Dear Families,
WOW! It is such a wonderful feeling to have kids back in the building and the sunshine today with warmer temperatures was like the cherry on top. I hope that you, too, were able to soak up a bit of Vitamin D today. Can you believe Spring Break and milder temps are just a month away?
Enjoy some photos of our students’ return to school! The staff and parents’ hard work and preparations did not go unnoticed. Kids came in with smiles, kept masks on, giggled and had fun! I watched one of our kindergarteners this afternoon who boarded his bus and didn’t see his driver. He looked back at me and said, “Well, I guess I’m driving this bus home!” It’s been a fine couple of days!
Let me know what I can do to help with the transition you and your child might be going through in the next few weeks.
Sincerely,
Holly DeVore, Principal
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We welcomed back our Kindergarten students to the building this week and over the next few weeks we will be gradually bringing back in-person students in grades 1-6. All of the return to school dates are listed below.
Grades 1 & 2 March 9
Grades 3-6 March 16
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.
Meal Options for In-Person Students
This year we will be offering breakfast and lunch to each child free of charge. Please fill out this form if you want your child to be served breakfast and/or lunch. Please know this choice will be for the rest of the school year. We want to let you know that Food Services has a list of student food allergies and there is a no peanut butter option. Please email the teacher if you want your child to have a vegetarian meal. The meals will be delivered to the classroom each day. The menu can be found here. Please reach out to Cliff Credle, Assistant Principal, at cmcredle@fcps.edu with any questions.
Transportation Information
Parents are able to view their child's route assignment using the SIS ParentVue account. Transportation will also be sending information to the enrolling parent's email address. Please plan to arrive at your bus stop five minutes early in the morning and afternoon. All kindergarten students must be met by a parent or guardian.
Kiss 'n Ride
We will be using a number system this year to help with dismissal. All parents of in-person students will be given a laminated number to be placed on the dashboard of their vehicle. Preschool and PAC student numbers will start with a P, kindergarten student numbers will start with a K, and grades 1-6 student numbers will correspond with their grade. For example, first grade numbers will start with a 1, second grade with a 2, all the way up to 6th grade. We are confident this will help our dismissal run more efficiently.
On Tuesday March 2nd, Oak Hill will join the whole country in celebrating our love of reading. It’s Read Across America Day! This is the nation’s largest celebration of reading! It’s actually a year-round program that focuses on motivating children to read through events like character dress up day, and partnerships like hosting a guest reader, and sharing reading resources that are about everyone, and for everyone. So get ready for Read Across America Day, by planning for our SCA spirit day, Book Character Day. Students and staff can choose to dress up as a favorite book character, or draw a picture of a favorite book character, then change their profile picture in their virtual classroom to show everyone. Plus, every classroom will host a guest reader as our SCA student reps join their buddy class to share a read aloud story on that day!
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From now on Mondays are asynchronous for all students. Teachers will take attendance and provide asynchronous instruction. Please contact your child's teacher concerning any details.
With students in grades 3-6 returning to Oak Hill soon, we will be hosting a Return to School Parent Town Hall Meeting on Monday, March 8th at 4pm. This meeting will focus on grades 3-6 returning to the school building. We will send the link to the meeting next week.
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FCPS inclement weather closing conditions have expanded and include additional options for the school division to consider as we bring more students back for in-person instruction. Please make a note of the new conditions:
- All Schools and Central Offices Closed.
- Virtual Learning for All Students, Division Operations are Open On Time, School and Central Office Building Work Spaces are Available to Employees.
- Virtual Learning for All Students, Division Operations are Open On Time, School and Central Office Building Work Spaces are Not Available to Employees.
- All Fairfax County public schools and offices will close two hours early.
- All Fairfax County public schools and offices will open two hours late.
Learn more about the updated FCPS weather conditions.
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As part of FCPS’s ongoing effort to support student use of technology, Chrome Sync and the ability to save passwords is now available. 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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On March 1, parents of FCPS students with disabilities will receive an invitation via email from the FCPS Office of Auditor General to complete an independent, third-party survey on FCPS’s special education services provided through the Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan. All responses are confidential and will be used to generate recommendations for the Fairfax County School Board.
Your voice counts, so please share your thoughts once you receive the survey.
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A new podcast, En Pocas Palabras FCPS, in Spanish and English, has been launched to provide timely and important information to busy FCPS families in their primary language. The goal of every podcast is to help families access key resources and understand how to best support their children’s education. New episodes are available online.
We are continuing to celebrate Black History Month at Oak Hill. Below are two more interesting facts about Black History.
Frank Yerby was born in Augusta, Georgia, on September 5, 1916. Mr. Yerby was a popular writer, originally noted for writing romance novels set in the antebellum South. In 1946, he published "The Foxes of Harrow", a southern historical romance, which became the first novel by an African-American to sell more than a million copies. That same year, he also became the first African-American to have a book purchased for screen adaptation by a Hollywood studio, when 20th Century Fox optioned Foxes. The book became a 1947 Oscar-nominated film of the same name. In all, he wrote 33 novels. Even with this success, Mr Yerby left the United States in 1952, in protest against racial discrimination.
What would you do if you became a millionaire at the age of 10!? Sarah Rector, born in 1902 in Oklahoma, became the richest black child in America. Her family received land from the Creek Nation (Native Americans) in 1911 and, soon after, oil was discovered on her property. By 1912, the revenue was close to $371,000 a year. That would equate to about $6.5 million today! There were people who tried to steal her land and money but she resisted. She eventually attended Tuskegee University and then settled in Missouri where she built a mansion for herself and her family!
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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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Boost Your Child’s Skills at Home: Practicing Classifying
Students are classifying when learning in the content areas. To classify things means to place them in different categories or groups. Classifying is when items with similar characteristics are placed together in a group. Classifying includes learning to group and identify by characteristics. Classification helps us to learn about different kinds of items and their features. When classifying we are looking at similarities and differences. Students can place things in groups based on the features that the items or objects share.
Think about classifying items around your house. How would you classify the toys in your playroom? Would you classify them by color, shape, or size? Place similar toys together. You can place your blocks together as a group. The balls belong together as a group. The dinosaurs are placed together. The automobiles together or into smaller subgroups, like trucks, buses, and race cars.
Helping your child succeed at school begins at home! Give classifying a try today! Let us know what successes you encounter by sharing your stories with the ESOL teacher or your child’s classroom teacher at Oak Hill!
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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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March 2: Read Across America Day
March 4: Asynchronous Day for students in grades 1 & 2
March 5: Two-hour student early release
March 5: Asynchronous Day for students in grades 1 & 2
March 8: Staff Development Day, no school
March 8: Return to School Parent Town Hall Meeting, 4pm
March 9: Grades 1 & 2 students begin in-person learning
March 11: Asynchronous Day for students in grades 3-6
March 12: Asynchronous Day for students in grades 3-6
March 16: Grades 3-6 students begin in-person learning
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