March 19, 2026 | Issue 27
Important Upcoming Dates
March 20: Student Holiday, Nowruz and Eid al-Fitr
March 27: End of the Quarter, 2 hour early release
March 30-April 3: Student Holiday, Spring Break
April 6: Teacher Workday, Student Holiday
April 10: School Planning Day, Student Holiday
April 14: NEW DATE - Classroom and Group Photo Day
April 15: Family Culture Night, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
April 21: No school - Virginia statewide election
April 22: Limited Early Release Wednesday, Dismissal 1:05 PM
April 22: Kindergarten Orientation, 2 to 3 PM
Mantua Read-a-Thon Results
The Read-a-Thon minutes and donations are in, and the numbers are huge! Mantua students tracked 302,822 minutes and raised $27,214.79! Thank you to all the families, teachers, staff, and especially students for all your hard work.
The top classes with the most minutes for each grade level received a class Read-a-Thon trophy and a cookie party to celebrate their successes:
- Pre-K: Yates
- Kindergarten: Clancy
- 1st: Jeche
- 2nd: Kaplan
- 3rd: Smith
- 4th: Lemke
- 5th: Peck
- 6th: Neely
The two teachers with the most minutes in their groups received $150 gift certificates to purchase new books for their classrooms:
- Kaplan (pre-k through 3rd)
- Lemke (4th through 6th)
Several students won raffle prizes donated by our amazing sponsors:
- Alice H - Kindle Paperwhite, sponsored by Sarah Harrington
- Maggie C - Kindle Paperwhite, sponsored by Sarah Harrington
- Lilliana C - Six Movie tickets, sponsored by University Mall Theatres
- Sylar C - Kids Echo Dot, sponsored by Deska Services
- Evan S - Kids Echo Dot, sponsored by Deska Services
- Harrison L - Magna-Tiles Set, sponsored by Deska Services
- Harrison C - Lego City Set, sponsored by Elite M.A.
- Juliana S - Lego Friends Set, sponsored by Elite M.A.
- Elle B - 2 Signed Search and Find, written and sponsored by Cynthia Cliff
- Charlotte B - $25 gift card for One More Page Books, sponsored by Stoneleigh Home & Gardens
- Nico R - $25 gift card for One More Page Books, sponsored by Stoneleigh Home & Gardens
- Logan C - $25 gift card for One More Page Books, sponsored by Heming Way Alterations
- Mary U - $25 gift card for One More Page Books, sponsored by Cynthia Cliff
- Setsujin E - Laptop, sponsored by Amazon
- Vincent M - Laser Tag Set, sponsored by Amazon
- Madison N - Owala Water Bottle, sponsored by Amazon
- Melody S - Mantua Gear Gift Certificate, sponsored by Solar Nosh
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Troop 55125: Donation Drive
March 2nd through March 20th
Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 55125 are leading a school-wide donation drive from March 2nd through March 20th. They are collecting new or gently used puzzle books, coloring books, crossword puzzle books, and colored pencils to benefit Seniors at Brightview Woodburn - Senior Assisted Living.
Donations can be placed in the collection box at the front entrance of the school. Thank you for supporting our girls’ leadership and service project!
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Overnight Summer Camp: Camp Under the Stars
Registration for Summer 2026 is open at Camp Under the Stars!
Camp Under the Stars is an overnight summer camp in Dumfries, Virginia. There are one-week programs for ages 6-17 and a two-night program for ages 5-9.
www.underthestarsinc.org/summer-camp
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📣 No School on April 21 📣
Virginia Statewide Election
There will be no school for students on Tuesday, April 21, for the Virginia statewide election. Please check with the host of your child’s after-school activities on the event status, as not all activities can be safely held that day.
Note: Fairfax County Public Schools will still exceed the required number of instructional hours for students, as set by the Virginia Department of Education.
Save the Date: Mantua Family Culture Night
Wednesday, April 15
6:00 - 7:30 PM
You’re invited to join us for Family Culture Night on April 15th from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. You can host a table or just come take a walk around the world.
Family Culture night (Formerly “Heritage Night”) is a wonderful time to celebrate Mantua’s many cultures and their unique background! Here are some ideas:
- The culture of your home country.
- The culture of the country, or countries, of your ancestral heritage or that you have lived in or visited.
- The culture of a city or state in the U.S. where you have lived or visited.
- Your family’s traditions and celebrations.
- Any culture to which you feel connected!
Sign up for a table: If you would like to share about your family’s culture by hosting a table, please fill out the Google form or the paper form that was sent home in Tuesday Folders on February 10, 2026.
If you have any questions or problems with the form, please contact mrincernunez@fcps.edu
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Author Visit: Josh Funk
We are excited to welcome author Josh Funk to our PM Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students on Thursday, April 23.
If you are interested in purchasing any of his books to be personalized, please go to the following website: https://scrawlbooks.com/author-pages/josh-funk
Purchased books will be distributed the day following his visit.
Please email Katie Marmol (kgmarmol@fcps.edu) with any questions.
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Mantua Mini Made Spring Market
The first annual Mantua Mini Made SPRING market (in conjunction with the Mantua Made Market) will be happening May 2, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM at the Pool Clubhouse.
Please reach out to shelleythomp@gmail.com if your child would like to participate as a vendor.
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2026 Talent Show
Do you play an instrument, sing or dance? Do you like to perform magic? Do you want to demonstrate your martial arts prowess? Then why not enter this year’s talent show?!
Get more information and register here by April 18. The talent show will be held on Saturday, May 9.
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Yearbook Orders
Mantua yearbooks for the 25-26 school year are now available to order. All orders are done online and cost $20.
https://strawbridge.fotomerchanthv.com/clients/mantua-elementary-school/2025-2026-yearbook-210/access?clearSessionAuthentication=1
The final day to order is April 10th. Please direct all questions to Kate Easton at kjeaston@fcps.edu
Join the PTA
Help support our students and teachers.
YEARLY DUES are only $20 per family.
Please visit MantuaPTA.com to sign up.
Dues are $20 per family and get you discounts on PTA-sponsored clubs. Our dues fully support our free programs so that every penny of our fundraisers goes right back into the classrooms.
Follow us on Facebook to get the inside scoop on all our events and programs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MantuaPTA/
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How to Submit an Announcement to the PTA News
Please complete this form to have a Mantua ES- or Mantua PTA-related announcement placed in the weekly Mantua PTA News, on our Facebook page, and/or on MantuaPTA.org.
The form guides you through all the pieces of information we need to put out complete announcements.
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