Programs

Fundraising

One and Done

The name says it all—one donation, and you are DONE with fundraising for the year. Save time and hassle in your family’s busy life. No selling, delivering, or collecting money. With your support, this is the One & Only PTA fundraiser for the year. Help us raise $40k in 40 days. A donation of $150/family is encouraged, but any contribution amount helps. 100% of your tax-deductible donation goes to the PTA and enriches your child’s education.

Donate to Our One & Done Campaign

Chair:

Enrichment

After School Academies
Whether its karate, art, sports or Minecraft programming, Kent Gardens PTA has an after school academy for your child! Our After School Academies are offered three times a year (Fall, Winter, and Spring), and each runs for 7 weeks. Our After School Academies are provided by Enrichment Matters.

Chair: JaLyn Tiffany

Fall 2022 Registration Coming Soon. Please check back for more details.

Chess Club

 

Why play chess? Chess is a great mental exercise for children, helping them improve problem-solving skills, hone their critical thinking, and practice concentration and self-discipline. Most importantly, chess is FUN! Kent Gardens Chess Club is offered year-round, with registration in the fall and spring. Chess Club meets on Wednesdays from 3:45 until 5:15 pm and is open to any KG student—new or experienced—in grade 2 through 6. An instructor from the U.S. Chess Center instructs the group.

Chair: Cam Donelson

 

 

Girls on the Run

 

 

girls-on-the-run-125x119This fall Kent Gardens will have a team for Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run is a transformational physical activity based positive youth development program for girls in 3rd-8th grade. We teach life skills through dynamic interactive lessons and running games. The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5k running event. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness. Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia is an Independent Council of Girls on the Run International, which has a network of over 200 councils across the United States and Canada.

A recent study on Girls on the Run participants shows girls who began with lower pre-season scores on confidence in physical activity, self-worth, connection, character, caring, contribution and physical activity frequency, and higher scores on sedentary behaviors showed statistically significant improvements from pre-season to post-season? We hope to continue this trend! Join Girls on the Run this season! Register here: https://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=18496211

Click here to check out the KGES Girls on the Run quick fact sheet!

Kent Gardens Musical Theater Club

 

The Kent Gardens musical theater club (MTC) is open to sixth, fifth, and fourth grade (space permitting) students at Kent Gardens.
Students receive professional-level training to rehearse and produce this show. The KG PTA and Creative Cauldron will provide participants with professional-level training in a supportive and fun environment. Three teachers will be present at each rehearsal: Director, Choreographer, and a Musical Director.
Chairs: Jenny Wormser, Heather Whitney

Register Now!

 

Kent Gardens PTA Summer Camps
Math Competition Club (MC2)

 

Math Competition Club or MC2 is a before-school advanced math program to get kids excited about learning math and prepare them for success in the many popular math competitions done at school, like the CML, VML, AMC-8, and Math Counts.

Who: Students in grades 4-6 who have a strong interest in math. 3rd grade students are also invited to participate in our Grade 3 Mathletes MC2 program.

Cost: $760 per student (grades 4-6); $285 per student (grade 3)

Register for MC2 (Grades 4-6)Register for MC2 (Grade 3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science Olympiad

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD.  Kent Gardens is bringing back the Science Olympiad teams! 

Did you knowThe Kent Gardens Science Olympiad team advanced to the State Competition in March 2020.  Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic forced a cancellation of the March 30 state competition.

Did you knowKent Gardens did not participate in the 2021 Science Olympiad due to the challenges of running a virtual science program.  Families were reluctant to commit to the science program under those circumstances. The Science Olympiad did take place but at a much-reduced participation rate in Virginia.

The good news is that we are bringing it back.  We hope to rekindle the culture we had before 2020 -21.

Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 science education, increasing male, female, and minority interest in science, creating a technologically literate workforce, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers.  One of Science Olympiad’s goals is to create a passion for learning science by supporting elementary and secondary Science Olympiad tournaments at building, district, county, state, and national levels with an emphasis on teamwork and a commitment to excellence.

Kent Gardens participates with at Division B (6 – 8th grade) team and a Division A (3- 5thgrade) team.   Each team may participate in up to 23 events.  The 6th grade team competes officially.  The 3 -5th grade team competes as a practice team with more relaxed rules.  Sometimes 5th graders participate in the Division B.

Science Olympiad teams are groups of 15 students that work in pairs and prepare for 2 or 3 events per pair.  For more details, see the VASO 2022 Event List:

2022 VASO Event List  Click on the event in the right column to see details

Events are divided into two categories:

  • Study events, such as Anatomy and Physiology.  At the tournament, students, working with their partner, simply answer a written test.
  • Building events, such as Mousetrap Vehicle or Bridge. For these events, students work with their partner on building a specific device following the rules provided. At the tournament, the device is tested in front of judges.
  • Break out of which Division B events are written and which are device events.  2022 Written and Device Events.pdf

The Kent Gardens Science Olympiad seeks participation on three levels:

  1. Students interested should let their teachers know or Mr. Shivnen
  2. Parent Coordinators. We normally have two parent coordinators who schedule bi-monthly event progress meetings and provide information on rules, dates, and logistics for the eventual regional tournament which takes place in February.
  3. Parent mentors. Each event has a parent who mentors each student pair of participants

To restart our Science Olympiad team, we will seek student and parent participation interest in September.  Students please let me know through your teachers.  Parents please contact me here: jjshivnen@fcps.edu

Cost:  $60 per student for the year.

Register now for the KG Science Olympiad!

 

 

 

 

 

Shop #KGPride

Amazon Smile Shopping

 

 

Give back to Kent Gardens PTA while you shop with Amazon Smile.

To give back while with Amazon Smile, select Kent Gardens PTA as your charity of choice before using the link below to shop!

https://smile.amazon.com/

 

 

 

#KGPride Spirit Wear

 

 

At Kent Gardens, every Friday is #KGPride Friday! Stock your child’s closet now–we have a variety of Kent Gardens Elementary School items that you may purchase, including car magnets, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more. All online orders will be shipped directly to your home.

SHOP OUR ONLINE STORE NOW!

Chair: Lane Gulotta

 

 

 

 

Shutterfly

 

Simply use the links below when you shop at Shutterfly, and Kent Gardens PTA will receive a percentage of your purchase!

 

Community Relations

Community Service Committee

Chairs: Alexis Pearce, Cam Donelson

 

Food Bus – Food Recovery from Cafeteria

 

Our food recovery program allows children to donate uneaten/unopened food from the school lunch they purchase to the SHARE of McLean food pantry.  Last year we collected 1,187 pounds of food. This fall we are excited to kick off another great year of reducing waste and giving back to our local community in need.

 

Chair: Julie Brown, Amy Carey

 

 

Grade-Specific Committees

Kinder Kickoff

 

 

Join us on the playground for our Kinder Kickoff Playdates! This is a great opportunity to meet other parents and help your kids get excited about the upcoming school year. Come and let your kids play while you visit with other parents before school starts. There will also be PTA members and Principal McGuigan in attendance to answer any questions you may have about Kent Gardens.

 

Chair: Bethany Nguyen

 

 

6th Grade Farewell

 

 

Chair: Jenny Wormser

 

Art/Drama

Cultural Arts
Reflections

The National PTA Reflections program is PTA’s cornerstone arts program. It offers students the opportunity to earn local, state and even national recognition for original artwork they create in response to a specific theme.

 

Square 1 Art

 

Square One Art is a creative and exciting fundraising opportunity that helps KG PTA raise money by turning your child’s art into useful keepsakes. Square 1 Art offers the ability to have students’ artwork easily transformed into a diverse selection of high quality custom products at reasonable prices.

 

Chair: Sarah Nearing

 

 

 

Cultural

French Video Club
The French Video Club is open to all students at Kent Gardens. Featuring a lending library of more than 1000 videos from Harry Potter to Disney favorites, all in French, the club offers something for everyone! Join online.

 

 

Chair: Mami Gebereegiabher, Sif Lazizi, Alice Rousie

French Week

Kent Gardens looks forward to celebrating National French Week each year, in collaboration with the Bureau of Government of Quebec. School-sponsored French Week celebrations include presentations and other festivities

 

 

 

Chair: Atresha Whitmore, Abby Allen

 

International Night

 

International Night celebrates our diverse community, teaches our kids about the world around them, and brings Kent Gardens E.S. families together as we share our global experiences and delicious food with each other. For more information, visit our International Night page.

 

Chair: Nadya Abhyankar

 

Family Fun Opportunities

Family Dinners

 

Take a night off of cooking and join your fellow KG community for a night out! Our Family Dinner Nights are help every other month at a variety of local eateries, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the KG PTA. Dig in!

 

Chair: Julie Brown

Book Fair

 

Kent Gardens offers two yearly book fairs—one in the fall and one in the spring.

 

Chairs: Kara Horgan, Lisa Fraser

Communications

The Roar Newsletter

The Kent Gardens PTA newsletter, The Roar, is distributed electronically each Friday. If you have news or updates you’d like to share with the KG community, we’d love to help you spread the word! Contact our newsletter editor for more information.

 

Editor: Carrie Schymanski

 

The Kent Gardens PTA Website

Webmasters: Bethany Nguyen

Other Committees

 

Author Visits
Chair: Leslie Aga

 

Building & Grounds
Chair:

Clinic Support
Chair: Sheila Seth

FCPS Parent Resource Center Liaison
Chair: Connie Howell

Lost and Found
Chair: Yamina Boukarabilia

School Supplies
Chair: Marie Lee

Teacher Appreciation
Chair: Kristen Danner

Technology
Chair: Scott Stafford

Walk/Bike to School
Chair: Sarah Salerno