Enjoy Spring Break

bannerFairhill ES Banner

English | Español | አማርኛ | 中文 | 한국어 | Tiếng Việt | العربية | فارسی | اردو


ENJOY SPRING BREAK


Dear Fairhill Families:

Thank you to all of our families who joined us for Friday’s community conversation. The dialogue was meaningful, and it was wonderful to see families and school staff working together in support of our students.

We wish you a wonderful spring break and hope your time is filled with rest and rejuvenation as we prepare for the fourth quarter. This is also a great opportunity to explore the Student Resources page on the Fairhill website. There are many engaging options for students if you are looking to incorporate some academic activities over the break.

Finally, please mark your calendars for our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, April 8. We hope to see you there.

Enjoy Spring Break,

Ted & Maura

collage 3/24

Save the Date

 

 

 

 

March

  • March 26th - Kindergarten Field Trip to Meadowlark
  • March 26th - 4th Grade Field Trip to FCHS Planetarium
  • March 27th - Quarter 3 Ends 2 hour Early Release 2:05 pm
  • March 30th - April 3rd Spring Break (No School)
    • Office open 10 - 2 pm

April

  • April 6th - Teacher Workday Student Holiday (No School)
  • April 8th - PTA Meeting 6:30 pm
  • April 10th - Kindergarten Orientation 10 am
  • April 10th - School Planning Day Student Holiday (No School)
  • April 13th - Rising 7th Grade Visit to LJMS
  • April 15th - Purple Up! Day Military Connection
  • April 17th - Story Book Parade 9:45 - 10:45 am Bus Loop
  • April 17th - Parents Night Out - Glow Dodgeball
  • April 18th - Garden Day (Rain Date 4/25)
  • April 21st - Election Day (No School for Students)
  • April 22nd - Falls Church Pyramid Art Show 5 - 7 pm
  • April 22nd - Wednesday Early Release (3 hours) 
    • Dismissal 1:05 pm       
  • April 23rd - 5th Grade Field Trip to Natural History Museum
  • April 24th - Career Fair  1:15 - 3:30 pm
  • April 30th - 6th Grade Art Museum Field Trip
  • April 30th - Spring Strings/Band Concert Evening

May

  • May 1st - Spring Strings/Band Concert Day
  • May 4th - May 8th Staff Appreciation Week
  • May 7th - PTA Meeting 6:30 pm
  • May 13th - Wednesday Early Release (3 hours) 
    • Dismissal 1:05 pm   

Spring break

Fairhill Office Hours Over Spring Break

Fairhill Elementary School will be closed from March 30th - April 3rd for Spring Break. The office will be open from 10 am - 2 pm.   We hope you enjoy this time to rest, recharge, and spend quality time with loved ones.

If you need to get into contact with us, please leave your name and phone number and your call will be returned ASAP.


Lost items?

Please come by and check out the Lost and Found for any items your student may be missing.  All clothing will be donated over Spring Break.

Thank you!

Lost and Found

Military

April is the Month of the Military Child and Purple Up Day!

April is the Month of the Military Child, and at Fairhill, we are proud to celebrate the incredible strength, resilience, and spirit of our military-connected students.

Join us on Purple Up Day, April 15th, by wearing purple to show your support and appreciation. As a Purple Star School, this day is especially meaningful to our community. It is a chance for all of us to stand together and recognize the sacrifices our military families make, especially the children who walk our halls each day.

Let’s turn Fairhill purple and show our students just how much they are seen, valued, and celebrated!


Career Day

6th Annual Fairhill Elementary Career Fair

Each spring, Fairhill hosts our annual career fair to help students explore different careers and learn about the world of work. It’s a fun, interactive event where adults from the community share what they do, talk about their professions, and answer students’ questions — helping spark curiosity and future ambition.

 2026 Career Fair details: To inspire students, provide insight into the "World of Work," showcase the diverse talents of our community, and have lots of Career Day fun! 

  • Theme: “The Possibilities Start Here” — a celebration of career exploration and future planning for students
  • Date & Time: Friday, April 24, 2026, 1:15 – 3:30 pm
  • Location: Fairhill Elementary Gymnasium 
  • Setup: Tables and chairs will be provided. Electrical outlets are available.
  • What to Bring: We encourage you to wear your professional attire/uniform and bring interactive items (videos, equipment, literature, etc.) to engage our future workforce!

Detailed logistics regarding session times will be sent as the date approaches.

View: 2025 Career Day Info and PHOTOS - this will give you a good idea of the look and feel of our career day.

Contact: Mrs. Schwartz, Counselor, 703-208-8130, gwschwartz@fcps.edu

Sign Up Here


Raptor

New Sign In Procedure

We are excited to announce that our school is now using the new Raptor Visitor Management System (VMS). This upgrade is part of our school’s and FCPS’ ongoing commitment to enhancing school safety and streamlining the process for visitors at our school. The VMS ensures that no visitor is on the sex offender registry.

For most visitors, the user experience will be the same when you check-in at the front office.

But now there is also an app, which can make check-in even faster at school. Visitors who choose to download the RaptorSafe App and create a Raptor Passport can pre-verify their information before they get to school. The app will give you a QR code you can use when you check-in at school. 

If you have questions or need assistance with the new system, please contact our front office. Thank you for your partnership in keeping our schools safe!


Coffee with the Principal

A Latte to Share! ☕

Sometimes the best part of the school day is the community behind it. Take a look at the  Parent Coffee page  to find the topics we have discussed. Coffee with the Principal is the perfect place to connect, ask questions, and share a cup with fellow parents.


Celebrate with a Story! 

Celebrate your child’s birthday or another special event in an exciting way by donating a book to the Fairhill Library! Parents and children can select and purchase a title from the Fairhill Library’s Amazon Wishlist, which will be delivered directly to the school. During library time, Ms. Howard will help your child create a personalized dedication label for their donated book. It’s a wonderful way to honor your child while giving the gift of reading for all Fairhill students to enjoy! 


Volunteer Registration Update for Families

Volunteer Registration Update for Families

FCPS now requires all school volunteers to register through the new Volunteer FCPS system. Please use THIS link to access Fairhill specifically.

  • Volunteers must create a profile in the Volunteer FCPS portal and complete the required steps, including a short orientation.
  • FCPS covers the cost of any required background checks.
  • Volunteer opportunities are organized by levels based on frequency and involvement.

We strongly encourage families to register as a Level 2 volunteer, even if you plan to volunteer only occasionally.

  • Level 2 status is required for field trip chaperones and allows greater flexibility to support school activities.

We greatly appreciate our volunteers and thank you for partnering with us to support our students and keep our school community safe. No families from Fairhill will be turned away from volunteering for the 2025-2026 school year; however, starting in 2026, all families will be required to register to volunteer with FCPS.


Spring Concert Date and Times:

  • Evening Concert- Thursday, April 30
    • 4th Grade Arrival 5:00 pm, Concert starts 5:30 pm
    • 5th/6th Grade Arrival 6:00 pm, Concert starts 6:30 pm
  • Daytime Concert - Friday, May 1
    • 9:50-10:50 am
Spring Concert

Spanish    


News from PTA


Calling for Volunteers:  Help to Make a Big Difference in our community

The Fairhill PTA again will continue to support Fairhill families and our broader local community by collecting unused food purchased from the cafeteria (e.g., milk, string cheese) and/or unopened store-bought food (e.g., crackers) during the spring semester

Our kids' role -> Kids are asked to leave food they may otherwise toss in the garbage and instead put it off in the Food for Others fridge in the cafeteria.

Our volunteers' role -> Once a week (Mondays or Tuesdays), we are asking for a volunteer to collect the food and drop it off at Food For Others (1 mile away). 

Our collective Impact -> In addition to minimizing food waste, we are helping 75,000 Fairfax County (and Fairhill families) who are food insecure.  On a weekly basis last year, we collected hundreds of milk cartons, string cheese packets, crackers, yogurts and more.

Sign up here to volunteer!  Questions????  Call/text//email Anika Marpaka (anikaamin@yahoo.com or 703 855 0500)


Help Us Erase Student Lunch Debt

Please consider donating to eliminate school lunch debt through our Educate Fairfax platform. All donations are tax deductible; you will receive a receipt for tax deduction purposes.


News from FCPS


QR

Adult ESOL

The spring semester is enrolling soon for Adult ESOL classes through FCPS ACE. Adults in our community can take advantage of comprehensive English language classes at a much lower cost than college programs or private language schools. Classes are available for all levels of proficiency, with morning or evening classes at FCPS locations throughout the county.


2026 CTE Summer Enrichment Programs

Create | Explore | Learn

Programs

Tech Adventure Camp: Current Kindergarten - grade 5 students explore Business/Marketing, Family + Consumer Sciences, Health + Medical Sciences, STEAM, and Trades by rotating through daily classes

Visit the Tech Adventure Camp webpage here: bit.ly/FCPS_TAC

CTE Summer Academy: Current grade 6 - 11 students choose their classes and dive deeper into CTE program areas, skills, and career exploration

Visit the CTE Summer Academy webpage here: bit.ly/FCPS_CSA

Details

  • Time - 8:30  to 2 pm* *Early drop off begins at 7:30 am; after care ends at 5 pm

New to 2026! We’re offering after care!

  • Location - Robinson SS
  • Transportation from select FCPS schools is provided!
  • Cost - $300 per week Back for 2026 programs, we will be offering tuition assistance. More information on our webpages.
  • Dates -
    • Week 1: July 6 - 10
    • Week 2: July 13 - 17
    • Week 3: July 20 - 24
    • Week 4: July 27 - 31

New to 2026! We’re offering a 4th week of our programs!

  • Different weekly offerings; weekly themes and class offerings can be found on our webpages!

More Information
Visit our webpages (linked above) for more information!

For questions, please contact Beth Mehr at bgmehr@fcps.edu

We look forward to creating, exploring, and learning with your students this summer!


News from Community


AARP Foundation Tax-Aide

The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax preparation service. Volunteers in this program prepare taxes for low and moderate income taxpayers, with special attention to seniors. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide offers free tax preparation to anyone of any age – especially to those 50 or older and to those who can’t afford paid tax preparation, https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp-taxaide/

(Northern Virginia Tax Aide Site Hours)

Family Counseling Center of Greater Washington P2P

The P2P Program provides younger students with mentors who provide tutoring and peer support. P2P mentors and mentees (7th-12th graders) are eligible for a $10,000 scholarship. Registration for the Spring 2026 program is now open.

(Spring 2026 P2P Flyer)

(P2P Scholarship Flyer)


Important Fairhill Contact Information

Fairhill Phone Numbers:

Main Office 703-208-8100

• Health Room 703-208-8110

• Cafeteria 703-208-8121

Administration e-mail addresses:

• Principal, Ted Cooper: egcooper@fcps.edu

•  Assistant Principal, Maura Cotter: mkcotter@fcps.edu


ytr

Follow us!

Click here to follow us on Twitter.

#YouBelongAtFairhill

Click here to like our Facebook page.

Click here to follow us on Instagram.