The Panda Periodical

Melissa Maestle, Principal

Shane Campbell, Assistant Principal

Frederick Douglass Elementary School

100 W. Cedarmeade Ave.

Winchester, Va 22655

ph. 540-662-7656

September

Week of September 7th - September 11th

9/7 - No School - Labor Day

9/10 - Fourth Grade Parent Night

Week of September 14th - September 18th

9/15 - Fall Picture Day

October

Week of October 5th - October 9th

10/09 - End of 1st Nine Weeks

10/09 - Movie On The Lawn Night

10/10 - No School - Teacher Work Day

This week’s highlight is all about the energy at dismissal on Thursday afternoon! As you can see in the photos below, our Pandas were moving fast and full of excitement as they headed to the buses to kick off this extra-long weekend.

As a quick reminder as we wrap up our break, there is no school tomorrow, Monday, September 7th, in observance of Labor Day.

We hope all of our FDES families are enjoying a wonderful, safe, and restful weekend. We can't wait to see our Pandas back in the building and ready to learn on Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m.!

• Get ready to show off those smiles! Fall Picture Day for Frederick Douglass Elementary School is scheduled for September 15, 2026.

  Physical order forms have been sent home with students this past week, so please keep an eye out for them in your child's folder!

  How to Order Your Photos:

  • Order Online (Recommended): Families can order online at www.strawbridge.net. Buying online gives you access to more background options, the ability to build your own package, and free personalization or digital downloads with select packages! Simply enter the online code printed on your child's physical form.

  • Pay by Cash or Check: If you prefer, you can place your payment directly in the envelope attached to the form and return it to the school.

  • Exact Change Only: If you are paying with cash, please enclose the exact payment, as the photographers cannot make change.

  • Checks: Please make all checks payable to Strawbridge Studios.

  
  

We know our FDES Pandas have some amazing toys, trading cards, and stuffed animals that they love to play with. It is completely natural that they want to bring these fun items to school to show their friends!

However, we have noticed an increasing number of toys making their way into our classrooms lately, and it is becoming a significant distraction. When toys are out during the school day, it makes it difficult for students to focus on their learning and stay engaged in their lessons. Additionally, bringing toys to school always carries the risk that a beloved item might get lost, traded, or accidentally broken, which often leads to unnecessary heartbreak.

To help us maintain a focused and positive learning environment, we kindly ask for your partnership with the following:

• Keep Toys at Home: Please remind your student that toys, trading cards, gadgets, and stuffed animals should stay safely at home.

• Morning Backpack Checks: Take a quick peek inside your child’s backpack before they head out the door in the morning to make sure no extra toys have snuck in!

• Special Events: If a teacher hosts a specific "Show and Tell" or a special reward day where items from home are allowed, they will communicate those instructions directly to you. Otherwise, the general rule is to leave toys at home.

Thank you so much for your support in keeping our classrooms distraction-free so our Pandas can do their best learning!

We love seeing our FDES Pandas enjoy their favorite meals from home! To help lunchtime run smoothly and ensure every student has enough time to eat, we have a quick favor to ask regarding our cafeteria microwave.

Currently, we have one microwave available for student use. Lately, we've noticed an increase in meals being brought from home that take several minutes to heat up. Because our lunch periods are short, long wait times at the microwave mean some students are running out of time to actually sit down and enjoy their food!

To be respectful of all our hungry Pandas, please keep the following guidelines in mind when packing a hot lunch:

• Keep it Quick: Please only send items that require a quick zap of 30 seconds to 1 minute to reheat.

• Consider a Thermos: If your student loves a hot meal like soup, pasta, or chicken nuggets, packing their food in a pre-warmed, insulated thermos is a fantastic way to keep it hot until lunchtime without needing the microwave at all!

• Prep at Home: If a meal requires longer heating, consider heating it fully at home in the morning and using thermal containers to keep it warm.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us show Panda PRIDE by being mindful of everyone's time in the cafeteria!

Fourth grade is a big step on the path to educational success as students finish elementary and head towards intermediate school. Working as a team, parents and teachers can make this a year of positive growth and progress. Please make plans to join the fourth grade teachers as we share our best guidance for tackling this milestone year. You will see the tools we have in place to support your child's learning, and it will be an opportunity to ask us any questions you may have. It is important for fourth graders to attend with parents if possible. There will be childcare offered for younger siblings. September 10th from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at FDES.

Our highly anticipated PTO Boosterthon is almost here! Since this exciting fundraiser only happens every other year, we are pulling out all the stops to make it our best one yet.

Our Goal & Impact We are aiming to raise $15,000! All funds raised will go directly toward providing enriching, hands-on experiences for our Pandas through field trips, assemblies, and new technology.

Mark Your Calendars

• Kickoff: September 16, 2026

• Event Day: September 25, 2026

An AMAZING Incentive! We have a spectacular partner this year: Great Wolf Lodge! If we hit our school-wide goal, Great Wolf Lodge is generously contributing a FREE Water Park Day Pass for EVERY registered student!

How to Help Today: You can get a head start right now. Head over to mybooster.com to sign up, share with family and friends, and donate today!

Planning a Family Adventure? Check the Calendar!

At Frederick Douglass Elementary, we know that family time, travel, and experiencing the world together are incredibly valuable for our students! However, as we look at our attendance goals for this year, we want to gently remind families about the importance of scheduling those adventures during planned school breaks.

Did you know? There are actually more days OFF than days IN school each year!

Our calendar consists of 180 learning days and 185 days off (including weekends, summer break, and holidays). When families take just a one-week (5-day) vacation while school is in session, students miss over 30 hours of direct instruction.

Because our curriculum builds on itself every single day, catching up from a week-long trip is incredibly difficult. Students often return feeling overwhelmed or disconnected from the projects their peers are working on. Furthermore, under Virginia state guidelines, family vacations are considered unexcused absences.

As you plan your travel for the upcoming year, we kindly ask that you utilize those 185 scheduled days off so we can protect our 180 learning days in the classroom. Thank you for partnering with us to keep your student on track for success!

We have updated our method for reporting student absences to make it more streamlined for our families! Moving forward, all absences will need to be reported directly through the PowerSchool Parent Portal.

Here is a quick guide on how to use the new system:

How to Report an Absence:

• Step 1: Sign in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal, choose your student's name at the top, and select "Attendance Monitor" on the left side of your screen.

• Step 2: On the "Report Attendance" tab, click the button that says "Report New Attendance."

• Step 3: Choose the absence date or range of dates.

• Step 4: Indicate whether the student will miss the full day or part of the day.

• Step 5: Select the reason for the absence, provide a brief explanation, and click Submit.

A Few Important Notes:

• Advanced Notice: You may report a planned absence up to 20 days in advance.

• Late Notice: If you forgot to notify the school, you may submit an absence for up to the previous 3 days.

• Website Updates: The links on our school website have been updated to direct you straight to the portal!

• Language Options: Manual translations are currently available on the form, and automatic translation services will be added very soon. We have also attached a Spanish guide for our bilingual families!

Please reach out to the main office if you have any questions or issues logging into your PowerSchool account.

Attention Parents and Guardians:

We are aware that some families are having trouble submitting absences through the new attendance reporting tool in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. We are working with the software company to fix the issue.

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

• Updating your current web browser, or
• Using Google Chrome as your web browser.

We know your schedule is busy, so we’re making it easier to track WPS events. We have launched a live Division News page that captures school and community events in real-time.

Visit the WPS Division News Page

This link is your go-to for dates, deadlines, and division-wide announcements. Be on the lookout for the bi-weekly division newsletter for even deeper dives into community happenings!"