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THE MUSTANG WEEKLY
August 26th, 2019
A note from Principal Kownacki:
Dear South County Middle School students, staff and families:
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! We were super excited to welcome all of our 1055 students back to school today! We promise the year will be filled with outstanding learning experiences and activities as we continue our focus on bringing the South County MS vision to life in all that we do: Capable, Connected, Contributing!
We kicked off our year as a staff by sharing our personal “WHY”; Why we are educators at South County MS. Teachers have been encouraged to share their stories with their students the first week of school with the goal of building strong relationships and classroom community. I encourage you to share a middle school story with your own child as well.
We also kicked off the year by highlighting the superhero qualities that each of us possess. I have tasked each staff member to identify the special powers of each of our students as well. As a staff we will seek to spotlight the achievements of student, staff and community with the #marvelUSmustangs hashtag.
I welcome your feedback, questions, and ideas. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time. I look forward to seeing you at South County MS very soon!
Sincerely,
Peter Kownacki
pakownacki@fcps.edu
@PAKownacki
703-690-5500
UPCOMING EVENTS:
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8/28/19 Wednesday. Thomas Jefferson High School interest meeting: see below.
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8/30/19 through 9/2/19 – Labor Day Holiday. This is a four day weekend for students and teachers.
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9/5/19 – Back to school Night. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. See below.
THANK YOU!
Thank you to everyone who helped us transition into our new school year: Silverbrook Nursery for beautifying our landscaping – the new rosebushes are beautiful; Red, Hot and Blue and Kona Ice who set up a food tent and truck for our Mustang Roundup; and all the PTSO families who cooked and served breakfast for the Middle School and High School staff members at a joint kickoff. We appreciate everything you did for us!
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT:
Last week we mailed home an invitation and information about our Back To School Night on September 5th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. During the evening, you will have the opportunity to join and support our PTSO, preview and receive links to order school related spirit wear, as well as gather information about the SCMS After School Program. Additionally, welcome messages from our administrative team and various school board members will be streaming throughout the evening. The Health and PE Department will offer a special presentation for parents who are interested in hearing information about the Family Life Education curriculum in our library from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.
CELL PHONE POLICY:
In response to a request from the Fairfax County Council of PTA’s (and others) to implement consistent student cell phone restrictions in or schools, we are following FCPS guidelines for cell phone usage.
In Middle Schools, phones must be kept silenced and kept put away for the duration of the school day. Storage may be in a locker, backpack, pencil bag, etc. during the day. Teachers may allow cell phone usage in their classrooms at their discretion. Students are allowed to use cell phones UNTIL 7:25 a.m. (warning bell) in the morning and AFTER 2:15 p.m. in the afternoon. This information will be shared with our students in upcoming Learning Seminars.
FCPS and SCMS are not responsible for the loss of personal devices including cell phones, tablets or personal computers.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – INTEREST MEETING:
We will be holding a TJHSST interest meeting for students and parents on Wednesday, August 28th in our Lecture Hall. The meeting will run from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Parents, if you plan to attend, please remember to check into the front office with your photo ID.
We encourage you to visit our school website frequently for updates and announcements. For more detailed information on all school matters, please visit our website at http://www.fcps.edu/southcountyms/
For further information on planning and events sponsored by the PTSO, please visit their website at http://www.scmsptso.org/
Parents of FCPS students may update contact information online through weCare@School http://www.fcps.edu/news/wecare.shtml, a feature of FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard) or by contacting the student information officer at their child’s school to have the contact information updated in the student information system.
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