|
English | Español | አማርኛ | 中文 | 한국어 | Tiếng Việt | العربية | فارسی | اردو
Dear Hunters Woods Families,
Welcome to our latest newsletter, packed with important dates and exciting events for the upcoming weeks!
Blue Star Welcome Week is scheduled from September 27 to October 5.
Thursday, October 2 is a student/staff holiday for Yom Kippur.
Mark your calendars for the SLHS PTSA Food Pantry's Do it Your Way 0.5k on Sunday, October 5, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. It's a fun way to support a great cause!
We'll be celebrating Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day on Wednesday, October 8, and invite you to Stories Under the Stars Literacy Night on Thursday, October 9, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
For our parents and caregivers, FCPS is hosting informative Reading Support Webinars on Dyslexia Awareness (October 15) and Reading Plans and Your Student (October 22).
School Picture Day is scheduled for Friday, October 24.
We also have important information regarding Limited Early Release Wednesdays, new Math Screening and Growth Assessments for elementary students, and FCPS Cell Phone Policy. Plus, check out the exciting new food items debuting in our school cafeterias!
 📌Monday, September 27 - Friday, October 5: Blue Star Welcome Week (details below)
📌Thursday, October 2: Student Holiday (Yom Kippur Holiday - Office Closed)
📌Friday, October 3, 8:00 a.m.: Military Connected Families Breakfast (see below for details)
📌Sunday, October 5, 2:00 p.m.: SLHS PTSA Food Pantry's Do it Your Way 0.5k
📌Wednesday, October 8: Walk, Bike and Roll to School
📌Thursday, October 9: Rocket Day/Literacy Night (Stories Under the Stars)
📌Friday, October 10: South Lakes Homecoming Parade
📌Monday, October 13: Student Holiday (Staff Development)
📌Thursday, October 16 6:00 p.m.: International Heritage Night
📌Monday, October 20: Student Holiday (Diwali)
📌Friday, October 24: Student Picture Day
📌Wednesday, October 29, 12:40 p.m.: 3 hour early release
📌Friday, October 31, 1:40 p.m.: 2 hour early release (quarter end)
May all in our Jewish community observing Yom Kippur have an easy and meaningful fast. According to Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur is when God decides each person’s fate, so Jews are encouraged to make amends and ask forgiveness for sins committed during the past year. Wednesday, October 1, will be an evening-only observance day for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. There is school that day, but important events will not occur after school. Thursday, October 2, is a holiday and schools and offices will be closed. See the complete school year calendar.
|
 Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences is excited to celebrate Blue Star Welcome Week from September 27th to October 5th. This special week is dedicated to showing our appreciation for the service and sacrifices of our military-connected families and warmly welcoming them to our community.
As part of Blue Star Welcome Week, we invite all parents and guardians from military-connected families to a breakfast in our cafeteria on Friday, October 3rd, from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other military families and HWES staff members while enjoying coffee and light refreshments. Please RSVP to our Parent Liaison, Santanisha Chang, schang@fcps.edu.
If you are a military connected family, please fill out this survey so that we can include you in this breakfast and future events, Military Connected Survey.
The SLHS PTSA Food Pantry will be hosting its 8th Annual FUNdraiser, the “Do It Your Way 0.5K” on October 5th from 2 - 4 p.m. at Lake Anne Plaza. We hope you will join Mrs. Cope and others in our community for lively music, pre-race warm-ups, yummy cookies (baked by the SLHS Culinary students) to put a little pep in your step, a live raffle, and the most rewarding 650 steps you’ll take all year. Register online now or in-person the day of the event. All proceeds will directly support providing food to over 550 local students and families in the SLHS Pyramid each week.
Wednesday, October 8 is Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day.
Why Bike or Walk to School?
Walk / Bike to School Day is an annual event that promotes walking and bicycling for several reasons:
- Physical Activity
- Teaching safe pedestrian and bicycling skills to students and families • Awareness of how walkable and bikeable our community is and where improvements can be made
- Concern for the environment
- Reducing traffic congestion, pollution and speed near and around schools • Sharing time with friends and family
- Having FUN!
How you can participate
- All students, parents, faculty and staff are encouraged to bike or walk to school if they feel they can safely do so.
- If you are too far away from school, ride or walk with your family in and around your neighborhood before or after school. Park near the school and walk from there.
- Create a bicycle course on your street or driveway.
You are invited to attend Hunters Woods Elementary School's Literacy Night, Stories Under the Stars, on October 9 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.! Students are invited to wear their pajamas/comfortable clothes, and camp out with us while we listen to stories being read aloud by HWES teachers. We will have literacy games and other goodies for you to take home. Please RSVP HERE.
|
Dyslexia Awareness
(October 15, 10 - 11:30 a.m.)
Join us for an informative webinar on Dyslexia Awareness, designed for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) families. This session will provide essential information about dyslexia and the resources available within FCPS to support students with this learning difference.
What You'll Learn:
- Understanding Dyslexia: Gain a clear understanding of what dyslexia is, its common signs, and how it can affect students' reading, writing, and spelling.
- FCPS Support Systems: Learn about the various supports and interventions FCPS provides, including evidence-based, structured literacy approaches and the role of reading specialists.
- Virginia Literacy Act: Discover how the new Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and FCPS's Equitable Access to Literacy (EAL) Plan are changing literacy instruction to benefit all learners, especially those with dyslexia.
- Resources for Families: We'll share practical tools and strategies you can use at home to support your child's literacy development and partner effectively with their school.
This webinar aims to empower families with knowledge and resources to help their students with dyslexia succeed.
Register here
Reading Plans and Your Student
(October 22, 10 - 11:30 a.m.)
This 1.5-hour webinar is designed to help parents and caregivers understand the new reading plans in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). Parents will learn about:
- What a reading plan is: A reading plan is a support system for students who are not meeting literacy benchmarks. It outlines specific, evidence-based instruction and interventions to help them improve their reading skills.
- Who requires a reading plan: All students from kindergarten through eighth grade who are identified as needing additional support based on literacy assessments will receive a reading plan. This is part of a broader effort by FCPS to implement the Virginia Literacy Act.
- How schools will support students: The webinar will explain how FCPS is using a science-based reading approach and will discuss the role of reading specialists, the curriculum used, and the assessments to monitor student progress.
Resources and tools for parents: Parents will leave with practical resources and tools they can use at home to support their child's literacy development. The webinar aims to empower families to be active partners in their child's reading journey.
Register here
 |
|
School Picture Day is Coming Soon!
Date: Friday, October 24
More information in the coming weeks.
|
Hunters Woods Families! Your energy and enthusiasm power our school community, and we are excited to welcome you into our classrooms, field trips, and more!
SAFETY FIRST: BACKGROUND CHECKS REQUIRED!
To ensure the safety of our students, recurring volunteers and chaperones will need a completed background check and fingerprinting on file with FCPS before joining the fun! This includes:
- Classroom helpers
- Field trip chaperones
- And more!
*One-time large event volunteers are not required to complete the extended clearance process but are still expected to scan their identification at the FHES Visitor Management System to be cleared against the Sex Offender Registry.
*If you may volunteer several times a year, please consider completing the FCPS background check process.
Ready to get cleared? Visit the FCPS Volunteer Page or connect with Mrs. Wagner in our main office. Please be patient as our county processes requests from 140+ schools!
How to Sign Up to Volunteer
|
Limited early release days for elementary schools will shift to Wednesdays for the 2025-26 school year.
While we anticipate that most students will be dismissed at 12:40 p.m. on limited early release Wednesdays, we recognize that some families may require childcare. No new instruction will take place, as after-school care is strictly supervision.
Three-hour early release days for our school will include:
- October 29
- November 12
- December 10
- February 18
- March 18
- April 22
- May 13
Read more about early release Wednesdays on the FCPS website.
FCPS is continuing to explore options for adjusting school start times, with the primary goal of beginning the middle school day at 8 a.m. or later. 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. A new School Start TImes Survey is open through Tuesday, September 30. It includes two options that are designed to support student well-being, align with research, balance transportation logistics, and minimize costs. Staff, parents and caregivers, students, and community members may provide input on the two options by taking the survey. Find more information about adjusting school start times.
|
 |
|
Starting in September, FCPS elementary schools will use the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Math assessment to assess grade level mathematics skills in grades 1-6. The MAP Math test along with the iReady Reading test fulfill a state requirement to measure academic growth in grades 3-6 throughout the school year.
MAP Math tests are administered in the fall, winter, and spring. They help teachers identify students' strengths and areas where they may need more support.
Families can learn more about MAP Growth assessments by visiting the MAP Test Information webpage.
|
Our new menu items debuting in September and October feature hearty homestyle favorites — including veggie chili, pictured above — and fresh global inspiration! Other new additions include:
-
Breakfast: Cinnamon apple overnight oats, mini blueberry pancakes, French toast sticks, egg and cheese breakfast quesadillas and tacos, and turkey sausage and cheese bagels.
-
Lunch: Teriyaki chicken stir-fry, teriyaki chickenless bites stir-fry, cheesy turkey pepperoni pasta, cheesy pasta with marinara sauce, deep dish pizza, and cheesy fiesta nachos.
Check our online menu to see when your child can try new recipes developed by FCPS’ executive chef and team of food and nutrition experts, based on student feedback.
The $460M bond referendum on the November ballot is expected to fund the next stages of several ongoing projects, as well as others referenced in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
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. Learn more about registering to vote. Make a plan to vote by Tuesday, November 4.
FCPS’ Student Rights and Responsibilities document (SR&R) explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment.
Parents/caregivers should talk to their child(ren) about expectations for this school year. Also, please log in to SIS ParentVUE and sign to acknowledge your review of the SR&R, or sign and return the signature sheet to your child’s school by Tuesday, September 30.
Your voice matters, and Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid wants to hear from you! At FCPS, parents are partners, working with us to set our students up for long-term success at school and in life.
A series of Community Conversations are being held across the school division to discuss current challenges and future opportunities. These events are also a chance for you to share your thoughts and ask questions. Events are planned for the following dates from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.:
- Monday, September 29, at McNair Upper Elementary School
- Friday, October 3, at Annandale Terrace Elementary School
- Friday, December 5, at Churchill Road Elementary School
- Tuesday, December 9, at Fairhill Elementary School
- Thursday, December 11, at Bull Run Elementary School
Child care and interpretation services will be provided. Events are open to all.
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- Safety in Our Schools
- New Fall Food Items
- Driver’s Education from a Trusted Source
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
Quick Links
|
