English | Español | አማርኛ | 中文 | 한국어 | Tiếng Việt | العربية | فارسی | اردو

The Weekly Roar

Monday, November 24, 2025

Congratulations to Our School-Level 2025-2026 Outstanding Employee Award Winners!

The 2025-2026 FCPS Outstanding Employee Award competition is underway! The first round occurs at the school level, with nominations by families and other staff members. Here are our winners, who will progress to the next level in the Hayfield pyramid.

Ms. Endicott, Outstanding School-Based Professional;
Miss Shipley, Outstanding New Teacher

Ms. McGregor, Outstanding Teacher

Ms. Nkansah, Outstanding Operational Employee;
Mr. Dickens, Outstanding School Leader:
Mrs. Opie, Outstanding New Principal

Read the article below to see all the great staff members nominated this year.

Lost & Found Is Overflowing!

We have run out of room in our Lost & Found, and we want to get these items back to their owners as soon as possible. Please take a look at the items above and, if you see something you recognize, please claim it and take it home!

All unclaimed items will be donated on Friday, December 5.

Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, 11/25 – Special Spirit Day: “6-7” Day, celebrate these meme numbers in your own style
• Wednesday, 11/26 through Friday, 11/28 – Thanksgiving Holiday, school and office CLOSED
• Monday, 12/1 through Friday, 12/5 – Library Book Fair
  • Wednesday, 12/3 – Family Night, 5 – 8 p.m.
• Thursday, 12/4 – PTA Meeting (in person or online), 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 12/11 – Fall Portrait Retake Day (see link to sign-up form below)
  
• Thursday, 12/11 – Winter Chorus Concert, 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, 12/17 – Early Release Wednesday, students dismissed 3 hours early at 1:05 p.m., UNLESS the school has been notified they need to stay until 4:05
  
• Thursday, 12/18 – 6th Grade Band and Strings Concert, 6:30 p.m.
• Monday, 12/22 through Friday, 1/2/26 – Winter Break

In This Issue

• Giving Thanks
• The Lane PTA Book Fair Is Next Week! Family Night on Wednesday, 5 to 8 p.m.
• Fall Portrait Retake Day on Thursday, December 11
• Looking for the Perfect Holiday Treat for Your Child’s Teacher or Other Lane Staff?
• Congratulations to Our 2025-2026 School-Level Outstanding Employee Awards!
• Federal Impact Aid Survey Forms – Please Return Paper Copies as Soon as Possible
• Window for Full-Time AAP Referrals Closes on December 15
• Prepare for Winter Weather
• PTA News: December Meeting on Thursday, December 4, Original Works fundraiser
• Parent Resources: Required parent digital consent form update, SEL Screener parent reports, managing FCPS devices with Lightspeed, free webinars
• Community Events & Activities: Hayfield Secondary Art Market on December 12
• FCPS News & Events: 2026-2027 budget process has begun

News & Notes

Giving Thanks

As we approach Thanksgiving on Thursday this week, we would like to begin this Weekly Roar with heartfelt words of thanks to all of you – our Lane Elementary families – for being such supportive and dedicated members of school community. It is truly a gift to be a part of such an amazing partnership, and we are honored to work with your children every day!

Please remember that school, the office, and SACC will be CLOSED this Wednesday, November 26, through Friday, November 28, for the Thanksgiving holiday. School will reopen on Monday, December 1, at the regular time.

We wish you a warm and wonderful holiday, filled with family, friends, and – of course – lots of good food!

The Lane PTA Book Fair Is Next Week! Family Night on Wednesday, 5 to 8 p.m.

Monday, December 1, through Friday, December 5 – In Person
Tuesday, November 25, through Monday, December 8 – Online

Please visit the fair website: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/laneelementaryschool3. You will find information about:

• Volunteering (Or you can go directly to this link: https://fcps.samaritan.com/custom/501/opp_details/2547. (If you have not yet registered on the Volunteer FCPS system, you will be prompted to create an account and fill out an application.)
• setting up an eWallet
• online shopping.

Here’s what’s happening:

• Monday, December 1, through Wednesday, December 3: Student Preview Days (no purchasing during the school day). Students will get a chance to look at fair items and create wish lists.
• Wednesday, December 3, 5 to 8 p.m.: Family Night! Purchasing begins for students and families.
• Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5: Student Purchasing Days. Students will have a chance to purchase items during the school day at a scheduled time.

Family members may also come in on Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. to purchase items. If you come in during these times to purchase items, please do not pull your child out of class to join you to minimize interruptions of learning in the classroom.

We accept cash, credit cards, and checks (payable to Lane PTA), and we have a digital payment option: eWallet. Now your student can shop the Fair cash-free!

Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and to create an account. We strongly encourage the use of eWallet to avoid lost money! Unused money turns into a Scholastic gift certificate that can be used for other Scholastic items.

Please note that the in-school fair ends at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, December 5.

We will also hold an online book fair, with items available for purchase Tuesday, November 25, through Monday, December 8.

Proceeds from both the in-person and online fairs support the Lane Library, which is used by all students and teachers at Lane, and the larger Lane community as well.

We’re so excited about the fair! For more information, please also visit https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/laneelementaryschool3.

Questions? Please contact Sue Chozick, Librarian, at schozick@fcps.edu.

Thank you for your support!

Fall Portrait Retake Day on Thursday, December 11

Digital files for all student portraits taken at school in September and October were emailed to parents/guardians the first week of November. They were sent to the email addresses we currently have on file in our school registration database. If you did not receive your child’s picture file, please contact our family liaison, Melanie Crosby Hardy, at macrosby@fcps.edu.

If you would like to have a new picture of your child taken, we will have our Retake Day on Thursday, December 11. Please sign up on this form so we can be sure your child participates. Please sign up by Monday, December 8.

Students who are new to our school or missed their original Picture Day will have their pictures taken as well.

Looking for the Perfect Holiday Treat for Your Child’s Teacher or Other Lane Staff?

If you’d like to give your child’s teacher or another staff member a token of appreciation during this coming holiday season but aren’t sure where to start, we can help! Thanks to the PTA, we’ve collected “Teacher Favorites” lists to guide you! You can find the lists, organized by teacher, on our school website: https://lanees.fcps.edu/teachers-favorites-lists.

Please note that gifts are completely optional. And remember … sometimes the best gifts are the simplest – a homemade card, a letter of thanks, a special treat your child helped to bake, or even a heart-felt “Happy Holidays!” wish.

Congratulations to Our 2025-2026 School-Level Outstanding Employee Award Winners! Each year, FCPS honors staff members for outstanding excellence in their roles through their Outstanding Employee Awards.

The competition starts at the school level, where staff members and families/community members nominate those they wish to recognize for their outstanding performance and service. A school-based committee reviews these nominations based on specific criteria and chooses a school-level winner in each category. Here are this year’s winners for Lane (all are pictured at the beginning of this newsletter):

• Outstanding Operational Staff: Rose Nkansah
• Outstanding Teacher: Norah McGregor
• Outstanding New Teacher: Rebekah Shipley
• Outstanding School-Based Professional: Hennalaurie Endicott
• Outstanding School-Based Leader: Allen Dickens
• Outstanding New Principal: Ebony Opie

The competition at the school level was strong, with more than 50 nominations across all categories from both school staff and families. Here are those that were also nominated in each category:

• Operational Staff: Melanie Crosby Hardy, Angelica Evans, Alfreda Ligon, April Scherer, Makiko Sitton, Soleen Stayeb, Cecile Williamson
• Teacher: Tara Barbiere, Jamie Benzelock, Emily Black, Allison Carlson, Jessica Hartbarger, Katie Kaine, Xena Morales, Phillip Phongsavan, Kristin Pradko, Laura Schadle, Megan Winiewicz
• New Teacher: Asia Dawkins-Hughes, Lindsey Letofsky, Divyaba Mori
• School-Based Professional: Kristie Cohen, Kylee Earl, Michelle Heo, Kate Lam, Kelly Roper
• School-Based Leader: Maureen Lopez.

Congratulations again to all of our school-level winners! They will advance to the pyramid-level competition, and then, if chosen in that round, they will move on to the region-level panel to compete for the final round. Finalists in all categories will attend a special ceremony in the spring where district-wide winners will be announced.

Federal Impact Aid Survey Forms – Please Return Paper Copies as Soon as Possible

The Federal Impact Aid program provides money to districts that enroll federally connected students. Help FCPS secure funding from the Impact Aid Program by helping us identify:

• military families,
• federally connected families,
• families living on a military base.

In the last couple of weeks you should have received a paper copy of the 2025-2026 Impact Aid Survey form for each of your children enrolled at Lane (if you have not already completed the forms online). Please complete each form for each child in your household. The parent who registered the student with FCPS (the "enrolling parent") should fill out the Impact Aid Survey form.

Please return this form as soon as possible. Your support will ensure that we receive the resources for which we are eligible. Your information will be kept strictly confidential.

If you prefer to complete the form and sign it electronically, follow the steps below to do so through your ParentVUE account.

To access the Impact Aid Form from your computer or mobile device, we recommend using Google Chrome.

Step 1: CLICK HERE or type sisparent.fcps.edu into your Chrome address bar to be taken to SIS ParentVUE. If you don’t have a SIS ParentVUE account, contact your child’s school for an activation letter.

Step 2: After you’ve logged into your ParentVue Account, look for the “Online Packets” link at the top of the page. Click “Online Packets.”

Step 3: Next, click the ‘Federal Impact Aid Survey’ button on the bottom of the page. This will take you to the Impact Aid Survey for you to complete.

If you have multiple children in Fairfax County Public Schools, please fill out a form for each child. You will know you have completed all of the forms when you get to the final page and see a green check next to each of their names.

Technical support for using ParentVUE or submitting the survey online is available by submitting a Parent Support Request ticket. Select “SISParent” in the Application dropdown menu and type “Federal Impact Aid Survey” in the Issue Description section. You may also call the Parent Technology Help Desk at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS).

Thank you for your cooperation and support, and thank you to those families who’ve already filled out the form!

Window for Full-Time AAP Referrals Closes on December 15

Parents and guardians of students in Grades 2-7 who would like their student to be considered for full-time Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) services must submit the AAP Full-Time Referral Form to Lane’s Advanced Academics Resource Teacher (AART) Linda Simon no later than December 15, 2025.

If you wish to submit a parent referral for your child, you do not need to wait until December 15 to do so. Referrals are being accepted now. Please email Ms. Simon at lesimon@fcps.edu to let her know you plan to submit a referral so she expects it.

Note: This deadline applies to all grade levels, including 6th graders screening for 7th grade even though middle school course selection does not take place until January/February 2026. If you want to have your child screened for services in middle school, please be sure to submit the referral by the December 15 deadline.

Once a referral is received, our school will compile information related to the student. Then, a committee of six trained professionals from across the county will review materials to determine eligibility for full-time AAP services.

Next Steps for Parents

Eligibility decisions are communicated by early April. Parents may request a copy of their child’s materials after February 20, 2026, by emailing Ms. Simon at the address above.

At the elementary level, referrals for subject-specific and part-time AAP are screened by the school. If you miss the full-time referral deadline, your student can still be screened for subject-specific or part-time AAP services for the remainder of the year.

For more information, please visit the Advanced Academic Programs webpage.

Prepare for Winter Weather

Winter weather will be here before you know it! Watch this video to see how weather-related closing decisions are made at FCPS.

FCPS’ website is generally the first place to find out about emergency weather closings. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible, including email, text, social media, the new FCPS mobile app, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated.

Be sure to plan for the winter season. Update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE, bookmark the FCPS website, and arrange emergency child care if needed.

Keep Your Child Warm During Outdoor Activities

We will monitor the weather for low temperatures, wind-chill advisories and warnings, and weather advisories that may prevent children from being outside. Make sure your child is dressed appropriately with a warm coat and other cold-weather clothing, so they can comfortably enjoy their time outdoors. View the National Weather Service’s tips on staying safe during cold weather.

If you need assistance getting cold-weather clothing for your family, please call Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) at 703-222-0880. Their multilingual staff can assist with any challenges you are facing, including food, shelter, employment, financial assistance, and health.

PTA News

Join the PTA for Their December Meeting, Virtually or In Person, on Thursday, December 4, 6:30 p.m.

All Lane parents and caregivers are invited to attend the next PTA meeting on Thursday, December 4, at 6:30 p.m. in person in the Lane cafeteria or virtually on Google Meet. Discussion will include updates on plans for events and programs for 2026. Use this Google Meet link to join the session: meet.google.com/bgt-jmox-nhr.

Order Works of Art from Your Little Artist through Original Works!

Students in kindergarten through 4th grade have created their own masterpieces at school in art class. You can now turn those unique works of art into custom keepsakes you can wear and use and/or gift to others! A percentage of the proceeds from all Lane sales will go to support the Lane Art Department through the PTA!

Watch Wednesday Folders for more information coming soon, or take a peek at the flyer below to learn how you can get a sneak peek! Just click “Add Artwork,” then “Search Artwork” to get started.