Weekly Update from Irving MS

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 03/11/2022 07:30 PM EST

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Upcoming Important Dates
March 13		Daylight Savings Time Begins - Spring your clocks forward!
March 16 - Save the Date!		PTA Spirit Night at Ledo Pizza in Cardinal Forest Plaza
March 25 & 26 @ 7:00 pm		Washington Irving Theater Production of the play The Westing Game
March 31		Last Day of the 3rd Quarter
April 1		Teacher Work Day - Student Holiday
April 4-8		Spring Break - No School - Irving MS Building will be closed

After School Safety

Thank you to the PTA for a helpful conversation about behavior at The Plaza and the parents/guardians who were up at The Plaza today to help ensure students were behaving in a safe manner. We did hear from Walgreens that due to some damage in their store, they will be significantly limiting the number of unsupervised middle school students that are allowed in the store at once in the afternoons.

We want to be a partner with our community businesses and support them! Please help us share the message of what being a good citizen means and how to help ensure all community members feel safe and welcome to shop in the afternoons in our community.

If students are spending time at The Plaza, McDonalds, or any other business after school, please remember, students need to have parent/guardian permission (prior to the end of the day) to go anywhere other than home.

Please remind students

to use crosswalks and cross streets when it is SAFE to do so - follow the crosswalk signals
they are guests at all restaurants and need to behave in a respectful manner
Stay out of parking lots - there should not be anyone running into the parking lot or playing tag in the parking lots - it is not safe

Confidence Program

Join an Irving Student led program about confidence! Learn what confidence is, why it's important, and how it can help in daily life. Just one hour from start to finish, and you will learn new ways to improve your self-confidence.

Invite your friends and family! For ages 8-14 Sunday March 13^th

*1^st Session: Ages 8-10: 1:00 to 2:00

*2^nd Session: Ages 11-14: 2:30 to 3:30

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4ba5ab22a0f4ce9-confidence

Family Engagement Survey

Our Family Engagement Survey is coming to your email the afternoon of Sunday, March 13. Please participate—your feedback is critical in helping to inform and improve FCPS’ practices to best support our students. Taking this survey will also help strengthen the partnership between your family and your school. When that partnership is strong, students can experience a range of benefits including improved school readiness, higher student achievement, and better social skills and behavior.

You have the ability to take the survey electronically or by paper copy. Eight language translations of the survey will be made available, including Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. You will receive an email directly from FCPS about the survey, which you will be able to complete on most electronic devices, including Smartphones. We encourage you to use the link sent to your email account first, where able. If you do not have an email address you may access the survey through this public URL visit the Family Engagement Survey webpage or paper copies are available to you if needed, and can be requested from the Family Liaison: djrolls@fcps.edu

Remember – your voice matters!

Lady Spartan Summer Camp

2022 Spartan Basketball Summer Camps for girls and COED camps. For more information and flyer with information contact Coach Gibson at: WRGibson@fcps.edu or to register here is the link.

2022 Lady Spartan Summer Basketball Camp

Special Education Conference (March 26)

Register Now for the FCPS Virtual Special Education Conference on March 26

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, Amharic, 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.

Cyber Safety

Each week during the month of March in ROCK Block, we are taking a few minutes to look at different ways we can stay safe in the cyber world. This week we looked at staying safe on social media. Check out the tip card for social media safety reminders you can discuss as a family, including:

Ensuring social media profiles are set to private.
Being aware of suspicious messages and links.
Remembering that things posted online last forever, even if you think they are deleted.

News from Irving’s Family Liaison

Are any of these 3 tentative programs applicable to you and your family?

If so, please email your interest, and indicate which program interests you to djrolls@fcps.edu

The greater the interest, the greater the chance of getting these programs up and running!

Viewing Student Grades

We have reached the middle of the 3rd Quarter! Please check your student’s grades in SIS ParentVue to see how they are doing and encourage them to complete assignments on time. If they are behind in any class, please encourage them to work with their teachers on a plan to get caught up. The last day of the 3rd Quarter is March 31, 2022 and it will be here before we know it!

Reminder: The gradebook of record is SIS. Grades in Schoology do not reflect the current overall grade in a course.

If you have not activated a SIS ParentVue account, please visit the SIS Resources on the Irving website to request an activation key.

After School Programs and Clubs

Basketball Club has switched to Intramurals, is open to all and meets Mondays and Thursdays during the 1st block.

Volleyball Club is open to all and meets on Tuesdays during the 2nd block. Tuesday, March 29, is the last day this club will meet.

Girls’ Basketball Club will only meet on Tuesday, March 15 and Thursday, March 17 during the 2nd block.

NEW CLUBS

Football Club, meets on Tuesdays during the 1st block.

Lego Masters, meets on Mondays during the 1st block. (March 14, March 21)

Meme Club, meets on Tuesdays during the 1st block.

Minecraft Club, meets on alternating Thursdays during the 1st block.

NASA Sparx, meets on Thursdays during the 1st block. *6-week program

Smash Bros Club, meets on Thursdays during the 2nd block.

Star Wars Club, meets on the 2nd & 4th Mondays of the month during the 1st block.

Ping Pong Club, meets on Tuesdays during the 1st block.

T.R.I.B.E., meets on Mondays during the 1st block.

Weight Training, meets Mondays and Tuesdays during the 1st block.

Coming Soon

Debate Club, meets on Mondays during the 1st block. Will begin after Spring Break.

*Description and schedule information can be found in Schoology. All Parents > After School Program Folder

V.I.P. SAVE THE DATE - SOUTH COUNTY LOCATION

New Military and Family Life Counselor (MFLC)

We would like to welcome our new MFLC, Kerstin Alonzo-Brillant to Irving! Ms. Alonzo-Brillant provides free, nonmedical counseling to individuals, groups, and families in person during the school week to enhance social, academic, and emotional skills to support the wellbeing of military students and their families. Please reach out to Ms. Alonzo-Brillant if you are interested in this support at 314-619-5426 or alonzobrillantk@magellanfederal.com.

Library News

All students should have a novel that they are now reading for English class. Ask to read a chapter along with your student!

Readers Unite Book Club has completed seven books this school year. We continue to meet on Mondays after school. Any students with an interest in reading should drop by the library to express interest and stay after for the first-hour meeting time on Mondays.

Mary Ann Monk & Diane Gawalt, Librarians

News from the PTA

Spirit Night

The next PTA Spirit Night is March 16 at Ledo Pizza in Cardinal Forest Plaza. Please see this linked flyer for more information.

Spirit-Wear

Our next FREE SHIPPING period for the online spirit-wear store starts TOMORROW! Use the QR code below to check out the new spring apparel, and choose from a selection of logo designs.

Share Your Knowledge

Your student has learned a lot – and so have you! Do you have a piece of advice that you think would be helpful to pass along to rising 7th grade parents? Send your suggestions to us at IrvingMSPTA@gmail.com.

For questions or comments, you can always email us directly IrvingMSPTA@gmail.com.

Find us on Facebook! Washington Irving Middle School PTA

Thank you for your support of your PTA - Every child, One voice!

PTA Meeting

Thank you for your participation at this week’s PTA meeting. We voted to use the money from the Jersey Mike’s fundraiser towards a replacement digital marquee sign for the school. We also voted in the members of our Election Nomination Committee!

Volunteer Opportunities

We are still looking for one or two volunteers to help organize the April Movie Night. Please contact us via the email address below if you’re interested in supporting this event. Can’t commit to volunteering? You can still help! Do you have a suggestion for a movie for students or parents? Let us know!

PTA Nominations

Do you know someone that you think would make a great impact on next year’s PTA Board? Nominate them. Nominees can be parents or guardians of in-coming 7th graders and can also be you! Send your nominations to irvingptanomcommittee@gmail.com.