Oakridge Poetry Day is a three year old movement that grew out of the APS Pick-A-Poet program. This year, under the co-leadership of Oakridge exemplar project coordinator Dawn Amin-Arsala and spoken word artist educator and motivational speaker Joseph Green, the entire student body devoted an entire academic day to poetry. Students experienced poetry through three different sessions: Creating Words with professional poetry artists, Playing Words with Oakridge specialists and high school students from Wakefield and H-B Woodlawn, and Animating Words with general education teachers. Oakridge also hosted a Poetry Slam where families came to share their poems which were inspired by and created during Poetry Day. The event was sponsored by Oakridge PTA and the APS Humanities Department.

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Kids inspiring other kids to read – that’s the goal behind a brand new library show at Drew Elementary. Go behind the scenes of the first ever “Books On, World Off” TV Show, directed by students, for students, in this week’s Snapshots. It’s produced in partnership with Gunston video and film students. Check it out!

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In celebration of Arts in Schools Month, Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy visited Claremont Elementary to teach Miriam Cutelis’ 2nd grade art class how to make beeswax candles. The students were very excited and curious about the bees and how it all comes together! Take a look inside the classroom to see their reaction in this week’s Snapshots.

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Por qué muchas familias escogen el programa de Inmersión Dual para sus hijos, cuando ya hablan español en casa? Escuchemos de maestras y estudiantes de @APSVirginia sobre los beneficios de ser bilingüe en este corto video.

Why choose Dual Language Immersion, if Spanish is your home language? Listen as @APSVirginia teachers & students share their perspective on the benefits of bilingualism in this short video with English subtitles.

APS social workers deserve a month of celebration! March is National Professional Social Work Month and a time to recognize the highly skilled social workers in our schools and all they do to connect teachers, families and outside service providers to support student health, well-being and academic success.

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This week’s Snapshots features Carlin Springs’ approach to teamwork and how it helps foster student success. During Teamwork Nights, families and teachers work together to address individual student learning needs and challenges, and help close academic achievement gaps at home and in school.

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This week’s Snapshots highlights Abingdon’s mindfulness initiative. Learn how mindfulness helps students improve their social and emotional development as well as their cognitive development.

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Check out the latest episode of Snapshots as we follow Ron Berger of ELeducation as he tours Campbell Elementary School last month. Campbell is the only school in Virginia that uses the Expeditionary Learning Model.

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Thank you for being part of our APS family and for all you do throughout the year to support our school community. In this video message, we send you off with a few words from Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy and a special compilation of APS staff, students and families sharing the many ways APS is thankful. Enjoy your time off and see you next week!

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This week is School Psychology Awareness Week and we are celebrating the amazing job that our school psychologists do every single day. Listen to some of our school psychologists talk about their role in helping students in this week’s Snapshots.

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The excitement of Hispanic Heritage Month culminated in the Harvesting Dreams for Our Children event. Parents, staff, teachers and students got involved in a variety of ways to underscore the importance of maintaining home languages and express pride in Hispanic Heritage.

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October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month, and APS held its second Dyslexia Conference on Saturday, October 13, to educate families and staff on effective strategies to support students with Dyslexia. Special thank you to School Board Member Nancy Van Doren, APS Parents Donna Owens and Cloe Chin, school psychologists, and APS staff from the Department of Teaching and Learning, Special Education, English Language Arts, and the Parent Resource Center for a successful and informative event.

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This week’s Snapshots is all about Drew Model School and the people and programs at the heart of the school. Take a look inside Drew and its emphasis on project based learning and STEAM. From breakfast with families to STEAM Under the Stars, Drew’s students, staff and families also share about the strong sense of community that makes it unique.

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Take a look inside Hoffman-Boston Elementary School! This week’s Snapshots, showcases the school-wide STEM program and how Hoffman-Boston’s teachers apply innovative approaches to encourage and inspire students to be 21st-century learners.

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