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Still smiling after the first week of school!
Dear Cardinal Families,
We had an amazing first week of school, and our students transitioned successfully and happily! While this is wonderful to see, it can be easy to assume that the rest of the year will be smooth sailing. Sometimes, once the initial excitement wears off, students may experience a range of emotions, including reluctance or refusal to come to school.
When those post-first-week jitters pop up, a few key strategies can help keep your child on track:
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Maintain predictable routines: Keep bedtimes, wake-up schedules, and morning habits consistent so your child knows what to expect.
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Validate, then encourage: Acknowledge their feelings (e.g., "I know school can feel hard sometimes"), but stay confident in their ability to manage the day. A quick, positive goodbye goes a long way.
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Hold steady expectations: Avoid resorting to bargains or bribery. Calmly reinforce that coming to school every day is an important responsibility where they belong and grow, just like work is for adults.
Most importantly, remain calm and consistent. With your partnership and support, these temporary feelings usually pass quickly.
If concerns persist or become more intense, please reach out to our school counselor, Lisa Lujan, at lklujan@fcps.edu so we can work together to support your child.
Warmly,
Allison Hoak, Principal
Jon Kemmerer, Assistant Principal
📅Important Dates
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Back-to-School Night (BTSN): Tuesday, September 1, from 5:30–7:00 PM *This evening is for parents. Teachers will present at 5:40 PM and again at 6:20 PM. Meet the Specialists and check out community resources in the cafeteria.
- To prepare for BTSN, please take a moment to review welcome videos from the Fairfax County School Board. School Board Member Melanie Meren and IIryong Moon will join us this evening and tour CPES!
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Labor Day Holiday | No School
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Friday, September 4, and Monday, September 7, are Labor Day holidays for all FCPS employees and students. Virginia legislation requires that schools opening prior to Labor Day must be closed the Friday immediately preceding Labor Day. We hope everyone takes the long weekend to celebrate a strong start to the school year and enjoy time with family and friends. See the complete school year calendar.
💲A Reminder about Cash in School
Whenever possible, please avoid sending cash to school with your child. If your child needs to bring money to add to their lunch account, please direct them to report to the cafeteria first thing in the morning and give the cash to our cafeteria manager. The money will then be added to their account. This will help prevent students from losing cash during the school day. Thank you for your support!
🪪Raptor VMS Machine Update - FCPS is Removing "I Don't Have An ID" Option
To strengthen campus security, the "I Don’t Have An ID" option is being disabled on all Raptor VMS kiosks. All visitors without a valid ID must now report directly to front office staff for processing.
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First Visit: Office Staff may manually enter visitor details into the administrative portal, print a badge from the desktop printer, and inform the visitor that a valid ID is required for future visits.
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Second Visit: Any returning visitor without a valid ID will not be allowed past the front office.
🚌Transportation Patience and Safety
Thank you for your patience as we all get used to new routines this school year. We appreciate our families following Kiss and Ride procedures and being patient while waiting for your child’s bus.
If your child’s bus is delayed, you may access the Bus Delay Notification System or use the Here Comes the Bus mobile app to receive the delayed bus report. Email messages will be sent to announce significant bus delays. Please contact the Transportation Office at [phone number] with any additional questions. For concerns after 5:30 p.m., contact the FCPS Office of Safety and Security at 571-423-2000.
Update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE to make sure you receive email messages about bus delays.
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✅Please Complete Permission Forms for School Resources
Families can now easily grant consent for their children to access a variety of school resources through the Parent Digital Consent system. This online tool can be accessed using your SIS ParentVUE account login. Parents can easily opt their child in or out of a variety of resources, including online educational tools, school counseling services, and more.
Visit the Parent Digital Consent webpage to access the system. Watch this video to see how to use the tool.
Opt In or Out to Student Devices Being Sent Home for Grades 1-6
New this year, families can opt out of having student laptops sent home with their student.
- If you do not want your student to bring their FCPS-issued device home, please toggle the Opt Out button to a check mark and confirm by pressing Save Selection.
- If you would like your student to bring their FCPS device home, no toggle action is needed. Confirm by pressing Save Selection.
Students whose families opt out will continue to have access to an FCPS-issued device during the school day. Please reach out to your student’s teacher to understand expectations for homework and any learning activities that may require access to technology outside of the school day.
📅Advanced Academic Program Meeting on Oct. 9
Fairfax County Public Schools is committed to challenging all students through talent development and differentiated instruction. A continuum of Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) services is available to students in Grades K to 12 and is designed to match services to each student’s unique academic needs.
Identification for Subject-Specific and Part-Time AAP services occurs throughout the school year. Full-Time AAP services have two identification cycles:
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Fall identification: Students in grades 3 to 7 who have enrolled in FCPS since January may be referred by October 15.
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Spring identification: Any FCPS student in Grades 2 to 7 may be referred by December 15.
FCPS uses ability testing as one consideration in the holistic identification process for AAP services:
- All students in Grade 2 take the Naglieri General Ability Test (NGAT).
- Students in Grades 3 to 6 who do not have a multi-domain ability test score take the NGAT.
- Students in Grades 3 to 6 may retake an ability test one time. Families may request the ability test retake by contacting Jon Kemmerer, school testing coordinator, at jdkemmerer@ fcps.edu by September 30.
Families are invited to attend an AAP information meetings led by Jenna Murgia, our Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART). We will meet on October 9, 2026 at 8:45 AM in the CPES cafeteria. During the meeting, Ms. Murgia will share the AAP Continuum of Services. Families will learn about the continuum of advanced academic services available to FCPS students. She will then share about Full-Time AAP Identification. Families will learn about the referral and identification processes for Full-Time AAP services.
If you cannot make this meeting and would like more information, please contact Jenna Murgia, AART, at jlmurgia@fcps.edu or visit the FCPS Advanced Academic Programs webpage.
🏫Attendance
Reporting an Absence
Report full-day absences daily (unless pre-arranged) using one of three options:
Note: Include the student's name, your relationship, the reason, and specific symptoms or healthcare diagnoses if ill. Students must check Schoology for missed work. Talking Points is not an acceptable way to report an absence.
Attendance Thresholds
- 5 Unexcused Days: Triggers a referral to the FCPS Attendance Office.
- 10 Total Absences: A formal notification letter will be sent home for 10+ days (excused or unexcused).
🚲Any Bike or Scooter with Wheels on School Grounds
For the safety of all students, staff, and visitors, students are not permitted to ride bikes, scooters, e-bikes, e-scooters, or similar motorized devices on school grounds. Upon entering school property, students must dismount and walk their e-bike, e-scooter, or other device until they have left school grounds. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe environment for everyone.
📵Reminder: Cell Phone & Device Policy
To support a focused learning environment, personal electronic devices—including smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and laptops—are not permitted during the school day.
All personal devices must be turned off and kept in your student’s backpack.
Personal devices include, but are not limited to:
- Personal laptops
- Personal tablets
- Smartphones
- Smartwatches
- Other personal electronic communication or computing devices
If your child needs to contact you during the school day, they can use the phone in the main office. If you need to get an urgent message to your student, please call our main office directly at 703-255-5600. Thank you for your support!
Pyramid News
You are invited to the community Annual County Fair on September 3rd, 5:00-7:00 with the football game following the fair. Outdoor carnival games and fun on the Madison fields. 💦Mrs. Hoak will be at the Splash Tower so come and SPLASH her!
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Here is a link to new entrance policies FCPS has implemented at all Varsity Football games (weapons detection and bag policy)
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Here is the link to online tickets (adult tickets $7 only available online at 8:00 am the morning of the event) - student tickets are $5 and students under the age of 6 are free
- Tickets will be sold at the door (cash and CC available). NO electronic payments (ApplePay, Venmo, etc) available.
- All middle school and elementary school age students MUST be accompanied by a parent or guardian and supervised at all times
- Tickets give the attendee access to all activities of the County Fair as well as attendance to the Football game
- NO re-entry once you leave.
- Gates open @ 5:00 pm and the County Fair events are from 5:00-6:45 pm, culminating with the "Warhawk Rush" when the pyramid school students rush across the stadium field.
- The concession stand will be open with food and cold drinks, as well as a handful of food trucks.
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