Weekly Update from Irving MS


Tutor.com

Does your child need homework help or feedback on their writing? How about a practice quiz to get ready for a test? Tutor.com is open to FCPS students in all grades, on-demand, 24/7, at no cost to families. Learn more.


Purchase your Yearbook!

Yearbooks are $20 and can be pre-ordered through MySchoolBucks or directly through Walsworth by going to www.yearbookforever.com


Upcoming Important Dates

February 20

No School - Presidents’ Day

February 24

After Friday Activities Day

February 24

6:30-8:30

PTA Movie Night - Lyle, Lyle Crocodile for kids AND Hidden in Plain Sight presented by Fairfax County Police Department for adults only. Both are free! We hope you will come and hear this VERY important presentation!

Sign up for Hidden in Plain Sight HERE

March 2

2-hour Early Release - students will dismiss at 12:15 pm

March 3

Student Holiday (Professional Workday)

April 3-7

Holiday - Spring Break

 


Principal’s Message

Dear Irving Families, 

First, I want to thank all of the chaperones and families who donated drinks and treats for the dance! We had about 560 students stay for the dance. I also want to thank our families who picked up their children at 3:30 - we know our parking lot is small and we appreciate that everyone packed their patience as they snaked around our entire parking lot. We were able to safely move over 500 cars through the entire pick up to exit loop in less than 30 minutes. Thank you!

Coming up next Friday, February 24, the PTA is sponsoring a VERY important presentation by the Fairfax County Police Department called Hidden in Plain Sight. We offered this presentation last year and it was very well received. I cannot recommend this presentation enough - while we all hope never to need to use the information shared in the presentation; it is always better to be informed and prepared. This event is for adults only, no children will be permitted. However, while you attend the presentation, we will be providing the movie Lyle, Lyle Crocodile in the cafeteria for students. There is a sign up through Eventbrite for the presentation linked HERE, as well as a link to sign up to help chaperone the movie night portion in the PTA section of the newsletter below. 

Lastly, in an effort to alleviate some of the overcrowding at “the Plaza” and to provide an alternative for “hanging out,” Irving MS will begin offering activities on Fridays from 2:25-3:25. We are NOT able to offer late buses on Fridays. The first “After Friday” Activity Day will be on Friday, February 24 from 2:25-3:25. We will provide a snack for students and they may be in the cafeteria to eat the snack and hang out or they can be in the 8th grade gym for a sport activity such as basketball, futsal, volleyball, etc. We have a small number of staff who will be working on Friday afternoons. We will also be looking for parent chaperones - stay tuned for more information. 

Take Care

Cindy Conley


Calendar Update

The Fairfax County School Board approved a calendar for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years at their February 9 meeting. Learn more about the approved calendar

The first day of the 2023-24 school year will be Monday, August 21, and the last day will be Wednesday, June 12

Developing a school year calendar is a balancing act, involving multiple factors that must be considered. Community input is one of those factors, and we appreciate our community for being involved in the calendar development process.


Technology Use Reports by Lightspeed 

Have you signed up for a report about your child’s internet activity on their FCPS device? You can sign up for weekly reports from Lightspeed, the FCPS internet content filtering service, which lists top sites your child has visited that week. The weekly report also offers guardians the ability to sign up for the free Internet Use Parent Portal for even more detailed information about your child’s internet browsing. Guardians can also “pause” internet access on the FCPS device during non-school hours. Parents/guardians who are interested can submit a request on the Technology Support for Families page  for weekly screen activity reports.


Please Charge Laptops

Please remind your child that laptops must be charged each night. We do not have enough chargers and outlets in classrooms to charge them in classrooms each morning. If your child is unable to locate the laptop charger that was given to them during laptop distribution, a replacement may be purchased for $23 by logging into MySchoolBucks. Thank you!


Technology Support for Families

Visit the Technology Support page for answers to many questions about student technology and basic troubleshooting, including how to reset a password, accessing Zoom in Schoology, laptop resources, and screen activity reports. 


After School Information

Program Structure & Club Sign Ups

We will offer late buses on Mondays, Tuesdays, SOME Wednesdays, and Thursdays, buses depart from Irving between 4:35 pm and 5:00 pm. The weekly sign-up regenerates weekly, the link will be available Fridays by 10am. Also, activities and clubs that are labeled both blocks, it is a commitment for the entire 2 hours. Updates and changes will be shared via Schoology, lunch (cafeteria), Rock Block and the after school program board.

End time for 1st block - 3:25 pm

End time for 2nd block - 4:30 pm

Back to Basics: Strategies for Success - Leadership Coaching, is a 6-week course that incorporates Portrait of a Graduate goals and enhances their communication skills. This free course is offered on Wednesdays after school, both blocks; first session ends Wednesday, March 8, second session begins Wednesday, March 15.

Coming Soon

Buddy Sports: starting Tuesday, February 21, 1st block.


Library News

The library is excited to announce that young adult author Stephanie Bodeen will give presentations to students on her day-long visit to Irving Middle School on April 26th.  Ms. Bodeen has written many books, including The Compound and The Raft, two titles that a good number of Irving students have already read.  We are encouraging all students to borrow a copy of one of Ms. Bodeen’s books to read before the author’s visit.  The author will be speaking specifically about those two fiction titles as well as about the writing process.  

Students interested in borrowing one of these titles and in attending the author’s presentation should speak with a librarian.

–Mary Ann Monk, Librarian Irving Middle School


News from the PTA

Are YOU interested in being on the PTA executive committee? We will elect a President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. If interested, please send an email to IrvingPTANomCommittee@gmail.com. Also, we need one more person to make the nominating committee complete. If you would like to volunteer for this short but important role, please send an email to irvingmspta@gmail.com.

THANK YOU to all who contributed to Headless Heroes for the Shower our Teachers and Staff with Love event, held on February 14th. The nacho bar was a big hit! A special SHOUT OUT to Christy Whiteaker who organized the event, hosted it and made sure it was a success.

MOVIE NIGHT! February 24th 6:30 – 8:30 PM will be a Movie Night at Irving, sponsored by the PTA. We will watch Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and everyone is welcome. It’s free to attend and no sign up is needed – just come.  However, we need 10 adult volunteers to chaperone the event. Please sign up, here: (copy and paste the link): https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090A4AAFAF29ABFB6-movie

At the same time as the movie, we will have a showing of “Hidden in Plain Sight” by the West Springfield Police, in Barker Hall. The is an adults-only presentation that helps parents to identify risky youth behavior. If you would like to attend “Hidden in Plain Sight” please register here:   https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hidden-in-plain-sight-tickets-542976325807           

(Copy and paste – links don’t work).

MARCH 7 – is our next general PTA meeting. It will also be at 6:30, and on zoom. More details to come!