Mustang Weekly, November 16, 2020

Dear Mustang Community-

In keeping with the theme of gratitude and thankfulness that is inherent to the month of November, I want to take this opportunity to recognize and celebrate our amazing staff at SCMS! Considering all the ups and downs, starts and stops of the past eight months, our staff has shown resilience, compassion, grace, and innovation. I am truly lucky to work with such a dedicated group of educators.

Each year, FCPS looks to honor the staff members that exemplify excellence in their roles including Outstanding Teacher (link), Outstanding New Teacher (link), Outstanding Leader (link) Outstanding New Principal (link), Outstanding Professional Employee (link) and Outstanding Operational Employee (link). Our goal is to choose an SCMS winner in each category to submit for consideration at the pyramid, region and division levels. I believe that our staff is truly unparalleled and that the work they do for our students deserves recognition beyond our building. Please take a few minutes to nominate a current or former Mustang that impacted the education and life of you and your student.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Peter Kownacki

Principal

@pakownacki

Thanksgiving Gift Card Drive

The Student Services Department will be collecting gift cards to local grocery stores to support our families in need at South County Middle School.  Please drop off your donated cards to the Main Office by Wednesday, November 18^th at 3:00 PM.  Please indicate the amount on the gift card.  Please contact jljohnson2@fcps.edu with any questions or if you need more information.

Throughout the school year, your student will be working with his or her counselor and Learning Seminar teacher to complete their Academic and Career Plan (ACP). On November 17^th, our 7^th graders will be completing the Strengths Explorer Assessment, and our 8^th graders will be completing the Career Cluster Finder. This half-hour video begins by introducing college and career planning then demonstrates many Naviance items that will be completed this school year.   Exploring Naviance Student YouTube Video 2020  If you have any questions please reach out to Ms. Johnson at Jljohnson2@fcps.edu

After School Programs Registration Form

The After School Programs wanted to make sure all SCMS students have the opportunity to participate in our After School Program. Every student who participates in our Virtual After School Program must have a registration form on file. If/when we do return to in person school this form will be necessary as well. I am including the link to the SCMS ASP Registration form below. Please take five minutes to fill out the form. I greatly appreciate your cooperation. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at cwwoodby@fcps.edu.

In addition, if you are active duty Army please check that box on the registration form. The Middle School After School Program receives additional funding to help support our program.

SCMS After School Program Registration Form

National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) Food Drive

The South County Middle School Chapter of the NJHS is sponsoring a Packaged Food Drive on Monday, December 7 during Picture Day at SCMS.  You can drop off food between 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM>  Please contact Ms. Sall (slsall@fcps.edu) or Ms. Ziegler (cmziegler@fcps.edu) with any questions.  Suggested donations include:  peanut butter, pasta & rice (prefer whole grain), whole grain cereal or oatmeal and any of the following canned items:  soup, fruit, vegetables, stew, fish, beans.  No glass containers, perishable or bakery items please.

*UPDATE* Grab-n-Go Meals

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

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

Picture Day!!

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 below to schedule a time to get your child’s picture taken.  Please arrive as close to the time as possible.

South County Middle School Picture Day Link

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!

Virtual Career Fair

We Need Volunteers

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.