Glasgow Community Gazette - February 15

Glasgow Community:

We were so happy to welcome around 150 students in the building this week as we supported students through WIDA testing as well as academic support, and this week we have another cohort of students returning as well. It has been wonderful getting to see our students live and in person! Though school looks different than it ever has before, there is such comfort in the familiar: lots of kids wearing new outfits for their “first day of school,” smiling staff and students (we can tell by their eyes!), and getting to hear stories from students about Tik-Tok or visiting family or being annoyed by siblings. More than ever, we are so excited for March 2nd, when our 8th graders return, and March 9th, when 6th and 7th graders return!

As a reminder, all FCPS secondary schools will start an updated Bell Schedule on Tuesday, February 16. Glasgow’s school hours will be from 7:30 - 2:00, class periods will have adjusted times, and classes will be following specific lunch times. Additionally, as directed by FCPS, February 25 and 26 will be asynchronous days for students as teachers work in the building to prepare for students’ return.

On Tuesday, from 5 - 7pm, we are looking forward to hosting our new-to-Glasgow students at our New Student Building Orientation. See below for more information.

In order to continue planning for a safe Return to School, teachers will be checking in with students and parents to ensure each family knows their enrollment intent. Parents can check their child’s enrollment intent in ParentVUE by clicking on “Student Info” on the left hand menu and scrolling to the bottom of the page to find the “Return to School Responses” field. At this time we are only able to approve requests for parents to change their enrollment to Virtual. Unfortunately, due to staffing and social distancing constraints, we are not able to approve any changes for students to be enrolled in-person at this time. If you would like to switch your child to virtual or request your child to be placed on the waitlist for in-person instruction, please complete the following request form in English, Spanish, or Arabic. 

Finally, this week, we will be sending out a Return to School playlist for students who are planning on returning to school. It will include all the information needed for a safe return to the building. We will also be using Panther Time throughout the next weeks to share important information to students. Additionally, we will be hosting Return to School Town Halls in Spanish, Arabic, and English on February 23. Complete this form if you would like to attend. More information about this will come out next week.

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/

Important Dates

February 9 - 26 - WiDA Testing

February 16 - New Bell Schedule

February 16 - New Student Building Tour

February 23 - Return to School Town Halls 

February 22 & March 1 - *Tentative IOWA Testing

February 25 & 26 - Teacher Prep Day - Asynchronous for Students

March 2 - 8th Grade Return to Building

March 5 - Early Release

March 9 - 6th & 7th Grade Return to Building

February 16 (Rescheduled from previous date)  - New Student Open House for Students and Families - Glasgow will be hosting an optional Orientation for current 6th graders and students new to Glasgow on Tuesday, February 16 from 5pm to 7pm. This evening 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. 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. 

February 22 - Mobile Monday Library in the Community - Mobile Monday Library checkouts will be available on Feb 22 at Glasgow MS, Bailey’s Community Center, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, and Woodrow Wilson Public Library.  Put a book on hold in the Destiny catalog or stop by to browse our carts!  Check out MackinVIA today for 100s of new titles that have been added to our catalog. 

February 23 - Return to School Town Halls - Join us on February 23 for our Return to School Town Halls. We will have three sessions English 6:00pm - 6:55pm, Spanish 7:00pm - 7:55pm and Arabic 8:00pm - 8:55pm. We will share important information for all of those families who are returning to face to face instruction. Complete this form if you would like to attend and we will send you the link directly.

February 25 & 26 - Teacher Prep Days - FCPS has designated February 25 and 26 as asynchronous days for students to ensure that teachers have ample time to prepare for the upcoming transition back to the school building. 

Rising 9th Grade Info

TJ Admissions Updates - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) - The application window for current 8^th grade students will begin on February 1 at 8:00 am and close on February 26 at 4:00 pm. A recorded information session on the new application process is now available https://youtu.be/bu8LFjHpDZ8

YouTubeTranslation: If you need the video translated into other languages on YouTube you can turn on captions with auto generated language translation are available. To turn on captions click  CC button. Then to select a language:

• At the bottom right, click Settings
• Click Subtitles/CC
• Select a language

The application window will begin on February 1 at 8:00 am and close on February 26 at 4:00 pm. The TJ Admissions website  www.tjadmissions.org has been updated with new information. Please contact the TJ Admissions Office tjadmissions@fcps.edu or Glasgow TJ Liaison Counselor Gregory Frantz gdfrantz@fcps.edu with questions.

Return to School 

Daily Health Screening - 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.

Stop the Spread - FCPS has launched the Stop the Spread campaign. Here is a video that FCPS has put out for the community. All staff are actively engaging in professional learning around Stop the Spread as we gear up for  our return. If you would like to learn more about this campaign you can find it on the FCPS website here: https://www.fcps.edu/blog/stop-spread

Return to School - Checking Your Child’s Enrollment - Parents can check their child’s enrollment intent in ParentVUE by clicking on “Student Info” on the left hand menu and scrolling to the bottom of the page to find the “Return to School Responses” field. At this time we are only able to approve requests for parents to change their enrollment to Virtual. If you would like to make this request, please complete the following request form in English, Spanish, or Arabic. Unfortunately, due to staffing and social distancing constraints, we are not able to approve any changes for students to be enrolled in-person at this time. 

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.

Important Information 

World Language Credit Exam - Did you know that last year at Glasgow, 94 high school credits were awarded to students through the World Language Credit Exam? Depending on student proficiency in one of 30 languages when assessed, students in grades 7-12 may earn up to three high school credits. Registration begins on 2/8 and closes on 2/26. Certain exams are available online while others will be administered in person at Annandale High School on 3/14 and 3/20. You can find more information regarding this exam here. To register for your child to take the WLCE this year, please contact school counselor Laine O’Donnell at lodonnell@fcps.edu as soon as possible.

News from the Library - Mobile Monday Library checkouts will be available on Feb 22 at Glasgow MS, Bailey’s Community Center, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, and Woodrow Wilson Public Library.  Put a book on hold in the Destiny catalog or stop by to browse our carts!  Check out MackinVIA today for 100s of new titles that have been added to our catalog.  Email Ms. Sanz @ tmsanz@fcps.edu with any questions or concerns.

In addition, the Fairfax County Public Library has a couple of interesting and fun upcoming programs for students.  Here is a list with a link to more information for each event.

• Kwame Alexander virtual visit! On Monday, February 22 from 2:30-3:15pm. 
• Teen Mic Night on Tuesday February 23 from 4-6pm
• Teen Art Contest from Monday, February 8 through February 26\

Mark your calendars: Virtual Teen Book Fest Mar 5 & 6 (click on link for more info) - Over 90 authors will be “in attendance” at the North Texas Teen Book Festival. Just a few names on the list: Jerry Craft, Alan Gratz, Stuart Gibbs, Jennifer L Holm, Gordon Korman, David Levithan, Kwame Mbalia, Jason Reynolds, and Angie Thomas. It’s open to the public, free of charge, no registration required and occurs during Central time.

Panthers Palace - Glasgow is now home to the Panthers’ Palace – a community closet where families can access clothing and toiletries! If you are in need of new items, please complete the Panthers' Palace Requests Form/ Spanish Requests Form. The Community Engagement Team will follow-up with you with the information you provide. The closet will distribute items on the 3rd Monday of each month. We will be accepting gift cards and new items from this donations list year-round to keep the Panthers’ Palace stocked. Please contact Destiny Delaware ddelaware@fcps.edu or Shona Person sdperson@fcps.edu with any questions.

Celebrating 2nd Quarter Honor Roll - We are proud of the hard work students have been doing so far this year in all of their classes and we look forward to celebrating students who have earned either All A or A/B Honor Roll. Quarter 2 All A and A/B Honor Roll recipients and their parents/guardians will receive an email with their certificate this year.

Help Wanted! Justice HS is in search of a JV Baseball coach and Assistant Boys Lacrosse coaches - The activities department is looking for some coaching positions for this upcoming Spring Season. The spring season will run from April 12^th – Mid May. The season is abbreviated this year and the teams will play a 60% reduced schedule. All positions would come with an extra-curricular stipend. Anyone interested, please contact Brian Garvey bdgarvey@fcps.edu.

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 date is 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.

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/