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Greetings McNair Students and Families,
We are having another fantastic week at McNair Elementary, filled with learning and growth!
McNair CARES
We are excited to share that last week we rolled out our McNair CARES schoolwide positive behavior incentive program.
The purpose of the McNair CARES incentive program is to continue to develop a positive school culture where we increase the consistent demonstration of positive behaviors for ALL students, across all school settings. Be sure to ask your Mustang how many McNair CARES tickets their class has earned so far along with how their class earned their tickets. Stay tuned for more information in next week's newsletter around our McNair CARES schoolwide positive behavior incentive program. |
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Safety First!
As the warm weather greets us, please take a moment to review our McNair Arrival and Dismissal Procedures . This ensures a smooth and safe arrival and dismissal process for everyone.
Join Us for Upcoming Events:
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PTA Meeting: We look forward to seeing you at our PTA meeting this Wednesday at 6:30 PM here at McNair Elementary School.
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Kindergarten Registration and Popsicles with the Principal: Mark your calendars! Join Principal Watson and our School Registrar, Ms. Hosseini on Wednesday, March19th from 4:00-5:30pm to register your future Mustang for Kindergarten!
We appreciate your continuous partnership and support in your child's education. Wishing you a wonderful week, Mustangs!
All the best,
Mrs. Watson and Mrs. O'Bryant
Principal Elizabeth Watson
Assistant Principal Brandy O'Bryant
Please contact us with any questions!
Lifelong Learners Grow Here!
Click on the links below to navigate to sections of this newsletter.
Save the Date
📌March 19: Kindergarten Registration after Office Hours and Popsicle with the Principal, 4:00-5:30pm at McNair ES
📌March 19: Annual PTA Meeting at 6:30pm at McNair ES
📌March 31: Holiday- Eid; No School For Students
📌April 1: Teacher Workday; No School For Students
📌April 8: Spring Picture Day!
📌April 9: Purple Up Day! (In honor of our military children and families)
📌April 14-18: Spring Break; No School For Students
📌April 24: Family Engagement Earth Day Event; 4:30-6:00pm at McNair ES
📌April 28: 3 Hour Early Release Day, Dismissal will be at 12:30pm (Student supervision will be available for families who require it. SACC will be available for students that already participate in SACC programming.)
📌May 16-22: McNair Elementary School's Spring Scholastic Book Fair
📌May 19: 3 Hour Early Release Day, Dismissal will be at 12:30pm
📌May 19: Kindergarten Orientation from 2:00-3:00pm at McNair ES
📌May 21: Family Night at the Book Fair & Storytime with the Principal; 4:00-6:00pm at the McNair ES Library
📌May 21: PTA Parent Meeting; 6:30-8:00pm (Please join us!)
📌May 26: Holiday- Memorial Day; All schools and offices closed
📌June 9: Field Day at McNair Elementary School
📌June 10: End of Year Luau Day at McNair
📌June 11: McNair ES Awards Ceremony (More information coming soon!)
📌June 11: 2 Hour Early Release; Last Day of School for Students
**Please reference the School Year FCPS Calendar when making appointments or scheduling family trips. Attendance counts and everyday matters!**
Arrival and Dismissal
Doors open for arrival at 8:35 a.m. The school day begins at 8:45 a.m.
Dismissal begins at 3:30 p.m.
🙋Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
Good attendance is an important life skill that will help students succeed in school and beyond.
When scheduling trips or family events, try to use weekends and school holidays, and refer to the FCPS Calendar when planning. Every day of learning is a day toward success. Keep in mind that absences add up quickly. Students who are absent 10% of the school year (or just two days per month) are considered chronically absent. |
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When possible, schedule appointments for your child outside of school hours. If your child needs to miss school because of an illness or another reason, you must report the absence to the school. If you are unsure how to report an absence, please call the main office at 703-793-2800..
Watch this video with tips on understanding our school calendar and visit our Attendance webpage for additional information. Attend today, achieve tomorrow!
🐻 It’s Kindergarten Registration Time!
Register your Mustang for Kindergarten and enjoy a popsicle with the Principal!
The sooner you register your Mustang for Kindergarten, the better to ensure a highly qualified teacher and smaller class sizes. Please join us on Wednesday, March 19th from 4:00-5:30pm to get your child registered and for your rising Kindergartner to enjoy a popsicle with the Principal! We cannot wait to see you there!
**Please note, families are encouraged to register their child as soon as possible for kindergarten. This date accommodates families after typical office hours to register their child.**
Time to get your child registered!
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.
💻 Try Online Registration
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Online registration for the 2025-26 school year is open. Parents/caregivers may register their children 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.
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Advanced Academics Programming (AAP) March Newsletter
In March we celebrate Women’s History Month. How can your child use the Decisions and Outcomes strategy to invent something new like Mary Anderson? Check out the latest edition of the McNair AAP Community Newsletter published by Mrs. Janofsky and Mrs. Burg. In this edition you will find ways you can support the Decisions and Outcomes strategy, at home Portrait of a Graduate skills connections, as well as an AAP spring screening notification. |
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In the spring, schools review data on all students to determine services for the start of the next school year. Parents or guardians can initiate the screening process by submitting the AAP School-Based Services (Subject Specific and Part-Time) Referral Form to the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) by April 15, annually. Check out our newsletter for a link to the referral form.
March AAP Community Newsletter
 Yearbook Orders
It's already that time of year again where we are beginning to collect yearbook orders! Parents/guardians, please click on the following link to order your child a yearbook today: https://strawbridge.fotomerchanthv.com/search/YB30171
We Want Your Feedback! Principal Evaluation Parent/Guardian Questionnaire
On Monday, March 24, parents and guardians of McNair Elementary School will receive an email with a link to the FCPS Principal Evaluation Parent/Guardian Feedback Form. This questionnaire is part of the Performance Evaluation Program and provides an opportunity to share anonymous feedback about our school’s leadership and environment.
Topics covered in the survey include:
- Instructional leadership
- School climate
- Management (human resources and organizational)
- Communication and community relations
- Culturally responsive and equitable leadership
- Professionalism
The questionnaire will be open March 24 – April 4 and will be collected online. Keep an eye out for an email from FCPSSurvey@fcps.edu and take a few minutes to complete it.
Your input is valuable and helps shape the future of our school. Thank you for your time and feedback!
FCPS CARES
Is there a staff member at McNair Elementary School that you would like to recognize?
The FCPS CARES Program allows parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees who go above and beyond to help others and show they care about their students, colleagues, and the community. We invite you to submit a story below to acknowledge the great work of an FCPS employee or group of employees who should receive FCPS CARES recognition.
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Please take note of the following before submitting an FCPS CARES:
- Submissions are entered through StaffConnect, the HR portal for all employee actions. Select “I want to submit a(n)” and scroll to “FCPS Cares Submission.” The report will use the word “incident,” which is a generic term for all submissions, regardless of type.
- A notification email, with the submission text included, will be sent to the recipient(s) and copied to the recipient's supervisor(s).
- All submissions will be posted to our FCPS CARES webpage and shared via other FCPS news outlets.
- Submissions containing personal or sensitive information may be edited to protect individuals' privacy.
- Feel free to compose your submission using a text editor such as Microsoft Word before copying and pasting it in the StaffConnect text box.
- For questions, please email employeeawards@fcps.edu.
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Coates Elementary School Boundary Study Community Meetings - Update
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is conducting a division-wide review of school boundaries, with the first round of community meetings that were held between mid-November and mid-December 2024, followed by virtual sessions in January and February 2025.
However, the Coates Elementary School boundary study is a separate effort to address capacity challenges at the school. On February 20, 2025, the Fairfax County School Board received recommendations for the study’s scope. A final decision on the scope of the Boundary Study is expected at the March 13, 2025, School Board meeting. Schools included in the recommended boundary scope:
Herndon Pyramid
- Aldrin ES
- Armstrong ES
- Clearview ES
- Dranesville ES
- Herndon ES
- Hutchison ES
South Lakes Pyramid
- Dogwood ES
- Fox Mill ES
- Hunters Woods ES
- Lake Anne ES
- Terraset ES
Chantilly Pyramid
- Lees Corner ES
- Oak Hill ES
Westfield
- Floris ES
- McNair ES
- McNair Upper ES
AAP Level IV Center Boundaries
- Clearview ES
- Forest Edge ES
- Hunters Woods ES
- McNair Upper ES
- Oak Hill ES
- Sunrise Valley ES
Once the scope of the boundary study is approved by the School Board, FCPS staff will develop possible program and/or boundary change scenarios within the approved scope. These scenarios will be shared with the community, and opportunities for public input will be available through in-person and virtual meetings on:
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Wednesday, April 2, 2025, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Virtual via Zoom – Register here. For the virtual meeting, registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
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Monday, April 7, 2025 from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. In person - Coates Elementary School - Cafeteria
Each meeting will offer the same presentation and opportunity for community feedback, with language interpretation available. Families and community members can review the proposed changes and share their input.
Stay informed by visiting the Coates Elementary School Boundary Study, where you can also sign up for the mailing list to receive updates.
For any questions, please fill out this form. Your engagement in this process is important!
🚀 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.
Student Fasting Meal Kits Through 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 17, 2025, for the week of March 24, 2025
Forms must be submitted on time to receive meal kits for the following week.
Snacks for Staff
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We would love the help of our McNair families to stock the McNair and McNair Upper teacher workrooms with snacks, treats, and drinks for our hard working staff members to enjoy while they plan engaging lessons and activities for our Mustangs.
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We will have an updated link coming soon! Your support is greatly appreciated as we are very low on donations at the moment.
Donations can be dropped off to the designated school's main office each school day between 8 a.m. and 4p.m..
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Volunteer at McNair
As our community knows, teamwork makes the dream work! We are looking for parent volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our main office at 703-793-4800. |
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Get Involved with the PTA!
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Join the McNair PTA today!
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The PTA supports our schools through help from our community. One way we do that is through the help of our wonderful volunteers! Whether you're available for an hour a year or an hour a week to pitch in — we have opportunities that meet everyone's busy schedule!
For more information or to apply, please reach out to our PTA at board@mcnairespta.org.
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March McNair PTA General Membership Meeting & OOTM Awards Ceremony
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The McNair PTA is gearing up for an important General meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 at McNair ES.
Virtual: Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/teo-zsio-yvc
Or dial: (US) +1 619-836-1328 PIN: 943 585 838#
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More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/teo-zsio-yvc?pin=6066876682452
The McNair PTA is happy to announce that we will hand out certificates to all the students who participated in OOTM after the PTA general membership meeting.
McNair Chess Tournament
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Our next McNair Chess Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, March 29th, 2025.
Location: McNair Elementary School 2499 Thomas Jefferson Drive Herndon, VA 20171
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MAXIMUM ENTRIES 120
Pre-registration closes on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
The early pre-registration fee through Tuesday, March 25, 2025 is $40.00 per chess player.
The late pre-registration fee for Wednesday, March 26, 2025 and Thursday, March 27, 2025 is $45.00.
On-site registrations will close at 8:30 am on Saturday, March 29. The on-site registration fee is $50.00.
No Email/Phone Registrations allowed.
NOTE: If you need a bye for the later rounds - please notify us prior to the beginning of round 2.
Doors open at 8:00 am for on-site registrations. On-site registration closes at 8:30 am. The first round starts at 9:00 am.
Three (3) sections:
- K-3 G/30,d5 (5 rounds)
- K-5 G/45,d5 (4 rounds)
- K-8 G/45,d5 (4 rounds)
NOTE: REMINDER: Cancellations are subject to a $5.00 / player handling fee.
NOTE: Participants should use the back / cafeteria doors - the front doors will not be open.
Participants must have a USCF ID - to register: https://secure2.uschess.org/webstore/member.php
Pre-registrations (updated periodically): Pre-registrations
NOTE: Our chess tournaments are subject to Fairfax County Public School policies. In case of inclement weather - please check www.fcps.edu.
Upcoming Tournaments:
Tentative - McNair Scholastic Chess - April 26, 2025
Please address questions or concerns to mcnairchess@gmail.com
Link to Register: https://tinyurl.com/rh5stzw2
Our PTA is on Facebook
Please like and follow to get the latest updates.
Harris Teeter Together In Education- Fundraiser
Harris Teeter’s Together In Education Program gives schools a chance to earn funds when you link your VIC card and shop Harris Teeter brands. A percentage of your purchase is donated to the school that your VIC card is linked to. There are NO LIMITS to how much a school can earn.
Please use the annual sign up form for the TIE program from Harris Teeter. Note: You need to re-register every year for this program.
You can also sign up in-person at the counter using our school code: 5090.
Community Resources
Buy Nothing Facebook Group Herndon
PTA Volunteers Needed
We need volunteers to be Event Coordinators for the following events:
- Financial Committee (3 volunteers needed!)
- Movie Night
- Bingo Night
- Kids vs. Adults Sports Tournament
- 6th Grade Promotion Ceremony
What Does an Event Coordinator Do?
Event Coordinators act as the main organizer and point of contact for their chosen event; lead a team of volunteers, brainstorm ideas, and make sure everything runs smoothly on the day of the event.
We're also looking for friendly Coaches and volunteers to host events like Science Olympiad Division B, ACSL, Odyssey of the Mind and Reflections.
Please click on the link to join the volunteer group:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/JZ4KRYb4mYh5N2Qt6NJOKu
FCPS News
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics and others:
- Second Annual Food Show
- Cameras on School Bus Stop Arms
- Comprehensive Boundary Review Process Explained
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
Quarter End, Eid al-Fitr, and Student Holiday
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Friday, March 28, is the last day of the third quarter. It is a full day of school for students.
All FCPS schools and offices are closed on Monday, March 31, for Eid al-Fitr. Tuesday, April 1, is a student holiday and teacher workday. See the complete school year calendar.
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 FCPS Strategic Plan
FCPS’ 2023-30 Strategic Plan sets five main goals to create positive change in the division. These goals show where we should focus our attention and will help us align our efforts.
 FCPS Budget — Our Students Deserve the Best
More than $240 million of FCPS’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Advertised Budget is dedicated to increasing compensation for our teachers and staff to stay competitive and reduce turnover. Currently, FCPS ranks fifth out of eight neighboring districts in regards to starting salary for teachers with a master’s degree.
Our families expect — and our students deserve — the best teachers.
Next Steps in the Budget Process
The next steps in the FCPS FY 2026 Budget process include the School Board presenting the budget to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, April 22, and then the Board of Supervisors will conduct public hearings Tuesday, April 22, through Thursday, April 24. Community members can submit testimony or sign up to speak.
Visit the county government website to view the Fairfax County FY 2026 Advertised Budget. The community is also invited to complete an online survey to provide feedback on the county’s FY 2026 Advertised Budget.
Learn more about the FCPS FY 2026 Budget process.
Reminder to Sign Up Weekly for Student Fasting Meal Kits
Students who are fasting during the school day between now and March 28 can take school meal kits home at the end of the day. Families must fill out a separate request form for each week and for each student in order to receive school meal kits. To receive meal kits for the week of March 24, please fill out this form by March 17.
Please remind your child to pick up their meals each day at our school’s designated location. Visit the Food and Nutrition Services webpage for more information, including weekly request forms and deadlines.
🛑 Cameras Installed on School Bus Stop Arms
Cameras have been installed on the stop arms of 50 FCPS school buses. These cameras will be used to identify drivers who pass stopped school buses while children are entering and exiting the bus (called a “stop arm violation”).
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Warnings for drivers will begin on Wednesday, April 9. After a 30-day warning period, citations will begin to be issued on Monday, May 12.
According to Virginia law, drivers must stop for stopped school buses with flashing red lights on and their stop signs extended. Motorists should stop when approaching from any direction (unless there is a barrier or median separating their lane from where the bus is stopped). They should remain stopped until everyone is clear and the bus is moving.
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We appreciate our law enforcement partners for working with us to improve road safety and reduce accidents. Read more information about the stop arm cameras and all of the ways that we work with our county partners to keep students safe on their way to and from school.
📍 The Comprehensive School Boundary Review Process Explained
Want to learn more about the ongoing Comprehensive School Boundary Review process? Watch this video for explanations of terms such as attendance zones, attendance islands, split feeders, and other factors that affect school boundaries. The video will also be available in other languages soon.
Visit FCPS’ Comprehensive Boundary Review webpage for more information and sign up for our School Boundary Review newsletter.
📑 Varsity Tutors Provides On-Demand Support at No Cost
FCPS is partnering with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors’ services at no cost, including weekly live online classes; on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring; essay editing; and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests. Learn more about online tutoring with Varsity Tutors.
Please stay in touch with us by
👍❤️ Follow Our School on Social Media!
Want to see more photos and videos of what’s going on at McNair Elementary School? Follow us on social media!
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Thank you for your partnership as we gallop together in supporting our Mustangs!
#BloomingTogether #McNairCARES
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