Message from Mr. Azimi
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Dear Thoreau Community:
Schools across Fairfax County have been recognizing Digital Citizenship Week this week. This year’s theme is Media Balance and Well-Being: Developing a Healthy Relationship with Your Technology. Thoreau has been celebrating Digital Citizenship Week with spirit days and activities focused on developing healthy habits around technology use. Our students have had a choice board to select at least one activity a day that matches the daily theme. They are as follows:
- Monday, October 21st: Hat Day (Put on your thinking cap and reflect on your media use and habits.)
- Tuesday, October 22nd: Active Wear (Exercise your healthy tech habits.)
- Wednesday, October 23rd: Dress as your Muse (Dress up as your favorite artist, musician, author, inventor, actor/actress, scientist, etc. and focus on how you can use technology to create original works.)
- Thursday, October 24th: Dress in Your Best (Wear your best or most professional clothing and focus on using high-quality media.)
- Friday, October 25th: “Lei” Off the Tech (Wear Hawaiian clothing and take a break from screens to connect more in person.)
This link is full of home resources and suggested activities that parents can engage in with their children at home.
In addition, all FCPS schools were asked to implement grade-level lessons during the first quarter. Thoreau’s lessons were presented to students on Monday, September 23rd during Eagle Time. Our seventh graders focused on how social media can affect relationships and our eighth graders focused on responsible use of social media. If you have any questions regarding digital citizenship, feel free to contact Thoreau technology specialist Bob DeLuca at rvdeluca@fcps.edu
Sincerely,
Yusef Azimi
Upcoming Important Dates
- Tuesday, October 29th - Wednesday, October 30th: Fall pictures
- Friday, November 1st: First quarter ends
- Monday, November 4th and Tuesday, November 5th: Student holidays/teacher workdays
- Tuesday, November 5th: Election day; parking and entrance at door 8
- Thursday, November 14th: Family Life Education preview night, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM, library
- Thursday, November 14th: 7th grade family dinner, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM, cafe and gym 1
 Spanish teacher Denise Poole's 9th period class finishing an assignment in their workbooks and getting started on their country projects.
Federal Impact Aid Survey
On Wednesday, October 23rd, the Federal Impact Aid Survey was sent home with all of our students. FCPS requires one completed form to be returned for every student.
Returning this form is important because information from this survey results in an additional $3 million in grants each year from the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are used to support all FCPS schools and centers.
For each school-aged child in your household, please complete, sign, date, and return the survey to your child's school. If sections 1 and 2 of the survey do not apply to you, just check the box in section 3. All forms must be signed, dated, and returned by Wednesday, October 30th. All results are confidential.
See this link for details.
Fairfax County Youth Survey
The Fairfax County Youth Survey will be administered to our 8th graders during English classes on Thursday, November 14th and Friday, November 15th. The survey is a comprehensive, anonymous and voluntary survey given each year to students in grades six, eight, ten, and twelve. The results of this survey are published each year and are used by school officials, youth service county agencies, and local non-profits to determine the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs offered in schools and communities. It is also used to identify changing trends and areas of need. Please read the parent letter on the Youth Survey for more information. If you do not wish for your child to take part in the survey, please complete the attached opt-out form and return it to your child's English teacher or email it to Thoreau testing coordinator Sunnie Chung at shchung@fcps.edu no later than Tuesday, November 5th.
2019-2020 Thoreau Yearbook
Thoreau yearbooks are now on sale. Don't wait to buy a copy as the price will increase soon. To avoid the frustration of trying to remember if you already purchased your child a yearbook, you will receive an "I Purchased a Yearbook" reminder magnet. (If you already purchased a copy, your magnet will arrive soon.)
Questions? Please contact Thoreau yearbook sponsor Ms. Galeet BenZion at gbenzion@fcps.edu.
My School Bucks (MSB) Update
MSB is up and running for class fees and school store purchases. Please visit My School Bucks.
Thoreau PE Offers Cinch Sacks for Sale
Thoreau's health and PE department is offering navy blue bags cinch sacks with the Thoreau logo for purchase at $5.00 per bag. If you would like to purchase a Thoreau bag, please see any PE teacher with cash or a check made out to Thoreau with PE Bag written in the subject line. Payment can also be made through My School Bucks.
After-School Programs and Late Buses
After-school programs and buses are underway. After-school information will always be communicated via our website, the TMS after-school Google site, the PTA newsletter, Eagle News (our morning news show), and will be published in future issues of Thoreau Matters.
For planning purposes, the last day of after-school activities is Thursday, May 28th. The after-school program will not meet on student holidays, or during inclement weather cancellations. In addition, there will be no after-school activities or buses on the following dates:
- Friday, November 1st
- Monday, November 25th - Tuesday, November 26th
- Friday, December 20th
- Friday, January 17th
- Friday, February 14th
- Friday, April 3rd
- Friday, May 22nd
Vienna's Club Phoenix
Want to hang out with your friends, play fun games and participate in some pretty awesome events? The Vienna Teen Center's Club Phoenix is your place to be during after-school hours!
Beginning Thursday, October 24th, Thoreau's after-school program will be offering a Club Phoenix shuttle bus that will transport students from Thoreau to the teen center at 3:15 PM every Thursday that the after-school program is running. Only students who participate in Thoreau's after-school program and are registered with Club Phoenix will be able to use this service. This is a first-come, first-serve service. Only the first 20 students will be accepted. The students will then be able to participate in Club Phoenix activities until the center closes at 6:30 PM. Students will need a mode of transportation home from the center. The registration form is available at the teen center, in Thoreau's front office or via email to Vienna teen center employee Natalie Duncan at Natalie.Duncan@ViennaVA.gov. Please submit your Club Phoenix teen shuttle registration form to Thoreau after-school specialist Colleen Taylor as soon as possible, but know that your child can not ride the shuttle bus until a registration form has been received and approved by Ms. Taylor.
 Proof that middle school students actually wait to come into the school library each morning before school begins!
Here Comes the Bus Mobile App
To help you know when your child’s bus is approaching your stop, FCPS is now using the Here Comes the Bus mobile app. Here Comes the Bus is a free school bus tracking app that can simplify morning and afternoon routines for parents and students by giving real-time bus location and text or email notification alerts, helping everybody get to the bus stop on time.
Here Comes the Bus® uses FCPS global positioning system (GPS) data and an easy-to-use customizable map that works on one or multiple devices, such as a tablet or smartphone.
Get detailed instructions on how to get started using the app here.
World Languages Credit Exam
The 2019 credit exam for world languages will be administered Wednesday, November 6th - Friday, November 8th. Students who take the credit exam will now have the opportunity to earn up to three credits, based on demonstrated proficiency.
Thirty languages will be assessed via the FCPS credit exam including: American Sign Language, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali/Bangla, Chinese/Mandarin, Farsi/Persian, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit/Samskritam, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
Greek, Hebrew, Portuguese and Turkish languages will be tested using the Writing Proficiency Test (WPT), which is a timed test and has a format distinct from the FCPS World Languages Credit Exam. More information on WPT is available here.
Registration opens Monday, September 9th at 8:00 AM and closes on Thursday, October 10th at 4:00 PM. Late registrations will not be accepted.
Credit exam information can be accessed here.
Family Life Education (FLE) Preview Night
There will be an FLE preview night on Thursday, November 14th from 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM prior to the PTA 7th grade dinner.
Prior to the November 14th meeting, parents/guardians need to have their ParentVue account activated in order to login and review the materials on Blackboard. Refer to this link to find registration information about creating an account.
PTA News and Announcements
PTA Meeting and Parent Education Presentation
All are warmly invited to join us for our next PTA meeting on Tuesday, October 29th at 9:30 AM at Thoreau. Brief PTA business will be followed by a parent education session on self-care entitled "Don't Forget About You" which is offered in partnership with Club Phoenix, the Town of Vienna's teen center. Psychotherapist, nutritionist, and life coach Ginny Inglese of Total Health Concepts will be the guest speaker.
7th Grade Family Dinner
It's fall y'all, so it is time to celebrate cooler temperatures, colorful foliage, and everything pumpkin spice at the annual 7th grade family dinner held on Thursday, November 14th from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM in the school cafeteria. This annual tradition brings 7th graders and their families together for an evening to relax, feast on a catered dinner by Maggio's, dance to a DJ, and capture memories in the photo booth. Tickets are $12.00 per person and must be purchased in advance. Tickets are available online at Pay4SchoolStuff. Many volunteers are needed to help the PTA make this event a success. Please sign-up to volunteer for part of the night and be part of the fun! See this flyer for details.
Help the PTA
Please join the PTA and consider making a donation to our no-fuss fundraiser.
Other easy ways you can earn money for Thoreau are:
- register your Harris Teeter VIC card with school code 3258
- designate Thoreau for your Amazon Smile charity
- keep collecting and sending in Box Top
Andrea Kramer, Thoreau PTA President
president@thoreaupta.org
2019-20 PTA Board Members
Andrea Kramer, President
Irina Smirnoff, Vice President
Amy Vernon, Treasurer
Wendy Pearson, Secretary
Thoreau Food Program
Thoreau will be pilot the first middle school program with Food for Others this year. Food for Others is an organization that provides schools with weekly "Power Packs." These packs include nonperishable food items for school-aged children in need. Once this partnership begins in November, families who would like to contribute can do so directly with Food for Others.
 Theatre director Virginia Cunningham and her students participate in Thoreau spirit week PJ day.
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