FH Weekly Update - 1/8/23

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Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

What a great first week of 2023! It is always very exciting to see our staff and students rejuvenated after the holidays and ready to take on the second half of this year's learning. We had several new families join our school community after a holiday move, and we wish them a big welcome to our school community and to our weekend updates. 

This week, VGA testing continues for our grades 3-6 families, and "on the radar" are the January PTA meeting, Spelling Bee, band/strings concerts, Science Fair, field trips, and more. It is a fun and exciting time to be a student "On the Hill". Thank you for your support in this new year.

For families who enrolled in Winter Enrichment programs, they begin this week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal


Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

  • January 9 - 17 - Winter VGA Window (Grades 3-6)
  • January 16 - School Closed - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • January 18 - Virtual PTA Meeting, 7:30 PM
  • January 24 - Band/Strings Concert, 6:00
  • January 24 - February 3 - Grade Level Spelling Bees
  • January 25 – End of Q2 – Early Release Day

Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) Dates

The winter Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) will be taking place at Freedom Hill in January  This is a content-based assessment for 3-6 grade students in math and reading. The assessments will start around 9:30 each morning so please have your child arrive on time. To learn more information about the Virginia Growth Assessment, please visit this website. If you have any questions about the VGA, please email Mr. Kopacz. 

We ask that your family try their best to avoid appointments and absences on testing dates:

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Positivity Project: Prudence

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This week, we are focusing on Prudence. You plan for the future and achieve your goals by making careful everyday choices.

 

"When you make the right decision, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.”

                                                          ~Caroline Kennedy

 

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

  • What does making good decisions have to do with prudence?
  • Is it hard to make decisions in certain situations? If yes, which situations?
  • Do you find it becoming harder or easier to make good decisions as you get older?
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PTA Updates

Hoping you are back in the swing of things. Winter enrichment begins this week for those who enrolled. Check out additional announcements below as preparations for the Spelling Bee and Science Fair are well under way!

 

PTA MEETING JAN. 18, 7:30 PM
Join us for our PTA meeting to ring in the new year of PTA activities on Wednesday, January 18th at 7:30 pm. To join us, click on the link here. Meeting ID is: 962 1419 3278 and Passcode: 578340. Or if you are dialing in, use the number 309-205-3325 with meeting ID and passcode.

 

WINTER ENRICHMENT BEGINS JAN. 9-14
Just a reminder if you signed your child up for Winter Enrichment, classes began this week! You would have gotten an email confirmation from Baroody Camps.

 

SPELLING BEE ON FEB. 8TH
Our Spelling Bee is on the horizon! Between Jan. 24-Feb. 3rd, kids have the option of participating in a class-level bee. Participation is optional for students, and 6 students per grade level will advance to the final round. Study lists supplied by Scripps Spelling Bee are here: https://sites.google.com/site/spellingclubfhes/. To make spelling practice and learning fun, Scripps, for the time first time has released an official free mobile app for iOS and Android platforms available here. The School Bee will be held on Feb. 8th at 6 pm.

 

SCIENCE FAIR: SAVE THE DATE FEB. 15
Freedom Hill's SCIENCE FAIR is making its return on February 15th. The Science Fair is a great way to showcase something your child learned with a posterboard/tabletop presentation, demonstrate a cool hands-on experiment, or more! See the flyer for the form to fill out and an example tri-fold posterboard. Need ideas? Great resources for ideas are at: education.com and ScienceBuddies. Form due Feb. 1st to Kerrey at: kerreyolden@gmail.com or to the PTA Mailbox in the office. We need volunteers to help. Sign up here.

 

RESOLVE TO HELP FHES PTA - 3 STEPS
It's a new year! Make a resolution to help Freedom Hill PTA with things you already do. Three easy ways.
- Harris Teeter - sign up your Harris Teeter card to benefit Freedom Hill ES
- Set up Amazon Smile to benefit Freedom Hill ES
- Download the Boxtop for Education app and scan your receipts to put savings toward school (how to do it here).

 

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