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Dear Island Creek Families,
What a special week we had with our Crocs as excitement was in the air for Winter Break! As we approach the winter break, we want to express our sincere gratitude to our families for entrusting your children with our dedicated Croc Staff.
We wish you a safe, healthy, and wonderful winter break filed with joy and relaxation. We encourage our Crocs to read, play outside, and spend time with family. Optional math and reading work was sent home yesterday for those who wish to continue learning.
We look forward to welcoming our Crocs back to school on Monday, January 6, 2025!
Happy Holidays!
Jen Fallert, Principal
Karen Baxter, Assistant Principal
Denise Cash-Pinckney, Assistant Principal
Island Creek's School Innovation and Improvement Plan (SIIP)
Every Day Counts at Island Creek!
Help us reach our goal of 5% or less this year!
Regular attendance is a significant factor in a student’s success:
- Chronic absenteeism (missing 10% of the school year) correlates to low academic achievement;
- Absenteeism is a powerful predictor of dropout rates;
- Absenteeism has been linked to poor outcomes later in life.
To ensure transparency and celebrate our progress, we will be sharing weekly attendance data and updates in our newsletter. By highlighting this important information, we aim to keep our families informed and energized about our collective efforts to encourage regular school attendance
The Main Office will be closed during Winter Break
The main office will be closed during Winter Break, December 21- January 3. The office will open on January 6, 2025. Staff will also not be available via email and will return your message when they come back in the new year. If there is an immediate need during this timeframe, please email Jen Fallert, Principal, at [email protected]. Shee will be monitoring email periodically over the FCPS winter break and will respond in a timely manner.
We love our Croc Students & Staff!
Chorus Winter Concert
Congratulations to our 5th and 6th Grade Chorus Students for their beautiful concert Tuesday evening! Kudos to our passionate, dedicated, and talented Music Teachers and Choral Directors, Mrs. Laird and Mrs. Arslan. Additionally, thank you to FCPS School Board Member Ilryong Moon for attending the concert as it was a pleasure welcoming him to Island Creek!
Spotlight on Specials: STEAM
STEAM Students Animate Their Way to Creativity!
This quarter, inspired by the enchanting tale of Balloons Over Broadway, our STEAM students delved into the art of stop-motion animation. Before Thanksgiving break, many students created their own digital Thanksgiving Day parades in Schoology. Our youngest learners, our Kindergarteners, got creative by making their own balloons and using a green screen to bring their parade to life. Now, all classes are crafting original stop-motion projects, combining science, language arts, and technology to tell their unique stories.
Grade level stop-motion animation themes:
Kindergarten – characters: The Three Little Pigs
1st Grade – types of motion
2nd Grade – types of precipitation
3rd Grade – the water cycle
4th Grade – cloud formations
5th Grade – rock formations
6th Grade – weather systems
Inspiring Innovation: PTA's 3D Printer Donation
The STEAM Lab was fortunate to receive 3D Printers from the PTA’s Croc Rock-n-Run. The 3D printer will empower students to bring their innovative ideas to life, providing hands-on learning experiences in design, engineering, and technology. The 3D printer is sure to inspire creativity, foster problem-solving skills, and prepare students for the future of technology. We created a Chubby Croc with our first test run. Thank you to the Island Creek community and PTA!
Save the Date: Island Creek's 3rd annual This is Us Multicultural Night
The Island Creek Elementary Staff are excited to host our third annual This is Us Multicultural Night on Thursday, January 30 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. The This Is Us event will be a celebration where our students and families can come together to learn about the various cultures, countries, and traditions at Island Creek.
Island Creek Elementary is fortunate to have numerous countries and cultures reflected in our students, as well as families who have traveled or been stationed abroad and throughout the United States. We plan activities for the This Is Us event to enable the Island Creek Elementary School community to connect and learn more about their classmates and families through their cultures, travels, food, and traditions.
We’d love for you to contribute something from your culture, country of heritage, or from a country or culture you know well. If you wish to prepare an activity, please register online by Friday, January 24. Registration is only needed for tables and performances.
News from our Counselors
Assessment Dates at Island Creek
ST Math Family Math Week
MIND Research is hosting family math week January 13 - January 17, 2025. During that time, students are encouraged to log onto the FCPS Family Math website to engage in math activities with their families at home that include stories with mathematical concepts connected to a variety of different math games from around the world. All activities are available in English and Spanish.
To learn more about Family Math Nights, check out this video. We hope that all schools will help spread the word and work collaboratively to help us reach our goal of logging on for three million minutes as an FCPS community.
Information will be available through the Elementary Schoology groups for teachers to easily copy over materials and links for students to participate with their families during math week in the New Year.
School Year 2025-2026 Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Program Information
All rising kindergarten and first grade students who live in Fairfax County may enter a lottery to participate in Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs. In DLI programs, students are learning elementary content in two languages with students spending half of the day learning in either language. English Language Arts and Social Studies are taught in English. Math, Science, Health, and Target Language Arts are taught in another language.
FCPS offers DLI programs in French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. Online lottery application begins on January 13 (8:30 a.m.). For additional registration information, please visit here. For general program information: click here.
❄️ Be Among the First to Hear About School Delays/Closings
Watch this video to see how FCPS makes weather closing decisions.
FCPS’ website is generally the first place to find out about emergency weather closings. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible, including email, text, social media, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated.
Be among the first to hear about weather delays and closings! Update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE. Emails and text messages are sent to parents and caregivers based on the addresses and cell phone numbers entered on this platform.
🖥️ Free Webinars and Events for Families
In January, the Family Resource Center (FRC) will host webinars for families on:
Sign up for the FRC newsletter or visit their webinar webpage.
📣 Sign Up and Speak Out: Fairfax County’s Pre-2025 Session Public Hearing
The Fairfax County delegation to the Virginia General Assembly will hold a public hearing regarding the upcoming 2025 session on Saturday, January 4, at 9 a.m., in the Board Auditorium at the Fairfax County Government Center.
As Fairfax County residents, you may sign up in advance to speak at the hearing and let the delegation know what matters most to you. To participate, register online using this form or contact the Department of Clerk Services at 703-324-3151 (TTY 711) by noon on Thursday, January 2. Find additional guidelines for speaking at the public forum on the Fairfax County Government website
📍 Comprehensive Boundary Review Update
The Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee held its second meeting on December 16 at Gatehouse Administration Center. View key takeaways from that meeting and access the meeting agenda, slides, and other materials that committee members received. If you did not get a chance to attend an in-person Community Boundary Review Meeting, please consider participating in one of the following virtual meetings:
- Friday, January 10, 2025, 6-7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, January 16, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m.
- Saturday, January 25, 2025, 9:30-11 a.m.
- Monday, January 27, 2025, 6:30-8 p.m.
- Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 6:30-8 p.m.
- Monday, February 10, 2025, 6:30-8 p.m.
Language interpretation will be available.
All virtual meetings will follow the same format as the in-person meetings that were recently held, and the same information will be shared. Please stay tuned for details on how to register. Visit FCPS’ Comprehensive Boundary Review webpage to learn more. Sign up for FCPS’ School Boundary Review newsletter as well.
Upcoming Dates
❤️December 23-January 3: Winter Break
❤️Monday, January 6, 2025: Welcome Back to School, Crocs!
❤️Monday, January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday and Inauguration Day (No school for students and staff)
❤️Wednesday, January 29: Teacher Workday (No school for students)
❤️Thursday, January 30: Spirit Day and This is Us Multicultural Night (5:30-7:00)
❤️Monday, February 10: 3-Hour Early Release (12:20)
❤️Follow Island Creek on Facebook and Instagram
Facebook link
Instagram: islandcreekelementary
7855 Morning View Lane, Alexandria, VA 22315 | Phone: 571-642-6300
Attendance 571-642-6363
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