Kilmer MS Newsletter - February 17, 2023

A message from Principal Steven McFarlane

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Kilmer Community, 

If anyone wants to see middle school in all its glory, then come visit on Valentine’s Day, ha ha. Our building was full of Valentine’s Day cards, candy, flowers, and stuffed animals. But when you strip away the awkwardness of middle school (which is developmentally appropriate) what was fantastic to see is how much our students care for each other, and the adults that teach them. Kilmer’s Student Council Association (SCA) had been selling Candy Grams for the previous two weeks, and those Candy Grams were delivered on Valentine’s Day. In total, we sold close to 2,500 Candy Grams. Sure, the Candy Grams came with a piece of candy, but more importantly were the notes attached to each Candy Gram. I regularly say how important this community is, and this is another example of how that plays out daily at Kilmer. Those simple notes buoyed the spirits of students and staff when they were delivered, and it was a great reminder of the strong relationships that exist in this school.

Also, on that same day the PTA provided a luncheon for the staff. On behalf of everyone here at Kilmer, we are incredibly grateful for the time and effort our parent community invests in Kilmer’s staff and students. Thank you! 

Wednesday was School Resource Officer (SRO) Appreciation Day. We are lucky to have Officer Jason Edminster in the Kilmer community. Everyday he’s outside during all lunches playing soccer or football with the students. He’s regularly in the hallways chatting with kids, and he has built some of the strongest relationships I’ve ever seen between an SRO and staff/students. If you see Officer Edminster consider introducing yourself and saying hi.  

Lastly, a reminder that Monday is Presidents’ Day and there is no school that day. Enjoy the long weekend, and we’ll see everyone on Tuesday. Have a great weekend, and as always, reach out if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Steven McFarlane

Principal


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Pictures of the Week

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Congrats to our Science Olympiad Team! There are two types of Science Olympiad events: build events and written events. The build events competition took place several weeks ago down in Charlottesville, VA and the written events took place this past Saturday. The written events range in topics from Green Generation, Solar System, Anatomy & Physiology, and Codebusters. Kilmer had a fabulous showing at the Regional Event, and it was announced yesterday that we placed 5th in the region. 25 different students won 19 medals in total! Now it’s on to the state competition on March 25th.

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Ms. Kouril’s 7th grade history classes visited the Kilmer library where they analyzed documents related to the United States’s entry into World War I. Students then participated in an evidence-based Philosophical Chairs debate centered around the claim “The US should have entered World War I.” This activity allowed students to step into the role of historian while developing Portrait of a Graduate skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and communication.

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Mr. Prevost’s and Ms. Baxley’s Algebra classes recently completed a math performance task related to Crosstown Hoops. Students were challenged to write an inequality showing different combinations of two-point and three-point shots that could lead to a tie or victory against Thoreau. Students then worked in small groups to co-construct a chart capturing these point combinations. They then turned the information into a graph and found the slope-intercept form of the inequality. This math-rich task required students to use Portrait of a Graduate skills related to the communicator, critical thinker, collaborator, and goal directed and resilient individual attributes.

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Students taking advantage of practice time during Learning Seminar.


Dining For Dollars

Our next Dining for Dollars will be all day from noon until 9:00pm on Sunday, February 26th in downtown Vienna at both Foster's Grille (138-A Maple Avenue, W) and next door at Ben & Jerry's (136-C Maple Avenue, W). Be sure to drop your receipts in the Kilmer Middle School Dining for Dollars bucket on the bar so that the school gets a percentage of your purchases.  

Support Kilmer Middle School and stop by Foster's Grille for lunch or dinner and then walk next door and have dessert at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Foster's will even let you reserve tables for a team party on that day.

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Congratulations Kilmer Chorus

Seven Kilmer students were selected to the 2023 All-Virginia Middle School Honor Choir! A huge congratulations to:

  • Vivinna Christopher Anand
  • Alejandra Castro
  • Nikki Madani
  • Caroline Hanke
  • Anoushka Sharma
  • Shriram Navale
  • Alaia Cross

Marshall & Madison HS Rising 9th Grade Activities Fairs - Field Trip

8th Grade Students attending Marshall & Madison will receive a permission form in SCIENCE between Feb.21st-24th to attend an Activities Fair on Friday, March 24th. Participants will receive information about athletics, fine arts, and extracurricular opportunities available to them next year. 

Students on the Marshall trip will have lunch at Marshall ($3.50 cash) & those on the Madison trip will eat when they return to Kilmer. 

Completed forms with Student and Guardian/Parent signatures should be turned in through SCIENCE - the deadline is March 3rd. 

If a student loses their pre-printed permission form, they may print another from Schoology > All Students Course > Materials > Rising 9th Grade Activities Fair.

It is very important that field trip participants arrive at school on time on March 24th for transportation groupings and departures.


Spring SEL Screener

Students will take the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener on Thursday, March 9 during 4th period Advisory classes. The SEL screener is administered twice during the school year. Opt out forms submitted at the beginning of the school year apply to both the fall and spring screener.  Please email your student’s counselor or Erin Kestler etkestler@fcps.edu if you have questions about the screener or opt-out. For more information about the screener visit: FCPS SEL Screener


National Junior Honor Society

NJHS candidates will have a mandatory meeting during First Block (After School Program) on February 23 to continue Stage 3: Action. Service projects are expected to be completed by March 16. All meeting materials, the NJHS digital notebook, and other supports are located in the NJHS Schoology Course.  Kilmer’s NJHS expects a high level of commitment from candidates. Developing a service learning project relevant to candidate interests, establishing relationships with service organizations, providing direct or indirect service, staying current with NJHS assignments, and maintaining the five pillars of NJHS are just some of their responsibilities. With well-thought out plans, candidates will see their actions having verifiable, positive outcomes. Thank you to our NJHS candidates - you are already making a difference!

Save the date: NJHS Service Learning Gallery Walk and Induction Ceremony April 27, 2023


Into the Woods Jr.

Save the date for Kilmer’s presentation of Into the Woods Jr.

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Course Registration Timeline for the 2023-2024 School Year

  • Seventh Grade Students: Seventh grade students will participate in a course registration lesson during Science class during the week of Feb 13 - 17. Students can begin the registration process by viewing the Eighth Grade Course Catalog and course videos created by Kilmer teachers at the following link: Curriculum and Elective Resources for the 23-24 School Year . Students are encouraged to speak with their seventh grade teachers and school counselors about recommendations for eighth grade in order to select courses that reflect their academic strengths, abilities, and interests.

During the months of February and March, all students will participate in an academic advising session with their school counselor to finalize their course selections for the 2023-2024 school year. All course selections will be entered in SIS StudentVue.

  • Eighth Grade Students: During the months of February and March, all students will participate in an academic advising session with their school counselor to finalize their course selections for the 2023-2024 school year. All course selections will be entered in SIS StudentVue.

Marshall HS IB Information Night Presentation 

Marshall HS Course Registration Resources

Madison High School Course Registration Resources


Afterschool Activities News/Updates

Each week Ms. Kardelis will post a detailed overview of our After School Program to our website. Please visit Kilmer’s website at https://kilmerms.fcps.edu/afterschool_newsletter to find the weekly After School newsletter.


References & Reminders

WIDA Testing

Starting February 13th, ELL students will take the WIDA Access ELP Assessment. Students will receive information about their testing date and location in their fcpsschools.net email account. Most students will be tested on the following dates:

  • Monday, 2/13: 8th grade Listening
  • Tuesday, 2/14: 7th grade Listening
  • Thursday, 2/16: 8th grade Reading
  • Friday, 2/17: 7th grade Reading
  • Wednesday, 2/22: 8th grade Writing
  • Thursday, 2/23: 7th grade Writing
  • Monday 2/27, Tuesday 2/28, or Wednesday 3/1: Speaking for all grade levels

Some students will be tested on different dates than those listed above. Makeup testing will be offered several times throughout the testing window. Testing notifications were sent home for students who are taking the WIDA Access at the end of January. If you have questions please contact the School Testing Coordinator, Marileigh Blake at mlblake@fcps.edu or 703-846-8885.


Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and IEP Progress Reports in ParentVue

Parents are now able to view their students’ individualized education program (IEP) and IEP Progress Report in the Student Information System (SIS) ParentVue web app. To set up your ParentVue account, visit the SIS ParentVue information page. Please use a strong, unique password to protect your child’s information. IEP documents are not delivered via the SIS ParentVue mobile phone app. Once logged into SIS ParentVue, click on the “IEP Documents” tab to view your child’s current IEP and the most recent IEP Progress Report.


Tutor.com - Extra Help for Students at No Cost to Families 

With Tutor.com through Schoology, FCPS students are able to get learning help at any time, even from bilingual tutors! Students in FCPS meet with tutors thousands of times each week to practice reading, prepare for an upcoming math test, write computer programs, study for the SAT, or to get feedback on scholarship essays–all at no cost to their families! If you haven’t already, we encourage you to take just a few minutes to connect with a tutor with your child. More info about Tutor.com in FCPS is available here.