Sycolin Creek Chronicle
January Edition
Principal's Corner
Dear Parents and Students,
On behalf of the faculty and staff at Sycolin Creek, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest wishes for a very happy and healthy holiday season. I trust that you will be able to enjoy some time to rest and relax with friends and family.
It’s hard to believe that when school resumes on January 2nd we will be a few short weeks away from the mid-point of the school year! The new year is likely to bring us wintry weather conditions, which might result in school closings and/or delays. Please refer to the school closing and early dismissal information that was sent home earlier in the school year, which includes ensuring that your child’s teacher has your most recent and accurate emergency dismissal information. As always, the most up-to-date information about the impact of inclement weather conditions on the school schedule can be accessed on the Loudoun County Public School website—www.lcps.org.
Our wonderfully supportive PTA is also deserving of a special Thank You for sponsoring the cookie exchange for our school staff members! There are a lot of amazing bakers at Sycolin Creek and we will certainly enjoy these holiday treats!
As always, I encourage you to please continue to refer to the county website, our school website, https://www.lcps.org/sycolincreek, and our Twitter page for additional information. For your convenience, helpful links and resources are posted on these pages.
In closing, I want to reiterate our gratitude for your continued support and wish you and your family good health and good spirits throughout the holiday season. I feel confident that when we all return together, it will be with a continued sense of belonging, as I believe that our community truly helps make Sycolin Creek Elementary School such a special place.
Sincerely,
Derek Racino, Principal
Music Notes
In December, fifth graders worked on recorder songs, while third and fourth grade focused on syncopated rhythms and singing. First and second graders also worked on rhythms and singing. All students experienced the music of Peter Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington, as well as, participated in the Holiday Sing-a-long. We also had a special treat when the Simpson and Loudoun County choirs came and performed for the school.
In January, all students will begin by singing a school-wide song focusing on a variety of musical objectives by grade-level. Fourth grade will be preparing to play their recorders while fifth grade will continue practicing. Fifth grade All-County Chorus auditions will be held very soon after we return from break. Look for that paperwork the first week of January.
Our Rock Star Music Classes for December are:
Kindergarten – Ms. Hutchings; 1st Grade – Mrs. Diehl; 2nd Grade – Ms. Kulak; 3rd Grade – Mrs. Henretty; 4th Grade – Ms. Bowman; 5th Grade – Mrs. Wong
Congratulations to these classes for showing Rock Star behavior in the month of December!
Art News
I hope everyone has enjoyed their break. We are going to dive back into making some three dimensional art starting in January. Any donations of paper tubes, yarn, buttons, beads, miscellaneous fabric and sewing scraps are welcome. Thank you!
Art Stars for the Month of December are:
Kindergarten - Ms. Hutching’s class
1st Grade - Mrs. Stallings' class
2nd Grade - Mrs. Reynolds' class
3rd Grade - Mrs. Henretty’s class
4th Grade - Mrs. Forrester’s class
5th Grade - Mrs. Comins' class
Dr. Bennett
Star Salamander Students for the month of December in P.E.
Congratulations to the PE Star Salamanders for the month of December 2023
5th Grade - Faith Mason & Liam Kamin
4th Grade - Ahlora Lin & Brantley Nelson
3rd Grade - Sophia Douroupis & Alexander Zaher
2nd Grade - Silas Singh & Josephine Norris
1st Grade - Kayleigh Brener & Paxton Mlotkowski
Kindergarten - Avery Harvey & Aiden Cerna Torres
PE Star Classes for the month of December are Mrs. Comins' 5th grade class and Ms. Kulak's 2nd grade class.
SHINE Award
LCPS has published their Employee Recognition Awards and parents/guardians can nominate. One of the simplest recognitions is new this year and is the SHINE Award. There is a simple nomination form you can fill out here: https://www.lcps.org/domain/35442 I encourage all of our parents to take a few minutes to recognize our amazing staff - anyone who has gone above and beyond in a situation, anyone who is helping or positively influencing your child, someone doing something creative or unique in our school, etc. One SHINE submission each month will be selected for a $500 prize too!
Health Clinic Reminders
- Students who have fevers should be kept at home until free of fever without the use of fever reducing medication for 24 hours, if the symptoms can be contributed to an illness other than COVID. Students who do not feel well should stay home. When students come to school ill, they not only struggle to fully participate in class, but they may also infect other students with their illness. Please help us by keeping your student home so that we can all stay safe and healthy.
- A parent or guardian must deliver any medication (prescription or non-prescription) to the school office or clinic. Students may not transport any medication to or from school.
- Any prescription medication must have an order signed by a physician. Any over the counter medications can be filled out by a parent/guardian. All prescription medications must be in the original package with RX label.
- The Authorization for Medication Administration form, Allergy action plan, Seizure action plan, and Asthma action plan should be used for physician’s orders. Copies of this form as well as other medical forms are available in the school office or at the LCPS website under Student Health Services.
Family Liaison Updates
SCES families,
We are so incredibly grateful for our amazing SCES community coming together for those less fortunate during the holiday season. Your generosity warms the heart and reminds us how fulfilling the season of giving can be.
Thank you to everyone that contributed to our Lend-a-Hand Team efforts within the school and to others within the community that helped support families in our zone. Our Angel Giving Tree and the Food Recovery program both continue to be very successful. We have the best families in the area!
Please email Kristen.Armitage@lcps.org if you are not already part of the Lend-a-Hand Team and would like to be a part of this group that provides support to those in need within our school throughout the year, and I'll add you to the list.
Happy Holidays!
Kristen Armitage
SCES Family Liaison
Gifted Eligibility Update for 2024
Families of 4th and 5th grade students interested in referring their child to be evaluated for gifted services may submit a "Permission to Evaluate" form between January 2, 2024 - January 26, 2024. All 3rd grade students will participate in the gifted education evaluation process (no referral form is needed). Third grade students will begin portfolio lessons during January SEARCH classes. These portfolio lessons will be used as part of the evaluation process. For more information about the gifted evaluation process, questions, and referral forms for 4th or 5th grade students, visit the school web site under the SEARCH page or contact Brenna Becker at Brenna.Becker@lcps.org.
Brenna Becker
Gifted Education Resource Teacher
Sycolin Creek Elementary
Reflections Contest
Thank you to our Reflections, I Am Hopeful Because, contest participants! We are so proud of your incredible talents and can’t wait to showcase your work for our students and staff to see!
Congratulations to our Sycolin Creek winners that will be moving to the next round at the district level: Carter Jackson (Kindergarten) Visual Arts, Arth Shome (4th grade) Visual Arts & Emy Boyer (5th grade) Music Composition!
Annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference
Mark your calendars for Saturday, Jan. 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for the annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference. This year’s conference will be held at Riverside High School (19019 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, VA 20176). The flyer for the event has been linked below.
Sycolin Creek Elementary School
Email: derek.racino@lcps.org
Website: lcps.org/sycolincreek
Location: 21100 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg, VA, USA
Phone: (571)252-2910
Twitter: @Sycolin_Creek