PBAC Meeting October 18th 

Next Wednesday, October 18th after the PTO meeting, we will be holding our PBAC meeting. October’s PBAC meeting agenda includes community engagement and how parents can get more involved. We hope to see you there.  

Meeting time: 7:30pm 

Location: PBES Library 

Annual School Calendar Survey 

PWCS released the annual school calendar survey this week, asking parents, students, and staff for input on the 2025-26 school calendar. 

Learn more about the school calendar options and complete the survey. 

The survey opens on Monday, October 7, and closes on Tuesday, October 15.   

PWCS Proud 

PWCS is excited to launch PWCS Proud! an employee recognition program aligned with the You Belong Here initiative for staff retention and engagement. PWCS staff, students, families, and community members are encouraged to nominate PWCS staff members who: 

• Contribute to one or more of the 2025 PWCS Strategic Plan Commitments; 

• Exemplify the six PWCS Core Values; 

• Provides exceptional contributions to PWCS through their work; 

• Model high standards while creating a strong sense of community. 

The first nomination submission window will be open from October 7-October 28, 2024. 

Fall Food Drive 

We are excited to announce our Fall Food Drive, running from October 7th to October 21st! This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together and support families who need a little extra help this year. Please donate non-perishable food items. We are collecting canned goods, pasta, rice, canned fruit, applesauce, canned vegetables, canned meat/fish, canned potatoes, Instant mashed potatoes box, one-box meals (like Hamburger Helper), peanut butter, jelly, cereal, oatmeal, pre-made baking mix, flour, sugar, shelf-stable milk, cooking oil/spray. Please have your students bring their items to their classroom.   

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.   

Gifted Education and Talent Development Information Session 

Parents or guardians who would like to learn about the process used to identify students for gifted education and talent development services in Prince William County Public Schools are invited to attend a virtual information session on October 24, 2024, at 7 p.m. Please register for the session and request interpretation services by completing the online registration form. The link to the Zoom session will emailed to all registrants two days before the session. 

2nd Grade Naglieri Testing 

This fall, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test – Third Edition (NNAT3) will be administered to Grades 2, 6 and 9 students in Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS). The NNAT3 is used to assess the development of reasoning and problem-solving skills in students as part of our universal screening process for Gifted Education. During this 30-minute test, students are asked to solve a series of non-verbal logic problems, which provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate reasoning skills without relying on language.  

The NNAT3 will be administered at Piney Branch on Wednesday October 23. 

NNAT3 results will be used in combination with other classroom achievement information to assist us in understanding the learning strengths and needs of students so that our staff can design the most effective instructional plan for them. 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 sent to you. If you have questions about NNAT3, please contact Ms. Sobers ([email protected]). 

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 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 

TUTORS WANTED for All in Tutoring 

We are looking for tutors to participate in the state mandated All-In Tutoring sessions for grades 3-5, who were found eligible based on data from the 23-24 school year. Curriculum will be provided. Tutors will have the opportunity to work with more than one group of students if their schedules allow, ranging anywhere from 3-30 hours per week. The hourly rate for a tutor, depending on level of education, can be up to $34/hour. If this is something you would be interested in, please reach out to Steve Thorne and Stephanie Maldonado ([email protected]) as soon as possible! 

Watch D.O.G.S.

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

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]. 

Shout out to Mr. Raab, and Mr. Nichols who were Watch D.O.G.S. this past week. Thank you for making your presence known in our halls. We hope you felt welcome.  

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

 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

Silent Auction Online Bidding Open until October 17th 

Help us kick off our Silent Auction with online bidding. The Silent Auction will be held during Bingo Night on October 18. Starting bids will be accepted online through October 17. Bidding will continue in-person at Bingo Night on October 18. Check out what's available and place your starting bids today. 

Bingo Night is almost here! Pre-order Deadline October 15 

Join us on October 18th and get ready to shout "BINGO" at this fun-filled event. We are now accepting pre-orders for Bingo Party Packs, Card Packs, and Daubers at a discounted price. Pre-order pricing is only available online through October 15.  

Plus, skip the ticket line and add concession tickets to your pre-order cart! Pizza, hot dogs, snacks, candy and drinks will be available for purchase at Bingo Night. Pre-order your Bingo Night supplies today. 

October PTO Meeting

Please join us in person for our next PTO Meeting on Wednesday, October 16th or join us remotely .   Join in person to enter our monthly PTO gift card giveaway; you do not need to be a member to join us!

Color Craze - Registration NOW OPEN!

Get ready to unleash your energy at Piney Branch Elementary School's most vibrant event of the year. The Piney Branch PTO is thrilled to present the 2024 Color Craze. On October 31st, the school grounds will transform into a colorful canvas as students dash through clouds of color, laughter, and excitement.  Download the packet on the PTO Color Craze website for instructions to register and start your fundraising to help your child win one of our grand prizes! T-Shirt Deadline OCTOBER 13th at 5 p.m. EST. Fundraising will stay open until Thursday, October 31, 2024 for your student to win the grand individual and class prizes! We are halfway to our goal Piney Family, keep up the good work!

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

• October PTO Meeting  - Wednesday, October 16
• Silent Auction & Bingo Night - Friday, October 18
• Color Craze - Thursday, October 31
• November PTO meeting - Wednesday, November 20                
• Spirit Night @ Haymarket Iceplex - December TBD      

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

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.

September 21, 9 am to 1 pm, Kelly Leadership Center

September 26, 8 am to 4 pm, Kelly Leadership Center

September 30, 11:30 am to 4 pm, Independence Nontraditional School

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

Mighty Sprinters

Mighty Sprinters is now open for registration for children ages 3-10. They are offering a kids running, and a fitness program. For more information you can visit their website. 

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.