Bush Hill Updates - Tuesday, November 4, 2025

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November

6 -- PTA Restaurant Night - Taste of Asia

7 - Veteran's Day Breakfast -- 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

11 -- Veteran's Day Holiday -- NO SCHOOL

12 -- 3 Hour Early Release Day - Bush Hill ES 12:55 PM Dismissal

17 -- Picture Make-Up Day (Morning)

20 - Thanksgiving Luncheon & Turkey Trot

26, 27, 28 -- Thanksgiving Holiday - Schools closed

Family Liaison Corner

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November is Family Engagement Month!

November is a wonderful time to celebrate the power of collaboration and connection. Bush Hill staff thanks all our families for your continued partnership and support. Your involvement in your child's education makes a huge difference. When families and educators partner, our Panthers thrive!

Please see the FCPS Family Engagement Month Calendar for fun and creative ideas to share with your children, loved ones, and school-community.

Upcoming Bush Hill Events

  • Veterans Day Spirit Day and Breakfast: Friday, November 7th8:30 AM - 9:00 AM in the school cafeteria. To learn more and RSVP, please click here. All students and families are welcome to wear red, white, and blue to show their support!
  • Family Coffee - Understanding Your Child’s Math and Literacy Assessments: Tuesday, November 18th 9:15 AM – 10:15 AM in the school cafeteria. If you were unable to attend Back to School Night this year, please consider attending our next Family Coffee to learn more about your student’s assessments. Please RSVP here!
  • Thanksgiving Luncheon & Turkey Trot: Thursday, November 20th. More details to come!

Academic Resources

FCPS Family Academy - A hub of information for families to explore and connect to!

FCPS Family Resource Center - Offers free family information phone lines in different languages, consultations with professionals, workshops, webinars, a library, and more!

Family Engagement eLibrary - Explore supportive resources in English and Spanish for parents and guardians to enhance their child’s learning and wellbeing.

FCPS Parent Technology Help Desk - Do you have a technology issue with your ParentVUE or Schoology account? You can submit a support request here or contact the Parent Technology Help Desk at (833) 921- 3277.

Varsity Tutors - Offers free tutoring services. To access Varsity Tutors, please login to the Clever dashboard and explore the different types of tutoring services offered. To view the student login guide please see here.

Family Resource Center Tutoring List - One-on-one tutoring services are available. To access this year’s Family Resource Center tutoring list, please submit this interest form.

Upcoming FCPS Webinars

To learn more and register, please visit the registration website.

  • Listening Beyond Words: How to Hear What Your 2E Child is Really Saying: November 7, 10-11:30 a.m.
  • Family Engagement in the Special Education Process: November 14, 10-11:30 a.m.

Bush Hill Tools and Resources

To learn more, please click on each resource below.

Have questions or need support on any of the information above? Please contact Bush Hill’s Family Liaison, Kate Formeller (Ms. Kate), for further assistance. Thank you!

Phone: (571) 595-5135

Email: Kformeller@fcps.edu

Talking Points: Kate Formeller

Safe Routes to School Data Collection

Fairfax County Public Schools Safe Routes to School, in partnership with VDOT, will be placing temporary pedestrian and bicycle counters around Bush Hill Elementary.

These devices will help count how many students and families are walking and biking in the area. The data will guide future efforts to improve walking and biking safety near the school.

The counters will be in place for a short time and will not record any personal information—they only count the number of people passing by. Thank you for supporting our efforts to make school travel safer and healthier!

Panther PTA

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For a limited time only (10/25 – 11/16) the PTA is offering Bush Hill Spirit wear in new styles, designs, and colors (including tie dye). Purchases are made online and shipped directly to school - no shipping costs for you!

Check out the store now and stock up.

https://stores.inksoft.com/bush_hill_elementary/shop/home

Upcoming Events

Thursday November 6, Taste of Asia Restaurant Night

Friday November 7, Veterans Day Breakfast, 8:30 - 9:00 a.m.

Monday November 10, Garden Club Meeting, 8:00 a.m.

Wednesday November 19, PTA General Body Meeting, 7:00 p.m. (virtual)

For more information, please visit the BHES PTA Website

Honoring Our Veterans

VETERANS DAY SPIRIT DAY November 7th

Show your support by wearing Red, White and Blue on Friday, November 7th in honor of our veterans and military-connected families.

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Bush Hill Elementary School will be hosting a special breakfast to honor the Veterans in our community. We would love to have as many Veterans as possible at our informal morning gathering, so that they may be honored and recognized for their valued service to our country.

Who: Veterans and their families

When: Friday, November 7th 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Reception: hosted by Bush Hill ES staff in the school cafeteria

If you or someone you know is a Veteran and would like to attend, please RSVP  here by Wednesday, November 5th. If you have any questions, please reach out to Kate Formeller at kformeller@fcps.edu.

If you would like to show your appreciation to our veterans by donating items for the breakfast, please see sign up below.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4BA4AD2DA0FCC07-60067308-veteran

Outstanding Employee Awards deadline has been extended to November 7th.

Please Nominate an Outstanding Bush Hill Employee

We are seeking your help to recognize teachers/staff members who go above and beyond for our students and school community. If you know a Bush Hill employee who consistently makes a difference, please take a moment to submit a nomination and share why they deserve to be celebrated!  All nominations must be submitted by November 7th. You may submit more than one nomination if you would like.  To submit a nomination for a Bush Hill Elementary School Outstanding Employee in one of the categories below, please complete the nomination through the Google link found below. You may nominate one or more employees at Bush Hill.

Outstanding Teacher

Eligibility: Has at least three years of experience as a teacher (in any school/school district); librarians are included in this category.

Outstanding New Teacher

Eligibility: Has up to three years of experience as a teacher (in any school/school district); librarians are included in this category.

Outstanding Principal

Eligibility: Has at least three years of experience as a principal (in any school/school district).

Outstanding Leader

Eligibility: Has at least one year of experience in their current position as a School-Based Administrator (that is not a principal.) 

Common positions in this category: Assistant and Associate Principals, Director of Student Activities, and Director of Student Services.

Outstanding Professional Employee

Eligibility: Has at least one year of experience as a Schedule-B employee or other non-instructional employee in a school that supports school leadership. 

Common positions in this category: School-Based Technology Specialist, Technology Support Specialist, Assessment Coach, Career Center Specialist, Instructional Coach, Psychologist, Social Worker, School Counselor, Safety and Security Specialist, Resource Teachers that serve in an administrative role in a school. 

Outstanding Operational Employee

Eligibility: Has at least one of experience in current position as Schedule-A or Classroom Instructional Support.  

Common positions in this category: Administrative and Office Staff, Custodial Staff, IA, PHA, PHTA, All Parent Liaisons.

All that is required for a preliminary nomination is a paragraph or two about how this employee demonstrated exceptional work in the criteria for that category. The criteria for each of these awards and the eligibility requirements are below.

To nominate an Outstanding Bush Hill Employee,

please click this link: Nomination Form for Outstanding Employee

or scan the QR code below

*EXTENDED: Deadline to submit a nomination is now November 7th,2025*

If you have questions, please contact Lisa Dial at

ldial@fcps.edu

Family Life Education (FLE)

Edison Pyramid Family Preview Night

Wednesday, November 19, 2025  5:30 - 6:30 PM

Bush Hill ES Cafeteria

www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary/family-life-education

The elementary FLE program is taught by the regular classroom teacher. The early elementary program emphasizes the importance of families, distinction between good and bad touch, sources of help, and the importance of friendships. Human sexuality is first introduced in grade four. In the Human Growth and Development unit, students learn about the male and female reproductive systems. Students view age-appropriate videos and learn the maturational process, changes which occur during puberty, and prenatal development.  Students study the effects of peer pressure and begin to examine the influence of media on behavior and attitudes. Students begin an understanding of sexually transmitted infections in grade 5. The emotional and social health unit includes abuse prevention from good touch/bad touch in primary grades to types of abuse in upper elementary grades.  Instruction for abuse prevention includes resources for help.

Parents and guardians have the right to review the family life education program offered by FCPS, including written and audio-visual educational materials used in the program. Parents and guardians also have the right to excuse their child from all or part of family life education instruction.

From FCPS

SNAP Benefits/Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) 

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency, allowing the use of state funds to issue Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) benefits to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers in November, if the federal government shutdown is not resolved by November 1. Under VENA, 25% of a customer's monthly benefit will be issued on a weekly basis, so that in the event the shutdown ends sometime during November, normal distributions from the federal government will resume.

Resources for Furloughed Families

Impact of Federal Shutdown on Local Community

Fairfax County is home to around 80,000 federal employees and thousands of federal contractors. Its Federal Workforce Resource Hub is intended to help navigate current and future issues for residents, government employees, active military/veterans, contractors, nonprofits and businesses who may be affected by actions, changes, or disruptions to federal services or employment.Community Resources for Families in NeedThrough partnerships with community-based organizations and other Fairfax County agencies, Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) provides information, referrals, and advocacy to help individuals connect with services, including: basic needs (food, shelter, clothing), financial assistance, health care services, and referrals to services and resources.

Visit the CSP website or call 703-222-0880 for assistance. 

How to Access or Donate Food to Those in Need

View the Emergency Food Access Providers webpage to see where to access food or donate to your local food bank.

FCPS Food and Nutrition Services/Free and Reduced Price Lunch

Apply Anytime for Free and Reduced Price Lunch

Did you know that families can apply for free and reduced-price meal benefits anytime during the school year?  

If a family’s income changes at any point, they may become newly eligible according to federal income guidelines and can apply immediately. This includes income interruptions caused by furloughs, layoffs, or job losses. Once approved, benefits remain valid for the rest of the school year and for up to 30 school days into the following school year, even if the family’s income changes again. Read Superintendent Reid's October 1 letter regarding other resources available to families impacted by the government shutdown.

Resources

Coordinated Services Planning (Fairfax County)

Emergency Food Access Providers (Fairfax County)

Federal Workforce Resource Hub (Fairfax County)

Free and Reduced Price Meal Application (FCPS)