Stories are at the very heart of what we do at Great Hearts Arlington. While great stories bring joy and delight, they also teach us about the world around us—the people in it, the choices we make, and the consequences of those choices. Through stories, our scholars develop their imaginations and learn to recognize the True, the Good, and the Beautiful in both the stories they read and the world around them.
On Friday, October 30th, Great Hearts Arlington Lower School will celebrate our annual Storybook Festival! This special day is a celebration of our shared love of books, imagination, and the wonderful worlds found within the pages of great stories.
Each grade level will have a unique schedule of activities throughout the day. Scholars will listen to and read favorite stories, participate in story-inspired activities and crafts, and enjoy special snacks.
To make the day even more memorable, students and faculty are invited to dress up as characters from their favorite classical stories. Scholars will also have the opportunity to hear stories read by special guests, including parents, teachers, and members of our administration.
We look forward to celebrating the joy of stories with our scholars and creating a day filled with wonder, imagination, and a love of great books!
October 30th, 2026 is an early-release Friday; drop-off and pick-up will be unaffected by the Storybook Festival.
Storybook Festival Costume Parade
Parents are invited to watch the annual Storybook Festival Costume Parade! Families must enter the campus through Eden Gate and park behind the school. After parking, parents/guardians may stand on the green carline stripe outside of the Upper School to watch the parade, as our scholars will parade on the sidewalk.
The parade will start promptly at 8:15am.
Costumes
For the Storybook Festival, students will be allowed to come to school dressed as their favorite character from any of our list of Classics to Keep or from our Amazon Wish List. Since students will be wearing the costumes during the school day, there are a number of guidelines that we will ask you to follow. Click here for detailed instructions on what is and is not permissible to wear.
2026-27 COSTUME GUIDELINES click here.
Read to our scholars!
Parents are invited to join us on campus for Storybook Festival and read a favorite story aloud to our scholars! We would love to have you be part of this special day and help bring the joy and wonder of great stories to life.
Parents are encouraged to bring a high-quality children’s book to share. We will also have a selection of books available on campus for parents to choose from if needed.
Reading opportunities are available in 10-minute and 15-minute time slots, depending on the grade-level schedule. We encourage you to sign up for multiple time slots if your schedule allows!
Click on your scholar’s grade level below to sign up and select your reading times.
We look forward to welcoming you to campus and celebrating our shared love of stories! 📚✨
Parent Readers Kindergarten and Room 121
Little Sibling Story Corner
Calling 3- and 4-year-old siblings! As part of Storybook Festival, younger brothers and sisters of current scholars are invited to school for a story hour just their own. Special storybook read aloud and more await!
Space is limited for this exclusive event, so act quickly. We hope to see you there!
RSVP FOR SIBLING STORY CORNER, click here.
Help us grow our Library!
Take a look at our new and improved library! We are inviting all students to bring a book to donate. It is of the utmost importance, however, that we offer our students only the highest quality books. To that end, we have carefully crafted an extensive Amazon Wish List containing titles we believe are truly worthy of our scholars’ time and attention. Wherever you choose to purchase your books, please only donate books from this list.”
