Ribbon-cutting ceremony held for the new Deep Creek Middle School
School and county leaders came together on Wednesday, July 23, to cut a ribbon in celebration of the new Deep Creek Middle School.
Families, teachers and community members gathered for a sneak peek of the 254,084-square-foot school built for 1,800 students featuring a media center, 1,000-seat auditorium, 650-student capacity cafeteria and 1,200-seat gym. A music suite includes spaces for band, chorus, orchestra and theater.
Deep Creek Middle will welcome its first students Aug. 18 at the start of the 2025-26 school year.
Welcome back, Bellwood Elementary!
Can you believe we’re already starting the next school year? Our students at Bellwood Elementary started classes on Monday, July 21. We’d like to welcome them back to the classroom and wish all our Bellwood families a happy first quarter!
Schools on our traditional schedule for 2025-26 begin classes the week of Aug. 18.
Be sure to check the CCPS calendars page for important dates for the next school year.
Congrats to summer school grads!
Summer school students who fulfilled diploma requirements were recognized at a special graduation ceremony this week. You can watch the ceremony on YouTube.
Have you updated your child’s transportation info?
As the start of the 2025-26 school year approaches, it’s important to make sure your student’s transportation details are up to date in ParentVUE. This includes confirming how they will get to and from school and verifying both your home and any alternative addresses.
Already updated your info? Great! If not, don’t wait. Making changes now helps ensure a smooth start to the school year.
What you need to know:
Bus stops and pick-up/drop-off times are now available in Versatrans e-link.
Update by Aug. 1 to help ensure changes are reflected when school begins.
Bus numbers will be shared soon.
As transportation planning continues and more students are added to bus routes, current route plans could change. Be sure to check your child’s route just before the start of school; routes could change as late as the day before school begins.
How to make changes:
Log in to ParentVUE, select your student’s name, then click “Student Info” to update transportation preferences.
Alternative addresses such as a second parent’s home or before/after school care can also be added or updated in ParentVUE as needed.
Need to update your home address? Contact your school registrar. Changes are not final until verified.
Need help? Easy instructions are available here. Call the Transportation Department at 804-464-3077 with questions.
Your one-stop back-to-school resource
Get ready for the new school year with all the info you need in one place! Visit
oneccps.org/school-life for quick access to school supply lists, calendars, transportation details, meal prices, enrollment info and more. Whether your student is in the class of 2026, the class of 2038 or anywhere in between, this page has you covered.
Immunization clinic and physicals offered for pre-school, middle and high school students
The Chesterfield Health Department will hold an immunization clinic and physicals will be offered for students in the Chesterfield Health District from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 2 at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church (14400 Beulah Rd.). There is no cost, but registration is required. To register, call 804-748-1051 and leave a message with your name, phone number, child’s name and child’s age. All children must be accompanied by someone 18 years of age or older. See the flyer.
Congressional App Challenge
The Congressional App Challenge encourages middle and high school students to learn how to code by creating their own applications. The challenge is open to all middle and high school students in the Fourth Congressional District of Virginia through Oct. 30, 2025.
The winner from the Fourth Congressional District will be featured on congressionalappchallenge.us. The winning app will also be eligible to be on display in the U.S. Capitol.
For more information, see the Congressional App Challenge website, email StudentSupport@CongressionalAppChallenge.us, or
bianca.casper1@mail.house.gov.
Our Farmers Market menu for July 30
The CCPS Food and Nutrition Services team is serving up food and fun each week at the Chesterfield Farmers Market (6701 Mimms Loop). Join us July 23 from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. to get a taste of this menu:
Entrée: Kale (Celeste Farms) pesto chicken (Joyce Farms) pasta with garlic bread
Side: Side salad (Greenswell lettuce and Celeste Farms tomatoes and cucumbers) and Seckel pears (Red House Grove Farm)
Beverage: Fresh local milk (Richlands Dairy)
Kids under 18 eat free. Adults may purchase a meal for $9 — cash or check only.
This week Chesterfield Fire and EMS will be there, and families can explore the Fire and Life Safety House.
New for the 2025-26 school year: SchoolCafe app is all you need for school meals
Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, Chesterfield County Public Schools will move to the SchoolCafe web platform and app for everything related to school meals. This powerful app replaces three apps previously used for viewing menus, paying for meals online and applying for free or reduced-price meals (MealViewer, MySchoolBucks and MySchoolApps).
SchoolCafe will continue to help families:
Make online payments for meals
View breakfast and lunch menus
Monitor your child’s cafeteria purchases
Set spending limits
Receive low balance notifications
Here’s what to do to get started with SchoolCafe:
Go to www.schoolcafe.com or download the free SchoolCafe app to your phone.
Create an account using your child’s student ID number. (You can find your child’s student ID via ParentVUE or by contacting your school.)
Set preferences and add funds as needed. (Any money that was in your MySchoolBucks account has been transferred to SchoolCafe.)
If you have questions or need help setting up your account, then call 866-442-6030 (toll free) or click the purple icon at the bottom of the screen to check out FAQs or chat with the SchoolCafe support team.
Learn more about the Food and Nutrition Services Department of Chesterfield County Public Schools.
Virginia SUN Bucks will begin issuing benefits in mid-July
The Virginia Department of Social Services will begin issuing benefits through the Virginia SUN Bucks 2025 program on July 18, 2025. The program provides $120 in supplemental grocery funds to hundreds of thousands of children across the Commonwealth.
VDSS will distribute benefits initially to more than 650,000 children found automatically eligible through their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and income-eligible Medical Assistance. Also included in this distribution are children determined eligible through an approved application for free or reduced-price meals from the National School Lunch Program.
If a child is not automatically eligible for Virginia SUN Bucks and needs to apply, a paper application is available here to download, print and mail in, or applicants can contact the Virginia SUN Bucks Call Center to apply from July 1- August 15, 2025, at 866-513-1414. The following information about the child is necessary to complete the application:
Legal name (first and last name)
Date of birth (month, date, year)
Home address
Child’s school name
School’s county/city division
Student ID number (found in the school’s parent portal)
All family income (from work and other sources)
Proof of citizenship or legal status (not required)
The last four digits of their Social Security number (not required)
Children found eligible through a Virginia SUN Bucks application will be issued benefits beginning August 1, 2025. VDSS will complete distribution of all SUN Bucks benefits by the end of September 2025.