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THANK YOU FOR BASKETBALL

Dear Fairhill Community,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Friday’s basketball game. What a fun evening it was to come together, cheer, and watch our staff hit the court. The energy in the room was incredible. Go Shadows!

Looking ahead, we hope you can join us for our Community Conversation this Thursday at 3:00 PM. These gatherings are a great opportunity to connect, share ideas, and continue strengthening our school community.

We hope to see you there!

Warmly,

Ted & Maura

March March 18th - Wednesday Early Release (3 hours)  Dismissal 1:05 pm                                                                       March 19th - Community Conversation with our Mental Health and Equity Teams 3:00 pm at Fairhill March 20th - Eid-al-Fitr (No School) March 26th - Kindergarten Field Trip to Meadowlark March 26th - 4th Grade Field Trip to FCHS Planetarium March 27th - Quarter 3 Ends 2 hour Early Release 2:05 pm March 30th - April 3rd Spring Break (No School) Office open 10 - 2 pm April April 6th - Teacher Workday Student Holiday (No School) April 8th - PTA Meeting 6:30 pm April 10th - Kindergarten Orientation 10 am April 10th - School Planning Day Student Holiday (No School) April 13th - Rising 7th Grade Visit to LJMS April 15th - Purple Up! Day Military Connection April 17th - Story Book Parade 9:45 - 10:45 am Bus Loop April 17th - Parents Night Out - Glow Dodgeball April 18th - Garden Day (Rain Date 4/25) April 21st - Election Day (No School for Students) April 22nd - Falls Church Pyramid Art Show 5 - 7 pm April 22nd - Wednesday Early Release (3 hours)  Dismissal 1:05 pm        April 23rd - 5th Grade Field Trip to Natural History Museum April 24th - Career Fair  1:15 - 3:30 pm April 30th - 6th Grade Art Museum Field Trip April 30th - Spring Strings/Band Concert Evening May May 1st - Spring Strings/Band Concert Day May 4th - May 8th Staff Appreciation Week May 7th - PTA Meeting 6:30 pm May 13th - Wednesday Early Release (3 hours)  Dismissal 1:05 pm

A Latte to Share! ☕ Sometimes the best part of the school day is the community behind it. Take a look at the  Parent Coffee page  to find the topics we have discussed. Coffee with the Principal is the perfect place to connect, ask questions, and share a cup with fellow parents.

6th Annual Fairhill Elementary Career Fair Each spring, Fairhill hosts our annual career fair to help students explore different careers and learn about the world of work. It’s a fun, interactive event where adults from the community share what they do, talk about their professions, and answer students’ questions — helping spark curiosity and future ambition.  2026 Career Fair details: To inspire students, provide insight into the "World of Work," showcase the diverse talents of our community, and have lots of Career Day fun!  Theme: “The Possibilities Start Here” — a celebration of career exploration and future planning for students Date & Time: Friday, April 24, 2026, 1:15 – 3:30 pm Location: Fairhill Elementary Gymnasium  Setup: Tables and chairs will be provided. Electrical outlets are available. What to Bring: We encourage you to wear your professional attire/uniform and bring interactive items (videos, equipment, literature, etc.) to engage our future workforce! Detailed logistics regarding session times will be sent as the date approaches. View: 2025 Career Day Info and PHOTOS - this will give you a good idea of the look and feel of our career day. Contact: Mrs. Schwartz, Counselor, 703-208-8130, gwschwartz@fcps.edu Sign Up Here

New Sign In Procedure We are excited to announce that our school is now using the new Raptor Visitor Management System (VMS). This upgrade is part of our school’s and FCPS’ ongoing commitment to enhancing school safety and streamlining the process for visitors at our school. The VMS ensures that no visitor is on the sex offender registry. For most visitors, the user experience will be the same when you check-in at the front office. But now there is also an app, which can make check-in even faster at school. Visitors who choose to download the RaptorSafe App and create a Raptor Passport can pre-verify their information before they get to school. The app will give you a QR code you can use when you check-in at school.  If you have questions or need assistance with the new system, please contact our front office. Thank you for your partnership in keeping our schools safe!

Celebrate with a Story! 

Celebrate your child’s birthday or another special event in an exciting way by donating a book to the Fairhill Library! Parents and children can select and purchase a title from the Fairhill Library’s Amazon Wishlist, which will be delivered directly to the school. During library time, Ms. Howard will help your child create a personalized dedication label for their donated book. It’s a wonderful way to honor your child while giving the gift of reading for all Fairhill students to enjoy! 

ORDER YOUR 2025/2026 YEARBOOK Fairhill Elementary’s Yearbook, “Etched in Stone” is now on sale! Cost is $20, and must be made online at Strawbridge Yearbooks. No extra copies will be ordered, so secure your child’s memories today! Deadline to place an order is March 20th  Order here

Spring Concert Date and Times: Evening Concert- Thursday, April 30 4th Grade Arrival 5:00 pm, Concert starts 5:30 pm 5th/6th Grade Arrival 6:00 pm, Concert starts 6:30 pm Daytime Concert - Friday, May 1 9:50-10:50 am

Spanish    

News from PTA

Ramadan Lunch Supervision Volunteer Signup link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4AA5AF28AAFF2-62510220-ramadan

Calling for Volunteers:  Help to Make a Big Difference in our community

The Fairhill PTA again will continue to support Fairhill families and our broader local community by collecting unused food purchased from the cafeteria (e.g., milk, string cheese) and/or unopened store-bought food (e.g., crackers) during the spring semester

Our kids' role -> Kids are asked to leave food they may otherwise toss in the garbage and instead put it off in the Food for Others fridge in the cafeteria.

Our volunteers' role -> Once a week (Mondays or Tuesdays), we are asking for a volunteer to collect the food and drop it off at Food For Others (1 mile away). 

Our collective Impact -> In addition to minimizing food waste, we are helping 75,000 Fairfax County (and Fairhill families) who are food insecure.  On a weekly basis last year, we collected hundreds of milk cartons, string cheese packets, crackers, yogurts and more.

Sign up here to volunteer!  Questions????  Call/text//email Anika Marpaka (anikaamin@yahoo.com or 703 855 0500)

Help Us Erase Student Lunch Debt

Please consider donating to eliminate school lunch debt through our Educate Fairfax platform. All donations are tax deductible; you will receive a receipt for tax deduction purposes.

News from FCPS

2026 Family Engagement Survey

WHAT

FCPS is administering its third Family Engagement Survey to better recognize, understand, respect, and address family strengths and needs in our school communities. Results will be used to develop a plan to improve family and school partnerships throughout the division to support student success.

WHY

The survey is designed to gather data for Strategic Plan Pillar B: Vibrant Home, School, and Community Partnerships; and to better recognize, understand, respect, and address family strengths and needs in our schools and community. The survey will also be used to measure our current success with family engagement, and allow us to deepen that engagement and continue building trust while empowering families to support their students’ success. 

WHEN

The Family Engagement Survey is open from Monday, March 9, through Monday, March 23.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

• The Office of Research, Planning and Evaluation will send email invitations with a survey link to all adults attached to each student in SIS. Emancipated students will not receive the survey. 
• Parents/caregivers can also take the survey at this link .
• Paper surveys are available at each school’s main office.
• Reminder emails will automatically be sent to parents/caregivers who have yet to complete the survey.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Topics include welcoming environment, communication, student success, advocacy, family and school partnerships, and community partnerships.
• Survey is available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, Korean, Pashto, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

Adult ESOL The spring semester is enrolling soon for Adult ESOL classes through FCPS ACE. Adults in our community can take advantage of comprehensive English language classes at a much lower cost than college programs or private language schools. Classes are available for all levels of proficiency, with morning or evening classes at FCPS locations throughout the county.

Volunteer Registration Update for Families

Volunteer Registration Update for Families

FCPS now requires all school volunteers to register through the new Volunteer FCPS system. Please use THIS link to access Fairhill specifically.

• Volunteers must create a profile in the Volunteer FCPS portal and complete the required steps, including a short orientation.
• FCPS covers the cost of any required background checks.
• Volunteer opportunities are organized by levels based on frequency and involvement.

We strongly encourage families to register as a Level 2 volunteer, even if you plan to volunteer only occasionally.

• Level 2 status is required for field trip chaperones and allows greater flexibility to support school activities.

We greatly appreciate our volunteers and thank you for partnering with us to support our students and keep our school community safe. No families from Fairhill will be turned away from volunteering for the 2025-2026 school year; however, starting in 2026, all families will be required to register to volunteer with FCPS.

2026 CTE Summer Enrichment Programs

Create | Explore | Learn

Programs

Tech Adventure Camp: Current Kindergarten - grade 5 students explore Business/Marketing, Family + Consumer Sciences, Health + Medical Sciences, STEAM, and Trades by rotating through daily classes

Visit the Tech Adventure Camp webpage here: bit.ly/FCPS_TAC

CTE Summer Academy: Current grade 6 - 11 students choose their classes and dive deeper into CTE program areas, skills, and career exploration

Visit the CTE Summer Academy webpage here: bit.ly/FCPS_CSA

Details

• Time - 8:30  to 2 pm* *Early drop off begins at 7:30 am; after care ends at 5 pm

New to 2026! We’re offering after care!

• Location - Robinson SS
• Transportation from select FCPS schools is provided!
• Cost - $300 per week Back for 2026 programs, we will be offering tuition assistance. More information on our webpages.
• Dates -

• Week 1: July 6 - 10

• Week 2: July 13 - 17

• Week 3: July 20 - 24

• Week 4: July 27 - 31

New to 2026! We’re offering a 4th week of our programs!

• Different weekly offerings; weekly themes and class offerings can be found on our webpages!

More Information
Visit our webpages (linked above) for more information!

For questions, please contact Beth Mehr at bgmehr@fcps.edu

We look forward to creating, exploring, and learning with your students this summer!

News from Community

AARP Foundation TaxAide

The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax preparation service. Volunteers in this program prepare taxes for low and moderate income taxpayers, with special attention to seniors. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide offers free tax preparation to anyone of any age – especially to those 50 or older and to those who can’t afford paid tax preparation, https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp-taxaide/

(Northern Virginia Tax Aide Site Hours)

Family Counseling Center of Greater Washington P2P

The P2P Program provides younger students with mentors who provide tutoring and peer support. P2P mentors and mentees (7th-12th graders) are eligible for a $10,000 scholarship. Registration for the Spring 2026 program is now open.

(Spring 2026 P2P Flyer)