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Dear Mantua Families,
Last Saturday, Mantua was abuzz with energy as our young environmentalists donned their gardening gloves for a spectacular Outdoor Clean-Up Day! It was a blast watching our students transform the garden area near the playground. They got their hands dirty pulling weeds, spreading fragrant mulch, and adding splashes of color with new plants. Thank you for making Mantua beautiful!
This week, our classrooms learned about what makes Veterans’ Day meaningful to our community and country. We will honor military-connected veterans and families with our Veterans Day breakfast on Monday, November 10. We also warmly welcome you to our annual Thanksgiving luncheon, held on November 24th during specially planned lunch times! We have some details below, and more will follow in Tuesday's folders.
- We extend a gentle reminder that Tuesday, November 11th, is a holiday for both staff and students. School will resume on Wednesday, November 12th, which is a Limited Early Release Wednesday.
Take good care,
Ms. Shannon, Mrs. Vaughan, Ms. Maurer
November 10: Veterans Day Breakfast, 8:45-9:45 AM in the Cafeteria
November 11: No School, Veterans Day, Staff and Student Holiday
November 12: Limited Early Release Wednesday, Dismissal at 1:05 PM
November 18: Fall Picture Day Re-takes
November 24: Mantua Thanksgiving Luncheon - More Details to Come!
November 26-28: Thanksgiving holiday, schools and offices closed
Veterans Day Celebrations
Our Mantua school community would like to celebrate our veterans and thank them for their sacrifices for our country. We would like to honor your family’s veteran(s) in our veteran slideshow, which will be played in our front lobby throughout November. We welcome you to submit a photo of your veteran by using the link in the RSVP form or by emailing the photo to Jane Dunfee at pjdunfee@fcps.edu.
In addition, we are holding a breakfast for our veterans and their families on Monday, November 10th, from 8:45 to 9:45 in the cafeteria. (5th-grade chorus members may have one family member attend at 9:20 to watch them sing). We would love to have any military veteran or military-connected families join us! Please indicate if your veteran and their family members can attend by completing the RSVP here.
FCPS/Mantua Outstanding Employee Awards
Nominations are now open for the FCPS 2025 Outstanding Employee Awards! You can submit a nomination for a Mantua ES Employee in one of The categories below:
- Outstanding Teacher
- Outstanding New Teacher
- Outstanding Leader (Assistant Principal)
- Outstanding Professional Employee (School Counselor, School-Based Technology Specialist, Social Worker, School Psychologist, Technology Support Specialist)
- Outstanding Operational Employee (Office Staff, Instructional Assistant, Custodial Staff, Food Service Staff, Parent Liaison)
A preliminary nomination only requires a paragraph or two about how this employee demonstrates exceptional work in the category's criteria.
How do I nominate someone? Please click here: Nominate a Mantua Employee
The deadline to submit a nomination is November 15th. If you have any questions, please contact the Awards Liaison, Susan Song, at sssong@fcps.edu.
Thanksgiving Luncheon
We are thrilled to welcome families to our Thanksgiving Luncheon this year, on November 24th! We have important details below. We will also have an invitational flyer going out next week in Tuesday folders.
Family members are welcome to join their student at the designated lunchtimes. Meals for non-Mantua parents and children are $5.00 each, payable through your child’s MySchoolBucks school account. You are not required to purchase a meal in order to share the time with your child!
Family sign-in will be at door 1 near the cafeteria. Please follow instructions upon exiting to allow for traffic flow.
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Apply Anytime for Free and Reduced-Price Meals
Families are encouraged to apply for free and reduced-price meals at any time during the school year.
If your income changes — for example, due to a furlough, layoff, or job loss — you may become newly eligible. Once approved, your benefits stay active for the rest of the school year and for the first 30 days of the next school year.
Students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals or attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school receive free breakfast and lunch every school day. It’s a great way to make your food budget go further and save time from packing meals. Learn more about FCPS Food and Nutrition.
Impact of Federal Shutdown on Local CommunityFairfax County is home to around 80,000 federal employees and thousands of federal contractors. Its Federal Workforce Resource Hub is intended to help navigate current and future issues for residents, government employees, active military/veterans, contractors, nonprofits, and businesses who may be affected by actions, changes, or disruptions to federal services or employment.
Find more community resources available to families.
Volunteer Registration Update
Due to the overwhelming response from our community, FCPS is temporarily pausing fingerprint requirements for most Level 3 volunteers.
If you are scheduled for an upcoming fingerprinting appointment, please cancel your appointment unless you are a mentor, host parent, or non-parent volunteer having frequent, direct, and unsupervised contact with students, which will still require fingerprinting. FCPS will be charged if individuals miss a fingerprinting appointment without canceling in advance.
Those who have already been fingerprinted will be processed to be eligible for all Level 3 opportunities.
Field trip chaperone opportunities will now be classified as Level 2 (not requiring a background check).
To ensure continuous safety, all new volunteers are required to sign a Volunteer Certification Statement. This statement is a legal attestation confirming you have no history of violent felonies, physical/sexual crimes against children, or crimes of moral turpitude.
Want to volunteer? Visit Volunteer FCPS to find and sign up for volunteer opportunities. Contact Volunteers@fcps.edu with any questions.
Tutoring Resources for Families
Some families may be looking for additional resources to help support their child’s academic success. The FCPS Family Resource Center (FRC) maintains a list of FCPS employees who hold a valid Virginia teaching credential and who are available to hire as tutors. This list is a resource offered by the FRC, but families are responsible for contacting and working directly with the tutors. This list is not approved by FCPS and is only meant to be a resource to families.
FCPS also partners with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors' services, at no cost, including weekly live online classes, on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests.
Every Day Is a Stepping Stone to Success
Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child later in life. It’s a good habit to build now that will help them graduate on time and help them with time management. Parents and families can play a big role in helping kick-start good attendance habits.
Please take a look at the FCPS Calendar. Try to schedule any trips or family events on weekends and school holidays. Keep in mind that absences add up quickly. Students who are absent 10% of the school year (or just two days per month) are considered “chronically absent.”
When possible, schedule appointments for your child outside of school hours. If your child needs to miss school because of an illness or appointment, you must report the absence to Mantua through PickUpPatrol or the attendance email, mantuaelem.attendance@fcps.edu.
Quick Contacts & Links
Linda Shannon, Principal LCShannon@fcps.edu
Colleen Vaughan, Assistant Principal CAVaughan@fcps.edu
Michele Maurer, Assistant Principal, Mkmaurer@fcps.edu
Susan Palomino, Administrative/Finance Assistant SLPalomino@fcps.edu
Mergie Kakouris, Student Information Assistant, MBKakouris@fcps.edu
Fadwa Finaish, Office Assistant, FFinaish@fcps.edu
Judy Toy, Office Assistant, JPToy@fcps.edu
Avril Donat, Office & Library Assistant Andonat@fcps.edu
Kathy Van Dyke, Advanced Academics Resource Teacher kkvandyke@fcps.edu
Maria Regina Incer, Family Liaison, mrincernunez@fcps.edu
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