Mustang Weekly - November 9, 2020

Dear Mustang Community-

I hope that you and your family enjoyed the beautiful weather this past weekend, and adjusted to the time change! I know that my dog still hasn’t made sense of eating an hour later than he wants to eat! As the weather and clocks continue to change, we are still working hard to prepare our building and schedule for students to return to in-person learning. Students in Group 5 start during the week of November 16. We can’t wait to welcome more mustangs #HomeAgain to SCMS. As a staff we are busy learning about best practices in concurrent instruction (and have a field trip planned to see it in action this week at Irving Middle School), so that we can hit the ground running later this school year when more students return.

This Wednesday our students have a Two-Hour early release in observance of Veteran’s Day. Our schedule can be found on the website. To all our parents, guardians and faculty who have served our country, we thank you!

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Peter Kownacki
Principal
@pakownacki

*UPDATE* Grab-n-Go Meals

New bus route stops and times as of Monday, November 9 

*NEW* The meals will be provided at no cost for students through June 30, 2021. FCPS students are welcome to come to any of the sites or bus route stops to pick up a meal during these time periods.   

All FCPS students (regardless of age) are eligible for free grab and go breakfast and lunch, as well as other county children, under the age of 18.

Arrival times at bus stops may be delayed several minutes due to unexpected issues.

Additional information can be found here Bus Route Meal Service Fall 2020 | Fairfax County Public Schools

Picture Day is Coming  November 30 & December 7

Lifetouch is doing School Pictures this year!

Families are asked to use the South County Middle School: SCMS Picture Day link to schedule a time to get your child’s picture taken.  Please arrive as close to the time as possible.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a49a8ab2babfb6-scms

Parents will need to stay in the parking lot while students wait in line to get their picture taken – the line may be outside, so please dress appropriately.  Masks are required for students while in line and will be removed when seated for pictures.  Remember to stay 6 ft apart while in line. 

Students will Enter through Door 8 and Exit through Door 9

If you would like to order pictures please use the information below. 

Visit www.mylifetouch.com

Enter your Picture Day ID  EVTPZNG6J

Order your perfect package and don’t worry about returning anything on Picture Day!

Outstanding Employee Awards

Nominations are now open for the Outstanding Employee Awards! This year, our goal again is to choose South County Middle School winners in each category to submit for consideration at the pyramid, region and division levels. We know our staff is truly unparalleled, and that the work we do for our students deserves celebration beyond our building!

To submit a nomination for a South County Middle School Outstanding Employee in one of the categories below, please complete the nomination through the google link for each category found below.  You may nominate an employee in one or more categories. All that is required for a preliminary nomination is a paragraph or two about how this employee demonstrates exceptional work in the criteria for that category. The google form link has more information regarding the criteria for each of these awards and the eligibility requirements are below. 

• Outstanding Teacher
  • Eligibility: Has at least three years of experience as a teacher (in any school/school district); librarians are included in this category. Link to nomination form.

• Outstanding New Teacher
  • Eligibility: Within their first three years of being a teacher (in any school/school district); librarians are included in this category. Link to nomination form.

• Outstanding New Principal
• Eligibility: Within their first three years of being a building principal (in any school/school district). Link to nomination form.
• Outstanding Leader 
  • Eligibility: At least one year of experience in their current position as a Schedule-C or School-Based Administrator scale employee (that is not the building principal). Link to nomination form. Link to nomination form.
  • Common positions in this category: Assistant and Associate Principals, Director of Student Activities, Director of Student Services

• Outstanding Professional Employee
  • Eligibility: At least one year experience in current position as a Schedule-B employee or other non-instructional employee in a school that supports school leadership. Link to nomination form.
  • Common positions in this category: School-Based Technology Specialist, Technology Support Specialist, Assessment Coach, Career Center Specialist, Instructional Coach, Psychologist, Social Worker, School Counselor, Safety and Security Specialist, Resource Teachers that serve in an administrative role in a school

• Outstanding Operational Employee
  • Eligibility: At least one year of experience in current position as Schedule-A or Classroom Instructional Support Scale employee. Link to nomination form.
  • Common positions in this category: Administrative and Office Staff, Safety and Security Assistant, Custodial Staff, Food Service Staff, IA, PHA, PHTA, All Parent Liaisons

Note: The deadline to submit a nomination is Wednesday, November 11, 2020

If you have any questions, please contact Miranda Hendershot at mehendershot@fcps.edu

National Junior Honor Society (NJHS)

8^th grade students who are new to FCPS and South County Middle School who have met the 3.5 GPA requirement by the end of their 7^th grade school year should contact the NJHS advisors to submit their child’s name for consideration as NJHS Candidates.    Please email Ms. Susan Sall at slsall@fcps.edu or Ms. Crista Ziegler at cmziegler@fcps.edu with your student’s name and student ID.  Verification of a 3.5 cumulative GPA or equivalent from the student’s 7^th grade year will be required.

New Employment Opportunity in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)!

FCPS schools and centers will be hiring classroom monitors to provide in-person classroom assistance for students when a staff member remains virtual.  If you would like more information about the position, please review the job description and qualifications online and apply if interested. Please feel free to share information about this opportunity with anyone else you think may be interested.

FCPS is Seeking Individuals to serve as Substitute Teachers!

Are you or somebody you know interested in substitute teaching with FCPS? Apply here or attend one of our Friday information sessions to learn more! To sign up for a session visit our substitute information page here.  Say Yes 2 FCPS!

Looking for Volunteers for a Virtual Career Fair

On behalf of the students and staff at South County Middle School (SCMS), we cordially invite you to our annual Career Day! Although virtual, we will still host this event. Please fill out the link if you’re interest in displaying your career via video and PowerPoint. https://forms.gle/KWtnwywpUuRrTn76A

SCMS Career Day is designed to expose our students to the world of work. We have invited a wide-range of professionals to share their educational background, skills needed for their profession, and professional duties/experiences.  This year’s Career Fair will be a virtual event held through our Google Site.

We are asking that volunteers submit a video and supplemental age appropriate information for students to view. You’re welcome to take videos of your worksite, samples of materials used, and/or daily activities. In the past we've had presenters bring robotics, career related equipment from their career, STEM related puzzles, etc. These are a few examples of things you can show via your video.

Our Career Day would not be possible without your participation. If you have questions on how to submit your video, contact Maggie Spingler at mmspingler@fcps.edu or Zakiyya Brodie zbrodie@fcps.edu. The deadline to submit your video is Tuesday, December 1, 2020. Our hope is to engage students in career and post-secondary exploration.

The Secretary and Treasurer positions for the PTSO are vacant. Please contact the Board if you are interested in volunteering at SCMSPTSO.President@gmail.com

Membership: All parents and caregivers, along with school faculty and students may become members.  100% of your membership dues are used to support a wide variety of South County Middle School programs that benefit our students, faculty and staff!

Joining the South County Middle School PTSO can be done online here.