The Mustang Weekly - September 23rd, 2019

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 09/23/2019 06:15 PM EDT

THE MUSTANG WEEKLY

September 23rd, 2019

 

A note from Principal Kownacki:

Dear Mustang Community:

The 2019-2020 school year is off to a great start. Students have been engaging in meaningful learning activities throughout their classes and have adjusted well to the new school year.  I am very proud of their efforts and want to celebrate all the marvelous aspects of South County Middle School.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to follow our school on Twitter at @SouthCountyMS.  Twitter is a great platform for sharing school information, photos and videos of students participating in learning and celebrating successes. For many teachers in FCPS, including me, using social media in a professional capacity allows us to give the South County community a lens into the amazing learning, collaboration, and creativity that takes place on our campus. 

Please rest assured that using social media in a professional capacity will not detract from students’ learning. Also, we will not include photos of any students that have been opted out. If you have any questions about your child being featured in my FCPS social media post(s), please let me know.

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:

  • 9/23/19 – PTSO Meeting. Tonight! 7:00 p.m. in the SCMS Library. See below.
  • 9/26 and 9/27/19 – Picture Day. Fall pictures will be taken in PE classes. See below.
  • 9/27/19 – SCMS vs. SCHS Staff Basketball Game. See below.
  • 10/14/19 – Columbus Day – No school for students

 

PICTURE DAYS:

Lifetouch photographers will be at SCMS on September 26th and 27th (Thursday and Friday) to take school pictures during our PE classes. Students were given order forms in their PE classes this past week. Students can bring the order forms with them on picture day OR you can place an online order at mylifetouch.com using our picture day ID: MJ819602Q0

 

SCMS VS. SCHS BASKETBALL GAME:

The rivalry is back! On September 27th, South County Middle School staff will be competing against South County High School staff in a friendly basketball game for bragging rights!  The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at SCHS. Students are welcome to attend to cheer on their favorite teachers. Tickets will be sold during lunches for $7 starting September 23rd through the 27th. The basketball game is a fundraiser for the MS After School program as well as the HS Theater program. Please come out and support our South County Community and teachers. For more information you may contact Chris Woodby at cwwoodby@fcps.edu.

 

PTSO INFORMATION:

Join us for the first PTSO meeting of the year, TONIGHT at 7:00 p.m. in the library.  Hear from our Principal, Staff, Students and the PTSO about all the great things going on at SCMS!

Please consider joining the PTSO.  Memberships can be purchased at www.scmsptso.org.  All funds go directly back into programs at the school, teacher appreciation, instructional grants, and more!

  • To kick off the Fall season and thank our teachers for the hard work they have put in so far this year, the PTSO is hosting a luncheon on Monday, 10/14/19 (Columbus Day).  Please sign up to volunteer or bring items at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4caba72aa13-20195
  • All PTSO “spiritwear” orders will be delivered to the school the first week of October and delivered directly to students in their seminar classes.  
  • On Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:00 p.m., the PTSO is proud to present a screening of the acclaimed film "Screenagers".  Tickets are only $5 and pizza is available for pre-order.  For more information on the film, visit https://www.screenagersmovie.com/. To purchase tickets and dinner, visit www.scmsptso.org.  This film is brought to you by the generous sponsorship of Reem Trahan and the team at Compass. 
  • Unity Day is October 23rd! Wear orange and show your support for anti-bullying!  More information to come from your school counselors, but custom orange shirts are available for purchase until October 7th at www.scmsptso.org.

 

CAREER DAY:

If you're interested in being part of SCMS's 2019-20 Career Day, please fill out the form below and tell us about your career. We are looking for presenters from a wide variety of fields to expose our Mustangs to the world of work.  Whether you're involved in real estate, architecture, engineering, photography, computer science, marketing, technology, or something wildly different, we want to hear from you!  SAVE THE DATE- Wednesday, December 4, 2019. More details will follow from Ms. Brodie!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd0tHAWAvvyKhuMCCfqNKSmIbIpSW7q25AD7LF9CzcWudJaug/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

MINORITY ACHIEVEMENT COMMITTEE:

The South County Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) is excited to kick off our fifth 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.

 

E-CIGARETTE (VAPE) HEALTH ADVISORY:    

In light of recent cases of severe respiratory illnesses associated with the use of e-cigarettes and “vaping” among youth and young adults, the Fairfax County Health Department has posted a health advisory.  The advisory can be found here: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/severe-lung-illness-associated-vaping-what-you-need-know.  FCPS substance abuse prevention specialists are available to provide additional information in the form of presentations to students, parents, and staff.  Please contact your substance abuse prevention specialist or the Student Safety and Wellness Office to schedule a presentation.  Additional information on vaping can be found at the links below.

https://www.fcps.edu/vaping/parents https://www.fcps.edu/vaping

In response to a request from the Fairfax County Council of PTA’s (and others) to implement consistent student cell phone restrictions in our schools, we are recommending the following guidelines to all schools. Some schools may have more prescriptive rules, but these recommended best practices are intended to serve as a consistent minimum set of guidelines. Please communicate your school’s guidelines with staff, students and parents at the beginning of the school year.

 

FALL FOR LCAC -- A Family/Youth Volunteering Opportunity:

Help your neighbors and volunteer as a family (or send your middle schooler) at Lorton Community Action Center’s annual Fall for LCAC event. This food-raiser is a way to ensure that our neighbors have food throughout the winter and you can help! Bring a bag of non-perishable grocery items (kid-friendly food is most needed) and come to LCAC on Sunday, September 29th from 1-3pm. LCAC is hoping to bring in 10,000 pounds of food and have more than 100 volunteers onsite helping. Kids as young as 4 can volunteer! Pumpkin painting, food and music + helping our neighbors will make for a fun afternoon. Learn more at: https://lortonaction.org/fall-for-lcac/

 

 

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.