February 19 , 2025

Dear Families:

Thank you for your generous donations of cereal. We were able to donate 1,912 boxes of cereal to Loudoun Hunger Relief. We appreciated the support from Trader Joe's and Wegmans who both donated cereal. Morgan Moses, parent of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Legend, started the domino effect. Our community partners from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Department helped us celebrate with the students.

We really appreciated all of the parents who came to help set up the boxes in the halls. Mr. Dolansky has included photos and a video in the newsletter. See below!

Hats off to teachers Alexis Brace and Amber Port who organized this big event!

We understand that Linq (The food service accounting program) sent an error message to families that student accounts were negative. This has been corrected. You should be able to see your child's balance. Ice cream is sold only on Fridays. If you want your child to have ice cream, this must be purchased directly from their account.

Interested in Computer Science? Our students are!

Be sure to join us next Friday for the PTO meeting.

Our featured speaker will be Christine Fahim, our Instructional Facilitator of Technology. Mrs. Fahim will be informing us of what our students are learning and doing with Computer Science. Our PTO meetings are virtual. A link will be sent for the February 21st 8:00am meeting to families on Friday morning.

Respectfully yours,

Julia Burton, Principal

The PTO will host the next appreciation luncheon on Wednesday, March 12. The Caring & Sharing Committee needs your help to show our wonderful Weller teachers and staff how much they mean to us!

For more information about the luncheon and to sign up to contribute, please click the link below:

SWES PTO March Teacher and Staff Appreciation Lunch

As reward for raising so many cereal boxes per grade level, we hosted a staff "inflatable race" for fun. Check out the great action shots and video clip.

Watch the action packed video clip below.

We exceeded our goal of collecting 1,500 cereal boxes. The Wild Cats collected 1,912 boxes. Weller students have earned a culminating "Domino Tip" of all the boxes before we deliver them to Loudoun Hunger Relief. See some of the pictures and videos that show this event.

Enjoy the video clips of event below.

We are happy to inform our families that we have 26 outstanding Steuart Weller artists that are being featured in this year's exhibit at the National Conference Center in Leesburg! To celebrate these students' accomplishments, we will be announcing each student's name on the morning announcements and they will receive a certificate of recognition. We will be hosting a Weller Art Night on Wednesday, March 5th. Families are encouraged to visit the National Conference Center to view this exhibit on this special night or up until May 23rd.

NOW is the time to order your yearbook. Order today and guarantee your child a yearbook. We only order a few extra yearbooks over the number of pre-sold orders. It will be a collection of the best candid photos, group photos, and individual portraits of all students, faculty and pictures of all your special friends having fun while they learn. Yearbooks will be distributed at the end of the school year.

The EL FACE team will be offering the Welcome to LCPS EL Family Workshop for new international families virtually on March 6th, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. via Google Meet. Click a flyer to find out more information-

Welcome to LCPS Flyer - English

Welcome to LCPS Flyer - Spanish

Welcome to LCPS Flyer- Dari/Farsi

Welcome to LCPS Flyer - Arabic

Mark your calendars for #PurpleUpVA Day which will be held on April 9, 2025. We encourage everyone to wear purple on this special day in support of Wild Cat students that are part of a Military Family.

At the December 10, 2024, School Board meeting, the Loudoun County School Board approved changes to the Special Permission process in Policy 8155, School Assignment. Special Permission is when LCPS parents/guardians request permission for their student to attend a school outside their assigned attendance zone. Changes to the Special Permission process were made to ensure schools can plan earlier and more accurately for staffing and class sizes.

Some of the key changes to the Special Permission process are:

• The dates the Special Permission process opens and closes will occur earlier in the year.
• Special Permission applications to over-enrolled schools, including elementary schools, will not be accepted.
• Late applications will not be accepted after the deadline.To apply for Special Permission, parents/legal guardians must have a current LCPS address on file.

Important factors:

• To apply for Special Permission, parents/legal guardians must have a current LCPS address on file.
• Students must be registered at their zoned school of attendance within 30 days of applying for Special Permission.
• Special Permission may be approved only if there is capacity at the requested school.
• Except for kindergarten, LCPS will make an initial decision regarding Special Permission requests within 30 days of application submission. LCPS will determine kindergarten Special Permission placement decisions no later than July 1.
• If approved to attend a school on Special Permission, families must provide transportation to and from the school.
• All families who wish to apply and/or renew for Special Permission must do so annually.

Please note that Special Permission for the LCPS community opens on Monday, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. and will remain open until April 30, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.

Official determinations for kindergarten students who apply for special permission by April 30 will be provided to the parent or legal guardian by July 1.

Parents of elementary students currently on special permission may submit a request to continue attending the Special Permission school on or before March 1.

Once the Special Permission period closes on April 30, requests for Special Permission will not be accepted. Previously, parents who made Special Permission requests outside the Special Permission period were permitted to appeal a Special Permission denial. This practice will no longer be permitted.

Over-Enrolled Schools
If a school’s projected enrollment is at 90% of the school’s capacity, this school is classified as over-enrolled. The schools projected to be over-enrolled are listed below and are posted on the Special Permission website. This list is subject to change.

Schools that are projected to be over-enrolled for the 2025/26 school year:

Elementary Schools

Cool Spring Elementary School

Countryside Elementary School

Dominion Trail Elementary School

Forest Grove Elementary School

Guilford Elementary School

Hillside Elementary School

Hovatter Elementary School

Little River Elementary School

Lovettsville Elementary School

Madison’s Trust Elementary School

Moorefield Station Elementary School

Potowmack Elementary School

Rolling Ridge Elementary School

Waterford Elementary School

Middle Schools
Eagle Ridge Middle School
Mercer Middle School
Stone Hill Middle School
Willard Middle School

We can't believe that the time is nearing when we have to say good-bye to our fifth grade students. In preparation to moving on to sixth grade, Belmont Ridge Middle School has many opportunities for students to become familiar with their new surroundings. "Bridge to the Ridge" is a middle school transition "camp" held on June 23rd and June 24th. It's a two-day program, and families can choose between a morning or afternoon session. Kids learn their way around the middle school, practice opening their lockers, get familiar with scheduling and how middle school life works. This has been a popular program for years and is designed to put kids' minds at ease as they begin their middle school careers. See the flyer attached. (Spanish version) Deadline to enroll is June 14, 2025.

Watch Dog Parents are welcome at Weller! What is this wonderful program you ask? This is an opportunity for parents to become role models for our students. You will have the opportunity to work with classes, students, and your children's classroom throughout the day. You pick the full day or half day to commit your time working with the Wild Cats. Click here to find out more.

It is important that you provide admin two (2) weeks notice so that they can plan for your visit. All requests to be a Watchdog Parent will be confirmed by admin via email.

We want to thank the following local businesses for partnering with Steuart Weller throughout the year!

• Costco: 60 New Student Backpacks
• University Painters: Preparing and Sealing the mural
• Nando's: Lunch for the Teachers & Staff
• BKD Bagels: Teacher breakfast
• NOVA Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics: Communication Folders for Students
• Sean's Yard Service LLC: December beautification of school grounds

If you have a partnership proposal, do not hesitate to reach out to the Weller Administration with your idea!