Sycolin Creek Chronicle
February Edition
Principal's Corner
Dear Parents and Students,
As we continue in the third quarter of our school year, the students at Sycolin Creek will be engaging in various learning activities. As they are completing projects and assignments, and studying for upcoming assessments, we appreciate your support in helping them to remain focused on these very important educational tasks. By reviewing each school day’s events and speaking with your child about school-related assignments, you will ensure that these activities are placed in the proper perspective of importance in their lives. Further, the creation and maintenance of a consistent work routine allows for the development of productive study skills. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions about assignments.
Lastly, as the winter continues and we are faced with the possibility of school closings, delays, and early dismissals, please be sure that your child is aware of where he or she should go after school. If the plan shared with the classroom teacher has changed, please complete a new “Emergency Early Dismissal ” entry in ParentVUE. If you have any questions/concerns, feel free to reach out to our front office staff for assistance.
Sincerely,
Derek Racino
PrincipalKindergarten Registration and Pre-registration Information
Kindergarten Registration and Pre-registration Information
February 1, 2024 - online pre-registration opens for ALL grades (https://www.lcps.org/StudentRegistration)
Parents will be able to submit their online pre-registration for the 2024-25 school year beginning on Thursday, February 1st, and upon completion will be instructed to contact the school to schedule their registration appointment. These appointments will begin on March 1, 2024, which is Kindergarten Registration Day. No elementary registrations or appointments will be “accepted” before March 1st. Students who are five years of age by September 30, 2024, are eligible for the kindergarten program in Loudoun County. Please contact our School Registrar, Ana Morrad (ana.morrad@lcps.org) with any questions and/or concerns.
Pre-registration is only for:
- Students that will be entering kindergarten-12th grade that are new to LCPS
- Current LCPS Pre-kindergarten students entering kindergarten
- Students who were formerly enrolled and may be returning to LCPS
NEW Program Option for Kindergarten students--Dual Language Immersion
The LCPS Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program provides both English speakers and native Spanish speaking students the opportunity to learn to read, write, and communicate effectively and develop bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural students while attaining high levels of academic achievement in a powerful learning environment. The program begins in kindergarten where students spend 50% of the day learning in Spanish (Math, Science and Spanish Language Arts) and 50% of the day learning in English (Social Studies, Math extension, and English Language Arts). This 50:50 model continues as students progress through grades K-5. Interest in the DLI Program is open to all kindergartners and is provided at preselected schools. Seats are limited; therefore, a lottery will be held for those who complete the DLI lottery registration form before the deadline. If selected, you would be responsible for your student’s transportation. The lottery registration form submission deadline is April 19. Any families expressing interest after this date will be placed on a waitlist. For more information, visit https://www.lcps.org/Page/247004.
MORE INFORMATION
Frequently Asked Questions
Registration Checklist for Parents (Spanish)
Music Notes
In January, all students learned The Orchestra Song and songs about Martin Luther King Jr. Kindergarten and First Grade students focused on high and low pitches, while second graders learned more about the percussion family. Third graders focused on ostinato and solfa dojo. Fourth grade reviewed treble clef pitches and danced a traditional American folk dance. Fifth grade continued playing recorder. Auditions for the Fifth Grade All-County Elementary Chorus took place. Thank you to all 5th grade students who auditioned! Congratulations to the following students who will represent Sycolin Creek in May: Emy Boyer, Brooklyn Edwards and Ellie Crisp. Also joining the Sycolin Creek All County Team will be Alexis Siritakool, Juliet Latta, Olivia Segalini, Wania Hammad, Charlotte Smith and Grace Goodwin. They will begin rehearsals in February. All students are getting to see the instruments of the orchestra thanks to the Music and Arts Music Store and the music teachers at Simpson and Brambleton Middle Schools.
In February, Kindergarten will be focusing on rhythms and first grade will be getting ready for their music share, First Grade is ‘Snow’ much fun! Second grade will be continuing to explore the percussion family and read melodies including do and re. Third grade will be focusing on rhythm and treble clef pitch reading, while fourth graders begin playing their recorders. Fifth graders will be doing stations focusing on advancing on the recorder.
Our Rock Star Music Classes for January are:
Kindergarten – Ms. Whittaker; 1st Grade – Ms. Bowns; 2nd Grade – Mrs. Winn; 3rd Grade – Mrs. Snead; 4th Grade – Ms. Bowman; 5th Grade – Mrs. Nacin
Congratulations to these classes for showing Rock Star behavior in the month of January!
Star Salamander Students for the month of January in P.E.
Congratulations to the PE Star Salamanders for the month of January 2024
5th grade - Benjamin Bafalis & Mia Ly
4th grade -Taylor Jackson & Eira Kamdar
3rd grade - Noah Einhorn & Briella Nunley
2nd grade - Reeves Kennedy & Zoe Elmore
1st grade - Deven Bhat & Kaia Davidson
Kindergarten -Sam Bien & Ayat Hammad
Congratulations to the PE Star Classes for the month of January 2024. They are: Ms. Hutchings' Kindergarten Class and Mrs. Nacin's Fifth Grade Class.
Art News
I want to congratulate all of the fifth grade artists that submitted art for the yearbook cover contest. The staff voted and this year’s winner is Charlotte Smith. Everyone did a great job! Make sure to order a yearbook, so you can see her fabulous work and see all the fun we had this year at Sycolin Creek Elementary.
Art Stars for January
Kindergarten - Ms. Hutchings’ class
First grade - Mrs. Diehl’s class
Second grade - Ms. Kulak’s class
Third grade - Mrs. Snead’s class
Fourth grade - Mrs. Hermens’ class
Fifth grade - Mrs. Nacin’s class
Sincerely,
Dr. Bennett
Updates for SEARCH
During the month of February, Kindergarten students will use their creative thinking to turn a letter of the alphabet into something unique. In another lesson, students will use their Perceiving key to manipulate shapes in their minds to combine parts to make whole pictures. In First Grade, students will use dominoes to explore the idea of sums in math. Students will also have a lesson using tangrams to make given shapes. In Second grade, students will learn about the ideas of algebra, but using fun shapes as the value of numbers. Third grade students will continue with portfolio lessons as part of the universal screening for gifted eligibility.
5th Grade Spelling Bee
Congratulations to all of the 5th grade students who participated in the Spelling Bee:
- Luca Baker
- Armaan Bhatia
- Reyansh Bollapalli
- Allen Chang
- Josh Cox
- Ellie Crisp
- James Crisp
- Luca Herbert
- Roland Johnson
- Delilah Mangilit
- Vibhav Pinisetti
- Fiona Pittas
- Alexis Siritakool
- Risheb Srinivas
- Ethan Tillman
- Myles Tomlinson
Congratulations to Reyansh Bollapalli in Mrs. Wong's class for winning the 2023-2024 Sycolin Creek Elementary School Spelling Bee. Reyansh out-spelled 15 other contestants to win the opportunity to represent Sycolin Creek at the LCPS Regional Run Off Competition on Thursday, March 29th. In order to win the competition, Reyansh had to correctly spell two words consecutively. His winning word was “innards”. Armaan Bhatia was the runner-up and Myles Tomlinson earned third place. Congratulations to Reyansh, Armaan, Myles and all of the students who won the right to compete in the Sycolin Creek Elementary Spelling Bee.
Attendance Reminders
Sycolin Creek Elementary School
Email: derek.racino@lcps.org
Website: lcps.org/sycolincreek
Location: 21101 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg, VA, USA
Phone: (571) 252-2910
Twitter: @Sycolin_Creek