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Dear Freedom Hill Families,
We enjoyed last week and seeing so many families in attendance at Back to School Night! We hope all of our FH moms, dads, and caregivers left the building feeling as positive as we do about the year ahead. We also hope that everyone had the opportunity to do something that brought them joy over the Labor Day holiday. We are back in action tomorrow!
This week have some special events. Don't forget to pre-order food (if desired) for our annual PTA Back to School Picnic on Friday! We look forward to celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year with our community. All are welcome to bring lawn furniture, games, blankets, etc. to our celebration. See below for the volunteer signup and food order.
Lastly, our annual kindergarten Color Days kick off this week! Join our kindergartners in their first color lessons by dressing the part:
- Tuesday, 9/8 - Wear blue
- Wednesday, 9/9 - Wear yellow
- Thursday, 9/10, Wear green
- Friday, 9/11 - Wear red
- Monday, 9/14 - Wear purple
- Tuesday, 9/15 - Wear orange
- Wednesday, 9/16 - Wear pink
Let's make it a great week!
In partnership,
Dr. Nicholas Zapadka, Principal
Mr. Tim Scesney, Assistant Principal
Ms. Holly Sims, Assistant Principal
2026-27 FCPS School Calendar
Freedom Hill Family Resources
Breakfast/Lunch Menus
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September 9 - Deadline to Pre-order Food for Back to School Picnic
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September 9 - Cub Scout Pack 919 Open House - 6:30-7:30PM
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September 11 - PTA Back to School Picnic, 5:30-7:30PM
- September 21 – School Closed – Yom Kippur
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September 23 - First PTA Meeting, 6PM-8PM, Library
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September 30 – Early Release Wednesday, Dismissal #1 at 1:05
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September 30 - Family Dinner Out @ Pike 7 Shake Shack, 10am-10pm, mention Donation Day or use promo code, DONATE (Flyer)
Fairfax County Public Schools is committed to challenging all students through talent development and differentiated instruction. A continuum of Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) services is available to students in Grades K to 12 and is designed to match services to each student’s unique academic needs.
Identification for Subject-Specific and Part-Time AAP services occurs throughout the school year. Full-Time AAP services have two identification cycles:
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Fall identification: Students in grades 3 to 7 who have enrolled in FCPS since January may be referred by October 15th.
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Spring identification: Any FCPS student in Grades 2 to 7 may be referred by December 15th.
FCPS uses ability testing as one consideration in the holistic identification process for AAP services:
- All students in Grade 2 take the Naglieri General Ability Test (NGAT).
- Students in Grades 3 to 6 who do not have a multi-domain ability test score take the NGAT.
- Students in Grades 3 to 6 may retake an ability test one time. Families may request the ability test retake by contacting Tara Fredericks by September 30.
For more information, please contact Tara Fredericks, AART, at or visit the FCPS Advanced Academic Programs webpage.
Is your child interested in student leadership opportunities? Student Council Elections are coming soon! Look for the permission slip to participate in elections in your student’s Wednesday folder.
Freedom Hill Eagle Running Club is BACK! Calling all 3rd through 6th graders to join us for 6 weeks of Running Club on the following Thursdays after school from 4:10-5:30: September 17, 24, October 1, 8, 15, and 22. The cost is $25 and is payable on MySchoolBucks. This payment includes 6 weeks of running club and registration to the Freedom Hill 5K on October 25th. Students will receive a race t-shirt! Registration is OPEN from September 2nd- September 15th.
Three-hour early release days for Freedom Hill are:
- September 30th
- November 18th
- January 13th
- April 7th
Read more about early release Wednesdays on the FCPS website. Directions for how to indicate your childcare needs are below. Please complete by August 25th.
Opt In/Opt Out for ERW Childcare
We anticipate most students will be dismissed at 1:05, like last year. However, we recognize that some families may require childcare during the limited Early Release Wednesdays; these students will be supervised by instructional assistants. No new instruction will take place as after-school care is strictly supervision.
Directions to Indicate your Childcare Needs for ERW
Log in to ParentVUE to review and provide your choice for Early Release Days Child Care.
⇒ No, I have childcare arrangements on Early Release Days and do not require childcare
⇒ No, My child is enrolled in afternoon SACC
⇒ Yes, I require childcare, and my child will stay at school until the normal dismissal
Who: Boys & Girls, Grades K-5 with parent/guardian.
When: Wed., Sept. 9, 6:30-7:30pm.
Where: Freedom Hill ES School Cafeteria, 1945 Lord Fairfax, Dr., Vienna, VA 22182.
Visit our activity stations including our model campsite, meet our leaders and families, and check out our year 'round calendar of events. Some of our upcoming activities include our Fall Family Campout at Camp Snyder (camp overnight or just come for the day activities, campfire dinner with S'Mores and songs/skits at the campfire program), Scouting for Food - our largest community service project, the Maryland Science Center Camp-In with hands-on chemistry/physics, Scout Days at Mt. Vernon, and our annual activity at Michael's Woodshop Questions/RSVPs: GM.CUBSCOUTS@GMAIL.COM or call (703) 303-2427
We encourage all families to download and register on the Raptor App. Raptor is the visitor management system FCPS adopted midyear last year. If you have already registered, you do not need to register again. Family members who are not registered on the app will need to present a valid ID each time they visit FHES.
To strengthen campus security, FCPS has disabled the "I Don’t Have An ID" option on all Raptor kiosks. All visitors without a valid ID must report directly to the front office staff. The system allows staff to manually enter visitor details once; however, visitors will not be permitted to enter the building on any subsequent visits without a valid ID.
Again this year, families will use the Parent Digital Consent System to complete some forms that have used paper in the past. You will log in using your ParentVUE Account credentials, there, you will be able complete the Digital Resources Consent form for the school year, which is required for all students. You will also be able to find more information about opt-out forms and complete those forms for your student.
 As part of the ongoing commitment to strengthening layered safety and security programs, FCPS will implement a new student ID system for students who ride our school buses.
The implementation of the student IDs is designed as an additional safety measure for our 130,000 students who ride the bus each day, ensuring they are on the right bus and that they get on and off at the correct bus stop, as well as making sure only authorized students are on our buses.
The IDs will be provided to students who ride the bus. Those students will be expected to tap on and tap off the bus. The student IDs do not track student movement. The only information available is when a student taps on or off a bus. Much like our Here Comes the Bus app, our new app will allow parents/guardians to track the progress of the school bus.
It is possible that the ID program will expand in the future to include uses such as library cards and meal payment. Learn more about the new transportation system and student ID cards.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, eating breakfast at school is associated with better attendance rates, fewer missed school days, and better test scores. Studies show that students who eat both school breakfast and lunch tend to have healthier diets than those who don't participate in school meals.
Families who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals can receive breakfast and lunch for their students at no cost or at a reduced cost. This includes more than one-third of FCPS students. Families must complete the Free and Reduced-Price Meals (FRM) application before the start of each school year. Approved applications may also qualify students for additional benefits.
The application for FRM is now available for the 2026-27 school year. Students who were approved for FRM last year are eligible for the first 30 days of school this year (or until a new application is processed). Families should reapply as soon as possible so eligible students continue to receive meals at no cost.
Access the application and view criteria and up-to-date information on the FRM webpage. Families should reach out to their schools with questions or for assistance.
On Tuesday, July 28, a new ParentVUE mobile app will become available in the Apple and Google app stores. This new app provides parents and caregivers with a more secure sign-in. The current “classic” app will remain active for about six months. Families must download the new app by December 2026 to ensure they have continued mobile access to their child’s school data.
In the new app, families can enroll in multi-factor authentication (MFA) for FCPS Single Sign-On. While enrollment is optional, we strongly recommend that everyone enable this security feature.
Learn more about installing the new ParentVUE app. Parents needing assistance should submit a Parent Support Request.
Are you working your way through back-to-school forms and checklists? Make sure you have a SIS ParentVUE account for your family and log in to find important forms and updates.
- Be among the first to know about weather closings, bus delays, and other critical communications from your school and FCPS by providing your cell phone number and email in ParentVUE. To update your contact information in ParentVUE, click the “Online Packets” tab in the upper right of the screen, then click the “Online Verification/Update” icon.
- Submit daylong absences by clicking “Report Absence.”
If you do not have a ParentVUE account, contact your child’s school for an activation code and follow the directions on the SIS ParentVUE Account webpage.
 
Upcoming Events
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Sept 11 - Back to School Picnic - 5:30-7:30PM @ Freedom Hill (Volunteer Link)
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Sept 23 - First PTA Meeting, 6PM-8PM, Library (Agenda)
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Sept 30 - Family Dinner Out @ Pike 7 Shake Shack, 10am-10pm, mention Donation Day or use promo code, DONATE (Flyer)
BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC - FRIDAY, SEPT. 11
We hope to see you on the Freedom Hill playground, blacktop, and field as we celebrate the new school year! The picnic is from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and we will need help before and after to set up and clean up. Sign up to volunteer here. (If you have a student who needs volunteer hours, this is a great opportunity.)
Make your picnic dinner easy! You can pre-order pizza or Potbelly through the PTA website, and it will be waiting for you at the picnic. Order now. See the flyer for a paper order form (English) (Spanish).
ENJOY LEGOS? WANT TO EXPLORE ENGINEERING? JOIN THE LEGO ENGINEERING CLUB!
Open to students in Grades 4 and 5. We will explore engineering and introduce concepts such as basic physics that are the building blocks of engineering. We will do this while still keeping the class fun and engaging through the use of LEGOS!
STAY CONNECTED
PTA QUICK LINKS
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