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Dear Freedom Hill Families,
From all of our staff, we would like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all of our moms! Mother's Day this year takes on special significance due to everything our mothers have done to ensure family safety, happiness, and learning this year. Thank you for everything you do and have done!
And speaking of thank yous - our teachers are so appreciative of the community's outpouring of support and thanks during last week's Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you to everyone who reached out to their teacher in some way to thank them for their role in our students' lives. I loved seeing so many notes of appreciation and being able to hear stories of how our teachers have continued to engage and inspire students during distance learning.
Many have asked in the last few weeks, "Why is every Friday a teacher workday?" The Friday workday was instituted as part of the FCPS Distance Learning Plan for the rest of this academic year. Teachers are engaged from Monday-Thursday planning instruction with their teams, delivering synchronous instruction and office hours, creating asynchronous resources, and, of course, taking care of their own families as best they can. We are utilizing the weekly Friday workday to hold our staff meetings, professional development meetings, student support meetings, and using the time to continue to shift into a distance learning framework. This week and next week we will be using the Friday workdays to develop data-driven processes for next year's class placement (see below for parent input form), to finalize a plan for building cleanout and student item pickup, and to plan end-of-year events (among other to-dos).
Wishing you a great week and a happy Mother's Day!
Dr. Z.
- May 11 - 14 - Distance Learning Continues
- May 11 - Virtual Lunch with School Administration
- May 15 - Weekly Teacher Workday (students work asynchronously)
- May 13 - Bike/Walk Around Day
- May 15 - Claim Readathon Prizes
- May 29 - Virtual Kindergarten Orientation
In addition to attending morning meetings, our Specials teachers are going live with office hours beginning this week! We encourage interested students to attend for a Specials lesson or just to speak with their teachers. The link to their optional virtual classrooms can be located in a Google slide show on each of the classroom pages (Google or Blackboard, depending on grade level). Please find their schedule here:
Do you have a son or daughter who will be in Kindergarten this fall? Or do you have a neighbor or friend who is ready to register? Please see below:
Virtual Kindergarten Orientation
This year, our orientation will be online. Please mark your calendar for May 29 at 11:00AM. At this time you will be able to meet the Freedom Hill administration, Kindergarten teachers, Student Information Assistant, and health office staff and hear about your child's transition to Kindergarten.
Kindergarten Registration
Registration is open! Please email our Student Information Assistant, Sey-Lu Sujo, to begin the process and see the following for more details:
- FCPS Kindergarten Registration Page
- Required Forms
You will need to complete all FCPS registration forms, as well as providing the birth certificate, deed or lease of residence, immunization records, and proof of a physical.
If your child is definitely (or possibly!) returning to Freedom Hill next school year, we offer you the opportunity to share any comments you would like regarding class placements.
Our staff will be working on tentative class groupings this spring, with classroom assignments finalized in late August. As we make these placements, we consider many factors including individual student information, teacher input, and social relationships. Every class will have a blend of children with diverse needs, personalities, and learning interests. Due to the many factors we must consider in creating classroom placements, including the reassignment of some teachers to a different grade level and the hiring of new teachers, requests for a specific teacher cannot be honored.
If you have information that you believe is pertinent to your child’s placement for next year, please complete this form online (one per child) by Monday, May 18th for it to be taken into consideration. Thank you.
If you will be moving over the summer or not returning to FHES, please email our Student Information Assistant, Sey-Lu Sujo. Thank you. |
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FCPS continues to expand the number of locations for food sites. Please use this link as it will continue to be updated. There is also bus route food distribution that stops at Freedom Hill Monday-Friday at 10:40, as well as a few other stops in the community. Check out the schedule here.
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TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
What a great outpouring of support from the community for Teacher Appreciation Week! We hope all our teachers, staff and administrators felt lots of appreciation. Every role is important and contributes to making this community so special. If you missed it, check out our Facebook group, Twitter or our website for our Twitter feed in the bottom left of the home page. A big thanks to Tina Crawford and family for mailing out FHES stickers for computers, a free pizza coupon and cards to staff and to Kelly Harris for providing the addresses for us!
BROWN BAG LUNCH ON MAY 11
Come chat with our Dr. Zapadka and Mr. Kopacz tomorrow (Monday, May 11th) from 12:30-1pm. Join here online or call by phone 1-301-715 -8592 and use ID: 965 6300 6403. Many PTAs are working with their principals on virtual coffees or lunches and we wanted to try this out during the day.
BIKE/WALK ABOUT DAY ON MAY 13
This year, FHES is again participating in Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 13th. Our school will join over 2000+ schools across the US to help raise awareness on road safety and promote exercise. This year will of course be a little different, but there are two ways we invite you and your family to participate:
1- Get outside- ride your bike or take a walk!
2- Write a message of encouragement or thanks to members of your community on the sidewalk with chalk or in your window.
Take photos of the above and post them to the FHES Facebook group or tweet them tagging the @FreedomHillES account and using hashtags #BiketoSchool, #VisionZero, or #FHHighlights. Props to Sam Lee and Ms.Trzcinski for pulling this together!
READ-A-THON PRIZES ARE IN!
Read-a-thon prizes have arrived and a big thanks to the Camara family for sorting them! Please email readathon@thecamaras.net to coordinate read-a-thon prize contact-less porch pick-up by May 15th. Please include your student(s) full names.
VIRTUAL KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION 5/29
Please tell your friends and neighbors who have incoming Kindergarten students to attend the Kindergarten Orientation on Friday, May 29th at 11am. Info is above in this newsletter!
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