Message from Mrs. Briggs

We hope your family has enjoyed a restful summer! Today, we welcomed many of our Panther Cubs for our Kindergarten Jump Start! It is so great to have students in the building!

We have been busy planning for the 2026-2027 school year and we are so excited! Please see below for important Back-to-School updates. We look forward to welcoming our new families to New Family Orientation on Wednesday, August 19th, and all our families for our Open House on Friday, August 21st. Teachers will be sending an email to families by 4pm on Wednesday to introduce themselves and welcome you to their classroom!

Enjoy the last few days of summer.

Sincerely,

Amy Briggs

Upcoming Dates:

First Quarter Calendar

Spring Hill Snaps At Spring Hill Elementary, our staff works endlessly to make learning engaging, safe, and joyful for our students every single day. We know that so many of you notice these daily acts of dedication, kindness, and hard work—and we want to make it easier than ever for you to share that appreciation! We are excited to launch Spring Hill Snaps! A Snap is a quick, meaningful shout-out sent directly to a staff member to share some positive mojo and brighten their day. Whether a teacher went above and beyond, a staff member offered extra encouragement, or someone simply put a smile on your child's face, we want to hear about it!  How it works: Click this link Fill out the quick, 1-minute form with your message. Our Snaps will be delivered at the end of each month to our staff and community at large. (Do not share something you wouldn’t want out whole staff or community to know) Thank you for partnering with us and for helping us celebrate the incredible team that makes Spring Hill such a special place to learn and grow.

New Student ID Cards Coming for Bus Riders This Fall 

As part of the ongoing commitment to strengthening layered safety and security programs, FCPS will implement a new student ID system for students who ride our school buses.

The IDs will be provided to students who ride the bus. Those students will be expected to tap on and tap off the bus. The student IDs do not track student movement. The only information available is when a student taps on or off a bus. Much like our Here Comes the Bus app, our new app will allow parents/guardians to track the progress of the school bus.

It is possible that the ID program will expand in the future to include uses such as library cards and meal payment. Learn more about the new transportation system and student ID cards.

Early Release Wednesdays

As we prepare for the new school year, we are working toward 100% completion of student online verification forms for every family before school begins. The annual re-enrollment packet includes the early release Wednesdays childcare selection. This year, we will have a total of four early release Wednesdays, where we dismiss at 12:35pm  Our dates are:

• September 30

• November 18

• January 13

•  April 7

Families may complete their forms electronically through ParentVUE, or by downloading the paper forms from the FCPS website and returning them to the school office. All online verification (OVU) forms must be completed before the start of school.

Transportation Information for Parents

As we prepare for the start of the school year, please note the following important transportation dates:

• August 7: Transportation information will be available in ParentVUE. Parents can log in to view their child's bus assignment, stop location, and pickup/drop-off times.
• August 14: Families of eligible general education and special education bus riders will receive an eNotify message with route information and a transportation intent reminder. Continue checking ParentVUE, as transportation information may be updated before school begins.
• August 17–21: Families of students who ride a special education bus will receive a phone call from Transportation to confirm bus stop locations and pickup/drop-off times. Parents may also review transportation information in ParentVUE.
• August 19: This is the final transportation update before the start of school. Any transportation changes made after August 19 will not appear in ParentVUE until August 25.

Reminder: Please check ParentVUE regularly before the first day of school to ensure you have the most up-to-date transportation information for your student.

PICKUP PATROL

PickUp Patrol is a cloud-based web application that automates the after-school dismissal process by combining powerful tools for school offices and a convenient mobile "app" for parents. It eliminates the need for parents to write notes or make phone calls to change their children’s after-school plans, which increases office productivity, decreases classroom interruptions, and assists with ensuring student safety.

To make a dismissal change you will simply login, select a date, choose your child’s name and a dismissal option, then click on submit, and that’s it! You can make plan changes at your convenience, and submit them days, weeks, or even months in advance. And, for added security, you’ll receive a confirmation email each time a change is made.

Joining PickUp Patrol

Prior to the first day of school, you will receive a “Welcome to Pickup Patrol” email with login instructions. Once logged in, create your child(ren)'s dismissal plan(s) for the remainder of the year. Please watch this video PUP How it Works video or use this tool PUP from Parents POV, to familiarize yourself with the program. If your Registration link has expired, please contact our registrar, Young-Joo Kim (ykim1@fcps.edu), for a new link. 

You can find more information here: PickUp Patrol | Spring Hill Elementary School.

New ParentVUE Mobile App Launched July 28

On Tuesday, July 28, a new ParentVUE mobile app will become available in the Apple and Google app stores. This new app provides parents and caregivers with a more secure sign-in. The current “classic” app will remain active for about six months. Families must download the new app by December 2026 to ensure they have continued mobile access to their child’s school data.

In the new app, families can enroll in multi-factor authentication (MFA) for FCPS Single Sign-On. While enrollment is optional, we strongly recommend that everyone enable this security feature.

Learn more about installing the new ParentVUE app. Parents needing assistance should submit a Parent Support Request.

Understanding Student Rights and Responsibilities Updates: New Universal Grade Matrices for Families

Families are encouraged to review the updated FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) document, which explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses in order to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment.

Updates for the 2026-27 school year include new Universal Grade Matrices (UGMs). UGMs are charts that show behavior expectations and school responses by grade level (K-3, 4-8, and 9-12). These at-a-glance resources (in Appendix D of the SR&R) are designed to make it easier for parents and caregivers to understand how schools respond to different types of behavior concerns.

Visit the SR&R webpage for more information and to review additional updates to the SR&R for the 2026-27 school year.

New Requirement for Student Device Use During the School Day

Starting this school year, students must use FCPS-issued devices for school-related digital activities during the instructional day. This is in accordance with a new School Board requirement, approved on July 16, which states that students may not use personal electronic communication or computing devices, including personal laptops, tablets, smartwatches, smartphones, and similar devices. 

Students may only use their personal device if it is required as part of a necessary accommodation in the students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan. 

Families can help support this requirement by reminding students to bring their FCPS-issued device each day and use it for all school-related digital activities unless an approved exception applies. 

8201 Lewinsville Road McLean, VA 22102 | Main Office: 703-506-3400
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