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November 26-28: Thanksgiving Break
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December 9: Book Fair Family Night 5:00 PM
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December 9: 5th & 6th Orchestra & 6th Advanced Band Concert 7:00 PM
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December 11: Winter Chorus Concert 6:00 PM
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December 17: Three Hours Early Release at 1 p.m.
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December 22- January 2: Winter Break Holiday- No School
Fairfax County Public Schools 2025-2026 Standard School Year Calendar
Dear Powell Puma Families,
Thank you to all of our families who were able to join us for the Thanksgiving Luncheon this week! It was wonderful to see so many of you sharing a meal with your children, connecting with one another, and contributing to the sense of community that makes Powell such a special place. We hope you had a great time and enjoyed the celebration as much as we did.
As we look ahead to the holiday, we wish each of our families a joyful, restful, and meaningful Thanksgiving next week. We hope you find time to relax, recharge, and enjoy time with loved ones.
Please remember that next week, Monday, November 24, and Tuesday, November 25 are full days of school. We appreciate your partnership in ensuring students are present and on time.
Thank you for your continued support. Warmly,
Catherine Han, Principal
We appreciate your cooperation in making school drop-off safe and efficient! To maintain smooth traffic flow and neighborhood relations, please remember two essential guidelines. First, for the safety of all students and staff, fire lanes must remain completely unobstructed at all times for emergency vehicle access. Second, please be considerate of our neighbors by refraining from using residential visitor parking spaces or private driveways during drop-off and pickup times. Your adherence to using only the school's designated zones is greatly valued.
To show our appreciation for our dedicated staff, we're organizing some morale-boosting activities. This year, we're adding a special twist: gift card prizes! To make this a reality, we kindly request donations of gift cards valued up to $10. Your generosity will help us recognize and reward our hardworking staff. Please send all gift cards in an envelope clearly marked “Social Committee” so your child’s teacher will know where to submit your donation. Thank you in advanced for your support of our teachers. If you could please send these in by December 5, that would be very helpful!
6th Grade Korean Immersion Fundraiser
5th/6th grade Orchestra & 6th grade Band Concert Tuesday, Dec 9th
Flower Pre-Order to Congratulate Your Child After the Concert!!!
(Limited number will be for sale at the door: 1 for $7, 3 for $12)
Complete this [Form](link is missing in the original image) to pre-order by Friday, 12/5
Pre-pay via PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, or Zelle
Skip the trip to the store — simply pick up your beautiful bouquet at the event to present to your child right after the concert!
We will also be selling food and drinks after the concert so you don't have to cook!
📢Book Fair & Winter Concert
Mark your calendars for a wonderful evening at Powell Elementary on Tuesday, December 9th!
We are hosting our annual Book Fair and Winter Concert!
📚 Book Fair Details
🎵 Winter Concert Details
All families need to complete a Federal Impact Aid Survey as soon as possible. The form is available in ParentVUE under Online Packets (in the upper right corner after logging in). Only the enrolling parent can complete the form online.
We have sent home paper copies to all families who have not completed the form in ParentVUE.
As of today, 286 CPES families have completed the online survey. Thank you to all families who have responded.
We recommend using Google Chrome on your computer or mobile device.
Step 1: Go to sisparent.fcps.edu or type it into your Chrome browser. Click Here
Step 2: Log into your ParentVUE account. If you don’t have one, please contact the school.
Step 3: Click the “Online Packets” link at the top of the page, then select “Federal Impact Aid Survey” at the bottom. This will take you to the Impact Aid Survey for you to complete.
✅ If you have multiple children in FCPS, complete a form for each child. You’ll know you’re done when you see a green check next to each child’s name.
📝 Paper Forms - A paper copy of the form will be sent home with your student starting November 12. If you do not wish to complete online.
Information from this survey resulted in more than $4 million in funding last year from the U.S. Department of Education. The funds support all Fairfax County public schools and centers. Visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page to learn more.
The library is hosting our Fall book fair with Bookworm Central in early December! The fair will be delivered the morning of December 4th. We need help setting up that morning and we will need help during the fair through December 12th. Each volunteer will receive a $10 credit to use during the fair week. Use this form to sign up for your available times and Mrs. Sejas will reach out to you. Thank you for supporting our library! More book fair information coming soon!
Full-Time AAP
Full-Time AAP is an academic program that offers a high degree of frequency and intensity of differentiation through acceleration, depth, and complexity of content and skills in all four core content areas. If you have a current 2nd-6th grader and feel your child requires full-time AAP, please submit your referral materials by December 15th. Please read below to learn more about what to submit. **Please note that ability test scores may or may not be released by December 15th. Do not wait until scores are received to submit your referral package.**
Parent Responsibility for the Referral File:
You can also find information from our November 5th Parent Night posted on our Parent Schoology page in the AAP folder.
Sending/Delivering the Referral File
If you are submitting your materials digitally, please email your attachments to Mrs. Bach, kmbach@fcps.edu. Only PDF and JPG formats are allowed.
If you are submitting your materials by hard copy, please drop them off to the front office. All copies and forms should be completed prior to drop off. Items will not be returned.
Confirmation of the Referral File
Upon submission, Mrs. Bach will send an email to confirm receipt of the file and the materials, within 24-48 hours of submission during workdays. If there is any issue with the readability or if the file does not follow the guidelines, the email will specifically communicate what needs to be fixed for the file to proceed. Please note, Mrs. Bach is on leave December 9th-12th and will be unavailable. She will follow up with email messages upon return on Monday, December 15th.
Please submit your referral materials BY DECEMBER 15th. This is the deadline and there are no exceptions.
Hello, Powell Families! Due to popular demand, the Original Works ordering program is reopened!
Turn your child’s masterpiece into personalized gifts and support our school. Proceeds help purchase a large paper organizer.
- How to order: Follow the easy instructions in the flyer.
- New Due Date: Monday, 12/01/25.
Don't miss out on this special program! Thank you for your support!
Creatively yours,
Mrs. Pratt and Mrs. Gangitano
The new volunteer management system, Volunteer FCPS, allows individuals to search and register for volunteer opportunities at our school or across the school district.
Volunteer FCPS is how FCPS provides a safe, consistent, and welcoming environment at all of our schools. Anyone interested in volunteering with FCPS must:
- Create a profile in Volunteer FCPS.
- Register for opportunities through Volunteer FCPS.
- Sign in and out of schools using the visitor kiosk on EVERY visit – no exceptions.
Recent Updates to Volunteer Opportunity LevelsDue to the overwhelming response, FCPS is temporarily pausing fingerprint requirements for most Level 3 volunteers. 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 comprehensive background check that includes fingerprinting).
To ensure continuous safety, all new volunteers are required to sign a Volunteer Certification Statement. This statement is a legal confirmation that you have no history of violent felonies, physical or sexual crimes against children, or crimes of moral turpitude (dishonesty, fraud, things that are immoral by society’s standards).
Visit the Volunteer FCPS website to complete a volunteer orientation. View Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the volunteer levels.
Google recently made changes to how educational applications are managed and accessed on the Chrome Browser and Chromebooks. Many applications are moving from the Chrome Web Store to the Google Play Store.
To ensure your student(s) can continue accessing all approved instructional tools, FCPS has updated its digital consent platform to include both the Chrome Web Store and the Google Play Store.
Please review and provide your consent for these two new options through our easy-to-use Parent Digital Consent system:
- Additional Google Services – Chrome Web Store
- Additional Google Services – Google Play Store
Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting safe and effective digital learning experiences for all students.
For questions or support, please visit FCPS’ Family Technology Resources page or open a ticket with the Technical Support desk.
Students in grades 3-12 took the SEL Screener last month, providing information on skills like achieving goals, understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining relationships, and making responsible decisions. The screener also asks students how well their school community makes them feel valued, included, and supported.
Individual student SEL Screener results will be available to families in the Documents section of SIS ParentVUE the week of November 17. For families who do not have an active ParentVUE account, results will be shared by our school.
For support in understanding your individual student’s results or for ideas on how to support them at home, please review the Family Guide or reach out to school staff.
All FCPS schools use an approach called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to make sure every student gets the help they need to learn.
MTSS helps school teams deliver high-quality instruction for all students and provide extra time, support, and interventions as needed. Families are partners in this process. We will share information about your child’s individual learning, needs, and progress.
You may view your child's intervention plans and progress in SIS ParentVUE. Expect progress to be updated quarterly, with report card due dates.
 There’s a story behind the success of every FCPS student — a story about what’s possible with the appropriate funding for world-class teachers, rigorous academics, and future-ready learning experiences. At FCPS, student success starts with a strong budget!
FCPS is currently developing the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget, which is for the 2026-27 school year. In January, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid will present a proposed budget to the School Board.
During this process, we’ll be sharing FCPS’ budget story with you. The different chapters will explain the impact of chronic underfunding, why strong funding benefits all of Fairfax County, what’s at stake when Colin Powell and other FCPS schools don’t get the support we need, and more.
We invite you to follow along and learn how you can help write our next chapter!
 Winter weather will be here before you know it! Watch this video to see how weather closing decisions are made at FCPS.
FCPS’ website is generally the first place to find out about emergency weather closings. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible, including email, text, social media, the new FCPS mobile app, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated.
Be sure to plan for the winter season. Update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE, bookmark the FCPS website, and arrange emergency child care if needed.
⛄ Keep Your Child Warm During Outdoor Activities
We will monitor the weather for low temperatures, wind chill advisories and warnings, and weather advisories that may prevent children from being outside. Make sure your child is dressed appropriately with a warm coat and other cold-weather clothing, so they can comfortably enjoy their time outdoors. View the National Weather Service’s tips on staying safe during cold weather.
If you need assistance getting cold-weather clothing for your family, please call Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) at 703-222-0880. Their multilingual staff can assist with any challenges you are facing, including food, shelter, employment, financial assistance, and health.
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- FCPS Budget
- Prepare for Winter Weather
- Community Meal Nights
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