Stenwood Hive Happenings: BACK TO SCHOOL EDITION


Hive Happenings Newsletter


Dear Stenwood Families,

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! Hopefully, you have all had the chance to read the mailing that was sent home earlier this month. 

With our full staff returning on Monday, we are busy buzzing here to get everything ready and in place.  Thank you to our amazing custodial team who have been working tirelessly since Summer SOAR and RecPac ended to make sure our school is sparkling clean.  

We have been working hard to hire teachers and instructional assistants since the spring.  We will begin introducing each of our new staff members on both our Stenwood Facebook page (facebook.com/StenwoodElementary) and our new Stenwood Instagram account (@stenwoodelementary).  These will also be found on our website.  Class placement letters will be mailed this Monday.  Teachers will be sending them electronically on Wednesday for any families that will not be home to retrieve their mail.  

Our weekly Hive Happenings are sent out electronically on Fridays.  The Hive Happenings provides you with information to stay connected with what’s happening at school and to keep you in the loop with important dates and deadlines.

To prepare for next school year, please make sure you carefully go through the information below to help us with a smooth start to the new school year:

  • Open House
  • Back to School Night
  • Early Release Mondays
  • School Meals (Updated Link) and Free/Reduced Lunch Applications
  • School Supply Lists
  • Parking at Stenwood
  • Special Transportation (Private After-School Activities)  
  • Emergency Care Information
  • Activating your SIS ParentVue Account
  • Parent Digital Consent System
  • What is Schoology
  • Stenwood is Hiring!
  • Stenwood PTA

Sincerely,

Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu 

Bryan Case, Assistant Principal 
bgcase@fcps.edu

Important Dates

Open House

We cannot wait to see everyone at Open House.  This is an opportunity for students and families to meet their teacher and see the classroom.  Feel free to drop off supplies.  If you already ordered supplies through the PTA, they will be waiting in your child’s classroom.

Parking is limited in the front of the building in the Stenwood parking lot.  Parking will be available in the neighborhood.  See Parking section below for more information.  

August 15th

Kindergarten Scavenger Hunt 9:00 - 9:30 AM

Kindergarten Open House 9:30 - 10:00 AM

Enhanced Autism 10:15 - 10:45 AM

Grades 1-6: 2:30 - 3:30 PM

 

August 22nd

Preschool Open House 9:30 - 10:00 AM


Back to School Night on 8/28

Back to School Night on Wednesday, 8/28 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Please join your child’s teacher for Back to School Night. This session will focus on curriculum, specific grade level information, and Family Life Education information.

Here is the schedule for the evening:

Session 1: 

6:00 - 6:40pm

 

* Transition Time: 6:40 -  6:50pm *

 

Session 2 (repeat of Session 1): 

 6:50 - 7:30pm 

This is an adult-only event; we ask that you arrange childcare for your children so you can attend fully to the information being presented.


Early Release Mondays

Later today, or early tomorrow, we will be sending out an eNotify message with information and a required survey about the Early Release Mondays.  Dr. Reid initially communicated the plan for these days in mid-June.  More information will be included in the eNotify.

The scheduled dates for Stenwood are:

  • September 23
  • October 28
  • November 25
  • February 24
  • March 17
  • April 28
  • May 19

School Meals and Free/ Reduced Lunch Applications

FCPS Food Logo

Breakfast and Lunch

Breakfast will be $1.75.  Lunch will be $3.25, milk $0.60.  Money can be added to your child(ren)’s accounts using www.myschoolbucks.com.  You can also write a check to Stenwood Food Services and deliver it to our Food Services Manager at Open House.   During the school year, you can find the menu for breakfast and lunch at https://linqconnect.com/public/menu/ESSF44 .

Free and Reduced-Price Status

Students eligible for free or reduced-price meals will continue to receive these benefits through the end of September.   A new application must be filled out each new school year and forms are available  online now: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/food-and-nutrition-programs/free-and-reduced-price-meals.  Applications are accepted at any time, but we encourage you to apply or renew your application before the end of September. Call (703) 813-4800 if you need help. This must be completed for eligible students to receive free meals.  


School Supply Lists

Here is the information for School Supply Lists this year. If you ordered a kit from Sprout, the kit will be waiting for your child in their classroom at Open House.  


Parking at Stenwood

Parking at Stenwood is very limited during large school events.  On a daily basis, we ask families to park in our parking lot.  During large school/grade level events, we coordinate with Fairfax County Police Department to allow for parking on the neighborhood streets behind Stenwood.  Please be courteous to our neighbors, do not block driveways and please abide by all Fairfax County parking laws.  When advertising events, we will communicate if the parking in the neighborhood has been coordinated. 


Special Transportation (Private After-School Activities)

If your child(ren) will be taking a van or bus after school for a private after-school activity, please let our office know now, StenwoodES.Transportation@fcps.edu


Emergency Care Card Form

Emergency Care Card Forms are important in helping us contact you in case of an emergency. Parents can help by assuring that the school has the most up-to-date information. 

Please update any information by using the ParentVue/Online Verification Update system.   To read more about the OVU, visit the OVU page on the FCPS site. To access your ParentVue to update/verify, visit the ParentVue Login page. 

Emergency Care updates are due the first day of school.


Activating Your SIS ParentVUE Account

The SIS (Student Information System) ParentVUE Account is an online tool parents can use to access information about their child’s attendance, report cards, discipline incidents, health information, and more. In ParentVUE, you can also view student progress reports/report cards and SOL scores.

Your secure SIS ParentVUE Account offers you the ability to use one username/password to login to both the SIS ParentVUE Account and Schoology.

Using the SIS ParentVUE account, parents will also be able to view school information, including teacher e-mail addresses, the FCPS calendar, and emergency contact information. Visit the FCPS website and use the search function and keywords “SIS Parent Overview” for more information.

Many of our Stenwood families have already activated your SIS ParentVUE account with the activation key. If you are unable to login to your account, you may need to reset your password on the SIS Parent Account login page (https://sisparent.fcps.edu):  

  • Select the “Forgot Password” button.  
  • Your username is the primary email address you have on file with us in our Student Information System.  
  • More information is available here.

Newly enrolled families should have received an activation key for your account.  If you have not yet activated your account, please reach out to Michelle Burke (mpburke@fcps.edu) or Brian Spector (bmspector@fcps.edu).

Please take action now to ensure your account is active, so that you won’t miss a beat!


Parent Digital Consent System

New this year, families will use the Parent Digital Consent System to complete some forms that have used paper in the past. You will log in using your ParentVUE Account credentials, There, you will be able complete the Digital Resources Consent form for the school year, which is required for all students. You will also be able to find more information about opt-out forms and complete those forms for your student.


What Is Schoology?

Teachers can use Schoology to post their classroom materials online; to provide a safe forum for students to discuss their ideas and collaborate on projects; and to assign and collect homework electronically.

Schoology Logo

Parent Accounts

A Schoology Parent Account gives you access to:

  • Your child’s upcoming assignments (note: Parents can not see FCPS Google Workspace items using their parent account)
  • School, class, and group announcements.

Parent accounts will be available in mid-August. To access Schoology, parents will need to have an active SIS/ParentVUE account. 

More information on how to login and use Schoology is available online.


Stenwood is Hiring!

We are looking to hire Classroom Monitors and Substitutes!  If you are interested in any of these positions, please reach out if you have any questions or if you want more information.  Here is a link to FCPS’ application portal.

Classroom Monitors: Monitors will work every day students attend throughout the 2024-25 school year, and will directly support classrooms by providing additional supervision to students during lunch or in the classroom. The pay is $17.88/hour.  Teachers will provide directions/assignments for monitors and students to complete.  Please apply here and email me at esriley@fcps.edu so we can schedule a time to talk more. Please share this opportunity with others who might be interested.


Stenwood Elementary PTA 

We hope you join our amazing PTA!  If you are interested in volunteering to be a class parent, volunteering in our cafeteria or library, OR just looking to stay connected with the great work of our PTA, you can fill out a survey that will be sent out once class placements have been communicated.  

More information about the PTA is available on their website.


Stay Connected

Here are a few ways to stay connected with all the happenings at Stenwood ES

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Facebook

facebook.com/StenwoodElementary

Insta

 

Instagram

@stenwoodelementary

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Website

stenwoodes.fcps.edu

FB

 

PTA Facebook

facebook.com/StenwoodElementaryPTA