October 27 - Family Newsletter

Rolling Valley Families,

We had such a busy week here at RVES! The Fun Fair and Haunted House was a huge success! It was a fun evening with great costumes and lots of scares from the haunted house! We rolled into the week with our SCA gearing up a food drive! Please read below for additional information about how to donate! We had Storybook Character Day, which showcased creative costumes and lots of smiles! Our biggest news for the week is that RVES was approved as a recipient of the 23-24 Purple Star Award! We are so honored to be part of the Purple Star School Community! 

November is already looking to be a busy month here at school. We are now planning for our Veteran’s Day Assembly scheduled for November 10, and our PE classes have been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather to get in some laps to prepare for the upcoming Pyramid Challenge on November 11! Our School Book Fair is coming up, and Thanksgiving lunch at school is back! Read below for details about all the upcoming events!

Have a great weekend!

Veronica Del Bagno

Rolling Valley Elementary Principal

Storybook Character Day

Today we held Storybook Character Day! It was so fun to see so many creative book character costumes!

Día de los Muertos is an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones. Wednesday, November 1, and Thursday, November 2, are observance days this year. Watch this video to learn more about Día de los Muertos.

The school calendar recognizes many religious and cultural observances during the school year. There is school on these days, however, the School Board has directed that tests, quizzes, field trips, graduation, homecoming, or FCPS-scheduled athletic events will not be held on these observance days. See the complete school year calendar.

EXCITING NEWS!

We are thrilled to annouce that the Virginia Council on the Educational Opportunity for Military Children voted on October 26, 2023, to approve Rolling Valley Elementary School as a recipient of the SY 2023-2024 Purple Star Award. 

THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who came together by volunteering time or donations to help make our 2023 Fun Fair & Haunted House such a huge success! This event would not be possible without community effort, parent support, and the chairs who ensured this night was up and running! THANK YOU!

THANK YOU! All the Rolling Valley staff would like to share their gratitude to an RVES family that purchased memberships to the Special Education PTA (SEPTA)! Because of their generous gift, 100% of RVES Staff are members of SEPTA! Thank you!

REMINDERS!

Birthday Treats! A quick reminder that while we enjoy celebrating birthdays during our lunch period, we need to make sure that there are enough birthday treats for all students in the class! Families, if you are sending in birthday treats to celebrate your child’s birthday, please make sure there are enough treats for the homeroom classroom. Also, we want to keep in mind allergies, so please ensure you are sending in store-bought treats so our teachers and students are aware of what ingredients are in the treats!

PTA NEWS: 

PYRAMID CHALLENGE - see the "Upcoming Events" section for important information! 

HAUNTED HOUSE & FUN FAIR THANK YOUS: A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make the Haunted House & Fun Fair a tremendous success! Also, thank you to Wegmans, Cardinal Plaza Shell, Giant and Village West Pool for their generous donations! 

HAUNTED HOUSE & FUN FAIR T-SHIRTS:  We have a limited number of shirts remaining featuring this year's "We're All Mad Here" design and they are on sale for $9.00! If you'd like to purchase one, use this link and it will be delivered to your student:CLICK HERE

RE-STOCK THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE: Please help the PTA re-stock the teachers' lounge and show our teachers and staff how much we appreciate them! We are looking for Keurig K-Cup pods, sparkling water and individually packaged snacks such as granola bars and trail mix.  Items can be dropped off at the RVES office from October 30-November 3.  

SPIRITWEAR:  Our brand new RVES spiritwear is about to debut - look for the flyer in the Friday Folders! Options include t-shirts, hoodies, PJ pants and a locally-made RVES ornament! 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, November 11; 10:00am-12:00pm; West Springfield Pyramid Challenge Fun Run @ Washington Irving Middle School: The West Springfield Pyramid Challenge is a FREE fun run that was started over a decade ago. Students from the 7 elementary schools in the West Springfield Pyramid will run a half-mile or one-mile course, depending on their grade level. This year's event will also include a unified heat with an accessible 200-meter course for students with physical and cognitive disabilities. Registration has ended, and we have 205 Rolling Valley students participating, with over 1100 students overall! 

Please see below for some Pyramid Challenge needs!

• Volunteers - we still need quite a few volunteers! Please consider signing up - there are 2 shifts for your convenience, and we'll make sure you can see your child(ren) run! Sign up here: CLICK HERE
• Donations - we are seeking donations to help offset our Pyramid Challenge costs - if you'd like to donate, please do so here!  CLICK HERE
• Charity Partnership - in honor of Veterans' Day, we will be holding a Dollar Drive for Operation Purple Camp at the Pyramid Challenge.  Bring a dollar(s) or make an online donation on the spot! Operation Purple Camp, hosted by the National Military Family Association, offers military kids a free week of camp where they connect with other kids just like them.

Monday, November 13; 7:00-8:00pm; PTA General Membership Meeting @ RVES: All RVES families are welcome at the November general membership meeting! You'll get the inside scoop on upcoming PTA activities and hear the principal's report from Ms. Del Bagno. Note that childcare will be provided.

Monday, November 13 - Wednesday, November 15; Spirit Events @ Rice & Spice: Enjoy delicious Thai food from Rice & Spice in Kingstowne (6466 Landsdowne Ctr. Drive, Alexandria) each evening and Rolling Valley will receive a % of the proceeds! More details to follow.

SEPTA NEWS:

SEPTA (FAIRFAX COUNTY SPECIAL EDUCATION PTA): SEPTA is a PTA organization affiliated with the state and national PTA but specifically established to address the unique needs of special education, special needs, and disabled students and families.  For more information and details about upcoming events, please visit: CLICK HERE

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Understanding the Full Time

AAP Screening Process

Mark your calendar and look to join Mrs. Slye, Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, for RVES at a parent information meeting will be on Nov. 8^th, 6-7 pm in the cafeteria. A flyer is forthcoming! 

RVES - Scholastic Book Fair!

It’s the most book-a-rific time of the year! The Scholastic Book Fair is returning this November!

• Preview Days During School: November 9 & 10
• Family Day: Saturday, November 11^th from 1:00pm – 5:00pm
• Student Shopping Days During School: November 13-17

More information will be coming soon about how to set up cash-free payment options for your child, online shopping options, book choices, and so much more! Be on the lookout in News You Choose and in Friday Folders soon!

We couldn’t set up and preview the book fair without YOUR help so we are looking for volunteers to help us do just that! Please visit https://bit.ly/RVbookfairvol2023 if you are willing to volunteer for a few hours to support Rolling Valley students and the book fair!

SCA FOOD DRIVE! The 6th grade SCA team has decided to do a food drive to benefit the ECHO food bank. We will be collecting non-perishable food items the week of November 13-17th. Students can bring them to school and put them in their grade level box in the front hallway. The most requested items are:   FOOD ITEMS §  Protein Items (e.g. can chicken, Spam, sardines, chili, beef stew) §  Spaghetti Sauce §  Tea (green, herbal, black) §  Milk products (canned, shelf stable, hot chocolate) §  Macaroni and Cheese §  Can Tomatoes §  Healthy Snacks (nuts, raisins, dried fruit, granola bars etc.) §  Sugar §  Masa (Corn) Flour §  Box Potatoes §  Lentils §  Instant Coffee FOOD ITEMS §  Canned fruit §  Bagged beans (black, red, or garbanzo) §  Bag Rice §  Pancake Mix §  Pancake Syrup §  Crackers §  Spices (garlic, onion, cinnamon, salt, pepper) §  Lemon/Lime Juice §  Juice (Bottles or Box §  Honey §  Cooking Oil §  Tortillas §  Muffin/Cornbread Mix §  Brown paper bags §  Reusable grocery bags

Thanksgiving Lunch! We are excited that Thanksgiving is making its first debut since 2019! Mark your calendars, because Rolling Valley is holding Thanksgiving Lunch on Wednesday, November 15. We will have more information about the pre-sale of tickets to families and grade-level lunchtimes in the coming weeks! We just wanted to give you time to mark your calendars now!

Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid

The Impact Aid Program is a federal grant program designed to directly compensate local school districts that have been financially impacted by federal activities. The program's mission is to reimburse local school districts for local revenues lost due to the presence of federally owned and therefore tax-exempt property. Your support in identifying students with federal connections will ensure that FCPS can obtain its fair share of grant funds from this program.

The surveys will be available online this year. Please log into ParentVue from October 16 to October 30.  Once logged in, please select the “Online Packets” tab at the top, then select “Federal Impact Aid Survey” from the drop down menu.

Any surveys not completed by October 31 will be sent home in Friday Folders on November 3. Please be sure to complete and sign the survey and have your child return the original (fax or email copies may not be sent) to their teacher no later than Thursday, November 16th. 

For questions regarding the Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid, please call 703-329-7750 or email ImpactAid@fcps.edu or visit https://www.fcps.edu/impact.  Additional information about Impact Aid programs and grants is available on the U.S. Department of Education's website at DoED Impact Aid Programs.

Have a ParentVue account, but need assistance? Complete this Help Request Form: https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/parent/.

Newsletter for Military-Connected Families Did you know that the Office of Family and School Partnerships publishes a monthly newsletter for military-connected families? Subscribe today. Click to edit this placeholder text.

School Lunch Menu FCPS' Food and Nutrition Services team will be rolling out improvements to the menu that better reflect the diversity of our student body and focus on fresh, healthy food. Learn about FCPS’ new menu options.

You Belong at RVES!

Pyramid Challenge - Register Now!

The Pyramid Challenge fun run is BACK! Sign up NOW to be a part of this fun and free community event! 

https://runsignup.com/Race/VA/Springfield/2023PyramidChallenge

Calendar Update for March 5 Presidential Primary The Fairfax Board of Elections has requested schools to close on Tuesday, March 5, to accommodate the administration of the 2024 presidential primary election. As a result, March 5 will be a school holiday for students and a virtual School Planning Day. As outlined in Regulation 4421, School Planning Days are directed by school-based administrators in order to devote time to school improvement efforts, including collaboration around data, common assessments, and responsive instruction. Central offices and school offices will remain open.

LOST & FOUND

Our lost and found is overflowing and it's getting cold!!!! There are new pieces this week! Please take a look and call the front office at

703-923-2700

if any of these pieces look familiar. 

Upcoming Dates:

November 3 - 2 Hour Early Release - End of First Quarter November 6, 7 - NO SCHOOL Teacher Work Days November 8 - AAP Screening Info. Process (6-7pm) November 10 - Fall Makeup Picture Day November 10 - Veteran's Day Assembly (2:30-3:30) November 11 - Pyramid Challenge November 11 - Family Book Fair Day (1-5pm) November 13-17 - Book Fair - Student Shopping Days During School November 13-17 - SCA Food Drive  November 15 - Thanksgiving Lunch at School November 22-24 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break FCPS 2023-24 School Year Calendar

 6703 Barnack Dr, West Springfield, VA 22152  | Main Office: 703-923-2700

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