Hive Happenings Newsletter

Dear Stenwood Families,

This week we celebrated our second round of CARES Pizza Lunch winners for Assertion. We are so proud of our CARES Pizza Lunch winners every month for being recognized for showing CARES throughout our building.

Thank you to our wonderful PTA, many of our classes were able to attend Science Labs this week. Our remaining classes will attend next week.

With all of the snow in January, we are finally having our first Hive Families meeting of 2025 this afternoon! Make sure to ask your child about their Kindness Challenge Board!

As a reminder, Monday is a 3 hour early release. You received confirmation on Tuesday of your selection, please see that email for more information.

Below you will find additional information about:

Stingers Are Readers Week! March 3^rd - March 7^th - NEW
Directions for Going Paperless - Reminder
Religious Accommodations/Ramadan Parent Information Session - Updated Information
Community Peers Preschool Program - Reminder - Deadline Next Week
Student Intentions/Rising Kindergarten - Reminder
Student Fasting Meal Kit - Reminder
Protect Yourself from the Flu - Reminder
Magnet School Application and Lottery Information - Reminder
Marshall HS STEM Night - Reminder
Keeping Kids Warm - Reminder
Yearbook Ordering Deadline Info - Reminder
School Meals and Free/Reduced Lunch Applications - Reminder
Stenwood is Hiring! - Reminder
Stenwood PTA - Reminder

Sincerely,

Erica Riley, Principal
esriley@fcps.edu

Bryan Case, Assistant Principal
bgcase@fcps.edu

Stingers Are Readers Week!

March 3^rd - March 7^th

Going Paperless

To take advantage of the paperless options, parents and/or guardians* will need to log into ParentVUE, then go to “My Account.” On the ParentVUE app, this can be found on the bottom right of the ParentVUE homepage.

Parents/guardians will then go to the “Notify” column, and you can select/deselect the “Go Paperless!!” button.

You can opt to “Go Paperless” in ParentVUE and receive only online report cards. This will not impact any other mailings from FCPS other than the report cards for secondary students and progress reports for ES students. The “Go Paperless” option will apply to all your associated students, no matter what school level!

Religious Accommodation Request

Throughout the year, as we celebrate and recognize various cultural holidays and observances, families are encouraged to contact Mr. Case, bgcase@fcps.edu regarding accommodations, including but not limited to those around lunch, prayer/meditation and silent reflection spaces and times, and instruction.

We will be hosting a quick overview of our plan for students during Ramadan and answer questions families may have. If you are interested in attending, please join us from 8:30 - 9:00 on Tuesday, February 25^th.

Community Peers Preschool Program

Next year Stenwood will have community peers in our preschool program. This program provides opportunities for our students to participate in integration activities with typically developing peers. The program is designed to teach preschoolers with delays and without delays in the same classroom. It can provide young children with a more stimulating environment, teach skills for coping with different situations, and provide the opportunity to learn appropriate social skills.

Our program will invite a limited number of community preschoolers (2 per class), who are ages 3.5 (by September 30^th) to 5 years, to participate in our daily preschool activities.

The children from the community will have the opportunity to make new friends and share experiences with current early childhood special education students. Our students will, in turn, benefit from being with community peers who can model appropriate language, motor, and social skills.

All children learn through their play. Intellectual growth occurs in a social context, influenced strongly by the quality of social interactions. The goal of this program is to encourage active learning and promote social interaction and acceptance through shared experiences between the community children and our preschoolers with special needs. Bus transportation cannot be provided for the community peers. Feel free to contact us for further explanation of our program.

If you are interested in having your child considered for this opportunity, please complete the Community Peers Preschool Program Interest and Information Form by Friday, February 28^th. Stenwood will host a playdate for interested students in late March/early April. If you know of anyone who may be interested and does not receive the Stenwood Hive Happenings, feel free to forward them this information.

Student Intention Form and

Rising Kindergarten Form

Today, students brought home a Student Intention Form. We are asking families to fill out this form for each child to help us plan for adequate staffing next year.

If you have a child who will turn five on or before September 30^th, 2025, please return the blue form or fill out the Rising Kindergartner form. We have Kindergarten Orientation coming up on April 8^th at 9:15am. If you have any neighbors that have children that turn 5 on or before September 30^th, please let them know to reach out to Michelle Burke, mpburke@fcps.edu as soon as possible so we can ensure they have all the information they need.

Student Fasting Meal Kits for

February 28^th - March 28^th

Thanks to a new program from the Virginia Department of Education, students who are fasting during the school day between February 28^th and March 28^th can now take school meal kits home at the end of the day.

Families will need to fill out a weekly Fasting Meals Request Form for their child or children to receive school meal kits. A separate form must be filled out for each week and each student.

To receive meal kits for Friday, February 28^th, and the week of March 3^rd, please submit the first request form by Monday, February 24^th. Visit the FNS webpage for more information, including weekly request forms and deadlines.