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Hive Happenings Newsletter

Dear Stenwood Families,

It's hard to believe we've already finished our fifth week of school! Today was packed with celebrations and special activities.

Over the past few weeks, we've been highlighting the attributes from our CARES Expectations. Today, we celebrated one student from each class who exemplified Cooperation, which means working together with a common goal. Each month, we'll honor a student from each class who best demonstrates one of our CARES Expectations, allowing us to focus on each expectation twice throughout the year.

Today also marked our first Hive Family Meeting of the school year! We started our Hive Families last year as a way to build community. These multi-grade groups bring together K-6 students and a staff member for a monthly meeting. Each group has one or two students from every grade, and a staff member guides them through discussions, activities, and games. This helps increase a sense of belonging across grade levels and connects students with another trusted adult at school. Hive families stay together from year to year with the same group of students and staff members.

After each meeting, we'll include some fun questions in our Hive Happenings that you can ask your child. Here are a few to get the conversation started:

• Can you show me your Hive Family handshake?
• What did you have in common with people in your Hive Family?
• What was your "buzz word"?
• What did you draw with your Hive?
• What are you excited about for Hive Families this year?

Your child’s Hive Family staff member is also sending home a letter today to introduce themselves. If your child missed the meeting, their classroom teacher will make sure they get the letter next week. You can also view this FCPS video to see our Stenwood Hive Families in action. The dates for all of our upcoming Hive Family meetings are listed below.

Mrs. Workman hosted the inaugural Battle of the Books Book Club for 6^th graders, featuring the book Forget Me Not. The 5^th grade club will convene next week. Each month a staff member will facilitate a book club for 5^th and 6^th graders during their lunch period. This initiative offers students who have read the book, or who are simply interested in learning more, an excellent opportunity to prepare for the long-standing Stenwood tradition of the Battle of the Books. The October book club will be led by Ms. Higdon and will center on the book The War that Saved My Life.

As a reminder, next Tuesday, September 23^rd, is a student and staff holiday. All FCPS schools and offices will be closed.

Below you will find information about the following items:

• First Hive Families Meetings - NEW
• Benchmark: Learning About Life Science in Language Arts - NEW
• Equity Team - Parent Members - Reminder
• Holidays and Observations Drawing Contest - Reminder
• Volunteering at Stenwood - Reminder
• Advanced Academics - Upcoming Information Sessions and More - First Meeting Next Week
• Kiss N Ride Reminders - No Lefts - Reminder
• Walkers Reminders - Reminder
• FCPS School Start Times - Feedback Open - NEW
• FCPS Boundary Review - NEW
• Rosh Hashanah - NEW
• Bond Referendum - NEW
• 🌞 Celebrate Sun Day on September 21^st - NEW
• Lightspeed - Reminder
• School Meals and Free/Reduced Lunch Applications 
• Stenwood PTA - Form due 9/19

Sincerely,

Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu 

Bryan Case, Assistant Principal 
bgcase@fcps.edu

First Hive Families Meetings

Here are all of the rest of our Hive Family Dates for the year so you can help prioritize your child being at school to meet with their Hive Family:

Friday, October, 17^th 2:45-3:15PM

Friday, November 14^th, 9:00-9:30AM

Wednesday, December 17^th, 9:00-9:30AM

Wednesday, January 21^st, 2:45-3:15PM

Friday, February 27^th, 9:00-9:30AM

Friday, March 27^th, 9:00-9:30AM

Monday, April 13^th, 9:00-9:30AM (School Wide Meeting with Hives)

Wednesday, June 3^rd, 9:00-9:30AM

Benchmark

📚 Learning About Life Science in Language Arts 📚

Benchmark Unit 1 in Language Arts is about life science. Students in K-5 will be learning about plants, animals, and nature. Sixth grade students will learn about the natural balance of nature. 

Connect with your child’s learning at school with these fun questions and hands-on activities at home:

• Question: What are some ways we can take care of nature and living things?
• Activity: Pick an animal and act out how it moves or survives in its habitat — see if family members can guess!

At the end of the unit, your child will take their unit magazine home. The magazine includes an activity calendar with fun ways to help students build on what they’re learning at each grade level. You can also find information on how to support your child’s reading at home on the Benchmark Families website. 

Equity Team

We are inviting parents to join our Stenwood Equity Team which is made up of staff from each grade level and content area. Last year we had 3 parents on our team and we are looking for a couple more!  We meet at 8:10am once per month on Thursdays. During the meetings, we focus on ways to promote equitable teaching practices and affirm identities and backgrounds of our diverse community.  It's important to have insight and perspectives representative of our community. If you are interested in joining us, please email Tammy Berick at tsberick@fcps.edu and Heather Ogun at hogun@fcps.edu. 

Holidays and Observations Drawing Contest

Our Equity Team is hosting an ongoing drawing contest to celebrate all the holidays and observations throughout the year.

Submission Details: For the first half of the year, we will collect submissions on the 1^st of each month for holidays occurring the following month. For instance, since Veterans' Day is on November 11^th, drawings for it would be due by October 1^st. You're welcome to turn in your artwork early—just drop it in the box in the office!  

What Happens Next? The winning drawing will be featured in our newsletter and on our social media. All other submissions will be proudly displayed in our hallways for everyone to enjoy!

Missing a Holiday? If your family celebrates a holiday or observance that isn't on our list, please feel free to include it!

Ready to Draw? You can pick up a template paper for the contest in your classroom or the office, and it is posted on our website for easy access.   We can’t wait to see the incredible artwork from our Stenwood artists!

Volunteering at Stenwood

At Stenwood, our volunteers are a vital part of our school community. We deeply value the time and care they give to our students. 

Recent updates to FCPS’ volunteer process focus on one primary goal: keeping students safe.  If you plan on volunteering to chaperone at any point during the school year, we encourage you to start your application now, https://fcps.samaritan.com/custom/501/opp_details/1134.  If you plan on volunteering at school, but know you will not be chaperoning a field trip, you can start your application with this link: https://fcps.samaritan.com/custom/501/affiliation_details/3250. 

These updates — such as checks against the sex offender registry and, in some cases, criminal background checks — are safety measures that will help us maintain a secure and supportive learning environment for every student in our care. 

We encourage all our parents and community members interested in supporting our students by volunteering at school to visit the links above, click “Learn More,” and then “Sign Up.” After you create a profile, you will view an orientation video and complete a volunteer application. 

Volunteer FCPS ensures a safe, consistent, and welcoming environment at all of our schools. All volunteers must be registered in Volunteer FCPS. This includes individuals who volunteer to chaperone on field trips, work at book fairs, and help out regularly in classrooms, libraries, or cafeterias. Volunteers who work unsupervised with students will also be required to undergo a background check.

We understand these changes may seem disruptive, especially for long-time volunteers. Our intent is to ensure that our students feel safe and supported with each and every person they encounter at school.

As a reminder, all volunteers — and visitors to a school — are required to sign in by scanning their ID at our Visitor Management System. Visit the Volunteer FCPS Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more. 

Advanced Academics Programs Upcoming Information Sessions and More

Ability Test Retake Requests:

For students in grades 2 - 6, if you are interested in having your child use their one-time ability test retake this fall, please email Kaleigh Hartman at kkhartman@fcps.edu and Bryan Case at bgcase@fcps.edu no later than September 20^th, 2025.

Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) Parent Informational Meetings:

• AAP Continuum of Services – Friday, September 26^th 8:45-9:30 A.M. in the Cafeteria
• Consider joining Advanced Academics Resource Teacher, Kaleigh Hartman, to learn more about the various AAP services offered in FCPS.
• Full-Time AAP Screening & Identification – Friday, October 10^th 8:45-9:30 A.M. in the Cafeteria
• Geared for parents of 2^nd-6^th graders interested in referring their child for full-time AAP services.
• Questions? Please reach out to Kaleigh Hartman at kkhartman@fcps.edu

Kiss N’ Ride Reminders

If you choose to park on Carnegie and walk up for arrival and/or dismissal, please know that the streets directly behind Stenwood are permit parking only.  In addition, please be respectful of our neighbors.  Please do not block driveways or crosswalks.  During grade-level and schoolwide events, we do work with the Fairfax County Police Department to get permission for families to park in the neighborhood.  When advertising events, we will communicate if the parking in the neighborhood has been coordinated. That exemption is not in place for arrival or dismissal.  FCPD can issue citations for both parking without a permit and illegal parking.  Several neighbors have reached out with their concerns, please help Stenwood be a good neighbor to our Stenwood neighbors.

Walkers Reminders

Parents picking up their children at dismissal, please make sure to wait on the blacktop so that our walkways to the cars and special transportation vans are clear.  Please also remember that FCPS Schools have a No Dogs Allowed policy.  If you are walking with your dog, please stop at the entrance to the loop to keep them off FCPS property. 

FCPS School Start Times

Take the K-12 School Start Times Survey

FCPS is continuing to explore options for adjusting school start times, with the primary goal of starting the middle school day at 8 a.m. or after. In order to minimize any cost for this project, elementary and high school start times would need to shift as well.

Providing feedback opportunities for the community is a critical part of this effort. Since 2024, FCPS’ consultant has hosted five community forums and administered two surveys. That feedback helped in developing two options for adjusting school start times. The options are designed to support student well-being, align with research, and balance transportation logistics.

We invite you to provide input on the two options by taking a short survey. This voluntary survey will close on Tuesday, September 30^th. Visit the FCPS website for more information on adjusting school start times.

Participate in an Upcoming Community Boundary Review Meeting 

As a reminder, FCPS will hold two sets of community boundary review meetings this fall — one in September and another in October. Each set of meetings will focus on two pyramids per meeting. 

All September meetings will include an overview of where FCPS is in the comprehensive boundary review process, an update and opportunity for feedback on school start times, how community input is informing the process, and next steps in the boundary review process. 

The meeting for our pyramid will be held Saturday, September 27^th, 9 to 10 a.m., at Marshall High School (In Person or Virtual). Please register by clicking “in person” or “virtual,” depending on how you would like to participate. 

Child care for in-person participants and language interpretation/translation for all participants will be available as needed. 

Visit the FCPS website for a full list of meeting dates and information about the October meetings.

Rosh Hashanah

Shanah tovah to our Jewish community celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year! Meaning “head of the year,” Rosh Hashanah is one of Judaism’s holiest days and marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, a 10-day period of introspection that ends with Yom Kippur.

🏗️ School Bond Referendum on Ballot Tuesday, November 4^th

The $460 million School Bond Referendum — supporting the division and county’s commitment to providing safe and welcoming learning environments for all students — will be on the Tuesday, November 4^th, general election ballot. 

The funding provided by voter-approved bonds is expected to fund projects identified in the FY 2026-30 Capital Improvement Program, which was approved by the School Board in February. 

The building and renovation of our schools is not funded through the division’s operating budget. Voter-approved bonds allow payment for these projects over time. Read more about the 2025 Bond Referendum. Watch this video that explains, “What Is a bond?” 

Make sure you have a voting plan! Learn more about registering to vote.

🌞 Celebrate Sun Day on September 21^st, 2025

Celebrate the launch of FCPS’ solar initiative and the arrival of 17 new electric school buses at Louise Archer Elementary School on Sunday, September 21^st, from 10 a.m. to noon. Come learn more about the great work FCPS is doing to reduce its carbon footprint and meet sustainability goals. 

Bring the family for live music, solar story time, student-led sustainability demos, and other activities. Register for Sun Day today.

Lightspeed

🔍 See Where Your Child Goes Online With Lightspeed

Parents can access their child’s activity on FCPS devices through Lightspeed, the school division’s internet content filtering service. Parents may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites their child visited. 

The report also offers parents the ability to sign up for the Internet Use Parent Portal. Through the portal, parents may pause their child’s access to the internet on their FCPS device during non-school hours.

Learn more about Lightspeed Parent Reports.

School Meals and Free/ Reduced Lunch Applications

Breakfast and Lunch Breakfast will be $1.75.  Lunch will be $3.25, milk $1.00.  Money can be added to your child(ren)’s accounts using www.myschoolbucks.com.  You can also write a check to Stenwood Food Services and deliver it to our Food Services Manager at Open House.   During the school year, you can find the menu for breakfast and lunch at https://linqconnect.com/public/menu/ESSF44 (these menus do not appear to be available yet).

Free and Reduced-Price Status

Students eligible for free or reduced-price meals will continue to receive these benefits through the end of September.   A new application must be filled out each new school year and forms are available  online now: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/food-and-nutrition-programs/free-and-reduced-price-meals.  Applications are accepted at any time, but we encourage you to apply or renew your application before the end of September. Call (703) 813-4800 if you need help. This must be completed for eligible students to receive free meals.  

Stenwood Elementary PTA - Form due today

We hope you join our amazing PTA!  If you are interested in volunteering to be a class parent, volunteering in our cafeteria or library, OR just looking to stay connected with the great work of our PTA, you can fill out this survey, please complete by 9/19.  

Please join our PTA!

stenwoodpta.membershiptoolkit.com

Mrs. Workman's Battle of the Books Book Club!

4^th Grade Pajama Day!

CARES Pizza Luncheon!

Cooperation

Stay Connected Here are a few ways to stay connected with all the happenings at Stenwood ES

Facebook facebook.com/StenwoodElementary

Instagram @stenwoodelementary

Website stenwoodes.fcps.edu

PTA Facebook facebook.com/StenwoodElementaryPTA

2620 Gallows Road Vienna, VA 22180 |  Main Office: 703.208.7600
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