Glasgow Community Gazette - March 31

Glasgow Community:

This week was packed with exciting events! All week long, students and staff showed off their school spirit by participating in daily themes such as crazy hair day, twin day, sports day and pajama day!

That school spirit was on full display on Friday evening as we hosted our 21st annual Hoop It Up Night! Thank you to those of you who attended and volunteered for this awesome event. Hoop It Up is one of my favorite events because I loving seeing so many students, parents, faculty and staff members come together and cheer each other on. Check out photos from the event courtesy of Tony Wambaugh, former Glasgow and current Justice science teacher. Link: https://bit.ly/2I334Jp

As we head into the final two weeks of instruction before spring break, please continue to speak with your students about staying committed to doing their very best work, each and every day. Our theme for the coming weeks is to encourage our students to “Finish Stronger.” It is hard to believe, but there are only 20 school days left before SOL testing begin. See below for the SOL testing schedule.

Please note that this Thursday marks the end of the 3rd Quarter and Friday, April 5 is a Teacher Workday with no school for students. We look forward to welcoming students back into the building on Monday, April 8.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Shawn DeRose, Principal

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

Important Dates

April 4 - End of Third Quarter

April 5 - Teacher Workday

April 8-12 - Spring Book Fair

April 11 - 7th Grade Dance

April 12 - Panther Store

April 12 - Hunger Games Pep Rally

April 15-19 - Spring Break

April 22 - Report Cards Distributed to Students

April 23-25 - Open Campus

April 26, 27 - Spring Play

PTA Meeting: April 9, 7-8pm - A brief PTA meeting followed by a special information session on vaping and other substance abuse concerns, lead by the FCPS Office of Student Safety and Wellness will be held on April 9. All are welcome.  PTA membership not required for attendance. Spanish and Arabic interpreters will be present.

Spring Book Fair: April 8-12 - The library will host the Scholastic Book Fair, and this one will be extra special. To help promote summer literacy, everything in the book fair is Buy One Get One FREE! That’s right, we said FREE. If you buy a book, then you get a book. Use this special to stock up on amazing reads for summer vacation. Buy a book for yourself, get a free one to give to a friend or donate one to your favorite teacher’s classroom library.

Sign up today to help with the book fair. Volunteers will be given a $5 off coupon in appreciation of their service. The eWallet feature has been activated so parents do not have to send in cash/check and only money spent is used. The eWallet is available to shoppers from 3/25 to 4/12. Parents can set this up from the book fair's homepage: http://www.scholastic.com/bf/glasgowmiddleschool3. If you have any questions about the book fair, please contact Tara Sanz at tmsanz@fcps.edu.

Panther Store: April 12 - Sign up today to volunteer at the Panther Store. Students earn Panther Cards from Glasgow staff when they commit acts of Kindness, Commitment or Safety - these are the Panther Principles! Once a month, students have the opportunity to redeem their Panther cards at the Panther Store, which is open during lunch. Parents staff the Panther Store, and it's one of the few volunteer opportunities at Glasgow during the school day that puts you in direct contact with students.

So come visit our school and work the PBIS Store during Glasgow lunches. We need at least 2 volunteers per session (minimum of 4 per day). If you know your child's lunch session - you can sign up to volunteer at that time. It is an easy and fun volunteer opportunity. Training will be provided at the beginning of your session (minimal instruction is needed!)

Open Campus: April 23-25 - Open Campus is a great tradition as it builds community as a school, allows students and staff to find fun ways interact outside our normal routines, and is a way to celebrate all the good behaviors happening around the school. Sign up today to volunteer.  If you do not know about Open Campus, check out this Apple 21 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmkvkrOS704

Back to School Night 2019: Thursday, October 3, 2019 from 6-8pm - Justice Pyramid Principals discussed the schedule for Back to School Nights for the 2019-20 school year. Glasgow’s BTSN will be held on Thursday, October 3, 2019 from 6:00–8:00pm.

Glasgow Goodies

Panthers of the Month - The IB Learner Profile that we focused on this month for our Panther of the Month was Communicator.  Students who understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. Our Panthers of the Month, Esther woodruff, Nahom Daniel, Ashley Luna Cerrato, Matthew Carlson, Elizabeth Cheek, and Richard Abraham Salome, expressing ideas with confidence, working effectively and collaborating well with others! Congratulations to all of our winners and nominees!

Glasgow’s Unified Team Attend Washington Wizards Game - The Glasgow Unified Team was invited to the Washington Wizards vs. Miami Heat game last weekend. They had a blast cheering on the Wizards and got to watch Dwayne Wade’s last game vs. Washington!

Opportunities

Get Involved, Volunteer Today! - There are a number of upcoming events that need parent volunteers. Check it out and sign up today! https://bit.ly/2VA0orc

Join the PTA Executive Board! - Interested in serving on next year's PTA Executive Board?  Position descriptions and timeline/process are posted on the PTA website.

Join the Glasgow PTA Listserve - If you would like to join the PTA listserv to receive current announcements, send a request to glasgowms.pta@gmail.com. If you would like to join the PTA or make a donation, go to www.glasgowpta.org. Thank you for your continued support.

Important Information

2019-2020 Course Registration Are Complete! - Glasgow Student Services has met with all rising 6th, 7th and 8th students and registered them for next year’s courses! Your student should have brought home a copy of their selections for you to sign and return to school.

In addition, students learned about course options in Panther Time. Students explored the kinds of classes they can take, the difference between general education and honors classes, and what choices they have for electives. After reviewing the information students completed a “think sheet” to practice selecting their classes.

2019-2020 Course Request Changes Due by April 12 - All course request changes are due by April 12, 2019. Finalizing requests by this date allows us to invest in staffing and resources based on students’ needs and interests. We will be finalizing schedules and placements throughout the late Spring and summer months. Here is a link to the Glasgow course descriptions: https://insys.fcps.edu/CourseCatOnline/#/frontPanel/360/nocourselist/1/1/1

Family Engagement Survey - Fairfax County Public Schools is conducting a survey March 24 - April 12, 2019 to gather information about family engagement in our schools. Relationships are important to us, and your opinion is critical to help us support your engagement in your child’s education. Your feedback will also help us determine how well we are reaching the goals for Caring Culture we have set in our Strategic Plan. Survey translations will be made available, and the survey can be taken on electronic devices, including smartphones.

Yearbook On-line Store is Now Available - Families who still have not paid for their 2018-2019 yearbook can now pre-order on-line. The website is: https://www.balfour.com/virginia/alexandria/glasgow-middle-school. Students may continue to bring in money and turn in to the front office. The price of the yearbook is only $25, but will increase to $30 in early February. Extra items will be available until March: name stamping ($5), clear plastic cover ($3), autograph sheets ($2), arrow stickies ($6), jewel pack ($6) and pen signing set ($4.99).

Be Informed, Stay Involved!

• Sign up for News You Choose.
• Visit the Glasgow Middle School website.
• Follow Glasgow on Twitter.
• Visit Glasgow Middle School on Facebook.
• Monitor your students academics with a SIS Parent Account.
• Join the Glasgow Middle School PTA and attend meetings.
• Keep your contact information up-to-date.