Weekly update for December 6, 2024
Dear CES friends and families:
We have had another great week at Columbia! On Monday, the wonderful PTA provided a Holiday Sweet Shoppe for CES faculty and staff. We were so appreciative and grateful to have a warm welcome back to school after the Thanksgiving break. Thank you to the PTA for taking such great care of the adults at CES. #SmallSchoolBigHeart
On Wednesday of this week, our 5th graders went on a field trip to visit the U.S. Capitol. Many of us, myself included, often take for granted how close we are to historically important landmarks that are only a short drive away. Students learned about the legislative branch of government and tied their hands-on tour and experience with social studies standards in the classroom.
Finally, earlier today our 1st graders had a terrific time vising the Lego Discovery Center in Springfield as they learned through hands-on experiments about force and motion in science.
Next week, our monthly PTA meeting has been canceled. We will meet again in January. Looking forward to seeing you and your family at our annual Donuts with Grown-ups event on Thursday/Friday of next week. See below for more details.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Take care,
Mike Astudillo
Proud Principal
Columbia Elementary School
Donuts with Grown-Ups
It’s almost time for Donuts with Grown-Ups! Families are invited to come enjoy donuts, coffee, and conversation with their children. The event will be held on Thursday, December 12th at 8:30am-9:00am for children with last names starting with A-L and Friday, December 13th at 8:30am-9:00am for children with last names starting with M-Z. Please RSVP by Tuesday, December 10th by returning the Donuts with Grown-Ups sign up form to your child's teacher or emailing your child’s teacher. We are asking for donations by grade level. Suggested donations: K-3rd: Donuts; 4th & 5th: individually packaged drinks (i.e., juice boxes, small bottles of water).
PTA News & Notes
Holiday Sweet Shop
A huge thank you to everyone who baked and brought items in for the holiday sweet shop. The teachers felt the love from our parent community. THANK YOU!
Fall Direct Donation Campaign
With increasing reliance on technology in schools for learning, it's more important than ever for our elementary students to learn fundamental typing skills to increase their digital literacy. The wonderful CES staff have requested support for a typing curriculum designed to increase typing proficiency for students in grades 3-5. The PTA is launching a fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $2,300 to purchase the Edclub Typing Program for three years that will allow Columbia teachers the ability to provide broad access to the program for their students. The campaign is now live and will run through January 15th.
Please join us and consider making a tax-deductible donation. Donations can be submitted several ways:
New Partnership with Papa Johns
We are excited to announce a new partnership with Papa Johns in Annandale. You can now order pizza ANY THURSDAY from 11AM – 11PM for delivery or carryout (carryout until 10 PM). Families will receive 40 percent off their entire order and 10 percent of their order goes to the PTA. This opportunity will last until the end of the school year. Online code “CES4010” - this code will also be accepted by phone in case of issues with the website.
Federal Impact Aid Form reminder!
Return Your Federal Impact Aid Survey
FCPS is asking all families to fill out a Federal Impact Aid Survey. The form is available in SIS ParentVUE under Online Packets (in the upper right corner after logging in). Please complete it as soon as possible.
For any families who have not completed the survey in ParentVUE, we will provide paper forms starting Wednesday, November 13. Paper forms should be returned by Wednesday, December 4.
Completing this form for each school-aged child in every household is important. Information from this survey resulted in more than $4 million in funding last year from the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers.
For more information, please watch this video on Impact Aid and visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page.
Need to Register for ParentVUE?
Learn how to activate your SIS ParentVUE account, so you can easily submit your survey.
Technical support for using ParentVUE or completing the survey online is available by submitting a Parent Support Request ticket. Select SISParent in the Application dropdown menu and type Federal Impact Aid Survey under Issue Description. Or, call the Parent Technology Help Desk at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS).
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THANK YOU from the staff to the PTA and all those who donated to the Holiday Sweet Shoppe for staff this week!!! |
Boundary Review Community Meeting
Community meetings regarding FCPS’ comprehensive boundary review will take place in each of the division's six regions. You are encouraged to attend the meeting in our region, which will take place on Thursday, December 12, 6:45-8:15 p.m., at Annandale High School Cafeteria.
Please register in advance by clicking on the date. Language interpretation will be available.
If you are unable to attend on this date, view the full list of meetings on the Comprehensive School Boundary Review webpage.
Specials Spotlight
P.E. with Mr. Kain
In P.E., students are working on gymnastics, dribbling, and nutrition. Students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade are currently learning animal walks, balances, and rolls. Later in the quarter, they will learn how to dribble a basketball, the five food groups, and healthy food options in each group. Third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade students are currently working on designing their own gymnastics routines. Later in the quarter, students will learn about muscles, bones, macronutrients, and recommended daily allowance (RDA). Third grade will work on basketball skills. Fourth and fifth grade students will use their basketball skills to design their own playbook and use it in a game.
🐾Save the Date 🐾
Donuts with Grownups - Last Names A-L
December 12
Donuts with Grownups - Last Names M-Z
December 13
Holidays - Winter Break
December 23 - January 5
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