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Upcoming Events

Mar 10th - 3-Hour Early Release, 12:20 pm

Mar 13th – Literacy Glow Night – 6:00 pm

March 18th - Club and Candid Photo Day

March 21st - PTA sponsored Author Visit with John Gallagher

Mar 31st – School Holiday, Eid at Fitr

April 1st - Kindergarten Orientation 3:00 – 4:15pm

April 1st - Teacher Workday- No school

Apr 2nd - Family Academy – Doing the Math – Library 06:30 pm

Apr 9th – Purple Up! Day

April 14-18th - Spring Break- No School

Link to 2024-2025 School Year Calendar 2024-25 FCPS School Year Calendar

Because of technical difficulties, if any link does not work, please copy, and paste it into your browser.

A Message from the Principal

While it may be the last day of February, it has felt like spring the last few days.  Our Ravens have enjoyed the warmer weather outside this week.  It has been a joy to see them playing and having fun together.

March is full of reading fun!  The Ravensworth PTA is kicking off Read for Ravensworth on March 1^st.  More details can be found in this newsletter.  Next week is Read Across America, and we hope your child will participate in the many fun spirit days planned.  On March 13^th we will be hosting a Literacy Glow Night from 6:00-7:00 pm.  Families will participate in fun hands-on literacy activities.  We hope you will join us!  Thanks to the generosity of the Ravensworth PTA, we will have John Gallagher, a local author, visit with our students on March 21^st. 

We appreciate your continued partnership and the literacy support that you provide your child.

Sincerely,

Erika Aspuria

Principal

Kindergarten Registration: It’s as Easy as 1-2-3…

There’s an easy five-step process for parents wanting to register their child for kindergarten:

1. Determine eligibility. 
2. Identify your local school. 
3. Gather documents. 
4. Fill out forms. 
5. Schedule an appointment.

After the appointment at the school (one parent/guardian must be present), the student will be ready for the orientation to be held on April 1^st, 3:00 pm at Ravensworth Elementary School. Read more about the registration process.

Try Online Registration

Online registration for the 2025-26 school year is open. Parents/caregivers may register their new student(s) online for kindergarten through 12th grade. Learn how to begin the online registration process. 

When registering, parents/caregivers will need to create or log in to an existing SIS ParentVUE account. 

For additional information, please contact Teresa Dunbar, our school registrar, at (703) 426-3603.

Kindergarten Orientation, Tuesday April 1^st

We are excited to welcome our rising Kindergarteners for the 2025-2026 school year. Kindergarten Orientation for incoming kindergarten students and their parents will be held on Tuesday, April 1^st.

Details are in the works and more info to come. Please save the date and mark your calendars! If you have a child who will be age 5 on or before September 30, 2020, then it is time to register your child for the 2025-2026 school year. 

We request that you begin the registration process as soon as possible.

Registration information and forms are available online at: https://www.fcps.edu/registration/kindergarten-registration.

For questions, contact the Registrar, Teresa Dunbar at 703-426-3600 or tldunbar1@fcps.edu

Literacy Glow Night

VDH Immunization Packets for Rising 7^th Graders

Required by the Code of Virginia, parents or legal guardians need to provide proof of immunizations for their child to attend public school. All students entering seventh grade are required to receive one dose of each of the following immunizations: 

• Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis booster (Tdap) given at age 7 or older.
• Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) given at age 10 or older.
• A complete series of 2 doses of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. 

• After reviewing educational materials approved by the Board of Health, the parent or guardian, at the parents/guardians sole discretion, may elect for the child not to receive the HPV vaccine.

Parents/guardians are encouraged to plan ahead by scheduling an appointment with their child’s health care provider now to avoid the rush this summer. If your child does not have a health care provider, please visit the FCPS Immunizations Resource page to find out where to get an immunization.

Please review the Virginia Department of Health Information Packet for more information on rising 7th grade immunization requirements. 

Ramadan

This year, Ramadan begins on the evening of Friday February 28th. Ramadan is marked by personal and community prayer as well as fasting from dawn to sunset. If your child will be fasting, please let your child’s teacher know. We will be offering a space for students to go instead of the cafeteria if they plan to fast and want to be prepared. Thank you!

Student Fasting Meal Kits for February 28 - March 28, 2025

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has issued a new, first-time waiver allowing students fasting during the school day from February 28 to March 28, 2025, to request take-home breakfast and lunch meal kits. The Office of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) will provide meal kits reflecting the school menu. Meals will be kept cold and must be heated at home. Students may claim one breakfast and one lunch kit per day. If a student purchases breakfast or lunch at school, they cannot pick up a kit that day. Meal kits must be picked up by students at the end of the school day—adults cannot collect them. Parents or guardians must submit a weekly request form via the FCPS FNS website by the deadlines:

• March 3, 2025, for the week of March 10, 2025
• March 10, 2025, for the week of March 17, 2025
• March 17, 2025, for the week of March 24, 2025

*Forms must be submitted on time to receive meal kits for the following week.

Author Visiting Ravensworth ES' Library

While we’re buzzing with book excitement, we wanted to share the news that award-winning artist and author, John Gallagher, is scheduled to visit our school on Friday, March 21^st!  He has written the “furr-osciously funny” Max Meow: Cat Crusader graphic novel series. You can read more about him and his books here. We ordered the series and will have it on display in our library soon!

We now have a link available, thanks to Read Early and Daily, where families can preorder signed Max Meow books ahead of the author visit. ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY MARCH 14th by noon to ensure a signed copy. You can find the information here: https://www.readbooknook.org/author-visit-john-gallagher

According to his bio, John is an art teacher, art director, co-founder of “Kids Love Comics” (an organization that uses graphic novels to promote literacy) and leads workshops teaching kids how to create their own comics. He lives in Virginia with his family including a cat, Millie, and a dog, Cody (who appears in the Max Meow books). John learned to read with comics, so he is more than excited to share the magic of reading, fun, and imagination with the young readers of the world. We look forward to the fun, inspiration, and encouragement that lies ahead for our students in March.

Magnet School Application and Lottery Information

The Magnet Program registration window will open Tuesday, March 4, 2025, and close Friday, April 4, 2025.  No late applications are accepted.

To learn more about the programs and the registration process, families are encouraged to attend one of the Parent Information Nights:

Month of the Military Child

April is the Month of the Military Child, a time to honor and celebrate the resilience, courage, and contributions of FCPS military-connected children.

To show our support, FCPS will celebrate Purple Up! Day on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Please note that this date has been adjusted to align with our spring break schedule. On this day, school staff and students are encouraged to wear purple, symbolizing unity and support for military families across all service branches.

Purchase the FCPS Purple Up! T-shirt and/or hoodie between now and March 7 to wear on Purple Up! Day! Please share this link with your offices and school communities.

Please note, the cost of shipping and handling is per shipping address. You may consider arranging bulk orders. 

Prepare for a Summer of Learning and Fun

Registration will be available soon for summer camps offered by Fairfax County Public Schools for all students. Career and Technical Education (CTE) camps and Institute for the Arts (IFTA) camps will be held in July at Lake Braddock Secondary School from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bus transportation will be available from select FCPS middle and high schools. Registration begins for these programs on Monday, March 10, and ends Friday, June 6.

Tech Adventure Camp (TAC) is a week-long exploratory camp designed to allow current K-5 students to explore activities in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), culinary arts, health, trades, and business and marketing areas. Watch this video about CTE camps.

E-IFTA is a weekly arts camp for students in grades 2-5 who love to sing, dance, act, perform, make, and create. Students take part in four daily classes related to dance, music, theater, and visual art. They work with FCPS fine arts teachers who create fun and engaging classes. 

For more information, see the Summer Learning page.

FCPS Cares

FCPS Cares is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can all acknowledge the good work of our Ravensworth Elementary staff members.

Classroom Monitor Needed

Ravensworth is looking for a student monitor to help support students in the cafeteria and on the playground.  The hours would be 11am-2 pm Tuesday through Thursday.  Monitors are paid $16.48 per hour.  If you are interested in this position, please forward your resume to Amy Heiman, Assistant Principal, at amheiman@fcps.edu.

PTA

Join the PTA

Hey Ravensworth Families!

We need YOU to make it even better! Join Rio the Raven and become a superhero by signing up for the PTA today.

As a superhero, you have the power to make a significant impact on the Ravensworth school community by joining the Ravensworth Elementary PTA! With the PTA's exciting calendar of events for the year, there's a perfect opportunity for you to get involved, share your talents, and help create a vibrant, supportive environment for all students. From fundraisers to fun school activities, your superhero energy will be a valuable asset in making this year unforgettable. 

Join us and be part of something extraordinary!

Read Across America

The PTA is planning a Read-A-Thon fundraiser for the month of March to help bolster excitement for reading while also supporting the school. As part of the March reading fun, we are organizing theme days for Read Across America week from Monday 3/3- Friday 3/7. We hope you’ll join us in participating to share your own enthusiasm about reading with our students! They look up to us and we have the great opportunity to model our love of reading to them. We will also be working to coordinate mystery readers and trivia on the news show as we did last year for those competitive classrooms who enjoy a challenge. Looking forward to a month full of books and reading coming soon!

PTA Reading Raiser

Ravensworth Elementary will be running a 2025 Reading Raiser from March 1st to March 25th, 2025.

A Reading-Raiser is like a jog-a-thon, except your child will be reading books instead of running laps, and earning pledges based on how much they read. Everything is tracked online, which makes inviting sponsors and logging reading much easier!

Here are two videos that explain how to participate in the Reading-Raiser:

- How to authorize your child's Reading-Raiser account:

https://youtu.be/X4KCsWBwA7M

- How to become a sponsor and invite more sponsors:

https://youtu.be/NrUbWdEfy24

Your child will receive a private online account at https://app.readafun.com/ where he/she will log reading. Parent and student instructions on how to use the website have been sent home. Your child will not be able to invite any sponsors without your authorization. Follow this link to view instructions on how to use your parent account:

https://app.readafun.com/guides/parent?d=797.

IMPORTANT: Readafun works best if you use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox or Safari.

Unlike other fundraisers where we keep only 40-60% of each donation, our school keeps 80% of each donation using this program. We are excited to promote reading and help our school raise the necessary money for our ongoing needs.

Reading logins will be going out in Wednesday folders. You may log in to the site early, but please keep in mind that no minutes read, or money raised will count toward the school total until Saturday the 1st. And if you would like to get more involved, please contact the PTA at readingforravensworth@gmail.com. We would love extra help with prize distribution and packing, incentive ideas, and cheering the kids on online.

Thank you so much for your support!

Ravensworth Yearbooks!

Want to have all the memories the school year brings?  The time has come to order your Ravensworth Elementary School Yearbooks. The price of the yearbook is $18.50.  Take advantage of the savings and order your yearbook today! 

Order site: Lifetouch.com

Yearbook ID Code: 4882625

School Name: Ravensworth Elementary School 

Chess Club

For everyone in grades 2 - 6 interested in learning and playing chess

• All levels welcome!
• Chess Club meets every Friday after school in the cafeteria (Chess club will not be held on any days the school is closed or there is early release).
• $130/semester (includes one club T-shirt per year and snacks)

Players are grouped by ability, not age.  We teach the rules to beginners and strategy to experienced players.

Chess teaches responsibility, discipline, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Chess players learn how to make the most of their opportunities and how to turn a bad situation to their advantage.  They learn not to make excuses for their setbacks, and to win and lose graciously.

Chess Club is offered through our partnership with the U.S. Chess Center (https://chessctr.org). All instructors are certified chess coaches.

For more information, contact Ravensworth PTA  at president@ravensworthpta.org or the U.S. Chess Center at admin@chessctr.org

Register at https://chessctr.org/ravensworth

Spirit Wear Fit for You

Did everyone outgrow their Spirit Wear this summer? The Ravensworth Spirit Wear Store has all the sizes you need to stay comfortable and keep your

Ravens Pride. You can also pick-up Spirit Wear at all August events from the PTA table. Get your gear and start the school year looking stylish.

Follow Ravensworth on Social Media

Are you connected to Ravensworth Elementary School and the Ravensworth PTA on social media? The PTA’s Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/ravensworthelementarypta and the school’s accounts are https://www.facebook.com/RavensworthElementary

5411 Nutting Drive, Springfield, VA 22151 |  Main Phone: 703.426.3600   |  Attendance: 703.426.3636 | Web | Twitter