News from the Nest

It was another great week of learning, celebrating, and connecting at Rockledge Elementary!

Thank you to our students, staff, and families for helping us celebrate Red Ribbon Week. Throughout the week, our Eagles participated in activities that encouraged them to make healthy, positive choices and show their school spirit. We appreciate everyone who joined in the fun and helped make the week such a success!

On Thursday, we came together for another exciting Nest Celebration! These celebrations are always a wonderful opportunity to recognize our students for demonstrating positive behaviors, strengthen connections across the school, and celebrate what it means to be part of the Rockledge community. This quarter's celebration included a friendly competition with a student and staff scooter race. There was plenty of cheering, laughter, and Eagle spirit as our students and staff raced to the finish line. It was a fun way to celebrate together!

Friday was filled with creativity and excitement as our students and staff celebrated Storybook Character Day. It was wonderful to see the hallways filled with characters from so many favorite books. Thank you to our families for helping bring these stories to life and for encouraging a love of reading in our students!

We also celebrated our Eagles of the Month on Friday! We are so proud of these students for demonstrating the qualities and behaviors that help make Rockledge such a special place to learn.

Congratulations to all of our Eagles of the Month! We loved having the opportunity to recognize and celebrate you.

We are incredibly proud to share that Rockledge was recognized with the Green Flag Award at last week's School Board meeting! This special honor reflects the commitment and hard work of our students and staff and their dedication to making a positive impact on our school and environment. We are so proud of our Eagles and grateful to everyone who helped make this achievement possible. Way to SOAR, Rockledge!

Our second Family Engagement Night will be held on Wednesday, November 4, from 5:30–6:30 p.m. This session will focus on reading and math and is designed to help families:

• Develop a stronger understanding of our ELA and math curricula

• Learn how to interpret reports about their child's academic performance

• Discover practical strategies for supporting learning at home

Please RSVP using this form. We hope you can join us for an informative evening as we continue working together to support the success of every Eagle!

As a reminder, there will be no school for students on Monday, November 2, and Tuesday, November 3. These days are designated for parent-teacher conferences and teacher preparation for the second quarter. We appreciate our families taking the time to connect with teachers during conferences. This partnership between home and school is an important part of supporting our students as they continue to learn and grow.

We will hold our Veterans Day Assembly on Monday, November 9. During this special program, the winners of our writing contest will have the honor of reading their essays. Students are encouraged to show their patriotic spirit by wearing red, white, and blue for the occasion. We look forward to coming together as a school community to honor and thank the brave men and women who have served our country. Please see the Veterans Day flyer for additional information.

Thank you for your continued partnership, support, and commitment to our school community. Whether you are participating in school events, supporting learning at home, celebrating our students, or simply encouraging your child each day, you are an important part of what makes Rockledge such a wonderful place. We are grateful for our amazing students, staff, and families and look forward to another great week together! Together, we will continue to learn, grow, and SOAR!

The Week Ahead:

Monday (Day 0)
~ No School for Students ~ Conference Day
Tuesday (Day 0)

.~ No School for Students ~ Conference Day

Wednesday (Day 5)
~ Wear your NEST shirt or Color

~ Family Engagement Night 5:30-6:30pm

Thursday (Day 6)
~

Friday (Day 1)
~ Wear your Spirit Wear or Green and Gold

Beyond the Week

• November 9: Veterans Day Assembly

• November 11: Veterans Day ~ No School

• November 13: Field Day

• November 17: Boosterthon Reward Day

• November 19: SAC and PTO Meetings

• November 20: Eagle of the Month Ceremony (by invitation)

• November 25-27: Thanksgiving Break ~ No School

• November 30: Book Fair Begins

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Dennis
Principal
Rockledge Elementary

Each month we will post grade level and team newsletters so families can access information for their student(s). Links will be updated as teams provide their newsletters. Please click on the link below.

We will hold our Veterans Day Assembly on Monday, November 9. During this special program, the winners of our writing contest will have the honor of reading their essays.

Students are encouraged to show their patriotic spirit by wearing red, white, and blue for the occasion. Please join us as we come together to honor and thank the brave men and women who have served our country.

Thank you to all the families who attended our first Family Engagement Night! Families received an informative overview of our reading and math programs, assessments, and resources to support learning at home. All students have received a deck of cards to play the math games linked here. Please let us know if you have any questions. If you were unable to attend, or would like to review the information again, please click here to access the presentation and resources that were shared. We look forward to seeing you at our second-quarter Family Engagement Night on November 4th from 5:15-6pm in the library.

We have several opportunities for our volunteers to help! We will be holding a Volunteer Orientation soon to renew our roster of volunteers. Once you are screened and approved, please reach out to Ms. Santos in the front office to schedule a time you are available. We have teacher requests just waiting for a volunteer to come to the rescue.

Congratulations to our weekly attendance winners in each grade level!

Kindergarten: Ms. Garrigan

1st Grade: Ms. Rodney-Cornette

2nd Grade: Ms. Wambugu and Ms. Yoo

3rd Grade: Ms. Scholz

4th Grade: Ms. Brown

5th Grade: Ms. Tice

Multi-Grade: Ms. Toone

Thank you for helping us reach our schoolwide goal to reduce chronic absenteeism! Let's see which classes will have the best attendance this coming week.

The Hidden Cost of Multitasking

Many children believe they can successfully do homework while watching videos, playing games, or checking messages. Research suggests that frequently switching between tasks can make it harder to focus and may be associated with attention, sleep, and well-being concerns.

✅ One screen, one task

✅ Homework and entertainment don't mix

✅ Focus is a skill that grows with practice

Helping children complete schoolwork in a distraction-free environment can improve concentration and encourage productive learning habits.

💡 Family Challenge: Create a distraction-free homework space by turning off notifications and putting away non-school devices during homework time.

Coming Next: Thanksgiving Break Technology Reminder: Setting Healthy Boundaries Before Extra Screen Time Begins.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools U.S. program recognized Rockledge Elementary for our commitment to sustainability and environmental education. We received Green Flag status, which honors our efforts to integrate sustainability initiatives, student leadership, and environmental learning into daily school culture. We were honored at the schoolboard meeting last week. Thank you to Ms. Swiggum and Ms. Simpson for your work on this project and bringing sustainability to life at Rockledge!

Overview of PBIS at Rockledge Elementary

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) at Rockledge Elementary School is a schoolwide framework designed to promote a safe, respectful, and productive learning environment for all students. The program focuses on explicitly teaching, modeling, and reinforcing positive behaviors rather than relying on punishment. PBIS helps improve student behavior, engagement, and overall school climate by creating consistent expectations and a shared understanding of how students should act in different settings.

At Rockledge, PBIS is supported through visual tools such as posters, expectation matrices, and behavior reminders placed throughout the school. These resources break down expectations into clear, student-friendly language for areas like classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, and playground. By consistently reinforcing expectations such as being respectful, responsible, and safe, the school builds a positive culture where students are recognized for meeting expectations and supported when they need help improving behavior.

Students earn eggs for exhibiting S.O.A.R. behaviors. These eggs are accumulated and redeemed for classroom, grade-level, and schoolwide rewards.

Please click on the "Rockledge S.O.A.R. Expectations" header above, or visit our website directly, to access each of our expectations posters, descriptions, and how you can support our efforts at home.

https://rockledgees.pwcs.edu/about/pbis/index

Please click on the link to view the PWCS Cell Phone-Free Education Policy. At Rockledge, we have implemented the PWCS bell-to-bell policy that limits cell phone use during the instructional day. Our shared goal is creating classroom environments where students are fully present—mentally, emotionally, and socially. The student-created slogan, “Stop the scroll, take control,” reminds us that this policy is about empowerment, not restriction. It is about reclaiming focus, restoring meaningful human connection, and giving our students every opportunity to thrive. For more information, I invite you to review the PWCS FAQ page.

Please join our PTO so you can be a part of the Eagles community! Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 19th from 6:00-7:00pm in the Library.

The purpose of a school advisory council is to provide opportunities for members of the school community to participate in the decision-making process at the local school level. A primary function of the council is to serve as an advisory body to the principal and school leadership team.

The school advisory council function is connected to the Prince William County Schools Strategic Plan, supporting Commitment 3- Family and Community Engagement, Objective 3.1- Prince William County Schools will engage families as authentic partners in education to support academic progress.

Our next meeting will be Thursday, November 19th at 5:15pm in the conference room.

6:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, 2026 – Live Zoom Webinar

Target Audience: All PWCS students and families

Join us on Thursday, November 5, for a webinar with Prince William Public Libraries and discover that your local library offers much more than books!

Learn about free resources and opportunities that support reading, learning, and family engagement both in and outside the classroom. Discover how the library serves as a welcoming community hub where families can connect, learn, create, and access valuable resources that support academic success and family well-being. Whether you're a frequent library visitor or haven't visited in years, this session will help you make the most of everything your public library has to offer.

Presenter for this session: Rachel Lamantia, Manager of Community Outreach Services, with Prince William Public Libraries

All requests for language accommodations are due by November 2, 2026.

• Register for the webinar
• Request language accommodations

ARRIVAL

• Supervision of students begins at 9:10am. Please stay with your students until that time. If they are walking by themselves, or with friends, students should arrive no earlier than 9:10am.
• When walking your student(s) to school, please say your goodbyes and wave from The Island. This will help us ensure we are getting students safely across the bus loop area.
• Please remember the church parking is not available for parking Tuesday-Thursday as they have parents bringing little ones to their program. Thank you for being good neighbors and keeping their students safe too.
• If your students are a Drop and Go, please have students hop out on the school side of the car with their things ready to go. We want to keep the flow moving as best we can. Also, a reminder there is NO PARKING in the drop off area and no U-turns on Mariner Drive. Please help us keep all of our students safe by following these procedures.

ATTENDANCE and GOING HOME CHANGES

• Please report student absences in ParentVue (use this link for directions ).
• Please email any going home change information to Ms. Rodriguez before 3:30pm and check for a confirmation email in return.

DISMISSAL

• Please make sure the adult picking up your student(s) has the tag you were issued. Pictures of tags are discouraged as we will need to have you wait until we can double check your ID before releasing your child. I have asked all staff to adhere to this requirement as we take our responsibility to keep your children safe very seriously, even if you are already recognizable by staff members.
• The playground will be open after buses leave school grounds.