Happy Sunday, Freedom Hill Community!
This week, we welcomed back a wonderful classroom of five preschool students. It was a joy to hear the sound of laughter in our hallways again. We are immensely proud of our preschool classroom teacher and assistant, Ms. Witt and Ms. Gionfriddo, for ensuring our students’ safety. While health protocols have resulted in a very different looking school experience, we are encouraged by our first week.
FCPS is planning to bring additional student groups back to school for in-person instruction in the near future. We will follow strict safety and health protocols to minimize health risks for students and staff. To learn more, visit here.
The following groups of students will be returning to in-person instruction at Freedom Hill (start dates below are tentative and subject to change):
FCPS Group 5:
November 17 – tentative date
Preschool Head Start
Kindergarten
Intensive Support Needs
FCPS Group 6:
December 1 - tentative date
Grades 1-2
FCPS Group 7:
January 4 – tentative date
Grades 3-6
We will be using concurrent instruction for students who receive in-person instruction. This means that students who elect in-person instruction will receive two days of teacher-led instruction in the school building and two days of teacher-led instruction at home. Students who elect all-virtual learning will continue to receive four days of teacher-led instruction at home.
In either format, Mondays will be a full day of independent learning for students to give our teachers more time to prepare and plan the week’s lessons. This will begin on Monday, November 9, 2020 for Group 5 and on November 16, 2020 for Group 6. November 12 and 13 will be teacher workdays and independent learning days for Group 5 students to give our teachers time to prepare and plan for in-person instruction. November 20, 23, and 24 will be teacher workdays and independent learning days for Group 6 students.
Some schools are already piloting concurrent instruction. The Superintendent will report his findings on the pilot program at the November 12 School Board work session.
Here is a video that demonstrates how a concurrent classroom may look.
We will honor the choice you made in the FCPS July survey to determine the setting for instruction. If you chose in-person instruction, we will assume your student(s) will return to in-person instruction in accordance with the schedule above. If you chose all-virtual instruction we will assume you will continue in that format. If your circumstances have changed, please make your final selection no later than October 30, 2020 by completing this form or contacting the main office at 703-506-7800 and we will try to accommodate your request based on the availability of staff and space.
We will strive to minimize the impact of this transition; however, some students may experience a change in schedule or teacher assignment as we work to accommodate everyone’s preferences.
Thank you for your support and cooperation as we continue on this journey to deliver the best instruction for all FCPS students.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Zapadka, Principal
Eric Kopacz, Asst. Principal
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October 26 - 31 - Harvest Spirit Week
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October 28 - Curbside Library Pickup, 2:00-6:00
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October 30 - 2-hour Early Release (Classes end at 1:15 PM)
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October 30 - SCA Creative Costume Contest Entries Due
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October 30 - Upload deadline for art fundraiser
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November 2 - Student Holiday / Conferences
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November 3 - Student Holiday / Election Day
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November 6 - Last day for spiritwear purchase
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This week, we are focusing on Creativity. You come up with new and original ways to think about and do things.
“Creative people do not see things merely for what they are; they see them for what they can be.”
~Julie Israel
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This week is the Fall Harvest Spirit Week! To start off, there is a pumpkin activity on Monday for students and families to enjoy. Trader Joe’s graciously donated a limited number of pumpkins to support families who may not be able to obtain one. They will be located at the front of the school on Monday. We are excited to see your creatively decorated pumpkins! For the schedule .pdf with links, click here.
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The “Go Paperless” option is now available to all ES parents to allow them to only receive online progress reports starting the first quarter of SY 20/21. This will not impact any other mailings from FCPS other than the progress reports for ES students and report cards. To take advantage of the paperless options, parents and/or guardians will need to log into ParentVUE, then go to “My Account” and select "Go Paperless" All parents and/or guardians who live with the student and share the same address must have a SIS ParentVUE account and must select the paperless option to prevent mailing of the printed progress reports. The “Go Paperless” option will apply to all their associated students, no matter what school level. If the associated parent and/or guardian has already selected “Go Paperless” for their secondary student, the option will now apply to any ES siblings as well.
Parent Technology Help Desk 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS)
Parent and Student Technology Support Portal
Freedom Hill Digital Tools Webpage
FCPS Parent Resource Center
FCPS Return to School
We're so excited for our Harvest Spirit Week this week! Be sure to post your photos on our Freedom Hill ES Community group on Facebook or on Twitter with @freedomhillpta. Friday is the last day to upload art for Art Fundraiser so don't miss it! Visit our Spiritwear Store.
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And don't forget to join the PTA before the end of the month!
ART FUNDRAISER
The Freedom Hill PTA is excited to partner with Square 1 Art to celebrate creativity and raise funds for the school! The Square 1 Art art project provides you the opportunity to purchase keepsakes and gifts featuring your child's art! Purchase gifts for everyone on your holiday shopping list! Info is here. The Art Fundraiser is 3 easy steps:
- Create Art
- Photograph & Upload your art to Square 1 Art
- Shop for keepsakes!
Art upload deadline is 10/30, parent order deadline is 11/18, and deliveries should be received the week of 12/7.
More information, including directions and project lesson plans are located on the Art Fundraiser page of the PTA website including the template art paper and do's and don'ts. Questions? Need a template or supplies? Reach out to Art Fundraiser coordinators Amber Halaka and Jennifer Liu. Please note: This is voluntary and does not take the place of anything Mr. A is teaching and assigning in class.
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GEAR UP FOR HARVEST WEEK (10/26-10/31)
We have spectacularly excited for this week of activities! A HUGE THANKS to Ms. Bliss and Mr. A for pulling this all together! Please see the picture at the top of the newsletter. Trader Joe's will have some pumpkins available at school for those who need them. Use the links to carve a pumpkin online or print a template to design! Our Positivity Trait this week is Creativity - show us how creative you can get! Voting for your favorite pumpkin contest begins Monday. Show your harvest spirit colors on Tuesday. Get ready to move and groove on Wednesday. Get cozy in pj's for spooky reading on Thursday. And take the art challenge on Friday! Be sure to capture it all on facebook or on Twitter so we can see all your fun! Thanks again to Ms. Bliss and Mr. A!
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JOIN THE FHES PTA TODAY!
PTA dues are due at the end of this month to VA and National PTA. Our 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. We're helping this year with: *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
Please fill out your PTA form here 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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FALL SPIRITWEAR SALE
Our online spiritwear store is now open until November 6th! There are a bunch of new FHES items that we are offering this time fun looks (pj's, dry fit, etc.) - in child and adult sizes. Flier is here. Orders will be shipped to Michelle Zahalsky's house for pick-up approx. 3-4 weeks after the store close date (so by the first week of December). If you want it shipped to your house, you must select the extra USPS shipping. Thank you to Michelle Zahalsky for organizing this!
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