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Greetings Frost Middle School Families,
Happy Friday!!
It's hard to believe that next week marks the end of the first quarter for the 2020-2021 school year! Wow, time is flying! I continue to be so proud of the instructional experiences our staff creates each day, the care they have for our students, and the incredibly hard work our students are putting forth each day. This is a year like no other, but I wouldn't want to spend it anywhere than Frost! Everyone is exhibiting what it means to be #ONEFrost!
As we bring this quarter to a close, I know there remain concerns about student workload, connection and what is to come. The admin team and the faculty staff are constantly thinking of ways to support all students during these times. Please continue to reach out to your child’s teacher or to their student services counselor for any support you may need.
Just think in a few short months, we might get what we all are thirsting for, students in the building, bringing with it some sense of normalcy. Only time will tell. This will inevitably bring its new challenges and new questions.
I've communicated earlier this week that there will be a community town hall next Monday at 6:30 pm. It’s designed to provide information to Frost MS families concerning the choice you'll need to make shortly regarding your preference for instruction in the event we come back to in-person in February. Information concerning the platform can be found below in the “In Other News” section below.
Finally, I have to say what a privilege it is to serve this community as the principal of Frost Middle School! This is a special place with even more special people. Our staff gets to do what we love to do each day, teach and support our students!
All the best! Have a great weekend!
Yours in service,
Mr. Harris
We are #ONEFrost! #Engage #CommittedtoEquity
October 26 Return-to-School Town Hall 6:30 – 7:30 pm
October 30 End of First Quarter/Two Hour Early Release
November 2 Teacher Workday- Student Holiday
November 3 Election Day- Student Holiday
November 11 Veterans’ Day/Two Hour Early Release
November 11 Picture Day
November 12 Equity Town Hall Meeting 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- The calendar will be updated with additional dates for parent/community events as they become available.
FCPS Outstanding Employees of the Year 2020
We are thrilled to announce that two Frost Middle School superstars have been recognized as Fairfax County Public Schools Outstanding Employees for 2020.
Samantha Jalajel has been crowned 2020 Outstanding New Teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools. Ms. J. is recognized because she makes every student in her ever-growing program feel valued and important and she is the consummate team-player amongst her peers at Frost MS.
Anthony Harris is the 2020 Outstanding New Principal for Fairfax County Public Schools. Mr. Harris is recognized for building a caring culture among students, families and staff at Frost MS. His mantra of “Work Hard, Be Nice, Widen Your Circle” has impacted the community at all levels, because he leads by example every day.
Special recognition to Ms. Linda Shannon as she was previously announced the FCPS Region 5 Outstanding Leader of the Year. Ms. Shannon is tireless in her support of our students receiving specialized services and their families. And, as a compassionate professional, she is an inspiration and trusted colleague for teachers and staff.
Congratulations to our winners!
Return-to-School Town Hall
You may have heard recently that FCPS is currently planning to bring middle school students back to in-person instruction in some shape or form tentatively, February 2021. This plan hinges on health conditions, CDC metrics, and FCPS Operational Metrics.
In anticipation of potential questions that may arise after families receive the communication and, in an effort to provide as much information known at this time to the Frost MS community, I have scheduled a town hall meeting for Monday, October 26, 2020 at 6:30 pm.
The town hall will be recorded, and the presentation will be shared for families that are not able to make it that night. If you have questions that you’d like to have answered, please submit them here:
https://forms.gle/s8XEopMb4akyi1J39
The link for the meeting can be found here.
Two-Hour Early Release Schedule
Next week students will have the first of five two early release days scheduled by the county. Please find the attached schedule below. This schedule has also been placed in student’s grade level Google Classrooms, in the next few TWAF messages, and will be shared by teachers with their classes as we get closer to the early release dates.
Frost MS Learning Hub
Don’t forget to check out the learning hub for just in time information concerning what your son or daughter is learning. You’ll find a week at a glance look on our website. Click on the following link and bookmark it! https://frostms.fcps.edu/resources/learning-hub
Student Mental Health Support and Programming
Given the unique challenges of 2020 and the virtual start this year, it is more important than ever to be vigilant of our students’ mental health, help them to develop a self-care plan, and ensure they know how to access help if needed. Frost Middle School will provide lessons and activities throughout the school year to support and proactively address the mental health challenges students may face.
In past years, we have facilitated depression and suicide education and prevention training, as part of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention program. While we are not able to facilitate this program virtually this year, I highly recommend taking a look at the information here: https://sossignsofsuicide.org/parent
Please do not wait if you feel that your child is experiencing significant mental health difficulties. Please contact your child’s pediatrician, mental health provider, or school counselor to ask for more immediate assistance.
Our school counselors and clinicians are available to support you and your child this year. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with you, our community, as we work to ensure a safe and productive school year for all our students.
Teacher #ONEFrost Recognition
Students can give a teacher some recognition for observing one of the #ONEFrost traits as a way to build community and model recognizing positive character traits. They can use this link!
“Go Paperless” Report Card Option
You can opt to “Go Paperless” in ParentVUE and receive only online report cards. This will not impact any other mailings from FCPS other than the report cards for secondary students and progress reports for ES students.
To take advantage of the paperless options, parents and/or guardians will need to log into ParentVUE, then go to “My Account” and select "Go Paperless" All parents/guardians who live with the student and share the same address must have a SIS ParentVUE account and must select the paperless option to prevent mailing of the printed report cards. The “Go Paperless” option will apply to all their associated students, no matter what school level.
Frost Equity Town Hall
Frost Middle School invites you to participate in our first Virtual Equity Town Hall on Thursday, November 12th from 6:00-7:00pm. The purpose of our time together is to engage in a shared conversation around our commitments to equity and how we are keeping equity at the center of our work this school year.
This town hall will be facilitated by our Equity Committee Team. In addition to sharing our commitments, we will also share information about our Equity Audit, No Place for Hate, and we will present two guiding questions to solicit feedback around experiences and practices in our school community.
We hope you will join us to contribute to the conversation. A link will be sent to our families on Tuesday, November 10.
Picture Day – November 11
Picture Day at Frost MS will be Wednesday, November 11 from 12:00 – 7:00pm. The make-up day for pictures will be January 11 from 9:00am – 2:00pm.
We are scheduling pictures on November 11 in 15-minute increments. Please sign up for a slot at this Signup Genius link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945AFA62FABFC1-frost
Please follow the link, below, to order pictures before November 11. We will not be accepting orders on that day; pictures must be ordered ahead of time. The ID code for Frost MS Picture Day is EVTZQ4HT2.
https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/#/
Frost News Show
We are so excited to share that our news show is up and running! A special thank you goes out to Ms. Loach for her coordination and to our news anchors for recording and continuing on this tradition! Check out one of the shows from this week! Frost News Show 10-20-20
Frost Yearbook
This year we need your help to create the most memorable yearbook ever! Our theme this year is “CONNECTIONS.” Connections are so important to all of us, especially during the pandemic and while we are all virtual. This year, I will be collecting photos and stories all year long but will need your help to make this happen.
PHOTO CONTEST - Our 2nd collection of photos will be: describe yourself “IN ONE WORD” and send a “SELFIE” of yourself. This contest will run through the end of October. Please click the link below to upload your photos and the WORD you chose to describe yourself. Best Photo/Word wins a prize!!!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfGdN-EtJ7-1Lukt2s482rz9gZYahGBxJMcml9urCsf0hrjzA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Don’t forget to buy your Yearbook. They are $35.00 through the end of October, then the price goes up to $40. If you would like to purchase a Frost Yearbook, click on this link to get yours: http://jostensyearbooks.com/?ref=A08840400
Questions? Contact Debbie Metzker at dlmetzker@fpcs.edu.
What’s Happening After School?
We have lots of exciting activities for kids to choose from after school. New clubs are being added all the time. The Frost After School Program meets Monday – Friday from 3:30 – 4:30. Some clubs meet at a different time, which is listed in Red on the Club List and Club Descriptions & Links to join. Included is a school calendar for the year with red X marks on the days that After School is not meeting. After School will not meet on the days that students do not attend school.
Students need to join the After School Google classroom to find information about after school, the most up to date club list, and announcements. Here is the link to join the After School Google Classroom:
https://classroom.google.com/c/MTQxNjI3NDU4NTI3?cjc=re4u7i2
Club List - 1st Quarter 20-21.pdf
After School Program Calendar.pdf
1st Quarter Club Descriptions Links to join (2).pdf
Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) at Frost Middle School
We implement Responsive Instruction, a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), at Frost Middle School. Attached is a Parent’s Guide to this program.
RIParentBrochure.pdf
Using student data, we make purposeful decisions to provide high quality instruction and support students in the areas of academics, behavior, and wellness. Based on data and needs of our students, we implement programs and high-quality instruction for all students (Tier 1), targeted intervention for some students (Tier 2) and intensive interventions for few students (Tier 3).
We will highlight in our weekly messages some of our programming that all students can access throughout this school year. For those students needing additional interventions, parents will be invited to collaborate with school staff to ensure his or her child’s needs are being met to have a successful year at Frost Middle School!
Frost Library Curbside Pickup
The Frost Library is now offering curbside pickup for borrowing books! Log on to Fairfax.follettdestiny.com to put up to 5 books on hold. Students will receive an email when your books are ready for pickup. Curbside pickup will happen every Monday from 12:00pm – 6:00pm. Books are due back 3 weeks after pickup and will be put into isolation for 7 days before returning to circulation. Questions? Email frostmslibrary@fcps.edu.
 Frost teachers voting early at the Government Center.
 Ms. Schnebel's virtual classroom is as bright and colorful at her real one!
 Frost MS's new library return bin is now available for convenient curbside drop off.. Drive by to return your Frost library books and books from any FCPS school library.
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