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Dear CES Friends and Families,
Thank you for your patience this week as we navigated the snow and ice. It was wonderful to see our halls filled with students again, and we truly appreciate your support at home to ensure an overall smooth transition back to the classroom.
Welcome, Ms. Jay Bolden! We are thrilled to officially welcome Ms. Jay Bolden to the Columbia Elementary team as our long-term substitute music teacher. Ms. Bolden has already made a positive impact in our classrooms this week, and we are grateful to have her expertise through the end of the school year.
A proud graduate of VCU, Ms. Bolden joins us with years of dedicated experience teaching music in Richmond. She is deeply passionate about the arts and views creative expression as a vital tool for building student self-confidence and strengthening our school community. Please join us in giving her a warm Columbia welcome!
Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm.
Take care,
Mike Astudillo
Proud Principal
Columbia Elementary School
PTA News & Notes
The Glow Run Fundraiser is Here!
As you have probably seen, this year Columbia is doing a Glow Run Fundraiser. This year, our goal is to raise $15,000 for field trips, field trip transportation related costs, and new furniture improvements. These funds directly support our students and help us provide engaging and memorable learning experiences free for all students at Columbia Elementary. With your help, we can take students to Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Lego Discovery Center, Colonial Williamsburg, Va, and more!
To learn more here are videos with details (English Video, Spanish Video). More information will be forthcoming. Thank you in advance for your support!
Teacher & Staff Soup Lunch – Monday, February 9th
Please consider volunteering for a Columbia teacher and staff favorite! Monday, February 9th is the annual soup lunch. Get those favorite soup or salad recipes out and let’s show the staff how much we appreciate them. You can sign up HERE to contribute. Thank you!
Family Night Out
Chick-Fil-A (2/25)
It’s Kindergarten Registration Time!
Kindergarten helps children learn and practice the social, emotional, problem-solving, and self-regulation skills they will use throughout their lives.
Fairfax County public schools typically conduct kindergarten registration events, including orientation, in the spring. Eligible children can be registered throughout the summer, but registering your child early helps schools prepare and ensure they have the teachers and resources needed on the first day of school.
If your child will attend our school, please gather necessary documents and complete registration forms as soon as possible.
FCPS offers support and resources for all families to help with registration and the transition to kindergarten. For support in other languages, please visit the FCPS Registration webpage.
SAVE THE DATE: Rising Kindergarten Orientation will be April 22, 2026
Language Arts and Benchmark
📚 Finishing Up “Points of View” in Language Arts 📚
Benchmark Unit 4 in Language Arts is coming to a close! Over the last several weeks, our students have analyzed point of view and perspective across various genres, to explore how different characters view the same events. In different grade levels, students have learned to distinguish between first- and third-person perspectives, compare viewpoints, and analyze character motivations.
Connect with your child’s learning at school with this fun activity:
- Retell a favorite story or fairy tale from a different character’s perspective (what might the wolf say if he’s telling the story of the Three Little Pigs?)
At the end of the unit, your child will take home their unit magazine. The magazine includes a calendar with engaging ways to help students build on what they’re learning at each grade level. If your child completes three of the calendar activities and returns the form to their teacher, they’ll participate in a fun activity at school celebrating their hard work!
Meal kits available for students fasting
From February 18 to March 19, 2026, a Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) waiver allows students fasting during the school day to request take-home meal kits. These kits include a complete school breakfast and lunch to be eaten after the school day ends.
Important Meal Kit Information:
- Kits are charged based on a student’s meal status (Free, Reduced, or Paid).
- Students may claim one breakfast and one lunch kit per day.
- Students who eat a meal at school during the day are not eligible for a take-home kit on the same day.
- Kits are distributed at the end of the school day. Students must pick up their own kits; adults are not permitted to collect them.
Parents or guardians must submit a weekly request form via the FCPS FNS website by the deadlines:
- February 11, 2026 for week of February 18, 2026
- February 16, 2026 for the week of February 23, 2026
- February 23, 2026 for the week of March 2, 2026
- March 2, 2026 for the week of March 9, 2026
- March 9, 2026 for the week of March 16, 2026
📑 Varsity Tutors Provides On-Demand Support at No Cost
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. Learn more about online tutoring with Varsity Tutors.
⌨️ Has your child logged in to Typing Club?
We're incredibly grateful to the amazing PTA for funding a subscription for students in grades 3 - 5 to TypingClub, which can be used at home and school! This fantastic online program helps students develop essential keyboarding skills in a fun and engaging way.
Looking for login information or how to get started for TypingClub? Contact your child's teacher or Mrs. Dumont.
Announcing new sponsor for Safety Patrols
We are delighted to announce that Ms. Emma Kremer has stepped into the role of Safety Patrol Sponsor at Columbia ES. We are confident that her dedication to student leadership will be a tremendous asset to our school safety team. Please direct any inquiries regarding the Safety Patrol program to Ms. Kremer at ejkremer@fcps.edu ; she is ready to support our students and families.
Save the date!
February 10th: Progress Reports coming home in Tuesday Folders
February 12th: Boostherthon concludes with Cougar Glow Run
February 16th - 17th: No School for students
February 18th: 3-Hour Early Release with dismissal at 1:05pm
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