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Dear Island Creek Families,
What a week! From Kindness Week and the Kindergarten 100th Day Parade to a snow day and Valentine's Day, excitement was in the air.
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Tuesday, February 18: Math Fact Fluency Information Session for parents/guardians of students in Grades 3-5 (6-7 PM, Library)
- If your Island Creek student is observing Ramadan, please fill out this Ramadan Participation Questionnaire so we can coordinate on both a prayer schedule and a lunch alternative for them, if needed.
We hope you enjoy the 3-day weekend and some quality reading time.
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All our best,
Jen Fallert, Principal
Karen Baxter, Assistant Principal
Denise Cash-Pinckney, Assistant Principal
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Help us reach our goal of 5% or less this year!
Regular attendance is a significant factor in a student’s success:
- Chronic absenteeism (missing 10% of the school year) correlates to low academic achievement;
- Absenteeism is a powerful predictor of dropout rates;
- Absenteeism has been linked to poor outcomes later in life.
To ensure transparency and celebrate our progress, we will be sharing weekly attendance data and updates in our newsletter. By highlighting this important information, we aim to keep our families informed and energized about our collective efforts to encourage regular school attendance
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President's Day is February 17th
All schools and offices will be closed on Monday, February 17, for the Presidents Day holiday.
See the complete school year calendar.
Parents/Guardians of Grades 3-5 students are invited to join Island Creek Staff on Tuesday, February 18 from 6:00-7:00 PM to learn how to support your child with Math Fact Fluency. The information session will be held in the library. We look forward to meeting with Parents/Guardians of students in Grades 3-5 on Tuesday evening!
We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Thi Lam (“Mr. T”) to Island Creek as our new Building Supervisor!
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On Thursday our Kindergarten Crocs celebrated the 100th Day of School! They participated in a variety of activities involving 100 with the highlight of the annual 100th Day of School Parade!
   
You're invited to Island Creek's Authors & Artists Night! Join us on Thursday, February 27th from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM to view student writing and artwork. Two food trucks will be on site if you'd like to purchase dinner, and you're welcome to eat in the cafeteria. We hope to see you there!
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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. The 2025 Black History Month theme, African Americans and Labor, focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people.
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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. Shown belows are two displays at Island Creek which recognize and celebrate achievements of African Americans.
Click here to learn more about Black History Month.
 
Ramadan is from sundown February 28th to sundown March 29th. If your Island Creek student is observing Ramadan, please fill out this Ramadan Participation Questionnaire so we can coordinate on both a prayer schedule and a lunch alternative for them, if needed.
Thanks to the leadership of one of our outstanding PE Teachers, Ms. Barber, Young Crocs in Motion (YCIM) will have a Girls Club (Tuesdays) and Boys Club (Thursdays). Registration informatoin is linked below.
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Parents of rising kindergartners please contact Ms. Bickerstaff, Island Creek Registrar, to schedule an appointment to register your rising kindergartner for the fall of 2025!
Spread the news with neighbors and friends who may also have a kindergartener ready to begin their journey at Island Creek!
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There’s an easy five-step process for parents wanting to register their child for kindergarten:
1. Determine eligibility: Children must be age 5 or older by September 30.
2. Identify your local school.
3. Gather documents.
4. Fill out forms.
5. An in-person appointment is still necessary. Please schedule with Ms. Bickerstaff.
Read more about the registration process.
Rising Kindergarten Student Intention 2025-26 Please complete this form if you have a rising kindergartner and plan on attending Island Creek Elementary School. We are not using this data for evaluative purposes nor for placement purposes but merely to collect information for the beginning of the school year. All students come in at various levels academically and socially. We are excited for our 2025-26 kindergarten students!
Tuesday, April 1, 2025: 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.
Online registration for the 2025-26 school year is open. Parents/caregivers may register their children online for kindergarten through 12th grade. Learn how to begin the online registration process.
When registering, parents/caregivers will need to create or log in to an existing SIS ParentVUE account.
For your planning purposes and reference, please see the Spring 2025 Standards Of Learning (SOL) Testing Dates. When possible, please avoid scheduling appointments and/or activities that would prevent your child from arriving at school on time on the days your child(ren) are participating in an SOL Assessment.
Thanks to a new program from the Virginia Department of Education, students who are fasting during the school day between February 28 and March 28 can now take school meal kits home at the end of the day.Families will need to fill out a weekly Fasting Meals Request Form for their child or children to receive school meal kits. A separate form must be filled out for each week and each student.To receive meal kits for Friday, February 28, and the week of March 3, please submit the first request form by Monday, February 24. Visit the FNS webpage for more information, including weekly request forms and deadline
🤧 Protect Yourself and Your Community From the Flu
Fairfax County is experiencing very high levels of influenza (flu) illness. The Fairfax County Health Department reports that visits to emergency departments and urgent care centers for flu-like illness have increased, especially among children, and multiple flu outbreaks have occurred in our community and school settings. Read a letter from the health department.
The health department suggests taking the following steps to reduce the spread of flu and other germs:
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Cover coughs and sneezes. If you must be around others while ill, wearing a mask can help reduce spread.
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Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizers when soap and water are not available (with supervision for younger children).
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Clean frequently touched surfaces.
According to the health department, to help prevent or reduce the spread of illness it is important for individuals who are sick to stay home and away from others until symptoms improve and until they have been free of fever for at least 24 hours. Visit this Attendance webpage for guidance on when your child should go to school.
Family Resource Center
The FCPS Family Resouce Center has several webinars coming up in March.
Part 3: Violence Prevention: Responding to Threats of Harm to Others
March 4, 2025
10 - 11:30 a.m.
This session will provide an overview of The Pathway to Violence, demystify the threat to others risk assessment process within the FCPS K-12 setting; and provide in-home strategies, school and community resources, and direction regarding keeping students safe when confronted with pervasive and/or significant concerning behaviors and explicit threats of violence.
Register here
Understand Executive Function Milestones, Challenges, & Implement
Effective Strategies at Home for Children in Upper Elementary (3-6)
March 14, 2025
10 - 11:30 a.m.
Discover how to support your child’s executive function skills in our webinar series. We will present information on understanding your child’s developmental milestones, recognizing signs of executive dysfunction, and implementing effective strategies to support their learning at home and in school.
Register here
Supporting Mental Health: Recognizing and Addressing Anxiety and Depression in Teens
March 19, 2025
10 - 11:30 a.m.
Join us for Part 3 of our Teen Series with Dr. Unnatti Jain, a Certified Behavior Change Expert / TEDx speaker / Author / Keynote speaker who studies behavioral patterns. Dr. Jain will help caretakers and families identify mental health symptoms, enhance communication skills, and explore professional and self-care strategies.
Register here
Anxiety in the Context of Autism: What Parents Need to Know
March 7, 2025
10 - 11:30 a.m.
Join Dr. Jonathan Dalton, PhD, founder and director of the Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change as he presents on the critical differences in the treatment of anxiety in Neurotypical (allistic) and Autistic children. We will focus on the differences between fear and dread and why traditional anxiety treatment approaches are often insufficient when treating Autistic youth. We will build parenting skills that families can use to help relieve the anxious suffering of their autistic children.
Register here
Upcoming Dates
❤️Monday, February 17: Washington's Birthday and Presidents' Day (No school for students and staff)
❤️Tuesday, February 18: Math Fact Fluency Information Session for Parents/Guardians of Grades 3-5 students (6-7 PM, Library)
❤️Thursday, February 27: Authors and Artist Night (5:00-6:30)
❤️Monday, March 10: 3-Hour Early Release (12:20)
❤️Wednesday, March 19: 5th Grade IRW (Integrated Reading and Writing) SOL
❤️Friday, February 28 (Sundown)- Sunday, March 30: Ramadan (
❤️Monday, March 31: Eid al-Fitr (No school for students and staff)
❤️Tuesday, April 1: Teacher Workday (No school for students); Kindergarten Orientation (9:30-11:00)
❤️Monday, April 14-Friday, April 18: Spring Break (No school for students and staff)
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