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Fri 10/2 National Custodian Day
Thu 10/8 Curriculum Knight, 6-7:30pm
Mon 10/12 NO SCHOOL, Staff Planning Day
Tue 10/13 Fall Picture Day
Wed 10/21 3-hour Early Release, dismissal
begins at 12:35pm
Fri 10/30 End of Quarter, 2-hour Early Release,
dismissal begins at 1:35pm
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Good afternoon Newington Forest Families,
I cannot believe it is already October!
This week, I have 8 important messages to share:
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Curriculum Knight is Next Week, October 8th! We are getting so excited and hope to see you there! Please register to attend!
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October 21, 2026 is our first Early Release Wednesday - We will dismiss students at 12:35pm. Red forms went home with students this week and we ask that you please return these forms so we know how your students should go home on Early Release Wednesdays.
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SACC will be closed on Veterans Day: Wednesday, November 11, 2026. There will be no before or after school care on this day. School will be open regular hours 8:50am-3:45pm. If your child attends SACC, please complete our Google Form to indicate how your child(ren) will go home November 11th.
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Parent Volunteers in Cafeteria - We are looking for volunteers to support our cafeteria Monday-Friday. Volunteer shifts are short 30-minute time slots, and your help makes a big difference in keeping our lunch environment safe and organized for students. If you are interested, please sign up through the VolunteerFCPS Portal.
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Thank-you to our PTA for helping to purchase new risers for our musical performances! The PTA has been fundraising for this goal for several years, and we were so excited to see them installed this week.
- During Blue Star Welcome Week, students and staff showed their support for military families by participating in our spirit days. We wrapped up the week with NFES School Spirit Day today. We hope to continue our tradition of wearing school spirit every Friday throughout the school year!
- We started off this week with a great Military Family Meetup on Monday. Please see the pictures below! Thank you, Ms. Howard, Parent Liaison, for organizing the warm gathering.
- Tuesday evening, we hosted Advanced Academics Program (AAP) Parent Information Night. Thank you, Mrs. Trope, Advanced Academics Resource Teacher, for your presentation. If you have questions about AAP, please reach out to Mrs. Trope at cjtrope@fcps.edu.
Sincerely,
Angela Thompson
Principal
Save the Date: Family Curriculum Knight
Thursday, October 8 | 6:00–7:30 PM
See it. Try it. Learn it together!
Join your child for a fun, interactive evening where families can explore classroom learning, participate in hands-on activities, and discover ways to support learning at home. Teachers will share curriculum highlights, helpful strategies, and activities for parents/guardians and children to experience together.
Families can choose up to three sessions and take home fun activity kits to keep the learning going. Topics will include Math, Reading, Science, Study Skills, Social-Emotional Learning & More!
Stay tuned! We’ll share the session lineup soon so you can start planning which topics you’d like to explore with your child.
RSVP Today: https://bit.ly/NFESLearnTogether26
A Special Request From STEAM
We need cardboard paper towel tubes (or cardboard wrapping paper tubes) for STEAM lessons/projects (no toilet paper tubes, please). If you have any to donate, please drop them off in the office or bring them to STEAM class.
Thank you!
Ms. Schulz
STEAM Teacher
Military Family Meetup
Families mingled while kids played on the playground and enjoyed some popsicles!
Our Beautiful New Risers
Thank you, NFES PTA!
6th Grade Shirt Celebration... with Donuts!
Blue Star Welcome Week Spirit Days
Welcome to Our Kindergarten Pumpkin Patch
Superintendent Community Conversations
Join us for a series of Community Conversations that will be held across the school division. Share your thoughts with Dr. Reid and ask her questions. Click on the date to register for any of the following events:
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Monday, October 19, at 6:30 p.m., at Spring Hill Elementary School
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Monday, October 26, at 6:30 p.m., at Beech Tree Elementary School
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Thursday, October 29, at 6:30 p.m., at North Springfield Elementary School
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Tuesday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m., at Powell Elementary School (note date change)
Registration is not required, but it helps with planning.
Calendar Change: Eid al-Fitr
FCPS will mark the beginning of Eid al-Fitr with an evening-only observance day on Monday, March 8. There will be school on this day, but major school-sponsored events and activities (such as auditions or tryouts) will not take place.
Tuesday, March 9, will be a holiday for students and staff.
Wednesday, March 10, will be an observance day. There will be school on this day, but certain activities that cannot be made up (major tests, field trips, or mandatory events) will not take place on this day.
A new school year calendar has been published, which includes this change. Please note that holidays and observances on the calendar may shift due to anticipated lunar sightings.
Safe Routes to School Parent and Caregiver Survey
As part of the Fairfax County School Board’s Annual School-Based Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Assessment, the FCPS Office of Safety and Security and Safe Routes to School program are inviting parents and caregivers to share their experiences traveling to and from school.
The Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Survey asks about walking and biking routes, traffic near schools, kiss and ride experiences, accessibility, and other safety concerns.
Your feedback will help FCPS identify common issues. Your responses will be kept confidential and shared with school administrators and the Office of Safety and Security. The five-minute survey is open through Thursday, October 15.
Be sure to identify the school related to your feedback and include specific locations where you have observed a safety issue. If you have students at different schools in FCPS, please complete a different survey for each school.
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact SafeRoutestoSchool@fcps.edu.
FCPS Seeks Community Input on Middle School AAP Centers
FCPS is exploring a plan to offer Full-Time Advanced Academic Program (AAP) services at every middle school. Under the proposal, students who qualify could attend their neighborhood middle school and take advanced classes with other AAP students. The School Board has approved community engagement at Franklin, Hayfield, Holmes, Key, and Whitman middle schools, where programs could open for the 2027-28 school year. The proposal is still under consideration, and the School Board is expected to make a decision in December.
Each community meeting offers in-person and virtual participation. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for:
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Franklin Middle: Monday, October 5, at 6 p.m.
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Holmes Middle: Thursday, October 15, at 6 p.m.
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Whitman Middle: Thursday, October 22, at 6 p.m.
Current middle school students will remain at their assigned AAP centers through middle school. Learn more and find meeting sign-up forms on the Middle School AAP Centers page.
Lexia Core5 & PowerUp: How It’s Used,
the Benefits, & Addressing Concerns
around Device Usage and AI
Want to learn more about Lexia® Core5 and Lexia® PowerUp? This virtual session walks families through how FCPS is using both programs in classrooms across the district this school year to support students’ literacy growth — and gives you a chance to ask questions.
What will be covered:
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Program basics. What Core5 and PowerUp are, and how they meet your student’s individual learning needs.
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In the classroom. How Lexia supports teacher planning and instruction.
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Data & goals. How educators use Lexia data for progress monitoring and goal setting.
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Device usage & AI concerns. Understand how students interact with the online program and how much time they are using the
programs in schools.
Choose a session (Every session covers the same content — join whichever date and time works best for your family.):
FCPS Cares is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can all acknowledge the good work of our Newington Forest staff members. |
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FCPS News
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics and others:
- College Prep Resources
- Life in the Community Fair
- Calendar Update: Eid al-Fitr
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
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