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A message from Principal Steven McFarlane
Kilmer Community,
Debra David, Assistant Principal, is retiring at the end of January after 11 years at Kilmer Middle School. We will miss Ms. David and wish her the best. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working with the Region to develop a transition plan. Christine Sciabica, retired AP from Rocky Run MS and Stone MS, will be supporting Kilmer while we go through the hiring process. Ms. Sciabica recently retired this past June and is well-versed in FCPS policies and procedures. She will assume all of Ms. David’s supervisory roles, as well as caseload.
A reminder that Kilmer Middle School will be hosting a Marshall High School IB Information Night next week 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.
Lastly, next week our 8th graders will be taking a field trip to Finance Park through their civics classes. Please connect directly with your child’s civics teacher if you have any questions.
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.
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 are 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 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 this week, we have been 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) and the Math Winter VGA 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 Cafeteria
- 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.
To assist with course selection, a school-wide course kick-off will take place on January 31 and February 1. During this time teachers in all classes will present course options connected to their content for the next grade level.
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
End of Quarter SIS StudentVue and ParentVue Availability
The SIS StudentVUE and ParentVue Gradebook module will be unavailable from Thursday, January 25 at 4 pm to Monday February 5 at 6 am to allow for teachers to complete their second quarter grades. Second semester elective courses will be visible on student's schedules on Friday, January 25 at 4 pm. The new semester elective on your child’s schedule is one of the electives your child selected last spring. We cannot accommodate course changes at this point in the school year. A request to change an elective would impact other classes and most elective classes are at capacity.
Early Release Bell Schedule
We have our second early release day on Thursday, January 25, and have revised our bell schedule to include a grab ‘n go lunch at the end of the day. The last period has an extra 10 minutes to allow students buying lunch to be dismissed from class on a staggered basis to go to the cafeteria. They will then go directly to their buses or kiss-and-ride.
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.
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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