Weekly update for Nov. 21, 2025

Dear Columbia friends and families,

What a wonderful week at CES! From finishing up parent/teacher conferences, attending the Book Fair, to the Thanksgiving luncheon, we loved seeing so many families at school this week.

We are also excited to announce that the SCA (Student Council Association) has voted on a special spirit day before the break. Get ready for "Hat Day" on Tuesday, November 25th!

As a reminder, we will only have two days of school next week before we head off to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Take care,

Mike Astudillo

Proud Principal

Columbia Elementary School

Donuts with Grown-Ups

It’s almost time for Donuts with Grown-Ups! Families are invited to come enjoy donuts, juice, and conversation with their children. The event will be held on December 4th & 5th from 8:30am 9:00am at Columbia ES.

Thursday, December 4th for last names starting with A-J

Friday, December 5th for last names starting with K-Z

Please RSVP by Tuesday, December 2nd by returning the Donuts with Grown-Ups sign up form to your child's teacher or emailing your child’s teacher. We are asking for donations by grade level.

Suggested donations:

K-2nd: Donuts

3^rd-5th: individually packaged drinks (i.e., juice boxes, small bottles of water).

If you volunteered to bring donuts or drinks to the event, you should receive an email from Ms. Chapman. If not, please email Ms. Chapman, echapman@fcps.edu or Mrs. Beggs kfbeggs@fcps.edu to get a google form for donations.

PTA News & Notes

Help Power Field Trips for Every Student!

As we wrap up the first half of the year, our PTA is fundraising for field trips for every student. Our goal is to raise $5,000. Every donation is tax deductible and helps fund meaningful learning experiences that bring classroom lessons to life. Thank you in advance for being a hero for our students and school! To make a tax deductible donation click here (https://www.givebacks.com/donate/columbiapta), or see the flyer that came home last week in the Tuesday folders.

Holiday Sweet Shoppe

The next Teacher Appreciation event is coming up. The Holiday Sweet Shoppe will be held on Monday, December 8^th. If you would like to donate a special treat you can sign up here or if you would prefer to donate to decorations, there is an Amazon wish list. Please help us thank our teachers for all they have done the first half of the year. Thank you for everything you do, we could not do any of this without you!

AAP Center at Poe Middle School

The School Board has proposed an AAP Center at Poe Middle School (instead of AAP Center at Glasgow Middle School) and there is a public hearing on December 1^st. Details for the hearing are below, including speaker registration and/or you can send comments to CommunityParticipation@fcps.edu. Date of Public Hearing: Monday, December 1, 2025 Start Time: 7:30 p.m. Place: Luther Jackson Middle School, Auditorium Speaker Registration

Columbia ES AAP Information Update:

We had a good turnout for the AAP Family Information sessions last month. Thank you for all who were able to attend. Please feel free to reach out to Michelle Sansone if you would like the slide decks to the presentations or have questions at any time. Here is a link to the FCPS AAP site for additional information. Below is information for families that plan to submit a full-time AAP screening referral.

For families who are pursuing Full-Time AAP services for next school year for students currently in grades 2 - 5, please submit the following documents together before or by December 15, 2025. This is a firm county deadline, and late submissions will not be accepted. Please submit documents together with your child’s name, AAP Referral Forms as the file name in an email to Michelle Sansone. Hard copies in the school office are also accepted by the deadline.

Required: Parent Referral forms should be submitted to the Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART- Michelle Sansone- at Columbia ES via email or by turning them in to the school Office by 5:00 p.m. by 12/15/2025.

If by Email send to: Michelle Sansone mfsansone@fcps.edu

Subject Line: (Student First and Last Name)-Full Time SPRING Screening Referral.

If paper forms are submitted: Submit to the school office to Michelle Sansone in one envelope labeled (Students First and Last Name) by December 15^th which is a Monday. Submissions must be turned in before the office closes at 5:00 p.m.
Michelle will confirm receipt of your referral within 24 hours of submission. If you have not received an email, please confirm with Michelle that she has received the documentation.

Optional Additional Pieces Strongly Encouraged:

A 1 page parent/guardian questionnaire may also be included (strongly encouraged) Information must fit in the text boxes provided. We recommend not using smaller than 10-point font.
Two (2) pages of student work samples from home. Student work samples may be single sided two pages maximum. Digital submissions must be submitted in Word/PDF/JPG format only.

A deadline of December 15, 2025, gives local schools time to organize and submit screening portfolios to the central office. More information, including parent presentation videos and descriptions of all available AAP services K-12, is available online. Spring referrals from current second graders and students in grades 3-5 are due December 15 to mfsansone@fcps.edu We look forward to working with you and your students!

Social and Emotional Learning Screener: Parent Reports

Students in grades 3-12 took the SEL Screener last month, providing information on skills like achieving goals, understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining relationships, and making responsible decisions. The screener also asks students how well their school community makes them feel valued, included, and supported.

Individual student SEL Screener results will be available to families in the Documents section of SIS ParentVUE the week of November 17. For families who do not have an active ParentVUE account, results will be shared by our school.

For support in understanding your individual student’s results or for ideas on how to support them at home, please review the Family Guide or reach out to school staff.

Spanish:

Evaluación del Aprendizaje Social y Emocional: Reporte para PadresLos estudiantes entre los grados 3ro y 12vo, tomaron el mes pasado la Evaluación “SEL” (siglas en inglés de “Social and Emotional Learning”), proveyéndonos con información acerca de habilidades como el logro de metas, el entendimiento y manejo de las emociones, el establecimiento y mantenimiento de relaciones personales, y la toma de decisiones responsables. La evaluación también les pregunta a los estudiantes qué tan valorado, incluido y apoyado, les hace sentir la comunidad de su escuela.

Los resultados individuales de la evaluación SEL de cada estudiante estarán disponibles para las familias la semana del 17 de noviembre, en la sección de Documentos en SIS ParentVUE. Para aquellas familias que no tengan una cuenta activa en ParentVUE, los resultados les serán entregados por la escuela.

Para encontrar asistencia entendiendo los resultados individuales de su estudiante, o para hallar ideas de cómo apoyarle en casa, por favor revise la Guía Familiar o comuníquese con el personal de su escuela.

Community Thanksgiving Dinners

FCPS Office of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) is excited to host special Community Thanksgiving Dinners for our students and families, in partnership with Educate Fairfax.

If you were unable to attend your student's Thanksgiving lunch at school, FNS invites you to attend one of our Community Thanksgiving Dinners. These dinners are a great way to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving-inspired meal and celebrate the season with your school community.

When:

Tuesday, November 25, 6–7 p.m. at Annandale High School and Mount Vernon High School.

Cost: Meals are FREE for both children and adults thanks to the FNS afterschool program and a generous partnership with Educate Fairfax.
Details: No registration is required. Meals will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Families can look forward to enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving-inspired meal, featuring a main dish, side items, fresh fruits and vegetables, and dessert. Meals must be eaten on-site.

The FCPS FNS team is excited to welcome all families, celebrate the season together, and continue building meaningful connections across our school communities.