Happy pre-three-day-weekend  Friday, everyone! I hope you had a great week! 

 

Next week is Virginia School Principal Appreciation Week! Please join me in thanking all of our outstanding school principals for their dedication and tireless efforts, 24-7, to support students, staff, and families! 

 

Speaking of principal appreciation, I am grateful to Kristen Williams for hosting a visit from ACPS School Board Member and Jack Jouett Magisterial District Representative Kate Acuff and me at Woodbrook Elementary School on Tuesday morning. 

I thank Ali Davidson for checking me in and getting me situated. As I entered the school, I bumped into one of my children’s favorite staff members from Agnor-Hurt who is now a TA at Woodbrook, TJ Johnson. So good to see TJ!

There was so much excellent work going on at Woodbrook, it was hard to stay on track with our visits. We stopped by with Kim Martin and Caitlin Hopkinson’s (plus student teacher Ashley Egertson) double second grade; Nancy Lietch and Gladness Msumanje’s  kindergarten; Christina Wolfe’s second grade; and Grace Dalton and Samantha Oliveri’s 1st grade classes. 

We got to see students practicing letter sounds, word recognition, and comprehension and prediction through a read aloud. Students were also writing and illustrating their own stories to share with their class. I spent time with students who were practicing math sums and were so proficient, they were teaching me how to do the calculations and check my answers!

I heard Ms. Lietch ask her students to thank their brains with the kindergarteners following up, “Thank you brain,” and as she transitioned from reading Red Sled to the next activity, she asked the students how they will perform, and I heard them saying, “Work in one spot and the whole time!” 

 

It was my great pleasure to meet a second-grader brand new to Woodbrook on Tuesday who journeyed here from Morocco. While initially, an Arabic speaking TA was checking in on him, student leaders quickly proceeded to help him feel comfortable and part of the Woodbrook family. Here is what Ms. Williams said, “Our new student from Morocco is settling right in today. The student on the right speaks Arabic and just gave him a tour of the school, and the student on the left has decided he has a new best friend. Gotta love it!”

Thank you to the Woodbrook staff and students for sharing your work with Dr. Acuff and me. Your high quality teaching and learning epitomizes the work of all of our staff throughout ACPS! 

Media Links for You!

One of the important new resources for the division is the expanded Boys & Girls Club facility on our Lambs Lane campus.  NBC-29 recently did an update of the program, which will be opening later this spring: New Albemarle Campus Boys and Girls Club Expected to Open April, 2023 

Among the most compelling needs of all school divisions in the state is the shortage of bus drivers.  In advance of the General Assembly's opening session this week, NBC-29 talked with us about one of our proposals, which would benefit divisions across the state: Legislation in the General Assembly Could Relieve ACPS Bus Driver Shortage 

Last evening's School Board meeting was the first for Rebecca Berlin, who is representing the White Hall district.  This Crozet Gazette profile helped to introduce her to the community: Interim White Hall School Board Member Selected 

Career Learning Communities, a new program of studies in our high schools, closly ties student projects to college and career preparation.  Katina Dudley, formerly the director of our Health & Medical Sciences Academy and now a lead coach helping to coordinate this program, recently talked about its benefits on NBC-29: NBC 29 Community Conversation 

 

Upcoming Events and Observances:

• January is National Mentoring Month.
• January 15 - 21 is Virginia School Principal Appreciation Week.
• January 16 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
• February is Black History Month. 
• February is Virginia School Board Appreciation Month.
• February is American Heart Month.
• February is Career and Technical Education Month.
• February 6 - 10 is National School Counseling Week.