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April 22 Family Newsletter

Dear Families, 

Thank you to all of our military families for their service and for coming out last week for our military Family Breakfast and Pathfinder Games. We were also grateful for students from Chantilly Academy ROTC who presented the colors. 

As a reminder, this evening families can come shop at the Spring Book Fair until 7:00 pm. Also, Girl Scout Troop 54081 is serving up FREE ice cream thank you to our PTA! 

Swing by for some ice cream and check out some books at our Book Fair! 

Upcoming Dates  

Monday, April 20th - Friday, April 24th - Book Fair

Wednesday, April 22nd - Evening Book Fair & Ice Cream Social

                            - Earth Day

Thursday, April 30th - Spring Chorus Concert @ 6:00pm

Monday, May 4th - Friday, May 8th - Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week

Tuesday, May 5th - SOL Testing Begins

Wednesday, May 6th - Bike & Roll to School Day

Friday, May 15th - Parent Input for Class Placement Deadline

Wednesday, May 20th - 3-hour Early Dismissal

                               - Kindergarten Orientation @ 2:45pm

Monday, May 25th - Memorial Day Holiday

Tuesday, May 26th - Teacher Workday

Wednesday, May 27th - Eid al-Adha Holiday 

Friday, May 29th - UMES v. CES Staff Volleyball Game @ CVHS

Thursday, June 4th & Friday, June 5th - Field Days

See the complete school year calendar

Book Fair

The Spring Book Fair is this week with evening shopping hours TONIGHT (Earth Day!) from 4:00-7:00pm. 

Book Fair Volunteers: This fundraiser supports the UMES library by providing funds which are used to purchase new books for your students. We are looking for some volunteers to help set up the fair, help students make wish lists, and run the cash registers. If you have a bit of time to give, even 30 minutes, please click on this link to sign up https://tinyurl.com/nhdnk4sd  or email librarian, Ami Schroder at amschroder@fcps.edu to let her know when you can help. 

Stronger Together: Celebrating Our Military Families

We extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our military-connected families who joined us last week as Mystery Readers and participated in our Mission Match games! It was wonderful to bring our community together in such a fun and meaningful way. We are truly grateful for your service and the many contributions you make to both our school and our country.

All County Chorus

Eight sixth-grade students attended Lake Braddock Secondary School to participate in the 2026 All County Chorus Festival. At the beginning of the school year, these students auditioned and were selected for this prestigious group. Throughout the year, they independently practiced ten challenging choral selections before joining approximately 700 other students from across the county. Over the course of two days, students worked collaboratively to refine and polish each piece under the direction of a guest conductor. The festival concluded with a celebratory Saturday afternoon performance for families, showcasing the students’ hard work, dedication, and musical growth. 

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener Results Now Available

Students in grades 3-6 took the SEL Screener during the month of March, providing information on their SEL skills like achieving goals, understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining relationships, and making responsible decisions. The screener also asks students how well their school community makes them feel valued, included, and supported. Individual student SEL Screener results are now available to families in the Documents section of SIS ParentVUE. For families who do not have an active ParentVUE account, we will share copies with you directly. For support in understanding your individual student’s results or for ideas on how to support them at home, please review the Family Guide or reach out to Wendy Kourajian or Jenna Schmidt, our school counselors, with any questions.

Support Your Children During Important Spring Assessments 

Students will be participating in spring assessments based on their grade level and courses. This includes summative assessments like Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, which measure what a student knows, and progress assessments like Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests, which measure where they are in their learning. 

FCPS encourages all families to support their students in taking these tests. Virginia requires schools to test at least 95% of students on SOLs, so when families choose not to participate in testing, it can impact a school’s accreditation, accountability ratings, and ability to measure student progress accurately.

Parents and caregivers can help their children perform their best on these tests by reminding them to get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and the cell phone policy still applies during testing season. 

It is important that students attend school on scheduled testing dates. If you are aware of a conflict that may cause your student to miss a test, please notify your student’s school as soon as possible. 

Students in grades 3-6 will participate in SOL testing on the following dates:

Learn more about how to support your child and why test participation matters. 

Parent Input for Class Placements 2026-2027

As we plan for the 2026-2027 school year, we are inviting your input. Creating class assignments require careful consideration and the involvement of many perspectives. We know a good teacher-student match and a productive mix of children are ingredients for success. Should you have additional information about your specific child that school staff may not know, particularly regarding learning style and classroom environment; you have the option to complete the following form no later than Friday, May 15th.

Earth Day

Earth Day is TODAY!  Please stop by the Get2Green table in the lobby from 4:00-6:00pm tonight on your way to or from the book fair to learn more about the Get2Green team, get a temporary tattoo or stIcker and get to help with recycling by using the team's can crusher!  Fun for everyone as we celebrate Earth Day!

Kindergarten Registration

Online Registration is now open for the 2026-27 school year!

Kindergarten helps children learn and practice the social, emotional, problem-solving, and self-regulation skills they will use throughout their lives.

New-to-FCPS families create a ParentVUE account for online access. Details are available here:  Welcome to Fairfax County Public Schools' (FCPS) Online Registration | Fairfax County Public Schools

Current families can register their new student through their existing ParentVUE account.  (No need to register students returning to UMES.)

Our Registrar, Catherine Dubas, is happy to process registrations directly, as well.  Please contact her at cmdubas@fcps.edu and be ready to provide your family’s address and rising kindergartener’s date of birth.  Catherine will respond with registration details and documents necessary to start the process.

Spring registration puts you on the list for school communications, so don’t wait!

Kindergarten Orientation - New Date

Due to recent changes in the FCPS calendar, the early release day originally scheduled for Orientation on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 has been cancelled. As a result, we have updated the date and time for this event.