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A message from Principal Steven McFarlane
Kilmer Community,
On Thursday, we had a great opportunity when a group of teachers and administrators from Azerbaijan visited Kilmer. These educators applied to a highly competitive program where they come to the US for seven weeks to tour schools, collaborate with American educators, and ultimately create a capstone project. We had great conversations about education, and they were thoroughly impressed with the staff and students we have at Kilmer.
Spring in middle school is always interesting. 8th graders think they’re in high school, 7th graders think they are in 8th grade, and in reality we have one full quarter left to work hard and continue learning before summer break, ha ha. Our balance as educators is to allow that growth, and yet not let students lose sight of the work that needs to occur for the remainder of the year. With this context, we’re focusing on unexcused tardies. First, we’re creating an interdisciplinary team competition where the team that averages the fewest number of tardies will get a mini-party (chips, drinks, etc.). We’ll start over every month so teams have multiple chances to win. Additionally, we will notify families via email every time a student has an unexcused tardy (period and day). Our intent is to alert families so that a conversation can happen at home, and the more we can continue to partner together in our messaging and communication to students, the better.
Finally, don’t forget this is the last weekend for our Spring musical, Into the Woods, Jr. I’ll be back here again tonight with my daughter to watch. If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t miss out. Kilmer students put on a great show! Have a good weekend, and as always, reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Steven McFarlane
Principal
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Pictures of the Week
Kilmer students are busy creating robots out of LEGO bricks in our first-ever LEGO Robotics Club. The club meets once a week for 8 weeks. Students use coding to program their robot’s movements. This club gives 7th and 8th graders of all experience levels the chance to have fun while solving complex problems through creativity and collaboration.
  On Thursday, we hosted over 25 educators from Azerbaijan. They spent the day learning about the work we do at Kilmer by observing, and collaborating with, our teachers, counselors, and administrators.
  8th graders attended the Activity Fairs at Marshall and Madison today, where they received information about athletics, fine arts, and extracurricular opportunities available to them next year.
Spring Break Information
School offices will be closed during Spring Break. We will reopen on Monday, April 10 at 7am.
If you know your student will be absent prior to Spring Break, please leave a message on the Attendance line at 703-846-8888 at the start of the week to ensure accurate recording of attendance.
Kilmer’s Spring Pictures Now Online
Spring portraits are now available to view and order online. All orders will include free shipping for the next two weeks. Access your photos at vosphoto.com/uc and use your student’s ID as the code.
Fasting During Ramadan
For students who are fasting during Ramadan we have set up chairs in H hall during all lunches as an indoor option should they not want to be around food. Also, weather permitting, all students have an option to go outside during their lunch.
Come See the Musical - Final Weekend!
Course Registration for 2023-2024
Academic Advising for seventh and eighth grade students is now complete. To see the list of courses your child selected for the 2023-2024 school year, please log in to your SIS ParentVUE account and click on the Course Requests tab. Directions for viewing course requests online through ParentVUE are here: Online Course Requests in ParentVue. This list of courses is NOT a schedule, but a confirmation of the courses entered into the student information system.
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Seventh Grade Students: Parents can request to change a course or report an error by contacting their child’s school counselor. All requests must be submitted by email no later than Friday, June 2. Schedule changes will not be accommodated at the start of the school year.
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Eighth Grade Students: Kilmer can no longer assist with changes to high school courses. Please contact the office of student services at the high school your child is attending if you have questions about the courses listed in ParentVue.
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.
Community Meeting on the Dangers of Fentanyl
Monday, March 13, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid and Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis hosted nearly 400 families, staff, and community members for a conversation on the dangers of fentanyl. During this impactful event, audience members heard testimonials from individuals affected by the opioid epidemic and learned facts from medical experts and law enforcement representatives.
The conversation will continue on Monday, April 24, with our next community meeting on the critical topic of fentanyl danger and opioid awareness. More information is coming soon. Visit our Opioid Awareness webpage for updates as they become available.
Visit the Fairfax County Government webpage on opioids for information on how you can take action and how to get help for yourself or loved ones.
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.
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