May 13 Family Newsletter

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May 13 Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

Thank you to all families and the PTA for making our Teacher and Staff Appreciation week a success. Your generosity was appreciated throughout the week.

Below we have some sign ups for end of the year events including Field Day and Career Day. This is also the final week to provide input to be taken into consideration for class placements for the 2026-2027 school year on the following form no later than Friday, May 15th.

Next Wednesday, May 20th is our final 3-hour early release at 12:30 pm. Families will receive an email by the end of the week to confirm what time you child is going home. It is also the date of our Kindergarten Orientation at 2:45 pm.

Upcoming Dates

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

Saturday, May 16th - Panera Spirit Day

Wednesday, May 20th - 3-hour Early Dismissal

- Kindergarten Orientation @ 2:45 pm

-PTA General Membership Meeting 7:00 pm on Zoom

Monday, May 25th - Memorial Day Holiday

Tuesday, May 26th - Teacher Workday

Wednesday, May 27th - Eid al-Adha Holiday

Friday, May 29th - SCA Spirit Day - Wear UMES Colors

- UMES v. CES Staff Volleyball Game @ CVHS

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

See the complete school year calendar

A Hatch-tastic Learning Experience!

Students in Mrs. Lins' first grade class had an exciting opportunity to watch baby chicks hatch right in their classroom! During Language Arts, students visited a special “Chick Observation Station,” where they practiced their writing skills using the sentence frames “I see,” “I notice,” and “I wonder” to record their observations and questions about the chicks. This hands-on experience sparked lots of curiosity and thoughtful conversations. As a class, students also explored the life cycle of chickens and discussed how to care for living things by understanding their basic needs. The chicks have quickly become beloved classroom visitors, and students will be sad to see them leave at the end of the week!

Help Make Our Field Day Character-tastic!

Get ready for a day of animated fun! Our annual Field Days are right around the corner, and this year’s theme is Animated Characters. We are looking for volunteers to assist with game stations, encourage integrity and cheer on our athletes. Whether you’re a fan of Buzz Lightyear, SpongeBob, the Minions, we’d love to have you there!

Thursday June 4th:

Kindergarten: 9:30-11:00 am

1^{st &}2^nd Grades: 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Friday June 5^th:

5^th & 6^th Grades: 9:15-11:00 am

3^rd & 4^th Grades– 1:15-3:00 pm

Volunteers, thank you for completing ALL THREE Steps:

Step 1: Must be cleared Volunteer FCPS Level 1, FCPS requirement

Step 2: Field Days Volunteer Opportunity (FCPS), FCPS requirement

Step 3: Field Day Volunteer SignUp Genius, PE Teacher Organization tool

Thank you for helping us make these days our students will never forget!

Career Day

Union Mill is excited to host our annual Career Day on Tuesday, June 9^th! We would love to invite you to share your career with our students. If you have not joined us before, it involves a short presentation (with or without technology) and answering A LOT of questions! We hope you’ll join us. Please fill out this Google Form to share your interest.

If you have any questions please reach out to our counselors, Wendy Kourajian and Jenna Schmidt. Start times for each grade level are listed below:

1^st: 2:45 pm

2^nd: 9:15 am

3^rd: 9:50 am

4^th: 2:10 pm

5^th/6^th: 12:30 pm

Thank you so much for your support!

NVSWCD Conservation Poster Contest

Calling all student artists! Especially you, UMES third graders! From the department that put on your soil assembly earlier this year, here is an art contest for you to enter!

The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is seeking students to design posters for the 2026 Youth Poster Contest. The theme for this year is "Soil: Where It All Begins.” This contest is open to all K-12 students in Fairfax County, and scouts are eligible to earn the VASWCD Poster Contest Patch. Students may enter hand-drawn, digital, braille, and additional assistance categories. Entries are due June 30, 2026.

Learn more about the poster contest categories and guidelines and download your entry form here.

Calling All Pizza Lovers … and Box Collectors!

We are gearing up for an epic Field Day, and we need your help to make one of our games a success! We are looking for donations of 100 new, unused pizza boxes.

Wait—why pizza boxes? While we’d love to say it’s for a giant lunch, these are actually for a fun Field Day game! To keep things clean and sturdy, we need boxes that have never seen a slice of pepperoni.

The Specs:

Condition: Must be brand new and unused (no grease, please!).
Size: Standard Large (14" or 16") is preferred, but we’ll take any consistent size.
Quantity: We need 100 total. Every little bit helps!

How to Donate:

If you own a local pizza shop, know someone who does, or just want to pick up a stack from a restaurant supply store, please drop them off at the Front Office (attention: Physical Education Department) by May 28. Feel free to reach out to Manda Tirado if you have questions or have the connection: mktirado@fcps.edu

Fairfax County Public Library Student Art Contest

Students across Fairfax County are invited to celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month by participating in our art contest! We invite youth to draw inspiration from their families or their communities to portray the colorful, diverse county we share. Students will choose one of the following prompts for their art:

This is my family’s journey.
My cultural treasure box.
Home means...
Many cultures, one community.

Artwork is accepted in any format but needs to be scanned or photographed and submitted via our online form. One submission per student. No AI art will be considered. Three winners will be selected per category: Kindergarten-2nd grade, 3rd-6th grade and 7th-12th grade. Winners will receive a prize and have their art displayed in an exhibit.

To participate, you must be 5-18 and live or study in Fairfax County. All art should be submitted via our online form, which will be open from May 15 - June 15, 2026. Winners will be announced June 27, 2026 and winning artwork will be displayed in an exhibit.

https://research.fairfaxcounty.gov/kids/wherewebelong?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

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.

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!