Need a refresher on the calendar? Here’s a quick review:
• Friday, March 18 is a Teacher Workday (No school for students)
• April 1 is a student holiday/teacher workday to start Spring Break (April 4-8)
• Subscribe to our Google academic calendar.

Three CHS seniors recently received top honors in the 2021-22 Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest put on by the MLK Jr. Community Celebration Committee, supported by the Albemarle County Rotary Club Foundation. Congratulations to winner Jakia Maupin and finalists Kaymin Hester and Venetia Smith! Jakia will read her essay, “Full of Passion and Out of Patience,” as a part of a ceremony at the Ting Pavilion in April.

Congratulations to David Becker (CHS), selected to be the Virginia state representative to the Southeastern Theatre Conference; Maelys Croce (Johnson), honored among the “best elementary teachers” in the Charlottesville Family Ultimate 2022 Go-To Guide; Cicely Shelton-Barnes (Venable), winner of the 2022 JMU Literacy Alumni Award; and Laura Mulligan Thomas (CHS), winner of the American String Teachers Association 2022 Elizabeth A. H. Green School Educator Award. Their peers know what we already knew — our teachers are leaders in their fields!

Our division’s gifted education model brings high-level talent development into all classrooms. Still, per state law, each spring, we follow a gifted identification process for students in grades 3 and beyond. Families can opt out of this process if they wish. More information and an identification opt-out form can be found on the Gifted Program website.

The war in Ukraine affects us all, adults and children alike. When students need to talk about what they’re seeing and hearing, Greenbrier school counselor Katherine Sublett writes, “We should all be prepared to meet them with empathy, reassurance and our best listening ears.” Here is one guide Sublett recommends for helping preschool and elementary school children, and here is another with a focus on tweens and teens.

​​​​​​​“Mini-Minutes” from the Charlottesville School Board provide a quick summary of important takeaways from meetings. Find the Mini-Minutes from the March 3 meeting.

There’s still time to apply for preschool! Our preschool program helps children become kindergarten-ready through play and activities, and it is free and available for qualifying 3- and 4-year-olds. Learn more at charlottesvilleschools.org/preschool

CCS will be hosting the 2nd Annual Day of Play event for students, staff and their families the weekend of April 22-24. There will be a wide variety of recorded and live sessions to encourage fun, fitness and play, including offerings like dance classes, arts and crafts, sport skill sessions, cooking, mindfulness and more. Stay tuned!

For National School Social Work Week we are saying THANK YOU to our incredible team of social workers, social-emotional support counselors and student support liaisons in our schools. Since last year we have increased the number of these mental wellness staff positions in our division from 5 to 16.5, all to support students’ mental well-being. Regardless of their title, these professionals help students in each of our schools navigate bumps in the road of life, especially transitioning back to in-person during the pandemic. Heart art by Justus, Grade 1, Clark.