Floris Family Message
Dear Floris Families,
Thank you for another wonderful week of learning and community at Floris! We started the week with a little pump fake from the weather forecast that had many of us bracing for a 2-hour delay, Mother Nature certainly kept us on our toes! But our students and staff quickly regrouped and got right back into the rhythm of the week.
This week, our staff engaged in professional learning with our Behavior Solutions Team. The scenarios and discussions helped us deepen our shared understanding of how-to best support students, and this work continues to strengthen our schoolwide practices.
We also want to highlight the Walk in My Shoes program, beautifully coordinated by Sarah de Kramer and supported by our wonderful parent volunteers. Together, they guided students through activities that encouraged empathy, perspective-taking, and understanding of others. It was a powerful experience and a meaningful reflection of the values we hold as a school community.
Additionally, we want to apologize to the families whose children missed the make-up picture day due to miscommunication. We have scheduled an additional make-up day on December 15, and we hope this provides an opportunity for all students to have their pictures taken.
As we head into the final two weeks before winter break, I want to express how grateful we are for your continued partnership. Our staff is working hard every day to support, encourage, and uplift our students and your support makes all the difference. Together, we are doing the right work for our children.
Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable weekend!
Joshua DeSmyter, Principal
Robert Gibbs, Assistant Principal
In This Message:
- Principals' Message
- PTA News
- Floris Annual Giving Tree
- Full-Time AAP Referral Information
- Activities from the Herndon Library
- FCPS Budget
- Weather Closings
- Curiosity Corner
- AAP Information
- Volunteer FCPS
- Updates to Digital Consent
- Lightspeed
- SEL Screener
- MTSS
- Upcoming Dates
PTA News and Announcements
2025–26 PTA Reflections – “I Belong”
A huge congratulations to all our students who participated in this year’s PTA Reflections program! Your creativity and courage showed what it truly means to belong. We are proud of every student artist who shared their voice.
We are excited to announce our Outstanding Interpretation winners whose entries will now advance to the Fairfax County level of competition:
DANCE – Outstanding Interpretation
- Primary – Ditya Dhevarajan• Intermediate – Dhrithii Dhevarajan• Middle – Annika Biddy
LITERATURE – Outstanding Interpretation
- Primary – Aradhya Bondili• Intermediate – Dhrithii Dhevarajan• Middle – Anirudh Rudharraju
MUSIC COMPOSITION – Outstanding Interpretation
- Intermediate – Dhrithii Dhevarajan
PHOTOGRAPHY – Outstanding Interpretation
- Primary – Aradhya Bondili
VISUAL ARTS – Outstanding Interpretation
- Primary – Aradhya Bondili• Intermediate – Laasya Mohan
Honorable Mentions – Visual Arts
Primary: Ditya Dhevarajan, Ridaan Maurya, Elizabeth SullivanIntermediate: Sanav Agarwal, Evelyn C. Bui, Dhrithii Dhevarajan
Congratulations to every one of our artists—your work reminds us that every voice matters and you all belong.
🐝 Spelling Bee: Spelling bee registration is now open! The Floris Elementary Spelling Bee will be held in two rounds:
-
Preliminary Round: Thursday, February 12th in the Floris cafeteria.
-
Finalists Round: Thursday, February 26th in the Floris cafeteria. Visit https://www.florispta.org/spelling-bee for more information and to register.
Got questions about the PTA? We’ve got all the answers on our website - CLICK IT!
Floris Annual Giving Tree – Supporting Local Families
As we enter the holiday season, we are reminded that some families in our community may need extra support. Once again, Floris Elementary is proud to host our Annual Giving Tree to help local families in need.
How You Can Help: Participating is simple! Please consider signing up to purchase a Target or Walmart gift card to benefit our families. Once purchased, gift cards may be mailed or dropped off at the school office.
👉 Sign Up Here! 👈
Gift Card Deadline: All gift cards should be received by Monday, December 15th.
Mailing Address:
Floris Elementary School
Attn: James Duffield
2708 Centreville Road
Herndon, VA 20171
If you are—or know of—a family in need of support this holiday season, please contact James Duffield at jcduffield@fcps.edu.
Thank you for helping make the season brighter for others! We are deeply grateful for your generosity and kindness.
Full-Time AAP Referral Window Reminder for Families
Parents/caretakers who would like their student to be screened for Full-Time Advanced Academic Program services may submit the Full-Time Referral Form (translations linked below) to their local school’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), Amy Albanese abalbanese@fcps.edu no later than December 15, 2025. Late referrals will not be accepted.
Full-Time Referral Form (PDF)
Each year, families of students in grades 2-6 can submit a referral for Full-Time AAP services any time from the first day of school through December 15. 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 February 20, 2026, by emailing Amy Albanese, abalbanese@fcps.edu
At the elementary level, referrals for subject-specific and part-time AAP are screened by the 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 website.
Activities From the Herndon Library
Looking for fun indoor activities to do this winter? Here are a couple of ideas from Herndon Fortnightly Library:
❄️FCPL Winter Reading Adventure
The Fairfax County Public Library has a winter reading adventure, Read for the Gold, from December 1st - January 31st. Participants will earn ten or fifteen virtual badges by reading or listening to books, reading for 20 or 30 minutes, completing activities, or a combination of all three.Once participants have met the reading goals for their age/grade, they can visit their neighborhood library branch and receive prizes for finishing the program!
Then be sure to join other readers for the Winter Olympics Bonanza - Fairfax Library Calendar - Library Home A Winter Reading Challenge celebration with crafts and games on Dec 30th from 11-12 at Herndon Fortnightly Library!
📓 Help Us Write Floris’s Next Chapter: Fiscal Year 2027 Budget
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 Floris 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!
❄️ Prepare for Winter Weather
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.
🧠Curiosity Corner🧠
Monthly Maker Missions
Within the walls of Floris, there are many cultures, characteristics, and systems that make our community unique. This month, students are taking on a creative challenge — to design a monument or statue that represents Floris Elementary! They’ll consider all aspects of our school — our people, procedures, traditions, and values — as they create a design that captures what makes Floris such a special place to learn and grow.
The goal is to promote creative and critical thinking and engage in the engineering and design process. Submissions are due in the Curiosity Lab at the end of the month and will be highlighted within the school building and on the student news show. Let's get curious!
AAP Information
If you are interested in having your child screened for full-time AAP services (Grades 2 – 6 only) you will need to submit an AAP Full-Time referral form to Amy Albanese by no later than Dec 15, 2025, for possible eligibility for the 26-27 School year. In addition to the Referral form, parents are encouraged to submit the Optional Parent Questionnaire and up two pages of work samples. Submission can be submitted digitally to Amy Albanese on or before the deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.
If you should have any questions regarding AAP services, please reach out to Amy Albanese our Advanced Academics Resource Teacher here at Floris ES. She works Mon – Thurs from 8:45AM – 4:15PM and is most easily reachable via email: abalbanese@fcps.edu
Learn more about AAP on our Floris webpage.
Volunteer FCPS Helps Community Members Connect With Schools
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).
💻 Action Required! Update Your Permission for Google Tools
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 our Technical Support desk.
Manage Your Child’s Screen Time on FCPS Devices
FCPS offers the Lightspeed Parent Portal to help you manage screen time on your child's FCPS device at home. With a Parent Portal account, you can control your child’s access to YouTube and pause website browsing during after-school hours.Please note that parent controls are active only during after-school hours, defined as Monday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. (including student holidays) and all day Saturday and Sunday.
If you haven't signed up for the portal yet, use the link at the bottom of your weekly Lightspeed Online Student Activity Report email. To learn more, please visit the Lightspeed Parent Portal page on the FCPS website.
Social and Emotional Learning Screener:
Parent Reports
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.
Monitoring Support for Your Child in ParentVUE
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.
Dates for the 2025-2026 School Year
December 3-5: Walk in My Shoes for 4th-6th Grades
December 17: 3-Hour Early Release for Students
December 18: 5th/6th Winter Music Concerts, 7:00 at Rachel Carson MS
December 22- January 2: Holiday- Winter Break
January 15: 4th Grade Winter Concert, 7:00 in Cafeteria
January 16: PTA Bingo Night, 6:15
January 19: Holiday- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 28: End of 2nd Quarter, 2-Hour Early Release
January 29-30: Staff Development Days, No School for Students
Find the 2025-2026 School Year Calendar: https://www.fcps.edu/calendars/standard-school-year-calendar
|
