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Dear Stenwood Families,
Welcome to the 2026-27 school year! I hope you've all had a chance to read the mailing that was sent home last week.
Our entire staff returned on Friday and Stenwood is buzzing with activity as we get everything ready for Open House and the first day of school. A huge thank you to our amazing custodial team, who has been working tirelessly since summer camps ended to make sure our school is sparkling clean.
We've been working hard since spring to hire new teachers and instructional assistants. We will begin introducing each of our new staff members on both our Stenwood Facebook page (facebook.com/StenwoodElementary) and our Stenwood Instagram account (@stenwoodelementary). This information will also be available on our website. Class placement letters are being mailed today and teachers will send them electronically Wednesday for any families who may not be home to retrieve their mail.
For those of you new to Stenwood, we send the Hive Happenings, which is our weekly family communication on Fridays. The Hive Happenings newsletter is an essential way to stay connected with what's happening at school and to keep up with important dates and deadlines. We strongly encourage all families to read the teacher’s weekly newsletters and the weekly Hive Happenings.
To prepare for the new school year, please carefully review the information below to help us ensure a smooth start.
- Open House
- Back to School Night
- Early Release Wednesdays
- School Meals and Free/Reduced Lunch Applications
- School Supply Lists
- Parking at Stenwood
- New Student ID Cards and Bus Navigation System
- Special Transportation (Private After-School Activities)
- Emergency Care Information
- Activating your SIS ParentVue Account
- Parent Digital Consent System
- SR&R Updates
- What is Schoology
- Stenwood PTA
We look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow at Open House!
Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu
Bryan Case, Assistant Principal
bgcase@fcps.edu
Open House
We cannot wait to see everyone at Open House. This is an opportunity for students and families to meet their teacher and see the classroom. Feel free to drop off supplies. If you already ordered supplies through the PTA, they will be waiting in your child’s classroom.
Parking is limited in the front of the building in the Stenwood parking lot. Parking will be available in the neighborhood. See Parking section below for more information.
August 20th
Enhanced Autism 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Kindergarten Scavenger Hunt 12:30 - 12:50 PM
Kindergarten Open House 12:50 - 1:30 PM
Grades 1-6: 2:30 - 3:30 PM
August 25th
Preschool Open House 9:30 - 10:00 AM
Back to School Night
Back to School Night on Wednesday, 9/2 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Please join your child’s teacher for Back to School Night. This session will focus on curriculum, specific grade level information, and Family Life Education information.
Here is the schedule for the evening:
Session 1:
6:00 - 6:40pm
* Transition Time: 6:40 - 6:50pm *
Session 2 (repeat of Session 1):
6:50 - 7:30pm
This is an adult-only event; we ask that you arrange childcare for your children so you can attend fully to the information being presented.
Early Release Wednesdays
Three-hour early release days for Stenwood ES are:
- September 30th
- November 18th
- January 13th
- April 7th
Read more about early release Wednesdays on the FCPS website. Directions for how to indicate your childcare needs are below. Please complete by August 25th.
Opt In/Opt Out for ERW Childcare
We anticipate most students will be dismissed at 12:30, like last year. However, we recognize that some families may require childcare during the limited Early Release Wednesdays; these students will be supervised by instructional assistants. No new instruction will take place as after-school care is strictly supervision.
Directions to Indicate your Childcare Needs for ERW
Log in to ParentVUE to review and provide your choice for Early Release Days Child Care.
⇒ No, I have childcare arrangements on Early Release Days and do not require childcare
⇒ No, My child is enrolled in afternoon SACC
⇒ Yes, I require childcare, and my child will stay at school until the normal dismissal
This will serve as a year-long commitment to either opt in or opt out of childcare. If your needs change during the school year, please contact the office at least two weeks in advance.
School Meals and Free/ Reduced Lunch Applications
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Breakfast and Lunch
Breakfast will be $1.75. Lunch will be $3.75, milk $1.00. Money can be added to your child(ren)’s accounts using www.myschoolbucks.com. You can also write a check to Stenwood Food Services and deliver it to our Food Services Manager at Open House. During the school year, you can find the menu for breakfast and lunch at https://schools.mealviewer.com/school/StenwoodElementary.
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 Free and Reduced-Price Status
Students eligible for free or reduced-price meals will continue to receive these benefits through the end of September. A new application must be filled out each new school year and forms are available online now: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/food-and-nutrition-programs/free-and-reduced-price-meals. Applications are accepted at any time, but we encourage you to apply or renew your application before the end of September. Call (703) 813-4800 if you need help. This must be completed for eligible students to receive free meals.
School Supply Lists
Here is the information for School Supply Lists this year. If you ordered a kit from Sprout, the kit will be waiting for your child in their classroom at Open House.
Parking at Stenwood
Parking at Stenwood is very limited during large school events. On a daily basis, we ask families to park in our parking lot. During large school/grade level events, we coordinate with Fairfax County Police Department to allow for parking on the neighborhood streets behind Stenwood. Please be courteous to our neighbors, do not block driveways and please abide by all Fairfax County parking laws.
New Student ID Cards and Bus Navigation System
FCPS is launching a new bus navigation system, which includes student ID cards for students who ride the bus. Students will use the cards to tap on and off the bus, helping FCPS and families know exactly which students are riding which buses.
Learn more about the new system and how it will improve route efficiency, safety, and transparency with families. Check out the frequently asked questions for families.
Special Transportation (Private After-School Activities)
If your child(ren) will be taking a van or bus after school for a private after-school activity, please let our office know now, StenwoodES.Transportation@fcps.edu.
Emergency Care Card Form
Emergency Care Card Forms are important in helping us contact you in case of an emergency. Parents can help by assuring that the school has the most up-to-date information.
Please update any information by using the ParentVue/Online Verification Update system. To read more about the OVU, visit the OVU page on the FCPS site. To access your ParentVue to update/verify, visit the ParentVue Login page.
Emergency Care updates are due the first day of school.
Activating Your SIS ParentVUE Account
The SIS (Student Information System) ParentVUE Account is an online tool parents can use to access information about their child’s attendance, report cards, discipline incidents, health information, and more. In ParentVUE, you can also view student progress reports/report cards and SOL scores.
Your secure SIS ParentVUE Account offers you the ability to use one username/password to login to both the SIS ParentVUE Account and Schoology.
Using the SIS ParentVUE account, parents will also be able to view school information, including teacher e-mail addresses, the FCPS calendar, and emergency contact information. Visit the FCPS website and use the search function and keywords “SIS Parent Overview” for more information.
Many of our Stenwood families have already activated your SIS ParentVUE account with the activation key. If you are unable to login to your account, you may need to reset your password on the SIS Parent Account login page (https://sisparent.fcps.edu):
- Select the “Forgot Password” button.
- Your username is the primary email address you have on file with us in our Student Information System.
- More information is available here.
Newly enrolled families should have received an activation key for your account. If you have not yet activated your account, please reach out to Michelle Burke (mpburke@fcps.edu) or Brian Spector (bmspector@fcps.edu).
Please take action now to ensure your account is active, so that you won’t miss a beat!
Parent Digital Consent System
Again this year, families will use the Parent Digital Consent System to complete some forms that have used paper in the past. You will log in using your ParentVUE Account credentials, there, you will be able complete the Digital Resources Consent form for the school year, which is required for all students. You will also be able to find more information about opt-out forms and complete those forms for your student.
SR&R Updates
Understanding Student Rights and Responsibilities Updates: New Universal Grade Matrices for Families
Families are encouraged to review the updated FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) document, which explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses in order to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment.
Updates for the 2026-27 school year include new Universal Grade Matrices (UGMs). UGMs are charts that show behavior expectations and school responses by grade level (K-3, 4-8, and 9-12). These at-a-glance resources (in Appendix D of the SR&R) are designed to make it easier for parents and caregivers to understand how schools respond to different types of behavior concerns.
Visit the SR&R webpage for more information and to review additional updates to the SR&R for the 2026-27 school year.
What Is Schoology?
Teachers can use Schoology to post their classroom materials online; to provide a safe forum for students to discuss their ideas and collaborate on projects; and to assign and collect homework electronically. |
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 Parent Accounts
A Schoology Parent Account gives you access to:
- Your child’s upcoming assignments (note: Parents can not see FCPS Google Workspace items using their parent account)
- School, class, and group announcements.
Parent accounts will be available in mid-August. To access Schoology, parents will need to have an active SIS/ParentVUE account.
More information on how to login and use Schoology is available online.
Stenwood Elementary PTA
We hope you join our amazing PTA! If you are interested in volunteering to be a class parent, volunteering in our cafeteria or library, OR just looking to stay connected with the great work of our PTA, you can fill out a survey that will be sent out once class placements have been communicated.
Stay Connected
Here are a few ways to stay connected with all the happenings at Stenwood ES
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Facebook
facebook.com/StenwoodElementary
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Instagram
@stenwoodelementary
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Website
stenwoodes.fcps.edu
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PTA Facebook
facebook.com/StenwoodElementaryPTA
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