Glasgow Community Gazette - August 9

Glasgow Community:

This Friday, August 14, marks the official return to school for teachers. While we will all be engaged in professional development during our return weeks, many of our teachers and staff members have also been attending voluntary international, national, and local virtual professional learning throughout the summer. So many staff members have reached out to share their excitement about developing their savviness with tech tools, titles of great professional books they’re reading, and conferences they’ve attended. I believe and often say that students learn best in schools that learn. Glasgow’s entire staff is committed to lifelong learning - just as our vision describes - and because of their dedication, we continue to improve each and every year as a school.

I know many of you have questions about how to best support your students’ virtual learning. As we get closer to students’ first day of school, we are excited to host return-to-school family information sessions in English, Spanish, and Arabic, to help you and your students start strong. More information on this coming soon!

Thank you to all who responded last week, as I shared last week, to help us ensure we are providing the right support for our students and including all stakeholders in our efforts to prepare for a great school year, we are seeking your feedback. I know that distance learning this past spring had its successes and its challenges. As we continue our preparation, we would like to know what went well for your student(s), what was challenging, and what supports you may need moving forward. Please take a moment to complete this parent feedback form to help shape our approach, and thank you to those who already responded. It has been very helpful to hear your perspectives!

Finally, you should have received an email about new laptop distribution, which will occur Tuesday, August 18 - Friday, August 28. Please see below for more information.  In order to ensure that we have a steady flow to students and families at Glasgow during each distribution day, please complete THIS FORM.

Please reach out for questions or concerns. Take care!

Katie Madigan, Acting Principal

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

Important Dates

August 11 - Yearbook Distribution Day 2 (see below)

August 18 - 28 - FCPSOn Computer Distribution (see below)

September 8 - First Day of School!

Important Information 

 Parent Outreach Survey - We have had some great turnout this year in our virtual PTA, Parent Coffees and Town Hall meetings. In order to help us plan programming and other events for the upcoming school year, please respond to the following questions below.  Thank you!

https://forms.gle/RvQKDaQFbsPSnR5B7

Yearbook Store is Open - Glasgow has a very limited supply of 2019-2020 yearbooks remaining.  The only way to safely process yearbook sales is to have families order on-line at the following site:  https://www.balfour.com/virginia/alexandria/glasgow-middle-school.  The cost of the yearbook is $30. Once the yearbooks are gone, the store will close. Yearbooks ordered after August 9th will be handed out with student laptops.  Please note: yearbooks WILL NOT be sold at the school on August 11th.

Yearbook Distribution Day 2 - August 11 - Families who have purchased a yearbook during the school year and missed Distribution Day #1 and families who purchase in August may pick up their student’s yearbook on August 11th from 12 noon to 2:00 pm.  If you are not able to pick up your yearbook on August 11th, we will package the book with your student’s laptop: current Glasgow students will get their yearbook at Glasgow. Rising Freshmen will get their yearbook at Justice HS. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Perella at maperella@fcps.edu.

FCPSOn Laptop Distribution - August 18 - 28 - All middle school students will be receiving a brand new laptop for distance learning this year and our Technology Team is working hard preparing student laptops for distribution. Distribution will begin Tuesday, August 18th. Parents may find their student’s pick up day (below). The laptop pick up process is curbside, drive-up, and takes 5-10 minutes. Students must come to the laptop pick-up as they will need to login to their new computer at Glasgow. Students will also be notified through their fcpsschools.net accounts. Additionally, any families who were not able to return old laptops on the collection day, should plan to bring them when they receive the new laptop.

See below for the schedule of when students may pick up their laptop from Glasgow. In order to ensure that we have a steady flow to students and families at Glasgow, please complete THIS FORM to help us plan for distribution day. Depending on the number of students arriving at any given time, and because we are working to ensure the health and safety of our staff and families, this process may take between 10-20 minutes. We plan to follow all CDC and Health Department guidelines for social distancing and sanitation. Parents and students should expect to stay in their vehicle and must wear a mask at all times.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to distribute these new devices to every student before the start of school.

FCPSOn FAQs @Glasgow

DEVICE GUIDELINES & INFORMATION

Please review the responsibilities and guidelines. The student is responsible for his or her laptop and cord at all times.

What comes with each FPCSOn laptop? Each device is bundled with a power adapter and neoprene sleeve.  Students will be responsible for returning the laptop, charger and sleeve at the end of the year.

What is loaded on FCPSOn laptops? Laptops will be preloaded with software and plugins to ensure compatibility with online instruction, testing, and most curriculum software.

What support is provided for a FCPSOn laptop? Support for the device will be provided by the school technology support team – this includes repairs, software installation and support and training. Repair of damage outside of normal use and care will be brought to the attention of school administration and may be the responsibility of the student (who may be asked to pay for repair or replacement).

Why should my student pick up a laptop if he/she has his own personal laptop at home?  The FCPSOn laptop is fully supported by FCPS.  If there is a technical issue or unintentional breakage, FCPS will cover the cost and fix the problem.  In addition, there are applications and software already loaded on the laptop that are required tools in classes.  This learning device is locked down with FCPS internet filter software.

Can FCPS block social media on the new laptops? Social media is not blocked on our devices because some of our students and teachers use it for instructional purposes. Many clubs, teams and other activities also use social media to communicate with participants.  Whether or not your student has an account remains a family decision.

Does a student need to use the laptop with wifi when not on school property? We have installed Google drive sync so students can work on documents offline.  Depending on what the assignment requires (watching a video, research, collaborative tools, etc.) they may need to access wifi. 

What if we do not have WiFi internet at home? If families do not have internet access in the home, please contact the counselor or Melinda Hedenberg, mkhedenberg@fcps.edu, Nafisa Mohamed Taha nmmohamedtah@fcps.edu or Marcia Donovan MDonovan@fcps.edu.

Why can’t we pick up the laptop at any time? We have scheduled staff members to assist with the distribution at the indicated times. There is a required process in order to check identification, collect information forms, distribute ID cards, login assistance, etc. that necessitates an assembly line type process. We have scheduled laptop distribution by student last names but will ask families to select the time window of their preference on their pick up day.  Thank you for your patience!

What resources are available to parents and students to promote good digital citizenship online? The FCPS Website has many resources to support parents.  Parents have access to a Customizable Device Contract and Family Media Agreement that will support them as they talk with their children about internet use and set rules that are right for their family. A handout with links to parental controls and recommendations for the most frequently used apps is also provided. In addition, many tips sheets, advice videos and more are available on this site for parents. Links to reputable outside sources are supplied for both students and parents to use.

Glasgow Library Updates

Glasgow MS library staff is ready to continue the circulation of print books from our library. When you pick up your laptop for the 2020-21 school year, please drop off your current Glasgow (or any other FCPS library) library book(s) in the blue bin outside the front office. Once books have been quarantined, we will check them back into the system. There might be a slight delay in the update to your account. 

Don’t forget you still have access to over 2500 eBooks and audiobooks that you can use on your device or school-issued laptop. Please visit the Glasgow MS library site for information on how to access MackinVIA. (https://sites.google.com/fcpsschools.net/glasgowmslibrary/home). The Glasgow library website features a MackinVIA tutorial that shows you how to access the digital system. It can be downloaded on a mobile device or accessed via the web from a laptop. Please reach out to Ms. Sanz, Glasgow MS Librarian, with any questions/concerns at tmsanz@fcps.edu. 

We are also working on a plan for Glasgow students to check out books for this school year during distance learning. Stay tuned for mobile checkouts in a neighborhood near you!

Glasgow PTA News

Check out the Glasgow PTA website to find out how you can help at Glasgow!  http://www.glasgowpta.org/participate/volunteer/

To stay in touch and in the know, sign up for the PTA listserv by sending a request to  glasgowms.pta@gmail.com. Or join the PTA it’s only $10! http://www.glasgowpta.org/participate/membership/