FH Weekly Update: 4/18/2021

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Principals' Message

Good afternoon Freedom Hill families,

We hope you are well as our beautiful spring weather continues in Northern Virginia. Last week, we welcomed back two "pilot" classes of in-person students who attended four times per week. A big thank you to Ms. Damon, Mr. Curtis, and their wonderful students for quickly adapting to our safety procedures and having a successful week! 

We have another exciting week ahead "On the Hill" with school pictures, Eagles Read! bedtime stories night, and a increase to four days of in-person instruction for students who are currently attending school in-person. The county Safety Team visited Freedom Hill again last week, and once again noted that our staff and students have implemented all COVID-19 mitigation strategies with success and consistency. 

In-Person Return

This Tuesday, we are welcoming all current in-person students back to the building for 4-day instruction. The Office of Transportation Services is quickly bringing bus routes together, though we may need to be flexible with routes this week. Students will be able to continue attending virtually this week if parents are not able to transport in the interim. Additionally, we will be bringing back our hot lunch line in the coming weeks!

Yearbook

As a reminder from last week, the deadline for photo submission for the yearbook is coming fast! We need a photo for every child. You will see the cover above, which contains the thoughts, hopes, and dreams  of our 6th grade class and staff members. Student pictures will be family-submitted this year - please see below for more info and a big thank you to Ms. Bliss for facilitating this unusual process this year. Ordering information will be available soon. 

Wishing you a great week, 

Dr. Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Asst. Principal 


Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

  • April 19 - AAP Level IV Parent Orientation, 4PM (recorded)
  • April 19 - Eagles Read! Bedtime Stories, 7:30
  • April 20 - All current in-person students return 4x per week
  • April 21/22 - School Picture Dates
  • April 21 - Curbside Library Checkout, 2-6PM
  • April 23 - Deadline for sending yearbook picture
  • May 5 - 28 - SOL Testing (Grades 3-6)

School Pictures 2021

Lifetouch will be joining us on April 21st and 22nd for School Picture Day and have provided us with this ordering flier. Parents have the flexibility to order online at mylifetouch.com prior to picture day using the ID found on the attached flyer. Everyone photographed will receive either their prepaid package or a proof sheet in a couple of weeks. Parents will still be able to view images and order pictures online by using the unique Portrait ID and Access Code found in the picture package and/or proof sheet.

In-person students will have their picture taken while at school based on the following schedule:

April 21

Head Start, Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, Ms. Manzo, Ms. Doherty

April 22

Pre-K, ID, 1st Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Mrs. Finkelstein

Virtual Students

Families of virtual students can make an appointment for either day from 2-4:30 using this SignUpGenius


School Yearbook Information - Due April 23

We are in the process of putting our yearbook together for this school year and need your help!  

Due to the pandemic, it will look a little different this year. "School pictures" will not be used. Rather, we are capturing pictures of students at home. Each class will have a page with a collage of pictures of students. We ask for your submission of a photo for your child’s picture. 

Photo Submission

Use this form for submitting a photo of your child for their class picture page. When you upload the photo you will be asked to include your name, child’s name, grade, and teacher last name.  Please make sure the photo is a close-up picture of your student. Far away or full body pictures will not crop well into the yearbook. You are welcome to include other photos from throughout the year to be used if space allows. 

Deadline

Photos must be sent in by Friday, April 23rd. 

Questions?

If the form doesn’t work, or you have any questions, please email Ms. Bliss at LMBLISS@FCPS.EDU for help. 


SOL Testing / Schedule

Federal and state education departments have decided not to cancel this year’s Standard of Learning (SOL) assessments. Freedom Hill will be conducting tests from May 5th to May 28th. This includes virtual students, who are required to come to the building for testing.

The following letter was emailed to families on Friday, April 16th in English, Spanish, and Arabic. It contains information regarding transportation, refusals, and virtual students coming into he building for testing on their assigned days.

Please email our school testing coordinators, Mr. Kopacz and Mr. Scesney, with any questions you may have.

SOLS

Bedtime Stories Night

Join us Monday, April 19th from 7:30 – 8:00 pm for our monthly "Eagles Read"! Bedtime Stories Night.

Mrs. Rossman will be our MC for the night as we celebrate togetherness and a positive start to our week. Staff participating on Monday will be Mr. Fenton, Mrs. Savage and Mrs. Canape. You’re never too old to listen to a read aloud! Be sure to join us in your coziest pajamas at our Eagles Read! monthly bedtime story-time program and start our week together as a PK-6 Freedom Hill community.


Kindergarten Registration!

We are excited to welcome our next class of Kindergarten students.  To prepare for the 2021-22 school year, we ask all parents of incoming Kindergartners to visit our registration page to register your child.  Encourage your friends and neighbors to register their incoming Kindergartners. Pass the word!  


Positivity Project: Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence

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This week, we are focusing on the Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. You notice and value the world’s beauty and people’s skills. You don’t take things for granted.

“Better to be blind and see with your heart than to have two good eyes and see nothing.”

                                         ~Helen Keller

 

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

  • What do you think it means to see with your heart?
  • Why do you think we fail to notice the beauty around us?
  • What can you do to start noticing that beauty?

Family Resources

 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


Updates from the PTA

 

PTA MEETING RECAP

We had a great PTA meeting last week. The slides are here as well as the recording with password $hi.8ZJU. Given we just had the combined meeting with Dr. Z, we will NOT have our original PTA meeting on April 28th. Also be sure to save the date for the last PTA meeting of the year on Wednesday, June 3rd at 8pm.

 

SESSION 5 OF VIRTUAL ENRICHMENT REGISTRATION APRIL 19 Enrichment Matters will offer virtual enrichment sessions from April 27th through May 23rd. Registration opened yesterday and will close on Thursday, April 22 at midnight. Classes include Chess, Cooking, Art, Improv, Spy Academy, Minecraft, Pottery, and More! All classes meet via zoom. Register today! Applications for need based scholarships are due by midnight on April 22nd. Email info@enrichmentmatters.com for more information.

 

PTA BOARD APPLICATIONS OPEN Are you interested in serving on the PTA Board? If you are interested in these or any other position, fill out an application here and email to: nominating_committee@freedomhillpta.org. Questions about a specific position? Feel free to email the current board at info@freedomhillpta.org