News from the Nest
August 21, 2024
A note from Mr. Thorne and Ms. Sobers . . .
We could not have started the year on a more positive note. Our students entered school with enthusiasm, joy, and kindness and the energy of the building is electric. Dr. Flenard, Deputy Superintendent of PWCS, visited PBES yesterday and delighted in the infectious energy of our students in this building. The administration, teachers and staff continue to extend their most heartfelt gratitude for the honor and privilege of working in this amazing school community. The strength of the community includes the wonderful children, and also their amazing families and all of the support provided to the school. We encourage all parents to become members of the Piney Branch PTO. Your financial pledge for membership helps support many initiatives at PBES including subsidizing field trips, playground improvements, assemblies, outdoor learning, and beautification – even if you’re not available to volunteer. Sign-up on the PTO’s interest form and pledge a contribution. You can then submit payment to the PTO’s Venmo @PineyBranch-ElementaryPTO (code 1117).
- Join PTO
- PWCS Calendars
- Back to School Nights
- Running Club
Sincerely,
Steve Thorne and Monica Sobers
Fresh Takes
Back to School Nights
Piney Branch will hold student-led Back to School Nights on 9/25 & 9/26. Students will lead parents through Back to School Information in their classrooms. Both students and parents can attend.
9/25 – Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd Grades – 6:00-7:30 (open house format)
9/26 – 3rd, 4th, 5th Grades – 6:00-7:30 (open house format)
Join the PBES PTO
The new PBES PTO board has a lot of things planned for Piney Branch families this year. You can support the PTO by volunteering to help with spirt nights or organized events and signing up to pledge and contribute PTO membership will continue to help fund additional perks that help our Piney Branch students grow.
You can then submit payment to the PTO’s Venmo @PineyBranch-ElementaryPTO (code 1117)
PWCS 2024-2025 School Calendars
Prince William County School calendars will be going home this week. The county has provided enough for there to be one per household.
Running Club is back
Does your student like to run? Then the Running Club is for them! We will have 2 sessions this year. The fall Running Club is open to students in grades 1-2. (The spring session will be for grades 3-5.) We meet Mondays and Wednesdays after school until 5:00. Students participating should be able to attend both days. We will show off all our hard work with a mile run on October 20th. More details will be available closer to the date.
If your student is interested in joining, please fill out the form below by Tuesday, September 3 at 12 pm. Our first practice will be Wednesday, September 4! If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Blue, [email protected], Mrs. Hilton, [email protected], or Mrs. McAfee, [email protected].
Running Club Interest formBack to School Packet
The Back to School Packet is now available on ParentVUE. Having up-to-date emergency contact information for our families is vital. We need all families to complete the annual Back to School Packet. Until this packet is complete, parents/guardians will be unable to access valuable information in ParentVUE. If you do not have an active ParentVUE account, please call our office.
Beginning of Year Lockdown Drills
Per PWCS regulation, we are required to hold our four Lockdown drills this year; the first being in the first 10 days of school, and the second in the first 20 days of school. The purpose of this drill is to prepare students and staff for our procedures if there is any danger outside or inside the building. We understand that these drills can be a little scary for students, so classroom teachers will be talking to their classes and walking them through our procedures. Just like when we practice fire drills, these drills are necessary to make sure all students know what to do in case of an emergency.
We will have our first 2 required lockdown drills in September. For the first drill preschool and kindergarten students will not participate.
2024-2025 Bell Times & Bus Information
Piney Branch bell times remain 9:20-4:00. Kiss n’ Ride drop-off will begin at 9:10am. For more information check the PWCS Transportation webpage for updates.
Preliminary bus stop information will be available in ParentVUE the week of August 14.
Information on how to access The Hub’s StudentVUE and ParentVUE applications can be found on The Hub page of the PWCS website.
Kiss N’ Ride (Car Drop-off)
If you are new to Kiss N’ Ride (car drop-off) and require a hang tag or are a KNR vet and need a replacement tag, please come by the office 9-3 daily, or at supply drop-off/orientation events. ID will be required. If you want to double check your number, please call the office and we’ll be happy to help you. For Kiss N’ Ride procedures, please read our KNR webpage.
Health Treatment Plans & Medication Dropoff
If you student requires medication at school, please get in touch with our school nurse to get the necessary paperwork.
School Meals 2024-2025
Applications for free and reduced-price meals are now available on the PWCS Nutrition Site. Below, please find the USDA-approved school meal prices for the 2024-25 school year:
Breakfast
- Student full price - $1.60
- Adult price - $2.75
Lunch
- Elementary school student full price - $2.60
- Middle school student full price - $2.75
- High school student full price - $2.85
- Adult full price - $4.65
- A la carte –
- Milk, $1
- Bottled Water $1.00
- *Cookie $1.00 (one per day )
- *Packaged Snack $1.00 (one per day )
- Side Dish $1.50
- *Strawberry Shortcake $2.50(one per day )
For Good Measure
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:
Mark Your Calendar/Upcoming Events
- August 30th, & September 2nd – No schools Division closed for Labor Day weekend
- September 17th – Fall Pictures
- September 18th – PTO Meeting in PBES Library
- September 19th – MOD Pizza Spirt Night
- September 20th – Movie Night
PTO News
First PTO Meeting of 2024-2025 School Year
Join us for the first PTO meeting this school year on September 18th at 6:30pm in the PBES Library. We look forward to seeing returning families and new families.
Spirit Night: MOD Pizza
On September 19th MOD Pizza located on 13941 Promenade Commons Street in Gainsville will host a spirt night and give a portion of funds collected that night to our PTO. Please present the attached Mod Pizza flyer for the funds to go to PBES PTO. The fundraiser code is MODGIVES25.
Movie Night
Please add to your calendar to join us on Friday, September 20th for our movie night. More details to come soon!
Join the PTO
Support our school and get free PBES swag by joining the PTO! Join online on our website!
Please visit www.PineyBranchPTO.com for all information related to the PBES PTO.
*This Website (Webpage) is not managed, approved, or sponsored by the Prince William County Public Schools.