Principal's Message - 1/9/21

Stone MS

Good Morning Stone Parents and Families, 

I hope you and your families remain safe and healthy during this challenging time. Per my earlier communication this week, I want to provide you with updated information as it relates to return to school. All student groups will remain virtual for the moment. We will provide an update when new timelines are established. In the meantime, please find information as it relates to the rest of January. 

  • We will NOT start a new bell schedule this week. Students will continue with the current bell schedule until further notice. 
  • On Monday, January 11th, students should check in with their Panther Block teacher as usual at 9:05 AM. There will be no office hours, and students should work on independent assignments. 
  • Our Student Services team is excited to present Wellness Week (January 11-15). Please find more information here. 

Monday, January 18

MLK, Jr. Holiday: No School

Tuesday, January 19

Synchronous Instruction 

Students log into Odd Day classes

Wednesday, January 20

Inauguration Day: No School

Thursday, January 21

Synchronous Instruction 

Students log into Odd Day classes

Friday, January 22**

2 Hour Early Release Bell Schedule

Students log into Even Day classes

Monday, January 25

Teacher Workday: No School 

 

I appreciate your continued support. Have a nice weekend!

Thank you, 

Meredith Norris, Principal 

https://stonems.fcps.edu/ 


Student Services Update

Attention Parents of Rising 9th graders, this week Westfield HS counselors will be presenting to all Stone 8th graders during their Panther Block sessions on Wednesday, January 13th and Friday, January 15th with course selection information for the Fall.  

Westfield HS is hosting a parent Curriculum Night on Thursday January 14th at 6:30pm.  

Students will begin meeting with their Stone school counselors the week of January 26th through Health and PE classes to select courses for 9th grade.   See Westfield HS website for more info!

Please contact your child’s school counselor with any questions and/or visit our Student Services Google Site for more information regarding academic advising materials.

Stone School Counseling Team

Marissa Bricker, MBricker@fcps.edu students with last names (A-Gao)

Armando Garcia, AGarcia1@fcps.edu students with the last names (Gar-Nav)

Katie Marrefi, KMarrefi@fcps.edu students with the last names (Nea-Z)


Portrait of a Panther

It was so wonderful to get back into classrooms in the New Year. Our students did an excellent job transitioning to 2021 with their levels of engagement in classes. The Portrait of a Panther winners for the week of 1/4 are: Michael Caputo, Annabelle DuBard, Adrian Katsikes, Nathalie Kesselring-Dacey, Elizabeth Laurelli, Sohpie Mahoney, Logan Massimo, Dhayalan Senthill, Alina Sikander and Joseph Wyatt. Congratulations to these students! 


Save the Date

Student Survey

All students will be participating in an online survey during Panther Block on Wednesday, January 27, 2021. The purpose of this survey is to measure student support, student engagement, school discipline, and safety conditions in each school. Even as we adapt to new instructional circumstances this year, this survey is important for understanding the impact of the pandemic on school climate and conditions, and continuing to monitor our progress towards recovery. If you have questions or concerns, please email Mrs. Bowman.


After School

After School Activities

Be sure to check out the offerings that happen every school day from 2:30-4:30pm.  Registration to the program never ends!  You can sign up here, but you MUST be logged into under your fcpsschools.net account to access the Google Site.

The start of the third quarter is a couple of weeks away and Mr. Anderson has confirmed that the after school program will offer more than 45 different clubs and activities for the second semester!  Even better, all of the clubs will be live, so you'll be able to meet new students and talk to club sponsors in real time. 

For a list of current club offerings and descriptions, click here to see the Activity Matrix.  If you have any additional questions, please contact Mr. Anderson.


Additional Support

Additional Support and Resources Ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and school closures continue to have a significant impact on children’s mental health. As an example, according to the CDC, from April to October 2020, the proportion of mental health-related emergency room visits for children aged 5-11 and 12-17 years increased approximately 24% and 31%, respectively, compared with 2019.

You or your staff may be hearing from parents who are concerned about their child’s emotional well-being. This one-pager from Healthy Minds Fairfax provides easy-to-digest information and would be a valuable resource for your school community. Please consider sharing it with them in your next newsletter and/or during a virtual parent meeting. If you have questions or need additional resources, please let us know.