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Principal's Message |
Greetings Tiger Families!
This week has been National School Counseling Week, which focuses our attention on the unique and important contributions of school counselors across the United States, and specifically here at Mark Twain Middle School. Our professional school counselors – Ms. Pilotti, Ms. Clinton, Ms. Danosos and Ms. Baldwin – support the social-emotional growth, effective and safe decision making, and academic success of our Tigers each and every day. Since December we have been deeply engaged in supporting the transition to Twain for our rising 7th graders and away from Twain for our rising 9th graders. Our counselors, and our entire student services team, are central to the planning and execution of this work so that our students can find success at all stages of their educational careers and beyond. I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank our school counselors, and our entire student services team (pictured below), for their dedication, care, and talent in supporting our students at Twain.
If you’d like to learn more about the great work school counselors do, please check out the resources linked below.
FCPS School Counseling Services Website
American School Counselor Association Website
Sincerely,
Matt
Twain’s Weekly Schedule
Monday, February 12: Anchor Day Schedule
Tuesday, February 13: Odd Day Schedule
Wednesday, February 14: Even Day Schedule
Thursday, February 15: Odd Day Schedule
Friday, February 16: Even Day Schedule
Lunch Procedures
We have started to see an increase in the number of students who upon learning of the cafeteria lunch selection for the day, are contacting family members to bring them an alternative lunch. Unfortunately, this has resulted in students then receiving their lunch after their assigned lunch period has passed and subsequently missing class time in order to retrieve and eat this lunch. Additionally, it has created additional unnecessary traffic in the main office during an already busy time of day. We support parents dropping off lunches for students when necessary and ask that this only occur if it is during the student’s assigned lunch period, so they can eat in the cafeteria and do not miss valuable instructional time. To help plan ahead, please take a look at the FCPS Lunch Menu Schedule to ensure students know what is available each day and can make decisions on whether they would like to purchase or pack their lunch. Parents can also review our Bell Schedule on Twain’s website to see what time each lunch is each day. Be sure to talk to your child about which lunch period they are assigned to as they may have different lunch times depending on the day of the week. Thank you for helping us maximize our learning time and operational efficiency!
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
For the safety and security of all students and in support of Twain’s arrival and dismissal procedures, we ask that all parents safely utilize the Kiss and Ride line for drop off and pick up. We understand this line can be long at its busies time, but dropping students off across the street in the neighborhood, in the staff parking lot, in the bus loop, or illegally pulling over to the side of Franconia Road causes safety issues for students, faculty, and other commuters. If an option, utilizing the FCPS provided school bus as often as possible will lessen the impact on the Kiss and Ride line. If you need information on your child’s school bus number and route, please check SIS StudentVue and SIS ParentVue. As a reminder, after school buses for our students taking part in our after-school program depart at approximately 4:50 pm and these bus numbers and drop off locations may be different, but the information is also available in SIS StudentVue and SIS ParentVue.
Taking Pride in Black History Month
The Stomping Eagles of Edison High School take extreme pride in not only their step routines but also in being the best representation of the students of Fairfax County Public Schools. This video of their routine, filmed last year for Black History Month, has quickly climbed the ranks to become FCPS’ most-liked video on YouTube! I bet you can spot some former Twain Tigers in this video!
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by Black Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Learn more about Black History Month and other heritage months, celebrations, and traditions celebrated in FCPS.
SEL Screener
Hello families,
The Spring Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener will be administered to Twain’s students during the week of March 4. Students use the SEL Screener twice a year to share their perspectives on how well their school and community help them develop skills they need to succeed. The screener works by asking questions or presenting statements that students can think about and respond to. More information is available about the SEL Screener by accessing this link:
https://www.fcps.edu/student-tests-and-assessments/student-assessment-details/social-emotional-screener
If you have any questions please reach out to our SEL Screener Lead, Sara Joy Lebowitz, at sjlebowitz@fcps.edu.
PTA Updates
Spirit Night at Paisanos
Hungry for some pizza? Join us for a fundraising event for MTMS PTA on February 20th and 21st from 11 AM to 9 PM at Paisano's Pizza, located at 6937 Telegraph Rd. Show the attached flyer or mention Twain MS when ordering and 20% of your total will be donated to MTMS PTA. Valid for Dine-in, Carry-out, and Delivery.
PTA Staff Member of the Month
Congratulations to Ms. Angelee DeHaven, AAP and Honors Civics Teacher, for being named the PTA Staff Member of the month of February. Ms. DeHaven was awarded a gift card to a local restaurant, a reserved parking spot at the front of the school, and a trophy. Her nomination included this comment, "My daughter raves about Ms. DeHaven and how interesting she makes learning for her students. It is my daughter’s favorite class. Ms. DeHaven goes out of her way to provide real life experiences for her students with the “money system” and with oral debates. We appreciate her creativity and investment in making learning fun for her students." Thanks Ms. DeHaven for making a difference for our Twain students!
PTA Nominating Committee
The PTA Board is looking for three PTA members to serve on the nominating committee. This committee's responsible is take nominations from eligible persons for each vacant office on the PTA Board for the 2024-2025 school year. Please contact Linda Pinkney at mtmspresident@gmail.com, if you are interested in serving on the nominating committee.
PTA Meeting and Parent Strategy Session
Our next PTA meeting will be February 28th at 7:00 PM in the Twain Library. All are welcome. A zoom link will be made available prior to the meeting. Also, that evening, the PTA will host a Parent Strategy Session and we are pleased to hear from Mollis Cottingham, Edison's Career Center Specialist, who will explain how the Career Center provides a framework of career awareness, career exploration, and career preparation activities to help students understand options for careers upon graduation. Mollis will also provide an overview of education tracks available at Edison, including technical, college and military preparation. Learn more about The Career Center at Edison HS at https://edisonhs.fcps.edu/student-services/college-and-career-center
Join the PTA
The PTA is primarily funded through our membership dues, so every person who joins provided valuable support to help the PTA help the students and staff. Join now at https://mtms.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true It’s never too late to join and your support is vital!!
Go to: yearbookordercenter.com
Use Twain’s Code: 8606
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