Friday, October 12, 9 a.m.
Longfellow Lecture Hall

It was great to see so many engaged parents at the first PTA meeting. Our second meeting will feature guest speaker Frank Stevens, Longfellow' safety and security officer. He will be discussing the school's plan for keeping our children safe during an emergency. Find out how the school prepares for lock down drills, the training teachers have received and what would happen in a real emergency. Learn about the role of our Fairfax Police Officer assigned to Longfellow and his role at the school. Please mark your calendars for this very important topic. PTA meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. followed by Principal Kihm and Frank Stevens at 9:30 a.m.

Order Deadline: Oct 12

If you missed us at Back to School night, you have one more opportunity to shop for Spirit Wear at our online Pop Up shop. Stock up on our newly designed t-shirts, a cozy hoodie, or long-sleeve tee – all perfect for the cool, crisp fall weather. Don’t miss out! Orders placed by Oct 12th will be delivered to your child the week of October 15th at school. Place your order here. 

October 18, 6-7:30 p.m.
Longfellow Cafeteria

Interested in connecting with other families with similar cultural backgrounds? Join the Longfellow community in the cafeteria for a potluck dinner. Bring a dish to share and meet other Longfellow international families. Please RSVP and sign up to bring a dish here.

First Session October 10, 7 - 8 p.m.
Longfellow Lecture Hall

This year, the McLean PTSA is partnering with Student Services to offer a Pyramid-Wide book talk series and author event on The Self-Driven Child, The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud, PhD, and Ned Johnson.

The Self-Driven Child empowers parents with practical tools to help their children reduce stress and anxiety, while building capacity for resilience, success, and optimal development. The authors work with students in the Washington, DC metro area and offer keen insights into the stress and anxiety that children of high-achieving schools are experiencing. The strategies shared in the book are relevant for parents of children of ALL ages…from age 2 to age 18 and beyond!

Kathleen Otal, M.Ed., a former elementary school counselor and current counselor at McLean High School, will lead three book talks in the pyramid throughout the year. In addition, the authors of the book will speak at McLean High School in the spring. Even if you don’t have time to read the entire book, you will learn valuable parenting strategies that will help your child develop the skills to succeed!

Please join us as we discuss Chapters 1 through 5 on Wednesday, October 10 at Longfellow Middle School from 7 to 8 p.m. You will learn:

• Why giving children a sense of control is so important and practical strategies to do it.
• How to help your child learn to deal successfully with stressful situations. This is how your child will develop resilience!
• How to support children in making their own decisions and developing a strong sense of motivation.

If I Could Have a Do-Over: A Father’s Hard-Earned Lessons About Cyberbullying, Depression, and Suicide

Monday, October 29th 7 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Longfellow Lecture Hall

Are you concerned about your middle school student's safety in the world of smart phones? Do you know the passwords for all the sites they visit and the apps they use? Don’t miss the very informative parent presentation by outspoken anti-bullying advocate John Halligan. John understands the cyber‐world that middle school students inhabit and knows how it can easily be abused by young teens. Come find out what he wishes he had been told when his son started using computers and some of the warning signs that your child might be bullied, might be bullying, or might be a bystander. Make time to come because your kids will thank you. See Mr. Halligan’s website for more details. Mr. Halligan will bring his message to Longfellow’s 7th grade students during regular school hours the next day.

Join the PTA by October 31st to receive a free 2018-2019 School Directory.  Directories will be delivered to students in mid-November.  

ATTENTION PARENTS: This is why you want to update your directory entry this year:

A new state law intended to apply to colleges and universities also limits the contact information FCPS may provide to school directories. The only way for FCPS schools, and the Longfellow MS community in particular, to have a complete and accurate Student Directory is for parents to log in to AtoZ and update/ add information to that database.   In the prior LMS PTA Newsletter, it was said that only parents’ email information will be provided in this year’s directory.  However, you will have the opportunity to update and add information to the database if you choose.   Help keep our directory as complete as possible. It helps you reach out to fellow parents and helps your student contact classmates for group assignments, clubs, teams etc.

HOW TO UPDATE YOUR ENTRY: In early October, be on the lookout for a verification email from AtoZ with specific information about how to log into AtoZ and update/add to your contact information in the AtoZ database.

QUESTIONS? Contact the directory team at lms.ptadirectory@gmail.com.

Earn cash for Longfellow by shopping at Giant through the Giant A+ School Rewards program.  Follow the directions below to designate the card yourself: 

• Go to Giantfood for details and sign into you Giant account (top right hand corner)
• After signing into your Giant account click on the button “Manage Your Account"
• On the next page click on “Reward & Savings”
• You will see A+ School Rewards, click on the button “change schools”
• Now you can follow the directions and select your Longfellow Middles School (Our school code is 01928)

If you registered your card last year, you DO NOT need to re-register this year, but you may want to visit Giant's website to verify the school assignment. Also, don’t forget to encourage your friends and relatives to do the same. It could mean more CASH for our school. If you don't know your card number or need assistance, call Customer Care at 877-366-2668 OPTION #1.

Use this link every time you shop on Amazon and before adding items to your cart. Our school receives between 4 and 10 percent of the value of your Amazon purchases when you start your shopping through this Longfellow link.

The 7th Grade Hearing and Vision Screen will take place in October and we need volunteers primarily for the vision portion of the screen.  It’s easy and fun! 

Please review the following schedule and contact Robin Williams in the Clinic at 703-533-2610 or by email at rlwilliams2@fcps.edu to volunteer.

Mr. Alexander – Tuesday, October 16th from: 7:30 to 9:30 and 11:15 to 2:00.
5 volunteers per shift

Ms. Creedon – Wednesday, October 17th from: 8:15 to 10:15
5 volunteers needed

Ms. Shapiro – Thursday, October 18th from: 7:30 to 10:15 and 10:00 to 1:15
5 volunteers for 10-1:15 (Includes breaks from 8:30-9:09 (2nd period) and 10:52-11:18 – B lunch)

Mr. O’Connor – Friday, October 19th from: 7:30 to 8:30 and 10:00 to 2:00
5 volunteers per shift (Includes a break between 10:52 to 11:18 – B lunch)

Have some board games for younger children no longer in use in your home? Clean off the shelves and donate them to Westgate Elementary! Westgate is in need of any board games that help students practice counting and other math skills. Please contact Mimi Granados at MiGranados@fcps.edu if you have some to donate.