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Dear Freedom Hill Community,
We hope everyone had a great weekend. We were quite excited last week when our new school bottle fillers were installed. Many thanks to our PTA for this very generous update to several locations in our school!
Looking forward, we have arrived at the last week of our 3th quarter! That is quite hard to believe. Please make note of several changes to our normal schedule this week:
Thursday - 2-hour early release and Kindergarten Orientation
Friday - Teacher Work Day for Q3 grading
April 4 - 8 - There will be no school on these days due to Spring Break
The 4th quarter of our school year together promises much excitement. We look forward to Field Day, 6th Grade Promotion, End-of-Year Celebrations, our Staff vs. Students volleyball game, PTA Bingo Night, lots of learning, and much much more.
Last week we shared information about the Tutor.com service FCPS will be providing to all students after Spring Break. This week your child brought home a paper copy of an Opt Out form. If you would like to opt your child out of having access, please return the paper form to our front office or complete the Opt-Out through SIS ParentVUE. For more information, see the FCPS website.
As always, please contact us if you have any questions, concerns or great things to share about our students and staff. Have a great week.
In partnership,
Nicholas Zapadka
Principal
2021-22 FCPS School Calendar
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Month of March - Kindergarten registration
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March 29 - Math Club, 8:30
- March 31 - End of Q3, 2-hr Early Release
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March 31 - Kindergarten Orientation, 2:30-3:30 - In-Person
- April 1 - Teacher Work Day, No School for Students
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April 1 - Last Day for PTA Spirit Wear Orders
- April 4 - 8 - Spring Break
2022-23 FCPS School Calendar
FCPS is partnering with independent firm K12 Insight to administer the Family Engagement Survey to better recognize, understand, respect, and address family strengths and needs in our school community. The survey is open until April 3rd. It is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Chinese, Korean, Farsi, Urdu, and Vietnamese. All responses will be confidential.
With parent/caregiver input, the school division will be better suited to develop policies and practices that incorporate their ideas, and help focus everyone on their role in improving student achievement.
Survey results will be used to develop a plan to improve family and school partnerships throughout the division.
For more information, please watch this short video from Superintendent Brabrand and visit the Family Engagement Survey webpage. An email link was sent on March 13th, however is also available here: Family Engagement Survey Link. If you need a paper copy of the survey, please reach out to our front office and we can provide one for you. Please find translated information below.
English - Spanish - Arabic - Chinese - Korean - Vietnamese
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It is already that time of year to start planning for next year. Our Kindergarten registration for rising kindergartners for the 2022-23 school year is now open. Please use the online portal to submit your initial information and Ms. Sujo will follow up with you about a registration appointment, which will begin after March 1. You can also see this helpful page for more information on the documents that will be needed.
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If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please start your registration now. If you have any neighbors with little ones, please send this information to them as well.
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This week, we are focusing on Humor. You like to laugh and bring smiles to other people.
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"A sense of humor is a major defense against minor troubles.”
~Mignon McLaughlin
Questions you might enjoy talking about:
- How does humor affect relationships? How does it connect people?
- How can you incorporate more humor into your everyday life?
- Have you ever been in a situation where you just couldn’t stop laughing? What happened?
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Congratulations to these staff members for their recognition last week. We are very proud!
Ms. Jasmine Threatt, our new 6th grade teacher, was named Florida Bay County Coach of the Year! You can read about her accomplishments here.
Ms. Katie Lacroix, a special education Instructional Assistant, received the First Class Award from the FCPS Advisory Committee for Students with Disabilities for her incredible work advancing equity and inclusion at our school.
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Thank you for a successful Spring Picture Day.
Spring Portraits are now available to view and order online! All orders will include free shipping for the next two weeks. Please remember, the online code is the Student ID Number.
https://vando.imagequix.com/g1000910702
Parent questions/concerns regarding portraits can be directed to underclass@vosphoto.com
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Students in grades 3-6 participate in end-of-year testing required by the state of Virginia, called the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. We ask that you please avoid any appointments or trips that may interrupt your child’s testing days to the greatest extent possible.
What are Expedited Retakes? The Virginia Board of Education allows elementary and middle school students who fail Standards of Learning (SOL) tests by a narrow margin to retake the test before the end of the school year. Retesting is available when a student fails their first attempt with a score of 375-399 (400 is passing). Parent permission is required for any retests for students in grades 3-8. The SOL Retake Permission Forms were sent home in Wednesday Folders - please return the form to your child’s teacher by/before April 22nd.
 The Fairfax Health District and Fairfax County Public Schools are hosting free COVID-19 vaccine clinics at 10 schools for students 5-11 years of age. Children do not need to be an FCPS student to attend these clinics. Vaccines will not be available for those 12 years and older. Children must be accompanied by a parent or another responsible adult at all community vaccination sites.
The Fairfax County Health Department’s webpage has information about the clinics and resources for finding and scheduling a vaccine appointment. Up-to-date information about vaccination opportunities is available on our website
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Thanks who joined in on the fun Family Dinner Out at Mod Pizza and who visited the Book Fair last week! Hopefully you had a great time. Three cheers for our students come out to help Mr. Curtis with the garden this weekend! Check out upcoming details below.
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ORDER SPIRITWEAR BY FRIDAY! Has your child been hankering for the latest FHES fashions? Our online spiritwear is open for the next few weeks. Check out our Online Store here with new items! Store will be open until Friday, April 1st and items should come 3-4 weeks after the sale closes.
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TURN ART INTO GIFTS BY 4/7! The Freedom Hill PTA is excited to partner with Square 1 Art to celebrate creativity! A fun art activity (details here) that can be turned into fabulous gifts for friends and family, just in time for Mother's Day, Father's Day, or just for fun! Now thru April 7, use the art paper sent last week in folders or pick a piece previously created, upload to Square 1 Art and order your gifts! Orders will be received the week of May 2nd. Need templates printed out? Ideas for projects? Visit the Art Gifts page at freedomhillpta.org for the instructions.
TEACHER APPRECIATION IN FULL EFFECT Our teachers and staff got a special visit by two leprechauns named Sara Lyon and Sechin Lee right before St. Patrick's Day! They were treated to a yummy breakfast to remind them how much we appreciate everything they do for us!
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BINGO PRIZE DONATIONS NEEDED!
Bingo Night is coming back to school and will be on Friday, May 6! Thank you Gina Song for volunteering to organize it. As you do spring cleaning, please think of prizes you could potentially donate! Drop off at: 8518 Quaint Lane or contact president@freedomhillpta.org to arrange pick-up.
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WATER BOTTLE FILLERS INSTALLED! We are so excited to hear that the TWO NEW water bottle fillers purchased by the PTA have finally been installed!! Three cheers to all our families and staff that made this happen. So much more convenient for classes located upstairs.
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KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION ON 3/31 SAVE THE DATE! March 31st from 2:30-3:30pm is an orientation for rising Kindergarteners. If you know a family with a child who is turning 5 before Sept. 30th, let them know to attend this meeting via Zoom or in person in the library (It is an early release day at FHES).
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