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Dear Freedom Hill Families,
There is great excitment from all as we enter the final three days of the school year! Learning celebrations have been spectacular in the last few days. We've been so impressed with our students' demonstrations of growth, including band/strings/chorus concerts, 3rd grade research presentations, our kindergarten end-of-year performance, great collaboration and sportsmanship during Field Day (thank you to all of our volunteers!), and much more! Our staff continues to work incredibly hard behind the scenes to not only provide these experiences, but also complete progress reports, class placements, and building closeout.
Speaking of our staff - this is your last chance to complete an FCPS Cares submission for the year! We'd love to hear your positive feedback on a staff member who has made a different in your family's life. We invite you to submit your story.
Wednesday is the last day of school, and all FCPS schools dismiss early. Freedom Hill will dismiss at 2:05 PM, and our front office will close at 2:30 so that all staff can attend our year-end celebration. We look forward to sending a final newsletter later in the week, which will contain our 2023-24 End-of-Year Report.
Enjoy the last three days, Eagles!
In partnership,
Nicholas Zapadka, Principal
Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal
2023-24 FCPS School Calendar
FCPS Lunch Menu
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June 11 - 6th Grade Promotion Ceremony / Dance (Evening)
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June 12 - Last Day of School (2 hour early release at 2:05)
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June 12 - Last Day to Pick up Student Medications (2PM)
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June 12 - Front Office Closed 2:30-4:00
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June 18 - PTA Sprout School Supply Orders Due (See Below)
2024-25 FCPS School Calendar
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June 20 - Rising Kindergarten Playdate, 5PM (Playground)
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July 21 - Rising Kindergarten Playdate, 3PM (Playground)
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August 17 - Rising Kindergarten Playdate, 10AM (Playground)
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August 16 - Open House for Students, 10-11AM
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August 19 - First Day of School
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August 27 - Back to School Night for Parents, 6PM
Our summer office hours will be Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 1:00pm. If you need anything, please call the Main Office at 703-506-7800. Our building will be used for Extended School Year (ESY) classes this summer.
 For questions, please email: underclass@vosphoto.com
The school health room is reminding parents and guardians that all medication stored in the health room must be picked up no later than 2:00 pm, student dismissal time, on the last day of school, June 12. Medication left in the health room after that time will be discarded. It is school policy that medications must be picked up by the parent or guardian. Medication cannot be sent home with your student.
Medication authorization forms for next school year may be obtained from the school or online at https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/school-health-services. A medication authorization form is required for any medication, prescription or over-the-counter, to be kept at school.
It is with mixed feelings of sadness and affection that we bid a fond farewell to the following FH staff members. Please join us in wishing them best of luck on their new journeys!
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Alison Mitchell will be moving to a school in her home county (Prince William) where she will be a preschool special education teacher.
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Courtney Mocco, Nashwa Osmani, and Zainab Kamara have all accepted upper-grades teaching positions closer to their homes at Hutchinson ES, Greenbriar East ES, and Dogwood ES, respectively.
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Janet Church and Sylvia Rodriguez are both moving to high school! Janet will be teaching at the Davis Center, and Sylvia will be at Centreville HS.
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Vicki Mansuy’s ESSER-funded reading position is ending, and she has accepted the position of Reading Specialist at Cunningham Park ES.
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Chloe Wade will be pursuing work in the private sector and staying in the area.
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Tina Helwig and her family are relocating to Germany.
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Angeeza Sayedy is moving to a school near her home in Prince William County, where she will continue as an instructional assistant.
It’s summer time and time to pick out fun books to engage and excite our kids! Kids who read over the summer are less likely to backslide on their reading skills. Reading includes “eye” reading (independent) or “ear” reading (listening to a read aloud or audiobook), so grab a new title and share it with your kids. Putting aside time to read during long, fun summer days can be difficult, but 15-20 min at bedtime is perfect. The Imagination Soup site is an incredible resource for lots of books by category and ages and stages, so check out their summer reading page here and you can explore further once you get there. Here are some recommended books by age/grade for parents who want to go directly to the recommended lists:
Preschool
Kindergarten/pre-reader
First grade
Second grade
Third grade
Fourth grade
Fifth grade
Sixth grade
Later this month, you will begin receiving your child’s spring assessment results. If you aren’t sure what assessments your child took this year, view this list of tests by grade level on FCPS’ website.
How the results are delivered depends on the test. Scores will be posted in SIS ParentVUE, or sent by mail or from the school or testing organization. Learn what to expect regarding assessment reporting practices and timelines.
Visit FCPS’ website for additional information about student assessments, including what each assessment is testing for and how to interpret the test results. Caregivers should contact their children’s teacher with any testing questions.
 The Fairfax County School Board voted to adopt Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Approved Budget at their last board meeting. The FY 2025 Approved Budget totals $3.7 billion — a net increase of $233.2 million or 6.6% over the previous year.
The FY 2025 Approved Budget focuses on providing educational excellence for all students and ensuring that employees’ hard work and dedication are acknowledged through competitive compensation. Both of these efforts fully align with the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan.
Nearly 86% of the Approved Budget is targeted at instruction. Key budget highlights include funding for a 4% compensation increase for all employees; maintaining existing class size formulas and providing necessary support to all students; and expanding athletics offerings, additional athletic trainers, and enhanced stipends for fine and performing arts.
Read the news release.
        
FANTASTIC FIELD DAY!
The PTA was happy to play a small part in Friday’s fantastic field day by providing treats and pizza. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped bag the ice cream and deliver the pizzas to the classrooms. Huge thank you to Sunaina and Milan Hemrajani for once again getting our pizza order in early before other schools, and picking up and delivering the 160+ pizzas to school!
THANK YOU & CONGRATULATIONS!
At our last PTA meeting on Wednesday night, the PTA said thank you to all the volunteers that contribute to the success of the PTA, with many volunteers filling more than 1 role. We are thankful for the room parents, the committee/activity leaders, the entire FHES staff and administration, the families that support our volunteers, and the outgoing PTA Board.
A special thank you to Mr. Kopacz for the friendship and support he has provided to not only the PTA over the years but also all of the students and families. We wish you the best of luck at your new school!
We recognized Amber Halaka as the recipient of this year’s Harriette Best Award. Amber has served on the PTA Board and as a PTA volunteer for numerous years and continues to find ways to give back to the community each year. You can read about all the amazing things Amber does for the community on our PTA website. Congratulations Amber and we appreciate your love of giving back to the Freedom Hill community!
We elected the PTA Board for the 2024-2025 school year - congratulations to everyone! Thank you to Rachel Shabica and Angela Waugaman for your time on the PTA Board.
- President: Kerrey Olden
- Secretary: Hyun Yoo
- Treasurer: Emily Jacobs
- VP: Amber Halaka
- VP of Communications/Technology: Kiara Osorio
- VP of Membership: Aleksia Forster
- VP of New Business Development: Camille Paredes
SUMMER PLAYDATES FOR RISING KINDERGARTENERS
If you have a rising kindergartener joining FHES in the fall, mark your calendars to meet up on the following dates/times for a playdate and freeze pops on the FHES playground. Thank you Alexandra Bryden for organizing these!
- Thursday, June 20th at 5PM
- Sunday, July 21st at 3PM
- Saturday, August 17th at 10AM
ORDER SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR 2024-2025
For your convenience, the PTA partnered with Sprout School Supplies for the upcoming year. Sprout offers prepackaged school supply kits customized to match the Freedom Hill grade-specific classroom lists. Supply kits are delivered directly to school prior to the 1st day. Make back-to-school easier than ever and order your school supply kit now through June 18th at sproutsupplies.com with our School Code FHES001.
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