The Chameleon Connection

GQES Vision: Thriving Literacy Community in a STEM School

GQES Mission: We BELIEVE!

Week 1: August 10-14, 2026

Dear GQES Chameleon Families,

What a great turnout we had for our Back-to-School Open House! We hope you could feel the excitement throughout the building and in our halls. It was wonderful to see so many of our Quarles families!

We need your help. We have approximately 50 students who still need to complete their annual verification forms for returning students. These forms help us ensure that we have the most up-to-date information for your child, including contact information, transportation plans, and other important details. If you have already completed the forms—thank you! If you have not yet completed them, please follow the instructions below to do so as soon as possible.

We have received great feedback about the dismissal plan changes for this school year, and now we get to put the plan into action! Please keep in mind that arrival and dismissal may take longer than usual this week as we establish new routines and procedures. For our car riders, not all families will have their car rider tags right away as students are still registering. When a tag is not available, staff will need to manually verify the information in PowerSchool before calling your child to the loading zone. This will take some additional time.

We are working hard to establish a system that is safe, efficient, and supportive of all our students and families. We truly appreciate your patience, understanding, and support as we get these new routines up and running. Please take a moment to review the arrival and dismissal procedures below.

As we head into a new school year, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with each of you in your child's learning. Thank you for trusting us with your children and for being such an important part of our Quarles community! If you have any questions, please contact the main office at 540-662-3575.

Jennifer DiMarco
Principal, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School

Erika Berry,

Assistant Principal, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School

The Annual Verification Form must be completed EVERY YEAR for students in grades 1-12 returning to Winchester Public Schools. Please use the PowerSchool Parent Portal to complete the Annual Verification Form for each returning student in your household.

Do NOT complete the form if...

• Please do not re-submit your form after it has been approved.
• This form should not be completed for new student registrations.

Here's How To Do It:

The steps below are provided with more detail in these step-by-step guides: Annual Forms on Web Browser and Annual Forms on Mobile.

Step 1: Visit the PowerSchool Parent Portal at https://pwrschl.wps.k12.va.us/public/and sign in. If you forget your log in information, use the “Forgot Username or Password?” button. If you need additional assistance to set up a PowerSchool Parent Portal account, have your email address ready and contact your school’s Registrar by calling the front office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Step 2: Choose the child’s name in the top left corner.

Step 3: Click on “Forms” in the left column.

Step 4: Complete the “RETURNING STUDENT ONLY (Grade 1-12): Annual Verification Form.” The status will say pending until reviewed by a Registrar.

Please Note: If you have moved and changed addresses, you will need to provide proof of residency. If you have an updated vaccine record, you will need to upload it to your Parent Portal.

We are excited to welcome all students back to begin the 26-27 school year on Tuesday, August 11th. Arrival begins at 7:20 a.m. and the tardy bell rings at 7:50 a.m. Dismissal is at 2:30 p.m. Please be mindful that it takes time to establish school-wide dismissal routines and that our car rider procedure and buses will take additional time to load the first one to two weeks. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

We are excited to welcome our students each morning beginning at 7:20 a.m. Whether your child walks, rides the bus, or arrives by car, our goal is to ensure a safe, smooth, and positive start to every school day.

• If your child is a car rider, please wait to drop them off until GQES staff members are outside and stationed at the colored cones in the parking lot. Five (5) cones will be set up to allow up to five students to safely exit their vehicles with their belongings at one time.
• To help keep traffic moving safely and efficiently, please remain in a single-file line and do not pass other vehicles. Students should only be dropped off in the designated unloading area at the colored cones.
• If you need to get out of your vehicle to assist your child, please park in a legal parking space before exiting your car.
• When leaving the parking lot, you may either continue straight onto Cameron Street or turn right onto Southwerk Street.

Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and partnership. By following these procedures, you help us create a safe and welcoming arrival for every GQES student. We look forward to seeing everyone each morning!

• Bus Rider
• Chameleon Convoy (Walkers) with four (4) location
• A: Kent/Whitlock
• B: Whitlock/South Loudoun
• C: South Loudoun/Southwerk
• D: Southwerk/Kent
• Car Rider

VERY IMPORTANT DISMISSAL UPDATES FOR ALL STUDENTS:

• No transportation changes after 1:30 p.m. (If you need to make a change to your child's afternoon dismissal plan, please call the main office at 540-662-3575 before 1:30 p.m. and talk to a front office staff member.)
• No students being signed out after 2 p.m. (If you need to sign your child out early, you need to do this before 2 p.m.)
• For safety and emergency purposes, our GQES parking lot will be close daily at 2 p.m. and will reopen at 2:25 p.m. to begin our car rider dismissal procedures.

Car Rider Procedures

We will open our GQES parking lot at 2:25 to begin the dismissal process for our car riders. We will start calling students with the first vehicle that enters our parking lot when it is opened. If you arrive before 2:25, there may be space available to park northbound on South Loudoun Street.

• If you will be picking up your child by vehicle, please display your child's car tag on the passenger side of the front windshield each day. Each child will receive three (3) car tags at the Back to School Open House on 8/6/26. We also ask that you have a photo ID available, if needed, to help us ensure every student is safely matched with the appropriate adult.
• Our goal is to load five (5) vehicles at the colored cones at a time. This is a new dismissal process for our school, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work together to make it safe, smooth, and efficient for everyone.
• To help keep traffic moving, please remain in a single-file line and do not pass other vehicles. Students will only be loaded into vehicles in the designated loading area at the colored cones.
• When leaving the parking lot, you may either continue straight onto Cameron Street or turn right onto Southwerk Street.

Thank you for your cooperation and partnership in helping us provide a safe and positive dismissal for all of our students. Your support makes a difference, and we appreciate your patience as everyone becomes familiar with our new procedures.

As you make appointments and plans, please keep your child’s learning and attendance in mind by reviewing the WPS 2026-2027 Division Calendar.

August 11: First Day of School

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At Garland R. Quarles Elementary School, we use Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to educate all children on appropriate social skills and to prevent inappropriate behavior by teaching and expecting all students to be kind, safe, and responsible. This defining, teaching, and supporting of appropriate student behavior creates a positive school environment for all. We believe in this process and its benefit for children and want to invite you to give us some feedback before the start of school. Please use this link to give us feedback. Thank you for supporting the start of a successful year!

Please review the WPS Student & Parent Handbook.