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Dear Belle View Families,
I hope your family enjoys this long holiday weekend! Next week we will finish all SOL retakes, and our students will be finished with state assessments.
We had an impressive showing at the West Potomac High School "Running is Elementary" track meet this week. An incredibly special shout out and THANK YOU to our PE teachers, Ms. Trimer and Ms. Coffey and all our staff and parent volunteers. The kids had a blast.
We have a lot to be proud of this year. Our multilingual learners have made tremendous growth and progress, and nine students have exited out of our ESOL program...Way to go Mrs. McIntire and Mrs Papagjika.
This week we will be hosting about a dozen West Potomac Seniors for their "act of service" day and on Thursday, we will do a whole school clap out where 25 WPHS seniors/Belle View Alumni will come and walk through the halls in their cap and gown and our students will cheer then onto graduation. It is an amazing new tradition and something our BV students can look forward to in their future.
Proud Principal,
Katie Pluntke
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Third graders participated in the Olympic Games. |
After a successful pilot of three-hour early release Mondays at the elementary level in the 2024-25 school year, FCPS will shift to eight early release Wednesdays in SY 2025-26. Dedicated time for planning and professional development is essential to maintain instructional quality. It also creates opportunities for staff to focus on at-risk students, including those with high absenteeism, through targeted interventions and support. Additionally, this initiative helps address the disparity in planning time between elementary teachers and their middle and high school counterparts (300 minutes elementary vs. 450 minutes middle and high).
- Elementary school staff are expected to deliver high-quality, personalized instruction in math, reading, writing, social studies, and science while staying current with research-based best instructional practices.
- Providing an excellent education to all students and meeting individual student needs requires dedicated and appropriate planning time for teachers.
- A well-supported and continuously improving teaching staff will lead to better educational outcomes for students.
- Early release Wednesdays will be in effect for the 2025-26 school year. On designated Wednesdays, teachers will have 1.5 individual hours of planning time and 1.5 hours of school-directed planning time.
- This initiative supports the adoption of new textbooks, multi-tiered systems of support, Strategic Plan initiatives, Universal Design for Learning, the Virginia Literacy Act, and new Reading and Math SOLs.
- Early release Wednesdays will also facilitate necessary training for curriculum updates, the expansion of ELA for grades 4–8, and to ensure a shift toward increased inclusive practices and programming for all students.
- The three-hour early release will not impact the state mandated number of instructional hours but will reduce the amount of built in snow days.
- It will also reduce our reliance on substitutes (who are in short supply) to cover for teachers who are engaged in professional development.
- We encourage all parents/caregivers to have their student take their normal route home (bus, walk, kiss and ride) on early dismissal days.
- While these are designated as early release days, where necessary, we will ensure that every student has supervised activities at the school and returns home at the regular time if that is what works best for families.
Proposed Dates for Early Release Wednesdays Early release Wednesdays will start in mid-September 2025. Each elementary school will have a total of eight early release days throughout the school year, which is about one per month. Lunch will be provided on early release Wednesdays.
Early release Wednesdays for elementary schools in the Centreville, Chantilly, Fairfax, Hayfield, Justice, Lewis, Mount Vernon, Oakton, Robinson, South County, Westfield, and West Potomac pyramids:
- September 17
- October 15
- November 19
- December 17
- February 25
- March 25
- April 29
- May 20
Phase 2 Community Boundary Review Meetings
Families, staff, and community members can explore and visualize potential boundary scenarios using a customized Boundary Explorer Tool. The tool will be accessible from the FCPS website. You are also invited to participate in another series of community meetings in order to review and reflect on the initial draft scenarios before the start of summer break:
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Friday, May 16, 6:30-8 p.m., at Robinson Secondary School
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Monday, May 19, 6:30-8 p.m., at Herndon High School
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Friday, May 23, 7-8:30 p.m., at Lewis High School
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Wednesday, May 28, 7-8:30 p.m., at Annandale High School
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Thursday, May 29, 6:30-8 p.m., at Whitman Middle School
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Friday, May 30, 6:30-8 p.m., at Chantilly High School
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Friday, June 6, 6:30-8 p.m., at Glasgow Middle School
Click the date to register. Each meeting will be hybrid, meaning that you may attend in person or via Zoom. Childcare for in-person participants and language interpretation/translation for all participants will be available as needed. Another round of community meetings will be held in the fall.
Visit FCPS’ Comprehensive Boundary Review page for more information.
SIgn up to bring fruit, veggie, or chips to share.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/BVES2025#/
Learn About Life Skills Every Child Needs
The FCPS Family Academy will present an in-person workshop this summer on the Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. At this eight-week workshop, discover why these skills matter, how they help your child grow, and fun ways to build them at home. These are proven strategies based on research about how kids learn and develop. The workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays from June 17 to August 12 at the John Marshall Library. Free child care is provided. Register here.
FCPS Summer Camps and Programs
Tech Adventure Camp and Elementary Institute for the Arts camp (IFTA) 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 ends Friday, June 6.
Tech Adventure Camp is a weekly exploratory camp for current K-5 students. It offers a range of activities in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), as well as in culinary arts, health, trades, and business and marketing. 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.
V.I.P. Summer Camp for Rising 7th Graders
Registration for the Values in Prevention summer camp is open. This camp serves rising 7th and 8th grade (2025 - 2026 school year) students who reside in the Sandburg, Hayfield, Key, Twain, and Whitman Middle School boundaries.
V.I.P. Summer Camp Registration Link - Eastern Fairfax
Campers will have a great time participating in sports, games, fitness, art, and STEM activities in a safe environment. The program is led by FCPS After-School Program staff and Fairfax County Teen/Community Center Staff. The camp will be held July 1st- July 31st (no camp on July 4th), from 9:00am-4:00pm (open at 8:00am for drop off) at Walt Whitman Middle School (2500 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306). Bus transportation is provided from local neighborhood schools. The camp is $100 for 5 weeks (additional costs for field trips). Questions? Please reach out to the Sandburg Middle School After School Specialist, Mr. Jamaal Carter at JLCarter3@fcps.edu.
 
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Belle View Family Fun Night-May 30th from 6-8pm
Spring Concert-June 3rd at 6 pm in the gym
6th Grade Promotion Ceremony-June 10th at 9:30am
Dismissal Schedule for the Last Day of School
On the last day of school, Wednesday, June 11, school will be dismissed at 1:55PM
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Quick Links
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Name: Veronica Paris
Position: Art teacher
Years in FCPS/Education: 10/17
Interest/hobbies: reading, writing and illustrating books, hiking, learning languages
Favorite Children’s Book: Anything Roald Dahl
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