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The Lion’s Roar
Monday, October 28, 2024
Thanks for a Sweet PTA "Trunk or Treat"!
The Lane PTA held its first-ever "Trunk or Treat" yesterday, to the delight of kids and grown-ups alike. Mrs. Schadle's Chick-fil-A–themed truck was just one highlight of the night. Thanks to all the families who attended, and especially to the Lane PTA.
"Breakfast Bites" and Beyond!
Thanks to all the families who joined us last Friday for our final "Breakfast Bites" potluck for the fall. This one was held for 5th and 6th grade families, and the turnout was great!
In fact, the turnout for all of these events has been so good, that we're going to host a bigger potluck get-together in November called "LionsGiving." It will be held in the evening on Thursday, November 21st. Check the "Save the Date" article below and watch Wednesday folders for more details coming soon!
Upcoming Events
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Tuesday, 10/29 – SCA Spirit Day: “Pajama Day”
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Wednesday, 10/30 – SCA Spirit Day: “Twin Day”
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Thursday, 10/31 – SCA Spirit Day: “Orange and Black Day”; End-of-Quarter 2-hour Early Release, dismissal at 2:05 p.m. (SACC open regular hours, no other onsite child care available)
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Friday, 11/1 – Diwali Holiday, FCPS Schools and Offices CLOSED, SACC open
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Monday, 11/4 & Tuesday, 11/5 – Student Holidays/Teacher Workdays, students do not report
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Friday, 11/8 – Veterans Day Breakfast, 8:30 a.m., and Classroom Visits, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. (See article below for how you can participate)
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Friday, 11/8 - NEW DATE! PTA Play & Chat for Families and Students with Disabilities, 5:30 p.m., main playground
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Monday, 11/11 – Veterans Day Holiday, School, Office, and SACC CLOSED
In This Issue
- School Spirit Days This Week!
- Upcoming Holiday and Staff Workdays; 2-Hour End-of-Quarter Early Release on Thursday
- 2024-2025 Yearbook Cover Contest Now Accepting Entries
- Honoring Our Lane Lion Veterans and Active Military Service Members for Veterans Day on Friday, November 8th
- Fall Portrait Distribution
- Full-Time AAP Screening and Placement Process Resources
- Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid
- Save the Date for LionsGiving Potluck on Thursday, November 21st!
- PTA News: November meeting, Play & Chat for special needs families
News & Notes
School Spirit Days This Week!
It’s hard to believe that the first grading quarter comes to an end on Thursday this week. To celebrate this milestone and the colors of the season, SCA is sponsoring a week of school Spirit Days. It kicked off today with “Switch Day,” where students dressed like teachers and teachers dressed like students, and continues through Thursday. Here are the themes for each of the remaining days:
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Tuesday, October 29th: “Pajama Day” – Get ready for the long weekend ahead by wearing comfy sleepwear to school (no slippers, please)
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Wednesday, October 30th: “Twin Day” – Find a friend or two (or more!) and dress alike for the day
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Thursday, October 31st: “Orange and Black Day” – Break out the black and orange for this seasonal celebration
We hope your child will join the fun and participate!
Upcoming Holiday and Staff Workdays; 2-Hour End-of-Quarter Early Release at 2:05 p.m. on Thursday
Don’t forget that there’s an extra-long weekend for students coming at the end of this week.
Students will be dismissed two hours early at 2:05 p.m. this Thursday, October 31st. Please note that this is our standard end-of-quarter early release day and no child-care options will be offered.
Diwali Holiday - Friday, November 1st
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On Friday, November 1st, schools will be CLOSED for all students and staff in observance of the Diwali holiday. Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs & some Buddhists. The festival represents the symbolic victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil. Happy Diwali to all who celebrate!
Learn more about Diwali here.
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Dia de los Muertos & All Saints Day
Two additional cultural and religious observances – Día de los Muertos and All Saints Day – also occur this upcoming weekend.
Celebrated primarily in Mexico and Latin America, Dia de los Muertos offers an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones.
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This day also coincides with All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd). These days are celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, and some Protestants worldwide to honor those who have died and gone to heaven (All Saints Day) and those who may still be in purgatory (All Souls Day). |
To learn more about Día de los Muertos, watch this video. You can find more information about All Saints Day and All Souls Day here.
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.
Teacher Workdays Monday, November 4th & Tuesday, November 5th
Next Monday and Tuesday, students will have the day off for staff professional workdays. These days give staff time to wrap up paperwork and grading for the first quarter and to participate in important professional development. The office will be open regular hours.
School will reopen at the regular time on Wednesday, November 6th.
2024-2025 Yearbook Cover Contest Now Accepting Entries
Have a budding artist at home? If so, encourage your child to enter this year’s yearbook cover-art competition. It’s open to all grade levels.
An overall winner and grade-level winners will be selected. The overall winner’s work will appear full-size on the front cover of yearbook, which will be distributed at the end of the year. Grade-level winners’ works will appear in a reduced size on the back. You can find entry guidelines on the flyer sent home last week in Wednesday Folders.
This artwork should be done by your child alone. Any entries that are obviously drawn by parents or older siblings will be disqualified. All parents must sign this artwork release form (also on the back of the flyer) in order for the design to be considered.
All entries must be turned in to the office by next Friday, November 8th. Late entries will not be accepted!
Honoring Our Lane Lion Veterans and Active Military Service Members for Veterans Day on Friday, November 8th
We are honored to have so many military families – currently active and veteran – in our school community. If you or other family members are active-duty, reserve, or veteran service personnel, we would like to honor you this Veterans Day by inviting you to visit our school on the morning of Friday, November 8th. (Veterans Day itself – November 11th – is an FCPS holiday, and school will be closed.) There will be two events: a military family breakfast and classroom visits where family members can share their stories of service and sacrifice.
The family breakfast will be held before school in the cafeteria from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. If your family would like to attend, please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/wKamkNkd3yj7ReUq9. Be sure to tell us how many in your family will attend with you (including you).
If you would like to visit classrooms on the 8th, please sign up using one of these methods:
- Sign up online
- Scan the QR code at right.
- Fill out this paper form and return it to our parent liaison, Melanie Crosby Hardy, no later than Wednesday, November 6th.
- RSVP via email to macrosby@fcps.edu.
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We will schedule you for two different classrooms, one of which will be that of the student to whom you are connected. This is to ensure that all classrooms have at least one visitor. Be sure to tell us which grade level is preferred for the second session. (If you are connected to more than one child at Lane, we will place you in those classrooms.) Classroom presentations will be about 15 to 20 minutes long.
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We need your photographs!
As part of our Veterans Day celebration, we would also like to create an electronic “Gallery of Honor” slide show featuring photographs of the active-duty and veteran members of the military in our school community. Please send a photo of your military family members by Monday, November 4th to be included.
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Fall Portrait Distribution
Fall Picture Days are complete! We are working on processing the pictures and getting them ready to send home to families. Each family will receive a digital copy of their child’s portrait for FREE this year and can have it printed however they choose at local retail outlets. Our family liaison and yearbook coordinator, Melanie Crosby Hardy, will be emailing the individual portrait files to families next week.
We will be offering two Retake Days in mid-November. More details will be sent home soon.
Full-Time AAP Screening and Placement Process Presentation
If you missed last Thursday’s meeting about the screening process and timeline for full-time Advanced Academics Program (AAP) placement you can view the presentation here.
Please contact Ms. Simon at lesimon@fcps.edu if you have questions.
Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid
The Impact Aid Program is a federal 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.
The Federal Impact Aid Survey is available electronically through your ParentVUE account. For families that do not have access to ParentVUE or prefer to complete a paper form, a printed form will be provided by the school after October 31st.
Watch the video here for more information: https://youtu.be/dwJCXpMB0EU.
Follow these steps to complete the form online:
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Step 1: Log in to SIS ParentVue.
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Step 2: Select the 'Online Packets' tab, located on the top right of the ParentVue screen.
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Step 3: From the tiles at the bottom of the page, select the “2024-2025 Federal Impact Aid Survey.”
NOTE: If you have multiple children in Fairfax County Public Schools, please make sure to fill out a form for each of your children. You will know you have completed all of the forms when you see a green check next to each of their names on the final screen.
You can find more detailed steps as well as more information about Impact Aid on the FCPS website at https://www.fcps.edu/impact.
Thank you for your cooperation and support!
Save the Date for LionsGiving Potluck on Thursday, November 21st!
Our grade-level “Breakfast Bites” morning potlucks have been very successful this fall, so we thought we would create an event for the evening as well, one where families from all grade levels can come together and share an evening meal in the spirit of November’s most famous meal – Thanksgiving. We’re calling it “LionsGiving,” and it will be held on the evening of Thursday, November 21st. We hope you’ll save the date and plan to attend. Watch for more information coming soon!
PTA News & Announcements
November Meeting on November 7th!
All Lane families are invited to join the PTA for its November meeting on Thursday, November 7th at 6:30 p.m. Discussion will focus on some exciting events on the horizon, along with opportunities for you to get involved and join the fun. This meeting will be completely virtual, so feel free to join from wherever you are.
Here’s the link to join the meeting: https://meet.google.com/oms-zqww-csr
It’s Not Too Late to Join the Lane PTA!
We may be nearing the end of the first grading quarter, but it’s never too late to join the Lane PTA. The cost is just $10 per adult member. Visit their website to join today!
Play and Chat Date Change: Friday, November 8th
Please join other Lane families and students with disabilities (visible and invisible) for an informal get-together, hosted by the Lane PTA, at the big Lane playground on Friday, November 8th from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. – and there will be snacks (and hopefully leftover Halloween candy).
This gathering will give children a chance to play together outside of school and caregivers a chance to connect. Although this gathering is geared towards families and students with disabilities, all are welcome! If the weather does not cooperate, the event will be rescheduled.
To gauge interest (and get a headcount for snacks), please fill out this form.
For any questions or to connect, please contact Kristyn King (inclusion@lanepta.org).
Parent Resources
Community Immunization Resources
Safeway Immunization Clinics for All FCPS Students
Safeway Pharmacy will host immunization clinics for any FCPS student age 18 or younger at Frost Middle School on Tuesday, October 29th, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are highly encouraged to avoid wait times. A parent or guardian must accompany walk-in students age 18 or younger to provide consent. Learn more about immunization resources and registering in other languages for the Safeway clinic.
Students age 19 and older may access free immunizations at their middle/high school immunization clinic, the Fairfax County Health Department or through other community resources.
Elementary School Clinics
The Fairfax County Health Department will provide immunizations for FCPS elementary students on limited early release Mondays at their district offices. All school-required immunizations will be offered at no cost. Call 703-246-7100 to make your appointment.
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