FALCON FAMILY NEWS

Welcome Back!

Happy First Day of School! 🎉

We are so excited to welcome our Falcon families back to North Frederick Elementary today! There is nothing quite like the energy of the first day of school, and we are looking forward to an incredible year of learning, growing, and making memories together.

As we begin the year, we want to highlight one area where our partnership with families is especially important: transportation safety.

With nearly 700 students arriving and departing each day, a safe and smooth dismissal requires all of us to work together. Our number one priority is making sure every student gets home safely. Your attention to the following reminders makes a tremendous difference.

🚍 One Clear Transportation Plan

Please help us by identifying one primary way your child will go home each day. If your child’s transportation needs to change, please call or email the school first thing that morning so we have time to make the appropriate arrangements.

If your family regularly splits transportation, for example, a student rides the bus on some days and is picked up by car on others. Please consider whether the bus stop could work for those days when someone else is responsible for pickup. The more consistent we can make transportation, the safer and smoother dismissal will be for everyone.

Transportation changes cannot be made after 2:00 p.m. Once dismissal procedures are underway, last minute changes create significant challenges for our staff and can disrupt the careful process we have in place to account for every student. Please do not email the front office late in the day and expect that they will see the email and make a transportation change. If there is a change prior to 2:00, please email Alexandra.Brown@fcps.org and the classroom teacher.

🚗 Car Rider Safety

Please follow the car rider times listed below. These designated times are important because they help us keep the car rider line moving and prevent traffic from backing up onto Motter Ave.

Pre-K and Kindergarten families: We encourage you to arrive early within your designated time slot 2:45-2:55. This gives you a little extra time to help your child get settled into the car.

For our later car rider time (grades 1-5), please be prepared to load your child and pull forward as quickly and safely as possible so we can keep the line moving. Please do not pull in our parking lot until 2:55 since this does create a backup.

Car Rider procedures- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xHoY4MVUHPDhQ3a0R_KjyR-lzdJVmpJS-IwoWbeF9pI/edit?tab=t.0

🚶 Walker Reminders

When you designate your child as a walker, please make sure they are able to walk home independently or that a parent/adult will be waiting to meet them each day.

Once a student leaves school property as a walker, the responsibility for their safe arrival home rests with the family. When a child is designated as a walker, we are trusting that the family has made the appropriate arrangements for that student.

🏷️ Please Keep Transportation Tags On!

One final reminder: Please do not remove the colored transportation tag from your child’s backpack.

These tags are an important visual tool for our staff as we learn our students’ transportation routines. We ask that they remain on backpacks for at least the first month of school, and possibly longer, as we work to ensure every student is dismissed the correct way.

If your child’s transportation changes, please contact the school first thing in the morning. We will provide your child with the appropriate transportation tag for that day.

💙 Thank You for Partnering With Us

We know dismissal can feel like a big undertaking at the beginning of the year, and we truly appreciate your patience, flexibility, and partnership as we establish routines.

Every one of these small steps from communicating transportation changes early to keeping those transportation tags on backpacks helps us ensure that every student gets where they need to go safely.

Thank you for trusting us with your children and for being such an important part of the Falcon Family.

Here’s to a fantastic first day and an amazing school year!

One Team. One Dream.
Every Student, Every Day.

NFES School Hours

Students will arrive between 7:50 AM-8:15 AM

Instruction starts at 8:20 AM (Students who arrive after 8:20 will be marked late.)

Dismissal will begin at 2:50 PM

Important Dates

Wed, August 19th: 1st Day of School for Students grades 1-5; first day of staggered start for Kindergarten; PK family conferences
Thur, August 20th: 2nd day of staggered start for Kindergarten; PK family conferences
Fri, August 21st: 3rd day of staggered start for Kindergarten; 1st day of staggered start for Pre-K
Mon, August 24th: All kindergarten students report for day 2; 2nd day of PK staggered start
Tue, August 25th: final day PK staggered start
Wed, August 26th: All PK come to school
Thur, September 3rd: School Spirit Day & Back to School Night Grades 1-5 4:45-6:00
Mon, September 7th: Labor Day No School

26.27 Staff List

2026-2027 School Meals and Meal Benefits

2026-2027 Lunch Cost: $2.95

Students at NFES receive a free breakfast

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2026-2027 Free and Reduced-price Meal Benefits

Apply Online at LINQConnect.com

IMPORTANT: Families must be approved each new school year. Even if your student has been approved every previous school year, please contact the FNS office to verify current meal benefit status. Last year’s benefits only carry over for the first 30 school days. Without a 2026-2027 meal benefits approval, your student(s) will have to pay for meals starting Thursday, October, 1st.

If you received a 2026-2027 NOTICE TO HOUSEHOLDS OF MEAL BENEFIT APPROVAL or NOTICE OF DIRECT CERTIFICATION Email or Letter, do NOT complete an application. IMPORTANT: Contact the FNS Office to verify 2026-2027 Meal Benefits status of any children in your household NOT listed on letter.
If any children in your household receive SNAP or TCA BENEFITS, do NOT complete an application. IMPORTANT: Contact the FNS office by phone or email to verify 2026-2027 meal benefit status.

Schoology Support

https://www.fcps.org/families_students/schoology

North Frederick ES T-Shirts

Last year, North Frederick Elementary purchased a school spirit T-shirt for every student. We intentionally ordered sizes that we hoped would fit each child for several years while they attend North Frederick.

This year, we will provide a free spirit T-shirt to all students who are new to North Frederick Elementary. These shirts are worn for field trips, spirit days, track meet, challenge 24 tournament and any other school wide events.

If you would like to purchase an additional spirit T-shirt for your child, please complete this Google Form https://forms.gle/YYruWoTP5fUaHzxk8 by listing your child's name and requested size. The cost is $10 per shirt, and payment must be made through SchoolCash Online. Important- the 26.27 SchoolCash online will be open beginning Monday, July 20th.

Please note that we are only able to order shirts that have been paid for. After submitting this Google Form https://forms.gle/YYruWoTP5fUaHzxk8, be sure to complete your payment through SchoolCash Online to ensure your order is included. (SchoolCash online opens July 20th)

If you need support with School Cash Online, please reach out to Melissa Bishop in the front office.

https://FrederickCounty.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/67724/82/False/True Thank you for your continued support in helping us provide the best possible experience for our Falcons.

Information Worth Repeating

Smooth Rides Start Here! (Car Rider Dismissal 26.27)

After seeing the positive impact of our revised car rider dismissal procedures last year, we are excited to continue the process this year with a few adjustments designed to further improve efficiency and safety.

For our NEW NFES families: To ensure a safe and efficient dismissal for all students, it is important that every family follows our car rider procedures and arrival timeline. Arriving too early causes traffic to back up onto Motter Avenue, creating a safety concern for our students, families, and the surrounding community. By following the designated arrival times outlined below, you help us keep traffic moving smoothly and dismissal running safely.

All Specialized Programs families will be invited to pick up in the back of the school from 2:30-2:40. If you miss that window, no worries, you can join the car rider line in the front of the building.
All PK & K families will have a window from 2:45-2:55 before students in 1-5 are dismissed. If you miss that window, no worries, you are welcome to pick up until 3:15 each day.
All 1-5 families will have a window of 2:55-3:20 to pick up your car rider.

*Car Rider tags will be distributed to all families on Monday, August 17th during Meet the Teacher.*

FCPS Volunteers- REQUIRED to chaperone field trips, volunteer in the classroom or for class parties

Select the appropriate language below to begin the integrated volunteer training and application:

English Volunteer Application
Spanish Volunteer Application

Please go to the FCPS Volunteer Page for more information https://www.fcps.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=74633453&pageId=74720886

August 5th Family Newsletter

NFES Family Handbook

NFES 26.27 PTA

26.27 PTA Officers:

President – Alicia Graves

Vice President –Grant Otto

Secretary – Jaclyn Bowens

Treasurer – Sarah Kurtanich

The NFES PTA is excited for a wonderful new school year! We’d love for every NFES family to be part of our school community.

🌟 Join the NFES PTA!

PTA membership is a great way to support our students and teachers, stay connected, and help make NFES an amazing place for our children. You don’t have to attend every meeting or volunteer at every event—every family can participate in a way that works for you!

👉 Join the NFES PTA today!

We need your help!

We are looking for volunteers to help with Teacher Appreciation, the Book Fair, and Spirit Wear throughout the school year!

📧 Email northfrederickpta@gmail.com if you’re interested in helping!

📣 Save the Date: First PTA General Session Meeting

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • 5:00 PM
📍 North Frederick Elementary School Cafeteria

Everyone is welcome—even if you’re not a PTA member!

26.27 FCPS School Calendar

STAY INFORMED

Communication is very important to your child’s success at school and we want to keep you informed of what is going on at North Frederick Elementary School. We do not want you to miss important information.