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Dear Freedom Hill Community,
We hope you are well! Last week we had a blast with our first whole-school event in quite a long time. A big thank you to Mr. Dowling and our 6th grade team for hosting our annual Staff vs. 6th Grade Volleyball game. We had some beautiful weather, and all enjoyed having our students together again at the same event.
We have another eventful week ahead, with SOL testing, a PTA meeting, 1st/2nd grade field trips, and an outdoor concert.
Please consider helping former Eagle Joseph Long on his Eagle Scout project by dropping off any used sports equipment in our school lobby - see more information in the PTA section below!
Last week we celebrated our third quarterly Soaring Eagle Citizens. These students were selected by their teachers as students who showcase our Positivity Project traits, and who enrich our school culture through kindness, friendship, and respect. We hope they had fun eating lunch with our school counselors and principals! Congratulations to our Q3 Soaring Eagles:
Preschool:
Marialuisa C. and Keylor C.
Kindergarten:
Mohammed A., Stephanie U., Audrey H., Vedant H., Ayaana J., Max F.
1st Grade:
Elianny P., Allen C., Azhaar E., Alwalleed A., Lelis A., Raoul C.
2nd Grade (pictured below):
Luciana G., Neil M., Rayan H., Priya R., Zoya Q., Santi C., Nataly S., Andy C.,
3rd Grade:
Aleks H., Quinn M., Ameen R., Nicole T., Cordelia K., Ian R.,
4th Grade:
William F., Viviana M., Jimmy R., Jacob S., Anjali S., Aaradhya T.
5th Grade:
Rachel K., Umida A., Braylen G., Ashley C., Suyay T., Farah K.
6th Grade:
Amin A., Hannah L., Arely G., Abdul A., Maya R., Ayser E.,
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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April 25 - 4th Grade Reading SOL
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April 26 - Math Club, 8:30
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April 26 - PTA Meeting, 8PM, Virtual
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April 27 - 5th/6th Grade Reading SOL
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April 27 - Strings/Band Outdoor Concert, 6PM
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April 28 - 3rd Grade Reading SOL (part 1)
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April 29 - 3rd Grade Reading SOL (part 2)
2022-23 FCPS School Calendar
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Teacher Appreciation Week is May 2-6! While the PTA and school administration have some fun things planned, the best forms of appreciation for teachers come right from students and families. We encourage you to consider showing your appreciation for your teacher(s) in some small way! |
Thank you for your attention to the following during our school year! This helps our school function smoothly and safely for students.
- Our school opens to students at 9:05. Please do not leave your student(s) unsupervised outside of the school before that time. We do not have supervision for students before 9:05.
- Our late bell rings at 9:20. If you arrive after 9:20, you will be asked to bring your student(s) into the office to receive a late pass.
- Due to health protocols and bus occupancy, FCPS Transportation is not permitting students to ride a different bus home with a friend.
- Please call in any changes to your child's dismissal before 3:00. Calling between 3:00-4:00 causes hardship to the school staff and can lead to miscommunication. Thank you very much!
If your child is returning to Freedom Hill next school year, we offer you the opportunity to share any comments you would like regarding class placements. If you know that your family will not be joining us for the 2022-23 school year, please reach out to Ms. Sujo, ssujoromero@fcps.edu or 703-506-7800 to let us know.
Our staff will be working on tentative class groupings this spring, with classroom assignments finalized in late August. As we make these placements, we consider many factors including individual student information, teacher input, and social relationships. Every class will have a blend of children with diverse needs, personalities, and learning interests. Due to the many factors we must consider in creating classroom placements, including the reassignment of some teachers to a different grade level and the hiring of new teachers, requests for a specific teacher cannot be honored.
If you have information that you believe is pertinent to your child’s placement for next year, please complete the optional Class Placement Input Form by Monday, May 9th for it to be taken into consideration. There is no need to complete the form if you do not have any information you would like us to consider. Thank you.
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This week we are focusing on Purpose/Connection. You have beliefs about the meaning of life and your life’s purpose. You seek to be part of something greater than yourself.
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"Regardless of whatever I do, I know my purpose is to make a difference in people’s lives.”
~Tim Tebow
Questions you might enjoy talking about:
- Do you ever wonder what your purpose is?
- What kind of person do you want to be? What things could you be doing now to enhance the life of those around you?
- What gifts, talents, and ideas do you have that you want to share?
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Yearbook sales for the 2021-22 school year have begun! We look forward to sharing our memories for this school year. The cost is $15 per book. There are four ways to purchase:
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Herff Jones Website - school code 24920
- Through your account on MySchoolBucks
- Exact cash in an envelope with your/your child's name
- Check made out to Freedom Hill in an envelope with your/your child's name
Questions regarding payment should be directed to Kelly Harris, khharris@fcps.edu.
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We are pleased to announce that students now have unlimited access to online tutoring support services through Tutor.com at no cost to families. Tutor.com is available 24/7, through online voice or text chat, and in your student’s preferred language. Student participation is optional and parents/guardians can opt their students out of accessing the service. You can learn more about Tutor.com on the Tutor.com Online Tutoring Services website.
Students will be able to access Tutor.com via a link in Schoology. Additional information about how to log in and access a tutor is provided to families via the following instructional videos:
elementary video and secondary video. Questions not answered in the posted resources may be sent to onlinetutoring@fcps.edu.
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.
PTA MEETING, TUESDAY 4/26
Join us on Tuesday April 26th at 8pm virtually to talk through end of year activities and get an update with Dr. Z. Join us here with passcode: 074427 OR dial: +13017158592 with Meeting ID: 957 7263 8893 and passcode: 074427.
BINGO NIGHT - FRIDAY 5/6, 6-8pm
Join us on Friday, May 6th from 6-8pm in the cafeteria for the long awaited return of FHES PTA's Bingo Night! Purchase 1 card for $1 or 5 cards for $6. Have fun playing bingo with your friends and winning prizes! Pre-order your pizza and all pizza proceeds go to the 6th grade celebration activities. All the details and order form is here. You can either order your cards and/or pizza on Pay4SchoolStuff by May 5th at 9pm or turn in the flier to the PTA mailbox by Wednesday, May 4th by 5pm.
BINGO VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Many hands make the work light! We need some volunteers to make our Bingo Night a success. Sign up Genius is here to sign up for a shift. Special 6th Grade Sign Up Genius for 6th graders doing pizza sales and community service.
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK 5/2-5/7 Want to see what our amazing Teacher Appreciation Committee has in store for our teachers the week of 5/2-5/7? Check out the flier here! While our teacher appreciation team, Sechin Lee and Sara Lyon, are servicing the whole school - this is a great reminder you may want to do something special for your classroom teacher, favorite specialist or administrator too!
WALK, BIKE OR ROLL TO SCHOOL DAY - WED., 5/4 Save the date! Walk, Bike or Roll to School day is Wednesday, May 4th! Walk or bike ride to school, thank your bus driver, encourage drivers to pay attention to walkers and bikers! Finally, pick up your prize in front of the school- provided by the FCPS Safe Routes to School program. More details coming in the PTA Newsletter this week.
PTA BOARD POSITIONS OPEN We want to thank Gina Song and Nicole Camara for doing an amazing job as Secretary and VP of Business Development this year on the PTA Board! They have decided to step down for the 2022-2023 school year. We are looking for 2 new members (or more) for the PTA Board. If you are interested, please send in a short form here to nominating_committee@freedomhillpta.org. Questions? Feel free to contact president@freedomhillpta.org or for the word document version.
INCLUSION TEAM STARTING 4/28
The Neurodiversity and Ability Inclusion PTA Team is starting this month! This group will focus on ways to include all people in events and recognizes that everyone has differences in how they communicate, function, and what supports they need. We are hoping to gather a focused group of parents and teachers to understand and guide Neurodiversity and Ability Inclusion for the Freedom Hill Elementary PTA. Key accessibility concepts are here at the Expo 2020 Dubai UAE. Teachers and parents with children in general education and specialized education at Freedom Hill Elementary are welcome. The first meeting will be April 28th at 8 PM virtually. Contact Monica Joyce at m5gia.dpswct@gmail.com for the link or q's. There will be interactive components, so viewing the Zoom meeting on a computer screen or tablet is recommended. Meeting will not be recorded.
LEVEL THE FIELD - DONATIONS
FHES PTA is happy to support Joseph Long, a Freedom Hill graduate and currently a junior and Life Scout at Marshall High School. Joseph is working on his Eagle Scout project with a non-profit sponsor called Leveling the Playing Field that works to provide sports equipment to underserved communities. Donate your used sports equipment to this great organization! Or join us at the community event on May 8th at Marshall High School to support the work that Leveling the Playing Field is doing in the greater Washington, DC area. All the details are here!
ARTWORK DEADLINE NOW 5/13
Missed the Artwork deadline? You can still submit materials until May 13th! A fun art activity (details here) that can be turned into fabulous gifts for friends and family or just for fun! Today is the last day to either use the provided art paper or use a different square piece previously created, upload to Square 1 Art, and order your gifts! Need templates printed out? Ideas for projects? Visit the Art Gifts page at freedomhillpta.org for the instructions.
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