October 22, 2025 | Issue 10
Important Upcoming Dates
October 24: PTA Run for Rocky!
October 29: Elementary Limited Early Release Wednesday, 1:05 PM
October 31: Spirit Parade, End of Quarter, 2-hour Early Release at 2:05 PM
November 1: Annual Garden Clean-Up Day, 1-4 PM
November 2: Daylight Savings Time Ends
November 3: School Planning Day, Student Holiday, Teacher Workday
November 4: Election Day, Student Holiday, Teacher Workday
Run for Rocky 2025: Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Run for Rocky is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for Mantua Elementary, and the PTA has set a goal of raising $35,000! Information on donations, exciting raffle prizes, and incentives can be found here: https://mp.gg/ndmz8zia. THANK YOU to our generous local sponsors for the amazing school-wide t-shirts and raffle prizes! Donations are accepted Friday, October 10 through Friday, October 31. Thank you for your consideration in donating to Run for Rocky. We hope you will share this link with family or friends!
Please also mark your calendars that Run for Rocky will be held Friday, October 24 (rain date: Monday, October 27)! Students will be participating in the run outdoors at the following times. Please note that these times are slightly adjusted from what was shared earlier:
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Grade 5: 9:45 – 10:30 AM
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Preschool AM: 10 – 10:25 AM
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Grade 6: 10:50 – 11:35 AM
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Grade 4: 12:40 – 1:25 PM
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Preschool PM: 1 – 1:25 PM
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Grades 1 & 2: 1:50 – 2:35 PM
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Grades K & 3: 2:55 – 3:40 PM
A few updates to share:
- We are looking for volunteers – and all volunteers this year must first complete the Volunteer FCPS forms online as a Level One Volunteer.
- Any interested parent or guardian is encouraged to sign up to volunteer here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DAFAF2DAAFCC43-59332951-runfor
- Parents and guardians are welcome to watch and cheer on the runners, staying on the hill between the field and parking lot.
- There will be water stations and food available on the field.
- T-shirts will be distributed to each student on Friday morning (October 24) for them to wear during the run.
To build excitement for the fundraiser, we are holding a Spirit Week from Tuesday, October 21 through Friday, October 24, with the following daily themes:
- Monday, October 20 – No school
- Tuesday, October 21 – School Spirit Day (wear Mantua swag or red)
- Wednesday, October 22 – Wacky Wednesday (crazy hat/hair/clothing)
- Thursday, October 23 – Pajama Day
- Friday, October 24 – Run for Rocky
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Mantua Citizens Association Halloween Party
Join us on Saturday, October 25 from 3-5 PM at the MSTC parking lot (9330 Pentland Pl) for the Annual MCA/Moms of Mantua Halloween Party. We will have moon bounces, crafts, a food truck, cookie decorating, a cake walk and more. Costumes encouraged!
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Mantua PTA Restaurant Fundraiser
The Mantua PTA restaurant fundraiser will be all day on October 28 at California Pizza Kitchen: 4200 Fairfax Corner Avenue.
Show an electronic or paper copy of our flyer or mention the Mantua Elementary fundraiser and CPK will donate 20% of sales from Mantua supporters to our PTA! This includes dine-in, take-out, catering, and online orders for lunch and dinner.
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Mantua Basketball: Help Needed
Right now, we do not have enough referees to run the league. Without additional volunteer refs, we simply won’t be able to start the season as planned.
You don’t need prior experience! We’ll make sure you feel confident and supported:
🏀 Two training sessions will be offered before the season begins.
👥 New referees will be paired with veteran refs for their first games.
👀 You’ll also have a chance to shadow during live games before taking the whistle yourself.
Refereeing is a fun, active way to support our players, stay involved, and ensure this great program continues for our kids.
If you’re willing to help — or even just thinking about it — please sign up at www.mantuabasketball.org. We’ll follow up with training dates and details.
Thank you for making this league possible — our kids are counting on us!
EVALUATION DATES
10/21: 3rd / 4th Grade Basketball Evaluations
3/4 girls from 5:30-7:00 PM
3/4 boys: from 7:00-9:00 PM
5/6 makeup girls and boys: 9:00-9:30 PM
10/22: 5th / 6th Grade Basketball Evaluations
5/6 girls from 5:30-7:00 PM
5/6 boys from 7:00-9:00 PM
3/4 makeup girls and boys: 9:00-9:30 PM
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🌷 Mantua Fall Garden Clean-Up Is Coming 🌿
It’s taken some time for our temperatures to match the season but fall weather is finally here, and with that comes our annual Fall Garden Clean-Up Day!
We invite you to join us on Saturday, November 1 (rain date November 2), from 1:00-4:00 PM in the Discovery Garden beds above the playground. Our efforts will focus on preparing the gardens for winter and activities will include weeding, trimming plants back, edging, and refreshing the mulch. We’ll also plant some new perennials and spring bulbs.
Gardeners of all ability levels are welcome, no experience is necessary. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about gardening overall, the use of native plants in our landscape, or vegetable gardening, this is a great opportunity to gain some knowledge and help keep our school beautiful at the same time.
Children are always encouraged to join in the fun and they must be accompanied by an adult. This is also a great opportunity for any students needing service hours.
If you do plan to attend, it would be appreciated if you could add your name to the SignUp Genius to help us with planning: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094AA4A72EA5FC1-59595889-mantua
If you would like more details about this event or have any questions, please contact Garden Committee Chair, Karin Hudson, at garden@mantuapta.org. We hope you can share part of your day with us on Saturday, November 1. See you in the garden!
Art Reflections Chair Needed
The PTA is looking for a volunteer to chair the Art Reflections program and bring it back to Mantua!
We have several families interested in participating this year. Through Art Reflections, students in Pre-K through grade 12 are invited to create theme-based artwork in the categories of dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography or visual arts.
Membership in Virginia PTA provides the opportunity to participate in the National PTA Reflections Arts Contest. This competition encourages students to explore the arts and express themselves by providing positive recognition for their artistic efforts. Since it was founded in 1969 by Mary Lou Anderson, millions of students have benefited from this program.
2025-2026 School Year Reflections Theme: “I Belong”
HOW IT WORKS: Students submit their completed work of art (with an artist statement) to their local school PTA’s Reflections contest in the Fall! Local PTAs celebrate winners at the school level, and then forward winning entries in each age division and art category to their City/County Council PTA. If your school is not located in a Council, then your school PTA’s winning entries should be submitted directly to Virginia PTA for regional judging. Council PTAs select and submit their outstanding winning entries for each age division and art category to Virginia PTA. Council PTAs hold Student Awards Celebrations in late winter/early spring. Virginia PTA selects and submits the state’s winning entries to National PTA to compete against students from across the United States, and holds a Student Awards Celebration in March/April. National PTA selects and announces winners of the national-level contest in May.
For more information, please visit https://vapta.org/reflections/ and reach out to Rosalie Schwimmer Hallmark, our VP Programs if you're interested in getting involved!
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Help Restock Mantua ES's Family Food Pantry
Hello Mantua Families! Our PTA is helping Mantua Elementary restock its Family Food Pantry. If you can, please consider donating a few items from our "Canned Proteins" and "Pantry Staples" lists here.
Our PTA is also collecting grocery gift cards to be dropped off in the front office. No deadline, help when you can. Our community thanks you!
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Volunteer in Your Child’s Classroom
SignUpGenius Link*:
https://www.signupgenius.com/tabs/53170DF07A3CAEEC06-volunteers
These are great opportunities to get to know your teacher better and to spend time in your kiddo’s classroom! A brief description of the current volunteer opportunities is included below.
Can’t commit to one of these jobs? More opportunities will be posted throughout the year for various events and programs. Sign up using the link above, and reach out to volunteering@mantuapta.org with any questions. Volunteers will receive guidance and ideas to get started and support their roles.
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Tuesday Folder Helper: Come to the classroom on a weekly or biweekly basis at a time coordinated with the teacher to stuff Tuesday folders that go home with each student. Since this requires weekly support, this position is typically split between two parents who alternate weeks.
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Party Coordinator: Coordinators get a set date and time from the teacher and coordinate games, crafts, and snacks for the class party, typically soliciting other class parents for supply donations and extra volunteer help on party day.
*Note: There is a tab at the top of the sign-up link for each grade.
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Yearbook Orders
Mantua yearbooks for the 25-26 school year are now available to order. All orders are done online and cost $20.
https://strawbridge.fotomerchanthv.com/clients/mantua-elementary-school/2025-2026-yearbook-210/access?clearSessionAuthentication=1
The final day to order is April 10th. Please direct all questions to Kate Easton at kjeaston@fcps.edu
Join the PTA!
Help support our students and teachers.
YEARLY DUES are only $20 per family.
Please visit MantuaPTA.com to sign up.
Dues are $20 per family and get you discounts on PTA-sponsored clubs. Our dues fully support our free programs so that every penny of our fundraisers goes right back into the classrooms.
Follow us on Facebook to get the inside scoop on all our events and programs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MantuaPTA/
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How to Submit an Announcement to the PTA News
Please complete this form to have a Mantua ES- or Mantua PTA-related announcement placed in the weekly Mantua PTA News, on our Facebook page, and/or on MantuaPTA.org.
The form guides you through all the pieces of information we need to put out complete announcements.
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