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April 27th - May 4th: Sister School Book Drive
May 4th - May 8th: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 8th: Moms and Muffins (Katie's Coffee) - 7:00 - 8:45am
May 13th: General PTA Meeting (Guest Speaker: Ms. Roberts) - 10:30am
May 25th: No School - Memorial Day
May 26th: No School - Teacher Workday
May 27th: No School - Eid al-Adha (begins sunset on May 26th)
June 5th: Dads and Donuts (Katie's Coffee) - 7:00 - 8:45am
FCPS School Year Calendar for 2025-2026
Click HERE to catch up on the helpful and important information sent by the school on April 17th!
Message from the GFES Mental Health Team
The GFES mental health team had the pleasure of presenting at the PTA meeting on 4/15. We introduced ourselves, shared a little bit about our roles, and discussed managing student stress. Here is a summary of our presentation for those who missed it!
GFES Mental Health Team:
High Yield Strategies for Managing Student Stress at Home:
- Acknowledge their feelings: Use the concept of "name it to tame it" - we can only manage emotions that we have acknowledged. We highly recommend the book "The Whole-Brain Child" by Dr. Dan Siegal for more on this strategy and other amazing, easy-to-implement tips!
- Pay attention to the positive: Our brains have a negativity bias! If we show big displays of attention to negative reports, children will be more likely to view situations with a more negative lens. "Bookend" difficult conversations by looking for positive aspects of the situation.
- Make sure basic needs are met: Children aren't able to thrive if they're trying to survive! Ensure they're getting enough quality sleep and nourishing food. We highly recommend limiting screen time and closely monitoring the screen time they do have.
- Know when to reach out for help: If stress is causing students to miss school or if you notice big changes in temperament or behavior, please reach out to your pediatrician and someone on the mental health team. We are here to support you!
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Sister School Book Drive Starts Next Week!
April 27 – May 4, 2026
The annual Sister School Book Drive starts next week! We are collecting new and gently used books to donate to students at our sister school – Glen Forest Elementary. Donations will be collected from Monday, April 27 – Monday, May 4. The collection boxes will be located outside the main entrance to our school and in the main lobby. We are looking for book donations for preschool – 6th grade readers. Books open minds and opportunities. Share the gift of reading with a student from Glen Forest Elementary. Every donation makes a difference! Thank you for your generous support.
Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week!
Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week is May 4th - 8th! During the week, we plan to show our amazing GFES staff that they are STARS and to thank them for the AWARD WINNING work they do!
We have an amazing week planned, and need help from our families to pull off a successful week. Please visit our Sign-Up Genius HERE to see all the ways you can help!
We plan to start the week early on Sunday, May 3rd (weather permitting)! We will meet at the school to write thank you messages in sidewalk chalk outside the front doors of the school! We would love for you to stop by anytime between 1pm and 3pm to add a message or picture! Thank you so much!
Each homeroom class has been assigned 2-3 other staff members to recognize during Teacher Appreciation Week. Please consider sharing the love with all these amazing GFES teachers, specialists, and support staff! Doing something for classroom teachers as well as all other staff members is not required and is completely optional. This document can be found below.
Suggestions on how you can show your appreciation to staff members throughout the week can be found HERE
If you are interested in helping put together bouquets of flowers on Thursday May 7th, please reach out to president@gfespta.com! Thank you so much!
Thank you in advance to all of our generous families for helping us make this week a huge success!
Time to Order School Supplies for Next Year!
As this school year wraps up, don’t miss out on your chance to get ahead for the next school year! The PTA is once again partnering with First Day School Supplies to provide you with a kit of the exact, brand name school supplies your child's teacher has requested, delivered straight to the classroom over the summer.
This means ZERO HASSLE FOR YOU and helps ensure that your students will have the exact supplies that the teachers have approved! Buy early and save both money and time so that you don’t have to spend the week before school rushing to find all of the right supplies!
Visit 1st Day School Supplies today! Deadline to order is July 1st!
BEFORE SCHOOL Spanish Language
Program 2026-2027
The Children’s Center for Language and Culture, Inc. (ChiCeLaCu!) in partnership with the GFES PTA is pleased to offer the Spanish Program for its 14th consecutive year. ChiCeLaCu’s goal is to cement a strong language foundation, ultimately enabling students to become proficient Spanish speakers.
The program combines the arts with dynamic and interactive teaching approaches to make this a truly fun and effective experience. As a long-term program, children are expected to achieve language proficiency in 4-5 years of participation in the program. Students begin at Beginner Levels 1 and 2 and move to the intermediate and advanced levels as they progress through their school years.
The class is held from 7:40 AM to 8:40 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning on September 14th, 2026 and ending on May 5th, 2027. ChiCeLaCu! follows the FCPS calendar with respect to teacher workdays, holidays, and school cancellations.
To register, follow this link.
Science Olympiad - Congratulations!
Last Saturday, at the Science Olympiad Division A tournament, hosted at Oakton High School, GFES was represented by 20 students across two teams! The GFES teams earned medals in 14 events! Our students had a fantastic day competing alongside peers from other schools! Congratulations to the entire GFES Science Olympiad team! We are so proud of you!
Get more involved with the PTA for 2026-2027
Do you want to become more involved in the PTA? We are working on building a strong team of leaders for the 2026-2027 school year and need your help! Our nominating committee has been working hard filling all of the openings but there are still more positions available!
Serving on the PTA is a great way to meet other GFES parents and give your input on events, activities, and fundraising opportunities. Please reach out to nominatingcommittee@gfespta.com to learn about open positions.
Cultural and Diversity Committee
Some upcoming events members of our diverse community celebrate include:
- Autism Acceptance Month - April 1st - 30th
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - May 1st - 31st
- Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day) - May 5th
- Eid al-Adha - May 27th (begins sundown on May 26th)
Interested in learning more about these events and holidays? Please visit the Cultural and Diversity Committee page on the PTA website! The page will be updated throughout the year with information about important events and holidays as well as book recommendations related to each event and holiday!
Lending Library!
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