Kilmer Community,
It was great seeing so many of you at Back-to-School Night last night! Events like BTSN are incredibly important. They help us lay a strong foundation for our students' success by fostering connections between our staff and our parent community.
Next week, we have a soft rollout of our Afterschool Program. Students seeking academic support from one of their teachers or participating in cross country will have access to late buses at 4:45 PM. The following week our Afterschool Program activities and clubs will begin for all students in addition to the academic support available from all of our teachers.
Finally, I’m so proud of how our students have started the school year. As I’ve written before, we are incredibly intentional about how we explicitly teach, and reteach, students about expectations both in the classroom and in our common areas. Our students have done an excellent job learning these routines, and as students settle in we’re able to open up more opportunities. For example, this week we started outside seating for lunch on our patio. As we approach fall weather, it’s great to see so many students taking advantage of the fresh air during lunch.
I hope you have a great weekend. As always, reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Steven McFarlane
Principal
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Here are just a few of the Positive Referrals received by our Kilmer Cougars from staff members this week!
Omar N. - Thank you so much for coming over quickly to help me put away cones before 2nd period PE! I was really struggling and so appreciated your help. Quick kindness goes a long way!
Kimberly A. - Kimberly brings her energetic learning style to class each day. She is kind to her teachers and classmates and participates often throughout class. Keep up the good work!
Olivia M. - Olivia stayed after school to stack extra chairs without being asked. Thank you, Olivia, for being so respectful and considerate!!!
 Upcoming Dates:
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September 17-20 - 7th Grade Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) Field Trip (9/17-Comets Team, 9/18-Sirius Team, 9/19-Supernovas Team, 9/20-Starbursts Team)
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September 19-20 - Picture Day through HPE Classes (Classes that conflict with the MWEE field trip will be able to take their picture on 9/19 or 9/20.)
Thank you to the PTA for their support at Back-to-School Night this week! Keep up to date with PTA information and events (or join if you haven’t already 🙂) by visiting: https://kilmerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/
Starting this week, students had the chance to eat outside and enjoy the beautiful weather!
Positive Referrals started being delivered this week. It was awesome to get the chance to celebrate the fantastic students we have here at Kilmer!
Picture Day - September 19 & 20
Picture Day is coming up! Students will take their photo through their Health & PE class on September 19th or 20th. If you would like to order photos, please go to https://vando.imagequix.com/g1001132466. If you need a paper order form, they are available in the Student Services office. Photos will be available 2-3 weeks after picture day. Questions about Ordering? Email: underclass@vosphoto.com
If your student is in 7th grade and going on the MWEE Field Trip on 9/19 or 9/20, they will take their photo on the day that they are not on the field trip.
World Language
This year's World Languages Credit by Exam will be administered at each FCPS middle, high, and secondary school. The World Languages Credit by Exam is an optional test for students in grades 7-12 who can speak and write (type) proficiently in a language other than English. Based on the results of the exam, they can earn 1, 2, and/or 3 passing world language credits. Students who wish to take the exam should be able to proficiently understand and communicate in the testing language, and will be asked to listen, read, speak, write/type, and/or sign/interpret for ASL. For more information on how to prepare for the exam and scoring criteria you may visit the FCPS website.
Registration opens on Monday, September 9th and closes on Thursday, October 3rd. Late registrations will not be accepted. The 2024 World Languages Credit by Exam will be administered at Kilmer, during the school day, this year.
Students will be able to register using the sign-up form posted in the All Students Schoology page. Once your student's counselor completes the registration you will receive a confirmation email with additional details about the date and time of the exam. If you have any questions about registering for this exam, please reach out directly to your student's counselor.
Locker Update
Students who completed the locker request form will receive their locker assignments and locker combinations by email on Monday, September 16.
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.
September is Hunger Awareness Month. 60,000 Fairfax County kids are on free or reduced meals. 55,000 receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Kids attending class hungry are at risk for decreased academic performance. Food insecurity affects kids' concentration, mood, and memory. The Kilmer Food Pantry was established to send these students home with a weekend food pack to help them have enough to eat for the weekend. The Kilmer Food Pantry is proud to have expanded services, including providing meals throughout the month, offering school supplies, and providing warm coats and new socks in the winter.
We can't do this without the generosity and support of our Kilmer Middle School community. There are many ways to support food insecurity at Kilmer.
Here's how you can help now!
- Donate non-perishable food items from our Amazon wishlist. Items will be delivered directly to Kilmer Middle.
- Donate non-perishable items on the marked carts in the main office (See suggestions below for ideas).
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Donate funds directly to the PTA and we’ll do the shopping for you!
Learn more at: https://kilmerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/foodpantry
Reach out to the Executive Board with any questions.
Learning Seminar
On your student's schedule, you will see an 8th & 9th period Learning Seminar course. Learning Seminar is a 90-minute academic block on Wednesdays and Fridays. During this time students have the opportunity to:
- Visit one of their teachers for support
- Participate in remediation or intervention to improve academic skills
- Work on homework, retake assessments, or engage in learning extensions
To help students structure their time during this class, students are using a digital Student Daily Agenda. Each student has created their own copy of this document, which can be found in their All Students: Schoology page. Students will begin each Learning Seminar period by opening their agenda and using it to track daily assignments, check for passes to see teachers, and access online platforms such as Lexia and Mathspace. We encourage parents to review this agenda with your student at home and refer back to it as we continue to help them build their time management and organizational skills throughout the year.Click to edit this placeholder text.
Damaged Chromebooks
All students have been given a brand new Chromebook for the 2024-2025 school year. An important reminder, please ensure your student keeps the protective cover on. These protective covers are vital to keeping Chromebooks in great condition. If a Chromebook is damaged (meaning willfully, or by being careless), families will be charged through MySchoolBucks. A breakdown of costs are below:
Parent Digital Consent - Forms
Beginning August 1, many of the parental consent and opt-out forms will be made available through a new Parent Digital Consent System. A parent or guardian will need to log-in using their SIS ParentVue username (email address) and password. If you have just registered your SIS ParentVUE account you will need to wait 24 hours before you can log in to the Digital Consent System. The SIS ParentVUE Account Overview page has information about registration and how to get support with your account.
Some forms in the system are required (like the Digital Resource Consent), while others, like the Family Education Opt-out form, are optional. If you have more than one child in FCPS, you must fill out the forms for each.
Updating Student Information Through SIS ParentVUE
The Online Verification Update (OVU) packet in SIS ParentVUE allows parents to review and update phone numbers, emergency contacts, and health information (such as health conditions and immunizations). The enrolling parent can access OVU through their SIS ParentVUE account. Parents/Guardians can continue to use traditional paper forms to submit changes to Kilmer Middle School. Paper forms can be submitted to the Kilmer Student Services Office.
Important: Do not use the OVU packet if your address has changed or if you moved to another FCPS school. Contact the Kilmer Student Services Office directly to complete address updates or to withdraw and transfer your student to the new school.
7th Grade Immunization Requirement
All students entering 7th grade are required to receive one dose of each of the following immunizations prior to the beginning of school: Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis booster (Tdap), Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
- To meet the Meningococcal (MenACWY) requirement, the vaccination must be administered at age 10 or older.
- As a parent/guardian, you may decide that your child not receive the HPV vaccination. The school does not require documentation if a parent/guardian elects for their student not to receive the HPV vaccination.
If you have not submitted immunization documentation to your child’s elementary school this past spring or to Kilmer Middle School this summer, please submit an updated immunization record showing that your child has received the missing immunization(s) to KMSImmunization@fcps.edu. Starting Monday, September 30, students who have not provided proof of immunization will not be allowed to attend school.
If you have questions regarding your child’s immunization status, please contact Gail Wood, Student Services Assistant at gmwood@fcps.edu.
Lightspeed Parent Report
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