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Dear Westridge Families,

Thank you for helping us celebrate Custodial Appreciation Week! Your kindness in honoring Alvaro Florero and Marleny Fernandez showed them how much their hard work means to all of us. We are grateful for the care they put into making our school shine every day!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for STEM Night! Events like these highlight the importance of STEM education - building curiosity, problem-solving skills, and creativity in our students. Special shout-out to our librarian Kelly Machovec for organizing and coordinating this incredible evening, with tremendous support from Katie Demko, our Library Media Assistant, and the many staff members who pitched in to make it a success.

Yesterday, our teachers engaged in a powerful workshop on student engagement. Together, we built a shared vision of what high engagement looks like - identifying observable behaviors, teacher moves, and classroom routines. Staff committed to actionable steps to foster engagement through instruction, and leadership will continue shaping school-wide systems to ensure every student thrives. Thank you for reinforcing learning expectations at home and partnering with us to support student success in many ways.

Next week, we celebrate National School Lunch Week (October 13-17). Nutritious, balanced meals fuel learning, and we are deeply thankful to our amazing cafeteria team for creating a positive experience - from the serving line to clean-up - every single day.

Enjoy the three-day weekend! Monday is a full day of professional learning for teachers, and we look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday. We are grateful for your ongoing partnership and commitment to our Westridge community.

With appreciation,

Steven Wilson

Principal

Westridge Elementary School

• Monday, October 13 - No School (Division professional development
• Tuesday, October 14 - Picture Day
• Thursday, October 16- at 6:00 pm: PTA Meeting
• Tuesday, October 21- No School (Diwali)
• Friday, October 24- Quantum Breakfast
• Friday, October 31- Last day of first quarter

Westridge Elementary School will conduct the Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS) assessment for all students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade, as well as for select students in grades 3-5 who meet the eligibility criteria, in accordance with guidelines.

The testing windows are listed below:

Grades 1-5: September 2-19

Kindergarten: September 29-October 24

Make-up testing will continue throughout the testing window as needed. For more information, visit the PALS Legacy website at https://literacy.virginia.edu and click on the tab "Families +".

Please feel free to contact Andrea Crosson, Westridge’s Reading Specialist, at crossoaa@pwcs.edu if you have any questions about VALLSS testing or procedures.

Want to make a real impact this school year? Join the PTA and help us create unforgettable experiences for our kids.

Whether you have five minutes or five hours, your voice matters. The PTA is a place for connection, collaboration, and making things happen. Plus, it’s a great way to stay in the loop and meet other awesome parents.

👉 Sign up today and be part of the magic: https://ptawestridge.givebacks.com/shop

Let’s dive in together—because when we all pitch in, amazing things happen.

Fidelitas - Sept 19th

Quantum - Oct 24th

Amicus - Nov 21st

Integritas - Jan 16th

Animo - Feb 20th

Please fill out the form below if you are interested in volunteering at Westridge this year! You will also find the PWCS Volunteer Regulations below. Please review those prior to filling out the form.

Celebrating Perfect Attendance – September 🎉

We are thrilled to recognize 368 students who achieved perfect attendance for the month of September! These students showed up every single day, ready to learn—what an incredible accomplishment!

To celebrate, all students with perfect attendance were entered into our monthly raffle. Congratulations to our September winners:

• Umar A. Mujtaba (Grade 4 - Azizi)
• Amal Nazir (Grade 4 - Perry)
• Brett Samluk (Grade 3 - Wilkins)
• Jasmine Roque (Kindergarten - Dance)

Each winner received a $25 gift card and a congratulatory certificate. Winners were announced during morning announcements.

How Our Perfect Attendance Incentive Works

• Perfect Attendance = 1 Raffle Entry
  No absences (excused or unexcused) for the entire month.
• Monthly Raffle Prizes 🎁
  Four lucky winners each month will receive a gift card to Cold Stone Creamery or another local favorite!
• Recognition Board 🏆
  Every student with perfect attendance will have their name proudly displayed on our Perfect Attendance Board in the main hallway, organized by grade level.

Why Attendance Matters

Every school day counts! Being here means:
✅ You don’t miss important learning
✅ You stay connected with friends and teachers
✅ You build strong habits for success

Tips for Families

• Schedule appointments outside school hours when possible
• Set a consistent bedtime and morning routine
• Reach out if you need help - we’re here to support you!

Thank you for partnering with us to make attendance a priority. Let’s keep the momentum going for October!

Did you know attendance is the number one predictor of both dropout and graduation rates. Establishing the habit of daily attendance is more important than ever and helps to reduce stress, strengthen connections with friends and teachers, and support academic success.

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) follows the provisions of Virginia law (Code of Virginia § 22.1-254) regarding compulsory attendance for all school-aged students.

PWCS uses an attendance management system that carefully tracks attendance and ensures that parents are notified in a timely and consistent manner when students are absent from school.

Attendance letters are mailed to notify parents of:
• Truancy status when students accrue three unexcused absences
• Excessive excused absences
• Chronic absentee status when students are absent 10% of instructional days based on where we are in the school year.

Revisions have been made to Regulation 724-1- Attendance, Absences, Excuses, and Tardies.

We encourage families to note the following key updates:
• Schools will require a doctor’s note when a student misses three consecutive days or a total of 10 days during the school year due to illness.
• Family trips or absences related to travel are unexcused absences.
• Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more school days in a school year. Both excused and unexcused absences count towards chronic absenteeism.
• Students are expected to make up all missed assignments and assessments for both excused and unexcused absences.
• Military-connected students may have up to five days of excused absences to visit a parent/guardian called to active duty or on leave from active duty.

Parents should notify the school before, or at the start of, the school day when their child will be absent. Parents must send written or electronic communication citing the reason(s) for the absence to the school no more than five school days following the date of the absence.

To report an absence at Westridge, please email wres-attendance@pwcs.edu or call us at 703-590-3711. You may also report it on the Parentvue App.

We understand that some absences are unavoidable, however we encourage parents and guardians to schedule appointments on scheduled days off for students throughout the school year. View the 2025-26 school calendar webpage to view days off for students.

We are committed to creating a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment and understand there are times when your child may need to stay home due to illness or other unavoidable circumstances. If you need assistance or resources to have a successful school year, please contact us at 703-590-3711. We value your partnership and look forward to a successful school year together!

This year, Prince William County Public Schools took a bold and research-based step forward by adopting the new Cell Phone-Free Education Policy. Beginning in August 2025, all schools will implement a bell-to-bell policy that limits cell phone use during the instructional day. This

decision, shaped by community input and a successful pilot across 33 schools, is rooted in a

shared goal: 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. We are grateful for your engagement

and look forward to continuing this important work together.

Parents/guardians in Prince William County Public Schools receive a daily email of student-selected library materials checked out, renewed, or returned by their student each day.

These automated emails are sent to the primary parent/guardian email address, which is the first emergency contact designated by parents/guardians in the Annual Back to School Packet, ensuring you stay informed about your student’s reading activities. This feature will be activated for all PWCS students.

If the student does not check out, renew, or return a book on that day, no email will be sent.

In addition, the PWCS library management system allows parents to connect to their child’s school library catalog through an “Additional User Type” and designate restrictions on student-selected library materials.

Please note: Restriction of library materials using the “Additional User Type” is a parent's responsibility. Librarians and school administrators can provide the link but cannot provide support within the system.

Please visit the Parent Library Controls webpage for more information.

Free Positive Parenting class in PWC!

Family Engagement Series

Join the PWCS Family Engagement Series in September.

Stay connected with your child's education. Learn from experts, connect with other families, and get practical tips to support your child's learning.

View all September 2025 sessions and register.

You can also view past recorded Family Engagement Series sessions on our past events webpage.

Varsity Online Tutoring

Varsity Tutors for Schools platform is a FREE online resource for grades K-12 designed to support your students’ academic growth. This platform offers:

• 24/7 On-Demand Chat Tutoring
• Essay Review and Coaching
• Live Group Classes
• Test Prep Classes
• Enrichment Classes
• Celebrity-Led Star Courses and more.

Students access Varsity by logging in to PWCS Portal. To log in to PWCS Portal, students use their PWCS username and password (this is same password students use to log in to their PWCS computer). Once you’re logged in to PWCS Portal, you can find the link for Varsity in the PWCS Resources section.

Click here to read more about Varsity Tutors - Free Online Tutoring

SNAP School Initiative

Crisis and Emergency Preparedness in PWCS

PWCS is committed to ensuring safe and welcoming environments for students and staff. If a safety concern or crisis occurs in or near our schools, PWCS uses standard terms to communicate with families. Watch this video to become familiar with the terms.

Watch Video

Free Mental Health Resources for Students

PWCS recognizes that this time of year can be particularly challenging for many students. To ensure that every student has access to the support they need, we would like to remind parents that free mental health telehealth services are available to all PWCS students through Hazel Health – at no cost. Together, we can make a significant difference in the mental well-being of our students now and beyond.

Visit the PWCS Hazel Health webpage for more information.

For more information or questions, please contact Francesca Knight, coordinator of social work services, at KnightFW@pwcs.edu.