Halley School Hours
Our school hours are from 9:20 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. Monday through Friday. School doors open at 9:10 a.m. each day to begin receiving students.
Please call the attendance line at 703-551-5700 to report a tardy or absence.
School Safety Drills
At Halley, our number one responsibility is to ensure the safety of our students and staff at all times. We continually work with county leaders to ensure coordinated responses to potential safety concerns and we practice emergency drills on a regular basis throughout the school year.
Fire Drills
We will continue to hold fire drills once per month. Only our first fire drill of the school year was announced. All subsequent drills will continue to be unannounced.
Lockdown Drills
As shared in August, a new Virginia Law (22.1-137.2) requires schools to notify parents at least 24 hours before a school practices a lockdown drill. However, we are not required to share the exact date and time of the drill. We are required to practice lockdown drills two times a year. FCPS lockdown drills do not include any type of active shooter scenario training, they are instruction and classroom based. We plan to have our second lockdown drill the week of January 30th.
Our PreK and kindergarten students were exempt from mandatory participation in lockdown drills during the first 60 days of the school year. They will participate in our second and final drill the week of January 30th.
Additional information on our lockdown drill program to include parent tips and FAQs can be found on the Emergency Planning and Crisis Response web page. After reviewing this content, you should discuss the value of these safety drills with your child.
Keeping our school safe and secure for all students and staff involves the participation of the entire school community, and we thank you for your help to keep our school safe.
During a lockdown drill:
- All students stay in place with a teacher or staff member.
- Students and teachers remain in locked classrooms, unobservable from outside (lights-off, window blinds closed, door windows obscured with paper) and outside potential lines of fire.)
- Students and staff members disregard fire alarms.
- No one enters or exits the school, except public safety personnel.
Bus Evacuation Drills
Bus evacuation drills are required to be completed at least twice a year. One during the first 30 instructional days of the first semester and the other during the first 30 instructional days of the second semester.
Tornado Drills
Tornado drills are required to be completed once a year during the month of March (second semester).
Girls on the Run is coming to
Halley Elementary!
GOTR is a physical activity-based positive youth development program for girls in 3rd-6th grade. The program teaches life skills through dynamic interactive lessons and running games. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment, while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness.
Our program has been adapted to ensure physical distancing and safety. In-person practices include safety, sanitizing, and physical distancing precautions and modifications.
Starting the week of March 6th, the team will meet every Monday and Wednesday from 4:15 – 5:15. Halley’s Program will have limited spaces. It will be on a first come, first serviced bases and transportation home will need to be provided for most students participating. We will have three amazing teacher coaches!
The program culminates in a celebratory 5K at the end of the season! The standard program fee is $185 and includes 20 lessons/practices, a t-shirt, GOTR swag bag, entry into the 5K, a 5K medal, and more. Financial assistance is available for anyone who needs it, with the lowest program registration cost being $22 for the season.
Registration begins on February 6th at www.gotrnova.org.
Please email Mrs. Peerman with questions or concerns: Klpeerman@fcps.edu
FCPS News
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- FY 2024 Budget Highlights
- Draft School Year Calendar Options
- FAFSA Help
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving the weekly newsletter, sign up today.
Have Your Say in Our Future!
Strategic planning Community Forums kick off on Monday, January 30, at 6:30 p.m., at Stone Middle School. Check out the schedule of Community Forums and register for one that is convenient for you. There will be one in-person event in each magisterial district and several virtual events.
Participating in a strategic planning Community Forum will give employees, parents/caregivers, students, and community members a chance to help shape the school division’s future. At each event, participants will review student achievement, access, and perception data, and identify both strengths and challenges within the data. Input from the forums will be analyzed by our consultant, Performance Fact, Inc., and shared with the Core Planning Team for potential inclusion in FCPS’ new Strategic Plan.
Childcare will be provided at in-person forums. Language interpretation will be provided, as available, at all events. Please register today.
We Want Your Feedback! Draft 2023-24 School Year Calendar Options
Your feedback is important! FCPS is seeking community input on the draft calendar options for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years. Please share your thoughts with us by filling out this form before Tuesday, January 31, 1 p.m. The form will be available in other languages soon.
School Board Meeting Thursday, January 26
The draft calendars will be presented as “new business” in the Thursday, January 26, School Board meeting. Learn more about the development of the calendar.
How to Watch School Board Meetings
Meetings can be viewed live on FCPS Cable TV Channel 99 (Verizon Channel 11), the FCPS YouTube Channel, and on the FCPS website. Recordings of School Board meetings and work sessions can be viewed on the FCPS YouTube channel. To watch meetings dubbed in Spanish, you may visit the FCPS en Español YouTube channel.
If you need language interpretation or American Sign Language support for any School Board meeting, please contact the Board clerk.
Find your School Board member and how to contact them on the School Board Members webpage.
Virginia Climate and Working Conditions Survey
Our school, in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Virginia Department of Education, is conducting the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions. We will survey students in grades 6th, classroom teachers, and staff, beginning in winter 2023. The purpose of this survey is to measure student support, student engagement, school discipline, and safety conditions in each school. This information will be used to guide educational practices that produce a safe and supportive school environment.
We are writing to provide you with information on the student survey. The survey will be completed online between January 30th and February 24th. The survey does not ask for your child’s name and all answers are anonymous. No one, including teachers or administrators, will know how your child answered the survey. You will not have access to your child’s survey answers even as their parent or guardian. You may review the questions asked in the student survey at this website: https://tinyurl.com/VaSchoolSurvey.
The survey will ask questions such as how students feel about their school, how students get along with one another and their teachers, how students feel about school rules, and their perceptions of their teachers’ willingness to help them. Students will also be asked what kinds of bullying they may have observed during school and whether they have been bullied themselves.
All students in your child’s grade level are eligible to participate in the survey. Students participating in remote instruction and in-person instruction are both eligible to participate. The survey is voluntary and your child can decide not to participate. No action will be taken against you, your child, or the school if your child does not participate.
If you do not wish for your child to participate, please notify the school office by telephone or letter by February 15th.
Your child will not receive any immediate benefit from participating in the survey, but the survey will help us to maintain a safe, inviting, and supportive learning environment for your child.
Thank you for your cooperation in this important study of Virginia’s schools.
Quick Links
YOUR PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
We are honored to work with you this year and will work every day to ensure a safe and positive learning environment for your child. We can't do it alone. Please contact us if there is anything we can do to further support your child's learning and experience at Halley. We are here to listen and partner with you to help your child have a successful school year!
Your Halley Administrative Team,
Mrs. Peerman, Principal
Mrs. Johnson-Tyler, Assistant Principal
Mrs. Zamora, Assistant Principal
Please join us for our next PTO meeting!
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
7:00pm
(Zoom Link will be shared soon)
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