Upcoming Dates
December 4 - Register for After School Programs
December 5 - PTA Spirit Day with Chick-Fil-A
December 10 - Deadline to donate for holiday gifts for teachers and staff
December 15 - Last day to submit full-time AAP Referral
December 18-Jan 1 - Holiday Break
Click here to view the 2023-2024 school year calendar.
Click here to read last week's GFES newsletter updates.
Giving Tuesday - Donate to the PTA's Roadrunner Giving Campaign
We hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends, enjoying quality time together this past weekend!
As you may already be aware, this Tuesday, November 28th is known as 'Giving Tuesday' and our PTA is asking you to kindly consider donating through our Roadrunner Giving Campaign as part of your generosity toward non-profit organizations this year. Our students benefit greatly from all that the PTA does to support the school community. We need your help to ensure the PTA can bring to life all the amazing events and programming we have planned. We would be honored if you included GFES PTA in your charitable giving this year. And remember ALL donations are tax deductible!
We ask that each family contribute $250, BUT ANY AMOUNT IS WELCOME!
Direct donations are reinvested in our school!
Click for more details and to donate: ANNUAL Roadrunner Giving Campaign!
Click to review past PTA meeting minutes and presentations, including a special one made for the October meeting to describe the PTA and all that we do for our school.
If anyone - person, family, company - is interested in becoming a Corporate Sponsor, please click HERE for more information on how our school can benefit from your sponsorship as well as how the PTA can promote your business throughout the school year! We already have generous families and businesses that have donated and will be featured on our website and Facebook Page!
Winter 2024 Session: Baroody After School Programs
GFES PTA partners with Baroody Camps academies to provide two sessions of a wide variety of quality, safe after-school activities for students of all ages. Classes take place at GFES for an hour directly after school.
REGISTRATION DATES:
Opens: Monday, December 4, 8:00 AM
Closes: Sunday, December 17, 11:59 PM
Click HERE for program dates, offerings and registration link.
Check out “Registration Tips” tab on the registration website for helpful information!
Join the PTA!
...and UPDATE the Membership Directory
If you joined last year, you'll need to renew/join each year to receive the great benefits year after year, along with supporting the amazing programs we provide our students and staff.
Membership is only $20 and supports PTA operations, gives you voting rights at all PTA general meetings, and provides you with access to the online school directory!
Join Now >> https://www.gfespta.com/membership
Plus, the school-wide Directory makes it easy to look up your child's friends to find contact info to set up play dates.
Go To >> https://www.gfespta.com and click on "Directory" under Our PTA. Then log in and update your student/family information, choose to opt in or not by January 15, 2024.
There is even an App to download to your phone: search "Membership Toolkit" in the Apple App Store or Google Play!
GFES PTA Spirit Day with Chick-Fil-A
Mark your calendars! Our next spirit day will be next week, Tuesday December 5th with the North Point Village Chick-Fil-A (1494 North Point Village Center, Reston, VA 20194)! You can order by placing a mobile pickup, dine-in, Drive-thru, or curbside order from 7am - 8pm.
You get to enjoy a great meal or snack and the PTA will receive 25% of all sales when you use the code 'ROADRUNNER' while using the Chick-Fil-A app. If you are dining in or ordering through the drive-thru, mention you are ordering for the Great Falls PTA spirit event for the PTA to receive 25% of sales!
On December 5th, the PTA will have a table set up in Chick-Fil-A between 5:00 and 7:00pm! Make sure to stop by and say hi!
Holiday Gifts for Teachers and Staff
The PTA is collecting funds with the goal of providing an Amazon gift card to each member of the GFES staff, which includes dedicated teachers, administrators, specialists and support staff.
In order to reach our goal, we are suggesting a $20 donation, but any amount is appreciated. Thank you in advance for helping us make our teachers and staff feel special over the holidays!
GFES parent Lila Dickey has graciously offered to organize the collection of funds. You can donate through Venmo: @lbd2023 (last 4 digits of cell # for verification if requested 5974)
Please kindly make your donations no later than December 10th.
If you have any questions, please contact schoolspiritvp@gfespta.com. Thank you so much!
Book Fair Appreciation ...and Success
Thank you for making our PTA's Fall Book Fair a huge success! Our sales totaled over $16,300, and students had so much fun shopping.
The Co-Chairs are grateful to school staff - Elza Botha, Jennifer Eng, and Colleen Murphy - for ensuring that everything ran smoothly. And it wouldn't have been possible without an amazing team of volunteers - Erika Ashlock, Lauren Berkey, Maria Cunning, Kathryn Cwalina, Sid Dugar, Angie Hohmann, Alice Lee, Beth Long, Nicole Park, Teresa Sandstrom, Kelly Sevilla, and Teresa Zarate.
Last but not least, a huge THANK YOU for your contributions toward our "Teacher Wish List Fund." Your generosity gifted 89 books to our teachers for their classroom libraries. Many thanks again, and happy reading!
Sister School Food Drive Gratitude
THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the 2023 Sister School Food Drive! Your generous donations helped make a positive difference for local families. We were able to provide approximately 25 boxes of non-perishable food to local food-insecure families from Glen Forest Elementary. Thank you for your support!
Special thanks to our Community Outreach Coordinator, Julie Hobbs for organizing this event again this year! Also thanks to volunteers Kendra Bradley, Erin Kiblawi, Lauren Vogel, the Kuehl family, as well as Ms. Murphy, Ms. Mizell, Ms. Jones and the SCA students!
Congrats to Science Olympiad Division A - Shooting Stars!
Congratulations to GFES Science Olympiad Division A on their performance at the VASO Division A competition last month! Your dedication, hard work, and the skills you've honed over the past two months truly shone bright. Out of more than 800 3rd-5th graders who participated in the VASO Division A competitions this fall, GFES Shooting Stars proudly represented with 14 participants. GFES Shooting Stars took home medals in 5 events.
Every effort counts, and we applaud each participant for their contributions, whether or not they received a medal. The journey is not just about winning; it's about the invaluable experiences and lessons learned. Congrats on a successful Division A Science Olympiad year!
Great Job to the Girls On The Run Participants!
Congratulations to all of our girls, and their families, who participated in the Girls on the Run 5K on November 18th! We hope our girls are feeling proud and had a lot of fun -- they worked very hard for this moment! Congratulations to our girls and coaches, especially to Coach Kelly Singer, on a great Fall season!!
COMMUNITY EVENTS:
1. Langley High School Renaissance Feaste
Tickets sales are live and going fast for the Langley High School annual Renaissance Feaste. Mark your calendars for an evening of music, dinner, and merriment on December 1st and 2nd at 7:00 PM.
Dinner seats include a choice of grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and sage-drawn butter, or vegetarian Farfalle pasta with basil tomato sauce. Both entrees include harvest vegetables, salad with a simple lemon dressing, cornbread and pumpkin bunt cakes for $35 per person. Gluten-free selections are also available.
Ticket sales are available at https://www.langleychorus.com/renaissance-feaste. Buy now to reserve your seats!
2. Celebrate Great Falls Tree Lighting
Join us as we celebrate the holiday season on Sunday, December 3rd, at the Great Falls Celebration of Lights located at Village Field (behind the post office) from 3:00-6:00 pm. There will be a petting zoo, pony rides, performances by local schools, the annual tree lighting, live nativity, a visit from Santa, and more!
Our Great Falls Elementary School Chorus students will perform in front of the Christmas Tree at 4:40 pm. We hope to see you there!
3. The School of Theatrical Dance "Christmas Eve at the Nutcracker Club"
Langley High School: Saturday, December 9th 4pm AND Sunday, December 10th 4pm.
The whole family will thoroughly enjoy this fanciful yet reverent sketch of Christmas Eve.
Set in a 1940's USO Hall in the imaginary town of Rockwell, our refreshingly original, “Christmas Eve at the Nutcracker Club” features the talents of our children, teens, adults, and professional Guest Artists.
This School of Theatrical Dance (SOTD) classic promises an exciting assortment of music and dance styles... Classical Ballet, Contemporary Ballet, Tap, Broadway Jazz, and Traditional Modern Dance set to masterpieces from the beloved Tchaikovsky, Duke Ellington, Mannheim Steamroller, George Winston and The Pentatonix.
Please join us and support your SOTD community, local students and artists! Many who you will see on stage attend Great Falls Elementary!
Please visit TheatricalDance.com for tickets!
COMMUNITY OFFERING:
Kids Acro Class
Tumbling, calisthenics, parkour, and partner acrobatics for kids ages 5-8 all in a safe, fun environment in the heart of Great Falls! Taught by fellow Great Falls resident and GFES dad of three, Ramsey Elias. Ramsey trained with elite circus artists in the San Francisco Bay Area for a decade and has taught kids acrobatics for 5 years. He won first place in the 2023 Northern Virginia Regional Ninja Warrior Competition for his age group.
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