Lower School Newsletter - September 8, 2021
Message From Division Director
The first week of school was filled with laughs, getting to know you activities, and excitement for our faculty, staff and students! Along with the excitement comes the intentional process that our Huskies have a sense of belonging and of our responsibility to implement procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone. Applying the Responsive Classroom approach, we will spend the first six weeks of school building community. It is essential for our students to be safe, respectful and inclusive. We will continue to build stamina, as we want to ease students into the academic expectations and orient, model, and practice the use of classroom and outdoor spaces, materials, restrooms, and transitioning in the hallways. Lastly, we are in the relationship-building business, so it is paramount to reserve time for the Lower School faculty and staff to learn students’ names and what makes them unique. This year will be filled with teachers creating a culture of thinkers and students experiencing reflection, uneasiness, predictability, excitement, Mindfulness, meaningful risks, and constant support. The beauty is that each student’s journey will be different, and we can’t be successful without your partnership.
Go Huskies! Until next time ...
Robyn M. Nichols
Interim Director of the Lower School
The Latest
Two-Hour Delayed Openings
As part of our commitment to professional development for our faculty and staff, we open school two hours late, six times during the year, to run in-service training. On these days, morning buses run two hours late, and we run a modified class schedule from 9:50 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Please note that students may not come to school prior to 9:20 a.m. due to supervision. For your planning purposes, below are the dates of our two-hour delayed openings. They are also posted on the electronic All-School Calendar.
- October 28, 2021
- December 8, 2021
- January 11, 2022
- February 10, 2022
- April 20, 2022
- May 17, 2022
Lower School Picture Day
Friday, September 10, students will wear their school uniforms and we will schedule time for each student to get their picture taken during the day. One image will be used for the yearbook and Husky Hub. As noted in this flyer, families will receive an email from Freed Photography when pictures are available for viewing/purchase.
Dance Academy Registration is Now Open
Flint Hill’s popular after-school dance program is back! Registration is now open for classes for children in K-12. Classes begin on September 15 and fill up fast. This document includes more information, such as registration, prices, class schedules, and more.
Birthday Treats/Snacks
To mitigate risk, students will not be able to bring treats into School to celebrate their birthdays. Instead, homeroom teachers and advisors will brainstorm with their students to develop creative ways to celebrate a child’s special day that does not include edible birthday treats. In general, if we ever wish to distribute food or treats at school, we will notify you in advance with information about ingredients, and you will need to give permission.
Technology for Remote Learning
The Flint Hill School Remote Learning Guidelines are now available. Students are currently participating in Digital Citizenship classes to ensure the appropriate use of their School-issued iPad as documented in the Lower School Digital Husky Promise. Once classes are completed, you will receive a notification when your child begins transporting their device to and from school.
Home Learning
The goal for home learning is to allow students to extend, explore and deepen their understanding of the concepts they learn in the classroom, both independently and in collaboration with their parents, without being based on time. While home learning activities will be related to classroom learning, they will also exhibit a majority of the following characteristics:
- Choice-oriented
- Investigation / exploration-based
- Hands-on / interactive
- Inquiry-based
- Creative and open-ended
- Engaging and fun
Home learning opportunities will be offered in all subjects, as they naturally arise in the context of the classroom. Some home learning will look very similar to traditional homework. For example, there may be worksheets, games or activities for math, and students will still have word-study features to review and writing exercises. A more investigative or exploration-based assignment may have students look for arrays at home to see how many different sizes they can find, or students may be asked to determine how much it would cost to tile a bathroom at home.
Seesaw/Google Classroom/Husky Hub
Our priority is to provide various forms of communication with families throughout the school year regarding your child’s classroom assignments, projects and Home Learning. Teachers in Grades JK-6 will use Seesaw to make your child’s learning visible in the Lower School. Along with Seesaw, students in Grade 5 will use Google Classroom to retrieve and submit classroom assignments. Although parents do not have direct access, please check your child’s page weekly. Lastly, Grade 6 will use Seesaw, Google Classroom and Husky Hub (direct parent access). You may notice a gradual progression of platform exposure and level of responsibility that aligns with what is developmentally appropriate.
Making Our Attendance More Efficient and Safer with SchoolPass
We have invested in an innovative, user-friendly system, called SchoolPass, to help manage school attendance in real-time and make carpool and dismissal more efficient. If you did not receive a welcome email from SchoolPass, please email helpdesk@flinthill.org. It’s important for parents to download the SchoolPass app.
Parents should become familiar with:
NEW THIS WEEK — How to use School Pass to add approved drivers to your SchoolPass profile. Approved drivers are people who are allowed to pick students up. This feature gives both the School and parents assurance that students are going home with a trusted adult. The School can quickly verify that adults who are picking up students are authorized and don’t have to waste time validating authorization through extra calls or communication.
How to use SchoolPass to notify the School about absences, late arrivals and early dismissals. Click on the Attendance Policy and Procedure tile, on the Resource tab in Husky Hub, for directions.
How to use School Pass to notify the School if there is a change in your student's afternoon dismissal routine at any time during the school year. This can include situations such as your student will go home with another Flint Hill family in afternoon carpool; your student normally rides the bus but will be picked up in carpool; your student normally attends AfterCare but will be picked up in carpool. For directions, click on the Lower School Morning Arrival and Dismissal link on the Preparing tile on the Resource tab in Husky Hub.
SchoolPass Carpool Placard Request
Thank you for your patience as we work together to acclimate to the new afternoon carpool procedure using SchoolPass. Please have your carpool placard visible, preferably on the passenger side window, to ensure that the carline moves as quickly as possible. If you did not receive a placard in the mail, please email Interim Director of the Lower School Robyn Nichols.
Stay in the Know! All School Calendar is Available
Did you know that you can have the electronic All-School Calendar feed directly into your iCal or Google calendars? The electronic All-School Calendar is where you can find when and where upcoming school events will be held — and starting this year, it’s where you’ll find all the Google Meet codes for virtual events. No more having to pull up the Weekly Newsletter to search for Meet links.
To get to the All-School Calendar, log in to Husky Hub and click on the Calendar icon in the top menu bar. Scroll down and, on the bottom left, you can toggle on and off to select which calendars you’d like to display. We strongly recommend displaying the All-School Calendar.
In less than one minute, you can watch this video on how to feed the All-School Calendar into your personal calendar. Fast forward to the 3:49 mark for the calendar tip. Watch the full video if you’d like a general refresher about navigating Husky Hub.
And remember, the School’s IT department isn’t just for students; it’s a parent resource too! Just email helpdesk@flinthill.org to ask a question or set up a time for a private tutorial.
AfterCare
We are excited to welcome students who are registered for unlimited AfterCare and those registered for specific days, beginning on the first day of classes. Please note: we are not offering AfterCare on a drop-in basis — unless there is a true emergency — until Monday, October 4. This will allow our new AfterCare staff to transition to the new school year smoothly. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Odell or Matt McCoart.
Dress Guidelines
Please be sure to consult the Dress Guidelines, on the Resource Board, for information about uniforms. Please note that students may bring a hat/cap of any style or color, to wear at school outside for sun protection.
Parent Resources
Upcoming Events
To help protect the integrity and privacy of virtual events, we have placed all the links to Google Meet virtual events in Husky Hub via the All-School Calendar.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade JK
Thursday, September 9, 9:45-10:15 a.m.
Lower School Picture Day
Friday, September 10
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 3
Friday, September 10, 2-2:30 p.m.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 4
Monday, September 13, 12:30-1 p.m.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 5
Tuesday, September 14, 2-2:30 p.m.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 6
Wednesday, September 15, 2-2:30 p.m.
Health Services
Stay Up To Date: Review This Year’s COVID-19 Protocols and Procedures
The COVID-19 Health Information tile on the Resource Board has been updated to include information on remote learning. Please review it closely to ensure you are familiar with this year’s protocols and procedures.
Flint Hill strongly encourages everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated.
The COVID-19 Case Dashboard has been updated.
Parents' Association
Reunited and It Feels So Good!
It is absolutely wonderful seeing Flint Hill come completely alive with all three divisions in session! I took a trip down memory lane last week. Read more.
Join Us! Parents’ Association Tennis Social
Friday, September 17
Upper School Tennis Courts
8:30 a.m. - noon
The Parents’ Association is excited to welcome families back on campus for a Tennis Social! Whether you are advanced or new to the game, this is a wonderful opportunity to meet other families and enjoy a day of tennis on the beautiful Upper School Tennis Courts. Players of all levels are welcome. New to tennis and want to join the fun? Register for the Skills and Drills Clinic to improve or develop your game, with the help of tennis professionals from the community. The event is free, but we do ask that you register in advance. Masks are encouraged but optional while outdoors on the Middle and Upper School campus.
Visit flinthill.org/tennis-social to register and learn more. Questions? Contact Advancement Officer Olivia Landrum at 703.584.2315.
Upcoming Events
To help protect the integrity and privacy of virtual events, we have placed all the links to Google Meet virtual events in Husky Hub via the All-School Calendar.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade JK
Thursday, September 9, 9:45-10:15 a.m.
Lower School Picture Day
Friday, September 10
Students will wear their school uniforms and we will schedule time for each student to get their picture taken during the day. One image will be used for the yearbook and Husky Hub. As noted in this flyer, families will receive an email from Freed Photography when pictures are available for viewing/purchase.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 3
Friday, September 10, 2-2:30 p.m.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 4
Monday, September 13, 12:30-1 p.m.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 5
Tuesday, September 14, 2-2:30 p.m.
Lower School Ice Cream Social, Grade 6
Wednesday, September 15, 2-2:30 p.m.