September 12, 2024 Newsletter

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 09/12/2024 01:14 PM EDT

September 12, 2024

From the Principal’s Pen

Dear Laurel Hill Families,

On Monday, September 16, we will have our first three-hour early release at 1 pm. Normal dismissal procedures will occur at 1 pm and again at 4 pm for those students staying after. Lunch and instructional schedules will be adjusted for that day. Students buying lunch will get it in a "grab and go" style (in a bag instead of on a tray), in the case that they want to save some lunch items if they are staying after school. Students requiring after school supervision will be monitored by staff and participate in a schedule of events including tech time, recess, specials classes, and independent reading. We have 7 three-hour early release days throughout this school year for teachers to complete reading curriculum trainings required by the state of Virginia.

We hope to see you at our Back to School night next week on September 18! The front doors to our school will open at 6 pm and parents will go directly to their child's classroom for the first session. We will transition to a second (identical) session around 6:45 for parents that have multiple children or are unable to make the 6 pm session. As a reminder, this will not be a time for a conference or specific questions about your child. Teachers will be more than happy to set up a parent conference to answer more detailed questions at a later time.

Sincerely,

Janice Dalton, Principal

Addison Smith, Assistant Principal

Thmeaka Traylor, Assistant Principal

Save the Date:

September 13: Field Day! (during school hours)

September 16: 3-Hour Early Release at 1:05 pm

September 18: Back to School Night, 6-8 pm

September 21-29: Blue Star Welcome Week

September 23: Girl on the Run--Fall Season Begins (4:15pm-5:15pm)

September 27: Screen on the Green (Outdoor Movie Night) PTA event

October 3: Rosh Hashanah holiday

October 4: Teacher workday

October 14: Teacher workday

Parents Need To Know

September 11 National Day of Service

With the upcoming 23rd anniversary of September 11, FCPS acknowledges the loss of life, the heroism of our first responders, and the resilience of our country. The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, also called Patriot Day, is a chance to reflect and act in service to others to honor those who were injured or killed in the terrorist attacks.

All FCPS students are encouraged to participate in service learning as it supports Portrait of a Graduate (POG) attributes and social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. Middle and high school students can learn more about service learning by logging into their Naviance account to access x2VOL.

Blue Star Welcome Week (September 21-29, 2024) was created to recognize the 600,000 military families that move to new communities each year. This special week raises awareness and builds support for military families across the country. During Blue Star Welcome Week, it is our goal to proactively improve military families’ sense of belonging to their local communities by forging strong connections between our military family members and their local neighbors.

🩹 Immunization Requirements

Please check with your health care provider as soon as possible to make sure your child is up to date on the immunizations required by the state of Virginia. Starting Monday, September 30, students who have not provided proof of immunization will not be allowed to attend school.

You may check your child’s immunization compliance and submit their immunization record in SIS ParentVUE. Records may also be delivered to your school’s front office.

Alternative immunization documents (below) may also be provided to your school’s front office, but they may not be uploaded in ParentVUE:

A health care provider’s written statement specifying all administered immunizations.
A health care provider’s written statement of a permanent or temporary medical exemption.
A notarized Religious Exemption form objecting to the administration of immunizations due to conflicts with their religious tenets or practices.

Find more information on immunizations.

The South County Substance Prevention Specialist has invited the Fairfax County Police Department to come and present Hidden In Plain Sight (HIPS), a presentation with the most current products on the market for hiding substance related paraphernalia, common hiding places in teen bedrooms, and information regarding youth substance use trends in our area. The event will occur on Monday, September 30^th from 6:30-8:30 p.m., at South County high school in the Silverbox Theatre. Here is the link for the sign-up genie: https://bit.ly/schships24

🎤 Community Conversations with Superintendent Dr. Reid

Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid invites you to share your questions or concerns regarding Fairfax County Public Schools. Your voice matters! Community Conversations will be held this Fall 6:30-7:30 p.m. on:

Monday, September 23, at Newington Forest Elementary
Monday, September 30, at Mount Vernon Woods Elementary
Monday, October 14, at Fairhill Elementary
Monday, October 21, at Virginia Run Elementary
Wednesday, October 30, at Herndon Middle

Click the date above to register. Registration is not required but helps with planning. Additional registration links will be shared in next week’s This Week at FCPS. Childcare and interpretation services will be provided. Events are open to all. Find out about other opportunities to connect with Dr. Reid.

🍎 Make Every Day Count! The Importance of Attendance

As you plan upcoming trips and other family events, please remember the importance of sending your child to school every day. Review the FCPS School Year Calendar and try to plan any time away during breaks from school.

Children who show up for school regularly develop fundamental reading and math skills while building a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers. Research shows that children who were chronically absent (missing 18 days or more) in kindergarten and first grade were far less likely to read proficiently at the end of third grade.

Children should be in their classrooms, with bags unpacked and ready to go at 9:20am, not just entering the front doors.

Learn how families can help form good attendance habits.

Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck invites you to join us for a community bike ride on Saturday October 19, 2024.

Come learn about bike safety at the annual Tour de Mount Vernon Bike Ride with the first-ever bike rodeo on Saturday, October 19! This will be a great way for children to learn about helmet safety, practice stopping for pedestrians and cars, all while having fun in the process! A South County High School student is doing this as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award. Register here using this link.

LHES PTA Update

Thank you to the families who attended the first PTA meeting of the year on Tuesday, Sept 10. We appreciate you taking the time to join us, provide your perspectives and hear about our plans for 2024-25.

We passed our annual budget and will continue to move forward in earnest with activity planning. Immediate upcoming events and activities include:

Screen on the Green. Fri, Sept 27 at dusk. Have dinner and a movie under the stars. Movie will be Despicable Me 4. Entry is free. Concessions will be for sale. Bring cash to participate in the 50/50 raffle.
Fall Science event: Focus on the Weather. Exact date TBD. PTA is collaborating with the school administration and science department to host a local television weather broadcaster who will talk with the students about weather and meteorology.
Election Day Bake Sale. PTA will host a fundraising bake sale on Election Day, Tuesday Nov 5th.
Fall Book Fair. December. PTA is collaborating with the school administration to host the annual Scholastic Book Fair.
Dine Out nights. Monthly. Several dine out nights are planned with local Lorton restaurants. Be sure to mention LHES so the appropriate discounts can be applied, and a portion of the proceeds benefit our organization.

o Every Thursday until June 2025 - Papa Johns Gunston location only

o Sept 16 - Kokee Tea - 11am -9pm (See flyer below)

o Oct 9 - Panera - 4-8pm

o Nov 19 - Chipotle - 4-9pm

We welcome support from the entire LHES family. Your membership dollars will help support programs such as International Night, field trips for ALL students, teacher appreciation activities, STEAM Night, Literacy Night, Kindness Week, among others. We also are working with the school to pursue Purple Star School status and support military families and children throughout the year.

If you have not yet joined the PTA, please visit https://lhes.givebacks.com/

If you join by Sept 20, you will have a chance to win one of 2 new Laurel Hill ES fuzzy blankets.

Our next meeting is Tues, Oct 8 at 7pm in the school library.

Girls on the Run is coming to Laurel Hill this fall! GOTR has fun, evidence-based programs that inspire girls in 3rd-8th grade to build their confidence, kindness, and decision making skills. Dynamic lessons instill valuable life skills including the important connection between physical and emotional health. Starting the week of September 23, the team will meet every Monday and Wednesday from 4:15pm - 5:15pm. The program culminates in a celebratory 5K at the end of the season! The standard program fee is $210 and includes weekly lessons/practices, a t-shirt, a GOTR giveaway, entry into the 5K, a 5K medal, and more. Financial assistance is available for anyone who needs it, with the lowest program registration cost being $22 for the season.

Registration is now open. Click here to register your student.

Late Registration: September 19 - September 27

Fall Season Begins: September 23

We will keep you informed and share all pertinent information as we receive it regarding the celebratory 5K.

PTA Membership

Please join the PTA for the 24-25 school year!

Congrats to our new PTA board!

President: Vickie Gogo

Treasurer: Kendra Bacchus-Beatty

Secretary: Jennifer Dickinson

We are still looking for a VP of Programs and Fundraising. Please reach out via the website if interested.

8390 Laurel Crest Drive, Lorton, Virginia 22079 | Main Office: 703.551.5300
Attendance: 703.551.5353 | Web | Facebook

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