 Dear Mustangs-
I hope that all of you have had an enjoyable weekend and that you were able take advantage of the beautiful weather. One of my favorite parts of the school day is welcoming students and families as they arrive each morning, and the nice weather makes that task even better! As the weather continues to improve, we will look for additional ways to allow students to go outside for lunch and mask breaks.
This past week SCMS welcomed approximately 200 7th grade students back to our building for in-person instruction. They joined the 200 8th grade students returning for their second week. It was energizing to have so many students back in the building. I am very proud of our students and staff. As a school, we learned a lot this week and we will use this knowledge to continue to support our in-person learners and our virtual learners in having a positive experience for the remainder of the year.
Thank you for your continued support and please reach out with any questions.
Peter Kownacki
Principal
South County Middle School
703-690-5507
@pakownacki
 |
|
- March 26th – End of 3rd Quarter, 2 Hour Early Release
- March 29th - April 2nd – Spring Break
- April 5th – Student Holiday
|
 |
|
The main office will be closed during spring break. We will re-open on Monday, April 5th. |
All South County Middle students (in-person and virtual) will be taking the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) Tests during the Spring Test Window (April 26, 2021-June 4, 2021). All students must be assessed in reading, mathematics, and science, as shown in the table below.
SOL tests measure what students have learned of the content and skills detailed in the Virginia Standards of Learning. The purpose of SOL testing is to provide information about student achievement to the parent, school, school division, and state. In the coming weeks, we will communicate South County Middle School’s specific SOL Testing Calendar.
Additionally, the Virginia Board of Education expanded the opportunity for divisions to use local alternative assessments in place of SOL tests due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Local alternative assessments are delivered as part of regular classroom instruction throughout the school year to measure student learning of the standards. FCPS will be using local alternative assessments for writing and social studies.
|
 If you become aware of an unavoidable conflict that could result in your child missing an SOL testing day, or if you are not comfortable having your child participate in SOL testing this year due to coronavirus concerns, please contact our school test coordinator, Melissa Shaffer (mjshaffer@fcps.edu), for more information about this decision. We anticipate FCPS sending out a centralized communication to all families in the coming days with more information about SOL refusal.
Information for In-Person Learners
Visitor Access and Student Item Drop off:
Please note that visitor access to all FCPS school buildings is limited. As some students return to school in the building we ask:
- The building will open at 7:10
- On time arrival for students is no later than 7:25. Class begins at 7:30
- Please call the main office (703-690-5500) if you need to drop a student off late or pick up early
- All students will have access to FREE breakfast and lunch each day, including items to accommodate dietary restrictions. Please do not drop off lunches, water bottles or snacks.
- Music teachers understand when students forget their instruments. Please do not drop off forgotten instruments, as we cannot guarantee it can get to the students' class
Attendance Reporting:
- Students are expected to attend in-person on their assigned days
- If a student must attend virtually on an in-person day, a parent/guardian will be asked to verify that the student is attending online.
- To report a change in attendance (i.e. appointment, sick, etc.), please contact South County Middle School through the Attendance Process:
|
Third Quarter Catch Up Days
|
Dates
|
CT or Department
|
|
March 16-17
|
English
|
|
March 18-19
|
CTE
PreAlgebra/Math 7 Honors
|
|
March 23-24
|
Science
|
|
*Literacy & Strategies for Success classes will plan catch-up days by teacher, not to coincide with other catchup days*
Expectations:
- Teacher and students will log into class as usual.
- Teacher takes attendance.
-
Teacher provides students the opportunity to make up any missing work for the class.
- If a student is caught up in this class, he/she has the opportunity to work on assignments for other classes.
We encourage you to visit our school website frequently for updates and announcements. For more detailed information on all school matters, please visit our website at http://www.fcps.edu/southcountyms/
For further information on planning and events sponsored by the PTSO, please visit their website at http://www.scmsptso.org/
Parents of FCPS students may update contact information online through weCare@School http://www.fcps.edu/news/wecare.shtml, a feature of FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard) or by contacting the student information officer at their child’s school to have the contact information updated in the student information system.
The News You Choose subscription service is a self-subscribing, self-updating, and self-unsubscribing service. To update your contact information and/or topic selections, or to unsubscribe, go to http://www.fcps.edu/kit/index.shtml#update for instructions. Schools and offices cannot update or delete subscribers.
|
