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Dear Freedom Hill Families,
What an exciting week! On Thursday, we held our Spelling Bee Finals. All of our students did their best and supported one another on stage. Congratulations to Neil M. and Cara N. who finished in first and second place, respectively. On Friday, we also kicked off the Read-a-Thon with a visit from local author, Alyssa Colman. If your student missed ordering a book before her visit, but would still like to do so, they can visit the Bards Alley site. Our 5th graders also welcomed members of the George Mason University soccer team for a new partnership!
Looking ahead, this week is National School Social Worker Week, and we are excited to celebrate our incredible social worker, Ms. Lewandoski. We are grateful for her dedication and support of our families.
Lastly, now is the time to register your child(ren) for the Read-A-Thon - our biggest school fundraiser of the year! Please see these directions from our PTA. A big thank you to Amber Halaka for once again supporting this event:
Activate your reader’s account today!
- Go to this link: https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/JuCqzk/1 and click “Register My Reader”
- Find and select your reader’s teacher
- Search for and select your reader, then create your account
Go - Send out emails, texts, Facebook posts, or donate!
Have a great week!
In partnership,
Nicholas Zapadka, Principal
Tim Scesney, Assistant Principal
Holly Sims, Assistant Principal
 
2024-25 FCPS School Calendar
FCPS Lunch Menu
Freedom Hill Family Resources
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March 3 - 14 - Read-A-Thon
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March 12 - PTA Meeting, Virtual
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March 17 - Early Release Monday at 1:05
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March 19 - PTA Family Dinner Out - Taco Bamba & Ben & Jerry's Vienna
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March 31 - School Closed, Eid al-Fitr
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April 1 - 2025-26 Kindergarten Orientation, 9:30
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April 4 - Culture & Heritage Night
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This week, we are focusing on Love of Learning. You master new topics and skills on your own or in school.
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"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
~B.B. King
Questions you might enjoy talking about:
- What kinds of things do you like learning?
- Do you think it’s true that you can learn ANYTHING?
- What do you think are the benefits of loving to learn?
Students in grades 3-6 participate in state assessments each year. These assessments measure how students are learning the state standards. Below is the current schedule for the spring Standards of Learning tests at Freedom Hill. More information will be provided as we get closer to the testing window.
- Wednesday, March 26: Grade 5 IRW SOL
- Tuesday, April 29: Grade 6 & Grade 4 Reading SOL
- Thursday, May 1: Grade 5 & Grade 3 Reading SOL
- Thursday, May 8: Grade 5 Math
- Thursday, May 15: Grade 5 Science & Grade 3 Math SOL
- Tuesday, May 20: Grade 6 & Grade 4 Math SOL
- May 27 - 30 Retakes for identified students
Please avoid scheduling appointments for students on the dates that students will participate in the SOLs.
 Ramadan Mubarak to those in our community who observe. In Islam, Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year. During this month Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to sunset each day while striving to increase their spirituality, through prayers, charity, and good deeds. Muslims believe it was during this month that God revealed the first verses of the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammad.
🧸 Kindergarten Registration: It’s as Easy as 1-2-3…
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.
There’s an easy five-step process for parents wanting to register their child for kindergarten:
- Determine eligibility.
- Identify your local school.
- Gather documents.
- Fill out forms.
- Schedule an appointment at Freedom Hill with Ms. Sujo at (703) 506-7800 or email at ssujoromero@fcps.edu
After the appointment at Freedom Hill (the student and one guardian must be present), the student and family will be invited to attend our Kindergarten Orientation on April 1, 2025. Read more about the registration process. For additional information, please contact Ms. Sujo with the contact information above.
The Early Release Mondays planned throughout the school year for elementary schools are essential to allow educators time for planning and professional development. Students will be dismissed three hours early seven times throughout the school year and are encouraged to return home via their normal route.
The following dates are planned for Early Release Mondays throughout the school year:
- September 23
- October 28
- December 9
- February 24
- March 17
- April 28
- May 19
Additional information can be found on the FCPS Early Release Mondays webpage. If you have immediate questions, please email ESPlanning@fcps.edu.
Families, educators, and community members are invited to the 2025 FCPS Family Summit: Beyond Labels: Nurturing a Culture of Belonging. Fairfax County Public Schools will be hosting the free, in-person event in collaboration with valued community partners. The summit will be held Saturday, March 15, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at South Lakes High School.
This event will feature:
- Opening Session: Julie Causton and Kristie Pretti-Frontczak — best-selling authors, motivational speakers, and advocates for inclusion — will share practical tools and evidence-based strategies to empower and assist all families, with a special emphasis on parents of students with individual education programs (IEPs) and 504 Plans.
- Breakout Sessions: Learn more about special education and global topics that benefit all families.
- Student Showcase: FCPS students will share their efforts in fostering inclusivity through posters, essays, videos, songs, art, and other mediums.
- Exhibitor Hall: Discover valuable resources and services in the community to support families.
- Networking Opportunities: Connect with other families, staff, and community partners.
Childcare will be provided. Special education staff will be available to care for children with high support needs. You may sign up for childcare during the registration process.
Learn more about this event and register today! Contact FamilySummit@fcps.edu for more information.
Thanks to a new program from the Virginia Department of Education, students who are fasting during the school day between February 28th and March 28th 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 28th, and the week of March 3rd, please submit the first request form by Monday, February 24th. Visit the FNS webpage for more information, including weekly request forms and deadlines.
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.
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The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FHES employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story, so we can all acknowledge the exceptional work happenings at Freedom Hill. |
The Code of Virginia, 22.1-273.2 requires schools provide, on an annual basis, parents/guardians educational information regarding eating disorders for students in grades five through twelve.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA 2023), Eating disorders are serious but treatable mental and physical illnesses that can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights. In the United States, 28.8 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives. There is no single cause of an eating disorder. Rather, it is a complex combination of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that converge and set off an individual’s predisposed genetic vulnerability.
In collaboration with the Fairfax County Health Department, FCPS has developed a web page with detailed information and resources to be provided to parents and guardians of Fairfax County Public Schools. This information may be found at Eating Disorders.
FCPS has created a literacy resource page for families as we have embarked on a new Benchmark curriculum. Families may access these resources here. Please reach out to your child's classroom teacher if you have specific literacy questions.
Registration will be available soon for summer camps offered by Fairfax County Public Schools for all students. Career and Technical Education (CTE) camps and Institute for the Arts (IFTA) camps will be held in July at Lake Braddock Secondary School from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bus transportation will be available from select FCPS middle and high schools. Registration begins for these programs on Monday, March 10, and ends Friday, June 6.
Tech Adventure Camp (TAC) is a week-long exploratory camp designed to allow current K-5 students to explore activities in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), culinary arts, health, trades, and business and marketing areas. Watch this video about CTE camps.
E-IFTA is a weekly arts camp for students in grades 2-5 who love to sing, dance, act, perform, make, and create. Students take part in four daily classes related to dance, music, theater, and visual art. They work with FCPS fine arts teachers who create fun and engaging classes.
For more information, see the Summer Learning page.
    
CONGRATULATIONS NEIL AND CARA
Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s spelling bee! After nearly 2 hours and too many rounds to count, it came down to Neil Muzumdar and Cara Nguyen-Cao. After a few back and forth rounds, Neil edged out Cara to take first place. Neil is now invited to participate in the county-wide spelling bee! Thank you to the families, friends, and teachers and staff that cheered on the students throughout the evening.
GET YOUR BOOKS READY! READ-A-THON IS HERE!
We're hosting a Read-A-Thon March 3rd - 14th! In addition to individual Read-A-Thon prizes, classes will be working toward a school-wide prize of water balloons thrown at the Principals during Field Day if we raise $10,000 and a Movie Day if we read over 250,000 minutes!
Activate your reader’s account today!
- Go to this link: https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/JuCqzk/1 and click “Register My Reader”
- Find and select your reader’s teacher
- Search for and select your reader, then create your account
Go - Send out emails, texts, Facebook posts, or donate!
2025-2026 PTA BOARD NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN
Nominations are now open for the PTA Board for the 2025-2026 school year! You can read about the position on the PTA website, and you can self-nominate for one or more positions using this Google form or the paper flier that will come home in your student’s folder. If you have any questions, email president@freedomhillpta.org and/or call into the PTA meeting on March 12th. Nominations close March 28th.
SAVE THE DATE - PTA MEETING MARCH 12th
Save the date and mark your calendars for our next virtual PTA meeting on Wednesday, March 12th at 7PM. We’ll discuss the Board positions and election process for the 2025-2026 school year, and elect the Nominating Committee. Also, if there are specific topics you’d like to hear about, or staff members you’d like to hear from, please submit your ideas to president@freedomhillpta.org.
FDO - TACO BAMBA and BEN & JERRY’S
Save the date for our next FHES Family Dinner Out on Wednesday, March 19th at both Taco Bamba AND Ben & Jerry’s in downtown Vienna. Rumor has it that there may be a guest ice cream scooper at Ben & Jerry’s that night. You’ll have to stop by and see for yourself!
SAVE THE DATE - CULTURE & HERITAGE NIGHT
Freedom Hill is hosting a Culture & Heritage Night on Friday, April 4th! Save the date to sample food/beverages, watch performances, and admire students’ work. More information will be coming soon! If you are interested in participating, contact Smriti at choudharysmriti@gmail.com.
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