From the School Administration

Dear Belvedere Families,

We had a full week of fun and learning at Belvedere! Our fifth graders were excited to select their courses for next school year, while our kindergarteners continued to sharpen their reading skills. We also had a visit from our former Belvedere Bulldogs, the Glasgow Middle School and Justice High School orchestra performed for our 4^th and 5^th graders. It’s amazing to see our students growing and preparing for their next steps!

We are also wrapping up the WIDA Assessment for our Multilingual Learners—our students have worked so hard, and we are so proud of their efforts!

Looking ahead, we’re excited for our second PTA Movie Night next week! The PTA will be popping popcorn, so bring your family and join us for a fun evening watching Inside Out 2! We can’t wait to see you there.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Best,

Cecilia Vanderhye, Principal

Tara Boone, Assistant Principal

Kelly Cabezas, Assistant Principal

Varsity Tutors Provides On-Demand Support at No Cost

FCPS is partnering with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors’ services at no cost, including weekly live online classes, on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests. Learn more about online tutoring with Varsity Tutors.

Message from Belvedere's Registrar

If you have a child who turns 5 years old by September 30, 2025, they will be eligible to attend Kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year. If you have any rising Kindergarten students, please be sure to complete the Survey of Pre School Children Form that is linked below and send in to the front office, attention of Mandy Belcher, School Registrar.

Survey of Preschool Children.pdf

[SPANISH] Survey of Preschool Children.pdf

Kindergarten Registration for the 2025-26 School Year is Now Open!

If you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 30, they are eligible to attend Kindergarten for the upcoming year. 

Registration paperwork can be downloaded at https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/Enroll_Pre-Kindergarten_Experience.pdf.  Once you have completed the paperwork and gathered the required documents, please come into the front office to meet with our registrar, Mrs. Mandy Belcher (abelcher@fcps.edu).

Alternatively, you can now choose to use our online registration tool https://www.fcps.edu/online-registration.  If you choose the online option, you will then have to come into the office with the child’s original birth certificate, your proof of residence (deed/lease) and your ID.

Please note the Commonwealth of VA medical form (showing immunizations and physical exam) can be submitted at a later date, as long as we have this by August 15, 2025 at the latest.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Belcher.

Early registration is strongly encouraged.

Can You Help with Family Movie Night Next Week?

We still need volunteers to help PTA leaders coordinate our next Belvedere Family Movie Night on Feb. 27. We will be showing the very popular Pixar movie Inside Out 2!  Could you help sell concessions or pop popcorn? Drop a note to Belvedere PTA at bespta.va@gmail.com if you can help make this event another special experience for our school community.  PTA funds make this event possible and we need volunteers to make it work.  Other upcoming events and needs:

• Now-March 10: Spirit Wear Sale (online)
• Feb. 27: Family Movie Night * Volunteers Needed
• March 6: March Community Meeting 
• March: Spring Auction * Volunteers Needed
• March 12: Phone Readiness Event (Dinner and child care included) * Volunteers Needed
• March 20: Belvedere Ballers (BES basketball event at Glasgow) * Volunteers Needed

Interested in helping with any of these upcoming events? Send a note to bespta.va@gmail.com or sign up via the link provided and we will put you in touch with the coordinator. We especially need help for the Spring Auction – our biggest fundraising event of the year.

It's cold outside, but we are already thinking Spring (yes, Spring!). The Spring Spirit Wear sale is now open. Choose from t-shirts, sweatshirts and long sleeves -- in both adult and children's styles -- in blue, tie-dye and hot pink.

All sales benefit PTA's efforts to support year-round student and teacher needs. Allow approximately 3-4 weeks after orders close on March 10 for delivery. 

Can you Donate to the Spring Auction?  

We are preparing for the Belvedere PTA Spring Auction - one of our biggest events of the year. Proceeds from this fundraiser help fund field trip buses, teacher appreciation support and community events like next week's Movie Night.

Do you have a donation you can contribute to the auction? Let us know by emailing BelvederePTAauction@gmail.com.

Donations can range from

-- Tickets for events, shows, movies or experiences

-- Complimentary lessons or discounts on lessons

-- Unique gift baskets

-- Restaurant and business gift cards

-- Services for fitness, beauty, health and wellness

-- Art

-- Sports memorabilia

-- And more! We love creative ideas

Want to help? We need volunteers NOW who can spare **60 minutes** to e-mail local businesses for donations. We'll give you the template and the contacts. If you can help, please us know by emailing BelvederePTAauction@gmail.com.

Join us for a Screen Readiness Workshop: March 12

Belvedere PTA is excited to offer families the PTA Connected: Ready, Tech, Go! workshop on Wednesday, March 12, from 5:45-7:30 p.m. in the Belvedere cafeteria and online.

There will be an in-person meal from 5:45-6:30 p.m. and the active workshop time will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Child care, door prizes and activities will be provided for the in-person portion of this event.

During this educational event, Belvedere parents and caregivers will:

• Reflect on various aspects of screen readiness.
• Become familiar with tools and resources that help families determine screen readiness and discuss digital life.
• Gain new ideas to promote a healthy digital home.

We need volunteers to help make our event a success. Volunteers are needed for:

• Event planning and logistics
• Coordinating dinner (all expenses covered)
• Check in + registration (day of only)
• Caregiver room support (day of only, we have a team of babysitters!)
• Day-of room set up and/or clean up

Please sign up by March 5 if you’re interested in volunteering.

Registration is required to attend the in-person portion of this event so we can be sure to secure the right amount of food, chairs and child care. If you have any questions, please send a note to jstrelitz@gmail.com