GKES Knightly Notes Newsletter
Monday, September 14: Day 6
Tuesday, September 15: Day 7
Wednesday, September 16: Day 8
Thursday, September 17: Day 1
Friday, September 18: Day 2
THIS WEEK CONVERSATION
Glenkirk will be hosting our annual Back to School Night on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. for all grade levels, PK-5. Parents/Guardians are invited to visit their child's classroom to learn about grade level plans and initiatives for the upcoming school year. For families with more than one child, we will offer additional sessions so you can visit multiple classrooms. This event is NOT intended for students to attend as the presentations are developed for adults. We encourage students to stay home and adults attend so you can have the dedicated time to learn about the many great things that will occur in your child's classroom this school year.
Say Cheese! Our fall picture day is coming up on Wednesday, September 30 during the school day. View the information below and mark your calendars for our picture day for all students. More information can also be found be visiting Glenkirk Elementary Fall Picture Day - Strawbridge Studios.
Mark your calendars, the Book Fair is coming!
Book Fair Dates: October 5-9
Family Event: Monday, October 5th from 4:30-6:30 p.m. (*Part of our Road Trip Literacy Night!*)
We are looking for volunteers to help throughout the fair! If you have some time to help us at the Book Fair, please go to our VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP SHEET.
Parents/guardians in Prince William County Public Schools receive a daily email of student-selected print 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 physically check out, renew, or return a book on that day, no email will be sent.
In addition, the PWCS library management systems allow parents to connect to their child’s school library catalogs through an “Additional User Type” and/or “Parent Controls” system to designate restrictions on student-selected materials.
Please note: Restriction of library materials is a parent's responsibility. Librarians and school administrators can provide the links but cannot provide support within the systems.
Please visit the Parent Library Controls webpage for more information on available Parent Library Controls.
💚PTO💛
🎉 Fall Student Enrichment Programs (SEP) – Registration Opens Sept. 22. 🎉 Glenkirk PTO is excited to partner with Baroody Camps to bring a fun lineup of after-school enrichment programs this fall! Offerings include 🎭 Act Up!, ♟️ Chess, 🎨 Fall Clay Creations, 🧱 LEGOs, 🎾 Tennis Titans, 🥋 Martial Arts, 🍳 Sticky Fingers Cooking Club, and 🎹 Beginner Piano. Classes run after school from 3:35–4:35 PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, starting the week of October 13.
Registration opens Tuesday, September 22 at 9:00 AM and closes Sunday, October 4 at 11:59 PM. Mark your calendar, encourage a friend to join you, and don't miss out on the fun!
Limited financial aid is available for those who qualify (one class per child per session).
Register and find details at Glenkirk PTO Student Enrichment Programs.
📣 Spirit Wear: Thank you for supporting PTO and showing your Golden Knights and Castle spirit! Orders submitted by Sept 8 should be delivered to students by about Sept 21. If you didn't get a chance to order yet, no worries! The online store will remain open year-round with rolling deliveries. Shop any time at https://stores.athletesmark.com/glenkirk/shop/home.
🌟 Memberships: We have an exciting year of PTO projects and events planned and hope you will all consider getting involved! We encourage you to contribute in any way you feel comfortable and able, whether that's just becoming a Member, attending meetings, supporting a fundraiser, volunteering your time, or all of the above. The first step is completing the Membership Form , and then paying Dues on the PTO website. The first 100 paid Members will receive a FREE calendar highlights magnet and all Members have voting rights on important matters brought by the Board including our annual budget, special spending requests, and Officer elections.
The Glenkirk PTO is not a program or department of the Prince William County Public Schools, but an independent organization which has obtained the approval of PWCS to support its schools, students, teams, programs, and extracurricular activities. All funds raised by Glenkirk PTO must be used for approved school purposes.
To help maintain a safe and secure learning environment, Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) requires all visitors, including parents, community members, volunteers, and school division employees who are not regularly assigned to the school, to:
- Report to the main office or designated entrance upon arrival.
- Present a valid government-issued photo identification.
- State the purpose of their visit.
Acceptable Forms of Identification
Visitors may present any of the following forms of identification:
- U.S. or foreign driver's license
- U.S. or foreign government-issued identification card
- Military identification card
- Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) photo identification card
- Passport
We appreciate your cooperation in helping us ensure the safety and security of all students, staff, and visitors.
NO PHONE PICTURE OF AN ID WILL BE ACCEPTED
Dear 4th & 5th Graders,
Do you like competitions? Do you like reading books? Do you like competitions about reading books? Then Battle of the Books could be the team for you! Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading incentive team for students in grades 4 & 5.
B.O.B. INTEREST MEETING TO BE HELD VIA ZOOM ON SEPTEMBER 17TH AT 6:00 PM.
Topic: Battle of the Books Interest Meeting
Time: Sep 17, 2026, 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Students and a parent should plan on attending for more information. We will also share more information on how to apply at the meeting.
If unable to attend, please feel free to email Mrs. Williams (williaaz@pwcs.edu) and Mrs. Wyatt (wyattam@pwcs.edu) for more info.
Students will need to be available to meet after school on scheduled Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Scheduled dates are: 10/15, 10/29, 11/5, 11/19, 12/10, 12/17, 1/7, 1/21, 2/11, 2/25. March meetings will be announced later once we get more information on competitions. We will give you as much notice on these dates as possible.
Students will read 10 books (to be provided by the coaches) from this year’s list, create 6-10 questions for each and submit prior to meetings, and be prepared to go up on stage to compete with other teams from county schools. The PWCS Western Region semi-final competition will take place near the end of March (date/time/location TBD). The final competition (should we make it past semi-finals) will be held on April 13th. Transportation to these events and all practices will need to be arranged by parents.
Our team will consist of 12 students from 4th & 5th grades. Last year’s 4th graders (current 5th graders) were given the opportunity to keep their spots. We will have available spots on the team. If there are more students interested than we have openings, there will be a random lottery to determine new team members. The cost to join the team will be $35. This will cover a team t-shirt to wear at competitions and food for team celebrations.
Due to the BOB schedule and attendance requirements, it is not possible to participate in another Thursday club, such as SEP, during the same time frame.
Thank you,
Mrs. Williams & Mrs. Wyatt (BOB Coaches)
Be a Leader. Be Kind. Make a Difference!
Calling all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders! Are you passionate about kindness and helping others feel included?
No Place for Hate is a student leadership group dedicated to promoting kindness, inclusivity, and diversity throughout our school. Members help create videos, lead activities on the morning announcements, and plan school-wide projects that make everyone feel welcome.
We will meet once a month on Thursday mornings before school starting in October.
Come be a leader and help make our school an even better place! More info about how to apply to come.
- Please visit PWCS Back to School Website to complete your Back to School Packet and learn about updates from PWCS for the 2026-27 school year. The Back to School Packet includes any consents and the completion of your child's emergency card so we know who to contact in the event of an emergency.
- Having up-to-date emergency contact information for our families is vital. PWCS requires all families to complete the annual Back to School Packet. Until this packet is complete, parents/guardians will be unable to access important information in ParentVUE to start the new year (including student schedules and bus information). If you do not have an active ParentVUE account, please call our office at 703-753-1702 for support.
- The Back to School Packet is due in ParentVUE by September 18, 2026.
If your child will be arriving/dismissing as a car rider, please take a few moments to review the Kiss & Ride expectations to ensure staff and student safety. Drivers are reminded to drive slowly and follow all traffic laws in our school zone and be aware of your surroundings. Please yield to all walkers/pedestrians in the crosswalks and adhere to our Kiss & Ride procedures listed below in the morning and afternoon:
- The first bell rings at 8:35 a.m. Car riders should remain in vehicles until the bell rings to avoid congestion with student walkers at the front door.
- Please have your kiss & ride number tag visible for arrival and dismissal along with your valid ID. Car rider staff may ask to verify both the tag number and ID at any time. All families utilizing the kiss & ride lanes should have a Glenkirk number tag hanging from your mirror. Please contact the front office if you need a number tag.
- Drivers should not exit their vehicle as this causes traffic to back up. Drivers that need to help their child out or into their vehicle should pull up past the playground.
- Students should exit the vehicle on the right (curb) side of the vehicle. No students should be dropped off from a vehicle in the left lane.
- No students should be dropped off from a parking spot/middle parking lot unless escorted into the building by a parent/guardian.
- Drivers should remain in the right lane to drop off. Please DO NOT drive in the left lane unless you are exiting the parking lot after you have dropped your child.
- AM arrival - The final bell rings at 8:45 a.m. Students arriving after 8:45 a.m. will need to be signed in by an adult in the front office.
- Please refrain from cell phone use (calls and texting) while in the kiss & ride line.
We thank all families for your attention to these procedures to keep our students and staff safe.
All students are expected to attend the entire school day when school is in session. If your child is unable to attend school, please notify the office by emailing gkes-attendance@pwcs.edu and your child's teacher. Please include your child's name, grade, teacher and reason for absence. Parents/guardians are encouraged to use ParentVUE on the day of an absence or in advance of a planned absence. Submitting absences directly in ParentVUE will help expedite your student's attendance to update quickly and help reduce those attendance office-generated alerts.
Students are marked unexcused if parents do not inform the school their child is out.
PWCS is increasing the amount of parent letters to be mailed regarding your child’s attendance. Letters will be generated after a certain amount of absences/tardies are accrued.
For dismissal changes please continue to use the attendance email: gkes-attendance@pwcs.edu and include your child's teacher. Be sure to include the student's name, dates, as well as the contact telephone numbers and reference the word DISMISSAL CHANGES in the subject line of your email message.
For additional information regarding PWCS attendance requirements, please visit PWCS Attendance Guidelines.
