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A message from Principal Steven McFarlane
Kilmer Community,
Happy New Year! I trust everyone had a great winter break, and we’ve hit the ground running at Kilmer this week. I often speak about our approach with middle school students, and that’s to focus on academics, as well as teaching (and reteaching!) expectations. So much of what we do in middle school is to set up clear guardrails for students and support them along the way.
With that context, I’d like to share a few ways that this is playing out at Kilmer as we approach the school year’s halfway point. To maximize learning time, students need to be in their classes on time every day. Starting next week, we will conduct random tardy sweeps to ensure students arrive to class on time. If your child arrives to class after the bell during a tardy sweep, the teacher’s door will be locked, and an administrator will record the tardy. Students who are caught in the tardy sweeps will be assigned an after-school detention later that week and parents will be notified via email.
Next, as part of our commitment to creating a safe and focused learning environment for your children, we are excited to introduce a new tool: Lightspeed Software. Lightspeed is designed to empower both teachers and students in the digital learning landscape. One of its key features is the ability for teachers to actively monitor student activity on school laptops from their computer screens, fostering an environment that encourages focus and on-task behavior.
Lastly, we’ve noticed an uptick in students bringing in broken/damaged school computers. A reminder, if it is found that a laptop was damaged on purpose, or because a student was being careless, there will be a charge to fix the device. Please take time to remind your student about the importance of being responsible with these devices.
Sincerely,
Steven McFarlane
Principal
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Note: At Kilmer, we have “Green Days ” and “Blue Days.” On “Green Days” students attend periods 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and on “Blue Days” students attend periods 2, 3, 4, 6, 8.
7th grade students worked on a carbon stabilization plan in Ms. Mattix and Ms. Zemaitis’ 3rd period Science class.
Lightspeed on Student Computers
As part of our commitment to creating a safe and focused learning environment for your children, we are excited to introduce a new tool that our teachers will utilize: Lightspeed Software.
Here are some key benefits of Lightspeed Software:
- Enhanced Focus: With real-time monitoring capabilities, teachers can closely monitor students' laptop activities during class. This helps ensure students stay engaged with the lesson material and minimize distractions.
- Support for Individualized Learning: Lightspeed Software allows teachers to tailor their approach to individual student needs. Educators can provide personalized support by understanding how each student interacts with digital resources, ensuring that every student receives the attention and guidance they require. They can create groups and push out websites and tasks targeted to students’ needs, whether researching for a project or reviewing for a test.
- Silent Assistance Signals and Check-Ins: One of the unique features of Lightspeed Software is the ability for students to signal when they need assistance silently. This ensures that students feel comfortable seeking help without disrupting the class flow. Teachers can also send out polls, reminders, and check-ins for students as a class or individually.
- Restricting Access to the Web: Teachers can turn off or pause internet access and restrict students to specific sites during school hours. This, again, ensures students are focused on learning and minimizes distractions.
We understand the importance of balancing technology in education with maintaining a focused and secure learning environment. Lightspeed Software is designed with these considerations in mind, and it will contribute significantly to the overall success of our students.
Student laptops will only be monitored during school hours. The regular filters remain in place on school devices, but once they are home, teachers cannot monitor your students. As parents, we would like to encourage you to sign up for your own Lightspeed reports, which will allow you to see how your child is spending time on the computer during and after school hours.
School Laptops
This is a reminder that a student’s FCPSOn device must be used responsibly at school and at home, in accordance with the Acceptable Use Policy outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities. The FCPS student device is valuable and should be treated appropriately. It should not be thrown or dropped. It should never be placed on the roof or hood of a car, on the sidewalk or street, or treated in any way that may cause it to be crushed, dropped, or damaged. Laptop keys and screens and iPad screens are all delicate equipment and should be treated gently. Do not push too hard or bang on any device. The student device and charger is for the assigned student’s use only. Friends, other students, siblings, cousins, or other people should not use it. If a student decides to lend their laptop or charger to a fellow student, it is still their responsibility if it is damaged or goes missing. Additional device guidelines may be found here.
If it is found that a laptop was damaged on purpose, or because a student was being careless, there will be a charge to fix the device. Please take time to remind your student about the importance of being responsible with these devices.
School staff should be informed of a lost/stolen device as soon as possible. The sooner it is reported, the more likely it can be found.
On time to Class
Starting next week, we will be conducting random tardy sweeps to ensure students are on time to class. A tardy sweep means if your child arrives to class after the bell, the teacher’s door will be locked, and a staff member will record the tardy and assign the consequence. It is important for students to be in all classes on time every day, and we will work with you and your child should there be issues that prevent them from getting to classes on time. Students who are unexcused tardy to class will be assigned an after-school detention later that week. Parents will be notified via email.
Health and Physical Education FLE Announcement
Instruction of the Human Growth and Development unit (gender separate) will take place from January 29th through February 1st during HPE class. Instruction of the Emotional and Social Health unit will take place during regular health class during the 3rd quarter.
If you choose to opt your student out of any or all of these lessons, please fill out the opt out form for your student’s grade level and have your student return the form to Ms. Wood in student services: FLE opt out forms.
To view the lessons in both FLE units please login to Schoology and click on the All Parents/Guardians course. On that page there is a folder called Parent Preview - FLE Instruction with the FLE lessons.
If you have any questions, please contact your student’s HPE teacher.
VGA Testing
Students completed the Winter Reading VGA on Thursday, January 4th (Green Day). The Math Winter VGA will be given on Tuesday, January 9th (Blue Day).
Makeup testing will occur on January 16th, 17th and 18th. To accommodate testing, the bell schedule will be adjusted on testing days. Changes will be communicated with students and posted in Schoology. Students will receive their testing locations to their fcpsschools.net email account the day before their test. More information can be found on the FCPS VGA Website. Please contact Marileigh Blake, our School Test Coordinator, at mlblake@fcps.edu with any questions.
Upcoming 2024-2025 Course Registration Curriculum Events
Eighth Grade Students attending Marshall High School for Ninth Grade:
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January 16 - Marshall High School IB Information Night, 5:00 pm at Kilmer
- Kilmer Middle School will be hosting a Marshall High School IB Information Night on Tuesday, January 16 at 5:00 pm in the Kilmer Middle School Cafeteria. IB Coordinators are excited to visit and meet Kilmer’s community to give an overview of the IB Program at Marshall and its prerequisites. There will also be student speakers sharing their experiences about different aspects of the IB program. IB coordinators and Marshall students look forward to answering questions the Kilmer community may have about the program.
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February 8 - Marshall High School counselors visit Kilmer to speak with eighth grade students attending Marshall for ninth grade.
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February 8 - Marshall High School Rising 9th Grade Orientation.
- More information will be shared soon.
Eighth Grade Students attending Madison High School for Ninth Grade:
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January 10 - Madison High School’s Rising 9th Grade Curriculum Night, 6:00-8:00 PM (snow date: January 18)
- This program is for all Rising 9th grade families and students. The evening will begin with a presentation in the auditorium from 6:00-7:00 pm followed by an elective showcase in the small gym and town hall from 7:00-8:00 pm.
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January 12 - Madison High School counselors visit Kilmer to speak with eighth grade students attending Madison for ninth grade.
For more information about course registration timelines for seventh and eighth grade students, please visit our Course Registration and Curriculum Resource page on the Kilmer Website.
Conversation to Raise Awareness of Fentanyl and Other Drugs
In this video, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid interviews the Fosters, a family who tragically lost their son Cayden to a half pill of fentanyl mistaken for Percocet. This heart-wrenching yet eye-opening video of their experience is essential to raise awareness among parents/caregivers and students about the dangers of fake painkillers.
Please join Dr. Reid on Wednesday, January 10, at 6:30 p.m., at Edison High School for a community conversation about opioid awareness. You may register to attend. However, registration is not required; it is simply for space considerations.
The evening’s program is appropriate for parents/caregivers and students in grades 6-12. All attendees will receive free REVIVE! Narcan training during the event and learn about support services currently available within FCPS and Fairfax County.
FCPS’ website also has resources to help you to start the conversation and additional support for families struggling with substance misuse.
PARENTS – WE NEED YOUR HELP AT FINANCE PARK!
After a brief course on financial literacy taught in Civics classes in January, all students will embark on a field trip to Finance Park in mid-January to put what they've learned to good use.
We need a great deal of parent and guardian support to make this trip a success, and we would really appreciate it if you could join us! Parents who have accompanied us in the past have given very high reviews to the experience and some have even come back in subsequent years to join us again. Please visit http://www.myja.org/parents/fairfax for more details. Thanks in advance for your help.
After School Activities News/Updates:
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. If you have any questions regarding our After School Program please reach out to Kim Kardelis (After School Specialist) at kckardelis@fcps.edu.
Social and Emotional Learning Screener Results Now Available
Students in grades 3-12 took the SEL Screener during the month of October, providing information on their skills like achieving goals, understanding and managing emotions, establishing and maintaining relationships with adults and peers, and making responsible decisions. Individual student SEL Screener results are now available to families in the Documents section of SIS ParentVUE. For families who do not have an active ParentVUE account, results will be sent via postal mail. For more information about the screener please visit the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener webpage. For support in understanding your individual student’s results or for ideas on how to support them at home, please review the Family Guide.
Recess
During the winter months,we continue to offer indoor and outdoor recess, as well as indoor and outdoor lunch. Parents, as the temperatures drop, please make sure your student brings a coat to school if they plan to take advantage of these outdoor options.
Yearbook
Did you purchase your 2023-2024 yearbook yet? Yearbooks are currently on sale! Once we get the final count of pre-sale books, we may not have any extra to sell at the end of the year, so guarantee yours today before it’s too late. Click here to Purchase a yearbook
Lightspeed Parent Report
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