This morning, Friday, October 21, 2022, WFES students participated in the 7th annual Wakefield Forest Howling Wolf Fun Run. 

The Fun Run is one of our school’s biggest fundraisers. Thank you to all who sponsored a student(s) and helped make the Fun Run a huge success.

Pledges will continue to be collected until October 26, 2022. 

Happy Diwali to all those who celebrate this day and the victory of light over darkness. Monday, October 24th, is a holiday for teachers and students (only 12-month employees report). Learn more about Diwali. 

October is Substance Abuse Prevention Month, and Red Ribbon Week is October 23- October 31. Red Ribbon Week, sponsored by the DEA, is when young people pledge to live drug-free lives and show their commitment by wearing a red ribbon. Our 5th and 6th graders will be provided red ribbons to wear if they choose.   

The Fairfax County Youth Survey shows that students who say there are caring adults present in their lives are significantly less likely to engage in risky behaviors or report poor mental health conditions. Now that Halloween is approaching, it’s time to remind your students that drugs are often made to entice young people to use (e.g. marijuana edibles, colorful packaging, rainbow fentanyl). The younger a person begins to use drugs, the more difficult it is for them to abstain later in life (NIH). 

For general questions about the FCPS Substance Abuse Prevention Program, please contact the Office of Student Safety & Wellness at: (571) 423-4270 and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @FCPSSAPS. 

For further Information & support contact De’Ja Ruffin (McNeil), Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist dsmcneil@fcps.edu.

What is the Science of Reading?  Maybe you’ve heard the term or about Equitable Access to Literacy.  What does this mean for your child’s instruction? These slides from FCPS can help support your understanding about our transformation in reading and writing instruction and access to effective literacy practices that are aligned with what we now know about how the brain learns.  When we know better, we do better!  

Mrs. Rubinstein, our Reading Teacher, will hold a Family Information Night virtually on Wednesday, October 26^th at 6:30 PM. 

Join the Zoom Meeting: https://myfcpsk12.zoom.us/j/94532453169

Who is your favorite character from a book, comic, tv show or movie? No weapons or other handheld props. No masks that cover your entire face are permitted, and students must be able to move and operate in a chair/desk and participate in regularly schedules school activities like PE, art and recess. We can't wait to see what your imaginative minds come up with!

Our SCA and Mrs. Vick's Kindergarten class are working together to sponsor Trick or Trash boxes to collect candy wrappers, so they do not end up in a landfill after Halloween!  Please encourage your children to save all plastic candy wrappers to add to our collection boxes and help the environment. There will be one box in the cafeteria and one in the Steam lab. Students can deposit their wrappers individually or put them in a plastic baggy. We will collect wrappers from November 1^st- November 10^th.

Thank you for helping us to teach environmental stewardship and create ethical and global citizens for the future!

https://www.rubicon.com/trick-or-trash/how-it-works/

Calling all young ARTISTS! Do you enjoy art, music and dance or have an interest in writing, producing films or taking photos? Then join us and have fun unleashing your inner artist with the PTA Reflections Contest! This competition encourages students to explore the arts and express themselves by providing positive recognition for their artistic efforts. Students create theme-based artwork in the categories of dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography or visual arts. Questions: Contact Ashley Wane at ashleywane@gmail.com

The theme for 2022-2023 is “Show Your Voice!”   

Access Materials for your Reflections Arts Contest Program

UPCOMING DATES

• Nov 9th- Deadline for WFES students to submit entries
• Nov. 11th - Local Unit winners due to Virginia PTA (IF not in a Council)
• Dec. 30th - Council PTA winners due to Virginia PTA
• Mar. 15th: Virginia PTA winners announced
• May - National PTA Winners announced

Walls are going up for our new addition.

If you want to keep up-to-date on the renovation, follow us on twitter @wakefieldforest and @sbprindle.

Our WFES fall book fair will take place in the WFES library from Tuesday 11/1 through Friday 11/4. Students will be able to shop during school hours each day, or may visit the fair with their families on the evening of Thursday 11/3 from 6pm to 8pm. More details regarding our shopping hours and procedures, as well as a shopping flyer, will be available in Thursday folders on 10/20 and 10/27. Book fair purchases may also be made online via our online book fair shopping site from 10/28 until 11/10 by visiting https://www.scholastic.com/bf/wfes132.

If you will be sending your child to school with shopping money, please keep in mind that we are now required to charge sales tax on all book fair purchases, so please keep this in mind when determining how much to send.

If you are interested in signing up to help set up, pack up, or run the book fair, please visit our Sign Up Genius at https://bit.ly/wfes132. We can’t wait to see you at the fair!