Weekly Update from Irving MS

Second Semester Course Changes

This information about semester changes was shared with students this week. These slides have also been posted in the Schoology All Student Course, where students can directly access links to their counselor, if needed.

Help Recognize Outstanding Employees

Each year, school staff nominates individuals to represent their school for the FCPS “Outstanding Employee Awards,” (see above article about Mr. Spero success in last year’s competition).  This year we have already submitted Irving’s nomination packets for Outstanding Principal (Ms. Conley), Outstanding Teacher (Ms. Jenny Hay), and Outstanding Professional Employee (Ms. Emily Geary).  We have three more Irving staff members that represent different categories in the county-wide competition.  Their nomination applications are not due until the first of February.  

If you have been impressed with your interactions with the following employees, please click on the corresponding links to provide your comments and compliments about them.  Your comments will be used to complete their nomination packet for the Award.  Thank you in advance for letting the rest of the county know what good people we have working at Irving MS!

• Shawn Spear is nominated for Outstanding Leader--LINK TO SPEAR’S NOMINATION FORM
• Carrie Wilkie is nominated for Outstanding New Teacher--LINK TO  WILKIE’S NOMINATION FORM
• Karen Byer-Storch is nominated for Outstanding Operational Employee--LINK TO BYER-STORCH’S NOMINATION FORM

Thank you for your input!  

Mary Ann Monk, Irving Awards Liaison Volunteer

Coming Soon: Elective Course Selection for Rising 8th grade

Starting January 28th- February 5th our current 7th grade students will learn about the elective choices for 8th grade via their math class period. Their school counselor will review with them elective choices for next year as well as show students how to enter their (requests) choices into SIS student Vue during the classroom lesson. Students will make informed decisions based on self-reflection and choose electives that support their interests and help them grow. We will encourage students to review their requests/choices with their parents and make adjustments directly into SIS Student Vue as needed. Our focus is on elective course selection at this time.  Later in April students will work on Core class selection as well with their school counselor. 

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology Admissions

The application window for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology will open on February 1, 2021 at 8:00AM and close on February 26, 2021 at 4:00PM. 

Please visit www.tjadmissions.org to submit your application and view the updated calendar. 

Technology News

Digital Resource Parent Permission: Action Item

Thanks to all parents/guardians who have given permission for their child to use digital resources that require parent consent. If you have not yet provided consent for your child to use these digital resources, please use the links to read more and to give your consent today. Thank you!

  Link to the Parent Permission Form   ｜   Link to Irving MS Digital Resources

Student Laptop Health

Parents, we can use your help reminding students that they should shut down their laptop at the end of each day, plug it in, and then use the power button to turn on each morning prior to the start of school. On Tuesdays, it is recommended that students leave their laptop on but in sleep-mode and plugged in overnight. Then, restart on Wednesday morning to ensure it receives Microsoft updates.

If your student’s laptop runs slow or experiences network issues, it might be a good idea for you to drive to any FCPS school parking lot with the school laptop, connect to the FCPS WiFi (“Fairfax”) and restart/login two times while accessing the FCPS network. You do not need to enter the building to do this. You can stay in your car for this entire process, which will allow FCPS updates to push to the school laptop. Please contact tech support with any school laptop or account issues. https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/ 

After School Program

If your child is interested in joining one of our clubs, please have them visit the After School Program Student Website in the All Students Course in Schoology.  If your child needs help signing up for a club, check out this video tutorial!  Tutorial for Accessing the Irving After School Program Student Website  

Club Schedule

To view the weekly club schedule, click here.

Questions about After School?  Please email Emily Geary (emgeary@fcps.edu) 

News from your PTA

The PTA is working with the SCA leaders to determine an upcoming family activity - think Trivia Night, virtual game night, or virtual bingo - and maybe a talent show - so stay tuned!

Amazon Smiles: Please consider signing up to support the Washington Irving PTA through AmazonSmile with your purchases year round at no additional cost to you!  Just go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and choose "Washington Irving Middle PTA".

For any questions, comments or ideas, please contact us at IrvingMSPTA@gmail.com.

If you haven't joined the PTA yet, you can do that on our MemberHub site here.

We hope to see you online at the next PTA meeting on February 3rd!

8100 Old Keene Mill Springfield, VA 22152  | Main Office: 703-912-4500
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