The Mustang Weekly - April 27th, 2020

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 04/27/2020 06:15 PM EDT

THE MUSTANG WEEKLY

APRIL 27th, 2020

 

During the FCPS closure, most of our communications will continue to be sent to our community via the eNotify system. However, we want to also send out our Mustang Weekly with information specific to the SCMS community.

A Note from Principal Kownacki (this information was also sent on April 24th through eNotify).

Dear South County Middle School Community, 

We have been hearing such positive feedback about our students and teachers connecting with each other through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and Google Meet. We look forward to continuing the momentum of distance learning next week. I have several updates to share with you today. Please review the information below carefully:

Third Quarter Grading

  • Third quarter has been extended to Friday, May 1st. Teachers may continue to work with students to close out the third quarter and accept assignments through that date.
  • Access in ParentVUE and StudentVUE to view the report card module will be closed from Friday, May 1 at 4:00 p.m. until Saturday, May 9 at 6:00 a.m. 

Fourth Quarter Grading

  • While third quarter work is being accepted until May 1st, fourth quarter work has been assigned to students. Any new work will be entered into fourth quarter gradebooks beginning Monday, May 4th. 
  • Teachers will provide feedback on the quality of work and guidance for improvement, rather than grading the submitted work. 
    • Assignment “marks” will be entered into the SIS gradebook as either: 
      • Proficient 
      • Attempted
      • Not Attempted
    • This data will be considered to positively influence the final course grade 
    • Students and families will be able to see “marks” in SIS, though weekly emails will not be sent since there will not be a quarter 4 grade 

Calculating Final Grades

  • There will be no final exam and/or culminating activity included as part of the final course grade calculation this year.
  • Year-Long Courses
    • Teachers have the discretion of raising a student's final grade by one grade distribution (B to B+), based on demonstrated proficiency of quarter 4 learning. 
    • A student’s final grade will be the highest of the following:
      • Average of Qtrs 1, 2, & 3
      • Average of Qtrs 1, 2, & 3 w/1 grade distribution increase consideration
      • 1st Semester Grade
      • 1st Semester Grade w/1 grade distribution increase consideration
  • Current Semester Courses
    • Schools/teachers have the discretion of raising a student's final grade by two grade distributions (B to A-), based on demonstrated proficiency of Qtr 4 learning.  
    • A student’s final grade will be the highest of the following:
      • Quarter 3 Average
      • Quarter 3 Average (w/up to a two-grade distribution increase consideration)

Report Cards

  • Report Cards/Progress Reports will be mailed centrally for both third and fourth quarters. 3rd quarter report cards will be delivered to the Post Office by 5/23/20. They will be available to view on ParentVue and StudentVue on 5/9/20.
  • Parents/Guardians may opt into “Go Paperless” for report cards by following the below instructions:
    • Parents/Guardians can take advantage of the paperless option, by logging into ParentVUE, then going to “My Account” and selecting "Go Paperless!". This is the only way to keep a paper report card from being generated for students at the secondary level. All parents who share the same address as the student must have a SIS ParentVUE account and must select the paperless option. This option must be selected prior to May 12th to prevent the 3rd quarter report card from being mailed. 

Last Day of School

  • The last day of school for all students is Friday, June 12.

Summer Courses

  • Additional summer offerings and support through FCPS summer learning programming are being discussed and will be shared as soon as available pending developments with the state-wide closure of schools.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.

 

Peter Kownacki, Principal

pakownacki@fcps.edu

@PAKownacki

 

SOME GOOD NEWS FROM SCMS:

We have so many artistic and creative students at SCMS! Sadly, many of our students won’t have the opportunity this school year to showcase their talents. This includes the cast and crew of our spring musical, High School Musical. Students, teachers and others worked long and hard to put together another spectacular show.

One of our choreographers, Ms.Hannah Swim, a South County alum, put together this video of our talented performers. Thank you to Mrs. Beasley for creating a Zoom link for our kids to create this.

High School Musical

 

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK STARTS MAY 5TH:

When teachers started back to work last August for the 2019-2020 school year our theme was “Superheroes” because we feel that our teachers ARE superheroes. We continue to see the amazing things our teachers are doing every day to connect with students. In past years our PTSO has sponsored some delicious teacher appreciation luncheons. Students and co-workers have put together posters, goodie bags and other tokens of appreciation. Since we will not be able to show our appreciation in the usual ways this year, we are asking for your words of appreciation to be shared with our teachers. Please click this link to add your comments:  

https://forms.gle/CnEYmdGUoXYakhKP6

 

 

PTSO – TEACHER APPRECIATION AND POSITIONS FOR NEXT YEAR:

We understand that everyone is facing this pandemic with unique circumstances and hope that this message finds you and yours healthy and safe.

 

We have partnered with a company in NYC named Tribute to create a virtual "THANK YOU" video for our teachers and staff at SCMS for Teacher Appreciation Week! We need your help! 

1. Click here to record/upload a video message from you (parents) or your students.  https://www.tribute.co/scms-staff-appreciation-week/

2. Be silly! Be serious! Be thankful! The teachers will be so happy to see their students smiling faces.

3. Have pics of what your kids have been doing over the break? Sleeping in? Reading outside? Creating a project? Send them to jenthibodeau@gmail.com and we will include those as well.

4. Parents say the darndest things! Send over your favorite homeschooling memes and memories!

The due date for this Virtual Thank You is Wednesday May 6. That will give us enough time to edit the video before we send on Friday.  

If you have any questions, please contact jenthibodeau@gmail.com. 

 

Please see the additional information from our PTSO below regarding the virtual PTSO meeting on May 12th at 7:00 p.m. to elect board members for the 2020-21 school year.

 

REMINDERS FOR STUDENTS:

  • Students should be checking their FCPS Gmail account (that ends in @fcpsschools.net).
  • Staff email addresses are on the SCMS web page
  • There are MANY resources available on both the SCMS web page and the main FCPS web page.
  • Check out the links at the bottom of this newsletter for fun activities. The After-School Specialists have put this information together for our students. More information about the After-School Program will be coming soon.  

 

HOW AM I GOING TO GET MY STUFF?:

We hear you Mustangs! You are wondering if the half- sandwich you left in your locker on March 12th has blue or green mold. You want to know if the spring photo you took captured your real smile. And how will I get my yearbook? Please know that we have posed these questions to our leadership and hope to hear back in a few weeks with some answers about getting pictures/yearbooks/stuff from lockers.

 

8TH GRADE SERVICE-LEARNING REQUIREMENT:

Per Regulation 3200, students are encouraged to complete 15 hours of service-learning hours by the end of 8th grade. This includes all hours completed in grades 7 and 8.

8th graders – please remember to put any of your completed service hours into X2vol.  While we understand that many of you have not completed your 15 hours, we encourage you to input any hours that you have completed. The deadline to submit is June 1st. Please email your Social Studies teacher with any questions.

 

YEARBOOKS:

Remember the old days when you could sit less than 6 feet away from your best friend? Share a bag of baked Doritos without reaching for the hand sanitizer? When pictures were of people and not of meeting screens? Well, don't you forget about...buying your yearbook! Cherish the memories of life before Covid 19/Social Distancing. The yearbook is an entire year of memories in one book! It celebrates the time students spent together and the activities during the year. Now, more than ever, is a great time to buy a yearbook at Jostens.com! The price is still $40. Please contact Ms. Bolton at jrbolton@fcps.edu with questions.

 

 

ARE YOU MOVING SOON?

Parents, if you know that your student will be moving before the end of the school year, please contact the registrar, Ms. Perper, to complete the withdrawal process.  Students must be officially withdrawn in order to send records to their new school.  You may contact Ms. Perper at slperper@fcps.edu.  

 

 

FINAL PTSO MEETING FOR THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR/ELECTIONS:

We will host the Final PTSO meeting of the year, May 12th @ 7pm via Zoom.

Join us for elections! Zoom invite will be sent soon. Many of our current Board members will be moving on with their children or out of the area. We NEED YOU!

 

ALL POSITIONS ARE OPEN FOR NOMINATIONS:

Current Slate for 2020-2021

  • President - Position Open
  • Vice President, 7th Grade - Position open
  • Vice President, 8th Grade - Position open
  • Secretary - Position open
  • Treasurer - Position openPlease email SCMSPTSOPresident@gmail.com if interested.

  

LOOKING FOR WAYS TO HELP LOCALLY?:

The Lorton Community Action Center helps families in our community. If you are interested in making a food or financial donation, please visit their website at

https://lortonaction.org/covid-19-update/

 

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES:

School-Based Social Emotional Learning and Wellness Resources During Distance Learning School Counselors, School Psychologists, and School Social Workers are available to support students, families and staff during distance learning. They are supporting students, families and staff in many of the same ways as they did prior to distance learning, but it may look different now. Students may continue to reach out to their counselors via email for support.  Please check the SCMS website for counselors’ email addresses.

Numerous resources have been developed to support families, including the Healthy Minds Blog, Student Voice videos, and a Learning from Home webpage for families. Please click on this link to review resources for families regarding school-based social emotional learning and wellness resources during distance learning: Social-Emotional and Wellness Resources for Families.

 

CRISIS HOTLINE:

Students and families may use the PRS CrisisLink Phone Line: 800-273-TALK (8255),   text “CONNECT” to 855-11, or use Lifeline Chat: SuicidePreventionLifeline.org/chat for after-hours assistance with mental health issues. The lines are safe, confidential and manned 24/7.

 

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM:

Websites and Links with creative activities for middle school students and their families to investigate individually or together as a family

  • Eleanor Amplified: An adventure series for the whole family. Listen together as our hero, the world-famous radio reporter Eleanor Amplified, foils devious plots and outwits crafty villains, all in pursuit of the big story. http://eleanoramplified.org/ 
  • The Past and the Curious: Fun and smart history lessons that often emphasize overlooked accomplishments of people who played a large role – with a quiz time at the end of the episode. http://thepastandthecurious.com/

 

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/

To update or modify your News You Choose preferences, please visit https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/VAEDUFCPS/subscriber/new?qsp=VAEDUFCPS_1

Parents of FCPS students may update contact information online through weCare@School http://www.fcps.edu/news/wecare.shtml a feature of FCPS Learning (Blackboard) or by contacting the Student Information Office at SCMS to have the contact information updated in the student information system.