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Volume 3, Issue 26; March 9, 2020
 
FCPS Responds to Covid-19
Many of you have expressed concern amid new cases of Covid-19 surfacing within Fairfax County. Please know that FCPS, and Flint Hill administration, take your concerns very seriously and have issued protocols for cleaning and sanitizing, as well as reinforcing hand-washing in addition to the use of antibacterial lotion. We ask that you visit this site for messages from the Superintendent that are frequently updated, in addition to educating yourself about the precautions that the county is taking to keep your children safe. There is also information about how you can speak to your child about this virus.
As a gentle reminder, please keep your child home if you suspect illness of any kind. By working together, we can ensure that we uphold a safe learning environment for students and staff.
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Tech Talk: Tuning Into Children's Television
Reviews for what your kids want to watch (before they watch it)
Nowadays, you need to be an informed consumer about what your child views on television. Content that was once considered for mature audiences is now commonplace for younger audiences. Unfortunately, this is part of the new reality that children face growing-up in a far more tech savvy environment than we did. Therefore, we ask that you keep in mind that children are not always able to discriminate fiction from reality. This can result in your child mimicking the behaviors of the actors, which may not be socially acceptable or appropriate for the school setting. We are not suggesting that you can protect your child from every television program, but making informed decisions about what your child views, including movies, video games, and YouTube, is important to his or her development and decision-making.
Interested in reviewing the ratings and recommendations regarding a variety of media including books, television, movies, and apps.? Visit this site.
DedicatED
 How Art Can Help Center a Student’s Learning Experience
This week, we are including a podcast for your listening pleasure, and it directly relates to one of our Building Blocks and professional learning for next year! While we tend to share our intentions for our instructional focus over the summer as part of our kick-off for the year, we felt inclined to begin this conversation now as we recently held our first Art Gala at Flint Hill! While much of the art that our students created for the gala aligned directly with county indicators for each grade level, we are excited to embark on a new learning journey as to how we can harness the "power of art to improve learning" beyond our art class and across all content areas.
Art, as a medium to demonstrate mastery and support retention of taught concepts, is not new--and not wholly new to our school, either. As you are aware, we embed Project Based Learning and Harvard Project Zero practices, such as Artful Thinking, within all classrooms. However, we would like to increase these efforts, as this aim provides access to rigor, thus reinforcing our advanced academic practices on behalf of all students.
Keep reading this section of our newsletter to keep up with the latest information and to learn more about how we are creating thinkers and learners at Flint Hill! It's an exciting time for our school!
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration is upon us! We welcome parents of rising kindergarten students to register their child at their earliest convenience. This helps us get acquainted with our new students and allows us to have our numbers so we can best staff our kindergarten classrooms. Please don't hesitate to share this information with a neighbor, friend, or colleague who lives within our boundaries. We want to ensure we get students registered as early as possible--in addition to registering for our Bridge to Kindergarten program this summer!
Bridge to Kindergarten: Year 3!
Update: We have 30 kindergartners already registered!
We are excited to share with you our plans for a two-week kindergarten induction program held here at Flint Hill! This program will run from July 13th-24th, and from 9 am-12 pm. During this two week window, students become acclimated to Flint Hill, learn kindergarten expectations, and participate in a variety of games and other endeavors that support social emotional growth and the development of friendships. If you are interested in enrolling your son or daughter, please complete this Google Form. In addition, we hope you will share this information with families who may be new to the Flint Hill community!
Gentle Reminder: Your child needs to be registered to attend this program. Please see Mrs. Shirley Eason, our Student Information Assistant, to submit registration paperwork.
Kindergarten orientation is on April 13th, from 1-3 pm.
FHES Art Gala 2020
This gala was a work of heart and illustrates the incredible partnership that exists between our art teachers, students, and our amazing PTA.
Thank you, Ms. McAlister, Ms. Gong, and Mrs. Erickson for your efforts. Every student had an "art"ifact to share with their families and friends!
To every parent volunteer who helped us to display the artwork in the hallway and cafeteria, thank you! To those who provided tasty treats to make the evening even more special, you are appreciated! We can't wait until next year!
 We continue to highlight learning experiences that support the acquisition of Portrait of a Graduate attributes and skills across our classrooms.
Throughout the day, guest readers encouraged our kindergartners to communicate their thinking about a variety of books. Thank you to all our community members who joined us this day, including School Board member, Karl Frisch, who read with Mrs. Reiners' kindergarten class!
For more information on Portrait of a Graduate, ask your child how they are a communicator, collaborator, critical and creative thinker, goal-directed and resilient individual, or ethical and global citizen. Or, click here!
Please click on our hashtag, #FHESfamily, for more awesome highlights from Flint Hill! There are just too many to highlight them all!
Other highlights include our 6th graders communicating their learning during their Inquiry Museum!
Tweet, tweet, Flint Hill family!
Staff vs. 6th Grade Basketball Game
It’s Game Time!
The annual Staff vs. 6th Grade basketball game is here! Come out and support your favorite teachers and friends as they go head-to-head in friendly competition on March 18th, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the Madison High School Gymnasium. Tickets are $5.00 at the door (cash only) or pre-purchased through Venmo, @FHES6basketball (check-in at the door). Snacks and water will be on sale for $1.00 each. There will also be a raffle during the game for a highly coveted parking spot for the 6th grade promotion ceremony! Tickets for the raffle are $5.00 each.
The 6th grade students will be wearing their brand new class of 2020 T-Shirts! Who will persevere to win? Only time will tell...
See you there!
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Lice
The arrival of spring sports heralds the potential for the shared equipment, including helmets and jerseys, thus prompting us to forward this message once again. Parents, we ask that you check your child's head for lice eggs and larvae frequently. Your child may not feel itchy right away, especially if it is a light infestation. In fact, symptoms might not show-up for up to six weeks. For tips on how to prevent lice, please visit this site. Thank you for following these tips and letting our school know if there is a concern.
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Please Mark Your Calendars!
Great news! Flint Hill Elementary School's events are now easily added to your own personal calendar. To find out how to download our calendar feed, please go here.
March 14th: Masquerade Madness Silent Auction, 7 pm, City Works, Tyson
March 18th: 6th Grade Basketball Game, 6 pm, Madison High School gym
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Recognizing employees who go above and beyond
FCPS Cares is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize those who go above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can all acknowledge the outstanding work of FCPS, and more specifically, Flint Hill employees.
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Falcon Feedback
To provide feedback directly to Ms. Hertzberg, please use the QR code, or click on this link. Thank you, in advance, for sharing your thinking!
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