GovDelivery | Freedom Hill Elementary School

FH Weekly Update - 5/29/23

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We wish everyone a very Happy Memorial Day as we honor those who have given their lives in service to our county and to our American democracy.

It is almost the end of May and there are only fourteen school days left in this school year. It is hard to believe that the year is almost over. We look forward to seeing families at our many end-of-year celebrations, concerts, and Field Day. Please keep an eye on the "upcoming dates" section below, and also our PTA section as they have some additional fun planned for all of us!

As a reminder to families, all library books are due June 2nd. If your child has medication in the School Health Room, a parent must come to FH by Friday, June 16 at 2:00pm to pick up the medication. We also have SOL retakes this week. If your child is participating, we appreciating you having them get a good night's sleep!

Have a great week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

May 29 - School Closed - Memorial Day
May 30 - June 2 - SOL Retakes for Eligible Students
June 1 - PTA Meeting, 8PM, Link
June 6 - Strings/Chorus Concert, 6PM
June 8 - Band Concert, 6PM
June 9 - Field Day
June 8 - FCPS Family Information Session on ST Math - click to register
June 9 - FCPS Information Session for Rising Kindergarten Families
June 16 - Last Day of School (2-hour Early Release)

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

End of Year Testing Results

Most assessment reports are distributed centrally to families through SIS ParentVUE or mailed to the address listed in SIS for any student. Not sure what assessments your student took this year? A list of tests by grade level is available.

Scores for the following assessments will be centrally posted in SIS ParentVue:

SOL Scores are expected to be in the week of June 12th (Grades 3-6)
iReady Scores are expected to be in the week of June 20th (Grades 3-6)

The following assessments will be centrally mailed:

VKRP expected the week of July 10th (Kindergarten)

2023-24 Staff Hiring

As you may have heard, a shortage of educators currently exists locally and nationally. We would appreciate our community's support referring future educators to our school! Prospective educators can always email their resume to Dr. Z. with interest in working at Freedom Hill. Our current vacancies for 2023-24 include:

Classroom Teacher - Upper Grades (4-6)
Special Education Teacher - Autism

Yearbook Sales

Yearbook sales have opened! Please see our flyer for ordering information.

Health Clinic Medicine Pickup

The school health room is reminding parents and guardians that all medication stored in the health room must be picked up no later than the student dismissal time on the last day of school. Medication left in the health room after that time will be destroyed. It is FCPS policy that medications must be picked up by the parent or guardian. Medication cannot be sent home with your student.

If your student will be enrolled in a summer program sponsored by Fairfax County Public Schools, the existing medication authorization form(s) may be used for the summer program, but you will need to pick up the medication on the last day of school and deliver the medication and completed forms to the summer learning site on the first day of the summer program. Please let the health room know if you would like a copy of the form(s).

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The signups for our daily Watch D.O.G.S. (Dad of Great Students) is ready! You can sign up to volunteer for a day at Freedom Hill with this link. Thank you to our "Top Dog" David Hay for organizing this for our community. If you missed it, you can learn more about the program in this quick video.

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

Kindergarten Registration Open

It is already that time of year to start planning for next year. Our Kindergarten registration for the 2023-2024 school year is now open. Please use the online portal to submit your initial information and our registrar, Ms. Sujo, will follow up with you.

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

We hope you had a great Memorial Day! Check out the announcements below and join us Thursday for our last PTA meeting of the year virtually at 8pm!

PTA MEETING 6/1 at 8PM

Join us for the last PTA meeting of the year where we appreciate departing staff and 6th grade parent volunteers, our room parents, our PTA Chairs and our PTA Board. We will also have our election for the new PTA officers for 2023-2024 as well as go over summer spending budget items to be ready for fall. Join us for our virtual meeting here. Or call into 646-558-8656 with Meeting ID: 7519327167.

VOLUNTEER FOR FIELD DAY JUNE 9

Field Day will be on Friday, June 9th. Kindergarten through Sixth Grade will be participating from 9:30-11:45am.

We need volunteers to assist in running the activities. They'd arrive no later than 9:10am on the day of the event and stay until 11:50am to help with clean up. If you can volunteer, please fill out the Sign-Up Genius form by Friday, June 2nd. You will receive your activity assignment and details about Field Day through email shortly before the date. Please share if you have a particular station you prefer too!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES ON SALE FOR FALL!

The end of the year is quickly approaching. Get ahead for next fall and skip back-to-school shopping with our Sprout School Supply Kits for 2023-2024. It's an easy way to save time and money on back-to-school supplies and support your school community. Check out the flier here or order online with school code: FHES001. Deadline to order is June 20th!

RISING KINDERGARTEN PLAYDATES

We're excited to welcome the rising kindergarteners to Freedom Hill! Join us this summer at the Freedom Hill playground on the following playdates for a cold treat and a great chance to meet others! Info here.

Kindergarten playdates:

Wed, June 28th 6:30-7:30PM

Thurs, July 20th 6:30-7:30PM

Sat, Aug 12th 10AM-11AM

Have a neighbor with a rising KG? Please spread the word!

PTA BOARD 2023-2024 SLATE

The following is the PTA Board slate for 2023-2024.

President - Kerrey Olden

Vice President - Rachel Shabica

Secretary - Hyun Yoo

Treasurer - Emily Jacobs

VP, IT & Communications - Amber Halaka

VP, Membership - Angela Waugaman

MCLEAN SHELL PTA GIVE-BACK

McLean Shell (owned by a FHES parent) has partnered with our PTA to give back to the FHES PTA. For all customer visits, FHES PTA will receive a percentage of the services. Get your VA Safety Inspections, Emissions Inspections, and Oil Changes at McLean Shell, 1350 Chain Bridge Rd. Across the street, a car wash at 6717 Old Dominion Drive. For more information, call (703) 827-5765. Details here.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 5/21/23

GovDelivery1 week 3 days ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

It is hard to believe we are less than a month from the conclusion of the 22-23 school year! Our busy pace "On the Hill" continues, with SOL testing, student projects, and plans coming together for end-of-year excitement. It's also been so nice to see several Freedom Hill dads join us for school days as Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students - sign up below!).

If you'd like to pre-order a yearbook, please see the link below. Now is also a great time to check the Lost and Found in the cafeteria for any articles of clothing you may have lost in the last few months.

This week, we will be finishing our SOL testing, and we will begin makeups and retakes for qualifying students. We're looking forward to another week of learning with some beautiful spring weather!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

May 22 - 23 - SOL Testing Continues
May 22 - Girl Scout Info Meeting (see below) - 6:30PM
May 29 - School Closed - Memorial Day
June 1 - PTA Meeting
June 9 - Field Day
June 16 - Last Day of School (2-hour Early Release)

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

2023-24 Staff Hiring

Classroom Teacher - Upper Grades (4-6)
Special Education Teacher - Intellectual Disabilities

Yearbook Sales

Yearbook sales have opened! Please see our flyer for ordering information.

Girl Scouts

Interested in Girl Scouts? See this flier and join the informational meeting on May 22nd at 6:30 PM.

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/99585437362.

Meeting ID: 995 8543 7362

Passcode: 00506

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

SOL testing will be taking place in the month of May this year for students in grades 3-6. The SOL assessments are content assessments that measure a student’s growth in Mathematics, Reading, and Science (5th grade only). These tests will be conducted during the morning of the dates listed in the table above. It is important that your child attend school on the dates designated for them to test. Please ensure your child gets plenty of rest the night prior. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Kopacz, our school testing coordinator.

Kindergarten Registration Open

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

It’s less than a month until school is out! See important announcements below.

VOLUNTEER FOR FIELD DAY JUNE 9

Field Day will be on Friday, June 9th. Kindergarten through Sixth Grade will be participating from 9:30-11:45am.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES ON SALE FOR FALL!

PTA BOARD 2023-2024 SLATE

The following is the PTA Board slate for 2023-2024:

President - Kerrey Olden

Vice President - Rachel Shabica

Secretary - Hyun Yoo

Treasurer - Emily Jacobs

VP, IT & Communications - Amber Halaka

VP, Membership - Angela Waugaman

MCLEAN SHELL PTA GIVE-BACK

MARSHALL BASKETBALL CAMP

Marshall HS is is running a Boys Basketball camp June 28th – July 2nd this year and it is open to all rising 2nd – 10th graders. Please see the informational flier and our online registration is here: Questions? Contact Jerry Lin at: [email protected].

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 5/14/23

GovDelivery2 weeks 3 days ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

Happy Mothers' Day to all of our Freedom Hill moms!

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you for your support making Staff Appreciation Week very special for our staff. Our PTA and families were instrumental in making it a great week! We truly appreciate the support that the Freedom Hill community shows to its hardworking educators.

As we continue to fly through the month of May, we want to take a moment to tell you how proud we are of our students as they work through many end-of-year assessments. SOLs continue this week - make sure to double check the schedule for when your students are testing.

A couple of things we know to have a positive impact on students taking tests:

A good night's sleep
Encouragement/belief from families and teachers
A healthy morning meal

Have a great week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

May 16 - 23 - SOL Testing Continues
May 29 - School Closed - Memorial Day
June 1 - PTA Meeting
June 9 - Field Day
June 16 - Last Day of School (2-hour Early Release)

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

2023-24 Staff Hiring

Classroom Teacher - Upper Grades (4-6)
Special Education Teacher - Intellectual Disabilities

Yearbook Sales

Yearbook sales have opened! Please see our flyer for ordering information.

Positivity Project: Other People Matter

This week, we were working on reviewing our year-long exploration of Character through the Positivity Project. During these last thirty-four weeks, we have learned that our character is a family of thoughts, feelings, and actions that are recognized and encouraged across our different cultures for the values they cultivate in people and society. Our character is complex. It is the combination of our thoughts, feelings and actions.

Just like other things in our life, we have strengths and weaknesses of character, as well. As you spend time together at home, now and throughout the summer, consider the following questions:

“Character, not circumstance, makes the person.”

~Booker T. Washington

Girl Scouts

Interested in Girl Scouts? See this flier and join the informational meeting on May 22nd at 6:30 PM.

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/99585437362.

Meeting ID: 995 8543 7362

Passcode: 00506

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Kindergarten Registration Open

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

Happy Mother’s Day! However, you celebrate – know you are greatly appreciated for everything you do! Three cheers to an amazing Bingo Night on Friday! What a great, fun time had by many and the crowd was going nuts at the different bingo numbers called! 😊 See the recap below.

BINGO NIGHT SUCCESS!

What a fun Bingo Night! We hope you had a great time. Big thank you to Gina Song, our lead Bingo Night Chair, Tina Crawford, who managed the 6th grade pizza and concession sales, Kerrey Olden, who helped with the P4SS and money and all the amazing volunteers (Mike Song, Will Crawford, David Hay, Aleksia Forster, Nicole Camara, Tina Helwig, Pei-Hsuan Tsai, Karen Hill, Sechin Lee, Andrew Halaka, Melanie Camara, Julian Helwig, Ms. Bliss, Ross Camara, Sara Haddad for social, Rachel Shabica, Sahar Javadi and anyone else we missed!) and Dr. Z for being a great announcer! Check out or add to the photo album here.

TEACHER APPRECIATION RECAP

As we wrap up Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to say one more big thank you to our teachers and staff for everything you do! You are the heart of the community and we love you so much! If you are curious about what our Teacher Appreciation team did – here’s a quick recap. Thank you to Sara Lyons and Sechin Lee for leading this effort as well as all the volunteers that helped out last week by helping to “Raise the Bar” for our teachers and staff! Photos are here!

Monday – Parfait and Donut Breakfast Bar

Tuesday – Trail Mix Bar

Wednesday – Popcorn Bar

Thursday – Nacho Average Teacher Taco Salad Bar

Friday – Cure your Sweet Tooth Candy Bar

PTA BOARD 2023-2024 SLATE

The following is the PTA Board slate for 2023-2024. Thank you to our nominating committee: Tori Draude, Angela Waugaman and Michelle Zahalsky! Thank you to Sahar Javadi, our outgoing PTA President for the past 4 years and Jeff Hoffman, our VP, Business Development the past year.

President - Kerrey Olden

Vice President - Rachel Shabica

Secretary - Hyun Yoo

Treasurer - Emily Jacobs

VP, IT & Communications - Amber Halaka

VP, Membership - Angela Waugaman

VP, Business Development - Open

SCHOOL SUPPLIES ON SALE FOR FALL!

HARRIETTE BEST NOMINATIONS

What is the Harriette Best Award? The Harriette Ann Best Award was instituted more than a decade ago by the Freedom Hill’s Parent Teacher Association as a tribute to honor our former Assistant Principal. Mrs. Best was the epitome of dedication to the staff, students, and community of Freedom Hill from 1991 through 2003. Since its inception, this award has been given each year since to the parent(s) and/or staff member(s) who best exemplify what Mrs. Best continued to accomplish until her retirement. Recent award winners include: Katherine Cadena-Gonce and Elizabeth Spinney (2022), Neda Sarafrazi and Lisa Bliss (2021), Diana Hernandez (2020), Tina Ejtemai Crawford and Louan Hassinger (2019).

MARSHALL BASKETBALL CAMP

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 5/7/23

GovDelivery3 weeks 2 days ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

This week is Staff Appreciation Week! We are so thankful for our amazing teachers and staff who make Freedom Hill the wonderfully supportive school community that benefits our students each day. This is a great week for your family to express appreciation for our classroom teachers and specialists. A heartfelt note is sometimes the best gift they can receive.

We also want to thank Sechin Lee and Sarah Lyon, our PTA leads for staff appreciation who have been doing a fabulous job with many events and meals for our staff during their busy days of teaching!

Finally, parents wishing to submit class placement input for next year should use the form below. Submissions are due tomorrow for 23-24 school year.

Have a great week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

May 8 - Optional Parent Input for Class Placement Due (See below)
May 8 - 12 - Staff Appreciation Week
May 12 - PTA Bingo Night
May 16 - 23 - SOL Testing Continues
May 29 - School Closed - Memorial Day

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

SY 23-24 Class Placement Parent Input

If your child is returning to Freedom Hill next school year, we offer you the opportunity to share any comments you would like regarding class placements. If you know that your family will not be joining us for the 2023-24 school year, please call or email Ms. Sujo at 703-506-7800 to let us know.

Our staff will be working on tentative class groupings this spring, with classroom assignments finalized in mid-August. As we make these placements, we consider many factors including individual academic and social strengths/needs, teacher input, and social relationships. Every class will have a blend of children with diverse needs, personalities, and learning interests. Due to the many factors we must consider in creating classroom placements, including the reassignment of some teachers to a different grade level and the hiring of new teachers, requests for a specific teacher cannot be honored.

If you have information that you believe is pertinent to your child’s placement for next year, please complete the optional Class Placement Input Form (one per child) by Monday, May 8th for it to be taken into consideration. There is no need to complete the form if you do not have any information you would like us to consider. Thank you.

2023-24 Staff Hiring

As you may have heard, a shortage of educators currently exists in Virginia and also the nation as a whole. We would appreciate our community's support referring future educators to our school! Prospective educators can always email their resume to Dr. Z. with interest in working at Freedom Hill. Our current vacancies for 2023-24 include:

Classroom Teacher - Upper Grades (4-6)
Special Education Teacher - Intellectual Disabilities

Grand Opening - FH Salad Bar

Thank you to everyone who supported the opening of our Freedom Hill Salad Bar! We had a blast and are so thankful to have healthy fruits and vegetables each day as part of our school lunches!

Yearbook Sales

Yearbook sales have opened! Please see our flyer for ordering information.

Positivity Project: Leadership

This week, we are focusing on Leadership. You value each member of your group and inspire other people to do their best.

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and actions.”

~Harold S. Geneen

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

What are some of the characteristics of a good leader?
Do you consider yourself a leader? If not, what are some characteristics that might make that more possible? If so, what are the characteristics of leadership you need to build on to make stronger?
How does it make you feel to think about yourself as a leader?

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Kindergarten Registration Open

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

We hope you had a great weekend. Two key things this week. Staff Appreciation Week is this week and Bingo Night is THIS Friday. Don’t forget to buy your on Pay4SchoolStuff!

BINGO NIGHT MAY 12th!

Get ready to have an awesome night of fun on Friday, May 12th with FHES Bingo Night! Come play bingo with your friends and win prizes on Friday, May 12th from 6-8pm! Bingo cards are $1 per card or $5 for 6 cards. You can also pre-order your pizza too! Card sales and Pizza sales are available to purchase on Pay4SchoolStuff! Pizza sales help 6th grade moving up activities. Check out the flier for more info! We need 6 more volunteers. Can you help? Volunteer here.

STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK 5/8-5/12

We’re so excited to appreciate our awesome staff and teachers and RAISE THE BAR for them! Check out the awesome activities we’ve planned for Teacher Appreciation week in the flier here! Props to Sechin Lee and Sara Lyon for leading this effort! If you can help with set up or clean up (sign up here) or food provisions (here), it’d be greatly appreciated!

PTA BOARD NOMINATIONS OPEN This is your chance to give back to FHES through your awesome organizational skills. Apply for the PTA board by emailing this form (also available in word if you email us) to [email protected]. Thank you Tori Draude, Angela Waugaman and Michelle Zahalsky for helping with the nominating committee! If you are curious about the time/effort, contact [email protected] or any board member for details!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES ON SALE FOR FALL!

The end of the year is quickly approaching. Get ahead for next fall and skip back-to-school shopping with our Sprout School Supply Kits for 2023-2024. It's an easy way to save time and money on back to school supplies and support your school community. Check out the flier here or order online with school code: FHES001. Deadline to order is June 20th!

HARRIETTE BEST NOMINATIONS

Nominations are open for the Harriette Best Award. Please email the name of your nominee to [email protected] and write a short explanation on why this person should get this award. Nominations due by Monday, May 15th. What is the Harriette Best Award? The Harriette Ann Best Award was instituted more than a decade ago by the Freedom Hill’s Parent Teacher Association as a tribute to honor our former Assistant Principal. Mrs. Best was the epitome of dedication to the staff, students, and community of Freedom Hill from 1991 through 2003. Since its inception, this award has been given each year since to the parent(s) and/or staff member(s) who best exemplify what Mrs. Best continued to accomplish until her retirement. Recent award winners include: Katherine Cadena-Gonce and Elizabeth Spinney (2022), Neda Sarafrazi and Lisa Bliss (2021), Diana Hernandez (2020), Tina Ejtemai Crawford and Louan Hassinger (2019).

MARSHALL BASKETBALL CAMP

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 4/30/23

GovDelivery1 month ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We are reflecting on a truly "fun Friday" with a successful 4th Grade field trip to Jamestown, and a fabulous staff volleyball game against Westgate. We were so thankful to see so many students and families cheering in the crowd! Check out the photo album here. A big thank you to our staff members who competed, our team captain Mr. Dowling, all of our PTA volunteers, as well as Rachel Shabica, whose organization helped the event go so smoothly. We look forward to a rematch in 2024.

This week, SOL testing is beginning for our 3rd-6th graders. The schedule has been posted below. This is a great opportunity for our students to shine and show all that they have learned this year. Please help your student(s) by making sure they are getting a good night's sleep and breakfast. We'll be excited to share their success.

Wednesday is the grand opening of the Freedom Hill Salad Bar, which is included in all school lunch purchases. If you are a parent of a student in grades K-2 and are willing to volunteer for lunch on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday to support our students, we would love to welcome you! Here is a helpful video you can also watch at home.

Lastly, next week is Staff Appreciation Week. Have you started thinking about a way to show appreciation for your amazing Freedom Hill teachers and specialists?

Have a great week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

May 2 - 23 - SOL Testing for Grades 3-6 - See Schedule Below
May 3 - Grand Opening - FH Salad Bar
May 8 - Optional Parent Input for Class Placement Due (See below)
May 8 - 12 - Staff Appreciation Week
May 12 - PTA Bingo Night

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

SY 23-24 Class Placement Parent Input

Grand Opening - FH Salad Bar

We are excited to share that Freedom Hill will be adding a nutritious salad bar to our cafeteria starting on May 3! The salad bar will include daily fresh fruits, vegetables and protein sources and will be included in the price of our daily lunches.

For more information, see this website. We will pass along more information as the date draws closer. We will also be asking for parent volunteers to be on hand during this week to assist students in using the bar. Mark your calendars!

Yearbook Sales

Yearbook sales have opened! Please see our flyer for ordering information.

Positivity Project: Enthusiasm

This week, we are focusing on Enthusiasm. You approach life with excitement and energy. You energize people around you.

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

How can you tap into enthusiasm for things you don’t like so much?
How can you encourage each other in the things that you love and the things you don’t like so much?
What type of mindset do you need to have to be able to approach things in life you don’t like with enthusiasm?

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Kindergarten Registration Open

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

Thanks to everyone who joined us on Friday night for a stupendous showing of FHES spirit! Details and photo album below! Don't forget to buy tickets to our May 12th Bingo Night in a couple of weeks on Pay4SchoolStuff!

FHES FACULTY VOLLEYBALL GAME 4/28

What an awesome faculty volleyball game on Friday night! Thanks to everyone - the organizers, the volunteers, the staff who played and cheered, the students who became screaming eagles with their signs and spirit and our friends at Westgate E.S. What an amazing turn out! We hope you had a blast. A huge props to Rachel Shabica who was our lead organizer and Coach Ian "Dark Knight" Dowling who did so much to put this together. Check out the photo album here!

BINGO NIGHT MAY 12th!

Get ready to have an awesome night of fun on Friday, May 12th with FHES Bingo Night! Come play bingo with your friends and win prizes on Friday, May 12th from 6-8pm! Bingo cards are $1 per card or $5 for 6 cards. You can also pre-order your pizza too! Card sales and Pizza sales are available to purchase on Pay4SchoolStuff! Pizza sales help 6th grade moving up activities. Check out the flier for more info! Many hands make the work light! Volunteer here.

STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK 5/8-5/12

PTA BOARD NOMINATIONS OPEN

This is your chance to give back to FHES through your awesome organizational skills. Apply for the PTA board by emailing this form (also available in word if you email us) to [email protected]. Thank you Tori Draude, Angela Waugaman and Michelle Zahalsky for helping with the nominating committee! If you are curious about the time/effort, contact [email protected] or any board member for details!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES ON SALE FOR FALL!

The end of the year is quickly approaching. Get ahead for next fall and skip back-to-school shopping with our Sprout School Supply Kits for 2023-2024. It's an easy way to save time and money on back to school supplies and support your school community. Check out the flier here or order online with school code: FHES001. Deadline to order is June 20th!

HARRIETTE BEST NOMINATIONS

Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 4/23/23

GovDelivery1 month 1 week ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We hope you are well and enjoyed the long weekend with your children, and enjoyed the holiday if you celebrated! Spring has sprung, and with it we have many exciting events on the horizon. We invite you will join us this Friday at 6:30 at Marshall HS for the return of our Staff vs. Westgate Volleyball Game. Everyone is encouraged to wear red, and signs are also welcome! Pizza is available for pre-order and the information is in our PTA section below. We look forward to a great evening!

April 27th is Take Your Child to Work Day. If you plan on taking your child to work on Thursday, please let the office know ahead of time. Regular school attendance is important, so if your child has already had a significant number of absences this school year, please factor that into your decision.

Finally, SOLs start next week for our students in grades 3-6! Take a quick look at the schedule below and make sure you are getting a good night's sleep the night before!

Have a great week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

April 23 - FH Garden Clean-Up Day, 11AM-1PM
April 26 - Q3 Progress Reports Come Home
April 28 - Staff vs. Westgate Volleyball Game at Marshall HS, 6:30
May 3 - Grand Opening - FH Salad Bar
May 8 - Optional Parent Input for Class Placement Due (See below)
May 8 - 12 - Staff Appreciation Week
May 12 - PTA Bingo Night

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

SY 23-24 Class Placement Parent Input

Grand Opening - FH Salad Bar

Positivity Project: Purpose

This week, we are focusing on Purpose/Connection. You have beliefs about the meaning of life and your life’s purpose. You seek to be part of something greater than yourself.

“Regardless of whatever I do, I know my purpose is to make a difference in people’s lives.”

~Tim Tebow

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

Do you ever wonder what your purpose is?
What kind of person do you want to be? What things could you be doing now to enhance the life of those around you?
What gifts, talents, and ideas do you have that you want to share?

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Kindergarten Registration Open

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

Thanks to those who joined in the Chipotle FDO fun and PTA meeting last week! Happy Eid to those who celebrated the end of Ramadan this past weekend. Be sure to get your tickets for the upcoming volleyball game Friday and Bingo on May 12th!

FHES FACULTY VOLLEYBALL GAME 4/28

It's almost here!! The Faculty Volleyball Game against Westgate ES will take place on April 28th 6:30-8 pm in the Marshall High School gym. Enter using Door 5 in the back of the school.The teachers of Freedom Hill play against the teachers of Westgate ES. The kids LOVE coming to watch and cheer on their school’s team with pom poms and thunder sticks, eat yummy pizza and snacks and wear their FHES spirit wear or red clothing. We highly encourage folks to purchase their tickets online on Pay4SchoolStuff. Check out the flier here. We will need help with volunteers! Sign up here. Wondering who is playing for FHES? Ms. Curran, Ms. Bliss, Mr. Dowling, Ms. Tota, Mr. Kopacz, Dr. Zapadka, Mr. Wade, Ms. Wade, Ms. Trott, Ms. Luna, Mr. Hasenecz, Ms. Casoni, Ms. Nash, Ms. McFarland and Ms. Blumer! Come cheer them on!

PTA MEETING TUE., 4/18 at 8PM

Missed the PTA Meeting? The notes are HERE!

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK 5/8-5/12

BINGO NIGHT MAY 12th!

Get ready to have an awesome night of fun on May 12th with FHES Bingo Night! Come play bingo with your friends and win prizes on Friday, May 12th from 6-8pm! Bingo cards are $1 per card or $5 for 6 cards. You can also pre-order your pizza too! Card sales and Pizza sales are available to purchase on Pay4SchoolStuff! Pizza sales help 6th grade moving up activities. Sign up to volunteer here. Check out the flier for more info!

PTA BOARD NOMINATIONS OPEN

HARRIETTE BEST NOMINATIONS

Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 4/16/23

GovDelivery1 month 2 weeks ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We hope you are well as we enter the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 school year! Our teachers have been hard at work completing grades and planning, and we are excited to welcome everyone back tomorrow for a 4-day week. It's a busy week with a PTA Meeting, Family Dinner Out, the Marshall Pyramid Art Show, and we are celebrating the Month of the Military Child on Wednesday by wearing purple to show our support for our families. We hope to see you.

In other news, a big thank you to our first grade teacher Laura Klak and FH mom Jacqueline Pokusa for organizing our spring Garden Clean Up next weekend! Many hands might light work, so we hope you'll consider joining the Green Team next Sunday morning. It is also a great time for middle and high school students to complete some of their community service hours.

Have a great week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Asst. Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

April 18 - PTA Meeting, 8PM
April 19 - Wear Purple to Support Military Families
April 19 - Marshall Pyramid Art Show, 6PM
April 19 - PTA Family Dinner Out, Vienna Chipotle
April 21 - School Closed - Eid al Fitr Holiday
April 23 - FH Garden Clean-Up Day, 11AM-1PM
April 28 - Staff vs. Westgate Volleyball Game at Marshall HS
May 12 - PTA Bingo Night

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

The Marshall Pyramid Art show is this week, including artwork from all of the schools within Marshall Pyramid. Artwork will be on display from Monday, April 17 – Wednesday, April 19 in the Marshall High School Library located at 7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043.

There will be a reception honoring all artists with food trucks, face painting, and art activities on Wednesday from 6-7:30 pm. Students who have artwork on display have already received a letter with this information.

Positivity Project: Appreciation of Beauty

This week, we are focusing on the Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. You notice and value the world’s beauty and people’s skills. You don’t take things for granted.

“Better to be blind and see with your heart than to have two good eyes and see nothing.”

~Helen Keller

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

What do you think it means to see with your heart?
Why do you think we fail to notice the beauty around us?
What can you do to start noticing that beauty?

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Community News and Thank Yous!

Congratulations to our staff members:

First grade teacher Jeannine Connors has been selected as an FCPS LETRS Facilitator for the 23-24 school year. She will be facilitating learning for FCPS staff around many of the phonics approaches being used at FH this year.
Substitute teacher Nikki Hairston has been selected to participate in Dessert Wars sponsored by Food Network. She will be competing against 50 other dessert vendors in May.

A big thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Martines Díaz for kicking off our staff lounge renovation project by priming our accent wall! What a big help!

Kindergarten Registration Open

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

PTA Updates

Join us for our PTA meeting Tuesday and Chipotle FDO Wednesday. Details below!

PTA MEETING TUE., 4/18 at 8PM

Join us for our upcoming PTA Meeting at 8pm on Tuesday, April 18th! Join us as we go over spring activities. We'll also be talking about our upcoming board election process. Join us here or dial in to 646-558-8656 with Meeting ID 751 932 7167.

CHIPOTLE FDO ON APRIL 19, 5-9PM

Come join us for some delicious Chipotle on Wed., April 19th from 5-9pm! This will be at the Chipotle on Maple Ave. from 5-9 pm. Be sure to say Freedom Hill. For online orders, put it code: P8X7LGA. For in-person orders, say Freedom Hill or show this flyer in English or Spanish. See you there!

FHES FACULTY VOLLEYBALL GAME 4/28

It's coming back! Thanks to Rachel Shabica, the Faculty Volleyball Game against Westgate ES will take place on April 28th 6:30-8 pm in the Marshall High School gym. This used to be a great tradition at FHES but hasn’t taken place since 2019. The teachers of Freedom Hill play against the teachers of Westgate ES. The kids LOVE coming to watch and cheer on their school’s team with pom poms and thunder sticks, eat yummy pizza and snacks and wear their FHES spirit wear or red clothing. We highly encourage folks to purchase their tickets online on Pay4SchoolStuff. Check out the flier here. We will need help with volunteers! Sign up here.

SEEKING NOMINATING COMMITTEE

We are seeking 3 amazing volunteers to help us with the upcoming PTA Board election with the nominating committee. This is a very low time commitment effort that only needs the help of three wonderful volunteers. Contact [email protected] if you are interested in helping out.

SPRING CLEANING = BINGO PRIZES!

Bingo Night is a beloved event that will take place this year on May 12. In order to prepare for it, we'd love to start collecting potential prizes. If you are doing a little spring cleaning, you can drop off prizes at Sahar Javadi's house at 8518 Quaint Lane, Vienna, VA 22182. Just email [email protected] to make sure we know it's a Bingo Prize donation. What makes a good prize? Unopened Games, Toys, Art & Crafts Kits or things remaining from the holidays.

HARRIETTE BEST NOMINATIONS

What is the Harriette Best Award? The Harriette Ann Best Award was instituted more than a decade ago by the Freedom Hill’s Parent Teacher Association as a tribute to honor our former Assistant Principal. Mrs. Best was the epitome of dedication to the staff, students, and community of Freedom Hill from 1991 through 2003. She devoted hours of her own time and went above and beyond on a regular basis to assure that the staff and students at Freedom Hill had anything and everything they needed to be successful. Since its inception, this award has been given each year since to the parent(s) and/or staff member(s) who best exemplify what Mrs. Best continued to accomplish until her retirement. Recent award winners include: Katherine Cadena-Gonce and Elizabeth Spinney (2022), Neda Sarafrazi and Lisa Bliss (2021), Diana Hernandez (2020), Tina Ejtemai Crawford and Louan Hassinger (2019).

Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 4/9/23

GovDelivery1 month 3 weeks ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We hope you are well and had a wonderful Spring Break! For those who celebrated, we hope you had a nice Passover and Easter as well. Tomorrow we are excited to return to school for the final week of our third quarter of instruction. This Friday, students will be on a holiday as teachers complete third quarter grading and planning for the fourth quarter.

Due to our week off, we are shifting our annual celebration of Assistant Principal Appreciation Week to this week. We are very luck to have one of the best in the business! Thank you to Mr. Kopacz for his tireless efforts at our school. Despite his many supervisory roles in the areas of testing, special education, emergency drills, evaluations, and more, he still finds time to build the meaningful relationships that help our school to be the place that it is. We encourage you to drop him a note of appreciation this week if you have a moment!

Finally, we are in the process of planning for next year. If you have any new neighbors with school age children that are planning on attending Freedom Hill next year, please make sure to connect them with Ms. Sujo in the office so we can ensure we can secure our staffing as early as possible.

Have a great week!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

April 13 - Q3 Ends, 2-hour Early Release for Students
April 13 - Kindergarten Orientation, 2:30
April 14 - No School, Teacher Work Day
April 18 - PTA Meeting
April 21 - School Closed - Eid al Fitr Holiday
April 28 - Staff vs. Westgate Volleyball Game at Marshall HS

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Positivity Project: Fairness

This week, we are focusing on Fairness. You believe that all people have value. You approach situations with an unbiased mindset and treat everyone with respect.

“Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.”

~Oscar Wilde

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

Do you consider yourself a fair person?
Would you say that fairness is important to you?
What would you do if you saw someone being unfair?

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Magnet School Application and Lottery Information

The Magnet Program registration window will be open from Wednesday March 1st, through Wednesday, April 12th, 2023. No late applications are accepted.

https://www.fcps.edu/registration/elementary-magnet-school-lottery

2023-24 Kindergarten Registration Open!

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

PTA Updates

We hope you all had a great spring break! Thanks to those who joined in the fun for our FDO before Spring Break at Midnight Treats and Noodles & Co. For those who celebrated, we hope you had a good Passover and good Easter!

FHES FACULTY VOLLEYBALL GAME 4/28

SPRING CLEANING = BINGO PRIZES!

SEEKING GRAPHIC NOVELS

Ms. Rossman is updating her summer Bookmobile collection with kid friendly graphic novels/comic books, early readers (ie: step 1-3 Scholastic books) AND early chapter books (ie: rainbow fairies and magic treehouse). If you have any of these that you'd like to donate to FHES, please drop them off with a note for Ms. Rossman at the front office.

Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

FHES FACULTY VOLLEYBALL GAME 4/28

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Spring Break Update

GovDelivery1 month 4 weeks ago

Dear Freedom Hill Community,

We hope you are well as we enter Spring Break. It sure was a busy end to March at Freedom Hill! The students and staff loved our visit from SaulPaul (thank you Mrs. Coleman!), our Book Fair (thank you Ms. Trott!) and we saw many families in the building with several grade levels holding learning celebrations.

The school building will be closed this week. We'll see everyone on April 10 when school resumes for the last week of our third quarter! Wishing you a safe, restful time this week with your student(s), wherever your plans take you. Thank you for your continued support of our school community and students.

Nicholas Zapadka

Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

April 3 - 7 - Spring Break
April 13 - Q3 Ends, 2-hour Early Release for Students
April 13 - Kindergarten Orientation, 2:30
April 14 - No School, Teacher Work Day
April 28 - Staff vs. Westgate Volleyball Game at Marshall HS

Hiring for 23-24

Freedom Hill will be hiring for the following positions for next school year. We appreciate our community alerting candidates to apply to our fabulous school:

Teacher, Grades 5-6
Learning Disabilities Teacher

PTA Updates

FHES FACULTY VOLLEYBALL GAME 4/28

It's coming back! Thanks to Rachel Shabica, the Faculty Volleyball Game against Westgate ES will take place on April 28th 6:30-8 pm in the Marshall High School gym. This used to be a great tradition at FHES but hasn’t taken place since 2019. The teachers of Freedom Hill play against the teachers of Westgate ES. The kids LOVE coming to watch and cheer on their school’s team with pom poms and foam fingers, eat yummy pizza and snacks and wear their FHES spiritwear or red clothing. We highly encourage folks to purchase their tickets online on Pay4SchoolStuff. Check out the flier here. We will need help with volunteers! Sign up here.

SPRING CLEANING = BINGO PRIZES!

SEEKING GRAPHIC NOVELS

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 3/26/23

GovDelivery2 months ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We hope things are well with the beginning of spring! If you haven't been past the school, you should have a last chance this week to view the very pretty blossoms in our front yard. It's a beautiful time in Northern Virginia!

This is our last week until Spring Break. Once we return on April 10, we have much planned for end of year assessments, celebrations, 6th grade promotion activities, Field Day, and much much more!

Finally, we are also in the process of planning for next year. If you have any new neighbors with school age children that are planning on attending Freedom Hill next year, please make sure to connect them with Ms. Sujo in the office so we can ensure we can secure our staffing as early as possible.

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

March 28 - Family Dinner Out at Noodles & Co. and Midnight Treats
April 3 - 7 - Spring Break
April 13 - Kindergarten Orientation, 2:30
April 28 - Staff vs. Westgate Volleyball Game at Marshall HS

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Positivity Project: Humor

This week, we are focusing on Humor. You like to laugh and bring smiles to other people.

“A sense of humor is a major defense against minor troubles.”

~Mignon McLaughlin

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

How does humor affect relationships? How does it connect people?
How can you incorporate more humor into your everyday life?
Have you ever been in a situation where you just couldn’t stop laughing? What happened?

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Assembly This Week!

We are excited to welcome Grammy nominated performing artist SaulPaul to Freedom Hill on Tuesday. His focus is on social-emotional learning, pride in one’s learning, and treating others well. A big thank you to our school counselor Taylor Coleman for helping us to make this character assembly possible!

SaulPaul is a GRAMMY Nominated Musician with a message. He has also presented 3 TEDx Talks, performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and been featured on America’s Got Talent. His life story of transitioning from tragedy to triumph has been told on screen via the documentary Tower to Tower as well as his memoir. Last year he released Be The Change, a critically acclaimed Children's album that is based on the principles of SEL. In addition to mentions from NPR and Billboard, The New York Times wrote, "This is infectious Hip Hop that the whole family can enjoy." Leveraging his decade plus experience working withK-12 youth, SaulPaul released the accompanying curricula and is proud that the educational programs are being adopted at schools across the country. Most recently, SaulPaul founded Change Water, a socially conscious bottled water company that donates to the local community with each case of water sold. Whether via art, education or entrepreneurship, SaulPaul is committed to #BeTheChange.

Magnet School Application and Lottery Information

The Magnet Program registration window will be open from Wednesday March 1st, through Wednesday, April 12th, 2023. No late applications are accepted.

https://www.fcps.edu/registration/elementary-magnet-school-lottery

2023-24 Kindergarten Registration Open!

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

Ramadan

This year, the first full day of Ramadan is March 22. Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year for Muslims, who believe it was during this month that God revealed the first verses of the Quran, Islam's sacred text, to Mohammed, on a night known as "The Night of Power." During the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims fast every day from dawn to sunset. It is meant to be a time of spiritual discipline — of deep contemplation of one's relationship with God, extra prayer, increased charity and generosity, and intense study of the Quran. Read more about Ramadan in National Geographic Kids. This year, Ramadan begins with a half Observance Day on March 22, followed by an Observance Day on March 23. The school calendar recognizes many religious and cultural observances (O days) during the school year. There is school on these days, however, the School Board has directed that tests, quizzes, field trips, graduation, homecoming, or FCPS-scheduled athletic events will not be held on these observance days. Half-Observance days are full school days, but important events will not be held after school on those days. See the complete 2022-23 school year calendar.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

This week join us at our Family Dinner Out on Tuesday, March 28th at Noodles & Co and Midnight Treats! Read on for details.

READATHON RECAP

Thank you all for a great Read-a-thon! We read over 335,000 minutes and raised over $12,500! Congratulations to the students this year for meeting our school-wide goal! Students can look forward to throwing water balloons at the Principals during Field Day! Reminder: Students can still accept donations and should spend their prize money by March 28 here. Q's? Email [email protected]

FDO AT NOODLES & MIDNIGHT TREATS TUESDAY, 3/28 We're excited to get back to our Family Dinner Out fundraisers in Spring! Join us on Tuesday, March 28th between 4-8 pm at Noodles & Co. and Midnight Treats. For Noodles & Co, in restaurant and online sales count and 25% goes to the PTA. Be sure you mention Freedom Hill or show the flier (English or Spanish) in person or put in code: GIVING25 for online or app orders. Noodles is located at 201 Maple Avenue E, Vienna, VA 22181 and Midnight Treats is in 2 shopping centers over at 167 Glyndon St SE, Vienna, VA 22180. For Midnight Treats, just mention Freedom Hill when paying!

FHES FACULTY VOLLEYBALL GAME 4/28 It's coming back! Thanks to Rachel Shabica, the Faculty Volleyball Game against Westgate ES will take place on March 28th 6:30-8 pm in the Marshall High School gym. This used to be a great tradition at FHES but hasn’t taken place since 2019. The teachers of Freedom Hill play against the teachers of Westgate ES. The kids LOVE coming to watch and cheer on their school’s team with pom poms and foam fingers, eat yummy pizza and snacks and wear their FHES spiritwear or red clothing. We highly encourage folks to purchase their tickets online on Pay4SchoolStuff. Check out the flier here. We will need help with volunteers! Sign up here.

SPRING CLEANING = BINGO PRIZES! Bingo Night is a beloved event that will take place this year on May 12. In order to prepare for it, we'd love to start collecting potential prizes. If you are doing a little spring cleaning, you can drop off prizes at Sahar Javadi's house at 8518 Quaint Lane, Vienna, VA 22182. Just email [email protected] to make sure we know it's a Bingo Prize donation. What makes a good prize? Unopened Games, Toys, Art & Crafts Kits or things remaining from the holidays.

SEEKING GRAPHIC NOVELS Ms. Rossman is updating her summer Bookmobile collection with kid friendly graphic novels/comic books, early readers (ie: step 1-3 Scholastic books) AND early chapter books (ie: rainbow fairies and magic treehouse). If you have any of these that you'd like to donate to FHES, please drop them off with a note for Ms. Rossman at the front office.

ON THE HORIZON

Apr. 3 – Apr. 8 – Spring Break

Apr. 28 – Faculty Volleyball Game at Marshall

Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 3/19/23

GovDelivery2 months 1 week ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

A big thank you to our students, teachers, families, and PTA! Everyone chipped in and we met and surpassed our Readathon goal for the year! We raised over $12,000, which will benefit our school, students, and programs. We were so pleased to hold a fundraiser that simultaneously enhances our school and also encourages literacy. A big thank you to Amber Halaka for again managing this very large event this year! And yes, based on our students' hard work they will be invited to throw a water balloon at the principals on Field Day this year.

We are also excited to share that Mrs. Finkelstein (our 6th grade teacher) and her husband welcomed their first child last week. We're looking forward to meeting Caleb Simon Finkelstein in the near future. In the meantime, please join us in welcoming Ms. Shawn Carson back to Freedom Hill as Mrs. Finkelstein's long-term substitute.

Wishing all of our Eagles a great week. We hope to see you at the Book Fair!

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

March 20 - 24 - Spring Book Fair, Volunteers Need (SignUp!)
March 21 / 22 - Spring Book Fair Family Nights, 4:30-6:30
March 28 - Family Dinner Out at Noodles & Co. and Midnight Treats
April 3 - 7 - Spring Break
April 13 - Kindergarten Orientation, 2:30

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Positivity Project: Perspective

This week our school community will be focusing on the character strength of Perspective. Perspective means you appreciate when people see things in different ways. You have the ability to understand the world from multiple points of view.

Perspective is also referred to as wisdom and is distinct from intelligence. People with this strength are sought out for advice because they see the big picture and can make sense of the world’s complexity. This strength of perspective gives individuals the ability to see to the heart of difficult matters and achieve clarity. Most importantly, they are honest and behave in an ethically consistent manner.

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Magnet School Application and Lottery Information

The Magnet Program registration window will be open from Wednesday March 1st, through Wednesday, April 12th, 2023. No late applications are accepted.

https://www.fcps.edu/registration/elementary-magnet-school-lottery

Understanding Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) Reports

Grade 3-8 students across Virginia took VGA tests in fall and winter of 2022-23. FCPS mailed score reports to families earlier this month that combine Fall and Winter results. When viewing students’ scores, it is important to keep in mind that there is no “passing” or “failing” for VGA tests and that each vertical scaled score reflects performance on a single day. VGA results should be used alongside other available data for a more complete picture of students’ academic progress. Also keep in mind that the VGA asks questions from the entire curriculum, including some standards that will not be taught until later in the school year.

The FCPS VGA Score Reports webpage now includes a section on Understanding VGA Results, featuring Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). This section will continue to be updated throughout the spring to address incoming questions and to reflect additional state guidance as it is released.

2023-24 Kindergarten Registration Open!

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

Ramadan

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

What an incredible Readathon! We managed to raise over $12,500 and read 335,000 minutes!!! WOW! Keep those awesome reading habits going with the Spring Book Fair this week.

READATHON RECAP

Thank you all for a great Read-a-thon! We read over 335,000 minutes and raised over $12,500! Reading was celebrated across all classrooms with finger flashlight Fridays and teacher's choice rewards, like PJ day or movie time.

Congratulations to the students this year for meeting our school-wide goal! Students can look forward to throwing water balloons at the Principals during Field Day! Reminder: Students can still accept donations and should spend their prize money by March 28. Visit https://www.read-a-thon.com/school/Freedom-Hill-Elementary-PTA_52531. Q's? Email [email protected]

PTA MEETING, THURS., MARCH 16TH

If you missed the PTA meeting, you can get the recap in the notes and slides here. Thank you Hyun Yoo for taking those!

STAFF APPRECIATION BREAKFAST

Great job to the Staff Appreciation Team for pulling off another awesome breakfast for our FHES teachers and staff for St. Patrick's Day! Thank you to all the volunteers who helped as well as Sara Lyon and Sechin Lee for organizing!

FDO AT NOODLES & MIDNIGHT TREATS, 3/28

We're excited to get back to our Family Dinner Out fundraisers in Spring! Join us on Tuesday, March 28th between 4-8pm at Noodles & Co. and Midnight Treats. For Noodles & Co, in restaurant and online sales count and 25% goes to the PTA. Be sure you mention Freedom Hill or show the flier in person or put in code: GIVING25 for online or app orders. Noodles is located at: 201 Maple Avenue E, Vienna, VA 22181. For Midnight Treats, just mention Freedom Hill when paying!

SPRING CLEANING = BINGO PRIZES!

Bingo Night is a beloved event that will take place this year on May 12. In order to prepared for it, we'd love to start collecting potential prizes. If you are doing a little spring cleaning, you can drop off prizes at Sahar Javadi's house at 8518 Quaint Lane, Vienna, VA 22182. Just email [email protected] to make sure we know it's a Bingo Prize donation. What makes a good prize? Unopened Games, Toys, Art & Crafts Kits or things remaining from the holidays.

SEEKING BOOKS!

Ms. Rossman is seeking to update our Summer Bookmobile collection with kid-friendly graphic novels, early readers, and chapter books. If you have any of these that you'd like to donate to FHES, please drop them off with a note for Ms. Rossman at the front office.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 3/12/23

GovDelivery2 months 2 weeks ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We hope you are well! It was a busy week "On the Hill" as we had school pictures, an exciting 4th grade field trip to Gunston Hall, and our inaugural 6th grade Career Day. We also, of course, kicked off our 2023 Readathon. A big thank you to all of the staff and parent volunteers who made each of these events a success! Let's keep up with the good books this week as we look to end our Readathon strong.

We hope to see you in the coming weeks with much more fun, including a PTA meeting this week, our spring Book Fair next week, and Family Dinner Out and 2023-24 Kindergarten Orientation all on the near horizon. If you are interested in signing up for before/afterschool spring enrichment, please remember that the signup ends today.

Finally, the signup form for our Watch D.O.G.S. program is open. Please see below for the link.

In partnership,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

March 2 - 17 - 2023 Readathon
March 12 - PTA Enrichment Signup Closes
March 16 - PTA Meeting, 7:30, Link
March 20 - 24 - Spring Book Fair, Volunteers Need (SignUp!)
March 21 / 22 - Spring Book Fair Family Nights, 4:30-6:30
March 28 - Family Dinner Out at Noodles & Co. and Midnight Treats
April 13 - Kindergarten Orientation, 2:30

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Positivity Project: Identifying and Appreciating the Good in Others

This week, we are working on ONE of the FIVE overarching pillars of the Positivity Project. Identifying and appreciating the good in others can sometimes be difficult to do if we are too focused on ourselves.

“It’s not the failure of others to appreciate your abilities that should trouble you, but rather your failure to appreciate theirs.”

~Confucius

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

What is expressing appreciation?
Why does it take COURAGE to express appreciation?
What are some ways you can show appreciation of others?
How does it make you feel when someone expresses appreciation?

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

2023-24 Kindergarten Registration Open!

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

ENRICHMENT CLOSES TONIGHT!

Spring Enrichment closes TONIGHT on March 12th. Check out classes like PE Club, Scratch Coding, Spanish, Chess, Messiest Art Class Ever (but not in your house), Theater – Take the Stage, Cooking Around the World, Chemistry Creations, Young Diplomats, Fencing/Archery Combo, Floor Hockey, Multi-Sports from Love the Ball and Party like a Pop Star Dancing! We hope you check out these options as classes will fill up quickly. A huge thanks to Ross Camara for organizing everything for us! Check out the flier for details and visit the site to sign up. NOTE: Winter Enrichment ends with the last classes this week!

READATHON IS MARCH 2-17!

Read-A-Thon week 1 results are in and our Eagles love to read! We read over 160,000 minutes and raised over $9000! We only need $1000 more to meet our school wide goal. The kids really want to throw water balloons at the Principals during Field Day! It's not too late to register your reader (find instructions here) or donate here. For more information, please visit here or email [email protected].

PTA MEETING, THURS., MARCH 16TH

Join us for our regular PTA meeting on Thursday, March 16th at 7:30 p.m. We are excited to get everyone back together and talk about all the upcoming spring events! Join us at this link or dial (646) 558-8656 with Meeting ID: 751 932 7167. See you there! STAFF APPRECIATION BREAKFAST

Please help the Teacher Appreciation Committee thank Freedom Hill’s wonderful faculty and staff with a St, Patty's Day breakfast on Friday, March 17 from 8:30-10:30am! The PTA is requesting support for this event by providing breakfast items or with the setup or cleanup. Please sign up at www.tinyurl.com/FHESBreakfast. Food contributions can be delivered to the school the day before or to the front office by 8:15am the day of (March 17). Please label appropriately. If you’re not able to help this time with food or time, please consider donating to the Teacher Appreciation fund via Pay4SchoolStuff or by writing a check payable to Freedom Hill PTA. Please write “staff appreciation” in the memo. Checks can be dropped off in the PTA mailbox in the front office. Here's the flier for details on what items are needed!

FDO AT NOODLES & MIDNIGHT TREATS, 3/28

We're excited to get back to our Family Dinner Out fundraisers in Spring! Join us on Tuesday, March 28th between 4-8pm at Noodles & Co. and Midnight Treats. For Noodles & Co, in restaurant and online sales count and 25% goes to the PTA. Be sure you mention Freedom Hill or show the flier in person or put in code: GIVING25 for online or app orders. Noodles is located at: 201 Maple Avenue E, Vienna, VA22181. For Midnight Treats, just mention Freedom Hill when paying!

ON THE HORIZON

March 2-17 – Readathon

March 16 – PTA Meeting

March 23 – Ramadan begins

March 28 – FDO Noodles & Midnight Treats Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 3/5/23

GovDelivery2 months 3 weeks ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

The Readathon begins! We had a blast welcoming guest author Shannon Earle, the author of The Penguin of Ilha Grande, who spoke to all of our students for our kickoff. A huge round of thanks to Melissa Rossman for arranging this fabulous opportunity for our students. You can see some photos of the event below. Thank you for everyone who has helped to set our students up for success in the Readathon.

Victor O'Neill Studios will be taking Spring Pictures this Thursday, March 9, 2023. Individual and whole-class pictures will be taken. We will send a link through email when pictures are available to preview and purchase online, approximately two weeks after picture day. There is no make-up day for Spring Pictures.

Looking forward to another great week with our fabulous students and staff!

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

March 2 - 17 - 2023 Readathon
March 7 - 6th Grade Career Fair, 2:45PM
March 9 - Spring Picture Day w/ Victor O'Neill Studios
March 12 - PTA Enrichment Signup Closes
March 16 - PTA Meeting
March 20 - 24 - Spring Book Fair, Volunteers Need (SignUp!)

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Readathon Spirit Week!

In lieu of a Positivity Project trait this week, we will be celebrating the value of reading through a spirit week. Please see below for details! Thank you for helping your student to log their reading hours during our exciting week.

Lost and Found

Last week's weather makes us think that spring is right around the corner. These are also the days when our Lost and Found explodes. Please make sure your child’s name is on all articles of clothing that they could take off (as well as water bottles, lunch boxes, etc.). You are also welcome to check in at the office and take a peek in the Lost and Found.

Watch D.O.G.S. Signup

The daily D.O.G.S. will report to the front office at 9:00 to receive their schedule. We look forward to it!

2023 SOL Calendar

Front Office Reminder

When you are picking up your child early from school for an appointment, please let the teacher and the office know ahead of time, via email if possible. It happens often that your child is away from the homeroom classroom, on the playground, or in the middle of testing when you arrive for pick-up and is not prepared with their belongings to leave.

2023-24 Kindergarten Registration Open!

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

Lots of fun stuff happening this week! Enrichment registration is open and we kicked off Readathon officially with the author event on March 2nd! Be sure to have your readers get their Readathon pages set up and ask support from the community! Lots of details are below!

ENRICHMENT REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

Spring Enrichment is here! Registration closes on March 12th. Check out classes like PE Club, Scratch Coding, Spanish, Chess, Messiest Art Class Ever (but not in your house), Theater – Take the Stage, Cooking Around the World, Chemistry Creations, Young Diplomats, Fencing/Archery Combo, Floor Hockey, Multi-Sports from Love the Ball and Party like a Pop Star Dancing! We hope you check out these options as classes will fill up quickly. A huge thanks to Ross Camara for organizing everything for us! Check out the flier for details and visit the site to sign up. NOTE: Winter Enrichment ends with the last classes this week!

READATHON IS MARCH 2-17!

Readathon was celebrated last year and the biggest PTA fundraiser of the year. Students logged over 300,000 minutes of reading and raised over $10K last year for FHES. The proceeds collected from Read-A-Thon will be used to refresh two aging non-fiction genres in the book rooms for all students as well as hands-on materials for phonics K-3 too. Here are all the details in the flier. Read-a-thon takes place from March 2-17th. Classrooms will have a weekly goal that will earn a teacher’s choice reward such as PJ day, movie time, etc. Teachers that meet their Read-a-thon total minutes goal will receive $15 in Book Fair Bucks. If we meet our school-wide goal of $10,000 raised, students get to throw water balloons at Principals during Field Day! The top grade level will also get an extra special surprise! To register, go to: https://read-a-thon.com/readers/r/HwhYsZ Search for your teacher’s name Register your reader Send out emails, texts, Facebook posts or donate!

As we kick off Readathon this week, make sure you share your reader's page with friends, family, grandparents and others! Be sure to log your child's reading minutes at home too! Stay tuned for this coming Flashlight Friday (3/10)! Students will get finger flashlights during reading time!! Thank you to Amber Halaka and Hyun Yoo, our co-chairs, Ms. Rossman, our teachers and staff for making this happen!

READATHON KICKED OFF!

A big thanks to Shannon Earle, the author of The Penguin of Ilha Grande, who spoke to FHES to kick off Readathon at FHES last week! A huge round of thanks to Melissa Rossman for arranging everything. Many photos on Twitter's #FHHighlights!

STAFF APPRECIATION BREAKFAST

KILMER PLAY ON SALE – INTO THE WOODS JR.

Bring your children their future middle school's spring play! See Into the Woods Jr. on March 17-18, 24-25th. You can purchase tickets here. Set in a fairy-tale kingdom, Into the Woods Jr. reimagines the Brothers Grimm tales with their narratives intertwined, and the various plots are tied together by a Narrator. The musical centers on a baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King's festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 2/26/23

GovDelivery3 months ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

It was a great week! Our funny February of weather gave us some spring warmth and winter cold. We also welcomed many of our families for our Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) kickoff dinner! Thank you to our "Top Dog" David Hay for organizing this for our community. If you missed it, you can learn more about the program in this quick video. Signups for dads to volunteer at FH will start next week!

We have an exciting and eventful new month ahead, beginning with our Read-A-Thon this week. As many of you know, this is our school's/PTA's primary fundraiser for the year, with proceeds benefitting the many extra programs and materials that we have at our school each year. Please see the PTA section below for more information on how to enroll your student(s). As parents and elementary educators, we know that reading is one of the most enriching activities for a child, and we are pleased to promote it this week during Read Across America Week. A BIG thank you to Amber Halaka, who is the PTA lead for our Read-A-Thon this year!

Freedom Hill’s Read Across America Read-a-Thon kicks off on March 2nd with author Shannon Earle. All students will have a chance to hear from Ms. Earle about her book, The Penguin of Ilha Grande, and engage in a Q & A with her. Please see more information below on how you can order her book. Thank you to Mrs. Rossman for organizing this for all of us!

Looking forward to a great week,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

March 1 - School Spirit Wear Deadline (see PTA section)
March 1 - Spring Enrichment Registration Opens (see PTA section)
March 2 - 17 - 2023 Readathon
March 2 - 2-hour Early Release at 2:05
March 3 - No School - Professional Dev. Day for Staff
March 9 - Spring Picture Day w/ Victor O'Neill Studios
March 20 - 24 - Spring Book Fair, Volunteers Need (SignUp!)

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Lost and Found

2023 SOL Calendar

Food Drive Thank You

Dear Freedom Hill,

Thank you for your amazing help on my food drive project. It means so much to me that you helped me to gather food. Thanks to all of you I was able to get food and fulfill my goals for the project. We managed to collect three hundred and seven pounds of food for people in need. Food for Others thanks you for your help.

Thank You,

Andrew Halaka

Positivity Project: Love of Learning

This week, we are focusing on Love of Learning. You master new topics and skills on your own or in school.

"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?

2023-24 Kindergarten Registration Open!

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

Lots of fun stuff happening this week! Enrichment registration opens on March 1st, Spiritwear Sale ends on March 1st and we kick off Readathon officially with the author event on March 2nd! Read below for details!

ONLINE SPIRITWEAR SALE

It’s your last chance to order spirit wear until March 1st! Now is the time to order it! Spiritwear is on sale here. Check out our store online. Spiritwear will be delivered approximately 3 weeks after the sale closes. Check out details here!

ENRICHMENT REGISTRATION OPENS MARCH 1ST

Spring Enrichment is here! Registration opens Wednesday, March 1st and closes on March 12th. Check out classes like PE Club, Scratch Coding, Spanish, Chess, Messiest Art Class Ever (but not in your house), Theater – Take the Stage, Cooking Around the World, Chemistry Creations, Young Diplomats, Fencing/Archery Combo, Floor Hockey, Multi-Sports from Love the Ball and Party like a Pop Star Dancing! We hope you check out these options as classes will fill up quickly. A huge thanks to Ross Camara for organizing everything for us! Check out the flier for details for details and visit the site to sign up.

READ ACROSS AMERICA EVENT MARCH 2ND

Freedom Hill’s Read Across America Read-a-Thon kicks off on March 2nd with author Shannon Earle. All students will have a chance to hear from Ms. Earle about her book, The Penguin of Ilha Grande, and engage in a Q & A with her. All students who wish to order a book and have it personalized should send an order form (ENG) (click here for Spanish) send an order form to school. Books may be purchased on myschoolbucks or by cash/check attached to the order form. Any parent who wishes to purchase a book and request a personalization in person on the day of the event, may do so in the FHES lobby on March 2nd between 10:20-11:15. Let’s get ready to celebrate reading! Please contact FHES Reading Specialist, Ms. Rossman for more information.

READATHON IS COMING MARCH 2-17!

Readathon was celebrated last year and the biggest PTA fundraiser of the year. Students logged over 300,000 minutes of reading and raised over $10K last year for FHES. The proceeds collected from Read-A-Thon will be used to refresh two aging non-fiction genres in the book rooms for all students as well as hands-on materials for phonics K-3 too. Here are all the details in the flier. Classrooms will have a weekly goal that will earn a teacher’s choice reward. For every 500 minutes read, a class earns one entry to win the grand prize of Dr. Z as the substitute for a day. If we meet our school-wide goal of $10,000 raised, students get to throw water balloons at Principals during Field Day! To register, go to: https://read-a-thon.com/readers/r/HwhYsZ Search for your teacher’s name Register your reader Send out emails, texts, Facebook posts or donate!

KILMER PLAY ON SALE – INTO THE WOODS JR.

ON THE HORIZON March 2 – 2 Hour Early Release, Readathon Author Event at School

March 3 – Student Holiday (Staff Development)

Early March – NNAT3 Assessments (Grade 1)

March 6-17 – Readathon

March 9 – Spring Portraits and Class Pictures

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 2/20/23

GovDelivery3 months 1 week ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

We hope you had a wonderful long weekend! We certainly appreciated the extra day of rest after a very busy beginning of February at Freedom Hill! So far this month we've enjoyed the Spelling Bee, Science Fair, and lots of learning each day. A shout-out to our AM News Team, who recently began using updated equipment as part of their daily broadcast to our school. Another kudos to our students who have begun to prepare our lovely school garden for the spring months (pictured above). They have harvested some tasty carrots and garlic!

As we look forward to March, on the radar are our annual Readathon, School Picture Day, the spring Book Fair, several assemblies, and more! But before March, don't forget about this Wednesday's Watch D.O.G.S. Kickoff Night at 6PM! Our Freedom Hill dads/male caregivers are invited to bring their students to Freedom Hill for a pizza dinner and to learn about our new Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) volunteer program. Planning to attend? Please complete this quick form so we have enough pizza!

Looking forward to a great week,

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

February 22 - Watch D.O.G.S. Kickoff Night, 6PM, SignUp
March 1 - School Spirit Wear Deadline (see PTA section)
March 2 - 2-hour Early Release
March 3 - No School - Professional Dev. Day for Staff
March 6 - 17 - 2023 Readathon
March 9 - Spring Picture Day w/ Victor O'Neill Studios
March 20 - 24 - Spring Book Fair, Volunteers Need (SignUp!)

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Learn more about the heritage months, celebrations, and traditions celebrated in FCPS. Learn more about Black History month.

2023 SOL Calendar

Positivity Project: Humility

This week, we are focusing on Humility. You do not seek the spotlight. You let your actions speak for themselves.

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.”

~Rick Warren

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

How is being honest with yourself related to humility?
Would you be a good teacher of humility?
Why is humility important to lead others and to make a positive impact?

2023-24 Kindergarten Registration Open!

If you have a child at home who will be five by September 30th, please register now. If you have any neighbors with rising kindergartners, please send this information to them, as well.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

Congrats to all our Science Fair participants! A big thanks to Kerrey Olden for helping to organize it! Be sure to grab your FHES Spiritwear online this week. You’ll want it for the Faculty Volleyball Game in April!

SCIENCE FAIR RECAP!

Congratulations to all the Science Fair participants. It was great to bring the event back and see all the creativity at work! Thanks to Kerrey Olden for organizing everything as well the volunteers – David Hays, Rachel Shabica, Mr. Kopacz and Dr. Zapadka. If you need a Science Fair certificate and didn’t get one, please contact Kerrey Olden.

ONLINE SPIRITWEAR SALE

Have you been waiting for a FHES piece of clothing in a certain size? This is the time to order it! Spiritwear is on sale here and open until March 1st! Check out our store online. Spiritwear will be delivered approximately 3 weeks after the sale closes. Check out details here!

Freedom Hill’s Read Across America Read-a-Thon kicks on March 2nd with author Shannon Earle. All students will have a chance to hear from Ms. Earle about her book, The Penguin of Ilha Grande, and engage in a Q & A with her. All students who wish to order a book and have it personalized should send an order form (ENG) (click here for Spanish) send an order form to school. Books may be purchased on myschoolbucks or by cash/check attached to the order form. Any parent who wishes to purchase a book and request a personalization in person on the day of the event, may do so in the FHES lobby on March 2nd between 10:20-11:15. Let’s get ready to celebrate reading! Please contact FHES Reading Specialist, Ms. Rossman for more information.

WATCH D.O.G.S. KICK OFF – FEB. 22

Come join feel Dads of Great Students on Feb. 22nd at 6pm in the cafeteria. There will be some pizza and overview of what the Watch DOGS program entails from Dr. Zapadka and Mr. Hay. Parents and students are welcome to come for the fun! Please fill out this form if you are attending.

KILMER PLAY ON SALE – INTO THE WOODS JR.

ON THE HORIZON

March 2 – 2 Hour Early Release, Readathon Author Event at School

March 3 – Student Holiday (Staff Development)

Early March – NNAT3 Assessments (Grade 1)

March 6-17 – Readathon

March 9 – Spring Portraits and Class Pictures

March 12 – Daylight Savings

March 16 – PTA Meeting Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year. Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

FH Weekly Update - 2/12/23

GovDelivery3 months 2 weeks ago

Principals' Message

Dear Freedom Hill Families,

It was a fun week on the Hill! Last week we celebrated School Counselors Appreciation Week, held our Spelling Bee Finals (many thanks to Amit Sharma and Thyaga Nandagopal), had a special lunch with our Q2 Soaring Eagle Citizens (see winners below), and continued our year of learning! We invite you to join us this Wednesday evening for our annual Science Fair. Even if your student is not working on a project, there is much to learn by visiting the many interactive displays!

In other news, the School Board has approved school calendars for the next three school years. You may wish to print these for reference. The 2023-24 calendar is here, and you can find the additional calendars on the website.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Nicholas Zapadka, Principal

Eric Kopacz, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

2022-23 FCPS School Calendar

February 7 - 14 - Candygram Sales
February 14 - Spread the Love Day! Wear pink, red, or purple!
February 15 - Science Fair, 6:30PM
February 17 - SCA Meeting, 8:30AM
February 20 - Presidents' Day (No School)
February 22 - Watch D.O.G.S. Kickoff Night, 6PM

2023-24 FCPS School Calendar

Congratulations Q2 Soaring Eagles!

Last week we also celebrated our second quarterly Soaring Eagle Citizens. These students were selected by their teachers as students who showcase our Positivity Project traits, and who enrich our school culture through kindness, friendship, and respect. We hope they had fun eating lunch with our school counselors and principals! Many thanks to Ms. Hill and Mrs. Coleman for organizing this event. Congratulations to our Q2 Soaring Eagles:

Preschool / Adapted Programs:

Maayin P., and Spruha T.

Kindergarten:

Riley B., Aahan G., Kevin M., Frederic F., Areen N., Liam L.

1st Grade:

Yoseph B., Angela R., Sophia M., Cameron C., Faris S., Alex S.

2nd Grade:

Raoul C., Dalia O., Francis S., Veronica O., Kathia C., William H.

3rd Grade:

Adonay G., Sammi A., Nyla R., Eyasu M., Michael P., Charlotte G., Tomas L.

4th Grade:

Nicole T., Jane H., Ehan H., Angely M., Allisson P., Mohammad N.

5th Grade:

Bashar A., Salma J., Nasser S., Mia S., Wesam A., Ethan D., Ascary R.

6th Grade:

Amith C., Bianca S., William M., Sashank G., Melanie C., Justin G.

Positivity Project: Love

This week, we are focusing on Love. You value close relationships with others and being close to people.

"Love and compassion are necessities not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”

~Dalai Lama

Questions you might enjoy talking about:

Why do you think defining love can be so difficult?
Are there times when love is difficult to give others?
Why do you think it’s often difficult to demonstrate love to our families and/or friends?

Spelling Bee Success!

We concluded the Freedom Hill Spelling Bee 2 days ago on Feb 08, 2023. The stars of the show were the contestants from grades 1 through 6. Each encouraged and supported their fellow eagles round after round. Each showed tremendous courtesy and grace before and after they spelled their word whether they got it right or not. Each showed immense physical and mental endurance, boundless courage and an indomitable spirit! Each contestant is a winner – they inspired us and won our hearts and minds!

However, three contestants deserve a special mention -

Emily Zahalsky, a 4th grader from Hussin’s class was the second runner-up.
Anjali Sharma, a 5th grader from Bliss’s class was the first runner-up.
Kavya Thyagarajan, a 6th grader from Finkelstein’s class was the Freedom Hill Spelling Bee Champion! Kavya has our best wishes as she moves on to represent FHES at the Fairfax County spelling bee to be held on March 19th at the Lake Braddock School in Burke, VA.

The FHES 2022-23 spelling bee was a SUCCESS! We acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of the students, teachers, front office staff, technology team, facilities team, school administrators and the PTA parent volunteers and many more - Thank you!!

Sincerely,

Thyaga Nandagopal & Amit Sharma

FHES Spelling Bee Coordinators and PTA Parent Volunteers

Staff Updates

Congratulations to 6th grade teacher Mrs. Nash! She recently completed a masters degree in Educational Administration and passed the School Leaders Licensure Assessment!
Please join us in welcoming Ms. Samantha Pineda to our staff as a Student Monitor. She is a graduate of Freedom Hill and is excited to return to our school to support our students and staff.

#FHHighlights PTA Updates

VALENTINES CANDYGRAMS ARE HERE!

Candygrams for Valentine's Day are back! Order forms and notes are here with options to purchase lollipops. Sixth grade volunteers will be selling from Feb. 7-14.

ONLINE SPIRITWEAR SALE

ON THE HORIZON Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year. Check out our FHES Calendar to plan further out in the year.

1945 Lord Fairfax Rd, Vienna, VA 22182 | Main Phone: 703.506.7800
Attendance: 703.506.7878 | Website | Twitter

9 minutes 29 seconds ago

Freedom Hill Elementary School News and announcements

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