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Dear Freedom Hill Families,
We want to share our heartfelt thanks to our entire community for a wonderful first quarter of the 2025-26 school year! Culminating it with our Hallowingo event and Harvest Spirit Week were the perfect ways to celebrate our students while continuing to support our high standards and expectations. We could not do this positive work without our community. Thank you for being a partner!
And speaking of partnership, we appreciate the strong family engagement during fall conferences. It’s been wonderful to see so many parents connecting with teachers to discuss student progress and celebrate learning. Your partnership is essential in helping every Eagle soar this year!
A quick reminder that schools will be closed on Monday, November 3rd, and Tuesday, November 4th. During this time, teachers will be completing first quarter grading/report cards, continuing to conference with parents, and planning engaging instruction for the 2nd quarter. We look forward to seeing all of our Eagles back, recharged and ready to go, on Wednesday, November 5th!
Wishing you a wonderful week, and don't forget to turn back your clocks and vote, if eligible, in Tuesday's election!
Nicholas Zapadka, Principal
Tim Scesney, Assistant Principal
Holly Sims, Assistant Principal
2025-26 FCPS School Calendar
Freedom Hill Family Resources
Breakfast/Lunch Menus
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November 3/4 - No School, Q1 Conferences & Staff Development
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November 5 - Full-Time AAP Parent Meeting, 6PM
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November 6 - 14 - Fall Book Fair
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November 10 - Veterans Day Breakfast
- November 11 - No School, Veterans Day
- November 12 - Early Release Wednesday at 1:05
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November 12 - Grades 4-6 FLE Info Night, 6:00PM, Link
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November 20 - Save the Date! Thanksgiving Luncheon
Please join us in welcoming our new Family Liaison to Freedom Hill - Ms. Maribel (Mari) Gonzalez! Ms. Gonzalez will serve as a vital support to our families and teachers. She joins us after serving in a variety of school roles, most recently working in the FCPS School Board office.
Please contact her in our front office. She is eager to meet and support you!
Please join us in celebrating our staff!
- Julia Shin, our School Psychologist, was recently named Graduate Student of the Year by the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists. We are so lucky to benefit from her expertise!
- Katherine Trott, our School Librarian, recently completed the Marine Corps full marathon! Now she embarks on the marathon that is the fall book fair...
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This week, we are focusing on Bravery. You act with mental, moral, or physical strength even when you know things are difficult or scary.
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“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”
~Mary Anne Radmacher
Questions you might enjoy talking about:
- What are some situations that may call for bravery?
- What are the differences between moral, mental, and physical bravery?
- Why is it sometimes difficult to be brave?
FCPS is asking all families to fill out a Federal Impact Aid Survey. The form is available in SIS ParentVUE under Online Packets, which is in the upper right corner of the screen after logging in. Please complete it as soon as possible. We will provide paper forms to families who have not completed the survey in ParentVUE starting Wednesday, November 12th.
Completing this form for each school-aged child in every household is important. This year, FCPS expects to receive approximately $4 million in Impact Aid funding. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers.
For more information, visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page.
Mrs. Turner enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard in January 2001 and joined the Army ROTC program at the University of Toledo. She served as a Simultaneous Member Program Cadet with a local Military Police Unit while completing college coursework and ROTC commitments. During this time, Mrs. Turner served her unit by training other young soldiers and preparing them to head for basic training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training). She attended training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Fort Lewis, Washington.
Upon graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2004, Mrs. Turner earned her commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. She also married Mr. Turner, an Active Duty Infantry Officer who received orders to Fort Lewis, Washington. She moved to Washington State with him and joined a Military Intelligence Battalion and served in the Washington Army National Guard. She trained at Fort Huachuca, Arizona to become an Intelligence Officer. It was here that she completed her student teaching as well, and then had her first teaching job as a first grade teacher.
When Mr. Turner returned to the U.S. after his first deployment to Iraq, they received orders to Ft. Benning, Georgia. Mrs. Turner transferred National Guard Units again and served in an Infantry Battalion as an Intelligence Officer for the Georgia Army National Guard. She directed a childcare facility as her civilian job at this time. Mr. Turner deployed to Iraq a couple more times with the Ranger Battalion. They also welcomed their first child. Upon returning from one of these deployments, Mr. Turner was given orders to report to Vicenza, Italy to serve as a Company Commander for the 173rd Airborne Battalion.
Mrs. Turner transferred from the Army National Guard to the Army Reserves where she could continue serving as a Military Intelligence Officer at a detachment in Italy. It was during this time that she was promoted to Captain. On the civilian side, she also ran one of the Army base’s Child Development Centers.
When Mr. Turner returned from another deployment, this time to Afghanistan, they were given orders back to Ft. Benning, Georgia. It was when they returned stateside that Mrs. Turner decided it was time to “hang up her boots” after 11 years of service. She has enjoyed continuing to support the military as an active duty spouse and family advocate. She has also continued working in the field of education and thoroughly enjoys teaching fifth grade at Freedom Hill Elementary School.
At Freedom Hill we work hard to teach students universal behavior strategies that equip students for a lifetime of success. An area of focus is teaching kids how to regulate their emotions. Our guidance counselors have begun teaching The Zones of Regulation to all student grades K-6. The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum to support your learner’s social and emotional development and regulation skills. The Zones of Regulation provides a simple way for learners (and the adults who support them) to understand, communicate around, and care for their feelings. Please ask your student(s) about the four Zones of Regulation.
Supporting Your Child with Dyslexia Webinar Recording is Now Available (I): The recordings of the webinar “Supporting Your Child with Dyslexia” that was held October 15th in collaboration with the FCPS Family Academy are now available on YouTube. You can access the recordings here: English Version; Arabic Version; Spanish Version; Turkish Version; Vietnamese Version
The Freedom Hill ES Family Life Education (FLE) Parent Preview Night will be held virtually on Wednesday, November 12th at 6:00 p.m. Staff will be present to go over the curriculum materials and answer any questions that you may have.
There are two units of instruction that are designated as Family Life Education: Emotional and Social Health and Human Growth and Development. Emotional and Social Health lessons are delivered throughout the school year. Human Growth and Development lessons are scheduled for fourth grade on December 19, fifth grade from December 12-18, and sixth grade during the week of December 15-19.
FLE teaching materials including lessons and media titles that FCPS has streaming rights for are available through ParentVue. FLE information is also available in the Freedom Hill All Parents/Guardians Schoology course, in the Blue FLE Content For Parents folder, including opt out forms. To opt your child(ren) out of one or more lessons, paper forms will be sent home in Wednesday Folders. If you feel you did not receive a form, please contact your classroom teacher, Holly Sims, hasims@fcps.edu, or Ian Dowling, itdowling@fcps.edu.
Additional information is available through FCPS at https://www.fcps.edu/academics/curriculum/subject-area/family-life-education-fle
FLE Parent Preview Night Meeting Link: https://myfcpsk12.zoom.us/j/94996929737
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