Mustang Weekly, December 1, 2023

principal's message

Hello Mustangs,

It was another fantastic week at South County Middle School. With that, we have two more weeks left before the winter break. On December 6, we have our Family night for the Book Fair from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the library, winter Virginia Growth Assessments (VGAs) in Reading and Math on December 6 and December 12 (during the school day), a spirit week from December 11-15, and a PTSO sponsored event, WinterFest, on December 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. As always, thank you so much for your support, and please feel free to contact us to provide any feedback, ask questions, or share concerns. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Justin Simmons | Principal | South County Middle School


Calendar

UPCOMING DATES

December 4-8 - Book Fair

December 4-11 - NJHS Food Drive

December 6 - Winter VGA, Reading

December 12 - Winter VGA, Math

December 14 - Winterfest (insert flyer)

December 18-January 1 - Winter Break


Winter VGA Testing

In September, students at South County Middle School participated in the Fall Virginia Growth Assessments.  The Winter Growth Assessments will be administered on the following dates:

Reading VGA on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 (This is for all students enrolled in Reading 7 and Reading 8.)

Math VGA on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 (This is for students enrolled in Math 7, Math 7 Honors and PreAlgebra.  If your student is enrolled in Algebra or Geometry, they will be taking their Benchmark Assessment at this time.)

Please do your best to ensure that your student is in school on the above dates.  If for some reason your student is scheduled to take the assessments on days different than the ones listed above, that will be communicated via student’s email no later than Monday, December 4th. 


Book Fair Header

Book Fair

The SCMS Library is excited to host a Scholastic Book Fair from December 4-8. Your student will preview the fair through their social studies class and the fair will be open all week for them to shop. 

The book fair will be open for evening shopping on Wednesday, December 6 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Please come by to stock up on books and school supplies, and to hear our wonderful guitar students playing music while you shop.

If you have any questions or would like more information, email our librarians at SCMSLibrary@fcps.edu or view our book fair flyer.


NJHS News

Food Drive

The students in NJHS are having a Food Drive from December 4-11. All the food collected will be donated to LCAC, which is an organization that seeks to provide food to low-income individuals, senior citizens, and families residing in Fort Belvoir, Lorton, Newington, and other portions of southeast Fairfax County. Boxes will be placed throughout the building (in the lobby, near the cafeteria, at the top of the main stairs and by the library), and all donations will be taken to LCAC on Tuesday, December 12th. The items being collected are: Cereal, Snacks, Little Drinks for Children, Spam, Vienna Sausages, Pasta, Pasta Sauce, and Rice.

Winter Spirit Week

December 11 – Jersey Day

December 12 – Ugly Sweater Day

December 13 – Workout Wednesday

December 14 – Festive Hat and Socks Day

December 15 – Pajama Day


community

SCMS PTSO

The SCMS PTSO is hosting their first annual Winterfest!! Join us for Cupcake decorating, crafts, games and snacks. Student entrepreneurs will have items for sale. Tickets include Cupcake decorating, one drink and one raffle ticket.

It’s never too early to buy tickets!

Purchase Them Here!

Preparing for Winter Weather

Winter weather will be here before you know it! Watch this video to see how weather-related closing decisions are made.

FCPS’ website is generally the first place where we will post an emergency weather closing. Other communication channels will be used as quickly as possible including email, text, social media, and news stations. Learn more about how schedule changes are communicated

Be sure to plan for the winter season. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date in SIS ParentVUE, bookmark the FCPS website, and plan for childcare if appropriate.

FCPS News

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

  • How FCPS Announces Weather Closings
  • Keeping Your Child Warm
  • Social and Emotional Learning Screener Results

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