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Hello Stenwood Families,
We have made it through a five-day week of school in November! And it was a great one!
We had a fantastic time welcoming families in for our annual Thanksgiving Lunch this Wednesday! Thank you to all who volunteered checking in and in the kitchen. And a huge thank you to Kitchen Manager Sabine Schmid, our Cafeteria Monitor Karina Ocampo and our custodian Mercedes Ramos for keeping everything running smoothly and making sure everyone got fed!
We had another successful Book Fair this week. Thanks again to all who came in and volunteered, and to our librarian Nancy Cole for organizing.
We rounded out the week with an SCA Spirit Day: Wacky Tacky Day. Our Stingers found many creative ways to be the wackiest!
In grade level news:
- Our 4th graders had a wonderful time at Jamestown on Thursday
- Our Kindergarten students had their own Thanksgiving Day Parade through the hallways this afternoon with their Balloons over Broadway, marching their “floats” through the hallways! We’ll have pictures for you after the break!
We only have two days of school next week before Thanksgiving break. Schools and offices will be closed November 26th to 28th. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Classes will resume on Monday, December 1st.
Below you will find information about the following items:
- Family Academic Partnership Workshop Series - NEW
- School Pictures Are Now Online! - NEW
- Retake & Makeup Picture Day - NEW
- A Note From Mrs. Cole - NEW
- Benchmark: Learning about Government and Citizenship in Language Arts - NEW
- Impact Aid Survey - Reminder
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Holidays and Observations Drawing Contest - Reminder
- Kiss N Ride/Walkers Reminders - Reminder
- Advanced Academics Full-time Service Referral Deadline Approaching - Updated
- School Meals and Free/Reduced Lunch Applications - Reminder
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Stenwood PTA - Reminder
Sincerely,
Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu
Bryan Case, Assistant Principal
bgcase@fcps.edu
Family Academic Partnership Workshop Series
This year, Stenwood will be offering Family Academic Partnership Workshops for each grade level. This is a quick mini-workshop focusing on how you can support your child with grade-level literacy and math content. When possible, we will tie these workshops to Family Invite Events for a one-stop opportunity. These 15-minute workshops are designed to give you quick knowledge and activities you can use immediately with your children at home to support the learning they are doing here at school. If your family invite is on Zoom, we will be sending a separate Zoom link for immediately prior to the scheduled family invite.
School Pictures Are Now Online!
 Order yours today at vosphoto.com/underclass!
Use your student ID when prompted for the online code.
For questions regarding school pictures please email: underclass@vosphoto.com
Retake & Makeup Picture Day
Victor O’Neill Studios is coming back for portrait makeups/retakes!
On Wednesday December 3rd, students who were absent for the original session, new/transfer students, and those who were unsatisfied with their original portrait will have the opportunity to make them up.
Students who previously purchased a photo package and would like to retake their photo MUST return their original photo package to the photographer in order to receive a new package.
No purchase is necessary to retake photos. The new portrait will replace their original yearbook portrait and then be available for purchase.
Anyone who has not ordered can still do so using this link. Use your student ID when prompted for the online code.
For questions regarding school pictures please email: underclass@vosphoto.com
A Note From Mrs. Cole
Thank you to all the families who supported the library through the book fair. It was a huge success! 25% of all sales are returned to the library which Mrs. Cole then uses to buy more books for our collection. We also appreciate all the contributions to the classroom libraries. It’s such a joy to see kids excited about books, crafts, and educational games. Make a reminder now that we’ll have a spring book fair in April where you can stock up on summer reading and activities. Happy reading!
📚 Learning about Government and Citizenship in Language Arts 📚
Benchmark Unit 3 in Language Arts is about government and citizenship. Students in K-5 will be learning about what a government does and what it means to be part of a community. Grade six students will learn about different types of governments across societies.
Connect with your child’s learning at school with these fun questions and hands-on activities at home:
- Question: If you could pass one law right now, what would it be?
- Activity: Create a family constitution: work together to write three to five laws for your household and explain why they matter.
At the end of the unit, your child will take their unit magazine home. The magazine includes an activity calendar with fun ways to help students build on what they’re learning at each grade level. You can also find information on how to support your child’s reading at home on the Benchmark Families website.
Complete Your Federal Impact Aid Survey
FCPS is asking all families to fill out a Federal Impact Aid Survey. The form is available in SIS ParentVUE under Online Packets, which is in the upper right corner of the screen after logging in. Please complete it as soon as possible. We will provide paper forms to families who have not completed the survey in ParentVUE starting Wednesday, November 12th.
Completing this form for each school-aged child in every household is important. This year, FCPS expects to receive approximately $4 million in Impact Aid funding. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers.
For more information, visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page.
Register for ParentVUE
Learn how to activate your SISParentVUE account, so you can easily submit your survey and have access to other helpful information about your child.
Technical support for using ParentVUE or submitting the survey online is available by submitting a Parent Support Request ticket. Select SISParent in the Application dropdown menu and type “Federal Impact Aid Survey” in the Issue Description section. You may also call the Parent Technology Help Desk at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS).
Holidays and Observations Drawing Contest
Our Equity Team is hosting an ongoing drawing contest to celebrate all the holidays and observations throughout the year.
Submission Details: For the first half of the year, we will collect submissions on the 1st of each month for holidays occurring the following month. For instance, since Lunar New Year is in February in 2026, drawings for it would be due by January 1st (but the 5th since we are on Winter Break). You're welcome to turn in your artwork early—just drop it in the box in the office!
What Happens Next? The winning drawing will be featured in our newsletter and on our social media. All other submissions will be proudly displayed in our hallways for everyone to enjoy!
Missing a Holiday? If your family celebrates a holiday or observance that isn't on our list, please feel free to include it!
Ready to Draw? You can pick up a template paper for the contest in your classroom or the office, and it is posted on our website for easy access. We can’t wait to see the incredible artwork from our Stenwood artists!
Kiss N Ride/Walkers Reminders
If you choose to park on Carnegie and walk up for arrival and/or dismissal, please know that the streets directly behind Stenwood are permit parking only. In addition, please be respectful of our neighbors. Please do not block driveways, crosswalks, or move trash cans. During grade-level and schoolwide events, we do work with the Fairfax County Police Department to get permission for families to park in the neighborhood. When advertising events, we will communicate if the parking in the neighborhood has been coordinated. That exemption is not in place for arrival or dismissal. FCPD began issuing warnings for both parking without a permit and illegal parking. Several neighbors have reached out with their concerns, please help Stenwood be a good neighbor to our Stenwood neighbors.
Parents picking up their children at dismissal, please make sure to wait on the blacktop so that our walkways to the cars and special transportation vans are clear. Please also remember that FCPS Schools have a No Dogs Allowed policy. If you are walking with your dog, please stop at the entrance to the loop to keep them off FCPS property.
Advanced Academics Full-time Service Referral Deadline Approaching
 Parents and guardians of students in Grades 2-7 who would like their student to be considered for full-time Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) services for the 2026 - 2027 school year must submit the AAP Full-Time Referral Form to Erica Riley, esriley@fcps.edu, Michelle Burke, mpburke@fcps.edu, and your child’s classroom teacher no later than December 15th, 2025. You will receive confirmation once it has been reviewed for completion of all required parts. You may also complete the optional, but recommended Parent Guardian Questionnaire.
Each year, families can submit a referral for full-time AAP services any time from the first day of school through December 15th. No late referrals for full-time AAP services will be accepted.
Once a referral is received, our school will compile information related to the student. Then, a committee of six trained professionals from across the county will review materials to determine eligibility for full-time AAP services.
Next Steps for Parents
Eligibility decisions are communicated by early April. Parents may request a copy of their child’s materials after March 2nd, 2026, by emailing Kaleigh Hartman, kkhartman@fcps.edu.
At the elementary level, referrals for subject-specific and part-time AAP are screened by our school. If you miss the full-time referral deadline, your student can still be screened for subject-specific or part-time AAP services for the remainder of the year. At the middle school level, honors courses are open to all students.
For more information, please visit the Advanced Academic Programs webpage.
If you would like to view either of our information sessions, you can find them here:
- AAP Continuum of Services
- Full-Time AAP Screening & Identification
- Geared for parents of 2nd-6th graders interested in referring their child for full-time AAP services.
- Recording
- Passcode: !i$qt4Am4t
School Meals and Free/ Reduced Lunch Applications
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Breakfast and Lunch
Breakfast will be $1.75. Lunch will be $3.25, milk $1.00. Money can be added to your child(ren)’s accounts using www.myschoolbucks.com. You can also write a check to Stenwood Food Services and deliver it to our Food Services Manager at Open House. During the school year, you can find the menu for breakfast and lunch at https://linqconnect.com/public/menu/ESSF44 (these menus do not appear to be available yet).
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 Free and Reduced-Price Status
Students eligible for free or reduced-price meals will continue to receive these benefits through the end of September. A new application must be filled out each new school year and forms are available online now: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/food-and-nutrition-programs/free-and-reduced-price-meals. Applications are accepted at any time, but we encourage you to apply or renew your application before the end of September. Call (703) 813-4800 if you need help. This must be completed for eligible students to receive free meals.
Stenwood Elementary PTA
We hope you join our amazing PTA! stenwoodpta.membershiptoolkit.com
CARES Pizza Lunch!
Responsibility
Thanksgiving Lunch!
Stenwood Book Fair!
Stay Connected
Here are a few ways to stay connected with all the happenings at Stenwood ES
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Facebook
facebook.com/StenwoodElementary
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Instagram
@stenwoodelementary
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Website
stenwoodes.fcps.edu
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PTA Facebook
facebook.com/StenwoodElementaryPTA
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