Virginia Run Elementary School

The Virginia Run Garden beds were once maintained by a Garden Club through the school’s PTA. However, after the pandemic, we no longer had the Garden Club, and the school’s garden beds became overrun with weeds and wildlife. In the 2023-2024 school year, every school in FCPS was directed to have a Get2Green team, and our students made it clear by the end of the year that they wanted to learn about composting and gardening. The following year, we built up our Get2Green program and learned more about gardening as we began the process of clearing out the beds last spring. We covered them for the summer to kill off the remaining weeds and keep new ones from growing until we could plant this spring! In preparation, we were able to use our Get2Green funds to purchase an indoor garden shelf, lamps, and plant containers. Students learned how to mix soil with fertilizer and plant seeds to help them germinate, so that we could put them in the ground a month or so later. Students at Virginia Run saw the indoor garden upstairs as the plants began to sprout and grow. This May, our Get2Green team, along with the help of Mrs. Prakash and Mrs. Connor, transformed our garden beds! We now have herbs, pumpkins, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a variety of perennials growing in our garden beds. All of this was purchased using our Get2Green funds from Fairfax County. It is our hope that these garden beds not only continue to grow and bloom to show the beauty of the plants, but also serve as a learning tool for all our students at Virginia Run Elementary School for years to come!

Dear Virginia Run ES Community, Friends, & Alumni,

View the amazing write-up from FCPS about the Antoncic's!
https://virginiarunes.fcps.edu/features/lifelong-bond-their-entire-community

We are excited to celebrate the retirement of Mr. Josh Antoncic & Mrs. Heidi Antoncic, who have dedicated their entire careers to our school community. As both educators and partners in life, their impact has been truly special—and we want to honor that in a meaningful way.

We are creating a tribute video and memory book, and we would love for you to be a part of it!

Here’s how you can contribute:
🎥 Submit a short video (30–60 seconds)
You might share:
• A favorite memory or story
• Something they taught you
• A moment you’ll never forget
• What made them special (individually or as a team)
• A message for their retirement
✉️ Write a note for the memory book

You can reflect on:
• How they made a difference in your life
• A meaningful moment
• What you’ll always remember about them
• Words of thanks or well wishes

📸 Optional: Share a photo from your time with them
**Submission Deadline: Today! May 29th!
**Submit here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS8HmxYsk91Oh5anRTFoYgx-w4bQ_YTaInvU35KUeEmDfSCA/viewform

Please feel free to share this with others who may want to contribute!
Thank you for helping us celebrate two extraordinary educators and the legacy they leave behind.

Mr. Gerstner and Ms. Chavez made a bus stop visit last week! 🚌

Eid Mubarak to all who observe! Eid al-Adha, or the “Feast of Sacrifice,” is the second of two main holidays celebrated in Islam. Muslims believe that Eid al-Adha signifies the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim, known as Abraham in Christianity and Judaism, to sacrifice his son, Ismail, as ordered by Allah. It focuses on sacrifice, the pilgrimage to Mecca and giving to those less fortunate.

Our Get2Green club was busy planting vegetables, herbs, and perennials in our spring garden!

Today we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, the fallen soldiers of American wars.

💙💛 Our Final Student Newsletter
Yesterday, we announced our final Student Newsletter winners of the school year in the newsroom. While we wish we could have taken a photo with all 18 of this year’s winners together, we are still incredibly proud of every single student who participated throughout the year.

Once again, a huge congratulations to our 18 wonderful winners! We are so proud of your hard work and creativity:
Alyssa Gottheim, Kylie Ha, Sophia Prakash, Brooklyn Burwell, Colton Garcia, Auden Holm, Emery Holm, Sadie-Grace Bania, Anna Jewett, Emily Barroso, Nesrya Temame, Theodore Sturdevant, Kaden Ha, Heartley Kelly, Camia Tran, Abigail Cullerot, April Dolber, Luna Lee.

Let’s give them all a big round of applause!🥳

To all of the students who joined our Art Challenges and Viking Quizzes this year — thank you for your creativity, excitement, and Viking spirit. 💙💛
To all of the teachers and families who supported and encouraged our students along the way — thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

This newsletter was something very new for me. I’m not a designer, and English is not my first language, but I truly tried my best to create something fun and meaningful for our students each month. Seeing the students enjoy it, participate, and look forward to the activities made every moment worth it. It brought me so much happiness and joy throughout the year.😄⭐

I would also like to sincerely thank our amazing PTA members, our principal and assistant principals, our wonderful office team, our newsroom students, and especially our librarian, Mrs. Siwert, for always supporting and encouraging this project.

It truly takes a village to create something special for children — and I feel so grateful to be part of such a kind and supportive Viking community. 💙💛
Thank you for an unforgettable year, Vikings. We can’t wait to see all the amazing things our students will continue to create in the future.⭐✨

With love,
Skylar Ha
VP of Social, VRES PTA

Thursday April 30th is this month's SCA spirit day! Students are invited to dress like their hero.

The SCA would like to ask your help for their spring snack drive! As we head into a season of SOLs and end of year activities our leadership students want to make sure everyone has access to a snack during the school day. Through May 1 we are collecting individually wrapped, nut-free, healthy snacks to distribute to classrooms.