Glasgow Community Gazette - February 25

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Glasgow Community -

Thank you so much for your support this week as we continue to work with those students who feel strongly about the issue of school safety.  As I mentioned earlier in the week, we will be discussing this issue with student leaders to identify ways we can support their efforts to express their opinions and align them with national events that are planned in the coming weeks.  In addition, we are planning a Panther Time lesson to as opportunity to teach all students about the history of protests and ways to be an active, responsible citizen.  Our social studies teachers are also considering offering an after-school activity to expand on this topic. Stay tuned for more information.

In the meantime, you may also consider encouraging your student(s) to also express their opinion in other ways to engage in our community. At Glasgow, we respect the rights of our students to engage in peaceful protest and express their opinions through speech and other ways as long as it is done respectfully, does not interfere with the rights of others, and does not disrupt learning in the school.  Our school is committed to providing an environment where everyone is treated with respect and encouraged to help others.

In other news, Glasgow students, in partnership with the VA Star and the FCPS Educational Foundation, presented refurbished laptop computers to other classmates and their families on Wednesday evening who are in need of technology at home. Special thanks to John Floyd and Marc Perella for their leadership. On Thursday, the annual Glasgow Spelling Bee was held. Congratulations to Will Hemmens (Champion), Charles Duong (Runner-up), Nadira Ga'al (3rd place) and all other participants.

Have a great week and as always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Shawn P. DeRose
Principal


Contact Information
Twitter: @ShawnDeRose
Email: spderose@fcps.edu
Website: http://www.fcps.edu/GlasgowMS/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlasgowMS.FCPS/


Calendar at-a-Glance

February 27 - Group Picture Day
February 27 - Orchestra Pre-Assessment Concert II, Stuart HS 7:00 PM
March 7 - Chorus Pre-Assessment, Stuart HS 7:00PM
March 14 through 16 - 8th Grade Writing SOL
March 19 through 23 - SGA Spirit Week
March 23 - Hunger Games Pep Rally
March 24 - First Day of Spring Break


UPCOMING EVENTS

8th Grade Writing SOL - March 12-16
The Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) Grade 8 Writing Test between March 12 through March 16. It is important that your student attend school on these days. If possible, please avoid scheduling trips or appointments that would take your child out of school during this time period. It is also important that your child have a good night’s rest and a healthy breakfast before testing. If you become aware of an unavoidable conflict that could result in your child missing a testing day, please notify your student’s counselor as soon as possible.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) requires that all students in Grade 8 take the English: Writing Standards of Learning (SOL) test. The test has two components: multiple choice response and a short paper response. In order to obtain a score, your child must complete both components.
The purpose of SOL testing is to provide information about student achievement to the parent, school, school division, and state. In most cases, test scores are available for parents by the end of the school year. More information about how and when you will receive your student’s scores will be shared closer to these dates. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah N’Guessan at senguessan@fcps.edu.


FCPS Cares

FCPS Cares Recognition

Do you know a Glasgow Middle School staff member who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way or goes beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to share with everyone.


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Glasgow Goodies

Glasgow Spelling Bee 2018
The annual Glasgow Spelling Bee was held this past week. Congratulations to Will Hemmens (Champion), Charles Duong (Runner-up), Nadira Ga'al (3rd place) and all other participants.  Many volunteers made this annual competition possible and our sincere thanks go out to the PTA for their generous support by offering great prizes, PTA representative Ben Hemmens, our judges Ms. McKee, Ms. Sparrow & Ms. McHarris and Ms. White for being an amazing announcer of words.

The next step in the Spelling Bee competition is the Fairfax County Spelling Bee to be held on Sunday, March 18 at 2pm at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Approximately 75 school champions from other FCPS elementary and middle schools will compete in the county Bee. The winner of the county Spelling Bee will represent FCPS at the Scribbs National Spelling Bee held May 26 through June 1 at the Gaylord Resort & Convention Center, located in the National Harbor.


VEX Robotics Competition - State Bound!
The results are in – Glasgow’s first VEX team, MS4Robots, qualified for the Virginia VEX State competition. Their dedication to overcoming some significant challenges inspired the judges to award them the “Energy” award! Congratulations to Coach Angela DeHart and her team!  Check out photos of competition on Glasgow’s twitter site. The awards, from Regionals and State, are in the case at the top of the main stairwell.


Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Week
FCCLA week was last week, February 12-16. To celebrate, Glasgow collaborated with the library and social studies department by inviting author Stuart Bradley to come in speak about his photo history book.  Thank you to Mr. Bradley for speaking with our students and donating books to the Glasgow library.


Performing Arts Pre-Assessment Concerts
Shout out to our Glasgow Band and Orchestra who did an amazing job this past week at their “Pre-Assessment Concerts.”  The purpose of the concerts is to prepare for the upcoming District Band, Chorus and Orchestra Assessment season.


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Get Involved!

Field Trip Volunteers Needed - February 28
The 7th Grade interdisciplinary team is taking a field trip to the Newseum on Wednesday, February 28. We would love a couple of additional volunteers to join us. We will be participating in a Civil Rights workshop and will have time to explore the Newseum in smaller groups. Contact Stefanie Vestal at slvestal@fcps.edu if you're interested.


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Important Information

ScI2YC - Saturday, March 17, from 10-4PM at Lanier Middle School
We are excited to announce that Glasgow Middle School is partnering with Project BEST, a non-profit organization that promotes STEM education to promote the Science Innovation and Inspiration Youth Conference (ScI2YC) on Saturday, March 17 from 10:00AM - 4:00PM at Lanier Middle School in Fairfax, Virginia.  

ScI2YC is a free event that offers students the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, listen to esteemed guest speakers from the community, and have the opportunity to make connections with one another to develop and grow. The goal of the conference is to create and drive students’ curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and math and help them develop higher level critical thinking skills.

To register for this FREE event, please visit https://tinyurl.com/ScI2YC2018.

Project BEST was founded by students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in early 2012, and now encompasses 17 chapters in middle schools in Northern Virginia as well as Virginia Beach and Kansas. If you have any questions, please email Anurika Kumar at projectbest.usa@gmail.com.

Upcoming Performing Arts Assessments
The Glasgow Music Department is deeply involved in the District Band, Chorus and Orchestra Assessment season. All of our ensembles will be performing in front of professional adjudicators at various FCPS locations during the month of March. For performing ensembles, these are the most important performances of the school year. They could be compared to Standards of Learning Assessments, since the State and National Standards for music are being evaluated.

All ensembles also present “Pre-Assessment Concerts” to prepare for the big events. The second Orchestra Pre-Assessment is on Tuesday, February 27, at JEB Stuart at 7:00 PM. Chorus Pre-Assessment is on Wednesday, March 7, also at 7:00 PM at JEB Stuart. All Pre-Assessment Concerts and District Assessment performances are free and open to the public. The music staff thanks all for your support.


RESOURCES AND REFERENCE


PTA’s Panther Press
Look for PTA-specific information in the new PTA's Panther Press,
which will be distributed every Tuesday.  Connect with the PTA through glasgowms.pta@gmail.com or glasgowpta.org.


2018-2019 Course Registration Process
The 2018-2019 course registration season is upon us.  Earlier this month, we will begin the registration process for rising 9th grade students.  We began registering our rising 8th grade students on January 30.  We will be registering our rising 7th grade students on February 20. During the academic advising meeting, counselors use student’s grades, teacher recommendations, SOL scores, along with student and parent input to register the student for classes for next school year.

After the registration window has closed, a list of the courses that your child is registered for, will go home for your review. Below is a link to the course descriptions at J.E.B. Stuart and Glasgow.  If you have questions regarding the registration process, please contact your child’s school counselor.   
J.E.B. Stuart - https://goo.gl/u5u8F2
Glasgow - https://glasgowms.fcps.edu/node/2419


School Safety and Threat Assessment
Fairfax County Public Schools has a well-established policy and protocol for responding to threats of violence in the schools. To help parents and older students learn more about the role they can play in keeping schools safe, we have collaborated with the Youth Violence Project of the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia to develop short videos with useful information. These brief modules were developed for parents and children aged 12 and up, and you may want to watch the student video with your child to answer any questions which may arise. To access these modules go to www.schoolthreatassessment.com and use parent code pgvsdt and student code sy8zk2 as a password.


Is your child interested in STEM?
Glasgow Middle School students are encouraged to participate in STEMtastics 2018 to be held on Saturday, March 10 at NOVA - Annandale Campus.
Online registration is open until March 4 (or earlier if capacity is reached).  Link: mclean-va.aauw.net/stemtastics. We suggest you register early for the best selection of workshops, as choices are “first come, first served.” If you have questions, please look at our Frequently Asked Questions page at mclean-va.aauw.net/stemtastics/faq/. All participants who have registered and paid will receive a final confirmation email approximately 4 days before the event. Any questions can be sent to mclean-va@aauw.net.

SIS Parent Accounts, SIS Student Accounts, and FCPS 24-7 ParentView (Blackboard)
Custodial parents/guardians, can send our Student Information Assistant (SIA), Ms. Jackie Baires (jebaires@fcps.edu) an e-mail containing their e-mail address and their child’s name & ID, Ms. Baires will create & e-mail the parent a SIS Parent registration letter. The username/password (generated by following the instructions on the letter) can be used by the parent to access their SIS Parent Account (gradebook) and FCPS 24-7 ParentVUE (child’s Blackboard courses). Bob Nordling (rcnordling@fcps.edu), can be contacted to provide support for both types of parent accounts (SIS and FCPS 24-7).

SIS Student accounts are available to all middle & high school students who logon using their regular network username (Student ID) and password.
On the main FCPS website (www.fcps.edu) towards the bottom of the page is a link “Student Information Systems” which provides buttons for both “SIS Parent Account” and “SIS Student Account”. Here is the direct URL to get there: https://www.fcps.edu/student-information-system-sis


Yearbook Cost is now $30!
The cost of the yearbook is now $30. Students can also drop off cash or checks made payable to Glasgow MS to the front office or families can order online at www.smart-pay.com to guarantee a yearbook for your child.  We are only ordering 500 books, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Extras are still available as well.  These include Name Stamping ($5), Autograph Pages ($2), Bling Accessory Pack (stickers and jewels for $6), Clear Dust Cover ($3), Sparkle Dust Cover ($5), Yearbook Stickies ($6), Pen Signing Set ($4.99). Please contact Mr. Perella at maperella@fcps.edu if you have any questions.


Glasgow Middle School Panther Mascot, image

Be Informed, Stay Involved!