Glasgow Community:
I hope you had a nice, though chilly, weekend! Our family took some time on Saturday morning to walk in on the Holmes Run Trail behind Glasgow. While it was cold, it was a beautiful way to spend a Saturday morning and reminded me of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful area with hidden gems such as these.
It is hard to believe that Tuesday marks the beginning of the second semester. As a reminder Monday, January 25, is a Teacher Workday to finalize grades, so there is no school for students. This past week, your student should have received a personalized schedule in their fcpsschools.net Gmail account with their upcoming schedule for the second semester. You can also login to ParentVue/StudentVue to see if any of their classes have changed. If their classes have changed, they should have received a new BbCU link also in their fcpsschools.net Gmail account from their new teacher. It is amazing how we have adapted to this online setting, however if your child is unable to find their links, please have them contact their new teacher, their counselor or any staff member at Glasgow - we are always happy to help.
The updated timeline for the Return to School has students supported through Cat-B courses returning on February 16, our 8th graders on March 2 and our 6th and 7th graders on March 9. We will update you next week with new timelines around Return to School Town Halls and our Open House for students new to Glasgow.
Finally, our Yearbook staff is doing an all call for pictures. Like everything else this year, it will look a little different, but this year is very important to document. Consider sending in pictures of your student working from home or any of the other creative things that you may be doing during the pandemic. 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.
We hope that you have a wonderful week, as always please reach out if you have any questions.
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/
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Important Dates
January 25 - Teacher Workday, No School for Students
January 26 - Second Semester Begins
January 26 - PTA Meeting, 7:00pm
February 2 - Rising 6th Grade Open House & Curriculum Night
February 2 - 5 - Spirit Week
January 25 - Teacher Workday - No School for Students - There will be no live Panther Time on Monday, January 25.
January 26 - PTA Meeting - Our PTA will meet on Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00pm. There will be some discussion about the budget, taking care of ourselves and a principal's report. If you are interested in attending please use the following Google form to obtain the link. This event will be translated into Arabic and Spanish.
February 2 - Rising 6th Grade Curriculum Night at Glasgow from 6 to 8:45pm - Curriculum Night is an evening for all rising 6th graders and students new to Glasgow to learn about Glasgow academics and curriculum. This year we will offer both asynchronous and synchronous components, similar to Back to School Night. On February 1st, we will be publishing on our Glasgow homepage a series of videos about Glasgow and our curriculum offerings. Parents and students will be invited to explore our website and learn about everything that makes us Glasgow. On February 2nd, we will be hosting three town-hall style Q&A sessions for families. English 6:00-6:45pm, Spanish 7:00-7:45pm, Arabic 8:00-8:45pm. Links to come soon.
February 2 - 5 - Spirit Week - The SGA is looking for ways to celebrate Spirit Week from a distance. We are partnering up with the yearbook staff to urge students and staff to submit pictures each day. Our hope is to include as many pictures in the yearbook and possibly on the news show.
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Spirit Day Tuesday: Sports Jersey Day February 2 - Today we would like to you to submit a photo of you wearing your favorite sports jersey or uniform. This can be your favorite team to watch, a team you play on, a team you coach, etc. We will try and use as many photos in the yearbook as possible. Google Form: https://forms.gle/M4yWrYgDz6KfdHZ99
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Spirit Day Wednesday: Crazy Hat Day February 3 - Since you might have some time on your hands, spend an afternoon or weekend day creating an interesting or crazy hat. Or if you a favorite hat sitting around, put it on your head, snap a picture and send it to Glasgow. We will try and use as many photos in the yearbook as possible. Google Form: https://forms.gle/sQPhxbDg2sMTDn4y9
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Spirit Day Thursday: Tacky Day February 4 - So, you may still have your crazy hat next to your desk, why not make an outfit that matches the hat? Or better yet, an outfit that doesn't match! Spend some time creating an interesting or crazy outfit. We will try and use as many photos in the yearbook as possible. Google Form: https://forms.gle/Sy1u1K1AXCjhdnseA
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Friday Spirit Day: Fitness Friday February 5 - Our final Spirit Day this week is dedicated to our PE Department and fitness gurus! We would like to see you in an exercise location or dressed up in your workout clothes. Be serious or creative with the outfits. Silly outfits are encouraged because we can all use a good laugh. We will try and use as many photos in the yearbook as possible. Google Form: https://forms.gle/hej5KmzX5y9zSDiL8
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Rising 9th Grade Info
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: On February 2, 3, and 4, Justice will be hosting a Curriculum 3-Night Extravaganza for both rising 9th graders and current Justice students. Each night will feature four departments with breakout rooms representing specific courses. There will be a quick overview presentation with time for a Q&A. More details to come. Take a look at the 9th grade course options!
Annandale High School: Annandale High School held their high school information night on Thursday, January 14th from 7:00-8:30PM. Students and parents can also view the Annandale Academic Advising Page here.
Falls Church High School: The Rising 9th grade Curriculum Night was on 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!
Fairfax Academy: Open House February 2nd 6:30-7:30 PM BBCU GUEST LINK: Academy Google Site for Students
TJ Admissions Updates - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) - The application window for current 8th grade students will begin on February 1 at 8:00 am and close on February 26 at 4:00 pm. The TJ Admissions Office anticipates that additional information for current 8th grade students will be posted in the next few days on their website www.tjadmissions.org Please contact the TJ Admissions Office tjadmissions@fcps.edu or Glasgow TJ Liaison Counselor Gregory Frantz gdfrantz@fcps.edu with questions.
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Daily Health Screening Requirement
A daily health screening, using Covid-19 Health Screening Questions, will be required for all students prior to coming onto school grounds (this applies for Material Distribution Days, in-person instruction, and co-curricular/extra-curricular activities). The health screening tool is available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu and Vietnamese.
As indicated in the Parent/Guardian Health Screening Commitment form, parent/guardians, will complete the health screening each morning, prior to sending the student to school. In order to reduce the spread of communicable disease to student and staff, it is critical that parents/guardians accurately complete this screening daily and keep students home from school when exhibiting any symptoms. These health screenings will be done on an honor basis and will not be required to be submitted to the school.
Parents or guardians will be required to make this commitment for all school-aged children in their household.
Important Information
George Mason’s Early Identification Program - The Early Identification Program (EIP) is a multiyear college preparatory program for students who will be the first in their family to attend a four-year college in the United States. EIP is a collaborative effort between Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and George Mason University (GMU). The EIP is one of four programs that comprise the College Success Program in FCPS. The mandatory criteria is as follows:
- Current 7th grade student in participating public middle school
- The student’s parents may not have completed a 4-year college degree in the United States
- Academic potential to enroll in a pre-college curriculum in high school
If you have a student in mind, talk to the student about the program, submit the student's name and ID to student’s counselor. The nomination DEADLINE is February 11, 2021. If you have further questions, contact, EIP Sponsor, Ms. Akon Otoyo (ajotoyo@fcps.edu)
ParentVUE, StudentVUE Access, Progress Report Availability - FCPS Weekly Progress Reports will not be sent to parents Tuesday, Jan. 19 through Friday, Jan. 29 during second quarter grading and report card generation. Additionally, the Grade Book and Report Card modules in ParentVUE and StudentVUE will be closed Friday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. until Saturday, Jan. 30, at 6 a.m. Translations are now available for secondary progress reports on the Secondary Grading and Reporting public web page.
Academic Advising at Glasgow - Starts January 25th - Academic Advising season is officially here! Starting on January 25, counselors will start meeting with students individually through Panther Time and History/Civics classes for academic advising and course selection. We encourage parents to discuss with their children about their course selections. After the Academic Advising sessions are completed, Glasgow will send to parents a copy of their child’s course selections for verification. *Please note, counselor response times may be delayed as our team will spend most of their time working to meet with each of our 1,930 students.*
GMS Parent Academy - Thank you to all who were able to attend our January Parent Academy session on Academic Excellence , led by our very own Dr. Nonye Oladimeji, IBMYP & Advance Academic Specialist, Kelly Greenshields, AVID teacher & Coordinator, and Jenn Pallotto, School Counselor & Behavior Support Specialist. During the session, we explored the programs offered at Glasgow and the course selection process. Here are the recordings for those who were unable to attend. We hope to see you again for our next Parent Academy on February 11th.Parent Academy 1/14/21 (English/Arabic) Parent Academy 1/14/21 (Spanish)
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:
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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.
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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)
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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.
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.
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Upcoming Events
Justice High School Wolfpack Theater Presents: The WP Radio Hour: The Secret Adversary - Written by Agatha Christie, The Secret Adversary is adapted by Tracy Wells and published by Big Dog Publishing. It’s a classic tale of mystery, intrigue, comedy, and romance. The WP Radio Hour will also feature some new comedy routines as well as that old slapstick favorite, Who’s on First. There will be wonderful music including: Fascinating Rhythm, By the Light of The Silvery Moon and Ain't We Got Fun, just to name a few. The mystery of The Secret Adversary will be presented in two parts. If you miss the first part on Thursday the 28th, you can catch it again on Friday the 29th at 9:00 pm. Each show will have its own unique presentation coming to you live virtually January 28th through January 30th. https://www.etix.com/ticket/e/1016473/secret-adversary-falls-church-justice-high-school-theatre. Please note you will receive a link and password prior to the show day/time that will be your ticket for the show. If you would also like to help keep the Wolfpack Theatre alive and thriving at Justice High School, here’s a link to our Go Fund Me page: https://gofund.me/0413ecec. See the flyer below for show times. We hope to see you there!
TJHS Talks on STEM - Join us Monday, February 8, at 6 p.m. to hear from Anthony Nunez, CEO INF Robotics Inc. and Carla Rodriguez, Head of Operations INF Robotics Inc. Mr. Nunez graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Applied Information Technology and from Worchester Polytechnic University with a masters degree in Systems Engineering. Mr. Nunez is a published author in robotics, holds two robotics patents and has over a decade of experience building all forms of land, air and water robots in addition to working for DARPA Autonomous Vehicles programs, where he worked on the early versions of autonomous cars. Mr. Nunez has successfully lobbied Congress as part of the National Robotics Week Advisory Council to have the second week in April recognized for robotics and STEM education importance in the U.S. Ms. Rodriguez has worked as Vice President of Infamous Robotics where she grew the company's curriculum offerings and expanded on key partnerships with the Smithsonian, the U.S. State Department and others. Ms. Rodriguez is a key architect of the Robotics Inventor curriculum and has experience building everything from snake robots to autonomous robots for healthcare. She has been a key mentor for children building their first robot for years, helping them get over roadblocks and build confidence around themselves and STEM. Through their current work at INF Robotics Inc., dba INF Care, Mr. Nunez and Ms. Rodriguez are bringing robotics and assistive technologies to older adults to improve their health and aging in place experience. Parents, register at this Zoom link: http://bit.ly/TJStemTalk2 Submit questions in advance here: https://bit.ly/tjdiversitytalks
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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.
Community Food Distribution - Food for Others’ P3 Power Pack Program is back in 2021! The P3 Program is biweekly on Fridays from 3pm-5pm at Bailey's Community Center. The next P3 dates are Jan 22, Feb 5 and Feb 19 . Students must provide an ID number and are encouraged to bring a bag to pick-up their snack. Please contact Destiny Delaware at ddelaware@fcps.edu for more information.
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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).
Chess Club - Calling all Chess players. Glasgow After School is proud to announce DMV Chess Club is coming to Glasgow and Key Middle Schools. All classes will be held online using Google Meet video-conferencing. Students will use lichess.org to play games against each other. GOT QUESTIONS? Feel free to email us at schools@dmvchess.com or call Josh Hiban at 703-415-6600 or Mr. Williams at gwilliams2@fcps.edu! Thanks, and we look forward to seeing everyone online!
- Starting on February 4th, chess club will meet once a week on Thursdays from 3 pm to 4:15 pm (no meeting on 4/1).
- Chess club will typically feature a lecture from a professional coach followed by practice time, when the students play games against each other.
- Participants will need to create a free account on lichess.org. We encourage students to enable “kid mode” on their Lichess accounts to prevent communication with other users. After you register you will receive an email with more information about Google Meet video conferencing and Lichess.
Step Afrika - Step Up to College Residency - A weekly residency program (in school or after school) for 4-12th grade students. The curriculum covers stepping, its history, tradition and meaning, preparation for college life, and simple health and fitness. Students learn the core values of stepping: teamwork, commitment, and discipline as a part of their own “step team” by working together to learn and present choreography. Students also gain self-confidence through stepping. Students will work towards a mini-performance to showcase their skills learned throughout the residency. (January 28- March 11 on Tuesday and Thursday from 4pm - 5pm).
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Glasgow PTA News
Fairfax County Council PTA (FCCPTA) Student Technology Mini-Grant Program - Through a generous donation from the Fairfax County NAACP, FCCPTA is offering Fairfax County Public School students (in grades 3-11) an opportunity to obtain a $500 mini-grant for the purchase of computer or a technology-related device or equipment. There are six (6) $500 mini-grants available. In order to apply, the students or their parent/guardian MUST be a member of a PTA/PTSA. Go to https://www.fccpta.org/2020/12/14/student-mini-grants/ for more information.
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/
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FCPS Cares
Do you know a Glasgow Middle School staff member who went beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to submit a brief description so we can all acknowledge the good work of Glasgow faculty and staff members.
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Be Informed, Stay Involved!
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