Administration Updates

Dear Kent Gardens Families,

What a wonderful week it has been! We loved welcoming our kindergarten and first-grade families for a playdate on Wednesday and then opening our doors to all of our families for Open House. We were thrilled to see so many smiling faces filling our hallways and classrooms. Thank you for joining us and for continuing to partner with us as we begin a new school year!

As we get ready for the first day of school, we want to share a few important reminders. Arrival and dismissal, including Kiss and Ride, typically take a little longer at the beginning of the school year. With new routines, new students, and many families learning our procedures, it takes some time for everything to run smoothly. We appreciate your patience and ask that you plan for a little extra time during the first several days. Our priority is always making sure students arrive and leave school safely. 

If you have not already done so, please make sure your child's classroom teacher knows how your child will be going home on the first day of school. If there is a change to your child's dismissal plan at any point, please communicate that change directly with the school's front office. Changes should not be communicated only to the classroom teacher. This helps us ensure that we have accurate information in the office and that every child is dismissed safely.

We also want to highlight one important change to the Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R). Students may no longer wear smartwatches during the school day. If a student comes to school wearing a smartwatch, teachers will ask the student to remove it and place it in their backpack for the remainder of the school day. We appreciate your support in helping us follow this updated expectation.

Now, all we need are our students! We are so excited to welcome everyone back on Monday and officially begin what we know will be a wonderful year together.

Enjoy the last weekend of summer, and we will see you Monday!

Warmly, 

Kelly Cabezas, Tia Hawkins and Sarah Talley

Upcoming Dates

August 24 - First Day Of School 

August 28 - Family Picnic - PTA Sponsored - Food Trucks and Activities

August 31- 9:00 am Principal Coffee- Join us to meet Kelly Cabezas, Principal

September 2 - BTSN - 5 - 7:15 p.m.  More information coming. 

September 4 and 7 - Labor Day Break - No School

FCPS School Year Calendar 2026-27

Follow Kent Gardens on Instagram!

Kent Gardens recently joined Instagram! 

Please follow us @kentgardenses 

Attention 4-6 grade parents

Each year, students in grade 4-6 have the opportunity to participate in additional music electives.  To help us in planning for this school year, we are asking families to fill out the interest form for chorus, band & strings. 

Grade 4-6: If your child is interested in participating in Strings this year, please fill out this form.

Grade 5-6: If your child is interested in participating in Band,please fill out this form.

Grade 5-6: If your child is interested in participating in Chorus, please fill out this form.

During the first couple of weeks of school, students will be attending a presentation about the different instruments and opportunities. 

We encourage all students to participate in these exciting opportunities! 

Understanding Student Rights and Responsibilities Updates: New Universal Grade Matrices for Families Families are encouraged to review the updated FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) document, which explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses in order to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment. Updates for the 2026-27 school year include new Universal Grade Matrices (UGMs). UGMs are charts that show behavior expectations and school responses by grade level (K-3, 4-8, and 9-12). These at-a-glance resources (in Appendix D of the SR&R) are designed to make it easier for parents and caregivers to understand how schools respond to different types of behavior concerns. Visit the SR&R webpage for more information and to review additional updates to the SR&R for the 2026-27 school year. New Requirement for Student Device Use During the School Day Starting this school year, students must use FCPS-issued devices for school-related digital activities during the instructional day. This is in accordance with a new School Board requirement, approved on July 16, which states that students may not use personal electronic communication or computing devices, including personal laptops, tablets, smartwatches, smartphones, and similar devices.  Students may only use their personal device if it is required as part of a necessary accommodation in the students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan. A principal or the principal’s designee may approve a limited, course-specific exception for students enrolled in a specialized class when the curriculum requires a technology tool or software that isn’t available on a standard FCPS-issued device.    Families can help support this requirement by reminding students to bring their FCPS-issued device each day and use it for all school-related digital activities unless an approved exception applies.

Help Your Child Navigate the Lunch Line

Check out some tips to help your child get through the lunch line quickly and have more time to eat:

• Teach your child their student ID number to receive meals at school.
• Sign up for and add money to MySchoolBucks to purchase meals at school.
• Apply for free and reduced-price meals. Students who were approved for free and reduced-price meals last year are eligible for the first 30 days of school this year (or until a new application is processed). Families should submit a new application as soon as possible, so eligible students continue to receive meals at no cost.

If your child has any food allergies, learn how to submit accommodations for dietary restrictions and allergens. 

Access menus for breakfast, lunch, and other school meals, as well as allergen and nutrition information.

Early Release Wednesdays

Kent Gardens Elementary School will release students at 12:35 pm on early release days. As we continue to focus on attendance at KGES, we hope you will consider making doctor and other appointments on these afternoons when possible.  You may update your need for childcare in ParentVue as well.

• September 30
• November 18
• January 13
• April 7

FCPS has created this webpage to provide detailed information about the early release Wednesdays. 

SEL Screener Parent/Guardian Notification

The Fall Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener will be administered to students in grades 3 through 12 in October. Students use the SEL Screener twice a year to share their perspectives on how well their school and community help them develop skills they need to succeed. The screener works by asking questions or presenting statements that students can think about and respond to. This gives students a way to share how well their school community makes them feel valued, included, and supported.

After each screening, results are available in the Documents tab of SIS ParentVUE and mailed to families without a ParentVUE account. For more information, including SEL Screener questions and opt-out information, please visit the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener webpage.