\”Return To School Plan\” – Sparkles! at Fair Oaks

Sparkles! At Fair Oaks wants to ease your minds about the upcoming “Return To School Plan” for your children come Fall 2020.   On July 21st, Fairfax County School Board supported the revised recommendation of Superintendent Dr. Scott Brabrand, to begin the 2020-21 school year with 100% virtual learning for all students starting September 8th, 2020.

As we get ready to support your family during this new learning structure, we are planning to focus on two priorities: Health & Safety and Distant Learning Support.

 

Health and Safety

Group Sizes and Daily Schedules – We are concentrating our effort in having small grouping for activities and play within the School-age area and playground, we will divide our classroom into 2 classes with 2 teachers and supporting staff and each class will follow a different Daily Schedule to ensure separation.  Within the 2 classes, we will separate into smaller groups for activities and play. 

Extension of our Physical Space – To accommodate the new small group structure we are extending our physical space to include the small classroom next to our school-age room and a dedicated outdoor space/classroom.  Each class and a smaller group will be designated to a different area at various times of the day according to their Daily Schedule.

Cleaning Stations – Each area of our classrooms will have a cleaning station. Children, along with the help of their teachers if needed, will have the responsibility to sanitize their hands, the work or play spaces and toys or equipment, before and after each use.

We will maintain our adjusted Drop Off and Pick-Up procedures for all our classrooms, as follows:

  • Parents are required to use face covering while at the center
  • Only one person should drop off and pick up
  • Siblings are not allowed to visit other classrooms

Distant Learning Support

Laptops/Tablets/Headsets – The groups will follow all online instructional times given by their public-school teacher.  We are adding additional computers to the classroom for children who will need them, and we are asking for all children who can bring in laptops or tablets to do so to be used during their online instructional times.  Sparkles! will also have additional headsets with microphones but we are asking that if you can, please provide it for your child as well.

Distance Learning Schedules and Supplies/Packets – Parents are responsible to bring in any supplies or packages that your child’s Elementary School Teacher provides for the week and in turn, provide it to Sparkles! staff with your child’s schedule for Distance Learning, if any.  We will encourage the children to connect with their schools according to their schedules if needed, and we will be communicating on a regular basis with our parents to identify issues or set goals for the children and tutors.

Tutors – Every school year, for the last 4 years we have had tutors come to the center twice a week for about 2 hours, to work with all the children as an extension of their school learning day, at no additional cost to our families.  We are now going to have the tutors come in at least 3 to 4 days a week to provide additional support for their learning objectives during this time.

Daily Schedule – The new school-age children’s day will consist of instructional time, outside play, art and science projects, and open playtime. The day will be more structured during instructional time, but the usual fun and discovery time will be available for the children every day.

Sparkles! At Fair Oaks is here to assist and support you and your family during these difficult times and, we will do our best to support the accomplishment of the learning objectives set for your school-age child/ren this school year.

As we get closer to the start of the 1st day of school, we will share specific information regarding the new structure of our school-age classroom.   Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

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