|
English | Español | አማርኛ | 中文 | 한국어 | Tiếng Việt | العربية | فارسی | اردو
Dear Freedom Hill Families,
We hope you had a great week! We certainly did - with our 1st, 2nd, and 4th graders enjoying field trips, the Book Fair kicking off, and all of Q1 being finalized. We also want to say a big thank you to School Board member Karl Frisch, VA Delegate Holly Seibold, and VA Senator Azlan Salim for visiting Freedom Hill on Friday. Some of our students had a blast giving them a tour of our school, and sharing everything that makes Freedom Hill a wonderful, supportive school community.
We also have two events coming up. On Monday, November 10, we will host our Veterans Day Breakfast. This year’s event is especially meaningful as FHES has been recognized for the first time as a Purple Star School. We are honored to celebrate and thank the many veterans and active-duty military members in our community. Veterans who would like to attend, including grandparents, please complete the form linked.
Next week, we’ll gather for our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on November 20. More details and lunchtimes for each grade will be sent home in your child’s Wednesday Folder this week. We hope to see you!
As a friendly reminder, this week there is no school on Tuesday in observance of Veteran's Day, and a 3 Hour Early Release on Wednesday, November 12 at 1:05 p.m.
Have a great week!
Nicholas Zapadka, Principal
Tim Scesney, Assistant Principal
Holly Sims, Assistant Principal
2025-26 FCPS School Calendar
Freedom Hill Family Resources
Breakfast/Lunch Menus
-
November 6 - 14 - Fall Book Fair (Volunteers needed--Sign up here)
-
November 10 - Veterans Day Breakfast
- November 11 - No School, Veterans Day
- November 12 - Early Release Wednesday at 1:05
-
November 12 - Q1 Report Cards Sent Home
-
November 12 - Grades 4-6 FLE Info Night, 6:00PM, Link
-
November 18 - PTA Family Dinner Out - Silver Diner Tysons
-
November 20 - Thanksgiving Luncheon
-
November 20 - Makeup Picture Day
- November 26 - 29 - School Closed, Thanksgiving Break
Please consider donating paper towels to school. We use these to clean the cafeteria tables between lunch shifts and the paper towels ordered through the FCPS Warehouse are not effective for this purpose. If you are able to donate, feel free to drop them off in the office anytime, or have them shipped directly to school. We will need them throughout the school year.
FCPS is asking all families to fill out a Federal Impact Aid Survey. The form is available in SIS ParentVUE under Online Packets, which is in the upper right corner of the screen after logging in. Please complete it as soon as possible. We will provide paper forms to families who have not completed the survey in ParentVUE starting Wednesday, November 12th.
Completing this form for each school-aged child in every household is important. This year, FCPS expects to receive approximately $4 million in Impact Aid funding. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers.
For more information, visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page.
 Mr. Hodges, our Art Teacher, was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps. He served from 2017-2022 (5 years) and spent time at Camp Pendleton, Fort Meade, Fort Bragg, and Camp Lejeune. His job was Communication Strategy and Operations. Specifically, Mr. Hodges specialized in photography, videography, graphic design, social media, and news engagement for the Marine Corps.
Due to the overwhelming response from our community, FCPS is temporarily pausing fingerprint requirements for most Level 3 volunteers.
If you are scheduled for an upcoming fingerprinting appointment, please cancel your appointment unless you are a mentor, host parent, or non-parent volunteer having frequent, direct, and unsupervised contact with students, which will still require fingerprinting. FCPS will be charged if individuals miss a fingerprinting appointment without canceling in advance.
Those who have already been fingerprinted will be processed to be eligible for all Level 3 opportunities.
Field trip chaperone opportunities will now be classified as Level 2 (not requiring a background check).
To ensure continuous safety, all new volunteers are required to sign a Volunteer Certification Statement. This statement is a legal attestation confirming you have no history of violent felonies, physical/sexual crimes against children, or crimes of moral turpitude.
Want to volunteer? Visit Volunteer FCPS to find and sign up for volunteer opportunities. Contact Volunteers@fcps.edu with any questions.
At Freedom Hill we work hard to teach students universal behavior strategies that equip students for a lifetime of success. An area of focus is teaching kids how to regulate their emotions. Our guidance counselors have begun teaching The Zones of Regulation to all student grades K-6. The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum to support your learner’s social and emotional development and regulation skills. The Zones of Regulation provides a simple way for learners (and the adults who support them) to understand, communicate around, and care for their feelings. To help with learning, please discuss these questions together:
- What are some things we can regulate, adjust, or manage?
- What is a way you can regulate your body? How does that affect how you feel?
The Freedom Hill ES Family Life Education (FLE) Parent Preview Night will be held virtually on Wednesday, November 12th at 6:00 p.m. Staff will be present to go over the curriculum materials and answer any questions that you may have.
There are two units of instruction that are designated as Family Life Education: Emotional and Social Health and Human Growth and Development. Emotional and Social Health lessons are delivered throughout the school year. Human Growth and Development lessons are scheduled for fourth grade on December 19, fifth grade from December 12-18, and sixth grade during the week of December 15-19.
FLE teaching materials including lessons and media titles that FCPS has streaming rights for are available through ParentVue. FLE information is also available in the Freedom Hill All Parents/Guardians Schoology course, in the Blue FLE Content For Parents folder, including opt out forms. To opt your child(ren) out of one or more lessons, paper forms will be sent home in Wednesday Folders. If you feel you did not receive a form, please contact your classroom teacher, Holly Sims, hasims@fcps.edu, or Ian Dowling, itdowling@fcps.edu.
Additional information is available through FCPS at https://www.fcps.edu/academics/curriculum/subject-area/family-life-education-fle
FLE Parent Preview Night Meeting Link: https://myfcpsk12.zoom.us/j/94996929737
Your voice matters, and Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid wants to hear from you! At FCPS, parents are partners, working with us to set our students up for long-term success at school and in life.
Join us for a series of Community Conversations that will be held across the school division to discuss current challenges and future opportunities for the school division. You may also share your thoughts with Dr. Reid and ask questions. Events are planned for the following dates from 6 to 8 p.m.:
Click on the date to register. Additional locations and registration links will be shared soon. Child care and interpretation services will be provided. Events are open to all.
Some families may be looking for additional resources to help support their child’s academic success. The FCPS Family Resource Center (FRC) maintains a list of FCPS employees who hold a valid Virginia teaching credential and who are available to hire as tutors. This list is a resource offered by the FRC, but families are responsible for contacting and working directly with the tutors. This list is not approved by FCPS and is only meant to be a resource to families.
FCPS also partners with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors' services, at no cost, including weekly live online classes, on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests.
- November 12
- December 10
- February 18
- March 18
- April 22
- May 13
Read more about early release Wednesdays on the FCPS website.
  
Upcoming Events:
- November 18 - Family Dinner Out, 4-8PM, Silver Diner Tysons, 8101 Fletcher St, McLean, VA 22102 (Flyer)
- December 4 - PTA Meeting, 6PM in the Library
FAMILY DINNER OUT (FDO) - NOV 18 @ SILVER DINER TYSONS, 4-8PM (Flyer)
Join your fellow Freedom Hill Eagles at our next FDO on Tuesday, November 18, at Silver Diner Tysons (8101 Fletcher St, McLean, VA 22102) anytime from 4-8PM. 20% of sales will go to our school when you dine in or order to go. Order to go at SilverDiner.com or call (703) 821-5666. Sixth Grade Volunteers will be welcoming patrons starting at 4:40pm! A big thanks to Camille Paredes for her ongoing organization of these events.
PTA Quick Links:
|
