|
October 2nd: Yom Kippur - No School
October 2nd: Custodian Appreciation Day
October 6th - 10th: Fall Book Fair
October 8th: Spirit Event with Shake Shack in Reston
October 9th: Book Fair Family Shopping Night - 5:00 - 7:00pm
October 13th: Indigenous People's Day - No School (Student Holiday)
October 20th: Diwali - No School
October 25th: Fall Festival - 1:00 - 5:00pm
October 31st: 1st Quarter Ends - 2 hour early release (1:35pm)
FCPS School Year Calendar for 2025-2026
Click HERE to catch up on the helpful and important information sent by the school on September 24th!
Join the PTA Today!
Our school is more than just a building—it's a community, a safe haven, and a launchpad for our children's futures. But right now, we're facing real challenges: limited funding, stretched resources, and staff who are doing heroic work with far too little.
This is where you come in.
Joining the PTA isn’t just about meetings, it's about making a difference. Your membership and donations directly support classroom supplies, enrichment programs, teacher appreciation efforts, and the little things that make a big impact. PTA memberships only last for one year! So, even if you joined last year, you need to renew/join again this year!
Every dollar helps. Every voice matters. Every hand makes the load lighter.
Let’s show our kids—and our incredible staff—that we’re in this together. Please consider joining the PTA and donating to our Roadrunner Giving Campaign today. Together, we can fill the gaps and lift our school higher.
Join Now >> https://www.gfespta.com/membership
The end goal is for all families and staff to join the PTA! Our first goal is to reach 40% of families joining! If we reach 40%, students will get to have a pajama day at school! Right now 32% of families have joined! Let's get to the finish line together!
Roadrunner Giving Campaign
The Roadrunner Giving Campaign is our annual no-fuss direct donation fundraiser! 100% of RGC donations are reinvested into our school to benefit students and staff! ANY amount helps our school (and donations are fully tax-deductible)!
We have two wonderful raffle opportunities for families that donate! If you donate $250 or more by 10/31/25 you will be entered into the Assistant Principal for the Day raffle and if you donate $400 or more by 10/31/25 you will be entered into the Principal for the Day raffle!
Roadrunner Giving Campaign donations help with
- Software Licenses to Support Learning
- STEAM Lab
- Art Enrichment
- Cultural Arts Assemblies
- Before and After School Programs
- Professional Development for Staff
Plus, so much more!!
 |
|
Become a Corporate Sponsor!
If anyone - person, family, company - is interested in becoming a Corporate Sponsor, please click HERE to learn more on how our school can benefit from your sponsorship as well as promoting your business throughout the school year!
Questions about the Roadrunner Giving Campaign or becoming a Corporate Sponsor? Please reach out to fundraisingvp@gfespta.com and/or president@gfespta.com. Thank you so much!
|
2025-2026 Corporate Sponsors!
We are so excited to already have four corporate sponsors!
Roadrunner Pride Sponsors
World Insurance Associates LLC
Garai Orthodontics
Platinum Sponsor
Great Paws Veterinary Hospital
Gold Sponsor
Lucas and Clark Grounds Company
Thank you so much for your support!!
Book Fair Week - Coming Soon!
Our Scholastic book fair will run from October 6-10th in our school library. Visit our homepage to set-up your child's eWallet and preview books (and prices!) together. We highly encourage parents to setup eWallet accounts before book fair week so students don't miss out on shopping with their classes.
All students can shop during their regularly-scheduled Library class time, with make-up shopping available that Friday. Parents are invited to shop with their child during their designated buying time. However, siblings may not be pulled from other classes and parents may not visit classrooms or other parts of the school during their visit.
Any parents interested in helping classes shop can sign up here; we'd love to have your help! All book fair volunteers must be registered in Volunteer FCPS as Level 1 (or higher) volunteers.
|
All family members can shop together during our Family Shopping Night on Thursday, October 9th from 5:00-7:00 pm. We hope to see you there!
|
Shake Shack Spirit Event - October 8th
On Wednesday, October 8th from 11am - 10pm we will have our 2nd spirit event of the year! This time with Shake Shack in Reston Town Center (11940 Democracy Drive, Reston, VA)
Mention Donation Day at the register or use the promo code DONATE on the Shack App, web, or kiosk at checkout and Shake Shack will donate 25% of the total meal purchase to Great Falls Elementary School PTA!!
Custodian Appreciation Day!
Thursday, October 2nd is Custodian Appreciation Day! On October 2nd and every day we celebrate the GFES custodial team for their commitment to our students, staff, and community. Not only do they support the maintenance of the school and grounds but they also work outside of school hours to open the building to the community for practices, meetings and events. GFES has the best custodial staff around and we are so thankful for all they do!
The PTA will be recognizing our wonderful custodial staff on Friday, October 3rd since there is no school on October 2nd!
Cultural and Diversity Committee
This school year, the GFES PTA introduced a new Cultural and Diversity Committee to celebrate and raise awareness of all of the different backgrounds represented in our school.
The committee's goal is to foster a more inclusive and equitable environment by promoting understanding and appreciation of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to ensure that all individuals feel valued and respected.
Some upcoming events members of our diverse community celebrate include:
-Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th - October 15th)
-Learning Disabilities Awareness Month (All of October)
-Yom Kippur (October 2nd)
-Diwali (October 20th)
Interested in learning more about these events and holidays? Please visit the NEW Cultural and Diversity Committee page on the PTA website! The page will be updated throughout the year with information about important events and holidays as well as book recommendations related to each event and holiday!
We would also LOVE to learn more about the cultures and diverse backgrounds of the GFES community. Please click HERE to share more about your family and to volunteer to help the committee. Thank you so much!
Fall Festival - Saturday, October 25th!
SAVE THE DATE! This year's Fall Festival will be Saturday, October 25th from 1 - 5pm! Tickets are $12 per person if purchased in advance online ($14 in person), and all attendees ages 4 and up are required to have a ticket! We will have many fun games, crafts, activities, food trucks, and more planned for this year's festival! We can't wait to see you there!
Food trucks will include:
- Smoking Kow BBQ
- Addie's Pizza
- Captain Cookie
Some highlights for this year are:
- Face Painters
- Giant Slide, Inflatable Skee Ball, and Inflatable Basketball Challenge
- Cupcake Decorating
- Cake Walk
For an additional cost, you can also do the following:
- DUNK TANK!!
- Build your own flower bouquet
- Pumpkin decorating
As with all PTA Events, Fall Festival is NOT A DROP OFF EVENT.
All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Purchase Tickets HERE
Fall Festival Volunteers Needed!
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE Fall Festival amazing! This is one of our biggest events of the year, and it cannot happen without our supportive Roadrunner community. If you are interested in helping on the day of the event, please sign up HERE! Thank you so much in advance for helping to make Fall Festival a success!
If you have any questions, please email fallfestival@gfespta.com or president@gfespta.com
2025-2026 Reflections Contest
Calling student artists of all kinds! The Reflections contest is now accepting submissions for the 2025-2026 competition in the categories of Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts. This year’s theme is “I Belong!” and all GFES students are invited to create an original piece to submit through this 50+ year-old program that promotes creativity and artistic literacy.
More information, including submission requirements and the entry form, can be found here. The deadline to submit all entries to the GFES PTA is Friday November 7, 2025. See the website for program requirements, including entry format and the required entry form. If you have any questions, please contact our Reflections chair at reflections@gfespta.com. We look forward to seeing what our Roadrunners create!
Math Olympiad
The Math Olympiad program is dedicated to developing advanced problem-solving skills and fostering a love for mathematics through participation in national competitions! If you are interested in being part of Math Olympiad, please fill out the Math Olympiad Interest Form by Monday October 13th! An information meeting will be held in October! If you have any questions, please reach out to matholympiad@gfespta.com
Thank you so much!
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is open to any student who attends Great Falls Elementary School and meets the grade-level eligibility criteria. Students in grades 3–5 may compete in Division A, while 6th graders may only participate in Division B. 5th graders have a unique option — they may choose to compete in either Division A or Division B, but not both in the same school year.
Informational meetings on both Division A and Division B took place last week.
Please reach out to divaso@gfespta.com (Division A) or scienceolympiad@gfespta.com (Division B) if you would like more information about how to sign up.
GFES PTA Spirit Event with Chick-Fil-A
THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who enjoyed breakfast, lunch and/or dinner at Chick-Fil-A on Friday, September 12th for our Spirit Event! We had a great turnout and it was wonderful to get to see our Great Falls community both inside Chick-Fil-A and in the drive-thru line!
As a special bonus, we also provided a delicious Chick-Fil-A lunch to our wonderful teachers and staff!
Thank you so much again!
Family Movie Night was a HUGE SUCCESS
THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who came out to Movie Night on Friday September 19th!! We had an amazing turnout! We want to give an extra special THANK YOU to Cary Rodgers and Erica Ashlock for organizing this awesome event and to all of our fantastic parent and student volunteers for making the night possible! We appreciate everyone who attended and helped raise over $3000 to support our wonderful school!
Calling All Great Falls ES Volunteers!
Volunteer FCPS ensures a safe, consistent, and welcoming environment at all FCPS schools. All volunteers must be registered in Volunteer FCPS, which includes individuals who volunteer to chaperone on field trips, work at book fairs, and assist regularly in classrooms, libraries, or cafeterias. Volunteers who work unsupervised with students will also be required to undergo a background check.
As a reminder, all volunteers and visitors to GFES are required to sign in by scanning their ID at our visitor kiosk. Visit the Volunteer FCPS Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more.
Help Stock The Teacher’s Lounge!
Thank you so much to all of the families who purchased items off our Amazon Wishlist to help welcome the staff back to school! These items help keep the teacher’s lounge stocked with yummy treats for the teachers and staff!
If you are interested in helping provide snacks for the staff, please click HERE!
Thank you so much for your generosity and continued support of the school! The snacks always put a smile on the faces of our wonderful teachers and staff!
 |
|
Follow the PTA on Instagram account, please follow and share! We will duplicate what is shared on our Facebook page. |
 |
|
Follow the PTA on Facebook! Share with friends and new GFES families.
|
|
