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The Weekly Roar
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Upcoming Events
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Thursday, 2/19 – Divisionwide FCPS Spirit Day – “Warm Up FCPS!” (wear bright colors and/or tropical wear)
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Wednesday, 2/25 – Early Release Wednesday, students dismissed at 1:05 p.m., UNLESS we have been directed to keep them at school until 4:05 p.m.
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Wednesday, 2/25 & Thursday, 2/26 – PTA Restaurant Nights at Farmhouse Tuscan
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NEW DATE! Thursday, 2/26 – Celebration of Cultures Night/Winter Cultural Awareness & Recognition Event (CARE) Night, 6 – 8 p.m.
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Wednesday, 3/4 – Hayfield Rising 7th Grade Parent Coffee, Hayfield Secondary School, 9 – 10:30 a.m.
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Friday, 3/6 – March “First Friday with the Principals” Family Zoom: “Creating a School Where Every Child Belongs” (rescheduled from Friday, 2/6), 10:30 a.m.
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Friday, 3/13 – PTA Basket Bingo, 6 – 8 p.m.
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Friday, 3/20 – Eid-al-Fitr Holiday, school, office, and SACC CLOSED
In This Issue
- New Date for Celebration of Cultures Night/Winter CARE Night – Thursday, February 26
- Next Early Release Wednesday Is February 25; Please Notify the School of Changes to Your Plans
- 2025-2026 Yearbooks Are on Sale! Order Now and Save!
- Ramadan Begins Wednesday at Sundown; Student Fasting Meal Kits Available
- Seeking Representatives for New Family Advisory Committee
- News from the Lane Library: Overdue Notices Going Out This Week
- Let’s Help Warm Up FCPS – Join in the Fun on a Divisionwide Spirit Day on February 19!
- Calling All Kindergarteners for the 2026-27 School Year! Registration is Open Now!
- FCPS PreK and Early Head Start Now Accepting Applications for 2026-27 School Year
- Upcoming Student Experience Survey at Lane
- Apply for Your Child to Learn in Two Languages
- PTA News: Basket Bingo tickets now on sale
- Parent Resources: Summer camp information, Middle School Transition Fair, upcoming webinars
- FCPS News & Events: Black History Month celebration, survey on proposed changes to the SR&R
News & Notes
New Date for Celebration of Cultures Night/Winter CARE Night – Next Thursday, February 26!
We won’t let winter win! We had to postpone Celebration of Cultures Night and Winter Cultural Awareness & Recognition Event (CARE) Night, but the celebration will go on!
The NEW DATE for this combined event is next Thursday, February 26! The time will remain the same, 6 to 8 p.m.
If you were planning to attend, we hope that you will be available on this new date and will still be able to join us. If you weren’t able to attend on the original date last week, we hope you’ll consider joining us on the 26th. You’ll be able to travel the world without leaving our school building!
If you would like to join the families who will be hosting displays, serving food samples, or doing performances and share your family’s culture with our community, please sign up here.
Celebration of Cultures Night will also be our Winter CARE (Cultural Awareness & Recognition Event) Night. We’ll have special areas with displays and activities for Black History Month, Lunar New Year, and Ramadan. We’ll have crafts to make and take home, snacks, and music, including a special performance by our music teachers!
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All families are welcome at this free event. We hope to see your family on Thursday, February 26!
Next Early Release Wednesday Is February 25; Please Notify the School of Changes to Your Plans
Our next Early Release Wednesday will be February 25. Students will be released three hours early that day at 1:05 p.m. We will once again offer supervised activities after school for those families with child-care hardship because of this Early Release scheduling. This option is designed to be for students who have no other option.
To plan for our after-school groups this month, we will follow parent responses provided for the Early Release in December. If you need to change your child’s plans, please call the school office at 703-924-7700 as soon as possible. You may also reach out via email to our family liaison Melanie Crosby Hardy at macrosby@fcps.edu.
If we do not hear from you, we will send your child home as previously directed.
2025-2026 Yearbooks Now on Sale! Order Now and Save!
School yearbooks are on sale! The basic book is just $18 now, but the price will go up to $22 at the end of March. You can have your child’s name printed on the cover for an additional $5. Order now and save!
Ordering is simple: Just go http://www.buytheyearbook.com, put in Lane Yearbook School ID 732283, and pay with your credit card. All orders are online only.
PLEASE NOTE: There most likely will not be any additional books for sale in June. If you want your child to have a yearbook, please order one now.
Ramadan Begins Tonight at Sundown; Student Fasting Meal Kits Available
Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year in Islam. During this month Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to sunset each day while striving to increase their spirituality, through prayers, charity, and good deeds. Read more about Ramadan in National Geographic Kids.
This year, the first full day of Ramadan is Wednesday, February 18, which is an O day in FCPS. The school calendar recognizes many religious and cultural observances (O days) during the school year. There is school on these days, however tests, quizzes, field trips, graduation, homecoming, or FCPS-scheduled athletic events will not be held on these observance days.
Student Fasting Meal Kits
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. Here are the remaining deadlines.
- 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.
Forms must be submitted on time to receive meal kits for the following week.
Seeking Representatives for New Family Advisory Committee
At Lane, we believe that strong family-school partnerships contribute to success for all students. The admin team is looking for family representatives to support our school community by serving on a new Family Advisory Committee.
Family representatives would speak on behalf of students and families in their grade level about experiences and hopes, learn about and support implementation of the school plan and other initiatives, and provide feedback to the school team. For the remainder of the year, there will be two virtual meetings in the evening, one halfway through each of the remaining 3rd and 4th quarters.
If you would like to be considered for the committee, please fill out this form.
Thank you!
Let’s Help Warm Up FCPS – Join in the Fun on a Divisionwide Spirit Day on February 19!
Tired of all the cold weather? Let’s warm up with a little school spirit across the division!
Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid is encouraging all FCPS students, teachers, and staff to shake the wrinkles out of their brightest outfits and tropical wear to "Warm Up FCPS!" and help brighten everyone’s moods on Thursday, February 19.
News from the Lane Library: Overdue Notices Going Out This Week
Dear Lane Readers,
Overdue notices will be sent out on February 19 for all books due on or before Tuesday, February 3.
Please do your best to look for these books and return them in good condition! It is also possible that books have been sent to school but have not yet made it to the library. If this is the case, apologies in advance for the crossed communication.
As a reminder, there are no fines for overdue books, however families are expected to pay the replacement cost for lost or damaged books.
Contact Sue Chozick, Librarian, with any questions at schozick@fcps.edu.
Calling All Kindergarteners for the 2026-27 School Year! Registration Is Open Now!
Do you have a child at home ready to start kindergarten next year? If so, now is the time to let us know your little lion will be coming to Lane! Registration for the 2026-27 school year is now underway, and we want to hear from you!
If you don’t have a rising kindergartener yourself, please share this information with friends and neighbors who do.
There’s an easy five-step process to register a child for kindergarten:
- Determine eligibility.
- Identify your local school.
- Gather documents.
- Fill out forms.
- Schedule an appointment.
We will be hosting at least a couple of Kindergarten Registration/Orientation events in the coming months. Starting the registration process now will put you on the list for all the latest news and updates.
You can read more about the registration process here.
Try Online Registration!
Online registration for the 2026-27 school year is open for all grades, kindergarten through 12th grade. It’s the quickest way to start the process! Learn how to begin the online registration process here.
When registering, parents/caregivers will need to create or log in to an existing SIS ParentVUE account.
If you’d like more information, please visit Lane’s Kindergarten Registration page on our school website:https://lanees.fcps.edu/announcements/kindergarten-registration-2026-27-now-open.
If you need further assistance or have questions, please feel free to contact:
- Registrar: Sook Fan Simpson — sksimpson@fcps.edu
- Family Liaison: Melanie Crosby Hardy — macrosby@fcps.edu.
We look forward to welcoming you and your child to Lane Elementary School soon!
FCPS PreK and Early Head Start Now Accepting Applications for 2026-27 School Year
FCPS PreK and Early Head Start are now accepting applications for School Year 2026-27!
This is a high-quality Early Childhood Program for eligible families. PreK (which stands for Pre-Kindergarten) is a full-day program, and spaces are limited. The PreK program prioritizes children who will be 4 years old by September 30 but also accepts applications for children who will be 3 years old by September 30.
Your family may qualify for PreK or Early Head Start if you:
- Live in Fairfax County
- PreK: Have a child who will be age 3 or 4 by September 30
- Early Head Start: Have a child who is 0-2 years of age and pregnant women who live in the Reston, Herndon, and Springfield areas
- Have a student(s) with economic and educational risk factors such as:
- Income eligibility
- Homelessness or Foster Care
- A Parent with Limited Education
- Student receives Special Education Services.
For more information or to apply, visit the FCPS PreK website, email fcpsprekoffice@fcps.edu, or call the PreK Office at 703-208-7900 (English) or 703-208-7901 (Spanish).
¡El programa PreK y Early Head Start de FCPS ya está aceptando solicitudes para el año escolar 2026-27!
Somos un programa de educación infantil de alta calidad para familias que cumplen con los requisitos. El programa de PreK es dia completa y los espacios son limitados. El programa PreK prioriza a los niños de 4 años cumplidos antes del 30 de septiembre, pero también acepta solicitudes para niños de 3 años cumplidos antes de esa fecha.
Su familia puede calificar para PreK o Early Head Start si:
- Vivir en el condado de Fairfax
- PreK: Tiene un hijo que tendrá 3 o 4 años antes del 30 de septiembre
- Early Head Start: Tiene un niño de 0 a 2 años de edad y mujeres embarazadas que viven en las áreas de Reston, Herndon, y Springfield
- Tiene un estudiante(s) con factores de riesgo económico y educativo como:
- Elegibilidad por ingresos
- Sin hogar o acogida temporal
- Un padre con educación limitada
- El estudiante recibe servicios de educación especial
Para obtener más información, visite el sitio web, llame a la Oficina de PreK: 703-208-7900 (Inglés), 703-208-7901 (Español), o envia un correo electrónico: fcpsprekoffice@fcps.edu.
Upcoming Student Experience Survey at Lane Elementary
Our school will participate in the FCPS Student Experience Survey. This survey will gather important feedback from students about their school experiences to help FCPS make meaningful improvements.
All students in grades 3 through 6, except those who have opted out, will receive a link to the survey in their FCPS email on February 23. We will administer the survey during the school day between Monday, February 23, and Friday, March 6. Any student may take the survey at home, if they are unable to take the survey during the school day. You will receive a communication with details on how to preview the survey and opt your child out, if you choose. The electronic opt-out form can also be accessed at this link.
We believe it's important to hear from our students about what we're doing well and where we can improve. This work also aligns with the equity commitments in FCPS’ 2023-30 Strategic Plan, which include a focus on amplifying student voice and experiences as we work toward meeting plan goals.
Apply for Your Child to Learn in Two Languages
FCPS’ 2026-27 Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Program lottery is now open! The program offers students in kindergarten and 1st grade the opportunity to learn in English and another language — French, German, Japanese, Korean, or Spanish — for half of each instructional day.
The online, countywide lottery is open to Fairfax County residents. Families must have a SIS ParentVUE account. Students not currently enrolled in FCPS should register at their base school before applying for the immersion program.
The application window for 1st grade application closed last Thursday. Those applying for kindergarten must do so by Monday, March 2, at 4 p.m.
If you have questions, please contact Brigid Williams at 571-423-4600.
PTA News
Basket Bingo Tickets Now on Sale! Volunteers Play for Free!
Mark your calendars for March 13! Lane PTA’s Annual Basket Bingo Fundraiser is coming soon, and this year’s theme is celebrating Lane’s 30th birthday.
A limited number of tickets are on sale now. Buy them as soon as possible if you'd like to attend.
- Adult Tickets: $27
- Student/Child Tickets: $9
Purchase tickets here:
https://lanepta.givebacks.gives/3f0da2/Event/Details.
Volunteer to Play for Free!
Volunteers receive free admission to Basket Bingo. Volunteers do not need to purchase a ticket to play. You’ll only need to buy extras like raffle tickets, extra bingo cards, or food if you’d like.
Sign up to volunteer here:
https://signup.com/go/NKDRsvV
Help Fill the Basket Bingo Basket Prizes
Each grade level is sponsoring a themed basket to be raffled off at Basket Bingo. You can donate an item from your child’s grade wishlist, or make a direct donation and let us do the shopping for you.
Grade-Level Basket Themes and Wishlist Links
Prefer to skip the shopping? Make a direct donation here, and we’ll take care of the rest:
https://www.givebacks.com/causes/lanepta/campaigns/basketbingocollections.
Thank you for helping make Basket Bingo a fun and successful night for our Lane community. We can’t wait to see you there!
Parent Resources
Prepare for Summer Learning and Fun for Students
Registration is open or will be available soon for summer camps and learning opportunities offered by Fairfax County Public Schools for all students.
Career and Technical Education camps and Institute for the Arts camps will be held in July at Robinson Secondary School from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bus transportation will be available from select FCPS middle and high schools. Tuition assistance is available to FCPS families eligible for free or reduced meals.
Tech Adventure Camp (TAC) is a week-long exploratory camp that allows current K-5 students to explore STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), culinary, health, trades, and business and marketing areas. Watch this video about CTE camps. Registration is open through Friday, June 5.
Elementary Institute for the Arts (E-IFTA) is a weekly fine and performing arts camp for students in grades K-5 who love to sing, dance, act, perform, make, and create. Students attend four daily classes in dance, music, theater, and visual arts and work with experienced educators who create engaging, fun classes.
New this year: Students in the above camps can also register for aftercare, which is available from 2 to 5 p.m.
Take a look at this Summer Camp Summary handout for a list of FCPS and county opportunities, including both academic and recreational options. Fairfax County Neighborhood & Community Services’ Therapeutic Recreation Services (TRS) provides supports and programming for people with special needs and offers several options for students during the summer. On Thursday, February 19, at 6 p.m., TRS will host a virtual information session on its summer opportunities. View this TRS flyer for more information.
The FCPS Family Resource Center also has summer camp guides on its website, including adaptive camps for students with disabilities. These guides are updated regularly to provide the most up-to-date information for families.
Stay tuned to The Weekly Roar in the coming weeks for more information!
Middle School Transition Fair for Families of Students Receiving Special Education Services—Wednesday, March 4
FCPS will host its Middle School Transition Fair, an evening for families of elementary and middle school students receiving special education services to learn about planning for the future on Wednesday, March 4, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School.
At this event, families can meet Career and Transition Services (CTS) representatives and other support staff; learn about postsecondary education, employment, and community supports; and hear from a student and parent panel sharing real transition experiences.
This is a great opportunity to ask questions, connect with resources, and feel more confident about your child’s next steps. Language support will be available.
Event registration link
Download the flyer in English
Flyer translations:
Arabic
Chinese
Korean
Spanish
Urdu
Vietnamese
Upcoming Free Webinars from the Family Resource Center
The Social Lives of Twice-Exceptional (2E) Students: Friendship, Belonging, and Identity
Friday, February 20, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Families will understand how to support 2e students establishing authentic connections and how they navigate peer relationships.
Register here
You Can't Pour from an Empty Cup: Tips for Self-Care (Kinship Series)
Friday, February 27, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Join licensed clinical social worker and kinship caregiver Dr. Monique Lilakos to learn more about stress management and self-care.
Register here
Tips to Reduce Parent Stress and Anxiety
Tuesday, March 3, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Join Rachel Bailey for a workshop on why modern parenting feels so overwhelming— and how to manage it. Learn practical strategies to reduce stress, respond calmly instead of reactively, and parent with more confidence and ease.
Register here
You’re Not Doing It Wrong: Parenting Through “Bumps” with Neurodivergent Kids
Friday, March 6, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Parenting a neurodivergent child evolves in stages, often in unexpected ways. This webinar explores how parental roles shift over time and introduces a three-phase framework to help parents navigate change with clarity, curiosity, and intention—building more confident, responsive leadership along the way.
Register here
Why Smart Kids Struggle
Wednesday, March 11, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Many students struggle not because of ability, but because of executive function. This session helps parents recognize these challenges and learn simple strategies to reduce overwhelm and help kids get unstuck—without nagging or doing it for them.
Register here
BIS Part 3: How to Develop Emotional Regulation with Your Child
Friday, March 13, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Join us to explore how to move beyond stopping challenging behavior and instead focus on teaching the core skills of recognizing, understanding, and responding to emotions in healthy ways. Walk away with tools leading to a calmer family life.
Register here
Countdown to Kindergarten
Friday, March 27, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Is your preschooler heading to kindergarten this fall? Join us for Countdown to Kindergarten, a virtual event designed to help families prepare for this exciting transition!
During this webinar, families will learn practical tips and essential information to support your child's smooth and successful start to kindergarten in Fairfax County Public Schools.
Register here
FCPS News & Events
Rooted in Resilience: Echoes of Excellence
Families and community members are invited to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and uplift the voices shaping our future at FCPS’ Second Annual Black History Month Celebration. Rooted in Resilience: Echoes of Excellence will take place on Wednesday, February 25, at 6 p.m., at Carter G. Woodson High School.
The event will honor the rich history, strength, and contributions of the Black community through inspiring student performances and a powerful keynote address by Rev. Vernon C. Walton, pastor of First Baptist Church of Vienna. Light refreshments will be available.
Survey on Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) Now Open for All Families and Middle and High School Students
On Monday, all FCPS parents/caregivers and middle and high school students received an email to participate in a voluntary and confidential survey. (Please check your spam folder if you have not received it.)
Questions refer to proposed changes to FCPS’ SR&R document for next year. This document outlines the rules that students are expected to follow, and guidelines for consequences if those expectations are not met. Possible changes include:
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Universal Discipline: Charts will list consequences and supports for students. They will help ensure that two students of the same grade will be treated fairly and receive the same level of support.
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Standards for In-School Suspensions of Students with Disabilities: Creating standards for how in-school suspensions are handled for students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 Plan.
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Accommodations for Multilingual Learner Student Statements: Providing translation accommodations when Multilingual Learner students provide statements about disciplinary incidents.
The survey will be open until Friday, February 20. Survey materials are available online.
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