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What a great first week it has been with the students, staff, faculty, and families of Luther Jackson! I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know the building, learning about our programs, and meeting the incredible people who make LJMS such a welcoming and vibrant community. One of the many highlights was seeing our talented theatre students shine in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Their energy and creativity were inspiring! I’m also looking forward to our upcoming winter concerts and the wonderful opportunities they provide to celebrate the many talents of our students.
Finally, I want to extend my congratulations to our Outstanding Employee Award winners here at Jackson:
Outstanding Teacher: Mrs. Pollard-Kezele (Math teacher)
Outstanding New Teacher: Mrs. Thakur (Special Education teacher)
Outstanding Operational Employee: Mrs. Bryan (Finance technician)
Outstanding Leader: Mr. Zubieta (Director of Student Services)
Outstanding Professional: Ms. Judge (School psychologist)
Thank you for your dedication, leadership, and commitment to our school community!
Dec. 10- Band Winter Concert-7pm Falls Church High School
Dec. 16-Chorus Winter Concert 7pm Luther Jackson Middle School
Dec. 17- Orchestra Winter Concert-7pm Falls Church High School
Dec. 22-Jan. 2- Winter Break
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Families, remember that when coming to the school to pick up your student, an official photo ID must be presented to the Main Office staff. Please understand that this is for security purposes. Driver’s licenses, passports, and military IDs are appropriate examples of official IDs.
On-Time Attendance
We are off to a great start to the school year. Now students are settled in their classes and know the routines. We stress to our teachers bell-to-bell instruction to maximize instructional time and learning. If you drop your student off at school, make sure that they do not have to rush and arrive late to school. Help our students develop the habit of being punctual. Also encourage your student to arrive at each class on time. Arriving late is a classroom interruption and distraction for the teacher and all students.
We will begin to reinforce our school’s tardy policy, which includes tardy sweeps, detention, and parent contact for repeated tardiness. We will also recognize punctuality with fun incentives for our students. Thank you for your support.
Updated Attendance Codes
Attendance Codes have been updated for the 2025-26 school year. These updates will allow schools to better identify the primary reasons for student absences, which will help school teams identify patterns of absenteeism, make informed decisions, and develop effective strategies to improve attendance. Please note which codes qualify as “Excused” and which are “Unexcused.”
Codes no longer used:
- EXC-Excused
- PRE-Prearranged Absence
- UNL-Unexcused Local
Updated Code:
- MED-Illness or Injury Related
Excused Codes:
- COL-College Visit
- FAM-Family Emergency
- FRL-Funeral
- LGL-Legal Obligations
- MAP-Medical Appointment (Prescheduled)
- MIL-Deployment Related
- OEX-Other-Excused
Unexcused Codes:
- NON-Non-School Activity
- OUN-Other- Not Excused
- VAO-Vacation, Outing, or Non-Emergency Family Travel / Visit
Counselor On Leave
As a reminder, Dr. Simmons, our counselor for students with last names Re–Z, is currently on leave. We hope for her return soon. In her absence, please reach out to any of the other counselors or Mr. Zubieta for support.
After School Update 12/15-12/19
We will be offering academics only after school and only Monday–Wednesday the week of December 15. Students who need to stay after with a teacher are welcome to do so, and late buses will be available on those days. The only exceptions are our competition-based clubs—TSA, Model UN, Science Olympiad and Theatre, which may still meet as needed. There will be no after-school programs on Thursday, 12/18 or Friday 12/19.
Full-Time AAP Referral Window Reminder for Families
Parents/caretakers who would like their student to be screened for Full-Time Advanced Academic Program services may submit the Full-Time Referral Form (translations linked below) to their local school’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART) or principal no later than December 15, 2025. Late referrals will not be accepted.
The following sample communication is designed to be included in your school’s News You Choose/school email newsletter to remind families of the December 15, 2025, deadline. This communication should be shared with families by Monday, December 8, 2025.
Full-Time Referral Form (PDF)
   Congrats to the cast & crew from our fall show, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The students did a stupendous job and the audiences had a wonderful time. Over 900 people saw the show! Way to join the ranks of successful theatre productions here at Luther Jackson. Now on to our spring musical, Wizard of Oz opening April 30, 2026.
 Auditions for our spring musical, The Wizard of Oz, is Wednesday, Dec 10th & Thursday, Dec 11th. All students interested in trying out must come to both days. ALL are welcome- you do NOT have to be in theatre classes to participate. Please read all info before signing up using Google Form.
Crew interviews for backstage will be in January after break.
Las audiciones para nuestro musical de primavera, El Mago de Oz, se realizarán el miércoles 10 y el jueves 11 de diciembre. Todos los estudiantes interesados en participar deben asistir ambos días. Todos son bienvenidos; no es necesario asistir a clases de teatro para participar. Por favor, lean toda la información antes de inscribirse mediante el formulario de Google.
Las entrevistas con el equipo de backstage serán en enero, después de las vacaciones.
When students need to miss school, it is important for parents/guardians to communicate those absences with the school. This can be done by calling the attendance phone line at 703-204-8282.
Whether students miss school because of illness or any other reason, missing school leads to learning loss.
Help your child succeed by encouraging them to attend as many days as possible, but do make sure your child stays home if they are sick. Visit FCPS’ website for information on when to keep your child at home.
If your child has a chronic illness, make sure to notify their teacher so that support can be provided if needed. Also, keep an open line of communication with your school's public health staff.
Read about how families can help form good attendance habits. Attend today, achieve tomorrow!
📋 Permission Forms
Families can easily grant permission for their children to access a variety of school resources through the Parent Digital Consent system. Parents can opt their child in or out of resources including online educational tools, school counseling services, and tutoring services. They can also change how student information is managed. Visit the Parent Digital Consent webpage to access the system. See how to use the tool.
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Chromebook damage, procedures, and replacement costs
Students will receive a warning for the first instance of damage to a Chromebook as long as the case is on and the damage was not intentional. If the case is off or the damage was intentional, then they will be required to pay for the damage on the first offence. When this happens, Mr. Waldren will inform the student that they will be restricted to using a classroom loaner laptop in each class. He will also let the student know that he will email their administrator about the incident. The student's administrator will then meet with the student and contact their parents. If the student is required to pay for the damage, they will receive a replacement Chromebook after they pay for the damage. Pricing for damage and replacement Chromebook costs is listed below.
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HP Chromebook Parts
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Cost
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Chromebook replacement
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$481
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Screen
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$90
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Charger
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$30
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Case
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$34
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Keyboard and palm rest
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$37
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System Board
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$190
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Touchpad
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$22
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Daughterboard
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$17
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Top Cover
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$23
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Bottom Cover
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$17
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Bezel
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$18
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Speaker
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$46
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Webcam
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$25
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WiFi Card
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$19
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Lightspeed Parent Portal parent controls
FCPS has enabled new parent controls within the Lightspeed Parent Portal to support families in managing screentime on FCPS devices. Parents can now manage their child's access to YouTube as well as pause web browsing on district-issued devices, during designated "After School Hours" while students are off the FCPS network.
These parental controls are only active Monday-Friday from 3:30 PM to 6:00 AM, and all day on weekends and student holidays when students are off the FCPS network. Parental controls do not interfere with district filtering policies during the instructional day. Parents can register for the Parent Portal using the link provided in their weekly Lightspeed Online Student Activity Report email.
For more information about the Parent Portal, please visit the Lightspeed Parent Portal page on the FCPS website.
Staff Appreciation!
The LJMS PTA will be hosting a staff holiday luncheon on Friday 12/12/25. Your support of the PTA allows us the opportunity to celebrate our teachers and staff! If you would like to donate funds towards the lunch, please go to: https://ljmspta.givebacks.com/shop and choose 'Donation.' Thanks so much! School Community Social!
Same day as the lunch, Friday, 12/12/25, the PTA invites the entire adult LJ school community to a Gratitude Gathering. The PTA, in partnership with the Merrifield Silver Diner, will be sponsoring the its first ever LJMS Gratitude Gathering on Friday, 12/12 from 3 pm to 5pm in the LJMS cafeteria. This social event is an opportunity to show our appreciation to the entire LJMS community and those who support it. It takes a village to support the kids we love. Refreshments will be provided. We will be celebrating parents/guardians, LJMS staff, and the PTA volunteers. We will also have a guest speaker, a licensed psychotherapist, speaking on the topic of helping families manage stress during the middle school years. We hope you can join us for this festive and informative afternoon! Students are also invited to attend with their parents. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Fundraising!
Thank you to everyone who supported our restaurant night at Silver Diner last night!
Fall 2025 screening is only available to students newly enrolled in FCPS after January 1, 2025, who were not screened in Spring 2025.
For information pertaining to the screening process, testing and identification timeline or identification and placement, please contact Laura Ballou at liballou@fcps.edu.
The "Discrimination and Harassment: Let's Talk" platform is an essential tool that allows anyone within our school community to report incidents of discrimination, harassment, or other concerning behaviors confidentially. More information about the platform, including how to access and use it, can be found at https://www.fcps.edu/submit-discrimination-and-harassment-report.
Families,
We Need Your Consent for Select Digital Resources
At Jackson Middle School, our teachers will use a variety of digital resources to support student learning and promote communication and collaboration with students and families. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. Please find the link to the digital form, where you can give your consent, here:
https://digitalconsent.fcps.edu/ispb/is01/r/pdcp/
. You can find further direction here: a list of the resources that require parental consent here: https://www.fcps.edu/family-resources/technology/digital-resources/consent.
Need technical support? Call the Parent Technology Help Desk at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS). This will be answered by staff members from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
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