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From the Principals' Desk
Our halls have been buzzing with excitement after Booktober Literacy Night! Thank you to all the families who joined us to celebrate reading together. 📚 We loved seeing students explore the Book Fair, share stories, and connect their classroom learning to home.
Literacy continues to be a major focus at SEES this year. Reading with your child, talking about what they’re learning, and modeling a love for books all make a lasting difference. Together, we are building a community of readers, one story at a time.
If you would like to nominate one of our staff members for being outstanding, please see the information below about the Outstanding Employee Awards.
Thank you for your continued support of Springfield Estates Elementary—where our Eagles SOAR!
With gratitude,
April Martin, Proud Principal, & Kassandra Flading, Assistant Principal
📚 Uncovering Characters in Language Arts 📚
Benchmark Unit 2 in Language Arts is about why characters matter. Students in K-5 will be learning about different characters, and how they shape stories and face challenges. Grade six students will learn about how characters are changed and inspired by others.
Connect with your child’s learning at school with these fun questions and hands-on activities at home:
- Question: How does the way you act change the way people think about you?
- Activity: Pretend you are a talk show host and interview your child as if they are the main character of their favorite book.
At the end of the unit, your child will take their unit magazine home. The magazine includes an activity calendar with fun ways to help students build on what they’re learning at each grade level. You can also find information on how to support your child’s reading at home on the Benchmark Families website.
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🦅 SOAR Shout-Outs
Shout out to all our Eagles for being Supportive during our Rocket Launch Day! A special shout-out to Ms. Donnelly, Advanced Academic Resource Teacher, for leading our future scientists.
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Our multilingual learners demonstrated Optimism by setting new reading & writing goals and action steps to crush the end-of-year WIDA assessment—keep it up, Eagles!
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✨ Staff Spotlight
This week, we’re celebrating a few of our literacy leaders!
Ms. Hagenbuch, our High Impact Tutor, for supporting our students with targeted small-group strategies.
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Ms. Wines’ 3rd Grade Readers, for working hard to highlight and sketch during their reading to help capture the details for retelling.
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🏡 Community Corner
Our next Family Coffee Session is October 23rd at 9:30 — Topic: Positive Discipline and Homework Space/Routines: How to best support students with homework – such as setting up a space, having resources available and more. Please reach out to Lili Burga, Family Liaison,at lburgamoncad@fcps.edu with any questions.
🎉 Celebrations & Milestones
Classes continue earning SOAR Badges for being supportive, optimistic, accepting, and responsible across the school. Classes have earned 76 badges already! We love seeing students celebrate their growth together! 🏅
Upcoming Dates & Reminders:
October 10 to November 7: PTA's Read-A-Fun fundraiser. Please see the flyer from last week's Friday Folder for details or reach out to Amy Garcia, PTA Read-A-Fun chair, at acj4e@yahoo.com.
October 15 to November 5: Outstanding Employee Award Nominations Open. See below for details.
October 20: Diwali Holiday. School is closed for staff and students.
October 23: Parent/Guardian Coffee. 9:30 a.m., SEES cafeteria. Topic: Positive Discipline and Homework Space/Routines
October 24: SCA Spirit Day - Spooky Hair and Socks!
October 25 -November 5: SEES SCA Food Drive to benefit ECHO. See flyer for details.
October 27: Fall Picture Retakes. This will be for students who were not here on our first picture day or who have been recently enrolled. It is also an option for families who were not satisfied with their child's original photo - just send the photo proof/package back to school with your child on October 27 and their picture will be retaken.
October 28: PTA's Fall Bingo. See flyers in today's Friday Folder for details.
October 30: SCA Spirit Day - Book Character Day! Dress up as your favorite book character and celebrate a love of reading. Costumes should be school-appropriate and comfortable. No masks or weapons are allowed. As always, there is no obligation to participate and, of course, school colors (blue and gold) are a great option on any spirit day!
October 31: End of 1st Quarter - Two Hour Early Dismissal. All students are dismissed at 2:05 p.m.
November 3 and 4:Teacher Workdays. School is closed for students.
Click here to see the full 2025-2026 FCPS calendar.
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From the SEES PTA
In Search of Prizes for Fall Bingo: We are so excited for Fall Bingo on October 28! This is one the most popular events at SEES and we need your help to make it a success:
- We are seeking a few additional prizes, such as gift certificates to local restaurants or activities. If you have one to donate, please send it to the SEES office to the attention of Megan Brooks.
- We are looking for help on the evening of the event to check in participants and sell concessions. If available, please reach out to Ashley Mooney, PTA President, at ashley.n.doss1@gmail.com.
Read-A-Fun Fundraiser: We have kicked off our big Read-A-Fun online fundraiser. Thank you so much to the students who have already logged reading minutes and to the families and friends who have made generous donations to support our school! We are almost one third of the way to our goal of raising $3000. The money raised will support our teachers, school assemblies and PTA events throughout the year. Instructions for logging on to the fundraiser and your student’s unique log on code were sent home in Friday folders on October 3.Please follow this link to donate directly to the fundraiser. Send any questions to the PTA Read a Fun Chair Amy Garcia, acj4e@yahoo.com. Thank you for your support!
Spirit Wear Orders: Thank you to everyone who ordered a tee shirt at Back to School Night. We expect them to arrive late next week.
PTA Meeting: Thank you to everyone who joined us for our PTA meeting this month! Our next meeting will be on February 5, 2026.
Outstanding Employee Awards
Nominations will be open October 15, 2025 for the Outstanding Employee Awards! To submit a nomination for a Springfield Estates Elementary School Outstanding Employee in one of the categories below, please consider who you may want to nominate now. A google link will be coming soon. You may nominate one employee at our school or multiple employees (one individual may only nominate one employee per category.)
All that is required for a preliminary nomination is a paragraph or two about how this employee demonstrates exceptional work in one more of the criteria for that award category. The google form link has more information regarding the criteria for each of these awards. The eligibility requirements are below.
Outstanding Teacher
Eligibility: Has at least three years of experience as a teacher (in any school/school district); librarians are included in this category
Outstanding New Teacher
Eligibility: Has up to three years of experience as a teacher (in any school/school district); librarians are included in this category
Outstanding Principal
Eligibility: Has at least three years of experience as a building principal (in any school/school district)
Outstanding New Principal
Eligibility: Has up to three years of experience as a building principal (in any school/school district)
Outstanding Leader
Eligibility: At least one year of experience in their current position as a Schedule-C or School-Based Administrator scale employee (that is not the building principal) at their current location
Common positions in this category: Assistant and Associate Principals, Director of Student Activities, Director of Student Services
Outstanding Professional Employee
Eligibility: At least one year experience in current position as a Schedule-B employee or other non-instructional employee in a school that supports school leadership at their current location
Common positions in this category: School-Based Technology Specialist, Technology Support Specialist, Assessment Coach, Career Center Specialist, Instructional Coach, After-School Specialist, MTSS Coordinator, Psychologist, Social Worker, School Counselor, Safety and Security Specialist, Resource Teachers that serve in an administrative role in a school, Special Education Department Chairs that teach less than 50% of their time, Reading Specialists that do not have a regular course load/do not give grades
Outstanding Operational Employee
Eligibility: At least one year of experience in current position as Schedule-A or Classroom Instructional Support Scale employee at their current location
Common positions in this category: Administrative and Office Staff, Safety and Security Assistant, Custodial Staff, Food Service Staff, IA, PHA, PHTA, All Parent Liaisons
The deadline to submit a nomination is November 5, 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact Terri Lee at telee@fcps.edu.
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