🌟 Empowering Student Voice

As we move into the 3rd quarter, we are proud to celebrate the incredible progress our students are making. They are consistently showing academic growth and demonstrating strong leadership qualities throughout the school day. Through our Leader in Me framework, we empower students to participate, innovate, and take ownership of their learning while developing the confidence to use their voices in meaningful and impactful ways. Leader in Me teaches students to set goals, collaborate with others, take initiative, and reflect on their progress—skills that help them grow as leaders within their classrooms, school, and community. This work is important because when students are given authentic opportunities to lead and influence positive change, they become more motivated, develop a stronger sense of self-worth, and show increased effort and persistence. By nurturing student voice and leadership at both school and home, we help all students recognize their strengths and view themselves as capable, valued contributors to our learning environment.

🏡 Strategies to Empower Student Voice at Home

Encourage goal setting: Ask your child to set a simple academic or personal goal for the week and talk about their progress.
Offer choices when possible: Let your child choose between two tasks, activities, or routines to help them practice decision‑making.
Invite them to share opinions: During family discussions, ask questions like “What do you think we should do?” or “How would you solve this?”

February 2026

Monday, February 16th: No School is recognition of Presidents' Day
Wednesday, February 18th: Strings Pyramid Concert at Hampton Middle School 6:30pm
Wednesday, February 25th: PAC Meeting 5:30pm

March 2026

Friday, March 6th: Cosmic Bowling 6pm - 7pm
Thursday, March 12th: Spirit Night at SkyZone 4pm - 9pm
Friday, March 13th: Career Day 10am - 2pm. If you would like to be a presenter, please register here: Neabsco Career Day 2026- Presenter Interest Form – Fill out form
Monday, March 16th - 23rd: Spring Bookfair
Tuesday, March 17th: Leprechaun Run
Wednesday, March 25th: PAC Meeting 5:30pm

⛄That's Some Snowwoman ⛄

This is Olympia, the world’s tallest snowman — snowwoman, actually. She was built in 2008 and named after Senator Olympia Snowe. The snowwoman stood 122 feet tall, with skis for her eyelashes and wreaths for her eyes. She wore a 100-foot long scarf, and waved 2 whole 27-foot tall trees as arms. And imagine lugging her 8-foot nose up there!

Wee ones: Olympia had 2 wreaths for eyes, 3 wreaths for jacket buttons, and 2 trees for arms. Of which leafy object did she wear the most?

Little kids: If the snowwoman-builders stuck on a green ski, then a silver one, then a blue, then a red, then started over with green, how many green skis did they use after sticking on 8 in total? Bonus: If they had 20 skis total and needed 8 skis for each eye, did they have enough skis for lashes for both eyes?

Big kids: Olympia’s scarf was 100 feet long, even though Olympia herself was 122 feet tall. How much taller than her own scarf was Olympia? Bonus: If they’d made Olympia by stacking 2 giant snowballs, with the bottom one 6 feet taller than the top one, how big would each snowball have had to be to total 122 feet?

Answers:
Wee ones: More wreaths.

Little kids: 2 green skis. Bonus: Yes, since they needed just 16.

Big kids: 22 feet. Bonus: 64 feet and 58 feet. If they’d been the same size, they’d each be 61 feet tall. As you make the bottom ball 1 foot bigger and the other 1 foot smaller, the difference between them grows by 2…so you go up 3 feet and down 3 feet from 61 to get 2 numbers that are 6 apart.

❄️ A Snowy Hello to Our Families!

We hope your family enjoyed the beautiful snow and the unexpected time to rest and recharge last week. Snow days offer a wonderful chance to slow down, spend time together, and—of course—discover new things through reading!

Snow also gives children a great opportunity to learn about the world right outside their window. Here are a few simple ways your family can connect reading to our winter weather and explore how snow affects the community around us:

⛄ Read About Snow Science

Curl up with a nonfiction book or short article about how snow forms, why it sticks, and what makes each snowflake unique.
✨ Builds science vocabulary and understanding of weather patterns.

🚜 Discover How Snow Impacts the Community

Read signs, announcements, or community alerts about school closures, road conditions, or snow removal.
✨ Helps children see how reading keeps communities informed and safe.

🧤 Observe & Record

Have your child read a simple weather forecast, then step outside to compare it to what they see.
✨ Connects reading to observation, measurement, and real-world experiences.

🏘️ Community Helpers in Action

Look up kid-friendly articles or books about the people who help during winter weather—plow drivers, emergency workers, utility crews, and volunteers.
✨ Builds appreciation and civic knowledge.

❄️ Snow Day Stories

Encourage your child to read a winter-themed story and then talk about how the characters handle winter weather.
✨ Deepens comprehension and connects text to real life.

We want to thank you for your enthusiasm to support literacy and learning.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Carolyn Matthews Matthecj@pwcs.edu, Jessica Monahan Monahaje@pwcs.edu or Jessica Hesser Hesserj@pwcs.edu.

Tutoring starts on Monday, February 9th!

The link to register your student for tutoring is still open. If you would like to sign up your student for tutoring, please fill out the form. Only register students who have not previously attended our tutoring sessions. Please contact Mrs. Morrone at morronbm@pwcs.edu, if you have any questions.

2026 Neabsco All In Virginia Tutoring Registration – Fill out form

All students who would like to attend a club new to sign up. There are more clubs that have been added for students in Kindergarten - Fifth Grade. Space is limited so make sure you sign up today!

Neabsco Elementary Clubs – Fill out form

Please note, Volleyball will not be held on Thursday, February 12th.

Please let Mrs. Morrone at morronbm@pwcs.edu if you have any questions.

Update: Student Transfer Requests for 2026–27❗️

PWCS is updating the student transfer request process for the 2026–27 school year. The transfer window will be open March 6 through April 30, 2026.

In addition, the process is now fully digital, making it easier for families to apply online—no paper forms required.

Visit the Student Transfer Request webpage for details and updates.

Each month, students will receive a themed template and a simple set of directions. Their task is to finish the picture in their own unique way. This month's theme: "It's NOT a heart!"

One student winner from each grade level will be selected based on:

Creativity: How unique and imaginative is the solution?
Effort: Does the entry show time and thoughtfulness?
Participation: Is the idea clearly expressed in the drawing or design?

Winners will have their artwork displayed in the cafeteria the following month and will also earn house points. Participation is not mandatory but highly encouraged. Students should not complete this during class time, unless approved by their teacher.

Interested in getting more involved as a Neabsco Parent?

Our children spend A LOT of time at school. Volunteering at your child's school gives you the opportunity to share in school-related experiences. It gives you more in common. It also allows you to see your children in a different environment. It’s rewarding to watch them as they put all the skills you’ve taught them into action.

Please reach out to our school's Parent Liaison to be added to our Volunteers list!

Steudlsd@pwcs.edu or call 571.589.4784

Family Engagement

Are you interested in learning or improving your knowledge of the English Language. There are resources for you!

PWCS provides Adult classes and among them are Adult English Classes:

Registration Link: Registration Information - Prince William County Public Schools
English Language Classes: English Language Classes - Prince William County Public Schools

All classes follow the PWCS school calendar. If you have questions about the class schedule or need additional information about classes, call 703-791-7357 or email AdultEd@pwcs.edu.

Literacy Volunteers Prince William:

Literacy Volunteers-Prince William 2235C Tackett's Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22192

email: lvapw@lvapw.org

website: lvapw.org

phone: 703.670.5702

To contact Neabsco's School Parent Liaison email, steudlsd@pwcs.edu or dial, 571.589.4784

Happy National School Counseling Week!

⭐Hello STARS,

This week, we celebrated National School Counseling Week, and we wanted to take a moment to share just how grateful we are to partner with administrators, staff, and families in supporting our students. Every day, we have the privilege of helping students grow socially, emotionally, and academically whether that is through individual check‑ins, small groups, classroom lessons, or simply being a safe adult they can count on.

Your children inspire us daily with their resilience, curiosity, and kindness. Thank you for trusting us to support them on their journey. Working together, both school and family, we help every child feel connected, capable, and cared for.

We are deeply honored to serve our Neabsco school community, and excited for all the growth and learning still ahead this year. Please know our doors are always open if you or your child needs anything. And to celebrate the week, check out this video created in collaboration with several PWCS school counselors: NSCW Amplify Student Success

With appreciation,
Lydia T. Larimore, M.Ed. School Counselor

Tyler Clewell, School Counselor Intern

Currently seeking peer models for Early Childhood

Neabsco Elementary School is currently looking for peer models for their Early Childhood

Special Education (ECSE) General 6x6 Preschool Class(es) for SY 2025-2026. Our ECSE General 6x6 preschool classrooms consist of 6 students that have IEPs for a variety of developmental delays and 6 typically developing children from the community to act as peer models. All students are ages 3-5 years old. Peer models must be 3 or 4 by September 30th of the attending school year. They should also have developmentally appropriate language, social skills, behavior, impulse control and they must be toilet trained. Potential peer models will participate in play groups and be selected before the first day of school. There is no cost for registration or enrollment in the peer model program. It is a half day program.

If interested, please email Benedicta Tsogoo at AddaiB@pwcs.edu, or

Houda Toloa at ToloaH-@pwcs.edu