Sycolin Creek Chronicle

Dear Sycolin Creek Families,

On August 22nd, Sycolin Creek experienced a wonderful opening to the 2024-2025 school year! Eager students arrived to school and went directly to their classrooms where they were greeted by teachers, who were ready to begin an exciting day of new beginnings. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped with the many important details that facilitated such a smooth opening. As always, your hard work, dedication, and support are invaluable to our success as a school community.

This year, we will continue to implement our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Program. At Sycolin Creek, students and staff will focus on Respecting Yourself, Respecting Others, and Respecting Property. In addition, students in kindergarten through 5th grade will continue to participate in our Social Emotional Learning Initiative (Second Step). Second Step is a program rooted in social-emotional learning (SEL) that helps transform schools into supportive, successful learning environments uniquely equipped to encourage children to thrive. More than just a classroom curriculum, Second Step’s holistic approach helps create a more empathetic society by providing education professionals, families, and the larger community with tools to enable them to take an active role in the social-emotional growth and safety of today’s children.

In the very near future, October will be upon us and many exciting activities will take place at Sycolin Creek. We will be hosting another Color Day, Fall Parties, DARE classes for 5th grade, and a Fun Run. After school activities (ASA) will begin on Monday, October 7th.

For the most up-to-date information about school events, please be sure to check the Parent Calendar, which can be found on our webpage.

With best wishes for a productive school year,

Derek Racino, Principal

Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. Children who do not regularly attend school lose fundamental reading and math skills and the chance to build good attendance habits that will carry them through college and careers. Research has shown that students who were chronically absent beginning in kindergarten and as early as pre kindergarten were far less likely to read proficiently by the end of third grade. Read more from the U.S. Department of Education. Read more from the U.S. Department of Education.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of the academic year for any reason, including excused absences, unexcused absences, and suspensions. Students who are chronically absent have a higher risk for lower test scores, dropping out of school, and being retained in later grades. Read more from the Virginia Department of Education and AttendanceWorks.

Attendance Plan - If a student accrues five or more unexcused absences during the school year, staff will reach out to create an attendance plan.

Attendance Conference - If a student accrues ten unexcused absences during the school year, staff will be in touch to request a conference.

Elementary School:

Consistent attendance is crucial to your child's academic success and development starting from preschool. Missing 10% of school (equating to one or two days every few weeks) which can hinder progress in several areas, including:

- Acquiring foundational reading and math skills.

- Forming positive relationships with peers and educators.

- Establishing good attendance habits.

Participating in high-quality preschool and kindergarten offers numerous advantages. The routines your child establishes now will support their educational journey throughout their schooling. We encourage you to reinforce the importance of daily attendance to help your child maximize their learning experience in these formative years.

LCPS has provided staff members with a professional e-mail address to support their responsibilities as employees. The following are guidelines for the effective use of e-mail in an educational setting.

E-mail may be used as clarification of assignments, due date questions, requests for phone calls, thank you notes, etc.

E-mail may not be used for discussions, discipline issues, confidential student information (please schedule a conference for this purpose), and anything of a time-sensitive nature such as change in dismissal plan, etc.

Please allow school personnel a full business day (24 hours) to reply to your e-mails. Thank you for your help in making sure these guidelines are followed.

If you, or someone you know, are in need of resources such as food, clothing, or other basic needs, please contact Kristen Armitage or check out our Family Liaison Resource Page. This page can be found on our school website under Sycolin Creek/Resources/Parents. Mrs. Armitage can be reached at: Kristen.Armitage@lcps.org or 571-252-2910.

The Fueled Backpack Buddies program has begun. Fueled Backpack Buddies packs small bags of 4-5 food items to assist with weekend food needs. The bags are sent home on Fridays via the student backpacks. If you would like food assistance for the weekends and want to receive these weekly food bags, please contact our Family Liaison, Kristen Armitage, at Kristen.Armitage@lcps.org or 571-252-2910.

For any other Family Liaison needs, please contact Kristen Armitage at Kristen.Armitage@lcps.org or 571-252-2910.

Has a month gone by already? Wow that went fast!

We are in the final stages of completing our projects for Original Works. Once the projects are completed in the art room, the PTA coordinator will assume responsibility for any inquiries related to ordering and delivery dates. Additional information will be sent home during October.

As Veterans Day approaches, our fifth graders will begin creating artwork for the calendars we distribute to members and former members of the armed forces. Fifth graders interested in having their designs considered for the calendars must submit their work by October 11, 2024. Further details regarding this project will be available on the fifth graders' Art Schoology page shortly. While the artwork will be initiated in the art room, students will complete it independently.

Art Stars for the Month

Kindergarten - Mrs. Hose’s class

First Grade - Mrs. Diehl’s class

Second Grade - Ms. Kulak’s class

Third Grade - Mrs. Anderson’s class

Fourth Grade - Mrs. Hermens' class

Fifth Grade - Mrs. Wong’s class

Stay Art Smart,

Dr. Bennett

Mrs. Cassada has had a wonderful time connecting with everyone in Music Class! It’s been such a joy to play instruments, sing, and have fun with games together. Don’t forget to check the students’ Music Schoology page regularly for more activities and updates about what’s happening in our music world.

This October, we’ll keep diving into reading rhythms, and we’re starting to prepare some special songs for Veterans Day! We’re thrilled that the Sycolin Creek Singers and Sycolin’s Got Beat kicked off at the end of September, and we can’t wait to make some amazing music with these talented groups.

Mark your calendars for Veterans Day on Nov. 11th at 8:30 AM—we'd love your support! We’re asking students and families to bring in pictures of their veterans, artwork, and Lego sculptures. Students can even submit videos of themselves reading cards, letters, and poems to express their gratitude to our veterans. We also need parental assistance to help decorate the halls with all this beautiful artwork, support the Veterans Day PTA Reception, and welcome our veterans as they arrive. Stay tuned for more information coming your way soon!

Our Rock Star Classes of the Month are:

Kindergarten – Mrs. Hose; First Grade – Ms. Bowns; Second Grade – Mrs. Brosan; Third Grade – Mrs. Henretty; Fourth Grade – Mrs. Forrester; Fifth Grade – Mrs. Comins

Congratulations to our Rock Stars!

Congratulations to the PE Star Salamanders for the Month of September 2024

5th Grade - Raya Kewan and Harthik Vatam

4th Grade - Aadya Arora and Parth Sharma

3rd Grade - Nora Morris and Reyansh Mittal

2nd Grade - Piper Morris and Max Zaher

1st Grade - Jamie Joachim and Maddox Pelikan

Kindergarten - Casey Crouse and Logan Winstead

The Star Salamander Classes for the month of September are Mrs. Duis's 3rd grade class, and Ms. Bowman's 5th grade class.

In October, Kindergarten students will learn about attributes with a lesson on pumpkin faces. First grade students will use their creativity skills to turn a white square into something new and unique. Second grade students will use their creativity to brainstorm ideas based on the book, "Animals Should Not Wear Clothing". In another lesson, students will use their quantitative skills as they use Venn diagrams to solve math problems. Third grade students will learn how to complete a logic matrix and use their visual-spatial thinking to complete tangram puzzles.

Thank you to all the families and staff that supported our fall Book Fair. A special thank goes out to our amazing volunteers. We could not have done it without you all.

Lucy Jordan

Karen Jones

Michael Collins

Anna Joachim

Katie Kramer

Betsy Tew

Mariyam Khan

Skevi Xenophon

If your child will be absent/tardy due to illness/appointment or other circumstances, please call our absentee call in line at 571-252-2911 or visit our Sycolin Creek website at https://www.lcps.org/sycolincreek and complete the new online absence form. Families are now able to submit absences via ParentVUE. Should you need to speak to someone in the school office, please call 571-252-2910.

Email: derek.racino@lcps.org
Website: lcps.org/sycolincreek
Location: 21101 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg, VA, USA
Phone: 571-252-2910
Twitter: @Sycolin_Creek