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I hope you all had a wonderful week! Here are a few important updates and reminders as we head into next week!
We had a fantastic Valentine’s Day today! Our students enjoyed spreading kindness, exchanging cards, and celebrating friendship. Thank you to all the families and staff who helped make it a special day!
Just a reminder that there is no school on Monday, February 17th in observance of Presidents’ Day. We hope you enjoy the long weekend!
Another winter storm is approaching next week, and weather-related delays, early dismissals, or closures may be possible. If you have not received any notifications about schedule changes, please call the front office to ensure we have your most up-to-date contact information. Stay informed by checking FCPS alerts, our school website, and local news sources.
Lynbrook families, we need your help! Our attendance rates have not been as strong as we would like, and we want to work together to ensure every student is in school every day, on time, and ready to learn. We know that challenges come up, and we want to partner with you to support 100% attendance. If your child is struggling with attendance due to illness, transportation, or other concerns, please reach out. We are here to help! ✅Let us know how we can support your family with any barriers to attendance. Remember, we are a community, and we all play a role in supporting our students! Let's work as a team to improve our attendance and ensure every child has the best chance for success. If you need assistance, please call the front office. We are here to help! Together, we can make a difference. 💚🍀
Thank you for your continued support! Stay warm and safe, and we look forward to seeing everyone back after the long weekend.
February is Black History Month
February is Career and Technical Education Month
February 15 - National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day
February 17 - Presidents’ Day (Holiday)
February 19 - Black History Kickoff Celebration
February 24-28 - Public Schools Week
February 28 - Ramadan begins at sundown
Did you know that more than 85% of FCPS’ budget stays in our classrooms? Currently, 92.5% of FCPS staff are school-based, more than neighboring school districts. We are in the middle of FCPS’ annual budget process, which includes opportunities for you to give feedback. Learn more about the proposed FCPS FY 2026 Proposed Budget and see the budget timeline.
🏢 Lean Administrative Staffing: Only 1.1% of FCPS employees are in management roles, far below the 2-4% range of neighboring school districts.
📉 Budget Efficiency: We’ve reduced our budget by sunsetting programs and not starting new initiatives. 92.5% of our positions are school-based, making it very difficult to make additional cuts without impacting the student experience.
🙅 No New Initiatives: To ensure we're being fiscally responsible, we are not beginning any new programs this year. Everything in our budget aligns with our Strategic Plan, and as our schools and departments continue that alignment, we will continue to see funding efficiencies.
🔎 Baldrige Efficiency Review: We continue our Baldrige efficiency review, analyzing every department to identify areas where we can tighten our processes and align our work with our resources. This commitment to continuous improvement is how we identify cost savings.
We believe that these measures, along with our commitment to data-driven decisions and strategic planning, allow us to make the best use of our funding and provide the highest quality education for every student.
We are now in the middle of the annual budget process, which includes opportunities for you to give feedback.
Learn more about the FCPS FY 2026 Budget and see the budget timeline: bit.ly/FCPS-FY2026-Budget
#InvestInExcellence
Fairfax County is experiencing very high levels of influenza (flu) illness. The Fairfax County Health Department reports that visits to emergency departments and urgent care centers for flu-like illness have increased, especially among children, and multiple flu outbreaks have occurred in our community and school settings. Read a letter from the health department.
The health department suggests taking the following steps to reduce the spread of flu and other germs:
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Cover coughs and sneezes. If you must be around others while ill, wearing a mask can help reduce spread.
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Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizers when soap and water are not available (with supervision for younger children).
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Clean frequently touched surfaces.
According to the health department, to help prevent or reduce the spread of illness it is important for individuals who are sick to stay home and away from others until symptoms improve and until they have been free of fever for at least 24 hours. Visit this Attendance webpage for guidance on when your child should go to school.
Attending kindergarten provides children with an opportunity to learn and practice the essential social, emotional, problem-solving, and self-regulation skills they will use throughout their lives. Fairfax County public schools typically conduct kindergarten registration events, including orientation, between January and April. Eligible children can also be registered throughout the summer, but registering your child early helps us prepare and ensure we have the teachers and resources needed on the first day of school.
Families should prepare for registration by gathering documents and completing forms on the FCPS kindergarten registration webpage. FCPS offers support and resources for all families to help with registration and the transition to kindergarten. For support in other languages, visit the kindergarten registration webpage.
✨ A strong start is Goal 1 of the 2023-30 Strategic Plan.
Asistir al kindergarten ofrece a los niños la oportunidad de aprender y practicar las habilidades sociales, emocionales, de resolución de problemas y de autorregulación esenciales que usarán durante toda su vida. Las escuelas públicas del Condado de Fairfax normalmente llevan a cabo eventos de inscripción para kindergarten-incluyendo orientación-en la primavera durante Lunes o Abril. Los niños elegibles también pueden inscribirse durante el verano, pero inscribir a su hijo temprano ayuda a las escuelas a prepararse y asegurarse de que tengan a mano los maestros y recursos que necesitan el primer día de clases.
Después de determinar a qué escuela asistirá su hijo, las familias deben prepararse para la inscripción reuniendo documentos y completando formularios, los detalles se pueden encontrar en la página web de inscripción de kindergarten de FCPS. FCPS ofrece apoyo y recursos para todas las familias para ayudar con la inscripción y la transición al kindergarten. Para apoyo en otros idiomas, visite la página web de inscripción de kindergarten.
The Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener will be administered to students in grades 3-12 in March. Students use the SEL Screener twice a year to share their perspectives on how well their school and community help them develop the skills they need to succeed. The screener works by asking questions or presenting statements that students can think about and respond to. This gives students a way to share how well their school community makes them feel valued, included, and supported.
After each screening, results are available in the Documents tab of SIS ParentVUE and mailed to families who do not have a ParentVUE account. For more information, including SEL Screener questions and opt-out information, please visit the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener webpage.
Thanks to a new program from the Virginia Department of Education, students who are fasting during the school day between February 28 and March 28 can now take school meal kits home at the end of the day.Families will need to fill out a weekly Fasting Meals Request Form for their child or children to receive school meal kits. A separate form must be filled out for each week and each student.To receive meal kits for Friday, February 28, and the week of March 3, please submit the first request form by Monday, February 24. Visit the FNS webpage for more information, including weekly request forms and deadlines.
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics and others:
- Flu Prevention
- Students Spread Joy
- Investing in our Classrooms
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
Remember to check the FCPS Calendar for school holidays and other important information.
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