|
English | Español | አማርኛ | 中文 | 한국어 | Tiếng Việt | العربية | فارسی | اردو
Message from Mrs. Fallert
Dear Island Creek Families,
What a wonderful first quarter of school with our Crocs! The Island Creek Staff is dedicated to ensuring every student feels a strong sense of belonging and achieves at high levels. We truly appreciate having strong partnerships with families.
Veterans Day Tribute (Due Monday, November 4)
We want to honor our families with veterans and active-duty soldiers. We are looking for all branches of the military to celebrate Veterans Day. We would like to pay tribute to all our veterans and active-duty soldiers! Please use this LINK to upload your picture by Monday, November 4th.
Outstanding FCPS Employee Nominations (Due Wednesday, 11/6)
We encourage families to nominate an amazing Croc Staff member for an Outstanding FCPS Employee award (shown below). This is a great opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of our staff.
Thanksgiving Luncheon (RSVP by Friday, November 8)
Families are invited to attend our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon which will be held on Thursday, November 21. We ask that families access the QR code to RSVP not later than Friday, November 8.
Today marks the end of the first quarter and with that we have some upcoming calendar reminders:
-
Thursday, October 31st - 2 Hour Early Release at 1:30 pm
-
Friday, November 1st - Diwali, All Saints Day (student and staff holiday)
-
Monday, November 4th - School Planning Day (student holiday)
-
Tuesday, November 5th - Teacher Workday (student holiday)
Thank you for your continued support and entrusting us with your wonderful children!
 |
|
All our best,
Jen Fallert, Principal
Karen Baxter, Assistant Principal
Denise Cash-Pinckney, Assistant Principal
|
All visitors at Island Creek must enter through Door 1 and report to the main office. They must have a valid license and sign in using the Visitor Management System (VMS).
Please note that visitors must use the VMS for all events when students are in the building, including grade-level events such as Thanksgiving Lunch and the 6th Grade Promotion.
With large-scale events, we encourage families to arrive early as there will be a line to access the VMS machine.
A heartfelt thank you to the Island Creek Community for your support with our clothing drive! Today the students from the Principals' Student Advisory Council, sorted and packed the clothes. On Monday, Mrs. Fallert will be delivering the clothes to a nearby school where they will have a "shopping day" for families next Friday!
|
School Picture Day is Coming!
📅 Date: Friday, November 8; (Picture Make-Up Day: Wednesday, 12/11)
📸 Pictures Available: Approximately two weeks after photo day
🛒 Pre-order Online: https://vando.imagequix.com/g1001183193#login
📧 Questions about Ordering? Email us at underclass@vosphoto.com
We would like to have at least one volunteer per camera operator. Thank you to the Island Creek PTA for creating a sign-up genius.
|
Please Upload Photos of Your Veterans by Monday, 11/4
Island Creek is a Purple Star school and we embrace opportunities to recognize and celebrate our military-connected families!
We are looking for all branches of the military to celebrate Veterans Day. We would like to pay tribute to all our veterans and active-duty soldiers! Please use this LINK to upload your picture by Monday, November 4th. As a result of the volume of pictures please only upload one photo of the service member. Island Creek staff will create a slideshow of the photos that will be displayed to the entire school on Friday, November 8th.
Thank you for your service!
|
 FCPS Honors nominations for the 2024-2025 school year are officially open! Nominate a deserving Island Creek Staff member in each category by Wednesday, November 6. Fairfax County Public Schools celebrates the efforts and accomplishments of exceptional school-based and non-school-based employees from throughout the district.
More information concerning the FCPS Outstanding Employee Recognition Program can be found at https://www.fcps.edu/careers/recognition-programs. If you have any questions concerning the nomination process, please contact Ms. Bickerstaff, Island Creek Awards Liaison, at sabickerstaf@fcps.edu.
Staff members are listed for each category.
Thank you for your support of our dedicated Island Creek staff!
Award Categories (please click on the link to complete a nomination):
Our teachers have been hard at work teaching with the new Language Arts curriculum, and we are excited to help all of our students become strong readers and writers! This year we also have new assessments, which is how we check if your student needs extra help with reading and writing, and new Standards of Learning (SOLs).
Because of these changes, we are now teaching all of the Language Arts skills your child needs to know (and checking if they need extra help) throughout the whole school year, instead of different skills each quarter. While these skills will be new to your child in the beginning of the year, the goal is for your child to grow strong in all of their new skills by the end of the year.
This means that when you get your child’s progress report next month, it might look different. Your child’s teacher will give you more information on the new progress reporting and how we’re making sure your child is getting any extra help they might need. You can also find more information on FCPS’ Grading and Reporting webpage.
We will also have new ways for you to help your child practice their reading and writing skills at home. These resources are coming soon!
We are looking forward to the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on Thursday, November 14, 2024, and we hope you can join us! Ruby Bridges is an icon who believes the most important thing is uniting students. .
This event was started in 2018 by a group of 5th graders from San Mateo, CA who learned about Ruby and decided she needed a special day to celebrate her. At six years old, Ruby Bridges advanced the cause of civil rights on November 14, 1960, when she was the first African American to integrate an elementary school in New Orleans. Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day is a great way for students to honor the courage of Ruby and the advancement of civil rights. Her simple but courageous act of showing up for school each day played an important part in the Civil Rights Movement.
Information you may want to share with your child(ren) can be found here and here.
Please join us in honoring Ruby’s legacy by walking to school, as a community, one step at a time.
|
Individualized catalog sheets have been sent home featuring your child’s artwork. Kindly support the Island Creek art department by placing an order by Wednesday, November 13. Free shipping through this date!
3rd and 4th Grade Families, we look forward to welcoming you to the Family Friday Breakfast Bash on Friday, November 15 from 7:45-8:20. Please RSVP here
- 3rd & 4th Grades Family Friday Breakfast Bash: Friday, November 15; RSVP here
- 5th & 6th Grades Family Friday Breakfast Bash: Friday, November 22; RSVP here
We hope to see your family at one of these events!
You are cordially invited to attend Island Creek's Thanksgiving Luncheon on Thursday, November 21 with your child. Lunch times for the Thanksgving Luncheon differ from your child's typical lunch time, please see the schedule below.
We ask that you RSVP no later than Friday, November 8 using this link or accessing the QR Code below.
Quarter 1 STEAM has come to an end and what a GREAT 1st Quarter we had! The students used all Portrait of a Graduate (POG) skills and the entire Design Engineer Process to work through various problems. (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create & Test, and Improve) They had to communicate, collaborate, and use critical thinking skills to produce a solution.
Kindergarten: Driving Question: How can you as a playground design engineer, create a playground structure that produces a large shadow, and gives you shade in a park? This reinforced the topic of shadows, which the students were learning in science.
First Grade: Driving Question: How can you as an ecologist, create an animal habitat to help a bird meet its needs? Students used supplies to design an animal habitat to help a bird meet its needs.
Second Grade: Driving Question: How can you as an ecologist create a habitat to help a monarch butterfly survive? Students used pattern blocks to create their habitat.
Third Grade: Driving Question: How can you as an entomologist help Mr. Cook capture, relocate, and keep the ladybugs out of his house? Students used recyclable materials to create a ladybug catcher.
Fourth Grade: Driving Question: How can you as a structural engineer build a footbridge in a rural Rwandan community, so that residents can have full access to resources across a channel? Students are in the process of building their scaled bridges using materials donated by our Island Creek Community.
Fifth Grade: Students were introduced to coding the Ozobots. They worked on writing their name in cursive and coding the Ozobot to follow the path of their name.
Sixth Grade: Students used Makerspace materials, the students created a racecar to travel on a track. Students then raced their cars using a microbit.
You are invited to join our Reading Specialists, Ms. Blumenthal and Ms. Jacobson, on Friday, November 15 (8:40-9:30) to learn about Fairfax County Public Schools' new Benchmark Advanced Literacy Program. Session materials will be uploaded to our webiste.
Advanced Academics Programming (AAP) Important Information
If you have a student in grades 2-6 and are interested in submitting a referral for Full-Time Advanced Academic services, the following information provides a timeline for screening and identification. If you have any questions or to submit the referral form, please contact the AART, Emily Mextorf, at eamextorf@fcps.edu.
December 15, 2024
- Advanced Academic Programs Full-Time Referral Form and optional materials for students in Grade 2 who are not Universal Screener referral candidates and students in Grades 3–7 due to Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART).
- PLEASE NOTE:
- Universal Screener referral candidates are announced in early December.
- If you would like your student screened you may submit a referral from August 21 to December 15, 2024. No exceptions to the referral deadline are made.
March 2025: Central Screening Committee meets. April 3-4, 2025: Eligibility decisions sent. April 7-May 2, 2025: AAP orientations are held at Full-Time AAP sites. May 1, 2025: Appeals due to the AAP office. Fall 2025: Eligible students in Grades 3-8 may attend Full-Time AAP sites beginning first semester.
Our next 3-Hour Early Release Monday will be next Monday, November 18 at 12:20 pm. We will follow parent/guardian repsonses from the Early Release on Monday, October 21. l.
If you need to change your child’s plans, please call the school office at 571-642-6300 as soon as possible and no later than Thursday, Novemer 15.
In November, the Family Resource Center (FRC) will host webinars for families on:
Sign up for the FRC newsletter or visit their webinar webpage for more information.
Upcoming Dates
❤️Monday, November 4: School Planning (No school for students)
❤️Tuesday, November 5: Teacher Workday (No school for students)
❤️Friday, November 8: School Picture Day!
❤️Monday, November 11: Veterans Day Holiday (No school for students and staff)
❤️Thursday, November 14: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day!
❤️Friday, November 15: 3rd and 4th Grade Family Friday Breakfast Bash (7:45-8:20); Coffee and Conversations (Benchmark Advanced Literacy), 8:40-9:30
❤️Monday, November 18: 3-Hour Early Release for students (12:20)
❤️Thursday, November 21: Thanksgiving Lunch; Math Night (5:00-6:30)
❤️Friday, November 22: 5th and 6th Grade Family Friday Breakfast Bash (7:45-8:20)
❤️Wednesday, November 27-29: Thanksgiving Break (No school for students and staff)
|
