Glasgow Community Gazette - January 3

Glasgow Community:

Welcome back! I hope that you had a restful break - I know it was much needed! My family and I enjoyed some time in the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia skiing, hiking, and enjoying lots of snow. This is always a great place to rejuvenate for our family! 

We are gearing up for more of our students’ return in January! The most recent return to school timeline shared by Dr. Brabrand indicates that Glasgow, Holmes, and Poe Middle School 6th graders will return tentatively on Tuesday, January 26, and 7th and 8th graders will return tentatively on Tuesday, February 2. I know that you have many questions - over the next few weeks, I will be sharing important information to help our families who selected in-person instruction to prepare. The focus of today’s gazette is to share important dates; upcoming weeks will include information about health and safety, classrooms and hallways, logistics, transportation and schedules, and more. 

Mark your calendars! To support our 6th grade families and students new to Glasgow, many of whom have never seen Glasgow, we will host an in-person 6th Grade & New Student Building Orientation by appointment on January 12 and 13 only for students who have elected in-person instruction. 

Additionally, we are  *tentatively* hosting Return to School Town Halls to provide information about logistics, health and safety, and other helpful information. If the return date gets pushed back, these evening events will be postponed. Be on the lookout for a sign-up form next week. 

• Tuesday, January 19, 6:00 - 7:00pm - English
• Thursday, January 21, 6:00 - 7:00pm - Arabic
• Thursday, January 21, 7:30 - 8:30pm - Spanish

For all of our families, please take note of the Important Dates found below, which include some calendar modifications that FCPS has designated to support students with work completion as well as to support staff’s transition into the building. Here are some of the key dates to take note of: 

• January 4 & 11 (Mondays) - Teacher Prep Days - Students will have live Panther Time on these days but there will not be any Office Hours to allow teachers ample time to prepare for the upcoming return to school. 
• January 12 - Revised Bell Schedule Begins - To support the shift to in-person school, FCPS secondary schools are transitioning to an updated bell schedule. The biggest changes are that Glasgow will run from 7:30am to 2:00pm and that there will be designated lunch times during 5th and 6th period classes, just as students have in the building. Classes will run at slightly different times. Teachers will share the updated bell schedule and lunch times this week with their 5th and 6th period classes. In addition, there is a Brain Break scheduled around each lunch. This time builds in a screen break as well as extra time for students to retrieve lunch from remote sites. Please see below for an image of the new bell schedule.
• January 12 & 13 - New Student Open House - Sixth graders as well as students new to the building who have elected in person instruction are invited to tour the building by appointment. Please RSVP using this link to help us plan a safe, socially distanced event. 
• January 14 & 15 - FCPS GMS Catch-Up Days - Designed to ensure students have time to complete work prior to the end of 2nd Quarter, all classes on these days will be “office hours” style. Students will need to login at the beginning of the period. Then if they have assignments to complete or skills to master they should remain online until the assignments are complete. Otherwise, students may log off. Teachers will be live and available to provide support during class periods but no new instruction will be provided and no new work will be assigned. 

As always, please reach out for questions or concerns, and have a wonderful holiday season.

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

(Dates with an * are tentative)

January 4 & 11 - Teacher Prep Days - Panther Time only - No Office Hours

January 12 & 13 - New Student Building Orientation by Appointment

January 14 & 15 - GMS Catch-Up Days

January 18 - No School - MLK Day

*January 19 - Asynchronous Odd Day/Teacher Prep Day

January 20 - No School - Inauguration Day

*January 21 - Asynchronous Even Day/Teacher Prep Day

January 22 - End of 2nd Quarter - Early Release

January 25 - Teacher Workday, No School for Students

*January 26 - In-Person 6th Grade Student Return

*February 2 -In-Person 7th & 8th Grade Student Return

January 4 & 11 (Mondays) - Teacher Prep Days - Students will have live Panther Time on these days but there will not be any Office Hours to allow teachers ample time to prepare for the upcoming return to school. 

January 12 - Revised Bell Schedule Begins - To support the shift to in-person school, FCPS secondary schools are transitioning to an updated bell schedule. The biggest changes are that Glasgow will run from 7:30am to 2:00pm and that there will be designated lunch times during 5th and 6th period classes, just as students have in the building. Classes will run at slightly different times. Teachers will share the updated bell schedule and lunch times this week with their 5th and 6th period classes. In addition, there is a Brain Break scheduled around each lunch. This time builds in a screen break as well as extra time for students to retrieve lunch from remote sites. Please see below for an image of the new bell schedule.

January 12 & 13 - New Student Open House for Students and Families - Glasgow will be hosting an optional Orientation for 6th graders and students new to Glasgow who have selected in-person instruction, on January 12 and 13 from 5pm to 7pm. These evenings will be an opportunity for students and families to see Glasgow for the first time and to meet some of our teachers, counselors, and administrators in person.  Students with last names A-K will attend on Tuesday, January 12 and students with last names L-Z will attend on Wednesday, January 13. Space is limited and priority will be given to families who have selected in-person enrollment for their student. We will share details and entry times via email to those who RSVP. For questions, please contact Joash Chung, director of student services, at jhchung@fcps.edu. Please RSVP using this link to help us plan a safe, socially distanced event.

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. .  

Rising 9th Grade Info

Rising 9th Grade Information for Families - As our Academic Advising season begins soon, for 8th grade students this means learning about their transition to high school. Here is some helpful information for families about high school:

Justice High School: Take a look at the 9th grade course options!

Annandale High School: Annandale High School welcomes all rising 9th grade students and their families to join our high school information night on Thursday, January 14th from 7:00-8:30PM. The event will be held virtually using this Blackboard link. Students and their families will get an overview of 9th grade courses and programs from Annandale teachers and counselors, along with opportunities to attend breakout sessions with our staff. We look forward to meeting future members of the Atom Nation!

Falls Church High School: The Rising 9th grade Curriculum Night is set for January 6th at 6:30pm and a link will be sent to Falls Church families. Take a look at the 9th grade course options!

Edison High School: The Rising 9th grade Curriculum Night is set for February 24th. Take a look at the 9th grade course options!

Oakton High School:  Take a look at the 9th grade course options!

Hayfield High School: Take a look at the 9th grade course options!

TJ Admissions Updates - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) is in the process of updating their website with 2020-2021 application information for current 8th grade students www.tjadmissions.org. Please contact the Admissions Office tjadmissions@fcps.edu or Glasgow TJ Liaison Counselor Gregory Frantz gdfrantz@fcps.edu with questions. 

Important Information 

Academic Advising at Glasgow - Academic Advising season is officially here! In Panther Time on January 6, 8, and 13, students will learn about the academic advising process, complete course selection sheets, and learn how to sign up for classes in SIS StudentVUE. Starting on January 25, counselors will start meeting with students individually through Panther Time and History/Civics classes for academic advising and course selection.

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 picture.

ParentVUE  - If you have not done so already, please sign up for a SIS ParentVUE account. Parents who selected in-person enrollment for their child will need to complete a health screening commitment form before their child begins in-person instruction. Glasgow students will start the academic advising process in January. Students will be signing up for classes through SIS StudentVUE. ParentVUE will also allow parents to see the courses their child is requesting for the upcoming school year. Please contact Dana Rivas, registrar, for a ParentVUE activation key to use here when registering for an account.

Parent Engagement Focus Groups - Thank you to all of the families that participated in the December focus group around parent engagement. We had over twenty families participate. The meeting was very informative. Here are the group's recommendations: text communication, school FB page, frequent reminders for events, continued virtual sessions, focus on academic excellence, and smaller meetings for select subgroups. If you are interested in participating in any upcoming focus groups, please complete the form with your contact information.

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.

Family Guide for Return to School - Fairfax County Public Schools is partnering with families to ensure we keep students and staff safe and healthy as we return to school buildings for learning. Working together, we will follow recommended health guidance that focuses on student and staff health, safety, and emotional well-being. The FCPS Family Guide for Return to School has a wealth of information on topics like concurrent instruction, lunch, the mandatory mask policy, recess, laptops, health protocols, and more.

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/