Monday, May 9, 2022 Lancer Times

Monday, May 9, 2022

Dear Lancer Community,

This past week we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week, where we recognized our teachers for the impact they have on our students and our community. We are so thankful for all the hard work our teachers and staff do every day to make Longfellow a great place to learn and work! I wanted to take a moment to thank our PTA and all of our parent volunteers that supported teacher appreciation week!  Every day brought so many nice treats and surprises; our Lancer staff felt so appreciated by all of your kindness.  

Our school musical, “The Wizard of Oz” debuts this week for four performances. I can’t wait to see all of our students in action. Our students involved in theater have been working so hard on this performance. 

All students will be taking the SOL this week, your students and their teachers have worked so hard together all year and they are ready! On Tuesday afternoon, students will be sent an email to their fcspsschools.net gmail account with their testing location. Please remind them to check their email in the morning.

Thank you again for all of your support.  Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

Jim Patrick

Principal

IMPORTANT DATES

May

11 - Reading SOL

13 - Math SOL

12 - 14 - Spring Musical Performance\

17 - Spring Orchestra Concert 

19 - Rising 7th Grade Open House, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

25 - PTA Meeting, 7:00pm

26 - Last Day of After School Activities

26 - Spring Chorus Concert McLean HS

30 - Memorial Day - No School 

May 12 - 14 Spring Musical Performance - The Wizard of Oz

The Longfellow Theater Department’s production of the Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition will be presented Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, May 12-14 at 7 pm. We also have a 1 pm matinee on the 14^th as well. Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for adults, and available on Etix.com.  Come join us for this adaptation of the classic tale or Dorothy trying to find her way back to Kansas, made especially for young performers. With lovable characters like the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion, you won’t want to miss it! https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/15629/

May 19 - Rising 7th Grade Open House

Longfellow is excited welcome our newest Lancers to our Rising 7^th Grade Open House on May 19 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm! Visitors will be able to walk the halls of Longfellow and see how our classrooms are set up, check out the cafeteria, hear from some of our student organizations and more! Longfellow administrators and counselors will be on hand to answer questions. There will not be a large-group presentation; this is an ‘Open House’ style event in which students may come with their family at any time during the evening. If you have any questions, please contact Katie Madigan, Director of Student Services, at kemadigan@fcps.edu.

June 4 - 8th End of Middle School Celebration 

6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. @Longfellow

There will be a DJ, great food, photo booth/selfie station, human foosball and other games as well as the chance to dunk your favorite principal and teachers! Also, special guest appearances...

Don't miss it - this is the only 8th grade end-of-year event.

Click here to buy your tickets now!

Early Bird pricing (through 5/22) $30. Price will increase to $35 on 5/23/22.

If you need financial assistance, please contact Samuel Ramatowski, snramatowski@fcps.edu

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Morning Attendance Notifications - Suspended

Morning attendance calls, texts, and e-mails are suspended until June 10. Many of our students are involved in AP and SOL testing and are in designated testing sites during our normal attendance-taking time. Evening attendance notification will continue. Parents and guardians, continue to use the normal absence reporting.

Spring 2022 SOL testing Information

Information about the Spring SOL tests can be found on our website here: https://longfellowms.fcps.edu/student-services/sol-testing-information

NJHS Information

All current NJHS members (8th grade): This is a reminder that NJHS Service hours are due May 6.  You should have TEN completed (submitted, verified and approved) hours by the May 6 deadline.  If you do not have the required amount of service hours by May 6, you will be dismissed from NJHS.

7th graders interested in NJHS: In May, an NJHS application will be sent via school email to eligible students (3.75 or higher GPA).  The deadline for the application will be June 10, 2022 – no exceptions!

Any questions regarding 8th grade service hours, please email Heather Postlethwait – hcpostlethwa@fcps.edu 

Any questions regarding 7th grade applications, please email Bindhu Zachariah – bezachariah@fcps.edu  

Tutor.com

We are pleased to announce that students now have unlimited access to online tutoring support services through Tutor.com at no cost to families. Tutor.com is available 24/7, through online voice or text chat, and in your student’s preferred language. Student participation is optional and parents/guardians can opt their students out of accessing the service. You can learn more about Tutor.com on the Tutor.com Online Tutoring Services website. Students will be able to access Tutor.com via a link in Schoology.  Additional information about how to log in and access a tutor is provided to families via the following instructional videos: elementary video and secondary video. Questions not answered in the posted resources may be sent to onlinetutoring@fcps.edu. This new service will help many Longfellow students complete assignments, better understand classroom lessons, and be successful.

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. 

Let's Go Lancers!

Congratulations LMS Science Bowl!

This Saturday the LMS Science Bowl team competed virtually with 46 teams from across the nation that had each placed first in their Regional Events. Team members stayed focused and positive, and managed to increase there standing throughout the 10 hour day, such that they made each of the cut-offs as the teams were gradually eliminated. They went from 25^th, to 19^th, to 16^th, and finally ended the day in 12^th place in the Nation! Congratulations to Team Members: Eric Xie, Oliver Wang, Jake Kim, Anderson Hao, and Clement Ding.

Congratulations Quiz Bowl Team - National Champions!

The Longfellow A Quiz Bowl team won the 2022 MSNCT National Championship.  The Longfellow B Quiz Bowl team came in 5^th place. The kids represented Longfellow with honor. 

Longfellow A:  Aarushi Kanigicherla, Anthony Zhao, Edward Burros, Sarah Trainer

Longfellow B: Eddie Lin, Alan Tan, Sam Cohen, Sophia Guo

OPPORTUNITIES

Junior Solar Sprint

Compete with teammates to build a solar vehicle! Attend free workshops on engineering and the design process! Win awards and prizes! Have fun! 

WHERE? 6560 Braddock Road, ALexandria, VA (TJHSST Tennis Courts)

WHEN? Saturday, June 25th, 10AM-11AM 

Use this link to get updates: https://tinyurl.com/novajss

Use this link to register: https://tinyurl.com/jssworkshop

Freshman 101 

Who: Rising 9th grade students coming to McLean High School during the 2022-2023 academic year

Dates: Monday, July 18, 2022 - Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Location: McLean High School

McLean High School teachers and administrators will offer a variety of in-person activities for students to choose from as they prepare to begin high school at McLean. Students will get to know staff members, connect with other students, and attend sessions designed to prepare them for success as they transition to high school.  

Please note: Only students enrolled as 9th graders at McLean High School for the 2022-2023 school year are eligible for the MHS Freshmen 101 Program. Please complete this electronic form to reserve a spot. Prior to the program, please send a completed Emergency Care Form and email it to mcleanhighschool@fcps.edu by July 11 to complete your registration; Emergency Care Forms are located on the MHS website.  If you have any questions, please email Assistant Principal Jeff Barham at jbarham@fcps.edu.  

IMAGINE Summer Program

Longfellow Middle School is excited to offer our IMAGINE summer learning program! This free and fun summer experience provides opportunities for students to refine and develop foundational math and literacy skills through developing the FCPS Portrait of a Graduate attributes as an effective communicator, collaborator, critical and creative thinker, goal-directed, resilient and global & ethical citizen.  The target audience is students currently enrolled in English 7, English 8, Math 7 and/or Pre-Algebra.

Space for the IMAGINE program will be limited. Families interested in having their student have access to the IMAGINE program can complete the interest form here.  All interested students will be placed on a waitlist. Eligible students will receive a confirmation email by the end of May to initiate the registration process. For questions, please contact our Site Director, Jim Bermudez at jjbermudez@fcps.edu.

• Audience: Longfellow 7th & 8th grade students (rising 8th & 9th grade students) in need of additional time and support to master math and literacy skills
• Location: Longfellow Middle School
• Student Dates: July 11-29
• Hours: 7:30am-11:30am
• Breakfast and Lunch Provided
• Bus transportation provided

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 soon. 

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.