Springfield Estates ES News You Choose #41 - March 25, 2022

Read Live participants

Our students have been working hard during their Read Live sessions!

Date Reminders

  • March 30: Spring Pictures
  • March 31: End of 3rd Quarter/Two-Hour Early Release. Students will be released at 2:05 PM.
  • March 31: Kindergarten Orientation for 2022-2023. 
  • April 1: Teacher Workday. School will be closed for students. Our office hours will be 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. 
  • April 1:  Deadline for placing yearbook orders. To order, click here (our code is 5582422). 
  • April 4 - April 8: Spring Break. School (including our office) will be closed for staff and students. 
  • April 14: SEES International Night -see the flyer in today's Friday Folder for details (Lewis HS is also having an International Night on March 30 - see below for details for their event). 
  • April 20: Wear PURPLE for Military Child Appreciation Day!
  • April 21: Cardboard Challenge (details coming soon).
  • April 29:  PTA Event - Movie Night (details coming soon).
  • May 30:  Memorial Day Holiday.  School will be closed for staff and students.
  • June 10:  Last Day of School/Two-Hour Early Release. Students will be released at 2:05 PM.

Literacy Grab Bags

Calling all families of SEES students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade!  Looking for resources to increase your child's literacy at home?  Introducing our newest Springfield Estates library program: Literacy Grab Bags!  

To participate, fill out the interest form here. Based on your selection(s), a themed bag will be delivered to your child on Thursdays.  Enjoy literacy activities as a family at home!  Then have your child return the bag to the library on the following Tuesday (classroom teachers can help facilitate this).  

  1. Bags consist of a picture book and two literacy-related activities that connect to the book.  This picture book is in addition to the book(s) your child checks out from the library each week.
  2. Books will be tailored based on your child's grade level.
  3. The form must be completed by Tuesday at 5pm to guarantee that the bag is delivered to your child that Thursday.  If you submit the form any later, you may have to wait until the following Thursday to receive the bag.
  4. Only ONE bag can be checked out at a time.  If you are interested in more than one bag, your next bag will be delivered to your child once your current bag has been returned.
  5. It is essential that bags are returned on time so that other students can enjoy them.

Literacy Grab Bags submissions will be accepted anytime between now and May 17, 2022!  Please contact Our librarian, Mrs. Berkoski, at maberkoski@fcps.edu with any questions or to give feedback.  Happy reading!


WordMasters Accomplishments

Several teams representing Springfield Estates Elementary School achieved Highest Honors in the recent WordMasters Challenge™—a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 125,000 students annually. The fourth grade team scored an impressive 192 points out of a possible 200 in the second of three meets this year, placing fourth in the nation. In addition, the third grade team scored 161 points, finishing seventh nationwide, and the fifth grade team earned a ninth place finish with 181 points.  Congratulations to all!


Resources from our Family Liaison

Register Now for the 2022 Special Education Conference on March 26

This year’s Special Education Conference will be held virtually on Saturday, March 26, with a combination of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded) sessions supporting the conference's theme: Bringing our Inclusive Community Together: Affirming, Assessing, Advancing. Welcoming ceremonies, guest speakers, FCPS presentations, and an exhibit hall are included. Click here for registration info

Parenting in A Digital Age

This playlist includes four videos (Common Sense- YouTube) addressing some of the topics related to Parenting in The Digital Age

  • What are ways I can set boundaries and support my kids in their tech lives?
  • How can we ensure our kids are having high quality experiences?
  • I don’t know anything about social media or the apps my kid is on. What do I need to know to keep them safe?
  • I’m worried that my kids will use social media inappropriately; and what are these “challenges"?

Advanced Academic Programs - Screening Services

Click here for the Spring AAP newsletter with information on screening for school-based (Level II-III) services (click here for the information in Spanish). 


Elementary Magnet School Lottery

The Magnet Lottery registration window opened Tuesday, March 1, 2022.  Families wanting to apply for the Magnet Lottery must have a SIS account.  If a student is not currently enrolled in FCPS, registration at the base school for the upcoming school year will be required.  

A separate application must be completed for each sibling applying.  Legacies also must apply to be eligible.  Acceptances into one of the magnet programs is not transferable into another program or school.

Registration for the elementary magnet school lottery closes on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at 4:00 p.m.  No late applications will be accepted.

For more information, contact Tamra Ferreira at tferreira@fcps.edu or 571-423-4532


From Our PTA

THANK YOU to all the families that participated in our Spring Bingo!  We hope everyone enjoyed their time together and we truly appreciated all the support. Special thanks to all the teachers and staff that helped make this a success! 

We look forward to supporting our SEES community more in 2022, including more restaurant nights, movie nights, Staff Appreciation week, Whoos Reading and more.  Volunteers to help support these events are needed and welcome! 

In Search of Two People to Serve on the Nominating Committee

As part of the election process for officers for 2022-2023, our bylaws require that a Nominating Committee by formed. You do not need to find the candidates yourself, but act as a conduit through which the names are submitted to the PTA membership for election; you’ll provide an email address through which people can contact you if they are interested in serving on the board.  If you can help by serving on the Nominating Committee, please contact Tanya House at seesptapresident@gmail.com by March 28. 

UPCOMING:

  • Whoo’s Reading/Readathon will be beginning in April! More information to come  – Fun online reading competition for students
  • April 29th – In-person Movie Night
  • Glittle Minds - PTA is sponsoring Yoga & Mindfulness classes with Glittle Minds again this Spring! This before school program is outdoors and will give students an opportunity to learn about mindfulness, through yoga, directed meditation and breathing, and positive self-care strategies. Students will be led in exercises as well as fun activities and crafts, tailored to the young learner, to help them notice and manage their thoughts, feelings and behavior.
    • K-2nd grades classes will be on Thursdays from 8-9am starting April 21, 2022.
    • 3rd-6th grades classes will be on Wednesdays from 8-9am starting April 20, 2022.
    • To sign up, click here.
    • For more information, visit glittleminds.com
  • Upcoming PTA Meetings (all via Zoom):
    • May 3rd, 2022 – 6pm – Nominations for PTA officers presented
    • June 7, 2022 – 6pm – Vote on New PTA Officers

If you are interested in joining the PTA and/or volunteering please contact our Treasurer Mike Buckner at seeptatreasurer@gmail.com.  We could use your help to make sure we get to have fun activities for our students and to continue to support our SEES staff!


Lewis HS International Night