Lower School Newsletter - January 27, 2021

NEW AND UPDATED INFORMATION

Update from John Thomas: Planning for 2021-22

Dear Flint Hill Families,

While we are focused on having a strong second semester, we are also turning our attention to planning for the 2021-22 school year. I want to share some of our thinking with you while our plans continue to take shape.

First, I want to thank the many parent volunteers who have referred prospective Huskies to us for next year and have connected virtually with these families in the admission process. We have experienced consistent year-over-year growth in inquiries and applications during the past three years and are again seeing record interest for next year. Still, as we have in 2020-21, for the upcoming school year, we are planning to operate at a “COVID capacity” until the Virginia Department of Health permits otherwise. This means that our planning will continue to be informed by the need to maintain a distance of six feet between students in classroom spaces. 

Our Lower and Middle School facilities and the sizes of those divisions continue to provide the greatest flexibility with capacity restrictions. To support the best learning environment for those young learners, we are currently planning to offer only on-campus learning for students in grades JK-8 in 2021-22. We understand that our Upper School students are eager to be on campus together five days a week and are continuing to monitor guidance from the Virginia Department of Health to make that possible, with our students’ health being the highest priority.

In the meantime, we are still planning to schedule fine arts and athletics activities according to a normal schedule for next year. Expanding the range of opportunities for our student artists and athletes to do what they love is one of our highest priorities for next year, and leadership in both of those departments is working hard to make that possible.

While the timing for a full return to pre-pandemic normalcy is uncertain, we continue to be hopeful and optimistic.

Best wishes to you!

John Thomas
Headmaster

Recording for Last Week’s DEI Coffee

Thank you to all those who attended our Lower School Division Coffee last Thursday. Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion Mia Burton’s presentation focused on the Lower School divisional goal of utilizing best practices to build inclusive and equitable classroom communities. She also highlighted how our ongoing JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, inclusion) professional development enriches student engagement, inquiry, and reflection. If you were unable to attend here is a link to the recording.                                                                                                     

Virtual Fine Arts Coffee

Tuesday, February 9, 9-10 a.m.

Parents are invited to join us for an informative session about our fine arts program. James Venhaus, our new director of fine arts, will share news about our fine arts classes in all three divisions and our spring performances, including Arts Jam.  We will demonstrate how the fine arts faculty and students are providing creative solutions to the challenges that we face due to the pandemic, and we will share some exciting plans for the future. Parents and guardians can access the coffee here.

Dates for Virtual Game Night, Literacy and Engineering Nights

We have been so impressed with the resilience, compassion and perseverance our Lower School students continue to show each day. We have been very closely monitoring their social and emotional well-being, cognizant that life is so different for them right now. While we continue to meet our goal of keeping our students safe in their cohorts, we have continued to look for innovative ways for them to interact socially, and meet and strengthen social relationships with their peers throughout the grade level. We are excited to announce that we are planning a number of virtual Lower School events for the different grade levels over the next few months. Below is a list of the events. More specific details will be shared closer to the events.

• Friday, January 29, 7-8 p.m. — Grade 6 Virtual Game Night
• Friday, February 12, 7-8 p.m. — Grade 5 Virtual Game Night
• Friday, February 26, 7-8 p.m. — Grade 4 Virtual Game Night
• Thursday, March 11, 6-6:30 p.m. — Grades JK-1 Virtual Literacy Night
• Thursday, March 11, 6:45-7:30 p.m. — Grades 2-3 Literacy Night
• Friday, April 9, 6-7 p.m. — Lower School Virtual Engineering Night
• Friday, April 23, 6-7 p.m. — Lower School Virtual Math Night

Making the Learning Visible — Lower School Computer Science

In my video, I shared the learning in computer science across Lower School grade levels. Below are a few photos of students applying their coding skills and a few examples of the code they have written.

Pull-Tab Donation

A fifth grade student is collecting metal pull tabs from cans, for donations to charity. All of the donations will be benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities and their mission. To ensure a contact-free donation, please collect your metal pull tabs at home in a zip lock bag — Monday, January 25 through Monday, February 1. All donations should be dropped off by Door #3 at carpool on Tuesday, February 2.

Updated Protocol for On-Campus Learners’ Temporary Transition to Virtual Learning

Here is updated information for on-campus learners when they have to temporarily transition to virtual learning due to illness.

Valentine’s Day

On Friday, February 12, we will celebrate Valentine's Day. Students may dress in Valentine's Day colors (red, pink or purple) with jeans. They also have the option to wear their school uniform if they prefer. To follow our COVID-19 protocols, students should not bring in cards or candy treats from home.

Creativity Corner

As we make our way through winter, here are this week’s suggestions for fun and creative activities, for families to try at home, from our Department Chair for Innovation Joey Starnes.

Articles

Making Mistakes is Part of Learning

UPDATES AND REMINDERS FROM THE LAST NEWSLETTER

Progress Reports

Progress reports are posted online twice a year at the end of the first and second semester. The first progress reports for this school year were made available online on Tuesday, January 26. Due to COVID-19, and our current model of combining on-campus and virtual learners this semester, the Lower School teachers will write a narrative to the student and there will be no checklists. The narrative allows the teacher to elaborate on a child's performance thus far, which includes areas of growth and goals for future growth and improvement for the next semester. Teachers write their comments directly to the student, supporting our mission statement, "A Flint Hill education focuses on the learner." This also develops our students as self-directed learners, one of the core competencies of the Portrait of the Flint Hill Student.

Instructions for accessing ​Grades JK-​6 progress reports:

1. Log into Husky Hub.
2. Click on your name at the top, right-hand side of the page, and click on “Files & Forms.”
3. Under your child’s name, locate the “Lower School Progress Reports” section, and click on the “20-21 Semester 1 Narrative” report.

Speakers Needed for Upper School Discovery of Engineering Class

Our Upper School Discovery of Engineering elective would like to include members of the Flint Hill community in its roster of guest speakers. If you have a background in engineering (or know someone who does), please reach out to Gary Smilowitz.

Uniform Exchange Reimagined: Let us do the shopping for you! 

Read below for the timeline and helpful hints as we prepare for the spring 2021 Uniform Exchange.

Step 1: Uniform Donations

Uniform clothing donations will only be accepted January 25-January 29.

While additional donation opportunities may be available later in the year, at this time, donations should be dropped off on the Miller House front porch between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., and must adhere to the following guidelines.

• • We are only collecting and redistributing the following uniform items:
    • Flint Hill polo shirts
    • Skirts, shorts, skorts, pants, jumpers
    • Spirit wear

• All items should be washed and sorted to minimize contact when they arrive. For example: pants in one bag, shirts in one bag
• In accordance with CDC clothing donation guidelines, all donations will be quarantined for at least five days.

Step 2: Uniform Shopping

A Google shopping form will be published in the February 10 newsletter and will expire on February 12. Please note, all parents and guardians are welcome to fill out the form; you do not have to donate in order to participate.

Step 3: Uniform Distribution

• Selections are based on the online form and are first come first served.
• Orders will be filled based on availability from items donated. We will try our best to fulfill all orders.
• Adrienne Robinson will send an email confirming the date your shopping order is complete and ready for pick up from the Miller House porch.
• We anticipate orders will be ready for pick up on February 23-February 25.

School Store Update

Parents Council of Washington Event: Speaker Series — Ron Lieber, The Price You Pay for College

The Parents Council of Washington (PCW) invites you to attend its upcoming virtual speaker series event on Wednesday, February 10, at 7 p.m. Ron Lieber, author, journalist, and New York Times’ Your Money columnist will discuss his new book, “The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make.”

All PCW member school parents, administrators, faculty, and staff are invited. Please use this link to register.

The third meeting of the virtual Kaleidoscope Book Club is scheduled for Monday, February 1, 9-9:45 a.m. We will discuss “How to be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. 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. Please submit your name and email address, in this form, to RSVP for the meeting and/or be added to our email list. Please contact All-School Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Miles Henderson if you have any questions.