Vol. 6 No. 4

December 2012

Upcoming Events

December 2012

1 – Holiday Shoppe at 5 Below, 10am-2pm

4 – Parent Portal Info. Night; K-2, 6:15 pm

4 – PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

4 – Kirby Day

6 – Yearbook Candid's & Clubs

6 – CiCi’s Spirit Night, 4-8pm

12 – Interims Sent Home

13 – Fall Chorus Performance, 6:30 pm

14 – 4th/5th Grade Geo. Bee, 10:00 am

21 – Winter/Holiday Sing Along, 8:45 a.m.

21 – Winter Parties, 1:30pm

24 – Winter Break Begins

Jan. 2 – Classes Resume

See On-Line Calendar for Additional Activity Dates and Times

Dear Parents and Students,

It has been an incredible month at Sycolin Creek! Without a doubt, the

highlight of November was all of the wonderful American Education

Week activities! More than 600 visitors participated in the week’s

events including enjoying lunch with our students. I would like to thank

each of our dedicated volunteers who helped to greet our guests and

serve lunch throughout the week. It turned out to be a very busy and

exciting week that the students will remember fondly!

Another highlight of the month was the annual Veterans Day

Assembly. With the help of our music teachers, Mrs. Cassada and

Mrs. Hoffmaster, all of our students learned songs to honor our

Veterans. More than 34 Veterans were represented whose service to

our country spanned from World War II to the present. Children,

grandchildren, and other members of the student body worked

diligently to prepare a slide show and poem presentation to honor their

relatives and all of our service men and women.

If you have not had the opportunity to join our PTA, which works

tirelessly to provide many activities for our students throughout the

year, we would love to have you as a member. Please see your child’s

teacher for more information on joining the PTA.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Derek Racino

If due to a disability, you need assistance to enable you to participate meaningfully in any activity at Sycolin Creek Elementary, please contact the school office at 571-252-2910,

at least five working days prior to the event.

Principal’s Corner

THE 21100 Evergreen Mills Road Leesburg, Virginia 20175

571.252.2910

Home of the Salamanders

Sports Shorts!! P.E. Highlights

Congratulations P.E. Star Students for the month of November:5th Grade – Jason Albert & Sydney Hipps4th Grade – Tanner Karol & Zara Ashford3rd Grade – Bennett Vaughan & Grace Resimont2nd Grade – Wesley Celentano & Haley McCloskey1st Grade – Benjamin Schassler & Emma RosherThe Star Salamander Classes for the month of November areMrs. Becker’s 3rd grade and Ms. Thomas’ 5th grade.

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 the 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. No meeting in December.

Our Winter Holiday will begin on Monday, December 24th.

School will reopen on January 2nd.

Winter Holiday

Library News

Our second book fair will be February 4th - 7th

Thanks so much to everyone who supported our Fall Book Fair. We were able to purchase many new

library books which will certainly enrich our students learning!

Kathleen NewboldMelissa AllardPamela RiveraJennifer Ashford

Maria SotoNicole GreenPieta WestKristin BernaolaMary-Kathryn Haddad

Claudia FloresVasilia RavarisMelissa KurowskiKinde BrintonLiz Messner

A special thanks goes to the wonderful volunteers who helped with our fair:

THE READING NOOK

Winter Reading Tips from the Reading Teachers

There are many ways to encourage your child to read over the winter break. Here are a few ideas to get you started:• Have a Winter/Holiday reading night where family members read aloud their favorite seasonal book.• When visiting family over the holidays have your child read to a relative.• Take time out from the busy season to plan a relaxing visit to the library to pick out new books.• If you’re taking a long car trip, you can play word games, or you can create your own story with each person adding to the story as you go along.• Remember that not all reading occurs between the pages of a book. Reading practice can occur when reading the restaurant menu, game instructions on the new video game they received, reading the recipes to an adult when doing holiday baking, etc.• i-Pad apps- Here are a couple of apps that can help with reading comprehension:

o Aesop’s Questo MiniMod Reading for Detailso Professor Garfield Fact or Opinion

Music News

November was an exciting month in the Music Room! We started off with Veterans Day. The students did a great job singing in the Veterans Day program. I was veryproud of their effort, especially the Sycolin Creek Singers. We then worked on songs about Thanksgiving and the upper grades focused on the Major Scale, while second grade played singing games.

In December, second grade will be focusing on the music and story of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and third graders are working on 16th note rhythms and playing the Orff instruments. The Sycolin Creek Singers are getting ready for their first concert on December 13th. All students will be experiencing the music of Tchaikovsky and preparing for the Holiday Sing-a-long on Friday, December 21st.

Also in December, fourth and fifth grade will be preparing for recorder by reviewing the treble clef pitches. Fifth graders will be using their recorders in music classes starting in December. Speaking of recorders, soon parents of fourth and fifth graders will receive an order form about purchasing a recorder. Playing the recorder is a very important part of the elementary music curriculum, as many of you know. Through playing the recorder, students will be reading rhythms and pitches, coordinating their hands and eyes along with their breath. This is a great way to prepare them for the middle school music program, playing other instruments – and it’s fun! Students in fifth grade will begin using their recorders in December. Students in fourth grade will begin recorder later in January.

Our Rock Star Music Classes for November are: 1st Grade – Ms. Gore; 2nd Grade -Mrs. Brosan; 3rd Grade – Mrs. Bullion; 4th Grade – Mrs. Bowman; and 5th Grade – Ms. Thomas

Congratulations to these classes for showing Rock Star behavior in the month of November!

The Art Stars of the Month for November were:

Ms. Gore's 1st GradeMrs. Ganey's 2nd GradeMrs. Dunlap's 3rd GradeMrs. Koehler's 4th GradeMs. Kenny's 5th Grade

Congratulations on all your hard work and good behavior in Art. Keep it up!

Art Stars for November

Parent ResourcesOn the Sycolin Creek website is a tab labeled “Resources.” Under this tab you will find many helpful items to assist your child in the learning process. One of these, “BrainPop” is available to students at home. The username is lcpse and the password is elem. There is also a link to Standards of Learning Resources for students in grades 3-5. Lastly, information about the Parent Resource Center is available if you would like to access assistance or attend workshops held by the resource center. Of course, the staff at SCES is ready and willing to address any of your needs. If at any time you would like to locate additional resources for your child at home, please feel free to contact us.

Guidance Star Students

The following students were chosen as the November guidance stars:

Kindergarten:  Jane Walker, Nolan Hipsley, Amrianna GalloFirst Grade:  Alexia Glancey, Chase Kibble, Arshia Nalla, Kale Haaland, Oakley MessinaSecond Grade:  Ava Sheridan, Skyler Ford, Brennan O'Donnell, William Pasternak, Saiuri ParimiThird Grade:  Troy Giordano, Maya Shah, Morgan Kitchen, Adrianna Zarou, Hemal MakaniFourth Grade:  Ben Kitchen, Christian Giannos, Audrey Spendlove, Madison Bush, Hale AndersonFifth Grade:  Brian Hays, Sophia Macchiarolo, Lily Adam, Ameer Ahmed

December 2012

Elementary Lunch Menu Three easy ways to pre-pay for meals and purchases: *Cash

Loudoun County Public Schools *Check made payable to “County of Loudoun”

*Credit card at www.pay4lunch.com

Lunch Prices Student - Full

Daily $3.00

Weekly $15.00

December $ 45.00

Student – Reduced Adult

$ .40 $4.00

$2.00 $20.00

$ 6.00 $ 60.00

Daily Feature Salad Meals All Feature Salad meals include meat/meat alternate, fruit, vegetable, grain and your choice of milk.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Vegetarian/Hummus Salad*

Traditional Chef Salad Chop Salad+

Vegetarian/Hummus Salad* Traditional Chef Salad

Chicken Caesar

Vegetarian/Hummus Salad* Traditional Chef Salad

Fruit Salad with Yogurt* Taco Salad on Taco Day#

Vegetarian/Hummus Salad* Traditional Chef Salad

Asian Salad

Vegetarian/Hummus Salad* Traditional Chef Salad

Tuna Salad

Additional Daily Items: Yogurt Box Meal

(Includes: 4 oz Chobani Champions yogurt, string cheese, baby carrots, granola, and mini bagel with cream cheese) SunButter and Jelly Sandwich* (select schools)

Choice of milk available with all meals – Skim white, chocolate and strawberry or 1% white Fresh fruits and vegetables available with all meals.

Monday 12/03 Tuesday 12/04 Wednesday 12/05 Thursday 12/06 Friday 12/07 Choose One Entrée: Grilled Egg Patties* with French Toast Sticks Grilled Cheese Sandwich Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Green Beans Sweet Potatoes Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Pineapple Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Chicken Chunks & Roll Pork BBQ Rib Sub + Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Corn Fresh Broccoli Bites Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Mixed Fruit Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Italian Dunker with Cheesy Breadstick# Buffalo Chicken Chunks & Roll Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Broccoli Celery & Carrot Sticks Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Mandarin Oranges Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Beef Nachos with Tortilla Chips or Scoops# & Soft Pretzel Rod Bean Nachos with Tortilla Chips or Scoops* & Soft Pretzel Rod Lasagna Rollup with Garlic Round* Choose Two Vegetables: Refried Beans Steamed Baby Carrots Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Applesauce Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Cheese Pizza* Chicken Teriyaki with Brown Rice Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Green Peas Steamed Spinach Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Peaches Assorted Fresh Fruit

Monday 12/10 Tuesday 12/11 Wednesday 12/12 Thursday 12/13 Friday 12/14 Choose One Entrée: Chicken Chunks & Roll Hamburger on Bun# Cheeseburger on Bun# Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Green Beans Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Mandarin Oranges Chilled Pineapple Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Breaded Mozzarella Cheese Sticks* with Marinara Sauce Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Green Peas Sweet Potatoes Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Pears Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Mini Corn Dogs MaxSnax Cheesiest Con Queso* Choose Two Vegetables: Vegetarian Baked Beans Steamed Spinach Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Applesauce Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Spaghetti with Meatballs# Spaghetti with String Cheese* Fish Nuggets Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Corn Green Leaf and Spinach Salad Fresh Vegetable Cup Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Mixed Fruit Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Cheese Pizza* Chicken & Cheese Enchilada Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Broccoli Baby Carrots with Ranch Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Peaches Assorted Fresh Fruit

Monday 12/17 Tuesday 12/18 Wednesday 12/19 Thursday 12/20 Friday 12/21 Choose One Entrée: BBQ Chicken Chunks & Roll Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce* Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Corn Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Mandarin Oranges Chilled Mixed Fruit Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Hot Dog on Bun Hamburger on Bun# Cheeseburger on Bun# Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Broccoli Steamed Baby Carrots Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Pears Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Beef Soft Taco# Beans Soft Taco* Chicken Filet on Bun Choose Two Vegetables: Refried Beans Lettuce, Tomato & Cheese Fresh Vegetable Cup Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Applesauce Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Chicken Tenders & Roll Steak & Cheese Sub# Choose Two Vegetables: Mashed Potatoes Steamed Spinach Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Pineapple Assorted Fresh Fruit

Choose One Entrée: Double Stuff Pizza* Macaroni & Cheese* with Pretzel Rod Choose Two Vegetables: Steamed Green Beans Baby Carrots & Ranch Fresh Vegetable Salad Choose Two Fruits: Chilled Peaches Assorted Fresh Fruit

Monday 12/24 Tuesday 12/25 Wednesday 12/26 Thursday 12/27 Friday 12/28

Winter Break 12/24/12 thru 1/01/13. Return to school 1/02/13.

Key – Beef #, Pork +, Meatless *

Elementary Weekly Breakfast Menu Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Choose one entrée: Mini Pancakes* Cereal with Whole Wheat Toast or Scooby-Doo™ Bones* Choose both: Assorted Juice Choice of Milk

Choose one entrée: Sausage & Cheese Sandwich + Cereal with Whole Wheat Toast or Scooby-Doo™ Bones* Choose both: Assorted Juice Choice of Milk

Choose one entrée: Ham, Egg & Cheese Swirl Roll + Mini Waffles* Cereal & Graham Crackers* Choose both: Assorted Juice Choice of Milk

Choose one entrée: Cinnamon Roll & Cheese Stick* Pepperoni Bosco Stick+# Cereal & Graham Crackers* Choose both: Assorted Juice Choice of Milk

Choose one entrée: Breakfast Chicken Sandwich Cereal & Whole Wheat Toast or Scooby-Doo™ Bones* Choose both: Assorted Juice Choice of Milk

Due to product changes, ingredient lists may not be 100% accurate. Due to product unavailability, menu substitutions may be made from time to time. To verify menu substitutions for your school, please contact the cafeteria manager. Please be aware that some food items served on the Loudoun County Public School menu may have been manufactured in a facility, or on shared equipment with other peanut or tree nut products.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call toll free (866) 632-9992 (Voice). Individuals who are hearing impaired or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339; or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish), USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about the Child Nutrition Programs, please contact the Food Services Supervisor at (571) 252-1010 or e-mail: jinny.demastes@lcps.org. Menus are subject to change without notice.

Free and reduced meal applications are accepted at any time during the school year. A change in income may qualify your children to participate in this program.

Applications with the income guidelines may be downloaded from our website (www.lcps.org) and paper copies are available at any Loudoun County Public School. Assistance in completing an application is available by

contacting the Food Services Office at (571) 252-1010.