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Important Dates:
- February 17: Holiday - No School
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February:
Let's all be kind to one another.
 Several of our 7th graders enjoyed an amazing field trip to the Botanic Gardens on Friday, February 7 to receive a hands on lesson on photosynthesis. They were also able to explore plants and trees from around the world. Thanks Ms. Frick and Mrs. Migdal for making this opportunity possible.
Black History Month Celebration – Date Change
The event begins with a light reception followed by a formal program, From the Threads of Our Past to the Fabric of Our Future. The program will honor the enduring contributions of Black history and culture while envisioning a future rooted in equity and excellence. It will include inspiring performances, personal stories, reflections, and opportunities to connect and celebrate. The event is open to the entire community.
For more information, contact Nina Thomas, senior manager for Professional Learning and Cultural Responsiveness.
Student Voices at Family Summit
Students Invited to Share Their Voices at the 2025 Family Summit
The 2025 FCPS Family Summit will take place on Saturday, March 15, at South Lakes High School. Visit the Family Summit webpage for more information.
At the event, FCPS students are invited to showcase projects and advocacy efforts around inclusivity in schools. This is a great resume-building opportunity, and students can earn service hours as well. Students may share their work in a share-fair environment using posters, essays, videos, songs, or art. They will interact with attendees through conversations about their work, ideas, and efforts to foster inclusivity in school communities.
Students must use this Google Form to participate by Monday, February 17. A list of possible projects is also on the form. More information will be provided after the student’s submission is received. Please contact Manuel Gomez Portillo with any questions.
✨ Centering student voice is part of FCPS’ Strategic Plan Goal 2: Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener Notification
The Spring Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener will be administered to students on March 19, 2025. 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
Dual Immersion Lottery
🗺️ Dual Language Immersion Lottery Registration
Countywide lottery registration for the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program for first graders in the 2025-26 school year is open through Thursday, February 13, at 4 p.m. Current pre-K students may apply for the kindergarten immersion program through Thursday, March 6, at 4 p.m.
Dual Language Immersion is available in French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
Interested parents/caregivers may attend an informational meeting at the school site. Visit the Dual Language Immersion Program registration page for a list of meetings by language offered.
Get more details on the DLI Program webpage.
Safe and Welcoming Environment for All
FCPS Trust Policy
On April 28, 2022, the School Board voted to adopt the Trust Policy which affirmed our commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all students and their families. This policy aligns FCPS policy with Fairfax County Government’s Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy. This policy ensures that students and families can access the division’s benefits and services without fear of information being disclosed, directly or indirectly, to federal immigration officials.
At the following link, you will find a copy of the Trust Policy’s One Pager highlights of the responsibilities for the Trust Policy . Information regarding this policy can be found here: www.fcps.edu/trustpolicy.
Academic Advising for 25-26 School Year!
7th Grade Students & Families:
The 7th graders received the Rising 8th Grade Course Presentations on January 14 and January 15. Students were given course preference sheets during the presentations that are to be kept in their school wide binder. Please be sure to review your student’s course preference sheet with them.
Please also direct your student to visit the Student Services Schoology page. Within the Schoology page is a Rising 8th grade folder that holds a host of Academic Advising resources. Please encourage them to complete the Elective Course Form by 2:30pm on Wednesday, January 29th. The planning tool, along with the course preference form will help the counselors work most effectively with your student when choosing classes for the upcoming school year.
8th Grade Students & Families:
This week 8th grade counselors began meeting with students to choose their 9th grade classes. Our goal is to complete Academic Advising by February 14th, however this may be extended due to the weather delays.
The course selections will be available to view on schoology. Once your student has met with their counselor, we encourage you to go over their selections. Please email your students counselor if you would like to make a change to their selections. If your student has not met with their counselor yet, we encourage them to look on the student services schoology page, in the riding 9th grade folder, for further resources!
Community Boundary Review Meetings
The Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee held its second meeting on December 16 at Gatehouse Administration Center. View key takeaways from that meeting and access the meeting agenda, slides, and other materials that committee members received. If you did not get a chance to attend an in-person Community Boundary Review Meeting, please consider participating in a virtual meeting:
- Monday, February 10, 2025, 6:30-8 p.m.
Language interpretation will be available.
All virtual meetings will follow the same format as the in-person meetings that were recently held, and the same information will be shared. Please stay tuned for details on how to register. Visit FCPS’ Comprehensive Boundary Review webpage to learn more. Sign up for FCPS’ School Boundary Review newsletter as well.
📍 Actualizaciones de la Revisión Integral de Límites
El Comité Asesor de Revisión de Límites de la Superintendente tuvo su segunda reunión el 16 de diciembre en el Gatehouse Administration Center. Vea los puntos clave de esa reunión y acceda a la agenda de la reunión, diapositivas y otros materiales que los miembros del comité recibieron.
Reuniones virtuales de la Comunidad para la Revisión Integral de Límites se llevarán a cabo:
- lunes, 10 de febrero de 2025, 6:30-8 p.m.
La inscripción estará disponible próximamente en la página web de Revisión Integral de Límites, donde también podrá informarse sobre el proceso de revisión de límites. Inscríbase también en nuestro boletín de Revisión de Límites Escolares.
Family Engagement Policy and Compact
For the News You Choose, we have to share our Family Engagement Compact and provide parents with an opportunity for feedback. Here is the preamble to the document that you can adapt for the blurb:
Key Middle School is a Title I school within Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) and utilizes the Title I grant to improve student achievement and help all students meet the objectives of the FCPS Program of Studies and the Virginia Standards of Learning. A partnership with families is essential to meeting this goal.
Under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools that receive Title I funds are expected to collaborate with families to develop and maintain a parent and family engagement policy that describes the school’s approach to involve families in students’ learning and includes a compact expressing the partnerships among staff, caregivers, and students to reach high academic goals for every student.
Key Middle School jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2024-2025 school year. Several of the provisions specifically address state or federal expectations for the policy and compact.
This policy and compact is distributed to all caregivers in a language that families can understand. Caregivers have opportunities to provide comments and feedback on the policy and compact through regular communication with the school and participation in family events. Comments are submitted with the school’s policy and compact to FCPS central offices and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). This policy and compact are made available to the broader school community through the school website.
Here is the link to the Family Engagement Compact on our website.
Here are the links to the surveys:
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Middle School Start Time Study
⏰ Update on Potential Changes to Middle School Start Times
Staff from Prismatic Services, Inc., presented options for adjusting start times at FCPS middle schools. As a reminder, Prismatic is charged with developing an action plan to help the School Board reach its goal of starting middle school at or after 8 a.m.
The presentation includes five options for adjusting middle school start times based on the consultant’s analysis from community forums, surveys, and interviews with staff, parents, associations, and other groups. The School Board will provide next steps to the superintendent.
Watch a video of the work session. Visit the Middle School Start Times webpage for more information on the project.
⏰ Actualización de Cambios Potenciales a los Horarios de Comienzo de las Escuelas IntermediasEn la sesión de trabajo de la Junta Escolar del martes, personal de Prismatic Services, Inc. presentó opciones para ajustar las horas de comienzo en las escuelas intermedias de FCPS. Como recordatorio, Prismatic está encargado de desarrollar un plan de acción para ayudar a la Junta Escolar a alcanzar su meta de empezar las escuelas intermedias a las 8 a.m. o después.La presentación incluye cinco opciones para ajustar las horas de comienzo de las escuelas intermedias basado en el análisis del consultor de los foros de la comunidad, encuestas, y entrevistas con el personal, padres, asociaciones, y otros grupos. El Consejo Escolar proporcionará los próximos pasos al superintendente.Vea un video de la sesión de trabajo. Visite la página web sobre el Horario de Inicio de las Escuelas Intermedias para obtener más información sobre el proyecto.
Federal Impact Aid Survey
Federal Impact Aid Survey
The Federal Impact Aid Survey is now available in electronic format via ParentVUE. All families should complete the survey whether you are military affiliated or not.
Please complete this survey online in ParentVUE. Click HERE to log into ParentVue to complete the survey or to create and set up a ParentVUE account. Please remember, only the enrolling parent may complete and submit the survey.
If you have multiple children in Fairfax County Public Schools, please fill out a form for each child. You will know you have completed all of the forms when you get to the final page, and see a green check next to each of their names.
Order Your School Pictures
Order school pictures at shop.jostenspix.com. Be sure to include the Key MS event code FE172724.
Immunizations
Middle and High School Clinics
FCPS is partnering with the health department to host immunization clinics at middle and high schools. Clinics will take place during the school day. Students may only participate in the clinic at the school where they are enrolled. Parental/caregiver consent is required for students to receive immunizations.
Please check the Immunization Resources page for clinic locations, dates, and how to submit a consent form.
Title I Parent Advisory Committee
Patriot Community-
This is a friendly reminder that we need a Title I Parent Advisory Committee representative for your school ASAP. Please email Debbie Vel (dsvel@fcps.edu) if you are interested in supporting Key MS in this capacity.
The representative should be a parent who is able to attend each meeting and relay important information back to the school. This is also a great opportunity to advocate for any resources our school may need. Meetings will be held in a hybrid format, so our representative can attend either virtually or in person once a month.
You may also complete this google form if you would like to sign up.
Meeting dates are listed below, and they will take place from 7:00 – 8:30 pm.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Debbie Vel at dsvel@fcps.edu.
Thank you, Key MS Admin Team
SIS ParentVUE
Everything You Can Do Through SIS ParentVUE
Want to easily access back-to-school forms and checklists? Log in to your SIS ParentVUE account to find forms and make updates.
Update Contact Information
Be among the first to know about weather closings, bus delays, and other critical communications from our school and FCPS by adding your cell phone number and email to SIS ParentVUE. To update your contact information in SIS ParentVUE, click the “Online Packets” tab in the upper right of the screen, then click the “Online Verification/Update” icon.
Parents/caregivers who do not have a SIS ParentVUE account should print and complete the Emergency Care Information Form (PDF) and submit it to our front office
Complete Permission Forms
Families can now easily give permission for their children to access a variety of school resources through the Parent Digital Consent system. This online tool can be accessed using your SIS ParentVUE account. You can easily opt your child in or out of resources including online educational tools, school counseling services, and tutoring services. You may also change how your student’s information is managed.
Visit the Parent Digital Consent webpage to access the system. Watch this video to see how to use the tool.
Submit Absences
Parents/caregivers can submit up to two full-day absences through SIS ParentVUE. Log in and click “Report Absence.” Absences longer than two days, partial day absences, and changes of transportation should still be reported to our front office.
Don’t Have a SIS ParentVUE Account Yet?Contact our front office for an activation code and follow the directions on the SIS ParentVUE Account webpage.
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Drivers Wanted
Fairfax County Public Schools Needs School Bus Drivers to Meet Our Growing Requirements.
School Bus Drivers earn $25.04/hour plus excellent benefits.
$2,000 signing bonus!
For more information call 571-423-3023
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District News/In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)
In case you missed it in FCPS This Week, the school division shared updates on the following topics and others:
- Proposed Budget Progress
- Apply for Dual Immersion and Magnet Lotteries
- Black History Month Event
Read FCPS This Week to learn more about these topics. If you are not already receiving this weekly newsletter, please sign up today.
Key MS Administrative Team
Principal: Drew Campbell | amcampbell1@fcps.edu
Assistant Principal: Shawn D. Brown | sdbrown@fcps.edu
Assistant Principal: Shari Peters | sapeters@fcps.edu
Director of Student Services: Jane Flegal | jcflegal@fcps.edu
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