Square 1 Art Fundraiser

Hello Piney Branch Families,

It starts with ART! The PTO is proud to once again partner with our Art Teacher, Ms. Noland to bring you the Square 1 Art Fundraiser. This fundraiser benefits the Piney Branch PTO and help us achieve our mission to support the teachers, students, staff, and families of the Piney Branch community.

How does it work? Your student has created a special, artistic masterpiece at school with Ms. Noland this fall. Their artistic creation was sent to Square 1 Art who helps us transform your student’s work of art into beautiful gifts and keepsakes.

Coming home to you soon will be your child's custom catalog for the Square 1 Art fundraiser. Get a head start, and start ordering keepsakes and gifts featuring your child's art online NOW, if you like! NEW - *Ship to Home FREE. (*Customer pays a small processing fee at checkout and order ships to home.)

Simply search for your child's art using Art Search, and enter state, school name, and your student's name. Your student's art and code will appear, and you may order!

Order by:  11/21/2024

Upload additional art if you like, using Art Upload!

If you have questions, or need anything at all, contact customer care online .

Thank you for supporting our school!

Lunch Accounts

Please be sure to check your student’s lunch account and pay any outstanding balances. Balances can paid through My School Bucks If you have any questions please contact Ms. Merida.

3^rd Grade CogAT

This fall, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT®) will be administered to third grade students in Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) as part of the universal screening process for Gifted Education. We want to take this opportunity to provide you with some information about this test and why it is administered. CogAT is designed to appraise the cognitive development of students. More specifically, it intends to measure a student’s learned reasoning abilities developed through both in-school and out-of-school experiences. Results from CogAT will be used in combination with other classroom achievement information to assist teachers in understanding the learning strengths and needs of each individual student. The purpose is to help design the most effective instructional plan for each student so that all perform to the best of their ability.

The CogAT will be administered at Piney Branch November 12-14 as the test has three sections for students to complete. The best way to prepare your student for this test is to simply encourage them to do their best. When results are available, a copy of your student’s scores will be shared with you.

Green Team Application

Is your child(ren) interested in being a potential member of the PBES Green Team?  If so, please fill out this short survey.  Your child must be in the 3rd-5th grade to apply. Applications are due by 8 p.m. November 8th, 2024. You will receive notification in regard to the status of your application on November 8th.

Boxes of Basics 

Boxes of Basics is a non-profit company that our social worker here at Piney Branch works with closely to help provide clothes for some of our low-income families. Piney Branch is now a donation center and we’re asking the community for any new or gently used clothes for sizes newborn through 16-youth. 

For more information about Boxes of Basics you can visit the Boxes of Basics website 

One Warm Coat 

Gainesville Pediatric Dentistry has once again reached out to Piney Branch and asked that we help collect new or gently used coats for families in need. A box has been placed in the front office since October 15th and is being picked up on December 30th.  

PWCS 33rd Annual Food Show 

Join us at the table for the PWCS 33rd Annual Food Show. PWCS would like our families to come to try new recipes at Patriot High School on November 14th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. 

Click here to RSVP to the PWCS 33rd Annual Food Show.

Veterans Day Luncheon 

Does your child have a local veteran in their family? We invite them to join us on Friday, November 8th at 12:00 p.m. for a special Veteran's Day Luncheon. Veterans and their families can enjoy a special meal provided by Mission BBQ and enjoy a performance by the PBES Chorus Club and our Purple Star Ambassadors.   Please fill out this RSVP form by November 1st to reserve your spot. Questions? Contact Merissa Bartoli at [email protected]  

To celebrate our veterans, we will be displaying a "Wall of Honor" in our main hallway.  Please send in photographs of the veterans in your family that you would like to honor by November 1st to the front office.  Please label the photographs with their name and branch of service and the student to whom they are connected.  Photographs will not be returned so please do not send in originals.   

 Accessing PBES Resources Outside of School

You can access our PBES resources like Canvas, Office 365 and Clever from almost wherever you are. Please see the following help videos to:

• Logging into PWCS Applications
• Setting up a Canvas Parent Account

Impact Aid Information

Impact Aid is a federal education program that reimburses school districts for lost revenue and additional costs due to the presence of nontaxable federal property (such as military installations, Indian lands, national parks, national laboratories, and Veterans Affairs hospitals) in a community. 

Funding under Impact Aid is allocated to local school divisions based on the number of qualifying students.  For PWCS, a qualifying student is defined as:

• Has a parent or legal guardian who is active-duty member of the United States Uniformed Services; or
• Resides with a parent or legal guardian who works on federal property, in the state of Virginia, as a civilian employee.

Please log into your ParentVue account and complete a Student-Parent survey for each child in your household.  Surveys will open September 30^th.  Surveys should be completed by November 30, 2024.   

Accessing Unit Test Results (Grade 2-5) 

You can view your child’s unit assessments given in Mastery Connect after they have taken the test. Please watch these videos for the steps you can take. 

Accessing Mastery Connect on a Computer 

Accessing Mastery Connect on an iPad 

Watch D.O.G.S.

Calling all Watch D.O.G.S.!

Shout out to Mr. Singh, and Mr. Perzan who were Watch D.O.G.S. this past week. Thank you for spending some of your time making Piney Branch safe. We hope you felt welcomed, and we hope to see you back.

There are still plenty of opportunities to serve as the Watch DOG for the day. The students, teachers, and staff are looking for all fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, and father figures to be the Hero of the Hallway for at least one day. Use the links below to purchase your official Watch DOGS T-shirt and sign up for the day of your choice. If you have any questions about the Watch DOGS program or would like to be a Watch DOG, please email the program coordinators at [email protected]. 

Click here to sign up to be a Watch D.O.G.S.  

Click here to obtain a Watch D.O.G.S. T-shirt 

Join the PTO

Become a member*! Your membership helps us support the Piney Branch community. You can also attend meetings and vote on initiatives that are important to you - but that is not a requirement. You do not have to attend meetings or volunteer to become a member.

Your time as a volunteer helps us execute our mission to support the students, teachers, staff, and parents at Piney Branch. It is also a great way to connect with our community. Volunteer opportunities are vast and flexible - choose what works best for you.

Payments can be made by clicking the Piney Branch venmo link*.

Save the Date for More Exciting PTO Events

• Color Craze - Thursday, October 31
• November PTO meeting - Wednesday, November 20                
• Spirit Night @ Haymarket Iceplex - Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m.      

 *This Website (Webpage) is not managed, approved, or sponsored by the Prince William County Public Schools.

Christmas Talent Competition

The Christmas Talent Competition will be hosted by 501 (3) (c) nonprofit PowerMax Company with co-host Miss Virginia USA 2024 (Himanvi Panidepu), Miss Virginia Teen USA 2024(Julia Allen), and Miss Virginia Teen USA 2023 (Ashley Wang). The aim of the show is to bring families together for a fun and entertaining evening while supporting families in need. A portion of the proceeds from the show will be used to purchase gifts for underprivileged families during Christmas. 

Many of your students and school teams will be competing on November 2nd at Forest Park High School, located at 15721 Forest Park Drive, Woodbridge, VA. This event promises an opportunity for everyone involved to win some amazing prizes. Additionally, guests in the audience will enjoy live entertainment, have a chance to win exciting prizes, and experience a variety of concessions and vendors. Proceeds will go towards supporting an incredible cause.

TICKETS CAN STILL BE PURCHASED ON PayPal via the link below or CashApp.  All tickets will be picked up at WILL-CALL the day of the show. 

PURCHASE TICKETS VIA PAYPAL: Click on the This Christmas Talent Competition and it will take you to the PayPal link. 

PURCHASE TICKETS VIA CashApp: @powermaxcompany 

TICKETS WILL BE $20.00 (CASH ONLY) AT THE DOOR.... Purchase tickets early!!!

Marsteller Math and Science Specialty Program

The Marsteller Math and Science Specialty Program is an interest-based program. All students interested in math and science are eligible to apply. It is the mission of the program to provide students with opportunities to explore in-depth mathematical and scientific concepts and principles in an enriching program of study while further developing their critical thinking skills.

Once in the program, students must earn at least a grade of B in Math and Science and Cs in all other classes to remain in the program. Students must also earn satisfactory conduct and effort grades and have good attendance. Students must maintain these standards throughout middle school.

Rising 6th-grade students are eligible to apply for the Math and Science Specialty Program if they are zoned to attend Marsteller Middle School. Students who are zoned to attend Bull Run, Gainesville, Nokesville, Parkside, Reagan, and Unity Braxton Middle Schools may be eligible to apply as transfer students. Families should check the PWCS find my school site to check school zones. Marsteller accepts 25 transfer students per year by lottery.

Families apply for their students with the online application beginning November 1st through February 1st. No students are automatically added to the program. All students, even Marsteller zoned students, must apply and be accepted in order to participate. 

More Information about Marsteller Math and Science Program

Important dates:

• Information Night: October 30 at 6:00 pm at Marsteller Middle School (Spanish translation will be available)
• Information Night: January 9 at 6:00 pm at Marsteller Middle School (Snow date Jan 14) (Spanish translation will be available)
• November 1st, 2024: Application opens
• February 1st, 2025: Application is due (no late applications will be accepted)
• Mid-Late February 2025 Program decision is released
• March 5th, 2025: Program Acceptance is due

Flu Shots

PWCS has made it easy to get your flu shot this year by setting up a free flu vaccine clinic. The first one will be held at the Kelly Leadership Center on Saturday, September 21. We hope everyone can take advantage of this opportunity.

November 18, 8 am to 4 pm, Unity Reed High School

November 21, 8 am to 1 pm, Potomac Transportation Center

Click here to register for one of the clinics

Stemality

Come by Stemality's Gainsville location to explore coding, robotics, and so many of their hands on workshops and with their expert instructors. More information is available on the Stemality website.