MPES Connection

Dear Manassas Park Elementary School Families,

Happy New Year! We hope you had a joyful and restful holiday season filled with love and special moments. As we step into 2025, we are excited to welcome everyone back and look forward to a successful and rewarding school year. Together, we will continue to create a supportive and enriching environment where every student can thrive. Thank you for being an essential part of our school community—let’s make this year one to remember!

On Monday, January 20th, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a powerful advocate for equality, kindness, and service to others. We deeply appreciate all that you do to support your children’s education and growth, helping to raise them to be responsible, kind, and respectful individuals. As we work together, please continue to reinforce our 3Rs at home—Being Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn. Thank you for your partnership in shaping a brighter future for our students and community.

Wishing everyone a safe and warm week ahead—spring will be here before we know it! Please see below for important upcoming dates:

Monday, January 13

• Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System (VALLSS) Testing Window Opens - 3rd grade students

Monday, January 20

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day- School Division Closed

Tuesday, January 21

• Professional Learning / Teacher Workday- No School for Students

Friday, January 24

• End of Quarter 2

Monday, January 27

• Smile Virginia Dental (in-school dental care for students who submitted permission forms)

Saturday, February 1

• Quarter 2 Report Cards posted by 4:00 p.m.

Monday, February 3 - Friday, February 7

• National School Counseling Week

Thursday, February 6

• Learning Carnival from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Warm regards,

Donnie Olajuwon, Ed.D.

Principal

On Friday, January 17th, we celebrated our Cougars of the Month for December, recognizing students nominated by teachers and staff for their exemplary qualities. The MPE Cougar of the Month Award celebrates not only academic achievements but also positive attributes such as a pawsitive attitude, character, leadership, and citizenship. Cougars of the Month are hard-working students who complete assignments on time, participate actively in classroom discussions, and demonstrate positive behavior both in and out of the classroom. Additionally, these students embody our 3Rs—being respectful, responsible, and ready to learn—and often show growth in key social-emotional skills such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship-building. These skills are reinforced in their ReThinkEd SEL lessons and 3Rs lessons. We honored their achievements with a special pancake breakfast. Way to go, Cougars! Keep up the amazing work!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This time of year our pick-up and drop-off lines usually get longer, and even more so on days with bad weather. At times, this can back up into the main road, blocking traffic and causing our buses to be unable to arrive at the school. With this in mind, along with the safety of our students, please use the following guidelines for morning arrival and afternoon dismissal.

MORNING ARRIVAL: 8:05 AM - 8:25 AM

• Use a single car line and please pull up close to the car in front of you.

• Do not allow students to exit your vehicle prior to 8:05 AM when staff members come outside.

• Have students ready to exit the vehicle at any time once they are in the parking lot.

• If the line is blocking traffic on the main road, we will ask students to exit the vehicles sooner than normal.

• Do not wait until you are first in line to have students exit your vehicle.

• Do not drive away until your students have safely made it on the sidewalk and the staff have motioned you to do so.

• If you arrive after the bell has rang, you need to take your student to the front office to check in as a tardy. Do not drop students off if staff members have gone back inside the building.

• RECOMMENDATION: Try to have students dropped off no later than 8:20 AM. This allows them time to grab breakfast and get to class before the bell rings.

AFTERNOON DISMISSAL: 3:15 PM - 3:25 PM

• Car tags must be displayed on the dash or on the rear view mirror. If you need a new car tag, please email your student's teacher.

• Use a double car line with the center line being the divider.

• Pull into the shortest line upon arrival to try and keep lanes even.

• Pull your car close to the car in front of you.

• Put your car in park and do not move the vehicle until staff instructs you to do so.

• All students will be safely in vehicles before any vehicles are released.

• If you arrive after vehicles have started moving, please stay in the right lane and pull forward to the crosswalk.

• If you are going to arrive after 3:25 PM you must notify the office and may need to pick-up your student from the front office.

At either time, please follow the directions of staff members. Your help with keeping our students safe and the traffic flowing smoothly is greatly appreciated.

Pneumonia is trending in children this year. If your child still has respiratory symptoms (especially a lingering cough) after finishing antibiotics, they may need further testing. Doctors are seeing an increase in an illness caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae. This organism, an atypical bacterium, does not always respond to the usual antibiotics. But the doctor can order testing to see if your child needs a different type of antibiotic to fully recover from the infection. They often test for this illness using a sample of sputum (phlegm) which can be gathered at the hospital, doctor’s office, or a laboratory. If not treated properly, m. pneumoniae can damage the lining of the respiratory tract, including the throat, windpipe, and lungs. If you have questions, please contact your child’s school nurse.

Car Riders

We will begin welcoming students each day at 8:05 a.m. Supervision is not available before this time, so for safety purposes, please do not drop your child off earlier than 8:05 a.m.

Please review the elementary campus car drop off map below.

• If you have a student at MPES only: Use the north entrance off Cougar Court for drop off and pick up.
• If you have students at both MPES and CES: Use the Brandon Street entrance for drop off and pick up.
• When dropping off, please do not get out of the car. Staff members will assist your child in getting out of the car safely.

Bus Riders

Please click below for the bus schedules.

24-25 Bus Schedules

Early Dismissals

Please send in a note or call the main office ahead of time if you will be picking up your child before the end of the school day. A parent or authorized adult must present a photo ID, meet the student in the office, and sign out at the time of dismissal.

Dismissal Changes

If your child's dismissal routine changes, you must send in a note or contact the office. Please try to avoid changing dismissal procedures in the middle of the day. Emails sent to the teacher during the day may be missed if there is a substitute that day or if the teacher is not able to check his/her email. Unless there is an emergency, please contact the office with a dismissal change no later than 2:30 p.m. The end of the day is very busy and we want to make sure that every student gets home safely!

Please click on the button below to view this year's bus routes. Please note that during the first week of school delays of 30 minutes are common as everyone adjusts to new bus schedules. Please be patient as we make sure that all of our students get home safely!

Breakfast and lunch will be FREE OF CHARGE for all students for 2024-2025 school year.

We are pleased to inform you that all schools in Manassas Park will continue to participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for school year 2024-2025.

What does this mean for you and your children attending our schools?
Great news for you and your child(ren)! All enrolled students of Manassas Park are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school, at no charge to your household, each day of the 2024-2025 school year. No further action is required of you. Your child(ren) will be able to participate in these meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit a meal application.

If you have questions or need information, please contact the School Nutrition Office by emailing gregory.taylor@mpark.net or calling 703-361-1510 ext. 17212. More information can also be found here: https://mpcsschoolmeals.com.

The school hours for the upcoming year will be 8:25 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. We will begin to welcome students starting at 8:05 a.m.

Attendance is a critical factor in a child’s school success. Children should attend school every day, except when they are sick or there is an emergency. It is impossible to replace the learning that takes place on any school day with make-up work. Please make on-time attendance a priority as we work together for your child’s success!

If your child will not be at school, please contact

Manassas Park Elementary School Main Office

(703) 368-2032

MPESattendance@mpark.net

There will be many exciting things happening throughout the next school year. I encourage you to stay up-to-date with important information and follow highlights of our learning at MPES and in Manassas Park City Schools.

You can stay connected by:

• Checking your child's Monday Folder each week
  
• Reading the MPES weekly online newsletters emailed every other Friday afternoon
  
• Following MPCS on Twitter @MPCSchools
  
• Liking and following the Manassas Park City Schools Facebook page
• Checking the MPCS website frequently at www.mpark.net
  

Donnie Olajuwon, Ed.D.

Principal

Email: donnie.olajuwon@mpark.net
Website: www.mpark.net
Location: 9298 Cougar Court, Manassas Park, VA, United States
Phone: (703) 368-2032
Twitter/X: @MPEScougars

Facebook: @ManassasParkElementary

Instagram: @mpescougars