Dear Bull Run Bulls Families:

Last week our staff spent time building relationships with one another, preparing for the school year, and engaging families during our Kindergarten Orientation and Open House. These opportunities allowed staff to begin to form partnerships in order to get our school year off to a strong start. We want to continue partnering with you as the school year progresses. 

Our team at Bull Run Elementary School is excited to welcome our Bull Run Bulls back into the building for another year of learning and making new connections. Doors will open at 9:15 am. School hours are 9:15 am for student drop off and dismissal will begin at 4:00 pm every day. Buses and car riders will enter through Door 1 and the cafeteria door. Cars will not be permitted in the bus loop until 9:30 am. Kiss and Ride will open at 9:00 am. Please be aware of your car speed as we are trying to ensure the safety of all students. More information about Kiss and Ride is below.

All families will be allowed to walk their child to class on the first of school!

Use the hashtags #FirstDayFairfax and #chargerSTRONG when posting pictures on social media.

Please reach out if you should have any questions. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow for the first day of school! It's going to be fa-BULL-ous!

Sincerely,

Mr. Jason Pensler, Mrs. Jenna Campbell, and Mr. James Marotta
#chargerSTRONG 
#weareBULLRUN

August 21: First Day of School!

September 1 and 4: Holidays | Labor Day Break

September 11: Commemoration/Patriot Day

September 12: Back to School Night (K-2), 5:30-6:10 pm and 6:20-7:00 pm

September 13: Back to School Night (3-6), 5:30-6:10 pm and 6:20-7:00 pm

Sept. 15-Oct. 15: National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 16: Religious and Cultural Observance | Rosh Hashanah (begins sundown 9/15 - sundown 9/17)

September 17: Constitution Day

September 19: PTA meeting in BRES library, 7:00 pm (virtual option will be available)

September 22: BRES "Back to School Night" Event @ Bull Run Elementary (food, fun, music, and much more! Information to come.)

September 25: Holiday | Yom Kippur 

September 28-30: ChuSeok/Korean Thanksgiving

School Year Calendar

Be sure to bookmark the FCPS school year calendar to keep track of school holidays, breaks, and observances.

• Days marked with blue Hs are student holidays. 
• Days marked with orange Os are religious and cultural observance days (or evenings if only half marked). 
• Days marked in pink are holidays for students, but working days for teachers and staff.

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and the start of each month coincides with the birth of a new moon. The date of Eid a-Fitr is regionally decided, which can lead to unexpected date changes. Eid al-Fitr is currently slated to begin at sunset on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, and last through sundown Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Tuesday is designated a half-O day, and Wednesday is a holiday, with all schools and offices being closed. If the day for Eid changes after the school year begins, the calendar may be adjusted.

Transportation Patience and Safety

Thank you for your patience as we all get used to new routines this school year. We appreciate our families following Kiss and Ride procedures and being patient while waiting for your children’s buses. 

If a student’s bus is delayed, parents may access the Bus Delay Notification System or use the Here Comes the Bus mobile app to receive the delayed bus report. Email messages will be sent to announce significant bus delays. Contact the Transportation Office at 703-249-4900 with any additional questions. For any concerns after 5:30 p.m., contact Safety and Security at 571-423-2000. 

To make sure you receive email messages about bus delays, update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE. 

Here Comes the Bus Mobile App

Welcome to Here Comes the Bus! Know when your bus is approaching your stop. Here Comes the Bus® app is a school bus tracking app that can simplify morning and afternoon routines for parents and students by giving them real-time bus location and text or email notification alerts, helping them get to the bus stop on time. Here Comes the Bus® utilizes our GPS data and an easy-to-use customizable map that works on one or multiple devices, such as a tablet or smartphone.

How to Get Started

Using the app is EASY! You will need the FCPS school district code 28982 and a Student Information System (SIS) Parent Account. Contact Bull Run Elementary if you do not have an SIS Parent Account. Please be sure to follow the detailed instructions below. 

From a smartphone or tablet, download (for free) the Here Comes the Bus® app from the App Store or Google Play.

1. Open the app.  Enter your email address associated with your SIS Parent Account.  Do Not Use the Student Login or Sign Up links.
2. Enter FCPS school district code 28982.
3. Enter your password associated with your SIS Parent Account.
4. Click 'Login', just below the password field.
5. Next, you will be prompted to validate your account.  Please click the Validation Button (the app will close). Next, log on to your email account associated with your SIS Parent Account.
6. Please open the validation email from Synovia and click the validate account link.  (If you do not receive an email, check the junk/spam folder)  A browser window will open.  Please close the browser window and return to the Here Comes the Bus® app.
7. Repeat the previous login steps (Steps 1-4).
8. Enter the name of your device.
9. Close and log back onto the Here Comes the Bus® app.
10. Under 'Students', you should see a list of your student(s) names.
11. Confirm the information and you are ready to begin using Here Comes the Bus®.

Once signed in, you can customize or edit features, including how the app will communicate with you, and the size and location of the notification radius around your child's bus stop.

School Meals Information

Preparing for and Paying for Meals at School

Parents/caregivers need to provide their students with money to purchase meals at school, send them with a packed lunch, or apply (and be approved) for free and reduced-price meals benefits. School breakfast for students costs $1.75. Lunch is $3.25 for elementary students and $3.50 for middle, secondary, and high school students.

Free and Reduced-Price Meals

The application for free and reduced-priced meals is now available for the 2023-24 school year. Students who were approved for free and reduced-price lunch last year are eligible for the first 30 days of school this year (or until a new application is processed). Families should re-apply as soon as possible for the 2023-24 school year, so eligible students continue to receive meals at no cost. 

Paying With MySchoolBucks

The best way to purchase meals (and keep food lines moving!) is to use MySchoolBucks. Set up your student’s MySchoolBucks account today. Our front office staff can help with any questions. 

MySchoolBucks accounts can be set up to add money to the account automatically, as needed. Families with multiple children can use the same MySchoolBucks account. Visit FCPS’ Food and Nutrition webpage for more information.

Save the Date - Back To School Nights

Our teachers love to welcome families into the school and classroom and this evening is a wonderful chance to connect with others in the Bull Run Elementary community. Bull Run staff will share a yearly overview of the curriculum, classroom routines and expectations, general field trip information and more! We know the virtual option met the needs of some families and we will continue to offer this option to families as well in a hybrid approach.

As a reminder, this event is designed for parents/guardians only.

Mark your calendars for the dates and times below:

Tuesday, September 12 (PAC, K-2)

• 5:30-6:10 pm - session 1
• 6:20-7:00 pm - session 2

Wednesday, September 13 (3-6)

• 5:30-6:10 pm - session 1
• 6:20-7:00 pm - session 2

Visit our BRES PTA Table! Merchandise, Memberships & info available! Kona Ice Truck will have treats for purchase.

Contact Information in SIS

Update Contact Information to Receive Messages From FCPS

Be among the first to know about weather closings, bus delays, and other critical communications from FCPS and our school by providing your cell phone number and email in SIS ParentVUE. Make sure you complete the Emergency Care Form for your child every year and update when necessary. 

To update your contact information in ParentVUE, click the “Online Packets” tab in the upper right of the screen, then select the “Online Verification/Update” form in the drop down menu. Click “Begin Packet.”

Parents who do not have a SIS ParentVUE account may still communicate updates via the normal paper process. They may also print and complete a blank Emergency Care Information Form with updates and submit it to the front office.

Schoology

What is Schoology?

Teachers use Schoology to post their classroom materials online; to provide a secure forum for students to discuss their ideas and collaborate on projects; and to assign and collect homework electronically. It helps students stay organized, and it keeps the class connected.

A Schoology Parent Account gives you access to:

• Your child’s classes.
• Your child’s upcoming assignments.
• School, class, and group announcements.

Parent accounts will be available after August 21. To access Schoology, parents will need to have an active SIS/ParentVUE account. Get more information on how to login and use Schoology.

Message from the PTA

Consider donating to your teacher's classroom by purchasing a wish list item: https://bullrun.memberhub.com/w/wishlists

Join PTA and support your child's educational journey: https://bullrun.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true

Volunteer with our BRES PTA!! Email us today to see how you can help. Just an hour a month is all we ask! bullrunptapresident@gmail.com

Strategic Plan

✨The 2023-30 Strategic Plan — Foundation of Four Pillars

The division’s new strategic plan is built on a foundation of four pillars — what FCPS must do well to reach its goals for all students. The pillars include:

• We design innovative learning experiences that meet the needs of each and every learner, and implement professional practices that engage, empower, include, and challenge the whole learner through varied opportunities.
• We share responsibility to build trusting partnerships that sustain a safe, inclusive culture for learning and work, and we collaborate proactively with respect, honesty, and transparency.
• We recruit and retain staff who reflect the diversity of students and families; provide meaningful continuous learning, exceptional compensation, and balanced workload; and create a safe and culturally responsive environment that values staff voice.
• We nurture processes and structures that are grounded in intentional partnerships, shared responsibility for equitable resource allocation, and data-driven continuous improvement and innovation.

Stay tuned to learn more about our five goals of the new strategic plan, or visit our Strategic Plan webpage. 

Sub and Save the Day!

Bull Run Elementary has a strong group of substitute teachers and we are always looking for kind and caring substitute teachers and substitute instructional assistants to add to our pool! Substitutes ensure our students continue to thrive when teachers and instructional assistants need to be out of the classroom. Substitute teaching is a great opportunity for future teachers, stay-at-home parents, retirees, college students, part-time employees, and anyone who wants to make a difference!

We provide substitutes with a flexible work schedule that a substitute teacher or substitute instructional assistant can tailor to their needs. This includes choosing the grade level(s) and subjects a substitute would like to teach, schools they would like to work at, and more!

Read here for more information.

Get to Know FCPS and the Resources Available to Families

Being connected to your school community helps you stay informed and support your child’s success. Take some time to get familiar with the many resources and tools available to FCPS families, including:

• School Age Child Care (SACC) – This Fairfax County government program provides a safe and fun environment before and after school for elementary school-age children.
• FCPS Communications for Families – FCPS shares news and information to support student learning and promote family involvement.
• Family Engagement Resources – FCPS works to connect, strengthen, and support our families, schools, and communities. Learn more on our website.
• Do You Know About Family Liaisons – Family liaisons serve as a link between families and schools. Find out how family liaisons can support you and your family.

There’s an easy to follow five-step process outlined for parents registering their children for kindergarten. Be sure to register your child ASAP!

Family Resource Center

Free Resources for Families

Did you know that caregivers can access free webinars, confidential consultations, a lending library, and resources to help adults support the success of all students, including those with learning challenges, special needs, and disabilities? 

Learn more about FCPS’ Family Resource Center (FRC).

Workshops for Families

The Family Resource Center is already scheduling a helpful series of webinars for the 2023-24 school year. Save the date for the following discussions in September. See the full list of workshops. Click on the title to register for each event: 

• New School Year, New Strategies: How to Plan, Persist, and Achieve Academic Success This Year, on Friday, September 8, 10-11:30 a.m.
• Meet the Author Series: The Self-Driven Child by Dr. William Stixrud, Friday, September 15, 10-11:15 a.m.
• Characteristics and Needs of Twice-Exceptional (2e) Learners, on Tuesday, September 19, 10-11:30 a.m.
• Who's the Boss? 5 Ways for Families to Help Kids with Big Emotions, Friday September 29, 10-11:30 a.m.

Be the first to learn about new workshops by signing up for the FRC newsletter.

FCPS This Week

In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:

• 10 Things to Do Before the First Day of School
• Ensure You Receive Messages From FCPS
• Back-to-School Safety

Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving the weekly newsletter, sign up today.