Lower School Newsletter - March 2, 2022
Message From Division Director
All I can say is, WOW about the Classroom Visits so far. Your smiles, happy tears and enthusiasm made my year! We even had first and third graders who gave their family members tours around the building. The past two years have been challenging on many levels. Most importantly, you continue to trust the Lower School approach without being afforded the opportunity to observe the process of learning that students explore on a daily basis. I’m intentionally shortening my message because the pictures say more about the Classroom Visits than I could ever imagine. As I mentioned to one parent this week, we are not turning the page or starting a new chapter; it’s time to begin a new book of memories and opportunities for you to fully engage with the Lower School faculty, staff and students!
Robyn M. Nichols
Interim Director of the Lower School
The Latest
In-Person Classroom Visits
Each visit will be from 8:15 to 8:45 a.m. with connection and reflection with Robyn and Megan from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m. in the Olson Theater.
Thursday, March 3 — Grade 6
Monday, March 7 – 5B (Lori Emerick’s class)
March Reading Madness Challenge
Lower School Huskies are invited to participate in the Annual March Reading Madness Challenge. In an effort to encourage our students to be voracious readers throughout the month of March, Mrs. Plaut is challenging the Lower School to reach a goal to read 2,000 books by March 31. Each student will be given a tally chart to track their progress and a basketball bookmark during library class to kick off the challenge this week. As a class, homerooms will monitor their progress before and after spring break. Sixth-grade student leaders will collect and tabulate the data from each homeroom to present the grand total. Let’s get busy reading!
Stay In the Know! Link the All-School Calendar to Your Calendar
Did you know that you can have the electronic All-School Calendar feed directly into your iCal or Google calendars? As we head into a busy time in the school year, with many events on both campuses, linking the All-School Calendar to your calendar can be a great way to stay in the know.
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.
Find additional written directions here and video directions here. You can also add your student’s calendar and the athletics calendar.
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.
Kaleidoscope Book Club
The next meeting of the Kaleidoscope Book Club is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the Peterson Middle School Conference Room. We will discuss “The Map of Salt and Stars'' by Zeyn Joukhdar. We look forward to building and deepening relationships through this shared learning opportunity. All parents are welcome to attend regardless of your familiarity with the book selection. Contact All-School Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Miles Henderson if you have any questions.
Grade 5 Ode Share, March 10 at 10 a.m in the Olson Theater
Grade 5 students are writing odes, which are poems that are inspired by and written to objects for which they have strong, positive feelings. Once written, our students will work with Director of Fine Arts James Venhaus to learn techniques in memorization so that they can perform each others’ odes for an authentic audience.
Parent Toolkit Resource Board Tile
The Parent Toolkit tile on the Husky Hub Resource Board is available. It is a resource with valuable information to help Flint Hill parents throughout the rest of the school year.
FRIENDly REMINDERS
- Use this form to request additional RFID tags for carpool.
- Refer a Husky and the Admission team will reach out to them.
MAKING THE LEARNING VISIBLE
During Writing Workshop, students revisited the question, “Why Do Writers Write?” First graders excitedly generated a list of reasons why writers write. They expressed that writers write to entertain, inform/teach/give information, share something they enjoy or that happened in their lives, practice writing skills, help people prepare for a job or career, make money and inspire kids to read.
Next, they answered the question, “What Do Writers Write?” They generated a large list, including magazines, fiction books, chapter books, nonfiction/real facts, dictionaries, picture books, speech bubbles, recipes, notes, menus, lists, schedules, calendars, emails, text messages, tweets, cards and letters.
The last item on the anchor chart was cards and letters. This created an opportunity for students to think about how they feel when they receive a letter or card. They wanted to share this feeling with others. 1B made a list of people to whom they could send cards and letters. They listed many potential recipients such as families having a new baby, senior citizens, people recovering from illnesses, or community helpers like firefighters, police, trash/recycling collectors, doctors, teachers or people in the military.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, 1B had a lot of love to share. They decided to make valentines for members of the military. The children were able to make a real-world connection more personal when we reached out to a family member in our class who is currently deployed. The valentines were sent to the Wardroom on USS Gravely (DDG 107), a destroyer forward deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. While on deployment USS Gravely is working to strengthen NATO alliances and partnerships in the region through various exercises and operations. Without question, Mail Call on deployment, but especially while at sea, is one of the most anticipated events as it provides an opportunity for a sailor to get packages and read handwritten letters from family and friends back home.
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.
Grade 6 In-Person Classroom Visits
Thursday, March 3, 8:15-9:15 a.m.
Kaleidoscope Book Club
Tuesday, March 8, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Peterson Middle School Conference Room
Grade 5 Ode Share
Thursday, March 10, 10-11 a.m.
Grade 4 Virtual Game Night
Thursday, March 10, 7-8 p.m.
Grades JK-6 Student-Involved/Student-Led Conferences — No Classes
Friday, March 11
Spring Break
March 12-27
Classes Resume
Monday, March 28
MASK UPDATE
Masks Optional Starting March 28
Masks are currently optional outdoors on both campuses. Effective Monday, March 28, the day we return from Spring Break, masks will be optional for students and visitors, indoors and outdoors. Currently, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Permanent COVID-19 Standard requires employers to mandate masks for employees. It is anticipated this may change or may not become applicable to independent schools within the coming weeks. When it does, masks will also become optional for employees indoors.
NEW: The federal mandate for wearing a mask on school buses changed. Effective March 28, wearing a mask on buses for school-related activities will be optional.
Health Services
Helpful Links
Flint Hill Positive Case and Close Contact Exposure Protocols
COVID-19 Vaccination Status Dashboard
All of these links can be found on the COVID-19 Health Information tile on the Resource Board.
Reminder: Keep Everyone Healthy by Staying Home if Sick
If your student has fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea you should keep them home to recover. They must be symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to school.
Parents' Association
The Flint Hill Golf Invitational and Skills Clinic Is Back!
The Flint Hill Golf Invitational and Skills Clinic is back! We can’t wait to spend a day on the course with fellow Huskies, parents and alumni — on May 26 at the Westfields Golf Club. This casual golf scramble brings together our community like no other, and all levels of golf ability are welcome. Registration and sponsorships are now open, so start creating your foursome or sign up on your own to make new connections! Not ready for a full 18? Play in the skills clinic or volunteer throughout the day. Visit flinthill.org/golf to register, sponsor, volunteer or learn more!
Volunteer at the Igloo Snack Bar!
In order to keep the Igloo open, parent volunteers are critical. Sign up for a morning or afternoon shift here.
Opportunity
I describe Flint Hill as an opportunity. An opportunity for us as parents and for our children as students. This week is full of opportunities for me. The opportunity for me to be present.
NEWS ON THE HILL
