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The Weekly Roar

Monday, November 17, 2025

Welcome Back, Mrs. Opie!

Students and staff members alike were thrilled to welcome our principal, Mrs. Opie, back from maternity leave on Friday. Student Ambassadors created “Welcome Back” banners and other decorations and formed a cheer squad to greet her on her "first day of school" for the year.

Thank you, Dr. Desman!

On Thursday, our social worker, Mrs. Earl, Assistant Principal Mrs. Lopez, and our office staff accepted a generous donation of school supplies worth nearly $600 from Dr. Eric Desman's office at the nearby Virginia Center for Plastic Surgery. We love our local business partnerships!

PreK Class Celebrates Family Learning

This morning, students and parents from our PreK class gathered together to read a story, share about classroom learning and routines, and create Thanksgiving table decorations to take home. We are so happy to have these little Lions as part of our school this year! 

Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, 11/18 – Family Life Education (FLE) Materials Virtual Preview Night, 6 p.m. (see article below for details)
• Tuesday, 11/18 & Wednesday, 11/19 – PTA Restaurant Days at Delia’s (all day)
• Wednesday, 11/19 – Early Release Wednesday, students dismissed 3 hours early at 1:05 p.m., UNLESS the school has been notified they need to stay until 4:05
• Monday, 11/24 – Special Spirit Day: “Anything But a Backpack” Day, bring your stuff to school in anything but a backpack
• Tuesday, 11/25 – Special Spirit Day: “6-7” Day, celebrate these meme numbers in your own style
• Wednesday, 11/26 through Friday, 11/28 – Thanksgiving Holiday, school and office CLOSED
• Monday, 12/1 through Friday, 12/5 – Library Book Fair
  • Wednesday, 12/3 – Family Night, 5 – 8 p.m.
• Thursday, 12/4 – PTA Meeting (in person or online), 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 12/11 – Winter Chorus Concert, 6 p.m.
• Thursday, 12/18 – 6th Grade Band and Strings Concert, 6:30 p.m.
• Monday, 12/22 through Friday, 1/2/26 – Winter Break

In This Issue

• Message from Mrs. Opie
• Next Early Release Wednesday Is This Week! Please Notify the School of Changes to Your Plans
• Family Life Education (FLE) Materials Virtual Preview Night Tuesday, November 18
• The Book Fair Is Coming to the Lane Library! Volunteers Needed!
• More News from the Lane Library: Overdue Notices
• Federal Impact Aid Survey Forms Sent Home Last Week; Please Return as Soon as Possible
• New “Share Table” Cafeteria Program Helps Limit Food Waste
• PTA News: Restaurant Days at Delia’s this Tuesday and Wednesday
• Parent Resources: New parent controls in Lightspeed, upcoming immunization clinics, free webinars
• Community Events & Activities: Hayfield Secondary presents The Wizard of Oz this weekend, Art Market on December 12

News & Notes

Message from Mrs. Opie

Dear Lane Families,

I hope this message finds you well!

I am absolutely thrilled and energized to be back with you all after my maternity leave! Friday marked my official first day back on campus, and it was truly a joy. Walking the halls and stepping into classrooms, I loved seeing all of our wonderful students. Their bright smiles and incredible energy for being happy at school were palpable, and it reminded me again what a special place Lane is. Thank you for that incredible welcome back!

Our Focus Ahead

As we move forward together, I am excited to jump right back into the hard work of pursuing our School Innovation and Improvement goals. These goals are closely aligned with the Fairfax County Public Schools’ Strategic Plan and remain focused on three vital areas:

• Reading Success: Ensuring every student develops strong literacy skills.
• Attendance: Promoting consistent daily attendance because every moment in class matters.
• Academic Progress: Driving continuous growth and success for all students with a focus on math and science here at Lane.

Partnering with Our Families

We are already off to a fantastic start thanks to the support we felt from our families during the first quarter. Thank you for everything you do at home to support learning and for partnering with our teachers and staff!

I am personally looking forward to continuing to build strong relationships with all of our families throughout the year. Please stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to connect and learn with us—we have some exciting things planned!

In the meantime, my door is always open (or my email inbox is!). Please do not hesitate to reach out to connect with me directly.

Warmly,
Mrs. Opie
Principal, Lane Elementary

Next Early Release Wednesday Is This Week! Please Notify the School of Changes to Your Plans

Our next Early Release Wednesday will be this week on November 19. Students will be released three hours early that day at 1:05 p.m. We will once again offer supervised activities after school for those families with child-care hardship because of this new Early Release scheduling. This option is designed to be for students who have no other option.

To plan for our after-school groups this month, we will follow parent responses provided for the October Early Release last month. If you need to change your child’s plans from last month, please call the school office at 703-924-7700 no later than noon tomorrow (Tuesday, November 18). You may also reach out via email to our family liaison Melanie Crosby Hardy at macrosby@fcps.edu.

If we do not hear from you, we will send your child home or to daycare as previously directed.

Family Life Education (FLE) Materials Virtual Preview Night Tuesday, November 18

Students in grades K-6 participate in Family Life Education (FLE) instruction through their classroom teacher. Students in Kindergarten through grade 3 receive instruction in an emotional and social health unit. Students in grades 4-6 receive instruction in a human growth and development unit and an emotional and social health unit. For more information about the FCPS Family Life Education program, please see the detailed grade-level program descriptions at https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-family-life-education-fle.

In addition, grade level-specific curriculum lessons are available for review in multiple locations.

• Online in Schoology – includes lessons and media titles that FCPS has streaming rights for. Any additional media or book titles that are not streamed are available at your child’s school library.
  • Parents/guardians log in to Schoology using the same username and password as their Student Information System (SIS) Parent account.
• Your child’s school – Please contact the school to schedule a time to review lessons and/or media.
• City of Fairfax Regional Library – lessons only. Media is not available.

You are invited to attend an evening opportunity to preview the Family Life Education media and lessons and to talk with school staff about the program. This virtual meeting will be held tomorrow evening, November 18, 2025, at 6 p.m. You can join the session using this link: https://myfcpsk12.zoom.us/j/94407436408?pwd=4vxTcF4syLO5amlCxVqRRZvLktj8rx.1.

All program materials and media for all grade levels will be available for your review at this time.

Parents/guardians who do not wish to have their child participate in FLE instruction may choose to opt their child out of any or all of the lessons. If you would like to opt your child out of one or more lessons, please fill out the form provided to you in your child’s orientation packet at the beginning of the school year or you may access the opt-out forms online at https://www.fcps.edu/academics/elementary-family-life-education-fle. If you have already indicated your desire to opt your child out of FLE lessons by using the form provided earlier in the school year, you do not need to complete another form. Should you opt your child out and then later decide you want your child included in FLE instruction, you must notify your child’s school principal in writing before instruction begins.

The Book Fair is Coming to the Lane Library! Volunteers Needed!

Monday, December 1, through Friday, December 5 – In Person
Tuesday, November 25, through Monday, December 8 – Online

Please visit the fair website: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/laneelementaryschool3. You will find information about:

• Volunteering (Or you can go directly to this link: https://fcps.samaritan.com/custom/501/opp_details/2547. If you have not yet registered on the Volunteer FCPS system, you will be prompted to create an account and fill out an application.)
• setting up an eWallet
• online shopping.

Here’s what’s happening:

• Monday, December 1, through Wednesday, December 3: Student Preview Days (no purchasing during the school day). Students will get a chance to look at fair items and create wish lists.
• Wednesday, December 3, 5 to 8 p.m.: Family Night! Purchasing begins for students and families.
• Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5: Student Purchasing Days. Students will have a chance to purchase items during the school day at a scheduled time.

Family members may also come in on Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. to purchase items. If you come in during these times to purchase items, please do not pull your child out of class to join you to minimize interruptions of learning in the classroom.

We accept cash, credit cards, and checks (payable to Lane PTA), and we have a digital payment option: eWallet. Now your student can shop the Fair cash-free!

Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and to create an account. We strongly encourage the use of eWallet to avoid lost money! Unused money turns into a Scholastic gift certificate that can be used for other Scholastic items.

Please note that the in-school fair ends at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, December 5.

We will also hold an online book fair, with items available for purchase Tuesday, November 25, through Monday, December 8.

Proceeds from both the in-person and online fairs support the Lane Library, which is used by all students and teachers at Lane, and the larger Lane community as well.

We’re so excited about the fair! For more information, please also visit https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/laneelementaryschool3.

Questions? Please contact Sue Chozick, Librarian, at schozick@fcps.edu.

Thank you for your support!

More News from the Lane Library: Overdue Notices 

Dear Lane Readers,

Overdue notices were sent out on Thursday, November 6, to students who have books that were due on or before October 31. Please do your best to look for these books and return them in good condition! It is also possible that books have been sent to school but have not yet made it to the library. If this is the case, apologies in advance for the crossed communication.

As a reminder, there are no fines for overdue books; however, families are expected to pay the replacement cost for lost or damaged books.

Contact Sue Chozick, Librarian, at schozick@fcps.edu with any questions.

Federal Impact Aid Survey Forms Sent Home Last Week; Please Return as Soon as Possible

The Federal Impact Aid program provides money to districts that enroll federally connected students. Help FCPS secure funding from the Impact Aid Program by helping us identify:

• military families,
• federally connected families,
• families living on a military base.

In last week’s Wednesday Folders, you should have found a paper copy of the 2025-2026 Impact Aid Survey form for each of your children enrolled at Lane (if you have not already completed the forms online). Please complete each form for each child in your household. The parent who registered the student with FCPS (the "enrolling parent") should fill out the Impact Aid Survey form.

Please return this form as soon as possible. Your support will ensure that we receive the resources for which we are eligible. Your information will be kept strictly confidential.

If you prefer to complete the form and sign it electronically, follow the steps below to do so through your ParentVUE account.

To access the Impact Aid Form from your computer or mobile device, we recommend using Google Chrome.

Step 1: CLICK HERE or type sisparent.fcps.edu into your Chrome address bar to be taken to SIS ParentVUE. If you don’t have a SIS ParentVUE account, contact your child’s school for an activation letter.

Step 2: After you’ve logged into your ParentVue Account, look for the ‘Online Packets’ link at the top of the page. Click ‘Online Packets.’

Step 3: Next, click the ‘Federal Impact Aid Survey’ button on the bottom of the page. This will take you to the Impact Aid Survey for you to complete.

If you have multiple children in Fairfax County Public Schools, please fill out a form for each child. You will know you have completed all of the forms when you get to the final page and see a green check next to each of their names.

Technical support for using ParentVUE or submitting the survey online is available by submitting a Parent Support Request ticket. Select SISParent in the Application dropdown menu and type “Federal Impact Aid Survey” in the Issue Description section. You may also call the Parent Technology Help Desk at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS).

Thank you for your cooperation and support, and thank you to those families who’ve already filled out the form!

New “Share Table” Cafeteria Program Helps Limit Food Waste

The Lane Cafeteria is now part of the Share Table program! This new initiative from FCPS Food and Nutrition Services is designed to help schools reduce food waste. Here's how it works:

• During lunch, students can place uneaten, unopened, and shelf-stable packaged food items in the Share Table bin at the end of their class table. This includes things like Cheez-Its, granola bars, sunflower seeds, and other packaged snacks.
• Any student who would like an extra item can take a food item from the bin.
• At the end of the lunch period, any remaining food in the share bin will be available to teachers for use as extra classroom snacks.

We are starting small this year by focusing only on shelf-stable packaged foods. We believe this is a great way to ensure that perfectly good food doesn't end up in the trash.

Please remind your child to raise their hand if they want to put something in the Share Table bin or take something out of it, just as they should whenever they need to get out of their seat in the cafeteria.

PTA News

Restaurant Nights at Delia’s Tuesday, November 18, and Wednesday, November 19

Join the PTA for its monthly restaurant fundraiser this Tuesday and Wednesday at Delia’s in Springfield. A percentage of the entire day’s sales to Lane families and friends on both days will be donated back to our school.

Join the PTA for Their December Meeting, Virtually or In Person, on Thursday, December 4, 6:30 p.m.

All Lane parents and caregivers are invited to attend the next PTA meeting on Thursday, December 4, at 6:30 p.m. in person in the Lane cafeteria or virtually on Google Meet. Discussion will include updates on plans for events and programs for 2026. Use this Google Meet link to join the session: meet.google.com/bgt-jmox-nhr.

Parent Resources

New Parent Controls in the Lightspeed Parent Portal

FCPS has enabled new parent controls within the Lightspeed Parent Portal to support families in managing screentime on FCPS devices at home. Parents can now manage their child's access to YouTube and pause web browsing on district-issued devices during designated "After School Hours" while students are off the FCPS network.

These parental controls are only active Monday-Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., and all day on weekends and student holidays when students are off the FCPS network. Parental controls do not interfere with district filtering policies during the instructional day. Parents can register for the Parent Portal using the link provided in their weekly Lightspeed Online Student Activity Report email.

For more information on Parent Portal, please visit the Lightspeed Parent Portal page on the FCPS website, which includes FAQs and a Parent Guide.

Immunization Events for FCPS Students

FCPS, in partnership with Inspire Health Alliance, will provide school-required immunizations and optional flu shots to all FCPS students at no cost. Additional dates will be made available throughout the school year.

Immunization clinics will take place on: