Dear Families,
I hope you are doing well and surviving the up and down weather of this last month. If you bought your sleds early in the season, it was a wise investment! I know Spring is around the corner as my bulbs are starting to sprout in my flower beds!
It has been great to see our Preschool and PAC students back in the building this week. The teachers and students have done a wonderful job and have transitioned smoothly back to in-person learning. Our staff is so excited to welcome our Kindergarten students to the building this Tuesday, February 23, and other grade levels in the coming weeks. While you have seen a lot of communication about transitioning to in person learning, we know that the majority of our school will remain with virtual learning. We are happy that we can accommodate both styles of learning. Over the past few months, staffing decisions were based on parent preferences made in July or December. If you want to make a change, you may call the school and be placed on a waiting list. We do not have extra space in most of our in person classrooms to accommodate new requests.
Thank you for your support and understanding through all of the changes and challenges! Please know that we will continue to follow the CDC's 5 Mitigation Strategies to ensure the safety of students and staff. We will hold another Town Hall for families transitioning to in person learning in the next few weeks. Mr. Credle and I will also be visiting classrooms that are transitioning to in-person learning to answer any questions and check in with students. We can’t wait!
Sincerely,
Holly DeVore, Principal
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We welcomed back our Preschool and PAC students to the building yesterday and over the next few weeks we will be gradually bringing back in-person students in grades K-6. All of the return to school dates are listed below.
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Kindergarten
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February 23
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Grades 1 & 2
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March 9
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Grades 3-6
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March 16
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We will open the doors to the school at 8:45am each day. There will be numerous staff members on school grounds and inside the building to help with arrivals and ensure 6 feet of social distance. We will begin dismissal at 3:30pm and staff members will be escorting students to the bus loop, blacktop, and Kiss 'n Ride to ensure 6 feet of social distance.
As part of FCPS’s ongoing effort to support student use of technology, Chrome Sync and the ability to save passwords will be available as an option starting on February 18th. Students are not required to use Chrome Sync and save passwords, but may choose to them in order to:
- reduce their log-in time.
- access bookmarks and extensions across devices.
Chrome will remember and offer saved passwords when students are logging into different instructional applications. Chrome will also make bookmarks and extensions available on any device in which the student logs into Chrome and turns on Sync.
If your student would like to use Chrome Sync and save passwords, support resources are available on the FCPS website. If your child is logging into Chrome now, they may need to log out of Chrome and log back in to see the new features.
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Thank you to everyone who submitted referrals by the Dec. 1st deadline. For those parents who have children in the pool or submitted a referral, please know that eligibility decisions are scheduled to be emailed/mailed to parents in April. At this time, parents don’t need to do anything else to expedite the application decision process. We will be sure to update you if there are any changes with the eligibility timeline. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to Cathy Lahr, Advanced Academics Resource Teacher, at cclahr1@fcps.edu. To see the full AAP timeline, please visit the FCPS website here.
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As many students return to in-person instruction, parents and caregivers will be asked to acknowledge a Health Screening Commitment form before their student(s) re-enter school buildings. This document confirms that a parent, caregiver, or guardian will complete a daily health screening and will keep their students home when they are ill.
The Health Commitment form can be submitted electronically through ParentVUE (PVUE) or via hard copy. Please contact Katherine Dillard at kjdillard1@fcps.edu if you need a hard copy sent to you.
We are continuing to celebrate Black History Month at Oak Hill. Below are our third and fourth interesting facts about Black History Month.
Fact #3
If you have not gotten lost lately because you’re using your car or phone GPS, you can thank Dr. Gladys West! Dr. West was born in 1930 in a county outside of Richmond, Virginia. She realized at a young age that she needed an education to have a chance at a better life. She excelled in school and won a college scholarship and, because she was so good at math, she was later hired by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (only the second black woman to do so). It was during her time there that, in 1986 she published a 60-page guide that explained how data from satellites can be used to determine distance between objects. Her contributions, however, were not noted until much later in life and she was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018.
Fact #4
Henry Thomas Sampson, Jr. was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1934. He received a Master’s in Engineering from the University of California and was awarded a Master's in Nuclear Engineering from Illinois University. Additionally, Sampson was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D in Nuclear Engineering from Illinois University. He was a member of the United States Navy between 1962 and 1964 and was later employed as a research chemical engineer at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California. Sampson was a proficient inventor and his patents included a binder system for propellants and explosives and a case bonding system for cast composite propellants. Both of these inventions are related to solid rocket motors. What he is perhaps most known for is being awarded a patent for the "gamma-electric cell" in 1971. This technology was later used in the cellular phone!
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Please visit the Oak Hill Elementary School website to complete and submit the New Student Sign Up/Intake Form. Our school registrar, Katherine Dillard, will contact you to set up a time to complete registration. Please share this information with any friends or neighbors that are new to Oak Hill boundaries or have rising kindergarteners. Please email Katherine Dillard if you have questions at KJDillard1@fcps.edu.
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Today is Random Act of Kindness Day 2021! Thank you to our wonderful Oak Hill community for all of the kindness you have shown our staff over the past year. Please consider thanking a teacher today by sending him or her an email or by using this link to create a FCPS Cares submission.
The virtual Franklin Middle School Rising 7th Grade Advanced Academics Program (AAP) Information Session will take place tonight at 6:00 PM. Rising 7th Grade Parents will have the opportunity to learn more about Franklin Middle School’s Level IV School-Based Services. The format will include a synchronous meeting at 6:00 PM with 7th and 8th Grade AAP Teachers and Administrators. Parents will also have the opportunity to ask questions. The program will be recorded for those unable to attend the meeting. Please click here to join the Franklin MS Rising 7th Grade Advanced Academics Parent Session
FCPS has an awesome YouTube Virtual Learning playlist that includes videos with TONS of tech tips including sound, microphone and video troubleshooting, using BBCU and Google Meet, using Google Classroom, using Padlet and Flipgrid, accessing SIS and Parent View and more! Most of the videos are available in multiple languages. You’ll want to bookmark this one!
One tip that is not in the playlist is—Restart Your Laptop Frequently! Please make sure all students are performing a restart (not a shut-down) at least one time weekly on their laptops to ensure all updates are installed correctly. Pending updates will cause the laptop to run very slowly and sometimes not at all.
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PTA Spirit Wear Sale
Did you miss your chance to get your Spirit Wear, or want to stock up on more? This is your chance to get it and show your school pride. Clothing and accessories are for sale online from February 15 -28.
Join the PTA
Oak Hill Elementary School PTA membership dues support your child by funding essential educational and curriculum needs. Don't miss out on early access to PTA clubs. Please be on the lookout for announcements and if you are not a member, please consider supporting our students. To get information and join our PTA, click here and use the code 8HSEEV. The pledge membership is $30 per family.
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February 22: Picture Day, 9:00am-4:00pm
February 22: WIDA testing for certain students
February 23: Kindergarten students begin in-person learning
February 23: Picture Day, 4:00-7:00pm
March 8: Staff Development Day, no school
March 9: Grades 1 & 2 students begin in-person learning
March 16: Grades 3-6 students begin in-person learning
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