 Thank you to our School Board members, Region 2 leadership, Safe Routes to School, and FCPS Facilities for celebrating with us and helping bring our traffic garden to Bailey’s! We were thrilled to hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week and celebrate this exciting addition to our school community!
Dear Bailey’s Upper Families,
Another excellent week of school is in the books! Although it was a short week, we were able to accomplish a lot—including celebrating the ribbon-cutting of our new traffic garden!
Please take a moment to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQgTtCphbaA . Keep an eye out for an upcoming article about the traffic garden in Dr. Reid’s weekly newsletter as well.
Students will work toward earning their “driver’s licenses” so they can use scooters during recess. The traffic garden is not only a space for play and imagination; it also gives students the opportunity to learn about traffic patterns, road signs, and safe riding practices.
This project was two years in the making, and we are so thrilled to have seen it completed this summer. We cannot wait to see our students learning, playing, and enjoying this new space!
Have a wonderful four-day weekend!
Bailey’s Upper Admin Team
💙Ms. Dowling
🧡Ms. Wayland
🐯Ms. Wiley
📂 This week’s Thursday Folder includes:
- Parent Coffee: Students Rights & Responsibilities (English& Spanish)
- Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Opt-Out Form (English & Spanish)
- PTA Membership Applications (English & Spanish)
Please take a few minutes to review these items with your student so you stay up-to-date with all the exciting things happening in our school community!
Bailey’s families, enjoy a well-deserved long weekend! In observance of Labor Day, there will be no school on:
📅 Monday, September 7
🎒 Students return to school on Tuesday, September 8.
We hope our students and families enjoy a safe, relaxing, and wonderful Labor Day weekend together! 💙🧡
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 Bailey’s Upper staff members Mr. Duran, Ms. Awad, and Sra. Aviles proudly sending their little tigers off to kindergarten at our sister school, Bailey’s Primary! Two schools, one amazing community. Go Tigers!
Families are invited to join us for a Parent Coffee focused on Student Rights & Responsibilities (SR&R). Learn about the expectations and supports that help create a safe, respectful, and positive learning environment for all students. 💙
🌟 What You’ll Learn
- Understand the rights and responsibilities of FCPS students and families
- Learn about school expectations, behavior guidelines, and available supports
- Learn how to ask questions, share concerns, and advocate for your child
Parent Coffee Information
🗓️ Thursday, September 10
- ☕ Morning Session
- ⏰ 9:15–10:30 AM
- 📍 Bailey’s Primary Cafeteria
- 💻 Evening Session
☕💙 Join us for a cup of coffee, bring your questions, and learn more about how we can work together to support a successful school year for your child!
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Does your child enjoy helping others, sharing ideas, and making our school a welcoming place? Bailey’s Upper students are invited to apply to become a Student Ambassador! This year, our Student Ambassador Committee will be led by our Family Liaisons and School Counselors. 💙🧡
🌟 Student Ambassadors Will:
- 💛 Grow as leaders
- 🤝 Help others and share ideas
- 🏫 Work together to create a welcoming and positive school community
- 📅 Meet once a month during the school day
📝 Application Information
- Applications are hard copy only.
- Extra applications are available in the Main Office.
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Two students from each class will be selected.
- Students are encouraged to take their time and thoughtfully answer the application questions.
- 📅 Application Deadline: Thursday, September 10
🎥 Need Help Understanding the Application Questions?
Before completing the Student Ambassador application, students are encouraged to watch these short videos for help understanding the questions and thinking about their responses. For further questions please contact your Family Liaisons, Marian Perez and Jocelyn Sarwar, as they are leading the Student Ambassador Committee🌟
🎥 English Video: https://youtu.be/HIRRJN37LWM
🎥 Spanish Video: https://youtu.be/s1XOJBUmoEo
We look forward to hearing from students who are ready to share their ideas, grow as leaders, and make a positive difference at Bailey’s Upper! 🌟🐯
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Looking for a creative challenge for your child? Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is a PTA-led after-school opportunity where students can build creativity, teamwork, problem-solving, and performance skills while working together on exciting challenges!
🧠 Important Information
- 🎟️ Students are selected through a lottery
- 👥 The number of available spots depends on volunteer coaches
- 🙋 Parent Head Coaches are guaranteed spot for their child(ren)
- 📅 Meeting schedules are determined by each team
- 💙 Financial Aid is available
Parent Informational Meeting
Bailey’s PTA invites you to learn more about Odyssey of the Mind (OM)! Join us for a friendly virtual information session to learn about:
Watch this video to learn more about OM:
https://youtu.be/JgNzpdygKjM
• What Odyssey of the Mind is
• How to register
• How teams are created
• Important program details
Unable to attend? No problem! A recording will be shared afterward.
🔗 Bilingual Presentation:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82877833287?pwd=gHxaleQNBMV6lpf9QLE1G0DGED9n67.1
Questions? Email Suzanne Lay at 📧 odyssey@baileyspta.org
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 Caught some joyful faces from our 3rd graders during recess—laughing, spending time together, and literally hanging out!
At Bailey’s Upper ES, our number one responsibility is to ensure the safety of our students and staff at all times. We continually work with county leaders to ensure coordinated responses to potential safety concerns and we practice emergency drills on a regular basis throughout the school year. We will hold fire drills, Lockdown Drills, Bus Evacuation and Tornado drills periodically throughout the year.
Keeping students and staff safe is a priority for all of us. A new Virginia Law (22.1-137.2) requires schools to notify parents at least 24 hours before a school practices a lockdown drill. However, we are not required to share the exact date and time of the drill. FCPS lockdown drills do not include any type of active shooter scenario training, they are instruction and classroom based.
We plan to have our first lockdown drill of the school year the week of September 14, 2026, at Bailey’s Upper ES.
Additional information on our lockdown drill program to include parent tips and FAQs can be found on the Emergency Planning and Crisis Response web page. After reviewing this content, you should discuss the value of these safety drills with your child. Keeping our school safe and secure for all students and staff involves the participation of the entire school community, and we thank you for your help to keep our school safe.
During a lockdown drill:
- All students stay in place with a teacher or staff member.
- Students and teachers remain in locked classrooms, unobservable from outside (lights-off, window blinds closed, door windows obscured with paper) and outside potential lines of fire.)
- Students and staff members disregard fire alarms.
- No one enters or exits the school, except public safety personnel.
- Persons in trailers remain in locked trailers.
⚠️ Know Our Security Terms
FCPS uses specific terminology to describe the actions school staff and students should take to ensure safety in a variety of situations. It is important for staff, families, and students to understand what the different terms mean and how they impact school operations.
Watch this video to learn about safety terms including lockdown; secure the building; and stay put, stay tuned.
If students, staff, or families have a safety concern at school (that is not an immediate emergency), they should submit a tip to the FCPS Safety Tipline. In an emergency, please call 9-1-1.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve. Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.
Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program. Students who are opted out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices. If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt out forms are available in Parent Digital Consent. Paper opt-out forms went home in English & Spanish for all grade levels Thursday on 8.27.26. Students receiving special education services and accessing modified curriculum will receive a printed opt-out form for modified FLE lessons.
Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at Elementary (K-6). FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in Schoology. Parents/guardians login to Schoology using the same username and password as their Student Information System (SIS) Parent account. Grade level-specific lessons are also available at the City of Fairfax Regional Library (this location does not have media). Grade level-specific lessons and media that is not streamed online are available for review at your child’s school library. Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.
🎥Link to Videos:
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3rd Grade Video
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4th Grade Video:
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5th Grade Video:
Program questions may be addressed at your child’s school or by contacting Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or by email to fle@fcps.edu
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Bailey’s families are invited to join our upcoming PTA Meeting! Come connect with other families, hear important school updates, learn about upcoming events and programs, and share your ideas and feedback. Your voice is an important part of our school community!
📅 Meeting Information
- 🗓️ September 14, 2026
- 🚪 Doors Open: 6:00 PM
- ⏰ Meeting Begins: 6:30 PM
- 💙 Free Childcare will be provided.
- 📍 Bailey’s Primary
6111 Knollwood Dr., Falls Church, VA 22041
🌟 Meeting Agenda
- 👋 Welcome & Introductions
- 🏫 Principal’s Update
- 📅 School Events & Upcoming Programs
- 💬 Parent Feedback & Open Discussion
🧸 Child Care Available
Child care will be provided! Families using child care are encouraged to arrive early to allow time to sign in their child(ren).
We hope you’ll join us for an evening of connection, conversation, and partnership! 🐯💙🧡
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 A few select 5th graders were the first to take the scooters for a ride through our traffic garden and practice safety!
The Advanced Academic Program (AAP) fall referral window is only for students in Grades 3 to 8 who are new to FCPS since January 1, 2026. Parents and guardians who would like their new student to be considered for Full-Time AAP services must submit the Full-Time AAP Referral Form by Thursday, October 15. Late referrals will not be accepted.
For students who are not new to FCPS, the spring Full-Time AAP identification window is open to students in Grades 2 to 7. Families interested in referring their student for consideration during the spring window must submit a referral by Tuesday, December 15.
Once a referral is received, our school will compile information related to the student. Then, a committee of trained professionals from across the county will review materials to determine eligibility for Full-Time AAP services.
Other Advanced Academic Services
At the elementary level, all students are screened each spring for Subject-Specific and Part-Time AAP services. Families may also refer their student for consideration for Subject-Specific or Part-Time AAP at any time during the school year. Eligibility decisions are made at the school level, and families are notified of the decision within 30 school days of the referral. The Full-Time AAP referral deadlines do not apply.
At the middle school level, honors courses are open to all students.
For more information, please contact Sue Lacky, Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, at salackey@fcps.edu or visit the Advanced Academic Programs webpage.
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Our clinic team at Bailey's Upper is Claudia Vladescu and Laxmi Sharma and you can contact them at 703-503-2700 for health plans, medication drop-offs, or questions about chronic conditions. Visit our school health webpage for forms, illness policies, and tips to keep your student healthy!
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Monday, September 7th- No School: Labor Day
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Thursday, September 10th- Parent Coffee: Students' Rights & Responsiblities:
- 9:15am-10:30am @ Bailey's Primary Cafeteria
- 6:00pm via Zoom
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Thursday, September 10th- Student Ambassador Applications Due
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Monday, September 14th- PTA General Meeting at Bailey's Primary Cafeteria. Doors Open at 6:00pm, Meeting begins 6:30pm
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Wednesday, September 16th- Back to School Night 6:00pm-8:00pm
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Monday, September 21st- No School: Yom Kippur
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Thursday, September 24th- PTA Fundraising Event 3:00pm-9:00pm @ Fairfax Chuck E. Cheese
Bailey's Upper September 2026 Calendar
 We ran into two Tigers in the hallway making strong choices and showing respect. What amazing role models!
Your voice matters, and Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid wants to hear from you! At FCPS, parents are partners, working with us to set our students up for long-term success at school and in life.
A series of Community Conversations will be held across the school division. You are invited to share your thoughts with Dr. Reid and ask her questions. Events are planned for the following dates at 6:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted):
- Wednesday, September 16, 6:45 p.m., at McNair Elementary School
- Monday, September 28, at Riverside Elementary School
- Monday, October 19, at Spring Hill Elementary School
- Monday, October 26, at Beech Tree Elementary School
- Thursday, October 29, at North Springfield Elementary School
- Friday, November 13, at Colin Powell Elementary School
Registration links will be shared soon. Childcare and interpretation services will be provided. Events are one-hour long and open to all. Find out about other opportunities to connect with Dr. Reid.
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Virginia is no stranger to inclement weather. From severe thunderstorms to high winds to flooding, many different types of weather events can (and sometimes do) impact our schools. FCPS has a plan for each of these scenarios that prioritizes the safety of all our students and staff. What does FCPS do during a flood? What about a severe thunderstorm?
Learn how FCPS prepares for and responds to weather events, and find resources to help your family prepare, on the FCPS Weather Safety webpage.
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The beginning of the school year is the best time to develop strong attendance habits! Students who attend school regularly are more likely to perform well in reading and math, develop strong social and emotional skills, and graduate from high school on time. Help prepare your child for future success by helping them build good habits.
If you or your family need any kind of support, please reach out to our front office. We are here for you! Visit FCPS’ Attendance webpage for tips and strategies.
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Please remind your student that personal electronic communication or computing devices should be off and personally stored (i.e. backpacks) for the duration of the school day — bell to bell. This includes:
- Personal laptops and tablets.
- Smartphones and smartwatches.
- Other personal electronic communication or computing devices.
If you need to reach your student during the school day, please call our main office at [main office number]. Learn more about the FCPS Cellphone Policy and Device Policy.
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The Annual Special Education Family Conference will take place on Saturday, November 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Hayfield Secondary School.
Hosted by FCPS and community partners, its theme — Connected Communities, Thriving Students — highlights the power of partnerships that support student success. This no-cost, in-person event brings together families, staff, and community partners to explore special education services, supports, and resources and to build meaningful connections.
The conference will feature an inspiring opening session, engaging breakout sessions, an exhibitor hall, and lunch for all participants. Visit the Special Education Family Conference webpage for the latest information.
Email SpecialEdFamilyConf@fcps.edu with any questions.
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