The Star Report 10/10/2026

Posted Date: 10/10/26 (02:16 PM)

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The Star Report for Sandston Elementary School, 2026-2027, featuring the school's crest with a star, eagle, dragon, and rhino.

We celebrate our HARD & INTENTIONAL work as a Sandston Community! Thanks students, parents & staff for reaching our goal

A banner announcing that all Henrico County schools are fully accredited, featuring a quote from Superintendent Amy Cashwell.

LAST WEEK OF the Stuff'd Pals Fundraiser

Any donation is appreciated to reach our school's goal. No donation is too small.

A fundraising leaderboard for Sandston Elementary School, showing a total of $7,510.00 raised toward an $8,000 goal.

Email our staff

We are open on Monday, yet some daycares are CLOSED

A cheerful yellow star character stands on a background of autumn leaves, holding a speech bubble that says "Yes! We're OPEN". The text at the top reads "Monday, October 12th".

The following daycares are closed on Monday, October 12th. Alternative transportation is needed for this day. Remember, this change requires a handwritten note. We are not allowed to take email, phone calls, or ParentSquare messages for this change.

CLOSED ON MONDAY:

Love and Learn

Tee-Care-4-U

Little Peeple's World

Come join us as we Kick Off our Watch D.O.G.S. Program on Monday, October 12th 7:20-7:50am !

A colorful flyer for 'Doughnuts for D.O.G.S.' event featuring smiling families, a star mascot, and a friendly dog.

A flyer for 'Fall Picture Day' announces the event by Strawbridge Studios Inc., featuring a sample photo of a smiling child.

📸 Picture Day is Coming! 📸

Get ready to smile! Fall Picture Day is coming up on Tuesday, October 13, 2026! 📷🍂

Please remember that if you plan to purchase pictures, do not send money to school with your student until the day of Picture Day. Money should be sent in with your student on October 13th.

You may also order your pictures online

We can't wait to see everyone's smiles! 😊

Picture Day: Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Important Dates at Sandston

A banner with the word 'October' in black playful font set against a bright yellow rectangle.

LAST WEEK OF STUFF'D PALS FUNDRAISER

October 12:

Stop, Drop, and Read Mondays
Fire Drill

October 13:

Strawbridge Individual Fall Pictures

October 15:

House Meeting 7:40-8:10
Stuffed Pals Party 12:00-1:30
Earthquake Drill-The Great Shake Out

A bright yellow banner with the word 'October' in bold black letters, set against a Halloween-themed background.

October 23 - 31: Red Ribbon Week

October 21: Unity Day-WEAR ORANGE

October 22: PTA FALL FESTIVAL 5-7

October 28:

End of 1st Quarter/ Student Half Day/ Flexible Teacher Clerical Day/Full day for other staff members

October 30:

Vocabulary Parade TBD
TRUNK or Treat TBD

A banner with pastel-colored blocks in yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, and green features white text reading 'Student Positive Office Referrals'.

Our staff members have the opportunity to nominate students who demonstrate core values such as leadership, kindness, respect, responsibility, and safety. Mrs. Anderson called home to recognize each student with a positive office referral. We are excited to highlight this week's featured Sandston Stars:

Liliana T- 5th Grade - Safety and Kindness
Samiyah P- 5th Grade - Responsibility

October is National Principal's Month

A graphic celebrating National Principal's Month features a smiling woman, identified as Principal Stephanie Anderson of Sandston Elementary.

House Points and Attendance

Stop, Drop, and Read

At Sandston, we love starting our week with a good book! Every Monday from 7:40-8:00 a.m., all students and staff participate in Stop, Drop, and Read. This dedicated reading time will take place each Monday.

A special thank you to our students, teachers, and staff who jumped right into reading this week and did an outstanding job following our schoolwide expectations. Your commitment to building strong reading habits helps create a wonderful culture of literacy at Sandston!

Keep up the great work, and happy reading!

Walk to School Day

We started our day on Wednesday with walking with our friends, classmates, families, and teachers. We love this tradition so much.

Our STARS are the BEST!!

Trunk Or Treat Candy Drive for Our Students

Every year we have a trunk-or-treat for our students. We hand out candy to each student from more than 10 cars. Our candy drive supports this tradition for each one of our students. We also hand out non-candy items to our students who have an allergy or request to not have candy.

Please donate nut-free, wrapped candy-no donation is too small.

A promotional image for a trunk or treat event with two informational flyers on a reddish-orange background decorated with illustrations of wrapped candies.

A person in a blue costume hands treats to a child dressed as a character in an outdoor setting.

A group of children in costumes wait in line by a decorated car trunk for treats outdoors.

Student Badges ARE Required EVERY Day for EVERY Student

Students who have their IDs find it a smoother transition from arrival, breakfast, lunch, and departure.
Students who have their IDs are receiving positive points in most of our classrooms.
Students who have their ID's are not having to memorize their student lunch number for breakfast and lunch.

STARTING 2nd Quarter, students WITHOUT their ID's will start getting NEGATIVE points for not being prepared for school.

Attendance and Transportation Changes

NEW- Please remember that anyone picking up your student MUST be listed on their approved pickup list. If the person is not on the list, we cannot release your student to them.

NEW-Please make sure you have the school’s phone number programed into your phone: 804-328-4055.

We have noticed that when we are calling parents, some calls are being sent directly to Spam because the school’s number is not saved in their phone.

Please take a moment to save the number in your contacts so you don’t miss important calls from the school.

Please remember to send a handwritten note with your student if you plan to change how they are going home.

For our students' safety, we cannot accept transportation changes by phone, fax, email, or ParentSquare. All changes must be submitted in writing with your student.

📢 Attendance Line Reminder

If your student is going to be absent, you can call them out anytime during the day or night. You may leave a message on our attendance line at any time.

When leaving a message, please be sure to include:

• Student’s first and last name

• Reason for the absence

You may also respond to the ParentSquare attendance report when it is sent to you at 12:00 PM. You may also send a handwritten note with your child when they return to school stating the reason for their absence.

If your student went to the doctor and received a doctor’s note, please send the note to the office so we can update their attendance accordingly.

State Testing

All students enrolled in Virginia public schools are expected to take the applicable state

tests. The Virginia Board of Education Regulations Establishing Standards for

Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia note:

“In kindergarten through eighth grade, where the administration of Virginia

assessment program tests are required by the Board of Education, and each student

shall be expected to take the tests” and “each student in middle and secondary

schools shall take all applicable end-of-course SOL tests following course

instruction” ( 8VAC20-132-40).

The Virginia regulations do not provide for what is sometimes referred to as an

“opt-out policy” for students regarding the Virginia assessments. If parents refuse to

have their student participate in one or more of the required Virginia assessments,

They should be aware that their students’ state assessment score report will reflect a

score of “0” for any test that is refused.

A colorful promotional sign for a school store announces it is coming soon, with opening day on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, set in a lively school hallway.

A colorful school counseling banner featuring a mint green background, black and white cheetah print borders, and playful stickers like flowers, stars, and smiley faces.

A graphic promoting National Bullying Prevention Month in October, featuring an orange handprint with 'STOP BULLYING' written on it against a blue background.

Sandston School Counselors: Lila Hiltz and Lisa Eberhart

October is designated as National Bullying Prevention Month, a nationwide and global campaign founded in 2006 by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center to educate communities and end childhood bullying. Sandston will be participating in several ways throughout the month.

Classroom lessons will be focused on Friendship in Grades K-1 and Bullying in Grades 2-5. Bullying Definition Slide

October 21 - Unity Day: Wear Orange. Held on the third Wednesday of October (October 21, 2026), this signature event encourages everyone to wear and share the color orange to visibly show support for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion

Our School Counselors are here to help support all students.

Please reach out to either School Counselor with any concerns.

lohiltz@henrico.k12.va.us

lmeberhart@henrico.k12.va.us

Counseling Family Needs Request

Digital Wellness- Navigating YouTube Safely

Mainstream YouTube is full of rabbit holes. Henrico County has blocked students from accessing YouTube at school. Common Sense Media recommends sticking strictly to YouTube Kids at home, or creating a shared family account where you subscribe to approved channels and disable the "Autoplay" feature. Try This: Go into your device settings today and turn off "Autoplay" to prevent endless video scrolling. Resource Link: Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

Colorful bunting flags frame the text 'NEWS FROM THE PTA!' on a black and white speckled background.

A Halloween-themed flyer on an orange background that reads "Vendors Wanted" for the Sandston PTA Fall Festival on October 22nd.

Fall Festival Vend-or-Treat

The PTA is once again hosting our Fall Festival on October 22nd from 5-7pm at school! We are looking to partner with local vendors for our Vend-or-Treat for students. Interested vendors can either pay $20 for a space and provide candy for about 200 kids or pay $25 for a space and forego candy. Spaces are limited and a vendor application must be completed online at: https://forms.gle/tmzSY85hYoBUQaxeA

A colorful flyer for the Sandston PTA Fall Festival on October 22nd from 5-7pm, detailing games, food, contests, and vend-or-treat.

A black and white QR code features a pixelated dinosaur silhouette in the center.

Volunteers Needed!

We need YOU! We need volunteers to help make our Fall Festival a success for our students and families here at Sandston! You can volunteer for part of the time or all of the time, any and all help is greatly appreciated! We will need people to help set-up, take-down, serve food, and run game stations. We also love middle and high school volutneers, and happily sign volunteer hours needed! Please fill out the Google form if you are able to help in any way.

Do you have anything you would like to see the PTA sponsor? Contact our President, Elizabeth Williams, at eewilliams1@henrico.k12.va.us.

All are welcome to our PTA Board Meetings in the school library from 3:00 pm-4:00 pm

Upcoming meetings:

General Meeting: December 17th PTA/Music Performance, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Board Meeting: November 9, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm in the Library

A promotional image for the Sandston Elementary School PTA, featuring a red and white megaphone and text that reads "JOIN OUR PTA ONLY $6 TO JOIN".

Join the PTA Today!

Join the PTA today to help support activities at Sandston for students, staff and community members. It's only $6 to join and the join helps to bring events to Sandston like Fall Festival, our Winter Shop, classroom parties, Young Scientists and so much more!

A promotional graphic encourages supporting Sandston Elementary School by shopping at Kroger, featuring a wire shopping basket overflowing with fresh produce.

Link Your Kroger Shopper's Card In a Few Easy Steps

Help support Sandston when you join the PTA and shop at Kroger!

A graphic displays upcoming school events with dates: Grandparent's Day Breakfast (9/14), Veteran's Day, Math-A-Thon, Fall Festival (10/22), Winter Shop, and more in Spring.

Upcoming Events

Keep an eye on this newsletter to find out all the details on our upcoming events here at Sandston. And please reach out to Elizabeth Williams (elizabethaellis@yahoo.com) if you would like to volunteer at any of our events or donate items to help make these events amazing for our students and families.

In Every Newsletter

Colorful text reads 'COMMUNITY PARTNERS' with playful doodles.

A colorful flyer titled "S.O.S. (Save Our Staffroom)!" lists categories of snacks and drinks needed for teachers.

Thank You, Sandston Community!

We are incredibly grateful for the local businesses, churches, and families who continuously support our school community. We will proudly recognize our supporters here and on our social media platforms.

If you know of a company, organization, church, or individual who would be interested in providing financial support or donating goods or services, please have them contact:

Stephanie Anderson

📧 saanderson@henrico.k12.va.us

Alyssa Slater

📧 afslater@henrico.k12.va.us

A graphic with light blue background featuring black text that reads 'Thank you so much' and school crest at the bottom right corner.

August and September Donors

Community Partners

Bob Robinson-donated extra clothing and school supplies for student needs
Pastor Theresa-School supplies for student needs

Business Partners

Unplugged Game Cafe-donated coffee drinks to our staff lounge

Family Partners

If we have inadvertently missed recognizing your community, business, or family partnership, please contact Principal Stephanie Anderson at saanderson@henrico.k12.va.us.

A colorful banner with the text 'News and Resources from our FAMILY ADVOCATE' and cute smiley face graphics.

Impact Meetings

The Sandston Impact Committee meets to address school-specific family engagement and student support. We will meet every 2nd Thursday of the month . If it is different we will post the dates .

This month we will meet on Thursday October 8th.

All are welcome to come !

Watch D.O.G.S.

DADS OF GREAT STUDENTS

(family members, community members, coaches, etc)

We will have our Watch D.O.G.S. kick off October 12th 7:20am-7:50am Donuts For Dads.

Interested in volunteering?

Email our Family Advocate, Mrs. Hockaday @ achockaday@henrico.k12.va.us.

A flyer for the Henrico County Public Schools Community Food Pantry, operating every Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oak Avenue Complex, offering free food items for Henrico families.

Upcoming Family and Community Engagement Events

Bridge Builders Academy Sessions:

September 15- FRC open House at The Oak Avenue Complex/ 5-7pm
September 29- Overview of the HCPS specialty Center application process and online resources available to Families.(Spanish)- Virtual

The word "SAFETY" is displayed in large white letters against a pastel watercolor background.

Sandston Safety Notes

Monday, October 12 - Fire Drill

Thursday, October 15 - Sandston will be participating in the Great SouthEast ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.

SAFETY HANDBOOK

Crisis Preparedness: Parent Handbook.

SAFETY CONCERNS?

Our school has a safety committee that meets monthly to discuss safety issues and review practices that ensure our school is safe. If you have suggestions or concerns regarding school safety, use this link.

ANONYMOUS ALERTS!

Anonymous Alerts