We have had a wonderful start to our school year! Our staff has been busy planning engaging lessons and teamwork activities for students. We have focused on building positive relationships and a strong classroom community. You should have received a few email communications already from teachers, so please be sure to check for that and let our front office know if you have not received them so we can update your email address. Frequent communication between school and home is very important to us and leads to a successful year of learning!

 

PWCS sent an email earlier regarding beginning of the year documents that can now be found electronically. They are located at this link

http://www.pwcs.edu/parents/backtoschoolguide.

 

We look forward to seeing you at events coming up soon or as a Monty’s Mentor (details below!)

 

We celebrated our first Pride Pass winners for the year!

Be sure to follow us on social media this year for pictures and updates. Our Facebook page is Montclair Elementary School-PWCS or follow us on Twitter @Montclair_elem and our hashtag #montypride. Twitter allows a unique opportunity for families to have a daily view into the awesome learning experiences happening throughout the day at Montclair. Twitter is not only an awesome way for us to communicate the variety of learning opportunities that students participate in regularly, but it can also give parents a starting point for engaging their student in conversations about what they're doing in school throughout the week.

Volunteers are always a valuable member of our school community. Volunteering can be a rewarding way for family members to contribute to the learning of students. For family members that will be first-time volunteers, Mr. Miller is hosting mandatory training sessions on: 9/16 at 9:30am; 9/17 at 6:00pm; 9/19 at 9:30am. Please choose one session to attend in order to begin volunteering here at Montclair.

The past three years, Montclair has enjoyed the WatchDOGS program in which male family members volunteered one day per year to spend time in classrooms supporting instruction, helping with arrival/dismissal, and providing assistance in the cafeteria. This year, we are opening half-day or full-day volunteering to all family members as Monty's Mentors. A Monty Mentor must be trained as a volunteer. Please use the link below to sign up for your day to volunteer!

 

In order to log into your child’s teacher’s webpage, update your child’s emergency information, view your child’s grades you will need to set up an account.

To set up a new account, click here: ParentVUE Link

or go to Montclair’s homepage: http:montclaires.schools.pwcs.edu and click on Parents Audience Icon (Top right of screen). Look under Parent Resources to find the ParentVue link.

ParentVUE replaces Parent Portal that you may have used in the past. This new tool will give you access to your child's bus and class schedules, grades, attendance information, and more.

Instructions on how to set up your ParentVUE account were emailed July 15, 2019. The email's subject line contains "ParentVUE Activation" from noreply@pwcs.edu. If you did not receive this email or are unable to locate it, please contact our front office.

 

You may access ParentVUE online, but for the best mobile experience, we encourage you to download the ParentVUE App from the Google Play Store and Apple Store.

 

*You may register for ParentVUE during Back to School Night from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Computer Lab.

Prince William County Schools has revised the grading regulation (661-1) as we move towards Grading for Growth. Our staff has had meetings and conversations around this revised regulation and our school guidelines will be communicated later this month at Back to School Nights. You will see some variations among grade levels, but teachers will communicate all expectations frequently throughout the year as we all adjust to the new processes. Just as before, student learning and success aligned to the standards are a focus for all staff. Please view the video from PWCS for more information.

Recently we have had many concerns for our students' safety during arrival and dismissal due to families who are not following our expectations. Please remember that we have our rules in place to keep everyone safe AND maintain order during our busy arrival and dismissal. Our team will continue to work with Risk Management and the PWC Police Department to ensure our families are following our school procedures.

 

 

Arrival Procedures:

If you drive your child(ren) to school: Drop-off is ONLY in the upper parking lot at the top of Tallowwood Drive, just past the school. Staff members are on duty to assure safely walking down the ramp and into the front door. We are very excited to have this ramp now that connects right to our bus loop. If you need to help your child(ren) out of the car in the mornings, please wait until you are the front car in line to get out so that traffic may continue moving. If you plan to come in to school, PARKING IS IN THE UPPER PARKING LOT. Checking in at the office for a visitor’s badge is required at every PWC school. A picture ID is required following PWCS policy. We ask that you have a prearranged time set to meet with your child’s teacher to avoid interruptions in the instructional day, which begins when our front doors open at 8:50 a.m. You will not be able to walk down to the classroom upon arrival. 

Tardy after 9:00 a.m.:

Being on time is an important skill to teach our children. If, for some reason, your child arrives after 9:00 a.m., he/she is considered tardy. You must walk your child into the front office to sign them in and receive a tardy pass.

 

Early Dismissal:

If your child needs to leave school early either for a prearranged appointment or because he/she is sick, you must sign him/her out in the office. This year, due to dismissal routines and safety procedures, we will NOT dismiss individual students for early dismissal between 3:20 - 3:40 so we ask that parents come to the office before 3:20 p.m. This creates a challenge in the classroom as the teacher is preparing the whole group for end of day routines. If you come after 3:15, you will need to wait until dismissal begins for your child to come down for dismissal.

Dismissal:

We begin dismissing our KG students at 3:35. After KG, car riders are called to the cafeteria to begin lining up. Walkers are dismissed next and exit through doors #20 and #21 (straight down their hallways). Only KG students are required to have a parent or sibling pick them up at the walker door. All other students will be able to begin walking home using all sidewalks. Students are not permitted to use the playground after dismissal unless accompanied by an adult to ensure we account for all students getting home safely. SACC, daycare vans, and bus riders are dismissed after walkers. Please remember that there should be NO street parking to ensure safety for all during a busy dismissal. If you drive to pick up your student, please register for a car rider number and join the car rider line in the upper parking lot.

The parent letter/opt-out form is part of the PWCS student “Code of Behavior & Forms.” Objectives by grade level are posted on the Science and Family Life Education Web page at science.departments.pwcs.edu (choose the Family Life Education button). Parents should visit the site and review the objectives for their child’s grade level or course. Parents may exercise opt-out for any of the FLE sensitive content by returning the opt-out form to the appropriate teacher any time during the school year but preferably within the first month of school.

Questions about the FLE program or the opt-out procedure may be directed to Kathy Keesee, administrative coordinator, Science and Family Life Education, at 703.791.7847 or lanzafk@pwcs.edu.

You may also call the school counselor, with questions.

We currently have an opening on our Advisory Council for a parent from the Dale City neighborhood. If you’re interested in learning more about the budget process, data analysis, and conversation to further support our school, please consider attending our next meeting on September 19th at 6:30pm.

Chess Club

Our Montclair Chess Club is about to begin. You may be wondering:

Who can sign up? Any student (K-5) at Montclair (no matter how little you know about chess).

When is it? Doors open for chess students each Friday at 8:00 am (please do not come before 7:55 am). The first chess club meeting will be held on October 4, 2019.

How much is it? It's FREE.

How do I sign up? Click here Chess Club Sign Up

Or Visit the Montclair website at Montclaires.pwcs.edu and click on the chess club ad in the "School News" section (toward the bottom of the page).

Please be advised that parents/guardians are responsible for transportation to the school.Chess club students should wait outside by door #3 until a chess sponsor lets them in. Doors will open at 8:00 am. Please do not drop students off before 7:55 am. There will be no adult supervision until 8:00 am. SACC students who are signed up for chess will come to the cafeteria at 8:00 am.

Attention Montclair Families,

Lions Club, a volunteer organization, recently visited Montclair Elementary School on September 20th. All KG, 3rd grade and students new to Prince William County Schools had their vision screened. Please note that this was not a professional eye examination, but only a screening. Over the next three weeks, hearing screenings will be completed on KG, 3rd grade, and new to the county. Hearing and vision screens are mandated by the state of Virginia. ​

If your child does not pass the hearing or vision screening, a letter will be sent home encouraging you to follow up with a pediatrician or optometrist. If you have financial difficulties and are unable to pay for an eye or hearing examination, please contact me at suttoncr@pwcs.edu. I may have resources available to assist you.

We are always excited to wish our cardinals a Happy Birthday here at Montclair! Students are recognized on the News Show and come down to the office for a birthday pencil.

There is a change this year in regards to cupcakes/treats during school for birthdays. We will not have these treats passed out in the cafeteria. Parents are asked to please drop off the treat in the office and the classroom teacher will find an appropriate time to pass out the treat in order to not disrupt instruction. Parents are welcome to still have lunch with their child(ren) on their birthday, but the treats will just be saved until later in the school day. Our staff must be vigilant regarding the various food allergies and having the treat in the classroom allows us to monitor this closely. We do encourage parents to speak with the cafeteria manager if interested in purchasing cookies through the café as the class treat. Students MAY get these during lunch as they are allergen free. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Families are encouraged to apply for free or reduced lunch options for students. Applications are available in Montclair's main office and they can be found on PWCS Nutrition webpage https://pwcsnutrition.com/.

Please remember that you must apply EACH year before the start of school to avoid a balance on your account.

Our computer lab will be open during Back to School Night if you would like to apply at that time.

PTCO Upcoming Dates

September 19 4:00 pm-PTCO meeting

October 17th 4:00pm-PTCO meeting

October 25th- Monster Mash

Membership

Thank you to all the families who have joined the PTCO! If you have not joined yet, it is not too late!! Your membership dues will be used towards Project Blacktop. Our goal with this project is to enhance the outdoor play spaces with paint and new games. Stay tuned for more information regarding Project Blacktop and information regarding our fall event, Monster Mash.

Box Tops

Have you been collecting Box Tops over the summer? Time to send in your cut, trimmed, and unexpired Box Tops to the school for the Oct. 1 collection. Please place in a bag or envelope with teacher name. Box Tops will be transitioning to an electronic format, so if you would consider downloading the Box Tops app to continue earning money for our school. 

Volunteer Appreciation

When you volunteer your time with Montclair Elementary please add your name to the volunteer bucket at the check-in counter. We will raffle off a small treat monthly. We know your time is valuable and we appreciate all you do!

 

Tuesday, September 24th

• Back to School Night K-2 6:30

Thursday, September 26th

• Back to School Night 3-5 6:30

October 14th – Teacher Workday (No School)

October 16th – Picture Day