The Little Judges' Docket

Reminders for this week:

It is a busy upcoming week! No school tomorrow, Monday, May 25th. We will have expedited retakes for SOLs on Tuesday and Wednesday. The high school seniors will be walking our halls on Tuesday afternoon. The 4th grade promotion ceremony will be Thursday at 12:00pm in the gym with a light reception to follow. Friday our students will have our last PBIS celebration from 8-9:15am and then we will enjoy the 3rd grade Egg Drop. Friday will be an early release day at 11:15. Please make sure someone is at the bus stop or in the car rider line on time.

I cannot believe we are at the last week of school. This has been a challenging year, but so rewarding. Students have grown and learned so much and I am so proud of each and every one of them. Please make sure you take the time to read with your children this summer and show them how math is used everyday in the real world. Enjoy the reset and we will be so excited to have them back with us on August 11, 2026!

Our Commitment: Our campus is a safe haven dedicated to learning and student well-being. To ensure this remains a protected space, we do not permit outside organizations to access students unless they are authorized health and safety officials acting within their legal jurisdiction. Our priority is to ensure every child feels secure and supported from the moment they arrive until they return home.

Thank you as always for your support for our school. We need to work together as a community to make our students successful because we are creating Local leaders today - Global leaders tomorrow!

Lisa Pluska, Ed.D.

Principal, Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary School

540-665-6330

Report cards will be sent digitally on June 5th. Be on the lookout! We will also be sending home various reports on the last day of school.

If you are not receiving report cards, please contact the office to make sure we have your correct email address. This is the time of year that we are really pushing to get more kids on grade level and to get them reading regularly. We are excited to say that our students are gaining ground academically.

Reading is so important for students to be successful in life. The statistics show that if a child is not reading on grade level by 3rd grade, they really struggle to keep up with their peers and they struggle to graduate on time. We are focusing on every student being on grade level by the end of the year. If you see that your child is struggling with reading, reach out to the teacher or our Reading Specialist, Robin Packard. She can give you tips on working with students at home. The best thing you can do is read with your child every day. It can be in any language and with lots of pictures. Just let your child see that reading is fun and important to you as well!

Please make sure students are at school to enjoy the fun activities as we close out the year.

Our goal is only 8% or less will be chronically absent which means they miss 10% or more of the school year. We are currently at 9%, so our hope is to meet our goal. If a child misses more than 17 days they are chronically absent. It's so important to come to school every day that you can. Studies show that if students start out with strong attendance in school, it stays with them and they continue to attend school. In order to be on grade level, students have to be here to get the instruction.

Thank you for continuing to ensure your student is at school. It truly takes us all working together to make sure our students are successful. Just a reminder as to how important it is to be in school every day. If your child is sick, of course we understand. Please make sure to talk to your students about the importance of hand washing. We always tend to have sicknesses when everyone comes back.

Our last PBIS event will be on the last day of school! Make sure to remind your students to keep earning those points. We want every student to feel safe and ready to learn. We are continuing our celebration plan to recognize students who follow our core rules.

You can help us at home by reminding your student that being a great classmate means being Safe (hands and feet to ourselves), Kind (using helpful words), and Responsible (staying in assigned areas and following directions right away)

To support our students, we are launching a celebration plan to recognize those who follow our core rules! You can help us by reminding your student that being a great classmate means:

• Safety first: Hands and feet to ourselves.

• Kindness always: Using helpful words.

• Responsibility: Staying in our areas and following directions right away.

Thank you for being our partners in creating a school environment that students truly love to be in!

Every day on the announcements we will be talking about the three school wide rules -

1. Keep hands and feet to self and use kind words;
2. Stay in your assigned area; and
3. Follow directions quickly and quietly.

If you are interested in volunteering, please see below! Make sure you let the office staff or your child's teacher know before filling out the application so we can make sure you are on the volunteer list.

• Here is the link for the Student/Parent Handbook .
• If there needs to be a change in transportation, please call the office (not the teacher) at 540-665-6330 before 1pm to let us know. Car riders must come to the back of the school by Pleasant Valley, walkers to the bus loop doors, and bus riders will be let off the bus on Van Fossen Street and coming in the front door and on the bus in the afternoon on the Van Fossen St side. Staff will be there to help guide and get your child into the school safely.
• If you arrive after 7:50 A.M., you must accompany your child to the office to sign your child in.

2026-2027 Kindergarten Registration: Registration begins Monday, March 9.

It's time to register for Kindergarten for 2026-2027!