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Happy sunny Sunday, Freedom Hill Families!
It was a fabulous first week of school - thank you for supporting your student(s) as we navigated a few days of technology learning. Mr. Kopacz and I were able to visit each classroom and were so excited to see our students engaged, smiling, and present. On most days this week we had 99% attendance and I feel this speaks to our teachers' and community's preparedness and desire to make this a great year. Thank you again. We were also able to deliver yard signs to our new kindergartners. It was really nice to see several families, even from afar. Our community remains strong.
Today we'd like to offer some more details about our Monday schedule:
- Students will have Morning Meeting at 9:20.
- Teachers will be leading intervention and enrichment groups after Morning Meeting each Monday. This week, teachers will be modeling routines for how students will report to them at these times.
- In the coming weeks, FH staff will also be leading Monday AM clubs for any interested students. This schedule will be released this week. These clubs will be supplemented by PTA Monday Enrichment.
- All students will have asynchronous work provided for Mondays.
We also have several beginning-of-year requests for our families:
It looks like the weather for this week will be fabulous. I hope that you and your student(s) are able to get some fresh air during breaks each day. All the best,
Nicholas Zapadka, Principal
Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal
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September 14 - Students attend AM Meeting
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September 15 - 18 - Students use normal schedule
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September 22 - Virtual PTA Meeting, 8:00PM - link below
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September 24 - Back to School Night - Part 2, 6:00-8:00PM
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September 29-30 - Family Dinner Out - Ledo's
The many smiling faces of our front office (Kelly, Sey-Lu, Katherine, Jessica, Vania) continue to be here for you! As always, please use the attendance line or attendance email below when your child is not able to attend school on a given day:
Office Hours: 8:30 - 3:45
Attendance Line: 703-506-7878
Attendance Email: FreedomHillElem.Attendance@fcps.edu
All FCPS students (regardless of age) are eligible for free grab and go breakfast and lunch, as well as other county children, under the age of 18. Adults picking up meals for children should let staff know how many children meals they need. Adults may pay $2 for the meals as well.
The service will be available Monday - Friday only.
New for this fall: breakfast and lunch meals for Saturdays will be distributed at all sites and bus routes each Friday.
Please click here for the routes and times for the FH community.
Curbside library service begins this Wednesday, September 16 and runs each Wednesday during virtual learning from 2:00-6:00 pm. To request books, students should log into the Destiny Discover Library Catalog with their FCPS username and password. They can place up to five books on hold at a time, making sure to do so by the Tuesday evening before pickup day. Confirmation emails will be sent to student Gmail accounts for grades 3-6, and to parent emails for K-2. On the day of pickup, please wear a mask and either drive or walk to the bus loop to retrieve your books. Library books can be returned during the same window of time as pickup. They will be quarantined for seven days before becoming available again. Click here for instructions for placing books on hold.
Librarian Katherine Trott can help with any questions you have, and can be reached at sktrott@fcps.edu.
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Many of our Digital Resources used this year require parental consent. Please take a look at the digital resources and privacy/security agreements for these items. A consent form and information on the resources can be found on our school website.
FCPS has created a new Parent Technology Help Desk. If you need support with technology, you should reach out to the Parent Technology Help Desk. The number is 1-833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS). It will be answered by staff from 7 a.m.to 11 p.m., seven days a week. If the help desk is unable to solve the issue on the phone with the parent or guardian, they will enter a ticket on the parent’s behalf and the request for help will be transferred to the appropriate FCPS team. FCPS also has existing parent information phone lines, available in eight different languages, that can assist with general questions about FCPS. An online portal is also available to allow older students and parents and guardians to request technology help directly.
Below are several links that will help to answer many of your technology-related questions:
Parent and Student IT Support Portal homepage
Self Help Hub
Password Management
Tips for Online Learning Success
Friday, September 18: FCPS Parent Resource Center Free Webinar: 10 Ways to Stop Power Struggles & Start Motivating Your Kids (10:00-11:30a.m. OR 6:30-8:30 p.m. - Register Here)
Thursday, September 24: FCPS Parent Resource Center Free Webinar: Encouraging Positive Behaviors at Home Series - Setting the Stage for Good Behavior: Routines, Procedures, & Expectations (10:00 - 11:30 a.m. OR 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. - Register Here)
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FIRST PTA MTG, TUE. SEPT. 22, 8PM We're excited to kick off the school year. Join us for our first virtual PTA meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 8pm. Here's the link to join or dial 312-626-6799 with Meeting ID: 977 2261 1996. We also have put together a tentative school calendar together here. Obviously we'll be adjusting this as we go through out the year and things change so always look for the latest version.
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FAMILY DINNER OUT- LEDO'S ON 9/29-30 We're doing our first Family Dinner Out of the year at Ledo Pizza in Falls Church (on Rt. 7). They will donate 20% of earnings to the PTA from 5-9pm on Tuesday 9/29-Wednesday 9/30. Info is here. The restaurant only will have 8 tables for sit in so we definitely encourage carry-out. Ledo's is located at 7510 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043. Thanks to Jennifer King for organizing this!
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ENRICHMENT IS HERE, INFO NIGHT 9/24 at 7PM, REG OPENS 9/28 We are partnering with Enrichment Matters to deliver virtual enrichment activities for you. Mostly on Mondays but on additional days too before or after school with topics like Chess, Kitchen Science: CookingXSTEAM, Tennis Fitness, Drawing, Science Club, Mudskippers Pottery, Entrepreneurs Club and Money Matters, Spanish, Game Show Vocab, Blue Wand Magic, Math Essentials, Structural Engineers, Minecraft Modding, Intro to Python, etc. For those who had classes that were canceled last spring - this is a great chance to redeem your credits! Sessions will be 4 week sessions (from 10/12 - 11/7). Join to learn more in their Virtual Open House Thursday, Sept. 24th at 7pm (this is right after our Back to School Night part 2). Get more info here or register for the zoom here. Registration opens on Sept. 28th at 8:00am and closes midnight on October 5th. Grab your spot early because Enrichment Matters will have kids from multiple schools in classes. Here's the flier with all the details
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JOIN THE FHES PTA TODAY!
The Freedom Hill Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is a volunteer-driven organization that facilitates exciting programs, activities, and traditions that are not otherwise funded by FCPS. Even though we are not physically together at this time, we still plan to support all student(s) and the school community through the following activities: *Materials for students to use during virtual learning *Reading materials and digital resources *Staff development *Grade level wish list items from teacher teams and staff and more
Check out the NEW PTA membership form for families or for teachers and join today! You can join on Pay4SchoolStuff by check via mail/school drop off. Q's? Contact Kerrey Olden.
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LINK YOUR HT CARD TO EARN FUNDS It's that time of year again. Link up your Harris Teeter account to support Freedom Hill. Here's how: 1. Log in to your HT account online or open the HT app 2. Click on My Account 3. Search for the Together in Education section, type Freedom Hill Elementary School or the #7629. If you're on the app, you're done! 4. If you're online, click the school name and then Add School You can also ask a cashier to link your account inside an HT store. Alternatively, you can add your name and VIC card number to this form: https://tinyurl.com/fhesht. Questions? Ask Deb Speert.
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