Dear Navy Elementary Families,

As we head into the weekend, I want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible hard work of our students and staff. We have officially reviewed our mid-year data from the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) and VALLS (Virginia Language & Literacy Screening) assessments, and the results are inspiring. Across all grade levels, we are seeing significant growth in both literacy and mathematics. These milestones are a testament to our students' persistence and the high-quality instruction happening in every classroom.

🚗 A Quick Safety & Traffic Note

To keep our mornings running smoothly, thank you for your continued support and patience at Kiss and Ride. To ensure the safety of our students and the efficiency of the line, please keep these two reminders in mind:

• Pull All the Way Forward: If you are the first car to enter the line, please pull as far forward as possible to allow more vehicles to unload behind you.
• Stay in Your Vehicle: For safety and speed, please remain in your car while dropping off your students.

🗓️ Looking Ahead: Special Events

Next week is shaping up to be a busy and meaningful one at Navy:

• School Spelling Bee: We are excited to see our sharpest spellers take the stage!
• Principal Advisory Meeting: We are thrilled to welcome Sky School to share their unique SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) program with our community.

💡 Your Voice Matters: The Future of SEL

Your opinion is vital as we decide on the path we take with social and emotional learning in the years to come. During our meeting, we will also hear from a community member regarding the book The Anxious Generation. We will dive into a timely discussion on the impact that social media and cell phones have on our children's development and well-being.

Our school counselors and teachers have made a significant effort to ensure social and emotional learning is a priority this year through the FCPS approved Second Step program. We have seen a major reduction in student office referrals and increase a perceived sense of belonging!

Thank you for everything you do to prepare your wonderful children for school each day. We truly appreciate you sharing them with us and being such active partners in their education.

We hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Warmly,

Our next next 3 hour early release is Wednesday.

A reminder that we will dismiss based on your dismissal plan you shared for the school year.

You can check in our Early Release Checker: https://bit.ly/NavyERChecker

If changes to the dismissal plan need to be made, please call the office (703) 262-7100. Changes cannot be made past 2/23 without admin approval. 

Thank you for your help in planning and safely dismissing all of our students. 

Calling all student artists! It’s time to leave your mark on the 2025–2026 Navy Elementary Yearbook by participating in this year’sCover Art Contest. The theme is “Making Kindness Happen,” and we are excited to announce that there will be two winners: one student in Grades K–2 will have their design featured on the back cover, and one student in Grades 3–6 will have their design featured on the front cover. Both winners will also receive a FREE yearbook! 🎉

All artwork must include the words “Navy Elementary” and “2025–2026,” be created on white, unlined 8 ½ x 11 inch paper, and be designed vertically. Artwork must be original, in color, and outlined or highlighted in black to make it stand out. Please remember to check spelling and ensure designs are school appropriate and reflect this year’s theme. Entries are due to the front office by Friday, March 20, and should be turned in with the submission form attached by glue or paperclip only. We can’t wait to see our students’ creativity shine! ✨

Thank you for your incredible support at the start of the school year. Because of you, we have purchased 12 CoDrone EDU drones along with the materials needed to launch our very own Drone Club next school year!

This year, Mrs. McLaughlin, our SBTS, partnered with Mr. Reynolds, SBTS at Vienna Elementary School, to learn more about drones and the REC Foundation Drone Competition. This year's mission is called Time Warp. To get an idea, you can watch this mission overview.  Vienna is the first elementary school in our area to implement this program, and Mrs. McLaughlin has been coaching alongside Mr. Reynolds, with their Vienna Drone Club as she prepares to bring this exciting opportunity to Navy.
Sixth grade students will be eligible to participate in the REC Foundation Drone Competition. Students meet weekly after school to develop a variety of skills, including:

• Flying drones indoors through team obstacle courses
• Completing solo skills missions
• Coding drones for autonomous flight missions
• Maintaining team logbooks to document progress

In addition to technical skills, students strengthen their Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Teams demonstrate written communication through their logbooks and final communications mission, and students practice verbal communication through interviews at competitions.
This is an exciting, hands-on program that builds teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation skills. We are thrilled to bring Drone Club to Navy at the start of next school year!

Kindergarten & 1st Grade

Navy Elementary is proud to be hosting Matt Phelan! He is coming to talk to our Kindergarten and First Grade students about his new book BARTLEBY, on Tuesday March 3, 2026.

If you would like to pre-order a book(s) to have autographed, please return the order form that was sent home in your students Friday Folder.

This event is only available to our Kindergarten and First Grade students. Please reach out to Mrs. Benavides (debenavides@fcps.edu) if you have any questions!

Join us as we celebrate our military-connected students on Purple Up! Day, Wednesday, April 15, 2026! We encourage all students, faculty, and staff to wear purple to show support for our military youth during the Month of the Military Child. 💜 

Visit the FCPS Purple Pop Up Shop between February 16 and March 9 to purchase your Month of the Military Child swag. Items available include T-shirts, hats, lawn signs, and keychains. Let’s Purple Up! and proudly show our support for the amazing military children in our school community!

Navy Elementary is exploring the possibility of hosting a blood drive in April in honor of the Month of the Military Child. To secure the bloodmobile, we need at least 35 donors to commit to donating. Please take a moment to complete the anonymous survey so we can determine if there is enough interest to move forward with scheduling this event. Thank you for your support!

https://forms.gle/1Jh51qQSQALaiDid7

Our annual Family Literacy Night is coming soon! Save the date for “Reading Around the Campfire” on Thursday, March 26th from 6 pm - 8 pm.  We will celebrate literacy with activities designed to captivate your child’s imagination and create memories around the magic of stories. Have your child wear their pajamas and wear pajamas for some “fireside” reading. 

Our SOL testing season is approaching, and we want to help families plan ahead. Please take note of the following SOL dates and help your child be prepared by arriving on time and avoiding appointments or vacations on these days.Thank you for supporting your child during testing season. 

Monday, March 23 | 5th Grade IRW

Wednesday, May 6 | 5th & 6th Grade Reading

Thursday, May 7 | 3rd & 4th Grade Reading

Tuesday, May 12 | 5th Grade Science

Thursday, May 14 | 3rd & 4th Grade Math

Tuesday, May 19 | 5th & 6th Grade Math