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THE MUSTANG WEEKLY
September 9th, 2019
A note from Principal Kownacki:
Dear Mustang Community:
It was a pleasure meeting many of you at Back To School Night this past Thursday. The energy in the building was visible and I hope that we can sustain it for the remainder of the school year. I feel privileged to be part of an amazing community that values and supports the partnership with schools. Together we will strive to challenge all students to rise to their individual potential and embody the FCPS Portrait of a Graduate traits.
During the first month of school, we are required to conduct a number of safety drills. These include four evacuation (fire) drills, two lock down drills and one bus evacuation. The students have been doing a marvelous job and have modelled maturity throughout the drills.
I welcome your feedback, questions and suggestions. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time. I hope to see you at South County Middle School very soon.
Sincerely,
Peter Kownacki
pakownacki@fcps.edu
@PAKownacki
703-690-5500
UPCOMING EVENTS:
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9/23/19 – PTSO Meeting. Monday. 7:00 p.m. in the SCMS Library. See below.
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9/26 and 9/27 – Picture Day. Fall pictures will be taken in PE classes. More info soon.
STUDENT SAFETY:
Please remember that the Kiss and Ride line is the only designated and SAFE student drop-off and pick up area for students at SCMS. To ensure student safety we remind you not to drop students off in other areas of the school or on the street. This is particularly important as the days get shorter and the mornings get darker. Thank you for helping us keep students safe.
PTSO INFORMATION:
- South County Spirit Wear is now for sale for a limited time! Visit the PTSO website at http://www.scmsptso.org/ and click "order spiritwear". The store closes on September 9th and items will be delivered to seminar classes approximately 3 weeks later.
- Join us at our first PTSO meeting on September 23rd at 7pm in the Library! Come hear from the PTSO, staff, admin and students about the ways you can make a difference at SCMS this year.
- Find out all about the PTSO and join at www.scmsptso.org. All funds from PTSO memberships go DIRECTLY towards your students and teachers. Did you know the PTSO funds 100% of teacher appreciation events, the back to school breakfast, teacher and club instructional grants, 7th grade author visit and 8th grade end of year celebration? Please consider joining and/or making a tax deductible donation.
MINORITY ACHIEVEMENT COMMITTEE:
Start strong and finish strong! Accelerate your academic success this year by becoming a MAC Scholar. Join fellow SoCo MS and HS students for free one-on-one and group tutoring on select Saturdays in the South County High School library from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. MAC Scholars promotes academic enrichment by offering workshops on study habits, time management, learning styles, self-advocacy, college application prep, financial aid awareness, and other life skills to help your student succeed.
The South County Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) is excited to kick off our fifth year. We want to invite parents and students of all backgrounds and demographics to join the MAC
We will have our annual kickoff September 14th from 10-12 in the SCHS library. This year’s kickoff will be a session on Time Management followed by an Ice Cream and Donut Social. Please come out to learn more about MAC and the MAC Scholars Program and all the exciting event we have planned for this school year.
The goal of the program is to create well rounded and balanced students through a variety of engaging extracurricular academic activities. We want to encourage you to register your student to participate now by completing the registration form. Our first tutoring session will be September 28th.. For additional information regarding the MAC or the MAC Scholars Program, please contact us at SouthCountyMAC@gmail.com.
FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH APPLICATIONS:
The Free and Reduced Meals application is now online. Families must re-apply every year to receive this service. More information and a link to the application can be found at: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/food-and-nutrition-programs/free-and-reduced-price-meals. Please also complete the consent to share information (section 4 of the application) as this can allow the school to waive course fees and receive reduced fees for other activities. If families do not re-apply their number will be inactivated in early October.
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.
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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