Monday, March 6, 2023
Dear Lancers:
I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. Last Friday, our staff came together in order to participate in professional development. Lancer staff participated in training related to our three main goals: Fostering a sense of belonging for all Lancers, increasing opportunities for collaboration in the classroom, and providing students with rigorous and high quality academic tasks.
Our Longfellow students also had a busy weekend! Many of our chorus and theater students traveled to New York on Friday and Saturday. They were able to see two Broadway performances, attend a workshop, and talk with the casts. I would like to thank Ms. Barry, Ms. Dawson, and Ms. Talmedge for organizing this event. It was a great opportunity for our students!
Lastly, we had numerous student clubs represent our Lancer Pride so well this weekend. Our MathCounts Team, Science Olympiad Team, Science Bowl Team, and Model UN Team all had amazing weekends pursuing excellence in their respective events. Please read below for details about their accomplishments.
I hope we have a great week together. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Jim
Jim Patrick
Principal
Longfellow Middle School
CALENDAR EVENTS
Women's History Month
Every year, March is designated Women’s History Month by presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history.
Learn more about the heritage months, celebrations, and traditions celebrated in FCPS. Read more about Women’s History Month in National Geographic Kids.
Tornado Drill
Our school’s tornado drill will be happening in the near future. All schools in Virginia and FCPS are required to participate in a tornado drill each March. The Virginia Statewide Tornado Drill will be held on Tuesday, March 7 at 9:45am. Longfellow will not be participating in this drill, but rather Longfellow will conduct a tornado drill later this month.
|
March Lancer Parent Academy
Please join Amy Smith, 7th grade assistant principal and other staff for our next Lancer Parent Academy on Tuesday, March 14th at 6:30 pm. We’ll meet in the library to discuss effective communication strategies with your teen. Please sign up here if you plan to attend.
March 5-10 is National School Social Work Week
Social workers in FCPS help to prevent social, emotional, and behavioral factors from affecting a student's ability to perform at their best. Their primary goal is to remove barriers that prevent a student from fulfilling their academic potential. We are so lucky to have Ms. Gortenberg at LMS as our school social worker! Learn more about the role of social workers in FCPS.
AFTER SCHOOL CORNER
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:
Gwyneth’s Gift Project Featured on FCPS Page
Check out the article here.
Longfellow Students Receive 2023 Regional Scholastic Writing Awards
Fairfax County Public Schools student writers won 35 Gold Key awards in the 2023 Regional Scholastic Writing Awards competition. Longfellow Middle School had 4 students recognized:
• Chloe Jeong
• Jiwoo Lee
• Venita Wang
• Angela Yan
In all, 213 Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mentions were earned by FCPS students. Winners in the regional competition came from 27 Fairfax County middle and high schools. A complete list of FCPS winners can be found online. Congratulations to our Lancers and to all the students who participated!
Longfellow Science Olympiad Regional Champions!
The Longfellow Science Olympiad team won 1st place at the Thomas Jefferson Regional Tournament in February, medaling in 17 of the 20 events run at the tournament! The team won 1st place medals in Anatomy, Codebusters, Crime Busters, Dynamic Planet, Experiment & Data Analysis, Fast Facts, Forestry, Green Generation, Road Scholar, Rocks & Minerals, Solar System, Sounds of Music, Storm the Castle and Wheeled Vehicle. The team is busy preparing for the Virginia State Tournament at UVA later this month!
Please congratulate the following Science Olympiad team members: Abhi, Alice, Allegra, Andy, Anne, Benjamin, Brandon, Charlie, Emma, Ethan, Helen, Jaivi, Jason, Jimmy, Juliet, Kalan, Karrie, Knox, Kyle, Lauren, Mihika, Mohan, Nikitha, Noah, Rudy, Saanvi, Sarah, Yanling, Zeeshan and Zoya.
GO LMS SO!
|
Longfellow Students Qualify for AIME-updated
Longfellow Middle School is proud to announce that of the 96 students that took the American Mathematics Competition 10 (AMC 10), eight of those students scored high enough to advance to the next round. On February 7, EIGHT Lancers took the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). LMS would like to congratulate the following students: Anderson Hao, Sarah Li, Yeeyung Li, Michelle Lin, Arnav Talreja, Kalan Warusa, Paul Yoo, Shunyao Yan. To put this into perspective, only the top 2.5% of all AMC 10 scores nationwide advance to take the AIME.
Congratulations! We are proud of you!!
|
Model UN
Longfellow had 10 students participate in VIMUNC X (Virginia Invitational Model UN) at Langley High School. All of the students demonstrated preparation, diplomacy, and debate skills while representing LMS. The following students received awards for their efforts:
Mustafa Farhan – Honorable Delegate
Artin Safaie – Honorable Delegate
Nubaid Khan – Honorable Delegate
Arnav Khetarpal – Outstanding Delegate
Please congratulate all of the students who participated. They did a great job and worked hard.
Science Bowl Virginia Regional Champions!
Two teams of Longfellow students competed in the Virginia Regional Science Bowl this weekend.
Both teams placed in the top 8 in the state, and Team 1 was able to come from behind to take top honors!
Longfellow’s first place finish qualifies them to participate in the National Competition held in Washington DC at the end of April.
They also won a $750 award for the school – to be used to enhance STEM education at Longfellow.
Members of the Longfellow Science Bowl Teams include:
Anderson Hao
Joyce Gong
Jessy Lin
Raghav Kuruba
Eric Li
Michelle Lin
Arnav Talreja
Claire Zhu
Sean Noh
Elaine Zhang
Thanks for all your hard work, and congratulations on a job well done!
MathCounts State Champs
Our MathCounts Team are the new State Champs! In addition, all 4 of our students placed in the top 12 Individual Competition. Yeeyung Li was #12, Paul Yoo was #11, Michelle Li was #10, and Shunyao Yan placed #1 earning Shunyao a place on the Virginia Team going to the National Competition in Orlando, with Shunyao’s head coach, Patti Freeman, as the Head Coach of the Virginia Team. Ms. Freeman, Shunyao, and 3 other students from other schools will go to Nationals in May.
|
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Academic Advising Underway
Rising 8th grade students have been meeting with their counselors to select classes for the next school year. These meetings are wrapping up this week. To preview what your student has signed up for, you can log into SISParentVue and view "Course Requests." For more information about course selections please visit our LMS Academic Advising site
Spring SEL Screener
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) commits to supporting all students’ mental wellness and social and emotional learning (SEL). The School Board has approved a screener to review students’ skills and experiences in these areas. FCPS staff will use the screener to identify strengths and needs for students in grades K-12. The screener provides information regarding students’ experiences and how staff can support their needs.
All students in grades K-12 will participate in the screener twice a year, in the fall and spring. Students in grades 3-12 will reflect and report on their own skills and experiences. Screener data will only be accessible to teachers, administrators, and staff with legitimate educational interests. Results will be maintained in secure files and databases accessible only to these individuals. Screener results will be used with other data to inform practices for SEL skill development and mental wellness. Screener data will also help staff plan interventions for students with identified needs. Parents and guardians will receive an individualized report regarding their student’s screener results following each assessment window in SIS ParentVUE. School staff will be available to discuss results with families on planned support. As shared previously, there is also a family guide for parents/guardians to use with their children.
Longfellow MS students will take the spring SEL Screener on Friday, March 17th during Lancer Time. If you do not want your student to take part in the SEL screener, please complete the opt-out via your SIS ParentVUE account or the SEL Opt-Out Form by Monday, March 13th. If you opted your student out in the fall, you do not need to submit this request again.
More information, including a short video about the SEL screener in FCPS and the screener questions, can be found on the SEL Screener webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/node/43892). Please contact your student's school counselor with questions.
College Partnership Program
PARENT INFORMATION
How to Talk to Your Child About Their Mental Health
Talking with your child about emotional topics, such as their mental health, can feel uncomfortable. This can be due to the stigma involved, lack of information or even fears of possible blame. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers helpful tips on reducing the stigma and how to have a healthy dialog on mental health.
Kiss & Ride reminders
As a reminder, students who are getting dropped off or picked up from our Kiss & Ride lane should do so directly in front of door 4. Picking up or dropping off before arriving at door 4 creates safety concerns and slows the flow of traffic through that area.
McLean Pyramid Art Show Invitation
Please join us for the McLean Pyramid Art Show! This is a special show featuring artworks from McLean HS, Longfellow MS, and McLean area elementary schools.
McLean Pyramid Art Show
Where: McLean Community Center- Emerson Gallery
1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean, VA 22101
When: Opening reception on Thursday, March 9th from 4:30-6:00 pm
If you cannot make the reception the show will be on display from March 1-11, during gallery hours listed below:
The Emerson Gallery will be open for visitors Tuesdays through Fridays from 1-4pm and Saturdays from 10am – 3pm. There will be extended Friday hours until 7pm on March 10th only.
For more information: https://mpaart.org/
I hope to see you at the reception on March 9th
Heritage Night Food Sign-Up
Our Heritage Night celebration is coming soon on March 29th 2023 from 6-8:30pm. We need your help with the first event of that night, which is the dinner provided generously by you! By sharing your culinary delicacies, the students, their families, and the staff will explore their way through by savoring the delicious food that you kindly prepare. Please use this sign up for either a sweet dish, savory dish, or both! Wow us with your food and let us explore the world through your culinary delicacies!
Please email Ms. Hashem and Ms. Parker with any questions! Thank you in advance and we look forward to celebrating with you on March 29th!
Safe Community Coalition "Improving Your Family's Emotional Health"
The Safe Community Coalition, in partnership with the McLean Community Center, is pleased to share details of an upcoming event on Wednesday, March 15th, 2023 from 7 to 9pm at The Alden Theatre.
Anxiety and worry are normal and expected parts of learning and growing, but when teens and children face challenges cognitively, socially or emotionally, anxiety can step in and take over. Anxiety can be overwhelming and rigid, but it’s also based on predictable patterns that can be shifted once we learn how it operates.
Lynn Lyons, licensed independent clinical social worker and best-selling author of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents and the newly-released The Anxiety Audit, presents Helping Your Family’s Emotional Health: Practical, Strategic Skills and Solutions for Managing Anxiety, Enhancing Flexibility, and Creating Wellbeing.
Based on current research and over 30 years of clinical experience, Lynn Lyons presents a strategic approach based on skill-building, with prevention as the preferred route. Using creativity, connection and awareness of their own patterns, parents will learn how to increase their child’s flexibility, support the tolerance of uncertainty, and emotionally and preventatively equip themselves and those they love as we all move forward.
This program takes place March 15th from 7 to 9 pm at The Alden Theatre, 1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at http://mcleanscc.org/. Space is limited.
Visit the Safe Community Coalition website for more information: http://mcleanscc.org/.
Spring Hill Fun Fair Volunteer Opportunity
Are you a student who needs volunteer hours? Do you remember all of the FUN of going to a Fun Fair in elementary school? We’d love for you to volunteer your time to support the Fun Fair at Spring Hill Elementary School and will provide all verification you need to earn your service hours. We can’t make Fun Fair a success without your help!
If you would like to volunteer at Fun Fair on Saturday, March 18, please click the Student Volunteer Sign-up button on our website and fill out the I Want to be a Student Volunteer at Fun Fair Form. You must answer all the questions to submit your registration. A Fun Fair Committee member will contact you about volunteer opportunities.
https://springhillpto.org/fun-fair/volunteer/
McLean Student Services and McLean PTSA presents:
Helping Your Kids Build a Life They Want: Parent Talk with Authors Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson
Thursday, March 30, 2023
6:30 – 7:30 PM
McLean High School Auditorium
No registration needed!
We all want our kids to be happy and successful in life. Too often, many parents feel that if kids aren’t pushed harder, they won’t be successful. But this can result in anxiety and depression, chronic stress, and a negative parent-child relationship.
Instead, let’s help our kids build a life they want – a life where success is defined by happiness, strong relationships, and overall wellness, and not simply by academic and career achievement. Bill and Ned will share strategies parents can use to help our kids achieve this life!
We welcome all McLean HS and Longfellow MS parents to attend this informative session. If you are interested in learning about Bill and Ned’s work, please check out this podcast on achievement culture, as well as their books, linked below.
https://www.steventshapiro.com/experiencematters/thisisyourbrainonachievementculture
https://theselfdrivenchild.com/
|
