Message from Mr. Azimi
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Dear Thoreau Community:
With the start of the second quarter, I would like to share a few items students can be doing to successfully set themselves up for the next nine weeks of this new quarter. Teachers and counselors will be helping students as needed with these tasks during times of the day like Eagle Time and parents can be supporting their children by doing the same tasks at home.
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Academic Progress: Be sure to check StudentVUE and ParentVUE to stay up to speed with teachers' gradebooks. Make sure that work is completed and turned in to the appropriate teacher. Pay attention to any outstanding assignments that still need to be finished. Be sure to be in compliance with the retake policy and/or late work policy.
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Backpacks: Each student should open up his/her backpack. Take out those binders and notebooks. Find a home for loose papers. Do pens/pencils/markers need to be replenished? Have teachers given permission to purge any papers? Any food in backpacks that needs to be thrown away?
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Lockers: Each student should open up his/her locker. Is it organized and can items be found easily? Does anything need to be thrown out from lockers that is no longer needed? Also, do not forget about gym lockers. Students should bring home any unwashed physical education uniforms to be cleaned.
In addition, some questions parents can ask at home as we close out one quarter and enter a new quarter include:
- What is at least one skill you have used after talking about it in Steps to Success class? Has that made you a better student?
- What is at least one organizational strategy you use on a daily basis? How does that make you more prepared each day?
- What is at least one planning strategy you use on a daily basis? How does that help you stay on top of all of your work?
Sincerely,
Yusef Azimi
Upcoming Important Dates
- 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
- Wednesday, November 27th - Friday, November 29th: Thanksgiving Holiday
 Thoreau's "SWEET" counseling team consists of (L-R) counselor Eric Fishman, counselor Jill Gallagher, director Rebecca Aguilar, counselor Frangca Lee, registrar Jill Hendelman, psychologist Laura Hall, and counselor Kerrie Turner. Not pictured are counselor Scott Aldridge and social worker Joy Granados.
Choral Department News
Congratulations to Thoreau's talented choral department singers. On Saturday, October 25th, 62 members of the choral department auditioned for a spot in the All-District Honors Choir Festival. We are proud to announce that 48 students from Thoreau were selected for the festival that will occur in February 2020. That's a record number!
Health Room Volunteers Needed
Thoreau has a need for health room volunteers as there are no substitutes in the county that we can call if our school health aide is out. The county offers a short training on Thursday, November 14th from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. The location of the training is 1850 Cameron Glen Dr., Room 600, Reston, Va. Please see this flyer for details.
Thank you for supporting Thoreau's health room.
Chaperone Opportunity for 8th Grade Parents
The 8th grade math and civics departments are looking for additional chaperones for the December field trips to Finance Park. Students will be going on the field trip with their respective team. These are the dates each team will attend:
- Tuesday, December 3rd: Turtles (McCullock/Renfrew)
- Friday, December 6th: Falcons (Guy/McClanahan)
- Monday, December 9th: Hawks (Valenti)
- Tuesday, December 10th: Hawks (Christoff)
- Wednesday, December 11th: Wombats (Alley/Lefave)
Follow this link to get more information and to sign-up. Thanks!
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. Please ask your son/daughter if they turned in their form to their 1st period teacher. 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
Headshots taken by LifeTouch are used for your child's official yearbook picture. If your child missed the fall picture days, please ensure that they attend school on the picture retake day of Monday, December 2nd.
- A generic version of the yearbook can be purchased through December for $35.00, and for $40.00 beginning in January at MySchoolBucks.com.
- An upgraded version can be purchased for an additional cost at yearbookforever.com. This site will show the customized prices and options.
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.
 Students are reminded during lunch to check the lost and found. Uncollected items will be donated by Thanksgiving so please also remind your child to claim their belongings.
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:
- 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.
 Science teachers Jody Jacobs, Amie Oehm and Missy Galus dressed in costume for Halloween last week.
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.
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
Tickets for the 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 by Friday, November 8th. 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.
Dining for Dollars Spirit Night
You can enjoy meeting up with other Thoreau families and help the PTA raise funds to support our school simply by going out to eat. Our next Dining for Dollars spirit event will be Wednesday, November 13th at Chipotle. The address is 213 Maple Ave E, Vienna, VA. Come between 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM, mention Thoreau when paying at the register, and Chipotle will donate a whopping 33% of your purchase to the PTA. Invite family, friends, and neighbors to join us for a fun time!
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.
 7th grade student Juliette enjoys Halloween at Thoreau.
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