Dear Parents and Students,
The month of May promises to be a very busy month at Sycolin
Creek Elementary School. It’s hard to believe we are in the last
quarter of the school year!
First, during the week of May 6th we will celebrate Teacher
Appreciation Week. This is a great time to send your child’s
teacher(s) a note or kind words to show them how much you
appreciate their hard work and dedication to our students.
Additionally, our kindergarten students will be performing their
musical on Friday, May 17th! It promises to be an exciting event.
Next, for many of our students in grades 3 through 5, the months
of May and June will be focused on the successful completion of
various Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments.
Please make every effort to ensure that our students arrive to
school well rested and on time each morning. Also, please
consult with your child’s teacher about any questions related to
the SOL test schedule.
Last, as the school year nears its close and the spring weather
brings with it many exciting extracurricular activities, I look
forward to your continued support to make the fourth quarter
productive for our students. While our staff will be sensitive to
the many commitments that students will be taking advantage of
during this time of the year, please make sure that your child is
completing the assignments that are sent home as they are
necessary to reinforce classroom instruction. Further, please
consistently check your child’s homework assignments so that
he/she is prepared for school each day.
As always, thank you for all that you do in partnership with us to
provide a meaningful and high quality educational experience for
your child.
Sincerely,
Derek Racino
Principal
Vol. 12 No. 9
May/June 2019
Upcoming EventsMay 2019
1 – 5th Grade Panoramic Picture, 12:00 pm
1 – Spring Chorus Concert, 8:30 am & 6:30 pm
2 – 5th Grade Orientation to Middle School, 9:00 am
3 – 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Zoo
4 – All County Chorus at PVHS, 1:30 pm
5/6-5/10 – Teacher Appreciation Week
7 – PTA Staff Luncheon
8 – National School Nurse’s Day
9 – PTA Staff Breakfast
10 – 1st Grade Field Trip to DC
11 – Spring Carnival, 11:00 am
12 – Mother’s Day
13 – SOL Testing Begins
13 – Interims Distributed
13 – Safety Patrol Training (4th Grade), 2:45 pm
14 – PTA Meeting, 7:00 pm
17 – Kindergarten Patriotic Program, 10:00 am
19 – Frederick Keys Game, 6:00 pm
20 – 5th Grade Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm
22 – SCA Meeting, 2:00 pm
27 – Memorial Day Holiday
31 – Ice Cream Social for Safety Patrol
June 2019
3 – Field Day for Grades K-5
5 – PTA Meeting, 7:00 pm
6 – 5th Grade Transition Ceremony, 9:00 am
6 – 5th Grade Farewell, 11:30 am
6 – Kindergarten Parties, 1:00 pm
7 – Last Day Dance
7 – Last Day of School
11 – Election Site – Gymnasium
14 – Report Cards Available in ParentVue
See On-Line Calendar for Additional
Activity Dates and Times
If due to a disability, you need assistance to enable you to participate meaningfully in any activity at
Sycolin Creek Elementary, please contact Derek Racino at 571-252-2910,
at least five working days prior to the event.
Principal’s Corner
THE21100 Evergreen Mills Road
Leesburg, Virginia 20175
571.252.2910
Home of the
Salamanders
Art Stars for the Month of April
April has been filled with clay. Many of your
students have started to bring home projects. They
have worked very hard on them and I know they are
proud of their work.
May will be a month for weaving. Fifth graders will
start to create baskets using real reeds that have
been soaked to improve flexibility. This is the first
time they will be weaving in three dimensions.
Second through fourth will be weaving with yarn. If
you have any yarn at home that you would like to
donate, we will happily accept it. Kindergarten and
first grade will begin understanding the weaving
process through the use of paper.
Art Stars for April are:
Kindergarten – Mrs. Palovchik
1st grade – Mrs. Albecker
2nd grade – Ms. Kulak
3rd grade – Mr. Chianese
4th grade – Mrs. Fuhrman
5th grade – Mrs. Trainor
Happy Spring
Dr. Bennett & Mrs. Mineo
Thank you to all of the parents that were able to join us for
the Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast! We want you to
know how much we truly appreciate all the volunteer work
that you do at Sycolin Creek. We would not be the great
school that we are without our wonderful parent
community. The countless hours that you volunteer make
a difference for all of our children.
MSAAC Committee Information
MSAAC, The Minority Student Achievement Advisory
Committee, works in partnership with Loudoun County
Public Schools staff, parents and community to further
academic, social and cultural development of every
student and to ensure that the needs of all minority
students are met. The group meets at the LCPS Admin.
Building on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00
p.m. All meetings are open to the public. The upcoming
agenda and the minutes of previous meetings are posted
on the school system website at www.lcps.org under the
“School Board” button and “Committees” selection option.
Standards of Learning (SOL) Testing
Schedule
Our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders will be participating in the 2019
Standards of Learning Assessment Program from May 13th
through May 29th. Please see the attached calendar for
more specific SOL times by class.
Sports Shorts!! P.E. Highlights
PE Star Salamanders for the month of April:
5th grade – Alana Woehr & Landon McGinn
4th grade – Whitney Luxton & Ethan Strasburg
3rd grade – Rowan Hogye & Axton Scott
2nd grade – Lotus Mills & Brady Espiritu
1st grade – Leah Chau & Levi Citron
Kindergarten – Delilah Mangilit & DeMarquez
Corley
PE Star Classes are Mrs. Trainor and Mrs.
Nacin’s 5th grade classes.
Volunteer Breakfast
Health Clinic Reminders
1. Please make sure to pickup all medication from the
clinic prior to the conclusion of the last day of school.
Virginia State Law requires that schools destroy any
leftover medication after the students leave for the
year. The new order forms/action plan for the 2019-
20 school year can be accessed through LCPS
website.
2. Tdap Reminder – All rising 6th graders will be required
to have their Tdap vaccine before they begin middle
school in the fall. Parents are encouraged to speak
with their primary care physician about any specific
questions and/or concerns that you may have
regarding the vaccine.
Music News
Congratulations to the First Grade students! They did a great job performing and creating songs, instruments, and
poems for their show, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle! Also a big shout out for our new Instrument Ensemble, which
had its premier performance at the Volunteer Breakfast. Kindergarten has begun to prepare for their patriotic
program which will be on May 17th. First graders will be studying Peter and the Wolf and singing patriotic songs
this month. Second Grade students will be introduced to treble clef pitches on the music staff and studying
Carnival of the Animals. Third grade students have been learning the names of the notes on the treble clef staff
and now they will begin writing their own composition. Fourth and fifth grade students are going to begin using
ukuleles in class this month.
We hope you will be able to join us for the Frederick Keys Baseball Game on May 19th! The Sycolin Creek
Singers will sing the National Anthem that day.
Our Rock Star Music Classes for April are:
Kindergarten – Mrs. Morris; 1st Grade – All First Grade Classes; 2nd Grade – Ms. Kulak; 3rd Grade – Mrs.
Henretty; 4th Grade – Mrs. Fuhrman; 5th Grade – Mrs. Bigney
POP OPEN A GOOD BOOK!Avoid the summer reading slide by participating in Sycolin Creek’s summer reading incentive
program, “Pop Open a Good Book”. Watch for the information packet to come home during the last
week of May. Return the summer reading logs by August 29th, to be included in the special prize
drawings and celebration! Pop open a book and read this summer!
Looking for some fun reading ideas for over the summer! Check out Reading Rockets summer
reading ideas at http://www.readingrockets.org/calendar/summer.
Cafeteria Update – Field Day
Our school Field Day will take place on Monday, June 3rd. During Field Day, the cafeteria will serve the following
menu:
Hot dog on bun or Sunbutter and jelly sandwich
Baby carrots
Sliced apples
Juice carton
Milk
Water
A letter will be sent home on Friday, May 3rd asking you to mark what your child will be doing for lunch on Field
Day. Thank you!
News from SEARCH
During the month of May, Kindergarten will be finishing their creativity lesson on transforming a craft stick into
something new. We will be turning their ideas into class videos, so check out the SEARCH web site soon for the
final products! In 1st grade, students will be using their Perceiving and Connecting keys to solve Izzi puzzles.
Second graders will use visual perception and spatial reasoning to solve Kanoodle puzzles. Third and Fourth grade
students will be challenged to build a structure using Keva Planks by only looking at the front, side, and top
perspectives of the structure.
TEST TAKING TIPS
Our students will be taking many tests over the next several weeks. Here are some tried-and-true tips to help get
your child ready for these tests.
1. Have a Positive Attitude - Approach the big test as you'd approach a giant jigsaw puzzle. It might be tough, but
you can do it! A positive attitude goes a long way toward success.
2. Get your Sleep! - Make sure you get a good night's sleep before a test. Really! This can make a big difference!
3. Eat a Good Breakfast - Make sure you eat properly the day of a test.
4. Have the Tools You Need - Take your pencils, erasers, bottle of water….whatever your teacher has told you to
have. In fact, why not take a couple of extras? Be prepared!
5. Be On Time - Tests days are days when you especially want to be on time for school. Even get there a little early
if you can. There’s nothing that can get you flustered more than running late.
6. Listen and Read - Remember to listen carefully to the instructions from the teacher and to read the directions and
each question carefully.
7. Don’t Get Stuck - If you get stuck on a question, just make your best guess and move on. Don’t spend too much
time on any one question. Try to finish as many questions as you can and try not to leave any answers blank.
8. Use the Process of Elimination - The process of elimination can help you choose the correct answer in a multiple-
choice question. Start by mentally crossing off the answers that couldn't be right and then decide which of the
remaining choices is probably right.
9. Double-Check - If you finish before time is up, go back to make sure you didn’t leave anything out. Was something
particularly hard for you? Go back and look at that problem again more carefully this time. Even if other people finish
early, you should use all the time you are allowed to work on your test.
10. Relax! - If you did the best you could, then relax and go enjoy the rest of the day!
Parent Survey Results – Highlights of Parent Comments
• Communication - from the Administration to the Licensed staff, parents receive feedback regularly and they are
very quick to respond with questions. The front-office staff is amazing as well!
• Communication, as well as the atmosphere is welcoming and my kids love being there.
• Create enthusiasm for reading, provide special education help for students with special needs.
• Creating a welcome atmosphere for parents and families. Providing communication about the expectations of
the children’s learning as well as any follow up.
• Everything - we LOVE this school. Special Shout out to Mrs. Hermens - she is a treasure. My child’s attitude
towards school and learning has done a complete 180 and he is engaged, working hard to improve and that is all
due to Mrs. Hermens and Sycolin for support of her. Thank you!
• Everything! The school is amazing at communication, celebrating diversity and making everyone feel welcome!
Academics are well outlined and taught. We are very happy with our teachers and school!
• Exceptional teachers, administrators and learning environment!
• Great teachers and great administration!
• Listening to concerns and taking care of them immediately.
• Makes every single child feel cared for and important.
• My child has a teacher that cares about her emotional health and academic progress. She is proactive and
responsive. She takes time to work with my child.
• Our school has created a very strong community among students, teachers/ admins, and parents. Lots of
opportunity for involvement. Parents feel welcome.
• Positive environment. Love the patriotism. Love the school spirit! I've been blessed with great teachers who
love what they do and genuinely care about the kids success and well being.
• Sycolin Creek does a wonderful job of creating a fun, open, inclusive atmosphere. I love that there are many
family activities to do throughout the year, and that the principal sends out a notice every week with highlights.
• Sycolin is very welcoming and provides an environment for its students to thrive through high expectations,
support, and fun.
• The administration works well with the teachers and parents. My son feels very supported.
• The principal is an excellent communicator with weekly updates. We always know what is going on. The PTA
provides SO many fun and exciting events for the students. It's a very positive and welcoming environment. We
absolutely love this school!
• The school does a great job communicating with parents and keeping everyone notified (and reminded) of
events and things going on at the school. The principal is typically visible and actively engaged with parents or
students.
• The staff at Sycolin Creek is wonderful. Everyone we have encountered from the janitorial staff through the front
office, is friendly, helpful and welcoming. It makes for a wonderful learning environment.
• There is good communication with parents, opportunities for parent involvement, the kids are well engaged and
learning a lot. We've been very happy with Sycolin Creek.
• They are a true community with the best teachers and principals. I am so thankful and lucky that the rezoning
brought us to Sycolin Creek.
• They communicate well with the parents. I've been very impressed with their creativity in teaching children
through multiple learning methods. My daughter loves going to school and is learning quickly.
• This is our first year at Sycolin Creek ES and overall we have been very impressed with the quality of the
curriculum and teachers. The school is very communicative with parents via email, apps, and the website and
we always feel well-informed regarding school activities and changes. The entire staff, from the Principal down
to the teachers, have been kind, responsive, and attentive to our children's needs.