This Week in Review

Greetings Frost Middle School!

We had a great week of school! Our students and staff adjusted well to the new mask guidance that began on Tuesday. We reminded our students and staff to be respectful and understanding of other viewpoints and perspectives, as well as, continuing our goal of being an inclusive environment. This is what #ONEFrost is all about. I am extremely proud of our students, staff and our school community.

Next week is National School Social Work Week. It provides us an opportunity to acknowledge and recognize the impactful work that school social workers do to support students, families, and their communities. We are fortunate to have three great social workers at Frost MS, Ms. Traci Lindsay-Luper, Ms. JaQuese Hawkins, and Ms. Rebecca Henry! If you have had the opportunity to work with them, please reach out to say thanks for the support they give our community.

Finally, we are proud of our students in the band program. There was a concert on Thursday night at WT Woodson that was well attended and received. Great job Falcons!

As always, we are #ONEFrost!  

All the best! 

Anthony

Upcoming Dates - Mark Your Calendars

March 31                     2 Hour Early Release, End of 3^rd Quarter/NO AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM

April 1                          Teacher Workday/Student Holiday

April 4 – 8                    Spring Break

April 15                        Good Friday

April 22                        Orthodox Good Friday

May 3                          Eid al Fitr

May 12                        SOL Test - 8^th Grade Science

May 17                        SOL Test - 7^th and 8^th Grade Reading

May 19                        SOL Test - 7^th and 8^th Grade Math (incl. Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2)

New This Week

Scholastic Art Awards

Wonderful news: our student Sydney E. earned two Scholastic Art Awards for the attached drawings! Restart, the drawing with the clock, won a silver key, and Listen to Me, the drawing with the mouth, won a gold key. Listen to Me also received the FCPS School Board Award! This is the first time in over 10 years that a Frost student has earned the school board award. Amazing! Sydney is an incredibly talented and hardworking artist, and we are so proud of her!! 

MASKS OPTIONAL and CHANGES to HEALTH and SAFTERY GUIDANCE

Tuesday marked the first day of masks being optional in our schools, nearly two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This milestone is met with mixed emotions and reactions from everyone in the FCPS community. The one thing that unites us is our commitment to providing a safe, supportive learning environment for all students. 

While masks are optional, we should all still be diligent in monitoring our health each day, staying home when sick, and practicing good hygiene habits like washing hands and covering coughs or sneezes. 

Our Health and Safety Guidance Document has been updated to reflect the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and the work our health team is doing in collaboration with local health experts.

Mental and emotional health is just as important as physical health. Embracing the FCPS caring culture builds a supportive community that promotes the wellbeing of every student.

Back-to-School Pediatric Immunization Clinic on March 12

Families can be ready for next school year by taking care of required immunizations now. Share the following information with your school community:

The State of Virginia requires immunizations for entry into kindergarten, 7th grade, 12th grade, and when transferring into FCPS. The Fairfax County Health Department will be offering a special immunization clinic for Fairfax County students to complete their school vaccine requirements (the COVID-19 vaccine is not a required vaccine). 

The clinic will be held on Saturday, March 12, 8 a.m. to noon, at the Annandale District Office, 7611 Little River Turnpike, #400-E, Annandale, VA 22003. Appointments are required.

To make an appointment, call 703-246-7100.

World Down Syndrome Day

Monday March 21^st is World Down Syndrome Day. We are encouraging staff and students to wear Silly/Wild/Mismatched socks on this day to spread awareness and support individuals with Down Syndrome across the globe. This theme started in 2013 and has been come to be known as Lots of Socks, created around the idea that chromosomes look like socks, and people with Down Syndrome have an extra chromosome. More information about this day and ways to get involved in the community can be found on the Down Syndrome Association of Northern VA’s website: https://www.dsanv.org/world-down-syndrome-day/

In order to recognize this day, we will be holding a student raffle to win pairs of silly socks during lunches. On Friday 3/18/22, students can get a raffle ticket during lunches (for free/no cost!), and on Monday 3/21, raffle winners will be announced during lunches and will win a pair of silly socks!

Special Education Conference

FCPS’s 17th Annual Special Education Conference will be held virtually on Saturday, March 26, with a combination of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded) sessions supporting the conference's theme: Bringing our Inclusive Community Together: Affirming, Assessing, Advancing. Welcoming ceremonies, guest speakers, FCPS presentations, and an exhibit hall are included. Registration for this free conference is now open online.

• Parents and community members will be able to register online.
• FCPS educators, administrators, and preservice teachers will be able to register online and earn recertification points for attending the conference.
• Individuals needing foreign language interpretation (Spanish, Ahmaric, Arabic, and Korean), American Sign Language (ASL), or Cued Language Transliterator (CLT) interpreters for the live sessions may request this on the registration form. 

For questions please contact specialedconf@fcps.edu. 

Visit the Special Education Conference webpage for more information and to register

Career Pathways Study

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has partnered with FourPoint Education Partners, a national consultancy based in Maryland, to assess our current pathway elective courses and career pathway programs. Our middle and high school students will be receiving an email inviting them to participate in a brief survey.  The email will be sent to their school email address and will be coming from Naviance with a subject titled: Student Survey Pathways Study. 

Participation in the survey is optional.  If you would like to opt your student out of this survey, please contact Susan Morningstar at sjmorningsta@fcps.edu by Monday, March 7, 2022.

Students will have the opportunity to complete this survey during Falcon Focus (4^th period) on Wednesday, March 9^, 2022.In addition, our middle and high school parents will have an opportunity to provide feedback.  More information will follow soon.

If you have any questions, please contact Melanie Porter at mnporter@fcps.edu

In Other News....

Your Views and Opinions Are Important to Us!

This spring all Frost MS parents/guardians will be contacted through email with a link to the FCPS Principal Evaluation Parent/Guardian Feedback Form Online. This questionnaire is part of the Performance Evaluation Program and offers parents/guardians an opportunity to provide anonymous input about various topics related to our school. These topics include instructional leadership, school climate, human resources management, organizational management, communication and community relations and professionalism. Understanding that this has been another unusual year, the impacts of COVID-19 will be taken into consideration when reviewing the feedback.

The questionnaire will be collected online between March 7 and March 18. When you receive an email from FCPS Surveys, please take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire. Your opinions matter!

Technology Reminders

Please note that students received a lesson on some important technology reminders during the week of February 21^st. Frost MS expects students to respect school property. Students were reminded to take care of their FCPS issued laptops and not to download games or VPNs to their machines. FCPS can remove internet access for students who violate these policies.

Students can request service for their FCPS issued laptops by accessing the Student Tech Support Request link in the Frost All Students Course in Schoology. Having computer issues at home? Try these typical fixes: Log out of all accounts: Schoology, Google Workspace, etc.., Clear Google Chrome Cache, Update Google Chrome if needed, and the tried and true fix, Restart your computer!

SRR Spring Refresher

Students received a lesson this week reminding them of our Student’s Rights and Responsibilities and expectations surrounding behavior in the classroom and in the hallways. Please continue to remind students at home to be their best in all that they do. You can help us by reminding students to arrive to class on time, keep electronics off and away between classes and in class, take care of FCPS issued laptops, and to be kind to one another. Thanks in advance for your continued support.

ESSER III Grant: Your Voice Matters!

Last fall, FCPS received $188.8 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) funding to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools, and address the impacts of COVID-19 on students. Please provide your thoughts on how FCPS is meeting ESSER III requirements. And, take a look at the impact ESSER III funds are having throughout FCPS.  For more information on the ESSER III grant, please watch this video and visit the FCPS website.

Order Your Frost MS Yearbook Now!

Order your Frost Middle School 2021 - 2022 yearbook now!  Just use the QR code! 

Questions?  Please contact Debbie Metzker at dlmetzker@fcps.edu

YearbookSale_QR_Code_Flyer_20190212.pdf

Frost MS Renovation Schedule 

We are extremely excited about the progress the construction team is making on our new addition and renovation at Frost MS! To keep the Frost MS community informed about the progress and timelines, please see below:

Project Scope

Addition (+/- 85,000 square feet)

• Secure main entrance (Bus drop-off)
• Secondary entrance (Car drop-off)
• Administration and Health Suite
• Comprehensive Services Suite
• Cafeteria extension
• 2 story classroom wing (Core classrooms & Science labs, Special Ed)
• Library
• Music/Instrumental rooms
• Gym storage

Renovation (+/- 121,000 square feet)

• Existing Classrooms (Art, Family & Consumer Sciences, Tech & Eng. Ed.)
• Student Services Suite
• Special Ed offices and classrooms
• Cafeteria/Stage, Kitchen
• Main and Aux Gyms
• Lecture Hall (relocated and enlarged)
• Roof
• Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, AV/IT

Phases

• Phase 1-         Completed July 2022- If on schedule, students will be able to access and have classes in completed sections this Fall!
• Phase 2-         Completed Spring 2023       
• Phase 3-         Completed Fall 2023
• Estimated Project Completion Date- Fall 2023

FCPS Publishes the 2022 – 2023 School Year Calendar

The 2022-23 school year calendar was officially approved last week. Next year’s school calendar focuses on instruction and student and operational needs. The calendar also reflects significant community and employee engagement throughout the calendar development process.

Important Dates:

• Monday, August 22, 2022: First day of school.
• November 23-25, 2022: Thanksgiving break.
• December 19, 2022 - January 2, 2023: Winter break.
• April 3-7, 2023: Spring break.

Changes:

• Veteran’s Day will be a professional workday.
• Spring break is aligned with surrounding districts.
• New instruction will be allowed to take place on days denoted as religious and cultural observances, or “O” days.
• Four observances will be student holidays:
• Rosh Hashanah. 
• Yom Kippur.
• Orthodox Good Friday.
• Diwali.

See other highlights of the 2022-23 school year calendar. Stay tuned for more information on the 2022-23 Employee Calendar. We will be sharing more on the updated use of O Days later in the spring.

Summer Arts Program Registration Opens March 1

All students with an interest in continuing to explore the arts are eligible for two summer enrichment programs. Registration opens on March 1 for the Elementary Institute for the Arts (E-IFTA) and Institute for the Arts (IFTA) Summer enrichment programs. 

Elementary Institute for the Arts (for rising 3rd through 6th graders) and Institute for the Arts (for rising 7th through 12th graders) will be held July 5-29 at Lake Braddock Secondary School from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Classes are offered every day related to dance, music, theater, and visual art. Both programs have fees, waivers are available for students eligible for free and reduced-price meals.  

For more information or to register, visit the Summer Learning webpage

CTE Summer Academy

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) office is once again planning an engaging summer enrichment program for students! For our current 7th to 11th grade students, we have CTE Summer Academy.

4101 Pickett Rd Fairfax, VA 22032  | Main Office: 703.426.5700
Attendance: 703.426.5702 | Web | Twitter