Glasgow Community Gazette - December 13

Glasgow Community:

At the most recent school board meeting on Thursday, Dr. Brabrand presented the division’s “Return to School Update,” which included changes to when staff and students return to the building. I have included the revised dates below for your reference.  I also believe that Dr. Brabrand will be sending out an update to staff and the community on Monday. Stay tuned for more detailed information. 

That being said, please note that these dates are “DRAFT,” as noted on the school board presentation. Yesterday, Group 3 (CAT B & ESOL students and staff) reached seven consecutive days of cases exceeding the threshold and therefore must pause in-person instruction and return to virtual learning beginning Monday.  So, while it is possible that our return dates will shift again, we will move forward with our planning and preparation. 

It was great to see many of you at our Parent Academy on December 10. We were joined by Bryan Villalobos, Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist for the Justice Pyramid. I hope the information was helpful. For your reference, here are the recordings to the session if you missed it: English & Arabic and Spanish.

It feels unreal, but we are almost to Winter Break! Have a great week, Glasgow Community! As always, please reach out for questions or concerns.

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

December 21 thru January 1 - Winter Break

January 14 & 15 - FCPS GMS Catch-Up Days

January 18 - No School - MLK Day

January 20 - No School - Inauguration Day

January 22 - End of 2nd Quarter - Early Release

January 25 - Teacher Workday - No School 

January 14 & 15 - FCPS GMS Catch Up Days - Per FCPS ever middle and high school should designate 2 "catch-up" days per quarter (one even day and one odd day). The intent of these days is to give students the opportunity to complete previously assigned work including missed assignments and NOT intended for completion of new assignments. Students should login to each class and check-in with their teachers on these days, support will be available during the regularly scheduled classes. .  

Important Information 

Yearbook Looking for Photos - The Yearbook Staff is looking for pictures of Glasgow students working or sitting in their virtual classrooms.  The staff cannot walk around the school to take pictures so we thought this would be an exciting way to see our students in their working environments.

Parents and Students can submit pictures one of 3 ways:

1. Balfour EZPix website:  https://studio.balfour.com/ezpix/ Yearbook Project Number:117803, Upload Code:  Please leave blank (no code necessary), Login, Scroll down, accept terms & conditions, Fill out the requested information and begin uploading.  You can upload 10 pictures at a time, so if you have more, just start over again after the first 10 are uploaded.
2. Balfour ImageShare: Go to your app store and do a search for Balfour ImageShare, Download the app, Create an Account: Use Project Number 117803, Click box to accept Terms & Conditions, Click Next, Locate the Confirmation Code sent to your email address and enter on the line, Click Next, Enter a Username and Password, Click Take Me To ImageShare, Begin uploading by clicking on SAVE (No Upload Code Required)
3. Submit Pictures to Google Form: Students can click on this form to upload pictures: https://forms.gle/TyeLcvNt9gnec3XPA, Please make sure to include name, grade, and description of what is happening in the photo.

National Junior Honor Society - Join Glasgow’s National Junior Honor Society! Open to 8th graders with an impressive academic record and interest in being involved in the Glasgow community. In order to apply, your child will need to first sign in to Google Classroom with the code: YQFZWWO. Information about application workshops is also available on the Google Classroom. All application materials are due by Friday December 18, 2020. Please contact Ms. Brulenski (mnbrulenski@fcps.edu) or Ms. O’Malley (cqomalley@fcps.edu) if you have any questions.

Documentary Screening: “The Kids We Lose” - FCPS is in the process of finalizing its restraint and seclusion policy before the state deadline of Jan 1.  In advance of a scheduled FCPS School Board vote on December 17th, the Fairfax County Special Education PTA (SEPTA) and the Fairfax County Council PTA (FCCPTA), have joined together to advocate for schools that are free from restraint and seclusion.  In order for the community and policymakers to understand this difficult issue, the award winning documentary, "The Kids We Lose" will be screened on December 7th from 7:00-9:30pm. The presentation will be followed by a conversation about actions the public can take on the issues of restraint and seclusion, and responding to challenging behaviors. Click here to register to attend the virtual screening.

At-Home Science Experiments with ChalkBox- Four FCPS graduates, including Glasgow graduate, Nidhi Talasani, a current second year student at University of Chicago, founded ChalkBox, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aimed toward assisting students with virtual learning and providing accessible education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through their program, they hope to give students an opportunity to conduct various STEM laboratory experiments in their own homes and bring back a vital aspect of education lost this school year. All materials needed for these experiments will be provided beforehand. This program is open to all middle school students, and will be offered free of cost to all students that indicate any financial need. Please see this flier for more details.

Thomas Jefferson High School Admissions Update - The FCPS School Board postponed the scheduled work session focused on the admissions process. The board transitioned its focus to the delay in "Return to School" due to the recent increase in COVID-positive cases. A new date has not been scheduled for a FCPS School Board work session focused on the admissions process. If you have questions about this you may contact the TJHSST admissions office at tjadmissions@fcps.edu  www.tjadmissions.org or Glasgow TJHSST Liaison Counselor Gregory Frantz gdfrantz@fcps.edu. 

Focusing on the Future - Virtual Conference - Saturday Enrichment Program (SEP) - Spring 2021 SEP registration is now open for students grades 3-12. William & Mary’s Center for Gifted Education is excited to offer 2 different spring sessions with courses available in the areas of art, STEM, botany, writing, poetry and many more.  Please see our Spring SEP 2021 filer for more information. William & Mary’s SEP is an academically challenging program with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning for students.  The program is not meant to supplement the regular school curriculum; rather, it recognizes the importance of allowing able children to explore additional specialized areas of science, mathematics, humanities, and the arts.  Click for More Information.  The Center for Gifted Education is also accepting registrations for our annual Focusing on the Future event.  Focusing on the Future is a virtual career and academic planning conference for all Middle and High School students as well as Counselors and Parents.  Click to view the conference brochure.

Technology Support @Glasgow - We continue to encourage all families who are having issues with your Glasgow issued laptop to call the Parent/Student Tech Support Hotline at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS).  The hotline is staffed 7 days a week from 7am to 11pm and multiple languages are available.  Alternatively, you can submit a support ticket online at https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/.  If it is deemed that the problem cannot be fixed virtually, we will set up a time for you to come to Glasgow for a repair or exchange between the hours of 10am – 2pm, Monday through Friday.  If you show up outside of those hours or without an appointment, we cannot guarantee a tech will be able to service your laptop in a timely fashion.  Also, to keep the student laptops running well, encourage your child to “restart” the laptop at least once a week.  A restart is in the power options and is not the same as turning the laptop off, then turning it back on.  Restarts are vital in making sure the laptop receives and installs the most current updates to ensure optimal performance.

Bus Route Meal Service

Grab and Go Meals (UPDATE) - Did you pick up your grab and go meal today?  FCPS is providing FREE grab and go breakfast and lunch to ALL students Monday through Friday. It is easy to find out where to pick up food by visiting the website:https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/food

****PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS LINK!  There are many schools close to Glasgow that are including afternoon snack and supper meals as well!  Also, the County is expanding the Fairfax Meal Kits program.  Students can pick up 7 breakfast and lunch packets at the same time.  Locations, dates and times are all on the site. 

After School Spotlight

This week, Glasgow After School @Home would like to share new and upcoming Clubs. We’re proud to highlight the following two.  For updates and program descriptions, please visit Glasgow Middle School @Home (Link).

Cooking Club - The cooking club with Ms. Massman and Ms. Concaugh takes place on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Students can follow along with the teacher, preparing healthy and tasty treats for themselves or family members. This class promotes independence and confidence while learning kitchen safety and food prep. If this is the club for you, please contact Mr. Williams gwilliams2@fcps.edu, for sign up information.

Virtual Gaming Club - Are you a gamer? Do you like playing and competing against other gamers like yourself? The Virtual Gaming Club is the Club for you. The Virtual Gaming Club meets on Tuesdays and Fridays from 2:30-4:30 p.m. If this is the club for you, please contact Mr. Williams gwilliams2@fcps.edu, for sign up information.

Digital Art Club Spotlight - On Thursday, December 3rd, 2020, the Digital Art Club offered its first session. On day one, 49 students attended and were actively engaged. It was amazing to see. The Digital Art club teaches students the various forms of digital art and media to our students and how to differentiate between the multiple forms. If you're interested in joining, please contact me at gwilliams2@fcps.edu , Ms. Otoyo at ajotoyo@fcps.edu, or Ms. Campbell at cjcampbell1@fcps.edu.

Dates: Thursdays - Every two weeks on

Time: 2:30 – 3:30pm

Grades: 6th – 8th.

Start Date: Thursday, December 3rd

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/