Katherine Johnson MS - February 17, 2023

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in this issue:


Important Dates

KJMS Event Calendar

  • February 20 - Presidents' Day (No School)
  • February 22 - Orchestra Pre-Assessment Concert 
    • at KJMS - 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
    • Snow date: February 28 at FHS
  • February 22 - School Bus Driver Appreciation Day
  • February 24 - Katherine Johnson Birthday 
  • February 24 - Glow Dance at 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM 

Principal's Message

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Good evening, Eagle Community,

What a fun week at KJMS! This week, we had our 7th Grade Pep Rally on Wednesday and 8th Grade Pep Rally today! This was our midyear celebration with a focus on our POG attributes. Students and staff participated in a variety of fun events with cheering from the Eagles in the stands. 

Also, we want to thank our PTA for selling and distributing Valentine's Day candy-grams this week. We appreciate the continued partnership and support of our wonderful PTA volunteers. Please see their website to find out how to get involved. KJMS Website page.

Enjoy your three-day weekend! Spring will be beautiful with all of the rain we have had this winter.

SOAR Eagles,

Tammy Silipigni


Katherine Johnson's Birthday Spirit Day

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Support Portrait of a Graduate (POG) at Home

This week, we focus on the Ethical and Global Citizen attribute. These are the skills your students can show to demonstrate how they are a good Ethical and Global Citizen. Try asking the question this weekend – “What choices did you make that had a positive impact on your community?”

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Order Your KJMS Yearbook by March 31

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Don't wait! Order your KJMS yearbook today through Barksdale website Purchase & Payment page.  There is no service fees

KJMS access code is 0037625YB 

See our KJMS website yearbook page for more information.


Families Reunite Workshop

Katherine Johnson will soon host a Families Reunite workshop for Hispanic parents. These classes are for those parents who have come to the US and left their children in their native countries under the care of family members or others.  Visit our website page, Families Reunite for more information.  


School Board Approves 2023-24 School Year Calendar

FCPS Calendar Development

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


Attention Rising 9th Grade Families

If you have not yet reviewed the Student Expectations with your student and Parent Requirements on the back of the Course Selection Sheet, please do so over the weekend and sign and return the form to your student's middle school counselor as soon as possible. We have extended the deadline to Friday, February 24, 2023.

Student’s Expectations:

  • I understand the expectations regarding not only the quantity, but the quality of work required in the classes I choose.
  • I understand that Honors courses may have summer assignments that I am required to complete.
  • I understand that I may not make changes to my schedule after the last day of school (June 16th) except for the following reasons:
  1. I have too many or too few classes
  2. Incorrect placement by grade (i.e., placed in English 10 instead of English 9)
  3. Absence of a required course or pre-requisite not met
  • I understand that requests to drop any courses require a drop packet which includes showing I have completed all assignments, stayed after school, and/or sought extra help in the course.
  • I understand that requests for class changes must be approved and will only be considered if space is available at the end of the first quarter

Parent’s Requirements:

  • I have read the course requirements for the courses that my student wants to enroll in.
  • I understand the expectations for not only the quantity, but the quality of work involved in those classes.
  • I understand that the Honors course(s) that he/she wants to enroll in may have required summer assignments.
  • I understand the drop policy as stated above in Student’s Expectations and will support that policy.

 

7th Grade Teams

8th Grade Team

Captains –Tyisha Williamson

Highlanders – Tyisha Williamson

Hokies – Dayle Ranallo

Panthers – Dayle Ranallo

Patriots – Friday Oeur

Nighthawks – Friday Oeur

Spartans – Curtiss Barnes

Cavaliers – Curtiss Barnes


In The Library- New Sign-Up for Volunteers

In the first semester, KJMS students & teachers have borrowed: 

11,231 books. 

That’s nearly 10 books per reader.

The 7th grade is still reading MORE than 8th grade.

Biggest readers: Mr. Curran’s 8th Period with 27 checkouts per student!

Most popular series: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Hahn

Currently overdue:

395 library books

The winners of our first Overdue Book Return Competition are the Highlanders and the Hokies! Our MVP Teacher is Ms. Radja, who rounded up an incredible 95% of her students’ overdues in two weeks.

Please keep reminding students to return or renew their books on time. This helps ensure that everyone has access to the books they want.

Other News:

Battle of the Books

Meets after school on Thursdays from 2:30-3:30. Each participant will read 4 (or more) of the 16 competition books. We will spend our meetings team building and practicing for the inter-school competition on May 31. Questions? Email Ms. Carmichael at ecarmichael@fcpsschools.net.

Lunchtime Parent Volunteers

Lunchtime is the busiest time of day in our library. We are seeking parent volunteers to help supervise students having fun in the library between 10:45-12:45. Interested? Volunteer Sign-Up Genius

#TeamLibrary has an Amazon Wish List!


KJMS Family Liaisons

If you need to contact one of our parent liaisons, Ana Maxey (Mon.,Thur., Fri.) or Jennie Choi (Tues. & Wed.), please call 703-934-2454 and leave a message with your name, your student's name and phone number. You may also contact them via email: Ana Maxey at ajmaxey@fcps.edu  or Jennie Choi at jchoi4@fcps.edu


FCPS Weekly News

In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics:

    • 2023-24 School Year Calendar
    • School-Zone Speed Cameras Launched
    • Tutors Needed! 

Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving the weekly newsletter, sign up today.  


Parent Resource Center New Webinars

The Parent Resource Center (PRC) offers free workshops (webinars), consultations, a lending library, and resources to help adults support the success of all students, including those with learning challenges, special needs, and disabilities.

PRC is dedicated to helping adults support the success of all students. The PRC will present the following webinars in February: 


FCPS Cares

FCPS Cares
 

The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for families, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story, so we can all acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees at Katherine Johnson MS. We love our staff members; let's tell them how we feel!



Stay in Touch with Us


Parents who speak Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, or Vietnamese can call a telephone information line for general information about FCPS and to receive support if they are having difficulty communicating with their children's schools due to a language barrier.