Weekly Words
February 23, 2024
Dear Island Creek Families,
Did you know every grade level has a daily, common 30-minute intervention time called Croc Time? During Croc Time, some students are receiving targeted intervention based on areas of need from data dialogues. Students who are not in an intervention group, spend 15 minutes on Lexia Phonics and 15 minutes read a physical book.
We are excited for our upcoming Read Across the World Week (March 4-8) and our This is Us Multicultural Night (Thursday, March 7, 5:30-7:00)
Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for partnering with us to support your child/ren!
Warmly,
Jen Fallert
jrfallert@fcps.edu
You’re invited to Island Creek’s This is Us Multicultural Night
Thursday, March 7 - 5:30-7:00 pm
 We are excited to host our second annual This is Us Multicultural Night! Please complete this Registration Form and join us on Thursday, March 7, from 5:30 - 7:00 PM. We hope all Island Creek families can attend! Should you have questions please email our Family Liaison, Jane Horowitz, at jrhorowitz@fcps.edu
Click here to view the event flyer for more information.
Decorate a Pennant for This Is Us Multicultural Night
A copy of a paper pennant was sent home in students’ Thursday folders on February 8th. Please have your child decorate the pennant to represent your family’s culture and traditions or the cultures or traditions of a country you know well. Decorated pennants will be displayed at the Island Creek Elementary This Is Us Multicultural Night and we encourage all students to participate in this optional activity. Please have your child give completed pennants to his/her teacher by Wednesday, March 6. Contact Jane Horowitz for questions.
Island Creek Crocs Read Across the World (March 4-8)
February is Black History Month
February is Black History Month which is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in United States history. Did you know the theme for this year’s Black History Month is African Americans and the Arts?
Thanks to our Equity and Family Engagement Committee, all of our Croc Students are learning about a famous African American on our daily Morning News Show. This week our students learned about Shirley Chisholm, Arthur Ashe, Katherine Johnson, and Thurgood Marshall.
Shown to the left is a gorgeous display that our 5th Grade Students created profiling famous African Americans whose contributions shaped the United States. We love the display so much, that we’ll be placing it in a permanent location in the building.
Click here to learn more about Black History Month.
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Thank you, Mr. Metrinko!
Thank you to Mr. Metrinko, father of two Island Creek students, for bringing his Army unit to Island Creek to play Revolutionary War music, march, and then provide a short presentation and answer questions about military music during the Revolutionary War.
Hiring Classroom Monitors - Please Join Our Team!
Island Creek is hoping to hire a few additional classroom monitors to join our incredible monitor team! Our monitors work hourly and support a variety of essential school-based operations. Monitor duties include supervision of students when teacher is called to a meeting, supervision during recess, material preparation for teachers and scheduled support in the cafeteria. Hiring additional monitors at this time of year opens even more opportunities for our teachers to plan for specific and targeted instruction for our students. Experience in education is not required and we will support any training you may require.
We look forward to welcoming Island Creek community members to express interest via email to our Administrative Assistant, Kathleen Black, at knblack@fcps.edu. The monitor position is paid at an hourly rate of $16.36 per hour. Thank you for considering joining our Island Creek team!
Yearbook Cover Art Contest
We are looking for talented artists to create our yearbook cover for the 23-24 school year. Entries will be accepted from all grade levels.
This year, we would like for students to draw Crocky doing their favorite activity! So if you like to read, draw Crocky reading – if you like to skateboard, draw Crocky and some friends skateboarding – video games, sports, dancing, watching movies - it’s whatever you enjoy doing!
Cover submissions must be 8.5 x 11 inches (same size as standard printing paper) and all designs must be vertical (portrait) orientation.
Submissions must have:
- The name of the school: Island Creek Elementary (please double check spelling and grammar – proper titles should be capitalized).
- The school year: 2023-2024.
- The student’s full name and teacher written neatly on the BACK in pencil.
Things to keep in mind:
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Bright and vivid colors are best since the cover must be scanned before printing.
- Your design should fill the entire page and have lots of color - even the background! (The less white space, the better)
- Be mindful that small details can be difficult to see – design elements should be big, bold, and defined.
- Designs can include several mediums – Colored pencil, marker, crayon, watercolor, oil pastel.
- Artwork must be an original creation.
- One submission per student.
Cover art should be submitted to the main office by Friday, March 5 or sooner.
Family Engagement Survey
Fairfax County Public Schools will administer our third Family Engagement Survey from Sunday, March 3 until Friday, March 22. The survey is designed to gather data to further inform implementation of the 2023-30 Strategic Plan.
The survey will open on March 3. Email invitations with unique survey links will be sent from K12 Insight to all adults who are connected to a student in SIS. Text messages may be sent to those who prefer communications in languages other than English.
If you would like to complete the survey in-person, you can stop by the main office for a hard copy.
 Kindergarten Orientation
April 2, 2024 - 2:30 - 3:30 PM
We're excited to welcome our newest Crocs to Island Creek Elementary School for the 2024-2025 school year!
This event is intended for the rising kindergarten student and their parents/guardians. This year we are trying something new! Rising kindergarten students and their parents/guardians will be placed in tour groups and visit eight different locations at Island Creek to see our amazing school and meet our fantastic staff. At 3:30 we will have Popsicles on the Playground and the opportunity for students to board a school bus.
Due to limited space, we ask that only rising Kindergarten students and their parents/guardians attend.
2024-2025 School Year
We will begin accepting registrations for the 2024-25 school year at the beginning of April 2024. Do you have a child that will turn 5 by September 30, 2024? Virginia law states that parents/guardians must ensure a child attends school if he or she will be five years old on or before September 30.
You may begin the process by completing the registration intake on our website: https://islandcreekes.fcps.edu/resources/new-student-registration.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our registrar Theresa Painter at tepainter@fcps.edu
Family Engagement Survey to Open March 3
FCPS is partnering with independent research firm K12 Insight to administer a Family Engagement Survey, which will be open from Sunday, March 3, to Friday, March 22. Your feedback is critical in helping FCPS to better recognize, understand, respect, and address family strengths and needs throughout the district. Survey topics include:
- Welcoming environment
- Communication
- Student success
- Advocacy
- Family and school partnerships
- Community partnerships
The survey will be available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Pashto, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
Parents/caregivers will receive the survey link via email from K12 Insight. A public link will also be posted on FCPS’ website. Paper surveys will be available in our front office. Please stay tuned for more information.
 Click to view the 2023-2024 FCPS School Calendar
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February 2024: Black History Month
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March 2024: National Women’s History Month
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Monday, March 4-Friday, March 8: Island Creek Crocs Read Across the World Week!
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Tuesday, March 5: Presidential Primary, School Closed for students
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Thursday, March 7: Students and staff are encouraged to wear clothing representing a culture of your choice! Bring a book that represents a culture important to you!
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Thursday, March 7: This is Us Multicultural Night (5:30-7:00)
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Sunday evening, March 10-Tuesday, April 9: Ramadan
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Friday, March 22: Last day of 3rd Quarter of School
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Spring Break for students: March 25-April 2
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Sunday, March 31: Easter
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Tuesday, April 2: Orientation for Rising Kindergarten students (2:30-3:30)
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Wednesday, April 3: 4th Quarter begins
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