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Greetings Frost MS Families,
We had a great week at Frost! There were lots of smiling eyes (behind the masks) as we have rolled into the fourth quarter! Hopefully the weather gets a bit warmer next week as we will begin to allow students the opportunity to eat outside (socially distanced of course). Frost MS in-person students are also now able to access their teachers during Falcon Focus as the bandwidth in the building and around the county has been increased! In addition, we have increased opportunities for students, both in-person and virtual, to be engaged with our morning Walk and Talks on the track and the very popular Virtual Lunch Tables! Finally, there are hot lunch items in the cafeteria! I’m told the options will be more extensive as the school year closes out.
We learned a lot about the upcoming renovation plans at the PTA meeting this past Tuesday night. You can check out the recording located here: Frost PTA Meeting 2020-21 - recording_8 There were a lot of special guests at the meeting! You may recognize some familiar faces.
Next week, students and staff will begin to see signs of the renovation inside the building! Before long, we will be in full swing! A special thank you to the taxpayers of Fairfax County for voting to approve the bond to make this happen for the Frost MS school community. The official FCPS School Board vote was on April 8th! The renderings of the new building look amazing! Check them out:
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Did you know that more than 14,000 military-connected youth call FCPS home? And that Frost MS has over 130 students with family members currently serving. Join Frost MS in celebrating them during Month of the Military Child. This past Wednesday was Purple Up! Day at Frost, when all were encouraged to wear purple in recognition of the strength and sacrifices of military-connected youth. Purple is the color that symbolizes all branches of the military, a combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red, and Navy blue. At Frost MS, we are so grateful for the service of our military community.
Ramadan began on Monday evening, April 12th this year, and will continue through the evening of Tuesday, May 11th, ending with the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr beginning on May 12th. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the most sacred and is marked by Muslims around the world as a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset each day. Observance of this special month is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is also marked by deep study of the Quran, increased charity and generosity, and committing more time to prayer. Families generally begin each day during Ramadan with a pre-dawn meal called Suhur and end each day with a meal called Iftar after sunset. Students who would like to be in an alternate location during lunch are provided one upon request.
We wish Ramadan Mubarak to all members of the FMS community who are observing!
Finally, today is National Librarians Day! Take a moment if you have it to let Ms. Powers and Ms. Alexander know how much you appreciate them!
I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! As always, “We are #ONEFrost!”
All the best.
Anthony
TBD SOL Dates
May 31 Memorial Day
June 11 Last Day of School
- The calendar will be updated with additional dates for parent/community events as they become available.
MathCounts National Finalists!!
Congratulations to all 59 Virginia Mathletes who virtually participated in the 2021 MATHCOUNTS State Competition on March 25! We are pleased to report out of the FOUR HIGHEST SCORING STUDENTS who will advance to the National Competition, two are from Frost MS, both in the top 3!!!
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State Rank
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Student Name
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Chapter
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School
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1
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Calvin W.
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Fairfax
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Frost Middle School
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2
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Marina L.
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Northern Va.
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Longfellow Middle School
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3
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Alexander G.
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Fairfax
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Frost Middle School
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4
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Angeline Z.
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Northern Va.
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Longfellow Middle School
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We congratulate these amazing students - good luck at the National Competition! We will be cheering for you! The top four highest-scoring students from each state will advance to the 2021 Raytheon Technologies MATHCOUNTS National Competition.
For the safety of our participants and volunteers, MATHCOUNTS will host this year’s National Competition online from May 8-10, 2021.
2020-21 End of Year Grading Flexibility for Middle School Students
During the current 2020-21 school year, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has adopted a grading policy change to provide flexibility for students in middle school to designate their current school year courses as “Pass” or “No Mark” status instead of a letter grade for their final mark.
As you review your middle school student’s third quarter report card, please consider the flexibility that will be applied to final marks:
- Students receiving a final mark of “D” or “D+” in any course will be automatically assigned a mark of “P” (pass) as the final mark at the end of the school year.
- Students receiving a final mark of “F” in any course will be automatically assigned a mark of “NM” (no mark) as the final mark at the end of the school year.
- Students may select a mark of “P” (pass) for any courses for which a passing grade is earned for the final mark. ○ Action Needed: Should you wish to designate one or more courses as Pass status for anticipated grades of “A” through “C-”, the Pass-No Mark Status Form linked here: https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/se358.pdf must be submitted to your school counselor/Student Services by May 10, 2021.
- Students and families are encouraged to carefully consider the option to request a Pass instead of a passing letter grade or final mark. Additional information including considerations and frequently asked questions are available at the following link: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/secondary
An additional option is available for high school credit bearing classes taken in middle school. High school credit-bearing courses will be reflected on the middle and high school transcripts. In accordance with Virginia state regulations, FCPS Regulation 2408 permits parents of students who take a high school credit-bearing course in middle school to request that the grade be omitted from the student's high school transcript and the student not earn high school credit for the course. Parents must make this request no later than the end of the first nine weeks of the school year following completion of the course. The request to expunge as well as guidelines and the procedures for expunging grades for high school courses taken in middle school can be found at the following link: https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/is104.pdf
You can reach out to your child’s counselor if you have additional questions.
Student Intention Form
For students who will NOT be attending Frost, Woodson, or a boundary FCPS high school next year, please complete the Student Intention for the Next School Year form, https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/it110.pdf, and return it to Emily Cheng in the Frost Student Services office, or via email ECheng@fcps.edu.
This includes students who are transferring to:
- Another FCPS school other than Frost or Woodson or boundary HS
- A private school in Virginia or out of Virginia
- Another Virginia public school division outside FCPS
- Another state public school outside of Virginia
- A school outside of the United States
Virtual CAD and Programming for Middle School Students
The Thomas Jefferson High School FTC Robotics team worked with middle schoolers last year on Saturdays to teach about robotics using LEGO robotics kits. Unfortunately, these in-person sessions were not possible to organize this year, so the team has been working on developing their own curriculum for a free, virtual, school-year camp for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. The only resource needed to access these camps are an FCPS laptop. The camp will be split into two curriculums: 1) classes on Computer Aided Design (CAD), for students to learn how to virtually design their own robots; and 2) robotics-related programming taught in the programming language Python.
Students may choose to participate in one or both classes. Each class will last for 6 weeks, making both a total of 12 weeks from March 27th to June 12th. These sessions will be on Saturdays and take place from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM. Students will be emailed a Blackboard Collaborate link to join at these times, similar to how one would join a regular school-day class.
Although the CAD camp has already started, they have posted recordings of the sessions in their Google Classroom (this information will be sent in an email to those who sign up) so students can watch those if they wish to participate in the CAD classes now. They can also sign up for the Programming course, which will be starting on May 1st. More information can be found on the following website: https://www.robotuprising.org/camps/. You may also Register Here.
Student Services Quarter 3 Newsletter
School Counselors are an important resource to students, families, and staff. Check out Frost’s Quarter 3 Newsletter to see what our counselors have been up to. Additional resources are also available on the Student Services Google Site.
Frost Quarter 3 Newsletter.pdf
Connection Opportunities
Virtual Table: In lieu of traditional lunchtime socialization, Frost counselors have been offering various virtual tables to give students the chance to make connections in the virtual environment. Starting 4th quarter, the virtual tables offerings will be combined into one new Google Classroom (code: 4gglvvu). Students that participate can expect an array of games and music, with chat open to connect with others. Both virtual and in-person students are encouraged to attend. Schedule: A Lunch on Tuesday-Friday and D Lunch on Friday.
Walk & Talk: Frost counselors invite students to the blacktop behind Frost before school on Wednesdays and Fridays for safe socializing from 7:10-7:25AM. Students will have the opportunity to meet up with peers and make new connections, in an outdoor setting. Walk & Talk will be offered starting 4th quarter, weather permitting, every Wednesday and Friday, for in-person students. Students will be expected to maintain FCPS Covid-19 mitigating measures and arrive to class on-time by 7:30AM.
“This is Quitting”
Ms. Allison Jacobi, MSW, is the Woodson Pyramid’s contact from the Office of Student Safety and Wellness. She developed a program called “This is Quitting” which supports self-care, supporting students and medication safe disposal. Take a look at her newsletter!
April Woodson Parent Newsletter.pdf
Girl Scout Cookie Donation
Many thanks to the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital and Ms. Michele Randall for donating 48 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to the Frost Middle School staff. We will really enjoy them!
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