans Day Celebration - November 11
The PTA would like to invite family members of GBW students and faculty who are either active duty, reservists or retired from the United States Military to join us in our Veteran’s Day Meet and Greet on Friday November 11.
This is a wonderful opportunity for the Greenbriar West community to thank you for your service and recognize your commitment to our country. The day will begin at 8:30 am where you wil be honored at a reception with school administrators. At 8:50 am, you will greet the students as they enter the school in the morning. We will then escort you to our library where you will be introduced and "interviewed" on our very own WGBW television station. Personal visits to your own child (or grandchild’s) classroom may be arranged with each teacher. If you are interested in being part of our morning on November 11, please contact PTA chairperson Michael Tress at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Fall Fundraising
Help GBW PTA Raise Money For: Student Enrichment Programs, Field Trips & Technology Improvements
Your Support Is What We Need!
The GBW Saving Book offers:
- 50% Profit or more on every book sold!
- A personally designed product for our school and community!
- It quickly pays for itself by using just one or two coupons!
- Has a Repeat Savings Card included for ongoing discounts!
- Provides an Online Membership with printable coupons for places near your home as well as around Northern Virginia!
Yearbook Volunteers Needed
Looking for volunteers to help design the yearbook
Help us create a memorable yearbook for the students as we celebrate GBW's 40th Anniversary!
If you are interested, please contact Suzanne Lefrancois at
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GBW Thanksgiving Luncheon, November 17
Call for Volunteers!
GBW will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on Thursday, November 17. There will be a special lunch schedule, and Thanksgiving Menu. None other than our own Mrs. Cleveland and Miss Campbell will be dishing out the Turkey!
Every year, our PTA provides volunteers to assist our school staff for this GBW event.
Please help the PTA with:
- Set Up and Clean Up
- Welcoming our Students and their Parents
- Seating our Guests
- Beverage and Utensil Stations
- Clean Up
You will be able to eat with your child. Even an hour of your time will be a great help.
Turkey Costume optional.
Interested in volunteering?
Please contact Catherine Metzinger - PTA Cafeteria Chairperson at
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2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee
GBW will hold the school’s 5th Annual Spelling Bee in February, 2012. The Bee is open to students in grades 3-6.
If you/your child is "I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D" in any of the following roles: 1) Speller, 2) Parent Coaches, 3) Pronouncers, 4) Judge, please contact Meera Krishnan, 2011-2012 Spelling Bee Chair at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (email is preferred) or (703) 378-7927.
Please provide: your name, your child’s name, email, phone number, grade/teacher, and interest. You will be added to an email group for any upcoming information about the Bee.
***If you have already submitted this info at the initial Open House but have not received an email back in September to confirm your child's registration, please contact Meera Krishnan.
Please consult the Scripps National Spelling Bee and Fairfax County Council of PTA websites for general information:
www.spellingbee.com
www.fccpta.org
For a list of resources and links for studying: http://www.spellingbee.com/study-tips