Glasgow Community Gazette - December 16

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Glasgow Community:

I hope you are having a great weekend. I am currently sitting in the back of our minivan traveling back from visiting family in Long Island. If your time with family is anything like mine, it is an opportunity to share what we are most proud of about our children and their school experience; as well as share the challenges of being a parent, especially to tweens. Sharing with my family this weekend led me to reflect on the many ways I am proud of students’ experiences at Glasgow Middle School.  

Diversity - Researchers have documented that students’ exposure to other students who are different from themselves and the novel ideas and challenges that such exposure brings leads to improved cognitive skills, including critical thinking and problem solving. It is exciting to know that students at Glasgow get to benefit from diversity of our student body.  

Knowing Each Student By Name and By Need - Although large in size, Glasgow uses data and collaborative teacher teams to meet the needs of each and every student. When students are ready for new challenges, we know it and are ready to provide it. Similarly, when students need extra support, teachers are able to provide opportunities to practice and relearn as soon as possible, so students can continue to be successful with grade-level standards. 

Teacher Collaboration - In many schools, the quality of instruction - and sometimes even what is taught - may greatly vary depending on the individual teacher. At Glasgow, our teachers collaborate at the highest level.  They meet throughout the week to develop quality lesson plans together using a lesson planning document. This ensures quality instruction in every classroom throughout the building.

Focus on Academic Task - As a school, we know that nothing matters more for students’ learning than the rigor of the tasks they encounter in class each day. As a staff, we talk about the importance of ensuring students are reading, writing, thinking and discussing at a high level each and every day. In their classes, students are analyzing, evaluating, comparing and predicting. By applying these high-level thinking skills on a daily basis in middle school, Glasgow students are prepared for the complex world that they will encounter in high school and beyond. 

Care and Belonging - Finally, but perhaps most importantly, Glasgow is a school that invests explicitly in communicating care and belonging to each and every one of our students and their families. Our staff greets students every day, for every class. We take time to celebrate students’ accomplishments, both academically and with our Panther Principles of kindness, commitment and safety. We know that students must know that we care about them and that they belong before they will learn. Panther Time advisories, Panther Cards and Open Campus are just some of the many ways we show students that we care about more than just their learning. 

For all these reasons and more, we are incredibly proud of the experiences your students have at Glasgow each and every day. Our staff is outstanding in their commitment to providing the values above, and it is an honor to work with your students this school year. Thank you for allowing us to play a part in your student’s growth this school year. I hope the next few weeks means time spent together as a family, celebrating the growth so far and resting up for all that is to come when we return in January. 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Sincerely, 
Shawn DeRose
Principal

 

Contact Information
Twitter: @ShawnDeRose
Email: spderose@fcps.edu
Website: http://www.fcps.edu/GlasgowMS/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlasgowMS.FCPS/


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Hour of Code Partnership with Accenture

Glasgow Technology classes and our VA STAR After School  Club recently teamed up with Accenture Federal to participate in the Hour of Code. The Hour of Code started in 2013 by the non-profit organization, Code.org. The goal of this group is to bring computer science awareness in schools with a concentration on getting female students and underrepresented minorities involved.  Since its inception, the Hour of Code has grown globally by having over tens of millions participate with approximately 50% of them being female. The Hour of Code is an annual event that takes place for an entire week every December. Out technology teachers, Josh Floyd and Marc Perella hope to expand this incredible activity to even more classrooms in December, 2020.


Important Dates

December 16 - A/B Honor Roll Certificates Distributed

December 18 - Grab-n-Go Breakfast sponsored by the PTA

December 19 - Panther Store

December 19 - Orchestra Concert, 7pm

January 8 - Rising 6th Grade Open House

January 9 - Justice HS Rising 9th Grade Orientation and Curriculum Night

 

A/B Honor Roll Certificates Distributed - December 16: Congratulations to those students that have made A/B Honor Roll! Their hard work has paid off and we are so proud of each and every one of our students. We will recognize these students with certificates to be distributed through Panther Time on Monday, December 2. If your child is absent, they can obtain their certificate from Student Services the following day. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Akon Otoyo at ajotoyo@fcps.edu.

 

Rising 6th Grade Parent Night at Glasgow Middle School - January 8: Come to Glasgow Middle School on January 8 from 6-8pm for an Open House to learn more about what middle school at Glasgow is all about! We will offer short (optional) sessions on our various Glasgow programs, and teachers will be in their classrooms throughout the evening to share all about our core and elective courses for 6th Graders. The goal is for parents to leave this event excited about all the opportunities you will have as a Glasgow Panther and prepared to complete your course request form! If you have any questions, please contact Joash Chung at jhchoung@fcps.edu.

Breakout Sessions on the following topics will be offered throughout the evening: Welcome to Glasgow, Course Request 101; Level IV Advanced Academic Program; Spanish Immersion Program; English for Speakers of Other Languages Program; Special Education Office; Math Course Placement and Selection Q&A


Getting Ready for High School

Rising 9th Grade Orientation and High School Curriculum Night - January 9: The Justice HS Rising 9th Grade Parent Orientation & Curriculum Night will be held on Thursday, January 9. Pre-orientation sessions for special populations will be held at 6:00 pm for parents interested in hearing more about the following topics: ESOL, IB/MYP, and Special Education.

The full orientation will kick off at 6:30pm and is geared towards providing information for Rising 9th grade students and parents. At 7:15, students and parents of all high school grade levels will have the opportunity to talk with teachers, department chairs, school counselors and administrators about course offerings, course requirements, and scheduling choices. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be held on Monday, January 13. 

 

High School Transition Events at Neighboring High Schools

Annandale High School - January 15 at 7PM

Falls Church High School - January 9 at 6:30PM

Edison High School - February 25 at 7PM


Volunteer at Glasgow!

Gift Card Donations Wanted: When I first started at Glasgow in the spring of 2015, I requested parent support by donating $5 gift cards that we could use as incentives and thank you's for our staff. Your response was overwhelming and I have finally used the generous stash that you all provided.

I am requesting your help again since we are not permitted to use any kind of FCPS funds, local or otherwise, for this purpose. It is amazing how much a $5 gift card is appreciated. If you are so inclined, please feel free to drop them off at the main office or drop them in the mail to my attention. I will share the love with staff throughout the school year. Thank you so much! (It can be for any business you want to support, in any amount. Nothing is too small!)

 

Grab-n-Go Pre-Winter Break Breakfast - December 18: The PTA will provide a Pre-Winter Break breakfast for Glasgow teachers and staff on Wednesday, December 18. Since it’s a school day, we’ll set up the popular grab-n-go format so teachers/staff can pack a bag of goodies to eat whenever they get a chance during the day! We’ll need lots of volunteers and food and beverage donations to make this breakfast possible. Volunteer here

If you are short on time to volunteer or bring a donated item, the PTA would be happy to receive your monetary donation to purchase supplies for this event.


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Capital One Coders App Challenge

On Thursday, 14 dedicated students represented Glasgow at the Capital One Coders App Challenge. The students competed against students from three other middle schools. Capital One Coders connects Capital One associates with students to cultivate an interest in computer science. The students have been working with their Capital One mentors for the last ten weeks to develop an app for the competition. The students learned how to develop their own mobile apps using MIT App Inventor. App Inventor allows students to create apps while learning computational thinking - the critical element of developing software. 

The students worked very hard and created some very amazing apps from scratch. Many also one prizes for their apps. Such as, most technical, most user friendly, and most creative. On top of competing against the other schools, the students were given a nice dinner, showered with Capital One swag, and got to meet women’s national soccer team superstar; Kelley O'Hara. Congratulations to our Glasgow Capital One Coders!


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Theater Students Visit Synetic Theater

Theater Arts students recently went to see The Snow Queen at the Synetic Theater. This trip provided students an opportunity to learn from professional performers and we’re excited to see how this impacts them in their theater classes at Glasgow. Thanks to Ms. Smits-Beasley and the many parent volunteers for organizing such a great trip and experience for our students!


Important Information

Sign Up for Weekly Progress Reports: All parents/guardians of middle and high school students who have registered for a SIS ParentVUE Account and have a primary email address recorded in SIS ParentVUE can receive Weekly Progress Reports via email. This report provides a summary of your student(s) grades for the current quarter. 

To activate the Weekly Progress Reports via email, login to your SIS ParentVUE Account and first verify that you have a primary email address within the system. It is listed under the “My Account” tab. If it is blank, enter the email address where you would like to receive the progress reports and click on update account. Once confirmed, parents/guardians are able to activate and select their preferences for receiving these reports within the SIS ParentVUE “My Account” tab.

Weekly progress reports for all of your middle and high school students will be included in one email. FCPS Elementary Schools do not use the SIS grade book and therefore are not included in these reports. For questions about a specific progress report or grade you can login into your SIS ParentVUE Account to find detailed grade book information. Additionally, your student’s teacher is always the best resource to answer any grade book questions that you may have. Weekly Progress Report Parent Quick Reference Guide.


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Be Informed, Stay Involved!