Monday, March 28, 2022 Lancer Times

Monday, March 28, 2022

Dear Lancer Families,

What an exciting evening on Friday, it was great to see all of our families at our Trivia Night! We had quite a few students and families participate in our first Trivia Night since 2019!  I would like to thank all of our volunteers that helped to run the event. I would especially like to thank Mr. Huang and Ms.Zachariah for their work on trivia night. We had several other staff members help out, and a strong showing by our Social Studies Department!  .  

We also took two groups of students to high school transition events at both Langley High School and Marshall High School. Both groups had a chance to learn more about activities, sports and performing arts and to talk to students 1:1 about the transition to high school. The McLean Activities Fair will be at Longfellow on April 20 and 21. We look forward to welcoming them to our school to promote all of the ways to get involved in high school. 

These last couple of days before the end of the quarter can be stressful for our students. This is a good time to follow up with your child to ensure that they don’t have any missing assignments. There will be flex time on Tuesday during Lancer Time, this is a great time for students to follow up with teachers and classes where they might need extra support. 

As a reminder we have a two hour early release on Thursday, March 31st and Friday, April 1st is a day off of school (no joke). Hope you all have a wonderful week and a great Spring Break. 

As always, please reach out if you have any questions. 

Jim Patrick

Principal

IMPORTANT DATES

March

31 Two Hour Early Release; End of 3rd Quarter

April

1 - Teacher Workday (No School for Students)

4-8 - Spring Break - LMS Offices are closed

28 - Career Day at Longfellow (see below for more information)

Save the Date - 8th Grade Party - June 4

SAVE THE DATE for the *8th Grade Party!  June 4 from 6:00pm - 8:30pm, at Longfellow.  Tickets will go on sale soon!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Career Day at Longfellow! 

You are cordially invited to attend Longfellow Middle School’s first in-person Career Day! The event will be held on the morning of Thursday, April 28, 2022. Career Day allows students a chance to gain insight about various career paths and make connections that are relative and relevant to their real-life experiences.  We hope that you will strongly consider participating as a presenter.

If you would like to participate as a presenter (and we hope you will!), please complete the LMS Career Day Interest Form by clicking here. Participants will receive an email confirmation within one week of submitting the registration form.  Please complete the form by April 15, 2022, to allow for proper planning time.

Please forward this information to other professionals who may be interested in presenting, as our goal is to have a wide array of careers represented to expose students to as many professions as possible. We appreciate your participation and support to help make our first in-person Career Day a success!

If you have additional questions, please email Vaughnetta Caldwell, vdcaldwell@fcps.edu or call 703-533-2627.

Candygrams on Sale!

As SOLs are approaching, the Leadership Development class has organized a candygram event for students, allowing them to give candy to their friends and favorite Longfellow staff. The candygrams can be purchased on MySchoolBucks at $1 apiece. Sales start March 28 and close on April 21. After buying the desired amount of candygrams, your child can go to the cafeteria or lecture hall during lunches on odd/blue days to fill out a personalized message for the candygram(s). Students must present proof of purchase in order to fill out a message. Messages can be created March 30 through April 21. Candygrams will be distributed to students and staff on April 27th.

Ramadan Begins, April 2 - May 2, Alternative Lunch Location

This year Ramadan begins at sunset the evening of April 2 and ends at sunset the evening of May 1. During this time, many of our Muslim students may be fasting and it is important for those students to have a quiet, alternative location to go to during lunchtime. Therefore, the student services conference room will be open to students who would prefer to go there during lunch rather than the cafeteria. If you have questions, please contact your child's counselor.

Tutor.com

All FCPS students will have unlimited access to online tutoring support services through Tutor.com at no cost.

Students can connect online any time, and in most subjects for as long as they need. Tutoring is focused instruction provided to students in a one-on-one format through voice or text chat. Tutors will focus on developing students’ strengths and capabilities in reading, mathematics, or other specified subjects. Tutoring services may be accessed before, during, or after school hours and/or on weekends through a link in Schoology. 

All tutors must pass a rigorous application process including an extensive background check. No personal information is shared between a student and tutor. All sessions are recorded and transcripts are available for review by teachers and parents/guardians. 

Students will automatically have access to the Tutor.com tutoring service unless a parent/guardian submits an opt-out request. Watch for an email soon that will include the online tutoring services notice and opt-out information. Additionally, a hard copy form will be sent home with every student. 

For additional information, visit our online tutoring services website. As always, please contact us if you have any questions.

Yearbook Ordering Information 

2021-2022 yearbooks are on sale now!  Visit the Yearbook Order Center at http://yearbookordercenter.com and enter our school code (21584) to reserve your copy!

Need Help with Your Order? Toll Free: 866-287-3096 

Email: yearbookordercenter@herffjones.com    

Customer Support: Open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CST).

Best Buddies Friendship Walk

Each month the Longfellow Best Buddies Club get together to do fun activities and foster friendships. Every year, Best Buddies has a Friendship Walk in DC. This year it is on April 30 at 10 am on the mall. The Longfellow MS Best Buddies club is joining forces with McLean HS to create a bridge between our BB program and theirs. We will be joining their Friendship Walk Team. We are going to invite all Longfellow students and families to join the McLean team and attend. For more information reach out to Lorraine Marshall, Erin Caswell and Stephanie Carter.  https://www.bestbuddies.org/.

Family Engagement Survey

On March 13, FCPS will administer its second Family Engagement Survey. When schools build strong partnerships with families, respond to their concerns, and honor their contributions, students can experience a range of benefits including improved school readiness, higher student achievement, better social skills and behavior, and increased likelihood of high school graduation. By participating in the Family Engagement Survey, parents/caregivers are making their voices heard around important topics impacting their students’ success. Please take some time to complete the family engagement survey, this information is important for us to understand how we can get better at serving our community. 

Academic Advising 

Review Rising 7th Grade & 8th Grade Requests

Now that academic advising season is over for the upcoming year, it is time to review your student's course requests on ParentVue. When you login to ParentVue on the left hand navigation menu you will see "course requests." Click on this and check to see if the courses are correct. Adjustments will be made to advanced math courses later in the spring. Please reach out to Katie Madigan kemadigan@fcps.edu, if you have any questions or need any courses adjusted. 

OPPORTUNITIES

Author Talk - What Do You Say? How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation

Tuesday, April 12 at 7:00pm

The McLean Student Services Department is excited to announce that Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, the authors of the book, What Do You Say? How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home will be speaking in person at McLean.  Last fall, these authors spoke virtually to our Longfellow and McLean parents.  The event was very popular and parents wanted a chance to ask the authors more questions!  

Our in-person author talk will take place on Tuesday, April 12 at 7 PM in the McLean Lecture Hall.  The authors will discuss how parents can engage in respectful and effective dialogue with their teens, discuss boundaries around technology, and improve communication.  Parents will have the opportunity to ask questions and receive advice from the experts. 

We invite all parents from McLean and Longfellow to attend!  Purchasing the book is not required, but if parents do want to purchase they can do so at this link.  Please fill out this form to register for the event.  If the link is giving you trouble, you can show up to the event without registering, we welcome all parents!  Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there!

Julie Lythcott-Haims, NYT Best-Selling Author of 

How to Raise an Adult returns to McLean

Tuesday, April 26 at 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Back by popular demand, former Stanford dean and New York Times best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims presents “Throw Out the Checklisted Childhood: Tips and Strategies for Raising Successful Kids.” This FREE program, sponsored by the Safe Community Coalition and The Potomac School, takes place April 26th from 7-9pm at Temple Rodef Shalom. It’s open to all, but space is limited and registration is required.  Visit the Safe Community Coalition website for more information and registration:  http://mcleanscc.org/.

Jump Start - Longfellow Middle School Transition Program

SAVE THE DATES: August 2 & 3 and August 4 & 5

The Jump Start program is a nonacademic program that focuses on helping rising 7th graders get to know Longfellow Middle School and the expectations of middle school. Jump Start helps to ensure a smoother transition to middle school by introducing students to staff, peers, school layout, and basic policies before the school year begins. Students will participate in sessions covering topics such as study skills, test taking strategies, time management techniques, schedule reading, learning how to use combination locks and many more. Scavenger hunts, locker relay races, and daily physical education activities will also take place during the sessions.

More information will be available on April 1 and registrations will begin being collected on May 1. 

If you have any questions, please contact Riley Barrows: rtbarrows1@fcps.edu

Join the PTA & Support our School!

Join the PTA  -  When you join the Longfellow PTA you will join a proud community of dedicated parents. Membership is $25 for one adult family member and $35 for two adult family members. All members receive access to our online directory through Memberhub.