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The Feather Report
Volume 2, Issue 30
 Photo of the Week: the beautiful weather means we are back to gardening in the Discovery Area! Kindergarten students are particularly fond of being helpful when it comes to weeding, mulching, and compositing, and the best part of the activity is when they find long, fat worms!
Leadership Ledger
Westlawn Families,
Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed a restful and joyful Spring Breakâwe are excited to return together and officially begin our 4th quarter with so much learning, growth, and celebration still ahead of us!
It was wonderful to see such an incredible turnout at our Kindergarten Orientation on Wednesday. Meeting our newest families and welcoming our future Eagles is always a special milestone, and we are already looking forward to the Class of 2039 joining us! As a reminder, our Westlawn spirit wear shop is open year-round. For families with incoming kindergarteners, now is a great time to order a shirt so your child can proudly represent Westlawn and build excitement for their first day.
A big thank you to our PTA and our outstanding PE team for organizing another fantastic Laps for Learning event this week. This is our PTAâs largest fundraiser of the year, and it was inspiring to see such strong participation and school spirit. If you missed the event or would still like to contribute, please keep an eye on upcoming opportunities to support our school community.
We are also thrilled to continue expanding our after-school offerings. This yearâs lacrosse and basketball programs have filled up quickly, and we hope to grow these opportunities even further in the future. If you or someone you know is interested in supporting extracurricular programming, we would love to connect!
Finally, we need your helpâWestlawn has a chance to win free tacos for our staff through a Bartaco contest! Be sure to nominate our school and help us make it to the next round. Here is the info you need for the nomination:
Thank you, as always, for your continued partnership and support. Together, we are making this final quarter a strong and memorable one for all of our students!
In partnership,
Christoph Hill, Stephanie Carpenter, and Erin Theiss
Proud Principals
News
 Join Our Staff!
We are on the lookout for some wonderful people to join our staff next year! Currently we need the following:
- Instructional Assistant (2 for new EAC classroom)
- Multiple Disabilities Teacher (for new EAC classroom)
- Public Health Training Assistant (2 for EAC/PAC)
- Music Teacher
If you are interested in one of these roles, we encourage you to send your resume to Mr. Hill. We also encourage you to share these opportunities with anyone you know who might be a good fit for Westlawn. You can keep up-to-date with Westlawn vacancies on the FCPS careers page. Learn more about these opportunities via the job descriptions on the FCPS website.
Reminder: Fun Clothing Wednesdays (and Fridays) in April
April is Autism Acceptance Month and Month of the Military Child. On Fridays in April, staff and students are encouraged to wear RED to âRemember Everyone Deployed.â On Wednesdays we will continue with our Fun Clothing Wednesday themes, this time all about autism!
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April 15, 2026 â Unique Abilities Day đ đš Celebrate what makes you you! Wear clothing that reflects your unique talents, interests, and passions. If youâd like, wear purple to support military children for #FCPSPurpleUp!
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April 22, 2026 â Sensory Sensation đż đ Dress in sensory-friendly, comfortable clothing that helps you feel your best. You can also wear green for Earth Dayâwhether itâs the color, eco-friendly clothing, or something that shows care for our planet!
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April 29, 2026 â Spectrum of Colors and Words đ đŹ Wear your favorite color to celebrate bright minds and different perspectives, or choose clothing with words or messages to remind us that all forms of communication matter.
Reminder: Math Path Workshop
Did you miss our Math Path Workshop? Thatâs OK! We have the recording available for you. During the workshop Ms. Dushok walks families through making a decision about their childâs math placement for next year. This information is beneficial for all families, and especially for those families of fifth and sixth graders who begin to have options for the math class their child will take. The Math Path links are shared below the video.
Reminder: Required Immunizations for Rising 7th Graders
As required by the Code of VA, parents or legal guardians need to provide proof of immunizations for their child to attend at a Virginia public school.
In addition, all students entering 7th grade are required to receive one dose of each of the following immunizations:Â
- Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis booster (Tdap) given at age 7 or older;Â
- Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) given at age 10 or older;Â Â
- A complete series of 2 doses of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.Â
- After reviewing educational materials approved by the Board of Health, the parent or guardian, at the parents or guardians sole discretion, may elect for the child not to receive the HPV vaccine.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to plan ahead by scheduling an appointment with your childâs healthcare provider now to avoid the rush this summer. Immunization appointments are available. Inspire Health Alliance will be providing immunizations for currently enrolled FCPS students at no out-of-pocket cost. Visit the Inspire Immunization Events Student Registration webpage to schedule an appointment.Â
Additional Immunization Resources are also available.
Last Call: Bookmark Design Contest
Educate Fairfax has a bookmark design contest happening through April 17, open to students in K-12. The theme is Todayâs Reader, Tomorrowâs Leader. There are categories for K-2, 3-6, middle school, and high school. There are prizes! Learn more and get the template.
FCPS News
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- Support Military Children on Purple Up! Day
- 241 FCPS Students Named 2026 National Merit Finalists
- Students Honored With 2026 Regional Scholastic Writing Awards
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
Dates and Events
April 15: Fun Clothing Wednesday: clothing that reflects your unique talents, interests, and abilities; or purple for #FCPSPurpleUp Day!
April 15: Restaurant Night from 11 AM - 8 PM at the Seven Corners Chick-fil-A. Use the app, choose the Community Care event, and put in code WE26 for a portion of the proceeds to go to the Westlawn PTA.
April 18: 2026 FCPS Special Education Family Conference. Learn more and register now.
April 18: Jaguar 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run. Learn more and register now.
April 20: Auditions for the Westlawn Talent Show start today! Sign up for an audition slot. Sign up for an audition slot now. And save the date! The Westlawn Talent Show will take place on May 7.
April 21: No School (Special Election Day). FCPS will offer lunch and a snack at no cost to children aged 18 and under at participating schools. The meals must be eaten on site, and enrichment activities will be available for the children. For more information, visit the FCPS Food and Nutrition Services webpage.
April 22: Full day of school (three-hour early release has been cancelled)
April 22: Fun Clothing Wednesday: sensory-friendly clothing or clothing that reflects caring for the Earth
April 22: The Falls Church High School Pyramid Art Show takes place from 5-7 PM at Falls Church HS. Participants will see amazing artwork, join a scavenger hunt, and more! There will be food and drinks for sale.
April 23: Second and final day of talent show auditions
April 23: Full-time AAP orientation; invitation-only event for our new full-time families
April 23-26: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead at FCHS
April 24: Save the date for the new Spring Dance sponsored by the PTA!
To see more schoolwide and community events, remember to check out our website calendar! You can also subscribe to our calendar to make it even more convenient. Click on the little calendar icon in the top right corner of the calendar page of our website to add all current and future events to your cell phone calendar.
Engage with Westlawn
Donate a Sharing Fridge
Sadly, after approximately two years of solid use, the sharing fridge in our cafeteria died earlier this week. A generous family donated the fridge to us at the start of the 2024-2025 school year, and we were both very grateful for the donation and sad that it no longer works. We are hoping someone else in our community might be able to help us acquire a new sharing fridge. Students use the sharing fridge each day by donating extra perishable food from their lunch for other students to take after they finish their own lunch and are still hungry. The sharing fridge is a âdorm sizeâ refrigerator, and does not need to have a separate freezer. If you are able to help us get a new sharing fridge, please contact Ms. Maxwell via email or via TalkingPoints.
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Join a Community Conversation
Join us on Wednesdays at 11 AM on Zoom to hear the important news from the school from Principal Hill! If you miss a Community Conversation, you can catch up with slides and recordings on our website.
Volunteering in FCPS in 2025-2026 requires you to fill out an online application, and then select the school(s) where you want to be. Learn more and apply today!
Tech Talk
Assistive Technology
April is Autism Acceptance Month, and at Westlawn we are celebrating neurodiversity in our community. There are posters in the cafeteria, fresh staff t-shirts, and information being shared by teachers who lead our autism classrooms. For this issue of The Feather Report, we are going to focus on assistive technology.
Assistive technology is any kind of technology that is used to maintain or improve the functional capabilities, independence, and quality of life for people with disabilities (or for senior citizens). It includes low-tech items such as walkers and high-tech items such as Cochlear devices. It also includes an entire suite of computers or computer-like devices and their associated software and apps.
Some people with autism, including several students at Westlawn, use special autism speech device tablets to communicate. These tablets, which fall under the label of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools, feature a series of pictures of items or actions that students can point to when they want to share information with another person. Some AAC tools also feature text alongside pictures or instead of pictures.
Whatâs really neat about AAC tools is that--although they are considered assistive technology--it does not necessarily mean that they are electronic! Our playground at Westlawn features a communication board printed on a large canvas sheet that is zip-tied to the fence. The communication board allows students on the playground to communicate with each other by pointing at pictures to share their thoughts and requests with each other. Learn more about our playground communication board thanks to our Early Autism Classroom teacher Ms. Marshall.
Is there a technology topic you want us to tackle in a future issue? Email your questions to Ms. Dushok (school based technology specialist) and Mr. Dinkins (technology support specialist).
Soaring Staff Spotlight
This week the Soaring Staff Spotlight is on Suzanne Rodgers!
Ms. Rodgers is a fourth grade teacher at Westlawn. Letâs learn more about Ms. Rodgers!
If you werenât in education, which job would you want?
Working in a bakery!
What is your favorite movie or TV show?
Gilmore Girls
What is your favorite season of the year?
Summer
What is your favorite hobby?
Reading. Neared 100 books this year (2025)!
If you instantly learn a new skill, what would it be?
Pottery or painting
If you could only eat one food for a week, what would it be?
Macaroni and cheese!
What is one thing that always makes your day better?
A long walk with my dog.
Is there someone you hope to see featured in an upcoming Soaring Staff Spotlight? Tell us by text to 571-355-2321.
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Connect with Westlawn
- Contact the main office: 703-241-5100
- Submit an absence: 703-241-5151 | email the absence box | using ParentVUE
- Contact Ms. Caballero (student information assistant): email Ms. Caballero | 703-241-5100 | TalkingPoints: Silvia Caballero
- Contact Ms. Reyes (family liaison): email Ms. Reyes | 703-241-5125 | TalkingPoints: Hilda Reyes
- Contact Ms. Cortez (social worker): email Ms. Cortez | 703-241-5190 | TalkingPoints: Pamela Cortez
Westlawn website | Westlawn Instagram | Westlawn Facebook | TalkingPoints
View The Feather Report archives | Questions or Comments: Contact the Newsletter Editor
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