WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE FOREST- 3/07//2024

Calendar Student Services

Tuesday, March 12- Evening Kindergarten Registration Night, 4:30-7:30PM

Wednesday, March 13- 3rd Grade Recorder Concert, 7PM, Cafeteria

Monday, March 18- SCHS Performance for 5th & 6th Grade

Tuesday, March 19- PTA Meeting, 7PM, Cafeteria

Friday, March 22- PTA Donuts with Grown Ups, 7:45-8:30AM, Cafeteria 

March 25-29–  Spring Break, No School


SCA Bake Sale

Congratulations to our SCA officers for raising $245 for their bake sale on Tuesday, March 5! 

Painting with Mr. Drake

Our students had so much fun painting cherry blossoms with Mr. Drake! 


Kindergarten Orientation

Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!

This year, spring break is March 25-29. We will be eager to welcome your children back to school on Wednesday, April 3, after two teacher work days. Student attendance is very important. Every day, our teachers will be teaching, and students will be learning. Studies have shown that just two absences per month can cause students to fall behind. Let’s finish this school year strong. Visit FCPS’ website for attendance resources


Take the Family Engagement Survey!

family engagement graphic

FCPS’ Family Engagement Survey is now open. Survey partner K12 Insight emailed a link to families on March 3 and again on March 6. Please participate! Your feedback is critical in helping to inform and improve FCPS practices to best support our students.

The survey is available in 10 languages. Parents/caregivers may stop by the front office to fill out a paper survey or complete the survey online. Please check your email for the survey invitation or use this survey link. Get more information on the Family Engagement Survey webpage


Summer Camps and Learning Programs

summer camp

Have you made summer plans for your child yet? Are you looking for a summer camp for your child with special needs?

The Family Resource Center has compiled information on summer camps including local options, camps for students with special needs (sorted by need), and camps for students experiencing grief or who have parents in the military.


Lightspeed Classroom Management

As part of our commitment to creating a safe and focused learning environment for our students, our school is using a classroom management tool that will help teachers better connect with student devices during classes. We are continuing to expand our use over the coming weeks. This tool will provide teachers with a number of helpful features:

  • Easily view student screens in real time from the teacher console to see which students may need guidance or support.
  • Focus student attention on a particular website on their device to minimize distractions.
  • Pause student access to the internet to focus on other classroom tasks.

We believe this classroom management tool will allow us to maximize class time to support your student’s learning while at school. Please note that student devices will not be monitored outside of school hours. The regular filters remain in place on school devices, but once they are home, teachers cannot monitor students. As parents, we would like to encourage you to sign up for your own Lightspeed reports, which will allow you to see how your child is spending time on the computer during and after school hours.


Invest in Excellence

The School Board recently adopted FCPS’ FY 2025 Advertised Budget. Meeting budget needs becomes more of a challenge with underfunding by the state, using staffing formulas that continue to result in school districts not receiving the actual support needed for excellent public education. A staffing formula is the method for calculating the number of positions that need to be assigned to meet program needs. 

Did You Know?

In July 2023, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) released a study of Virginia’s K-12 funding formulas. The report found that Virginia school divisions receive less funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average, and many of Virginia’s neighboring states including West Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky. Learn more about the JLARC study. View FCPS’ budget development timeline

Contact your state officials to provide feedback on funding for K-12 education.


FCPS Cares is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can all acknowledge the good work of our Newington Forest staff members.

FCPS Cares

Pictures of students arranged in a half circle around the FCPS logo - budget

FCPS News

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

  • New Regulation on Meditation and Reflection Spaces
  • Solar Eclipse Resources

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