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September 30 Family Newsletter
Dear Families,
Thank you to all the families who supported our PTA and helped make this year’s Fun Run such a success! We are grateful for your generosity and enthusiasm. To celebrate your participation, we’re inviting students to wear their pajamas to school for Pajama Spirit Day on Friday, October 9. We can’t wait to see our Bears cozy up for a fun day!
Our Bears are also learning an important life-saving skill in PE: CPR. Students are practicing how to keep a steady rhythm, using familiar songs to help guide their beat. It’s a fun, hands-on way to build awareness and learn how to respond in an emergency. Check out some of our amazing Bears in action below!
Upcoming Dates
Wednesday, October 7th - Walk, Bike, or Roll to School Day
Friday, October 9th - Spirit Day - Pajama Day
- CVHS Homecoming Parade @ 5:00pm
Monday, October 12th - School Planning Day (No School for Students)
Wednesday, October 21st - 3-Hour Early Dismissal
Friday, October 30th - SCA Spirit Day
- 2-Hour Early Dismissal (End of 1st Quarter)
FCPS 2026-2027 School Calendar
PE Updates: Moving, Learning and Saving Lives!
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Kindergarten–2nd Grade: Building routines, practicing active listening, and mastering core locomotor skills (walking, galloping, sliding, hopping, jumping, skipping, and running).
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3rd Grade: Exploring the 5 Components of Fitness while staying active and engaged.
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4th–6th Grade: Completing fitness testing and practicing life-saving techniques during our CPR unit.
A special thank you to Centreville High School for generously lending us their CPR mannequins!
This Week in Zones of Regulation
At Union Mill we are proud to utilize the Zones of Regulation, a schoolwide self-regulation curriculum. Each week we will highlight the topics classroom teachers are covering with students.
This week, students in all grade levels will begin Concept 1 - What is Regulation? In this concept we will learn what regulation is and how it helps us. Regulation means being able to adjust or control something so it works well.
- We will discuss different things we can regulate, such as the speed of a fan or the temperature of water.
- We will explore how we can also regulate our body in a variety of ways:
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Eating a snack to regulate hunger
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Drinking water to regulate thirst
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Taking a nap to regulate being tired
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Putting on a jacket to regulate temperature
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Using deep breathing to regulate feelings and behaviors
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Some things in our body are easier to regulate, like temperature or hunger, while others take more time to learn, such as being able to regulate our feelings. In fact, adults continue to develop these skills as we work to manage the stressors in life.
SYA Free Clinic This Weekend!
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Join SYA for FREE Multi-Sport Clinic on 10/4/26 and try basketball, field hockey, volleyball and wrestling at the SYA Sports Park at 6626 Bull Run Post Office Rd. It is FREE but must register: https://syasports.ottosport.ai/_registration |
 Wednesday, October 7th!
Join in the fun and help the environment. All students who walk, bike, or roll (scooters, rollerblades, etc.) will receive a small token at either side of the bus loop. Please remember to wear your helmet!
Those students, as well as students who walk to their bus stop and then ride to school, will be invited to sign a paper leaf in their classrooms. We will have a huge pile of leaves in the gym showing off our exercise and eco-minded students. Please contact Jenny Murray at jbmurray@fcps.edu if you have any questions.
Celebrating Our Armed Forces
UMES PE wants to celebrate our service people! Please share a photo, in uniform if possible, with a brief description of you or your loved ones who have or are currently serving in our armed forces. This will go on our “Union Mill is Thankful for our Service People” bulletin board (November). All pictures and submissions should be sent no later than Thursday, October 29 to Manda Tirado at mktirado@fcps.edu.
Need an example of what we would love to see?
Captain William Tirado (O-6), Intelligence Officer. Captain Tirado served in the US Navy from 1964-1993. He is Mrs.Tirado's father-in-law.
DID YOU KNOW…? While physical activity and education has its history in Ancient Greece, PE in US public schools was introduced as a necessary part of the school day after the American Civil War to maintain fitness and health standards of the youth.
Many thanks, PE Team
Future Wildcat Spiritwear
teamlocker.squadlocker.com
FCPS CARES
Caught someone being awesome? Don’t let the sparkle go unnoticed!
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Whether a teacher saved the day, a staff member went the extra mile, or someone just brought pure joy to the workspace, please take a few minutes to recognize them with FCPS CARES! Families, colleagues, and students are all invited to submit. The FCPS CARES is automatically sent to the recipient(s), their supervisor, and is posted on fcps.edu. Additionally, each month one school in our region wins a staff celebration from HR- Hello Breakfast! |
This is one of the easiest ways to highlight hard work, celebrate success and give someone the giant cheer squad they deserve!
Advanced Academic Programs
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is committed to challenging all students through talent development and differentiated instruction. A continuum of Advanced Academic Program (AAP) services is available to students in Grades K-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 3-7 who have enrolled in FCPS since January may be referred by October 15, 2026.
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Spring identification: Any FCPS student in Grades 2-7 may be referred by December 15, 2026.
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 3-6 who do not have a multi-domain ability test score take the NGAT.
- Students in Grades 3-6 may retake an ability test one time. Families may request the ability test retake by contacting Jaime Graham, School Testing Coordinator, at jagraham@fcps.edu by September 30.
Families are invited to attend the next AAP information meeting led by Melissa Paris-Hutchens, our Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART):
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Full-Time AAP Identification: Thursday November 5th at 5 p.m. in room 115. Families will learn about the referral and identification processes for Full-Time AAP services.
For more information, please contact Melissa Paris-Hutchens, AART, at maparis@fcps.edu or visit the FCPS Advanced Academic Programs website.
Nine-week Parenting Class in Spanish
Please reach out to Union Mill Family Liaison, Jaya Chimnani, at JChimnani@fcps.edu with any questions or if you need help registering.
Volunteering at Union Mill
If you are looking to volunteer for the 26-27 school year and have not already done so, complete your Volunteer FCPS registration! This is required for all FCPS and Union Mill Volunteers.
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Register With Volunteer FCPS Volunteer FCPS allows individuals to search and register for volunteer opportunities. It helps ensure a safe, consistent, and welcoming environment here at Union Mill. All volunteers must:
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- Create a profile in Volunteer FCPS.
- Register for opportunities through Volunteer FCPS.
- Sign in and out of schools using the visitor kiosk.
At the Volunteer FCPS site, you can complete a volunteer orientation. Visit the Volunteer FCPS Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
Union Mill thanks you for your support!
Early Release Wednesdays for 2026-27
FCPS will continue with limited early release Wednesdays for elementary schools during the 2026-27 school year.
Early release Wednesdays provide elementary teachers with a dedicated block of time to prepare lessons, participate in professional development and training, and collaborate with peers. A well-supported and continuously improving teaching staff leads to better educational outcomes for students.
Find more information about early release Wednesdays, including the list of early release dates.
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October 21
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December 2
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February 10
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May 5
UMES PTA
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PTA Meeting Recap
The first PTA meeting of the school year was a success! Thanks to all who took the time to attend. The focus for this meeting was reviewing and voting on the PTA’s budget for the school year and discussing the technology changes made by the FCPS School Board. We accomplished our objectives and had a good discussion. We look forward to continuing the dialogue about technology use within our school. We also got to see visual representations of the progress UMES students and their teachers have made over the past year in relation to improved testing scores. It was inspiring! The budget and meeting minutes will be available on our website. Check back for the links soon.
Look for us virtually on Zoom for the October General Membership Meeting. The meeting’s focus will be the calendar for the 2026/2027 school year.
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Fun Run Finale
The Fun Run Fundraiser this year was a great success and helped raise over $38,000! Events like this are a huge undertaking and require leadership, team planning, coordination, and support across our UMES community: from the PTA, teachers, parents, and students to the family and friends of students who choose to donate. A PTA is only as strong as the school community behind it, and our 2026 Fun Run showed how strong you all help our organization be in supporting our UMES. THANK YOU especially to the UMES parents who helped their children connect with their networks to raise donations for school programming and events.
Grade Groups
The PTA maintains and moderates private, grade specific Facebook groups. These groups are a great way to keep in touch with other families, share information, and ask questions from your fellow parents who are going through the same things - be it homework assignments, an upcoming field trip, or anything else you can think of!
If you haven’t joined yet, here are the links to join. If you have, please share this information with your friends!
Kinder | 1st Grade | 2nd Grade | 3rd Grade | 4th Grade | 5th Grade | 6th Grade
Order UMES Spirit Wear Online
We now offer online orders for in-stock Union Mill spirit wear. Orders will be fulfilled on a weekly basis and sent home with your children. Stock is limited!
Union Mill Flannel PJ Pants: Youth size M and L
Union Mill Red Tie Dye T-shirt: Youth size XS, S, M, and L
Union Mill Bears Red T-Shirt: Youth size XS
Union Mill Bears Black T-Shirt: Youth size S and M
Spirit and PJ days will be here before you know it! Don’t forget to renew your PTA membership while you shop to receive priority notice when we open up our online spirit wear store later in the year…which will include adult sizes! Shop here.
Stay Connected with the PTA
We’ve got lots of ways for you to keep in touch with other families in our community and stay the most up to date on PTA sponsored events and programs!
- Sign up for your 2026-27 PTA membership! It’s $20/family and $10 for individuals and staff. Sign up here.
- Care to email? We’re always available at pta@unionmillpta.org
- Want to browse the calendar, budget, or past meeting minutes? Visit our website.
- Are you all about sliding into DMs? Follow us on Instagram.
- Is Facebook more your comfort zone? We identify as millennials…so same here. Like our page on Facebook to browse updates, community resources, and join our grade specific Facebook groups.
Union Mill Hours
Bell Schedule
Doors open at 8:35 am. Students should be in class by 8:45 am.
Students are dismissed at 3:30 pm.
Office Hours
Monday - Friday - 8:00 - 4:00 pm
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