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In This Issue
College Partnership Program
Do you have a student between grades 8 through 11 who wants to go to college? If so, they should consider applying to the College Partnership Program (CPP), which offers support as students explore the idea of going to college! The deadline to apply is Friday, March 15.
Students must log in to their G-Suite account to access and complete the online application.
Questions? Please contact Danielle Mascoll at Dfmascoll@fcps.edu.
Understanding High School Mathematics Course Offerings
How can students participate in mathematics throughout high school in a way that is relevant to and supportive of post-secondary and career interests?
On Friday, March 8 from 10-11:30am, we will discuss mathematics graduation requirements and how to support students in navigating the various course offerings currently available in FCPS.
Students and their families may start thinking about what course pathways are available beginning in middle school. Join us to learn more.
Presented by Jennifer Allard FCPS High School Math Specialist and Erin Sylves FCPS Math Specialist.
Register for Understanding High School Mathematics Course Offerings
Staying Healthy This Cold/Flu Season
Cases of RSV, the flu, and other viruses often rise this time of year. It is important for students to wash their hands regularly and cover their coughs and sneezes. Parents/Caregivers, please check your student before they come to school. If they complain of not feeling well, check their temperature, talk with them, and assess their physical well-being. Just a minute or two in the morning may save you a trip to school later in the day to pick up a sick student. Visit FCPS' Health and Safety Guidance webpage for more tips.
Free COVID-19 Rapid Tests
Residential households are eligible to receive free at-home COVID-19 test kits. If an order has not been placed for your address since the program reopened on September 25, you may place two orders now.
Food and Nutrition News
Starting in March, FCPS will introduce new and exciting menus that will offer more hot options and parfaits at breakfast, and new items at lunch such as Sweet Thai Chili Chicken Wings and Asian-Inspired Dumplings. Also in March, FCPS cafeterias will display new menu cards on each food service line that provide detailed information on the included food group(s) and information to assist students in knowing which food items meet their cultural and philosophical dietary preferences. This aids students in making informed decisions on the foods they choose to eat. The Menu Card Poster will share how to read the menu cards.
Weird Brothers Coffee - Coffee for Dollars
Come get your morning (or afternoon or evening!) cup of joe at our favorite local coffee roaster Weird Brothers Coffee, on Thursday, February 22, to support our Herndon MS Theatre department this show season! Show this flyer at checkout at any of the Herndon locations for a % of your proceeds to be given back!
Glory Days - Dining for Dollars
Glory Days is partnering with Herndon MS Theatre Boosters for a Dining for Dollars event on Tuesday, February 27 from 5-10pm. PRINT the linked flyer and hand to your waiter to ensure that a % of your check goes back to HMS theatre students!
HMS High School Musical Jr.
Tickets for the Herndon Middle School production of High School Musical go on sale on Thursday, February 29! You can purchase them on etix! Get them fast- last year we sold out and you don't want to miss this production!!
MackinVIA App
The MackinVIA app is loaded on ALL student laptops. Students can login and access eBooks, audiobooks, and comics, manga, and graphic novels with ComicsPlus.
MackinVIA is also seamlessly available in Destiny, our library catalog.
Students already have an account! In the search window of the laptop, type MackinVIA, sign in as “Herndon Middle School, FCPS” for the School/Library name. Students login with FCPS credentials @fcpsschools.net. There’s lots to check out! Materials are automatically returned after the loan period of 21 days.
In addition, students or parents can download the MackinVIA app for Apple or Android devices. Within the app, students can view their checkouts while online or download ebooks and audiobooks to the device for offline access. Great for road trips! If they have Internet access on a device, students can also browse through our library’s digital collection and checkout more titles.
• eBooks: 1,241
• Audiobooks: 233
• ComicsPLUS - Provides unlimited, simultaneous access to thousands of popular digital comics, graphic novels, and manga
Questions? Please reach out to Debbie Scott, HMS Librarian at Dnscott@fcps.edu. Happy Reading!
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Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget Focused on Educational Excellence and Competitive Compensation
At the last School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid proposed a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 that focuses on excellence and providing students an equitable education in an inclusive and respectful environment, where access, opportunity, and achievement are available to all.
The budget also prioritizes competitive compensation to attract and retain a world-class workforce.
The FY 2025 Proposed Budget totals $3.8 billion, an increase of $301.8 million, or 8.6%, over the FY 2024 Approved Budget. Nearly 86% of the budget is focused on instruction. Key highlights include:
- Supporting students academically by maintaining existing class size formulas and providing necessary support to all students.
- Retaining and attracting world-class educators with a 6% market scale adjustment.
- Strengthening student well-being outside of the classroom with expanded athletics offerings, additional athletic trainers, and enhanced stipends for fine and performing arts.
- Continuing initiatives including expansion of inclusive preschool, adoption of green initiatives, and funding assistant director of student activities positions previously funded with ESSER III.
Special education daily contract extensions, funding for the safety and security screening program, and late buses to support academics and activities at middle schools are several of the priorities to be addressed at the end of FY 2024.
The School Board is scheduled to adopt the Advertised Budget on Thursday, February 22. Read more about the proposed budget. Keep up with FCPS’ budget development process.
Our Schools, Our Future
Community Conversations Continue
Join Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid for Our Schools, Our Future – A Community Conversation. Your voice matters! Share your thoughts about FCPS and bring your questions to a conversation on:
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Tuesday, April 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Graham Road Elementary School.
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Tuesday, April 30, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at South County Middle School.
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Thursday, May 2, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Terraset Elementary School.
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Wednesday, May 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Hybla Valley Elementary School.
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Thursday, May 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Poe Middle School.
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Tuesday, May 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Katherine Johnson Middle School.
Pre-registration for a Community Conversation is not required but will help FCPS plan. Childcare and interpretation services will be provided for all events based on staff availability. Events are open to all. Learn about other opportunities to connect with Dr. Reid.
Try Online Registration
Parents may register their children online for kindergarten through 12th grade. Learn how to begin the online registration process.
When registering, parents will create (or log in to an existing) SIS ParentVUE account. Please note that passwords should be more than 12 characters long. If you have an existing account and your password is shorter, please update it when you log in.
Fairfax County Science and Engineering Fair Open House
Members of the general public are invited to attend the science fair open house at Robinson Secondary School on Sunday, March 17 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Help Students Achieve Their Dreams. Teach for FCPS!
Save the date! Attend FCPS’ instructional job fair on Saturday, February 24 from 9 a.m.to noon, at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Network and take advantage of interview opportunities with representatives from various FCPS schools. Employment offers may be extended during the fair. Register today.
Real Food for Kids Culinary Challenge
The Real Food for Kids Culinary Challenge will be held on Saturday, March 2, at 10:45 a.m., at Hayfield Secondary School. The event features a public tasting of student dishes and demonstrations from two local celebrated chefs.
The student challenge at the heart of this event is to create healthy, delicious, and culturally diverse school menu items that meet USDA guidelines. Entries will be judged by a panel including celebrity chefs, school food professionals, and local food producers. The public is invited to vote for their favorite dish.
Chefs Najmieh Batmanglij and Chris Morgan of Joon will offer a demonstration at 11:15 a.m. Public tasting of student dishes will get underway at noon.
Student-created dishes from this annual event have been featured on school menus throughout the Greater Washington Region. It is free to attend, but registration is required.
Opioid Overdoses Continue - Ways to Help
Community members are asked to stay vigilant and take steps to help curb fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses. A significant area of concern here in Fairfax County and around the country is a growing number of opioid overdoses involving youth. This article provides many facts and resources for you as a parent or community member to help keep everyone safe.
This is a communitywide problem and requires a comprehensive approach to prevent future overdoses and connect individuals experiencing opioid and substance misuse to treatment and support services. Take action today.
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Talk with your youth and other loved ones who are impacted by substance misuse about the dangers associated with drug use. Have a short, judgment-free talk about stress, mental health, peer pressure, and substance use.
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Start talking about medication safety early by advising young children not to take any pills without asking you first.
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Only take pills prescribed by your doctor from a licensed pharmacy. Never buy pills from social media, online, on the street, or from unlicensed pharmacies.
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Review more action steps you can take and tips for parents/caregivers from the U.S. DEA.
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Learn more about fentanyl in the Fairfax Health District by watching this short video from the Fairfax Health Department and viewing materials from community events on local trends and prevention strategies:
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Sign up for a REVIVE virtual training class on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose and administer naloxone nasal spray to reverse an opioid overdose. After completing the training, individuals 18 and older will receive Narcan, fentanyl test strips and treatment information.
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Safely store and dispose of unwanted medications to prevent opioid misuse from ever starting.
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Help raise awareness by sharing resources from the Fairfax opioid communications toolkit and this fact sheet on fentanyl in the Fairfax Health District.
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Encourage youth to participate in SAMHSA’s Fentanyl Awareness Youth Challenge (see below for more details) and develop a community strategy to educate their peers about fentanyl and fake pills. Submissions are due February 26, 2024.
Food Insecurity Resources for Families
Food insecurity impacts more than 60,000 Fairfax County residents. There are many resources available to support those who need food assistance. Find out how to receive or offer support on the Fairfax County website, or view their Human Services Resource Guide for assistance with food, clothing, housing, and other services.
Upcoming Family Resource Center Webinars
Behavior Solution Series for Elementary and Secondary Families – Join FCPS Behavior Intervention Services staff for help encouraging positive communication and behavior at home. Webinars will be held at 10 a.m.
- Elementary Webinars:
- Taming Tantrums and More - Friday, March 15
- Secondary Webinars:
- Proactive Strategies for Effective Communication - Friday, April 19
- Taming the Teen-Aged Brain - Friday, May 31
How to Handle Disappointing Grades: Ways to Uncover the Reasons Behind Your Child’s School Performance and How to Help- Join Ann Dolin for new strategies to tackle these sticky situations while preserving your relationship with your child. Friday, February 23 from 10-11:30 a.m.
FBA/BIP Essentials for Families- Does your child have concerning behaviors at school? Did you know that there is a process to identify and support your child at school? Thursday, February 29 from 6:30-8 p.m.
Lightspeed Parent Report on Student’s FCPS Device Activity
FCPS has tools to help parents know more about their child’s activity on any FCPS device. These tools are provided at no cost to families by Lightspeed, the school division’s internet content filtering service. Parents may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites your child visited. The report also offers parents the ability to sign up for free access to the Internet Use Parent Portal. Through the portal, parents may pause their child’s access to the internet on their FCPS device during non-school hours. Learn more about Lightspeed Parent Reports here.
FCPS Summer Learning and Fun
Career and Technical Education
CTE Summer Academy (CSA) is a week-long enrichment program that allows students in grades 6-11 to dive deeper into CTE program areas, develop skills, and begin career exploration. Visit the CSA webpage to register.
Institute for the Arts Camps
IFTA is a two- or three-week summer enrichment program for students currently in grades 6-11. Students select from nearly 90 classes in art, dance, health and physical education 9 (graduation requirement), music, and theater. Visit the IFTA webpage to register.
Self-Directed Economics and Personal Finance
Summer is a great time for high school students to fulfill the Economics and Personal Finance course requirement. During the self-directed course, students work independently to complete the requirements. Students must register by Friday, May 24. For more information, see the Summer Learning information page.
Summer Online Campus
Take advantage of the opportunity to earn a high school course credit via this summer’s online campus program. Registration ends Friday, June 7. Math, health and physical education, career and technical education, English, science, social studies, and world language courses are available to eligible students.
Additional Summer Learning Opportunities
Please go to the following website Summer Learning information page to learn about these summer opportunities:
- Credit Recovery Academy/ Extended Learning
- English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
- Self-Directed Economics and Personal Finance
Non-FCPS Summer Opportunities
Fairfax County Parks Spring and Summer Camp Registration- Now Open
Spring and Summer Camp Registration is open! Spots fill up fast! See the full listing of camps, as well as multiple ways to search and tools to use that will make enrolling easier. Learn more about the camps and how to register here.
Herndon Summer Camp Registration in April
Registration for our summer camps start April 3 for Town of Herndon residents and April 9 for non-residents. Don't let this opportunity slip away! Your child will have unforgettable memories and make new friends. Learn more here.
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Read Across America Day
Read Across America Day (observed on March 1) was established by the National Education Association (NEA) in 1998 to help get kids excited about reading. Learn more about Equitable Access to Literacy in this video.
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National School Social Work Week
March 3-9 is National School Social Work Week. Social workers in FCPS help to prevent social, emotional, and behavioral factors from affecting a student's ability to perform at their best. Their primary goal is to remove barriers that prevent a student from fulfilling their academic potential. Social workers are assigned to every school and center in the school system. Most social workers serve one to two sites. Learn more about the role of social workers in FCPS.
March 5 Presidential Primary
The Fairfax Board of Elections has requested that schools be closed on Tuesday, March 5, to accommodate the safe and efficient administration of the 2024 presidential primary election.
Therefore, March 5 will be a school holiday for students and a virtual School Planning Day. As outlined in Regulation 4421, School Planning Days are directed by school-based Administrators in order to devote time to school improvement efforts, including collaboration around data, common assessments, responsive instruction, etc.
Central offices and school offices will remain open. SACC will remain open, as on other professional work days.
February
- Black History Month
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22 | Weird Brothers Coffee - Dining for Dollars
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23 | Movie Night 6pm
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27 | Glory Days - Dining for Dollars
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FCPS Cares
The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story, so we can all acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees.
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Helpful Links
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