Franklin Sherman Elementary School PTA - McLean, VA

URGENT BOUNDARY ISSUE:
KENT GARDENS ES & IMPACT ON FRANKLIN SHERMAN

Families,

During last night's meeting about Kent Gardens boundary changes, we were surprised to see maps presented that show reassignment to new elementary schools for many of our Franklin Sherman families. There will be a FINAL COMMUNITY MEETING NEXT WEDNESDAY, 9/27, 6:30 - 8 PM, IN LONGFELLOW MIDDLE SCHOOL'S CAFETERIA; we urge you to review the maps (at the link below or via the QR code in the flyer that follows), and attend the meeting.
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fcps.edu%2Ffacilities-planning-future%2Fkent-gardens-capacity&data=05%7C01%7C%7C707a0ef548df4fe6b66508dbba1c936f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638308404113224813%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=du970kwdoBbSG0Q%2Fhu6%2BAuWml5xaut%2BNrYFvE8Izlhw%3D&reserved=0

JOIN US AFTER SCHOOL TODAY!
Celebrate a successful first week back to school with a sweet treat from Kona Ice. The Kona Ice Truck will be waiting in the school parking lot by the fields immediately after school. Join other Franklin Sherman families as we cap off the week and look forward to a great year ahead! A portion of sales will be given to the PTA to support our school.

Welcome back, everyone! Thanks to all the parents who joined us for the PTA’s Jitters & Joy Coffee this morning. It was great to see many new faces, reconnect with others, and celebrate the first day of school. Wishing everyone an amazing 2023-24!

Thanks to this hard-working crew, the Franklin Sherman garden area looks fresh and beautiful for our students’ return to school tomorrow. Shoutout to the Parsons family who spearheaded the effort. We greatly appreciate all your work!

The sidewalks are chalked and ready to greet our students upon their arrival tomorrow morning! Big thanks to Lisa Wynnyk and all of those who helped to create these special messages and beautiful drawings to welcome back the kids on their first day!

Thanks for sharing a cool ice pop on a sunny day at the PTA’s back-to-school social this afternoon! It was wonderful to see old friends and welcome families new to Franklin Sherman. If you didn’t have a chance to join the PTA or renew your membership, please visit https://franklinsherman.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true.

Thanks to dozens of generous contributions from Franklin Sherman families, the PTA welcomed back the school’s teachers and staff today with a smorgasbord of treats, including a refrigerator full of soft drinks and an impressive spread of fresh fruit, chips, cakes, candy, granola bars, and other snacks. We appreciate our wonderful Franklin Sherman staff!

Mark your calendar, and join the fun at our back-to-school events!
--8/17, 4-5 pm: Welcome Back Social with ice pops and DJ music, immediately following "Meet Your Teacher" open house (3-4 pm)
--8/20, 8:30 am: Chalk the Sidewalks to welcome students back with encouraging messages and drawings
--8/21, 9:10-9:45 am: Jitters & Joy Coffee to meet parents and commiserate/celebrate after first day of school drop-off

Almost 150 students have their school supply kits ordered! Don't forget to place your own order so that supplies are ready and waiting for your kids on their first day of school (August 21).

Did you know when you purchase your school supplies through Campus Survival Kits, the school receives credits for FREE REFILLS in January? The more parents purchase, the more teachers can get, so make your school supply dollar go further and order your kit today! www.campussurvivalkits.com/franklinsherman

Last weekend's play date for rising kindergarteners was a great success! Thanks to all of the families who were able to join us. The kids enjoyed the playground, soccer, painting, and snacks with their future classmates, while parents got to know other Franklin Sherman families.

If you missed this one, fear not! Three other playdates for rising kindergarteners are on the horizon:
-- Saturday, July 1, 9 am - 11 am
-- Sunday, July 23, 9 am - 11 am
-- Friday, August 4; time TBD

We hope you can join us!

We’ve reached the end of a great year! Thank you to our community for making Field Day and our Dance Party successes! A HUGE thank you to and .moore.56481 for organizing these events. Don’t forget to stop by our final event tomorrow 2-3 pm to grab some Kona Ice. Have a great summer!

Join us VIRTUALLY for our final PTA meeting of the year on today at 6:30 p.m. to officially vote to elect the PTA Board. There is NO inperson meeting.

Congratulations to past Franklin Sherman students on graduating high school! Our students loved seeing them parade through the halls on Monday. What a great tradition! Best wishes to the Class of 2023!

LAST CALL for pizza orders for Friday's Dance Party

We hope you'll join us for a fun evening of music and dinner at our End-of-Year, School-wide Dance Party this Friday, June 9 @ 6-8 p.m.

The PTA is taking orders for large pizzas from Listrani’s that can be picked up at the event from 6-6:30 p.m. A large pizza and four bottles of water is $15 and must be purchased in advance. Sales benefit the PTA. Place your order at fsespta.org.

All pizza orders must be placed by noon on Thursday, June 8, and there will be NO pizzas available to purchase on site. If you don't order pizza, please arrange to bring your own dinner.  

Thanks to the PTA, we'll also have a DJ that will take song dedications, a photo booth to capture memories, and an ice cream truck selling sweets. Please bring a blanket, chairs and lawn games of your choice. This event is weather permitting, so cross your fingers for sunshine. Parent supervision is required; this is not a drop off event.

Field Day and our Family Picnic is TOMORROW!
Bring your lunch and a blanket and join your student(s) for an outdoor picnic lunch at noon.

Please have your student(s) wear their grade t-shirts or colors:
Kindergarten - Green
1st - Yellow
2nd - Red
3rd - Navy blue
4th - Purple
5th - Turquoise
6th - Black
Enhanced autism classrooms - Tie-dye

Also, please send your child with the following:
A complete change of clothes
A change of shoes
Towel
Sunscreen (apply at home for young students)

5th graders harvested a second batch of lettuce from our school garden. All of it was delivered to SHARE of McLean yesterday. Way to go! 🥬

We wrapped up Teacher Appreciation Week with breakfast yesterday. Thank you to all of the families that contributed. What a delicious spread. Hope all of our teachers and staff had a great week!!❤️

WE LOVE OUR TEACHERS & STAFF! We hope we spoiled them for Teacher Appreciation Week with a stocked staff lounge, TWO lunches, and breakfast tomorrow. A big thank you to all of the families that donated, Randi Parker for organizing lunch from Sweet Leaf, Claire Talebian for organizing lunch from Balducci’s and Adrienne Dreyfuss for her tireless efforts to make all of our PTA programs happen.

Wow what a night! International Night was a huge success with more than 30 cultures represented. The time and effort the families and organizers put into this event made for a wonderful evening celebrating our diversity and tasting amazing foods from around the world.

Don't forget our PTA meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. 🏫 We have an exciting speaker, Jeff Lonnett, who will be discussing the 21st Century Skills that FCPS is implementing through the Portrait of a Graduate initiative. 🤔 If you want to stay informed about your child's education, this is a meeting you don't want to miss! 🍕 Plus, we'll be providing babysitting and pizza for kids 5 and up in the gym. 🧑‍👧‍👦 See you there!

Hey, parents! Tonight's the night to take a break from cooking and support Franklin Sherman at the same time! Join us at Big Buns McLean between 4 and 9 p.m. and mention FSES when ordering or select FSES when ordering online. Big Buns will generously donate 20% of FSES sales (excluding alcohol) to the PTA. Spread the word to your neighbors, friends, and colleagues - the more we order, the more we earn! Let's make this dining fundraiser a big success for our school.

👋 Are you looking for a fun way to learn more about what's happening in your child's school? Then join us for our upcoming PTA meeting on Thursday, March 16th @ 6:30 pm, right after Family Night at the Book Fair.

🕰️ We know it can be hard to find time in your busy schedules, but we promise this meeting will be worth it. Plus, if you bring your kids along, we'll provide babysitting and pizza in the gym so you can focus on the meeting without worrying about them.

👨‍🚒 And what's even more exciting is that we'll have two members of the McLean Fire Department joining us to teach hands-only CPR training. Did you know that every year, more than 356K people in the US suffer from sudden cardiac arrests, and 90% of those are fatal? That's why learning how to perform CPR can be life-saving.

🤝 We hope to see you there! If you can’t make it in person, check Monday’s newsletter for the Zoom link.

📣Attention Franklin Sherman parents!📣

Don't miss out on our upcoming Spirit Day Picnic Dinner on Friday, March 17 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. Dress up in your green spirit wear and join us for a night of fun, food, and music DJ'ed by Bach 2 Rock. We will have a musical instrument "petting zoo," lawn games, and a family scavenger hunt with prizes! 🎉

The PTA is selling Papa John's pizza for $12 which includes a large pizza and 4 bottles of water. You can choose cheese, pepperoni or half cheese/half pepperoni. Pre-order your pizza by Thursday at noon, and pick it up at the event between 5:30-6:30 p.m. The Kona Ice Truck will also be there selling sweet treats to benefit the school.

Order at fsespta.org/pizzaorder.html

We can't wait to celebrate with you and your family! If you miss the ordering deadline, please plan to bring your own food for dinner as we will not have extra pizzas for sale on site. See you there! 🍕🍦🎶

Happy Valentine’s Day! Sweet treats for a sweet staff! Thank you for the parents who contributed to this amazing lunch spread and for the volunteers who organized and set up. Your efforts mean so much to our community!

LOTS of stuff in Lost and Found (just not the teal coat we were looking for!) Retrieve lost items from the lobby until 4:30 p.m. today before they are donated.

Join us for our PTA meeting on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Our school counselor, Mr. Nielsen, will be giving a presentation on mental health resources available to our students. Babysitting and pizza will be provided for kids 5 and up in the gym. See Monday’s newsletter if you prefer to attend virtually.

Register for after-school activites by this Thursday, Jan. 12 at noon! Classes start next week and run until mid March. We hope you’ll sign up so that we can continue to have a robust offering. Our schedule is:
Tuesday: Basketball, Pottery, Yoga
Wednesday: Running, Floor Hockey, Cartooning
Thursday: Fencing & Archery, Cooking, Art Club with Miss Pam

These activities are coordinated and offered thanks to the PTA and parent volunteers. They are a benefit of PTA membership, and you must be a PTA member in order for your child to participate. Enrollment lists will be checked against our PTA membership roster.

https://bc-ffx-franklinsherman.jumbula.com/ #/winter-2023

Franklin Sherman is a host site for FCPA summer camps this year. When searching for offerings, don’t forget to check Franklin Sherman!

☀️ Fairfax County Park Authority summer camp registration for children ages 3 to 16 will begin on Jan. 10! Register by May 5 and receive an early-bird discount of $8 off each camp session. Choose from over 1,000 camp options and 50 locations across Fairfax County. Spots fill up quickly, so check the website for more info and plan in advance! http://ow.ly/1HH450MiyXw

Happy holidays to our teachers and staff!! Thank you to all of the families who contributed to this beautiful breakfast spread and to the PTA members who organized and set up.

Have your kids told you about the SHARE mitten tree in the lobby? Encourage them to grab a mitten (or use the link below to sign up) and then return a grocery gift card in the requested amount to the front office to the attention of the PTA before winter break. Spread the joy of helping those in need. Help us beat last year’s contribution of 46 gift cards from our school!

Sign up to contribute a gift card at https://m.signupgenius.com/ #!/showSignUp/4090848acac2da20-mitten

The Fall Garden Clean Up was a great success! A big thank you to Jon Parsons, scout Jack Jenkins, and all of the FSES and MHS volunteers for their hard work to create a beautiful space.

LAST CALL for Square 1 Art orders! Looking for the perfect holiday gift? Look no further than Square 1 Art, where you can purchases keepsakes featuring your child’s art AND raise money for the school. Use artwork created at school or upload your own. Our official order deadline is December 5, but today is the deadline for guaranteed pre-holiday delivery.

https://shop.square1art.com/Shop/artwork/Search

Please don’t forget to verify your family’s info for the school directory by Wednesday! Check your email for instructions or visit https://fsespta.membershiptoolkit.com. All families can access the online directory but only PTA members will receive a hard copy.

Missing your chair covers? These chair covers were left behind at movie night. Please contact Katie Broom if they’re yours.

Join us for the PTA meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria to hear from our board and Ms. Stoermann, our advanced academics teacher. We’re back in person along with babysitting and pizza for your kids! Bring them along, get their friends to come too, and they’ll love the privilege of playing in the gym. If you need the virtual option, please check your PTA newsletter from Monday morning for the Zoom info.

Thanks to all of the participants and organizers of our Monster Mash Dash 5k and 1-Mile Fun Run! What a great turnout and successful event! So many kids (and parents) burned off a lot of energy this morning in a healthy way to kick off Halloween.

Thanks to all of the participants and organizers of our Monster Mash Dash 5k and 1-Mile Fun Run! What a great turnout and successful event! So many kids (and parents) burned off a lot of energy this morning in a healthy way to kick off Halloween.

WOW! Thanks to everyone who supported the Dental Drive for SHARE. We’ve collected 17 lbs of supplies and the deadline to contribute is tomorrow! A big thanks to Katie Spillenkothen for organizing the effort!

Have you ever forgotten a school deadline or activity? We realize parents get A LOT of emails. To help you cut through the clutter, the PTA is trying out occasional, short text reminders to help parents not miss out. If you'd like a reminder about the next ordering deadline, next picture day, or next PJ day, etc. please text "FSES OPT IN" to [email protected] from the phone number where you'd like receive text messages (sending an email will not work).