 Important Upcoming Dates
November 28-December 6: Chanukah
December 8: Bodhi Day
December 13-17: Winter Spirit Week
December 14: SCA Food Drive Ends
December 14: Bears Bedtime Stories - 7:00 p.m. (Virtual)
December 15: Advanced Academics Level IV Referrals Due
December 16-24: Las Posadas
December 18: Winter Break Begins
December 25: Christmas
December 26: Boxing Day
December 26-January 1: Kwanzaa
January 1: New Year’s Day
January 3: School Resumes
New This Week
1. Winter Spirit Week
2. Bears Bedtime Stories
3. OC Social Justice Book Club
4. 6th Grade Advanced Band and Strings Winter Concert Plans
5. Message to Sixth Grade Families from Frost MS
6. Digital Citizenship & Online Safety
7. iReady Fall Results Available
Reminders & Updates
8. SCA Food Drive
9. AAP Level IV Referral Deadline Reminder
10. Bears in the Spotlight
11. OC Staff Shout-outs
12. Bears Care Outreach
13. Contacts
14. Be Informed, Stay Involved!
Happy Hanukkah
The Jewish Festival of Lights began on November 28 and extends through December 6. To all of our Olde Creek families and staff members who celebrate Hanukkah, we wish you a season full of light and love! Chag Sameach!
1. Winter Spirit Week - December 13-17
2. Bears Bedtime Stories - December 14
3. OC Social Justice Book Club
Olde Creek is excited to begin our Social Justice Book Club meetings! Students in grades K-6 are all welcome to participate on Wednesday, December 15th from 3:15-4:15. Our meeting will start with a shared read aloud, then break into discussion groups for grades K-2 and 3-6. Our topic for the month of December is Identity. We will be pondering the question, “Why is it important to see aspects of our identity reflected in media including games, apps, TV, movies and toys?” This meeting provides an opportunity for students to explore and understand more about identity, the importance of representation, and reflect on how we can use our voice to make a difference for ourselves and others.
To register your child please fill out this form and return it to your child’s classroom teacher. Registration forms are due by Friday, December 10th.
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4. COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing
Starting this week, students may obtain COVID-19 diagnostic testing at six drive-through sites in Fairfax County. Diagnostic testing is provided for anyone who has symptoms or is identified as a close contact of someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
COVID-19 testing helps us reduce the virus’ spread and keep our schools safe places for all students to learn. We encourage you to utilize our new diagnostic testing services as needed.
Appointments are not required for diagnostic testing but families must register in the secure online portal. When you register and provide consent for your child to be tested, they will also be added to Olde Creek’s screening testing pool. If you do not wish for them to be part of the weekly screening testing pool, simply log back into the online portal after your child’s test is complete and withdraw consent.
More information about diagnostic and screening testing, including site locations and schedules, is available on our website.
5. 6th Grade Advanced Band & Strings Winter Concert Plans
Sixth grade Advanced Band/Strings students will perform a short selection of songs to showcase their learning the week of December 13th. Live group recordings created during regularly scheduled band and strings classes provide students with the most authentic opportunity to perform as would happen during in-person concert experiences and this activity complies with current COVID guidelines. Videos will be created during regularly scheduled band/strings classes. All Olde Creek students will have the opportunity to view these performances during our winter event that will be live streamed throughout our building on December 17. Parents will receive an unpublished YouTube link during the week of December 13th for their child’s class. Music publisher permission has been granted at no charge for copyrighted music. Videos must be removed by teachers immediately, one month after posting.
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6. Message to Sixth Grade Families from Frost MS
Rising 7th Grade Transition Activities at Frost Middle School
The Rising 7th Grade Orientation for current 6th grade students who will be attending Frost in the 22-23 school year will take place virtually on January 27 at 6:30 p.m. We will also be having the Frost Family Festival (in-person) on February 16 beginning at 5:30 p.m. This is a great opportunity to have dinner, get a school tour, and visit elective classes to help confirm desired course selections. Additional information will be sent out on both events, but please mark your calendars!
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7. Digital Citizenship and Online Safety
FCPS has great information on their website to help support families when learning about digital citizenship. These resources highlight how to set digital expectations at home, how to choose apps, games, and services wisely, how to help support your child with media balance, as well as many other digital citizenship skills. This link will take you to the main FCPS website for digital citizenship.
Instructional Services has also developed a helpful Padlet for parents to use when they are considering buying a new device for their child or are considering allowing their child to use a new app/play a new game. This Padlet includes links to media reviews, information on how to set up parental controls on various devices and streaming services, as well as information on how to set expectations with your child. The Padlet is linked here.
These two resources are included on the Technology page of our Olde Creek website.
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8. iReady Fall Results Available
Students in grades 1 through 6 recently took the iReady assessment for reading and mathematics. iReady is used as a universal screener and progress monitoring assessment in Fairfax County Public Schools. Your child’s scaled score and domain performance is reported for each tested subject. iReady scores are now shared with parents via SIS ParentVue.
For more information about iReady and how it supports instructional planning for your students, visit https://www.fcps.edu/us or contact our School Testing Coordinator, Mrs. Butler at ajbutler@fcps.edu.
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9. SCA Food Drive
The Olde Creek SCA will be doing a Food Drive from Thursday, Nov. 18th to Tuesday, Dec. 14th. The classroom who donates the most food items will win a Pajama Day and 15 minutes of Extra Recess!
We are collecting the below items:
Boxed Cereals, Rice, Canned Goods, Cooking Oil, Spaghetti Sauce, Dried or Canned Beans, Pasta.
Please no glass containers! Cardboard, plastic or tin cans only.
Proceeds will benefit the Food for Others food bank in Fairfax, VA and also the OC Bears Care Program. The SCA thanks you for your support!
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10. Reminder: Window for AAP Level IV (full-time) Referrals to Close December 15, 2021
Parents/guardians of students in Grades 2-7 who would like their student to be considered for full-time advanced academic programs (level IV AAP services) may submit the AAP Level IV Referral Form to Wendy Stobbe, Advanced Academics Resource Teacher, no later than December 15. (wmstobbe@fcps.edu)
The window to submit an AAP Level IV Referral Form is the first day of school through December 15, annually. Forms for full-time and part-time referrals are available on the AAP Forms Page. No late referrals for Level IV services can be accepted.
Submitting a referral form for AAP Level IV will initiate a process that begins at the local school and is then completed at the central office level. Our school will put together a portfolio that includes multiple data which are considered holistically. At the central office level, a committee of professionals from various schools review materials to determine eligibility for level IV placement. Eligibility decisions are communicated by early April. Parents may request a copy of the portfolio that was submitted after they are submitted to the central selection committee by emailing Wendy Stobbe, Advanced Academics Resource Teacher, (wmstobbe@fcps.edu). Referrals for AAP Levels II-III (part-time services) are screened at the local school.
For more information, there are parent presentations available on the FCPS AAP website (under “Presentations”) that contain information similar to our fall parent information meetings at Olde Creek Elementary School.
11. Bears in the Spotlight!
We are excited to introduce a new program to highlight the incredible skills and talents of our Bears! On a daily basis, we have the opportunity to see our Bears’ strengths in school but we want to showcase the skills and talents our students demonstrate outside of school as well.
Each week on the morning news, we will have Bears in the Spotlight to share these skills and talents with our school community. Our students can sing, dance, share artwork, or videos of them playing sports or clips of other performances.
To submit one of our students to participate in Bears in the Spotlight, please utilize the below form.
https://forms.gle/um6VHjy6KKYLhMxJ6 (Please note: this form must be accessed using your child’s FCPS username & password.)
If your student would like to submit a video, you can utilize the Flipgrid link with the password below.
https://flipgrid.com/bfa686dd
Password: BearsSpotlight
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12. OC Staff Shout-outs
Our Olde Creek staff is outstanding and we are grateful for all they do every day! We want to celebrate the extraordinary efforts of our teachers and staff during the 2021-22 school year. If your family would like to give a shout out to an OC staff member, please complete this survey.
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13. Bears Care Outreach
The Bears Care food pantry will be collecting for Thanksgiving and the break for the next couple of weeks. Please use this sign up for much needed items that can either be dropped off at the school or sent through this Amazon Wish List. Walmart is also a great place to send food/gift cards through. (Email Lisa at lisamarm@gmail.com for other drop off/mailing information.)
New! You can donate through the OC PTA PayPal account. The funds will be used to purchase items and gift cards based on the greatest needs of our families. Access the OC PTA PayPal account here: https://paypal.me/OldeCreekPTA.
Thank you, as always, for your kindness and generosity during this extraordinary time!
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14. Contacts
Olde Creek Attendance Phone Line: 703-426-3192
Olde Creek Attendance mailbox: OldeCreekElem.Attendance@fcps.edu
Technology Support for Families/Parent Help Desk: 1-833-921-3277
Parent Information Phone Lines/Support for parents who do not speak English as their first language: Parent Information Phone Lines
Parent and Student technology support: IT Support Portal
Melissa Miller, Principal, mhmiller@fcps.edu
Alison Butler, Assistant Principal, ajbutler@fcps.edu
Kelly Durso, Assistant Principal, kldurso@fcps.edu
Sylvia Alverson, Administrative Assistant, sjalverson@fcps.edu
Ann Platenkamp, Administrative Assistant, amplatenkamp@fcps.edu
Lizardo Santos, Student Information Assistant, LISantos@fcps.edu
Sandy McCulloch, Office Assistant, slmcculloch@fcps.edu
15. Be Informed, Stay Involved!
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