In this week's Paw Print:

1. Principal Message 🐾

2. Congrats Ms. Gonzalez + Ms. Stauber!! 🎉

3. Parent Input Form 📝

4. Salad Bar starting NEXT WEEK! 🥗

5. Light the Night Campaign ❤️

6. 6th Grade Yard Signs 🗣️

7. Panther Praise 🙌🏼

8. Testing Information 📋

9. PTA Information 🤲

Dear Poplar Tree Families,

It's been another fun busy week at Poplar Tree!

On Monday, we welcomed author K.A. Holt to talk to our 5th & 6th graders. It was so amazing to hear the story that inspired House Arrest and hear about writing in free verse. Thanks to the PTA for sponsoring this visit and Mrs. Riddile for organizing!

Tuesday evening we had a wonderful turnout at our Spotlight on Student Learning event at Franklin Middle School. Thanks to all of those students and families to came to see some of the amazing learning happening in our Chantilly Pyramid schools and how it connects to Portrait of a Graduate!

Friday we had many students showing their school spirit for dress like an animal day. Bunnies, cows, kitty cats, and unicorns took over our school!

We hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Sue Andujar, Principal

Carol Larsen, Assistant Principal

Region 5 FCPS Cares Winners!

Congratulations to our fabulous music teachers Ms. Stauber & Ms. Gonzalez to being recognized as the Region 5 FCPS Cares Winners for the month of April! They were nominated by one of our parents who wanted to recognize all the hard work they put into the All County Chorus festival and ensured that all students could be successful!

SY 2023-24 Parent Input Form

As we look ahead to the 2023-24 school year, we are asking for your input. We value our partnership between home and school and appreciate your thoughts on your child's learning needs.  

If you feel that there is pertinent information to support your child’s success for the upcoming school year, please complete this optional Parent Input Form by Friday, May 26.

This system is not intended for families to request specific teachers. Requests for specific teachers will not be honored.

Thank you in advance for your support, 
Poplar Tree

🥗 Salad Bar in Lunch 🥗

A salad bar is being added to the lunch line starting next Wednesday, May 3. Students buying lunch will first go through the salad bar which will have fruits, vegetables, and protien. They can choose to have a salad as their main course, or as a side. If they are choosing to have the hot lunch, the salad bar will be where they choose their fruit and vegetable options.

Learn more about the salad bar HERE and watch the video below!

Light the Night Campaign

As a reminder, our school is participating in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Light The Night campaign, a service-learning program that helps raise critical funds for blood cancer patients. This cause especially touches close to home because one of our brave Panthers has needed the support of LLS. You can read more about their story below, which was written by their parents:

Our Poplar Tree Panther was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in April 2021. What began with a simple pediatrician appointment for fatigue and suspected anemia turned into an ER visit and words that we never expected to hear: “your child has cancer.”

For the first few months of treatment, he was in the clinic receiving chemotherapy every week. The chemo protocol changed frequently, ranging from 6 hour appointments to 5 day hospital stays. He received monthly spinal taps during this time, spent ~30 days in the hospital, and received 8 blood transfusions. He was also not allowed to be in public due to his nonexistent immune system. Instead of heading to school with his friends, he stayed home for the entirety of last year, only having access to his brothers and a few close friends as playmates. During the summer, he was only able to make it to the pool 2 times due to low white blood cell counts. Last winter, he lost all his hair for a few months. As we now near the end of his treatment, he has been allowed to return to regular activities, such as attending PTES and joining a soccer team. What a joy it has been to see the chemo work and help him thrive after a tough few years.

While he has had a relatively smooth treatment journey thus far, we have met many families where that has unfortunately not been the case. Organizations, such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, help kids like him and our pediatric oncology family by funding research and supporting patients through their cancer journey. It is through research that we can have hope in his prognosis. 50 years ago, the 5 year survival rate for ALL was 14%; in 2016, it was 72.1% (92.5% for children under 15). Our family will forever be grateful for the work of LLS and the individuals that support their cause.

There are THREE ways to donate:

1. Through your child’s classroom page (for the specific link, please contact your child’s teacher)
2. Our school website by clicking HERE.
   • Click “Join Team” to create a fundraising page
3. Sending in a check made payable to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (please send in an envelope and have your child bring to Mrs. Sniffin’s class or mailbox)

Our campaign has been extended for an extra week and will run through Friday, May 12!

As a school, Poplar Tree has a goal of raising $5,000! The grade level that raises the most money will have teachers complete a dare voted on by students. In the past, teachers have been slimed and played egg roulette! We can’t wait to see what dare teachers complete this year! We invite you to join our school as we fundraise to help end blood cancers. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Sniffin at smsniffin@fcps.edu. Thank you for your support!

🐾6th Grade Yard Signs🎓

Poplar Tree Staff Panther Praise!

We truly appreciate all our Poplar Tree staff and would like to give the community the opportunity to say thank you and/or show appreciation for all of the effort the Poplar Tree Staff is putting in day and night! We will share these praises with the staff members. To submit a Staff Panther Praise, please fill out this form!

Thank you for helping to recognize our amazing staff!

Testing Information

Spring SOL Testing Grades 3-6

Grade 3 Reading: May 10
Grade 3 Math: May 17

Grade 4 Reading: May 3
Grade 4 Math: May 16

Grade 5 Reading: May 4
Grade 5 Science: May 11
Grade 5 Math: May 18

Grade 6 Reading: May 9
Grade 6 Math: May 23

** Students in the AAP program in grades 5 & 6 will take their advanced grade level math tests on the date listed for their current school grade level (e.g. Grade 5 Math AAP students will take the Grade 6 Math SOL on May 18th).

Spring Assessment Information

Spring iReady Assessment Grades 1-6

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) adopted iReady assessments as an academic universal screener for all elementary school students in grades 1-6. In addition to the iReady assessment, all elementary school students in grades 1-6 complete the Developmental Spelling Analysis (DSA).

The purpose of iReady assessments is to identify students who may have gaps in foundational literacy and mathematics skills. iReady tests are also used to measure student progress in reading and mathematics skills. The purpose of the DSA is to measure the development of spelling skills.

The iReady assessment includes a reading test and a mathematics test. In grades 1-3, teachers also assess students’ oral reading fluency to fulfill state testing requirements. Based on test results, some students may require additional assessments to further diagnose specific skills that may need support.

All students in grades 1-6 will complete iReady and DSA in the spring. iReady and DSA are delivered within the classroom instructional block. Additional information can be found at the iReady Universal Screener webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/us). If you have further questions about these assessments, please contact your student’s teacher or the school test coordinator (Carol Larsen calarsen@fcps.edu). These assessments will be given to all students in at Poplar Tree this spring within the following testing window: April 11-May 19 Grades 1 & 2 & DSA Grades 1-6 and April 11- June 9 iReady Grades 3-6. For the expected dates when your child will test, please contact your child’s teacher.

Kindergarten VKRP Spring Testing

The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) assessments provide actionable information that will assist teachers, school leaders, and parents/guardians in supporting student success in school and to better understand school readiness skills across the state of Virginia. This spring, all kindergarteners will participate in the three assessment components of the VKRP, which measure literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills. More information about the assessment can be found on the FCPS Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program Parent Notification webpage. Testing will be conducted between April 11 and May 19. If you have questions about the assessment or the specific assessment dates for your child, please contact your child’s teacher.

☹️ Fun Run - Cancelled 🏃🏼‍♂️

The Spring Color Fun Run has been cancelled due to the rain. If you would like a refund, please contact the PTA by email at poplartreepta@gmail.com. If you do not want a refund, all money will be donated to next week's Teacher Appreciation Week activities!

👏🏼 Block Party Volunteers 🎈

We need you to help make the May 19th PTES Spring Block Party a success! Please volunteer your time or items for use during the party! We are also in need of student volunteers for service hours! Sign up HERE!

🖐🏼 2023-2024 📋

PTA Board Volunteer Opportunities

WE NEED YOU! We have various levels of time commitments for positions to help the PTA and PTES for the upcoming school year. We are happy to answer questions about any of the positions, and we have outgoing chairs to help assist with transition planning and share resources! You can see all the opportunities HERE!

PTA Meeting/Officer Election May 11

Please join us for our virtual May 11 PTA meeting at 7PM. We will vote on our PTA officers, discuss open PTA positions for 2023-24 and share updates and volunteer opportunities for our spring events!

Here's the Zoom link!

2023-2024 PTA Officers Slate 

President: Brooke Smith 

VP1: Linda Fielding

VP2: Tim Ramlogan

Treasurer: Cat Berta

Secretary: Heather Vineis

13440 Melville Lane, Chantilly, VA 20151  |  Main Phone: 703.633.7400
Attendance: 703.633.7474 or PoplarTreeESAttendance@fcps.edu
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