The Little Judges Ledger

We had another great week at Virginia Avenue! We just barely missed winning the Kona Ice Attendance Challenge this week, but we still have something worth celebrating—VACDES continues to have the highest cumulative attendance rate among all elementary schools in the division! Thank you, families, for making school a priority and getting our Little Judges here and on time each day. Let’s keep it going!

🌳 Lunch on the Lawn + Hat Day! 🎩

• Friday is going to be a fun day at VACDES! Join us for Lunch on the Lawn and help your Little Judge show some school spirit with our September Spirit Day—Hat Day!

  • 📅 Friday, September 18
  • ⏰ Lunch on the Lawn: 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
  • 🎩 Hat Day: Wear your favorite hat or some fun headgear to school!
  • 🎒 Look in your child’s backpack for the Lunch on the Lawn form and return it this week so we can plan accordingly.
  • 🥪 Family members may purchase a bag lunch for $4.95 each, payable by cash or check. Please indicate on the form if you would like to purchase one.
  • 🍎 VACDES student lunches remain free.
  • 🌧️ In case of bad weather, Lunch on the Lawn will move to Monday, September 21. Hat Day will still be Friday.

  We can’t wait to see our families—and all those fun hats—on Friday!

🤝 PTO Meeting – This Wednesday!

We’re excited to kick off our first PTO meeting of the year! All VACDES families are welcome to join us.

• 📅 Wednesday
• ⏰ 5:00–5:30 p.m.
• 📍 VACDES Commons
• 🚪 Please enter through the cafeteria door off the parking lot.

Come learn more about the PTO and ways to be involved in our school community. We hope to see you there!

🌟 Gifted Referrals – Grades 3 & 4

During the month of September, parents of students in 3rd and 4th grade may refer their child for evaluation for gifted services.

• 📄 Review the High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker resource linked here for characteristics you may notice in your child.
• 📝 If you believe your child demonstrates gifted characteristics, you may submit a referral for testing.
• 💻 The referral form can be found on the WPS website under Departments → Gifted.
• 💬 Questions about testing or gifted services can be directed to our school's Gifted Chair, Heidi Chilcott.

📱 Having Trouble Reporting an Absence?

We know some families are having difficulty using the new attendance reporting tool in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. The division is working with the software company to resolve the issue.

If you are having trouble submitting an absence, please try:

• 🌐 Updating your current web browser to the latest version.
• 💻 Using Google Chrome as your web browser.

These steps have worked for some families while the issue is being addressed. Thank you for continuing to communicate with us when your child needs to be absent!

🏔️ Keep Climbing!

Thank you for another great week of showing up, working hard, and supporting our Little Judges. Let’s keep climbing together!

Alli Di Giovanni

Principal

September 16- PTO meeting from 5:00pm - 5:30pm

September 18- Lunch on the Lawn and Hat Day

September 29- Picture Day

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and even in the early grades, attendance has a big impact on learning. Here are a few facts worth knowing:

• 📅 Missing just 2 days per month adds up to about 10% of the school year and is considered chronic absenteeism.
• 📚 Children who are chronically absent during the early elementary years are less likely to be reading on grade level by third grade.
• ➕ In Virginia, chronically absent students performed 19 percentage points lower in reading and 26 percentage points lower in math than their peers in 2023–24.
• 🤝 Being at school regularly also helps children build friendships, routines, and connections with their teachers—all important parts of feeling successful at school.

Join Dr. Van Heukelum and the Winchester Education Foundation to learn about the capital needs of WPS and the Foundation's initiatives prior to the referendum vote in November.

• Tuesday, September 29, 2026 / 12:30-1:00 p.m. / Douglas School, 598 N Kent St

• Thursday, October 8, 2026 / 6-6:30 p.m. / Douglas School, 598 N Kent St

  Winchester Public Schools does not advocate for or against ballot measures. Our role is to share clear, factual information so community members can understand the referendum and the capital needs of the school division.