Good Evening, Glasgow Families! August not only marks the start of a new school year for FCPS, but our work is now officially being guided by our new 2023-30 strategic plan and our school improvement work at Glasgow! This student-centered plan serves as our North Star for how we ensure excellence, equity, and opportunity for each and every student. Remember, they are preparing for careers that don’t exist today. In order to keep pace with these needs, we have reimagined our plans for the future and how to best serve our students in this new era. Need a refresher on the strategic plan pillars, goals, and measures before school begins? View the Strategic Plan webpage. As the principal, I want you to know it is our mission that at school we provide each child: a safe and positive learning environment quality instruction to meet the needs of each child supports for nurturing social and emotional development We continue to individualize our approach to ensure each child makes progress socially, emotionally, and academically. We are also committed to social emotional learning and hold daily morning meetings and closing circles within our advisory (Panther Time) classes using strategies from Restorative Practices We hope that you will join us for our Open House for ALL students and their families on Wednesday, August 16th from (9-11AM) & (1-3PM)  when students can pick up their schedules and find their classrooms. Our Student Services staff, Administrative team and teachers will be in attendance at the Open House, you will also have the opportunity to meet all teachers and staff at Back to School Night on September 13th from 6-8PM that goes more into instruction and the curriculum within their classes. Open House sets an inviting atmosphere and welcoming tone for the school year.  It is an informal event for students and families to tour the building, meet and greet teachers, collect general information about classes and programs, meet new friends and get to know the building before school begins. For crowding purposes, we have two windows of time for our families to attend Open House.  The first day of the 2023-24 school year is Monday, August 21! FCPS staff, parents/caregivers, and students are invited to share their favorite pictures or videos from the first day of school on social media using the hashtag #FirstDayFairfax. We will share some of the photos on the FCPS Facebook and Instagram pages. Below, you will see some of pictures of our Participate Learning Teachers who are international teachers who will be teaching ESOL and Spanish in our building. They were welcomed recently to FCPS and Glasgow!  Humbly, Victor L. Powell, Principal Contact Information: Email: vlpowell@fcps.edu Twitter: @VictorLeonPowe1 Website: http://www.fcps.edu/GlasgowMS/

Important Dates Wednesday, August 16th – Open House Monday, August 21st - First day of school Friday, September 1st - School Holiday Monday, September 4th - Labor Day Holiday Friday, September 13th - Back to School Night at 6:00-8:00PM Monday, September 25th - School Holiday; Yom Kippur Monday, December 18th-Monday, January 1st - Winter Break Monday, March 25th-Friday, March 29th - Spring Break Wednesday, June 12th - Last Day of School

School Supplies Lined paper Pencils Pencil sharpener Scissors Pens, blue / black / red Erasers Colored pencils Markers Highlighters Straight edge ruler Compass / protractor kit (Geometry) 2 pocket Folders Dry erase markers Notebooks Helpful to have (Not Required) Post-it notes Index Cards Graph Paper *Some teachers may require other supplies for their classes in addition to this list. Your child will receive information regarding those supplies during the first week of school.

Important Information for the Beginning of the Year

Access to Student Information for Parents

Access your student’s attendance records, grades, and assignments at any time with SIS ParentVUE. Caregivers should receive an activation code when they register their child. 

Once you have activated a ParentVUE account for an FCPS student, you will keep the same account until the student graduates. Information about students in the same family can be accessed through the same ParentVUE account. Access SIS ParentVUE by using an app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android devices. 

Need help creating a SIS ParentVUE account? This video walks through the steps. Find out more about SIS ParentVUE.

Information parents will be able to access includes:

• Attendance
• Health information
• Discipline incidents
• Name of 2023-24 Classroom Teacher
• Bus stop and approximate times 

In addition, parents will also be able to view school information, including teacher email addresses, the FCPS calendar, and emergency contact information. 

• 🩹 Are Your Child’s Immunizations and Records Up to Date? 

Immunizations are required for public school entry and help keep students protected from serious diseases. Many children missed their well check-ups and their recommended childhood vaccinations during recent years because of disruptions from COVID-19. It is critical to catch up to keep children healthy and ready for school. 

While COVID-19 vaccinations are not required, many other immunizations are. Check with your students’ healthcare providers now to make sure they are up to date on their immunizations.

Visit the Fairfax County Health Department website for a list of clinics or contact your family’s healthcare provider. Appointments are required for most clinics.  

Remember to request documentation of your child’s immunizations to provide to their school. Get more information on immunization requirements and the necessary documentation to share with your child’s school. 

Home and School Communication

We have a variety of methods for communication. First and foremost, News You Choose  a subscription based newsletter will be sent by email each Friday with weekly news and updates. Subscribe for News You Choose by visiting this link.  Enotify will be used for any emergency or timely messages and does not require a subscription. It will be very important for each family to enroll in a SIS Parent Account online tool. Occasionally, we may send papers home on Thursday’s.  News and events will be posted on our school website. Teachers will often communicate via Talking Points and information is posted in Schoology and SIS.

Bus Riders

During the first week, your child should arrive at the bus stop a few minutes early until the bus driver establishes a regular routine. I highly encourage you to have your child ride the bus to school on the first day to get in the routine of which bus to ride home each day. We will use the list from transportation to check in with each bus rider and give them a card with their bus number home. You will receive a letter with your child’s bus number, stop location, and approximate times. If you would like to request a different bus stop, please complete an Exception To Ride form which can be found at this link: https://tinyurl.com/FCPS-Transportation. Please email it to Route Supervisor Denise Downing at ddowning@fcps.edu and cc: Principal Victor Powell at vlpowell@fcps.edu. If you do not have this submitted by August 10th, your child may not be able to ride on the bus you are requesting on the first day of school. Only transportation can approve these requests. Please contact FCPS transportation at 703-446-2050 for all questions concerning transportation issues.

Throughout the year, children are only permitted to ride their assigned bus.  If there is an emergency, you may request from the principal a one time ride for your child on a different bus. The principal will approve one time if space is available and the request is due to a child care emergency.

Visitor Registration

We have the same visitor registration system as our elementary feeder schools. Parents new to Glasgow Middle School will need to register at the first visit.  After that it will take under 15 seconds to sign in and get a visitor badge if you have an ID with you.  Office staff will be available to help parents use the system.  Having a driver’s license handy makes the registration process faster, but a driver’s license is not required.

Food and Celebrations

We have several students with medical needs that are food related. For safety, we do not allow food items for birthday celebrations. You may send in a small token such as a pencil. Children are celebrated at school in the classroom and on our news show and morning announcements. 

Parent Responsibility

• Keep your student(s) home when they are sick.
• Advise the School Health Aide or the Public Health Nurse of any special health concerns.
• Immediately notify the physical education (PE) teacher if your child has any activity restrictions.
• Provide current home, work, and alternate telephone numbers. 
• For medications that must be administered during the school day, please follow the guidelines of FCPS Regulation 2102: 
  1. Complete the FCPS Medication Authorization Form  and Medication Delivery/Pick Up Form. These forms can be found in the clinic or by emailing our Public Health Nurse, Michele Brookhart mbrookhart@fcps.edu
  2. Provide the school with properly labeled containers.
  3. Medications must be transported to and from school by a parent/guardian; except with parent/guardian approval for a high school student to carry over-the-counter (OTC) medications to and from the school health room.
  4. Medications must be kept in the school health room or other approved location unless approved for the student to carry it. If a student carries his or her own medication, a backup may be kept in the school health room.
  5. OTC medications may be given up to ten consecutive school days with the parent’s or guardian’s signature on the FCPS Medication Authorization form before a physician’s authorization is required.
  6. OTC pain relievers for headaches, menstrual cramps, orthodontic pain or muscle aches may be given as needed throughout the school year with only the parent’s or guardian’s signature on part I of the FCPS Medication Authorization form.
  7. Cough drops and throat lozenges may be carried and used by students in kindergarten through 12th grade as needed provided they are in the original packaging.  Students must not share cough drops or throat lozenges under any circumstances.

This school year, please note some changes in our medication protocols to help ensure the safety of our medication administration management in Fairfax County Public Schools. These changes include:

• Any time you drop off or pick up a medication in the health room, a Medication Delivery/Pick Up Form will be completed and signed by both the parent/guardian and the School Health Aide or FCPS staff member. This form will document that all required authorizations are complete, and the number of pills or amount of medication accepted/returned. A copy of the form will be given to the parent/guardian and school administrator.
• All medications must be in the original pharmacy container. Over the counter (OTC) medications must be in an unopened original container.  It will no longer be acceptable for parents/guardians to bring in refills from home and place them into the container currently in the health room.
• Only a 30-day supply of medications should be brought to school. No more than 100 tablets or pills of OTC medication should be brought to school.

All requirements outlined in FCPS Regulation 2102, First Aid, Emergency Treatment and Administration of Medication for Students, continue to apply.

Starting school year 23-24 there will be new EPI-PEN forms:

If your student has an Epi-Pen medication prescribed, please have this form completed by your student’s health care provider and bring in your student’s own rescue medication to the school health room. The health care provider must be licensed to prescribe medication in the U.S.

The Epi-Pen form from previous school years will not be accepted.  New forms can be found online at this link Authorization for Anaphylaxis Action Plan   or by requesting it from the school PHN. Once your health care provider has completed the AUTHORIZATION FOR ANAPHYLAXIS ACTION PLAN,  you may bring the medication to the school PHN/SHA for proper intake.

The Virginia Asthma Action Plan:

The Virginia Asthma Action Plan template developed by the Virginia Asthma Coalition and adopted by the Virginia Department of Education will be used to guide the care your student receives and serve as the health care provider orders. Links : VA ASTHMA ACTION PLAN  and FCPS Authorization for VA Asthma Plan

If your student has a rescue asthma medication prescribed, please have this form completed by your student’s health care provider and bring in your student’s own rescue medication to the school health room. The health care provider must be licensed to prescribe medication in the U.S.

 Additionally,

• The prescriber must complete the yellow and red zone (Peak Flow is optional).
• If asthma medication is to be given prior to exercise, this must be checked off in the appropriate box above the Yellow Zone on the form.
• If the prescriber approves your student to carry and administer the medication, the appropriate box above where the prescriber signs must be checked.
• Parent/guardian must also sign this document.

Once your health care provider has completed the Virginia Asthma Action Plan, you will need to complete the FCPS Authorization for VA Asthma Action Plan (SS/SE-65) on the school website authorizing the principal designee/SHA/PHN/school staff to administer the asthma medication to your student. 

Links:

FCPS Authorization for VA Asthma Plan-English

FCPS Authorization for VA Asthma Plan-Spanish

FCPS Authorization for VA Asthma Plan-Arabic

FCPS Authorization for VA Asthma Plan-Chinese

COVID-19: To mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at school, FCPS has developed the Health and Safety Guidance Document for 2021-22 | Fairfax County Public Schools (fcps.edu). These guidelines are continuously updated to follow the most current CDC guidance on COVID mitigation. Please review the guidelines periodically to stay up to date. Any questions should be directed to school administration. Vaccines are safe, effective, available, free and an important strategy in fighting COVID. To make an appointment for your student, visit the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS).

Thank you for your cooperation in helping to make this a safe and healthy school year. If you have any questions, please feel free to call either the School Health Aide, Claudia Vladescu, at 703.503.2710 or Public Health Nurse, Autumn Levasseur, RN, at( 571) 495-9645.

Tutor.com Is Still Available Free for All FCPS Students

Online tutoring through Tutor.com is still available to ALL FCPS students as a resource for both support and enrichment. Last school year, more than 12,000 students participated in approximately 70,000 tutoring sessions. Tutor.com will remain available to all FCPS students at no cost this school year. 

4101 Fairfax Parkway, Alexandria, VA 22312  |  Main Phone: 703.813.8700
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