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To read this newsletter in other languages, please visit our website.
Para leer este boletín en otros idiomas, visite nuestro sitio web.
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Wolf Pack Community,
This week, we welcomed our new assistant principal, Ms. Cali Loewenberg, to the Oak Hill Family!
There are several opportunities to come together as a school community next week. We have Back to School Night on Monday and Tuesday (see grade level details below) and Baskin Robbins Scoop Night returns on Thursday! Come out to eat ice cream, support the school, and get served by your Oak Hill Staff!
We look forward to partnering with each of you this school year! Please consider joining our PTA and reaching out to us as questions arise.
Kelly Durso, Principal
Cali Loewenberg, Assistant Principal
We cannot wait to see you at our in-person Back to School Night! Two sessions will be offered each evening. Both sessions will include introductory videos from Mrs. Durso and Mrs. Loewenberg, Oak Hill’s PTA, and our School Board Official.
September 11th: Grades K, 1, 4, 6
September 12th: Grades 2, 3, 5
Session 1: 6:00-6:45
Session 2: 6:45-7:30
The clinic aid will be available to accept medications during BTS night. PTA will be selling spirit wear and accepting membership payments. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will also have tables if you would like to sign up. The cafeteria manager will also be present if you would like to add money to your child's lunch account.
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Join us for "Scoop Night" at Baskin Robbins in Franklin Farm Shopping Center on Thursday, September 14th from 4-8 pm. Some of your favorite teachers and staff will be scooping ice cream and greeting you at the door! We look forward to seeing you there! Oak Hill ES will receive a share of the profits. |
FCPS is committed to supporting the mental wellness of all students. The Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener helps our students share their perspectives on how their schools and communities support them and help them develop the skills they need to succeed.
The screener is offered to all students in grades 3 through 12 in the fall and spring. It addresses skills like achieving goals, understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining relationships with adults and peers, and making responsible decisions. Students also share how successful their school and community are at making them feel valued, included, and supported. Screener data is used to plan programming for the division, schools, and individual students.
Key updates to the screener this year include:
- Different versions for students in grades 3-5 and 6-12.
- Fewer topics with more questions to provide schools and families with more data to support planning.
- Additional questions aligned with FCPS’ commitment to educational equity.
Results are mailed home to families after each screening. Families who wish to opt their child out may do so by completing the opt-out form in the Annual Notice packet or SIS ParentVue.
For more information, please visit the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener webpage.
Please note that the SEL Screener differs from the anonymous Fairfax County Youth Survey. For more information about the Youth Survey, see the Fairfax County Youth Survey site.
Oak Hill is pleased to announce that we will have community peers in our preschool program. The early childhood special education staff members have been investigating the possible opportunities for our students to participate in integration activities with typically developing peers. This will involve teaching preschoolers with delays and without delays in the same classroom. It can provide young children with a more stimulating environment, teach skills for coping with different situations, and provide the opportunity to learn appropriate social skills.
Our program will invite a limited number of community preschoolers (1-2 per class), who are age 3 ½ -5 years, to participate in our daily preschool activities. The children from the community will have the opportunity to make new friends and share experiences with current early childhood special education students. Our students will, in turn, benefit from being with community peers who can model appropriate language, motor, and social skills.
All children learn through their play. Intellectual growth occurs in a social context, influenced strongly by the quality of social interactions. The goal of this program is to encourage active learning and promote social interaction and acceptance through shared experiences between the community children and our preschoolers with special needs. Feel free to contact Jeanette Burpoe at jlburpoe@fcps.edu for further explanation of our program. We welcome your thoughts or suggestions, as we are all partners in this effort.
If you are interested in applying for this program for your preschooler, please fill out this google form by Monday, September 18th.
The 2023-30 strategic plan sets five main goals to create positive change in FCPS. These goals show where we should focus our attention and will help us align our efforts. Our equity commitment and a set of measures in each goal will measure our success.
Goal 2 states that every student will be part of a school community that cares for their health, well-being, and opinions. We will listen to students and use their input to guide our decisions. We will respect their individuality, identity, and experiences. We will make sure they feel safe and supported at school.
Visit the Strategic Plan webpage to learn more about how we will measure the success of goal 2.
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Required Forms for the 2023-24 School Year
This year, parents will be able to use SIS ParentVUE to verify and update their student’s emergency contacts, phone numbers, and health conditions. Please click here for more information on the SIS ParentVUE Online Verification/Update (OVU) Packet.
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Health Information Form - Fill out online and print or update in your SIS ParentVUE account.
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Digital Resource Consent - Must be completed for all students.
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Opt-out Forms
In its Annual Notice of Survey, Records, Curriculum, Privacy, and Related Rights and Opt-Out Forms (Annual Notice), FCPS provides explanations of the rights listed above as well as forms that may be used to exercise opt-out choices.
Get more information and view the 2023-24 Opt-Out Booklets.
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Family Life Education (FLE)
Family Life Education Opt-out forms went home last week. Please fill out and return if applicable. More information can be found about the FLE Curriculum here.
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Student Rights and Responsibilities
FCPS’ Student Rights and Responsibilities document (SR&R) explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment. In late June, the School Board approved changes to the SR&R for the 2023-24 school year. Updates include a revision of dress code expectations, bystander expectations for students witnessing harmful or unsafe behaviors, bullying, and substance abuse responses. Parents/caregivers should talk to their child(ren) about expectations for this school year. Also, please log in to SIS ParentVUE and sign to acknowledge your review of the SR&R, or sign and return the signature sheet to your child’s school by Friday, September 29.
Questions?
If you need help or more information about any of the above forms, or a hard copy of any of the above forms, please contact the Oak Hill School Office at 703-467-3500.
Optional: in SIS ParentVUE - Under Report Card Tabs choose “Go Paperless"
Parents, please join us at Rocky Run MS on Thursday, September 21st from 6:00 to 7:30 to hear author Phyllis Fagel speak on “Setting Kids Up for Healthy Friendships and Academic Success in Middle School and Beyond”. Ms. Fagell is a nationally certified school counselor, a psychotherapist who works with children and teens in private practice, a journalist, and the author of both Middle School Matters: The 10 Key Skills Kids Need to Thrive in Middle School and Beyond--and How Parents Can Help and Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times.
The presentation will include topics such as:
- transitioning successfully to middle school
- friendship challenges
- boosting kids' resilience
For planning purposes, Rocky Run would appreciate notification that you will be attending through this Google form.
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The 2023 $435 million Bond Referendum — which will be on the ballot this Election Day, Tuesday, November 7 — is expected to fund projects at Franklin Middle School and Armstrong, Bren Mar Park, Brookfield, Centre Ridge, Cub Run, Dranesville, Herndon, Lees Corner, Poplar Tree, Sangster, Saratoga, Union Mill, Virginia Run, Waples Mill, and Willow Springs elementary schools.
The building and renovation of our schools are not funded through the division’s operating budget. Voter-approved bonds allow payment for these projects over time. Read more about the 2023 Bond Referendum. Learn about registering to vote.
Lightspeed Parent Report on Child’s Device Activity
FCPS has tools to help parents know more about their child’s activity on any FCPS device. These tools are provided at no cost to families by Lightspeed, the school division’s internet content filtering service. Parents may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites your child visited. The report also offers parents the ability to sign up for free access to the Internet Use Parent Portal. Through the portal, parents may pause their child’s access to the internet on their FCPS device during non-school hours. Learn more about Lightspeed Parent Reports.
The Oak Hill Health Room is looking for volunteers to help with Vision and Hearing Screening on October 4th from 9:00-12:00. Each year we screen every Kindergarten and 3rd grade student. If you can spare a couple of hours to help, it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Juliana Rampersad at jtrampersad@fcps.edu to sign up.
We are pleased to share that we are partnering with a non-profit named Asha-Jyothi (https://www.asha-jyothi.org/ ) to support their 15th Annual 5K Run/Walk on Sunday September 17th at Fairfax Corner at 8AM. All proceeds that we raise will go towards supporting student needs at Oak Hill. Asha-Jyothi has generously agreed to donate back 100% of the registration money back to each participating school AND:
- An additional $500 for 25+ registrations
- An additional $1000 for 50+ registrations
- An additional $2000 for 100+ registrations
To sign up, participating staff, students and/or their families visit the webpage: https://asha-jyothi.redpodium.com/2023fairfax5k. Simply enter the code “AJ4schools” and select Oak Hill from the drop down menu. A discounted price of $10 for the 5K will be given to all participants.
Join the PTA!
Your membership dues of $25 per family allow the PTA to offer school-based enrichment programs, plan fun family events, and support Oak Hill's staff. To join, visit our website: https://oakhillpta.ptboard.com/
Hospitality Committee Are you looking for a way to get involved with the Oak Hill Elementary PTA? Help out with this year’s Hospitality Committee! We plan and host events during the year to show our teachers and staff how much we appreciate them for their outstanding contributions to our children and school! For more information and to volunteer, visit the PTA website: https://oakhillpta.ptboard.com/sgnvw
If you have any questions, please contact our Hospitality Chair at hospitality@oakhillpta.org. We would love to have you!
Virginia Science Olympiad Division A
Virginia Science Olympiad (https://www.virginiaso.org/) seeks to inspire a passion for science and technology in Virginia's students through collaboration and teamwork, variety and creativity in topics and skills, and fun and rewarding tournaments. Third and fourth grade students will be participating in Division A.
Please register at the PTA website (https://oakhillpta.ptboard.com/) by September 23, 2023. The registration fee is $20 for PTA members and $40 for non-members. If you have any questions, please contact Liz Gonzales at age1018@gmail.com.
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem solving opportunities for students. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. An in-person regional competition will be held in February/March 2024. Students from kindergarten through sixth grade may participate. Each participating team may have up to 7 children. Here are the problem synopses for this season: https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2024-SYNOPSIS.pdf
To learn more about Odyssey of the Mind, visit https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/ or contact Aparna Nagargadde at odyssey@oakhillpta.org. Please register your child at the PTA website: https://oakhillpta.ptboard.com/formvw?store=4078&form=3
(Note: The initial fee will say $0 because we cannot guarantee that your child will be placed on a team until we know how many coaches we have. A registration fee is required for each student to participate. The fee will be collected after your child is placed on a team.) The registration deadline is September 15, 2023.
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:
- High School Rankings
- Social-Emotional Learning Screener Updates
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving the weekly newsletter, sign up today.
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