📅Save the Dates

February 2 - 6, 2026 - National School Counselors Week

February 16, 2026 - Holiday No School

February 17, 2026 - No School for Students

February 23 - 27, 2026 - School Spirit Week

2025-2026 School Year Calendar

2025-2026 Cooper MS Events Calendar

🏫 2026 - 2027 Course Selection Process

Cooper MS Rising 8th Graders

• Wednesday, Feb 4: Deadlines

If you missed today’s deadline, please have your student turn in their completed Course Request Sheet tomorrow or as soon as possible. Sheets must be signed and requests entered into SIS (StudentVue).

• SIS StudentVue: Online course requests must be submitted.
• Note: Use a web browser (not the app) and search by course code rather than the title.
• Course Request Sheets: Physical copies must be turned in to your CMS Counselor. The Course Request Sheet turn-in boxes will be in:
• Gym 2 in the AM (7:00-7:20) or 
• Student Services Office throughout the day

• Feb 4 – Feb 13: Student/Counselor Meetings Counselors will meet with students individually during Science classes to finalize selections.

https://cooperms.fcps.edu/student-services/course-selection 

Langley HS Rising 9th Graders

• Wednesday, Feb 4: Deadline
• Course Request Sheets: Physical copies must be turned in to your CMS Counselor. The Course Request Sheet turn-in boxes will be in:
• Gym 2 in the AM (7:00-7:20) or 
• Student Services Office throughout the day
• Feb 4 – Feb 13: Student/Counselor Meetings Counselors from Cooper and Langley will meet with students individually during Science classes to finalize selections.

https://langleyhs.fcps.edu/student-services/9th-grade-academic-advising

Student Fasting Meal Kits

From February 18 to March 19, 2026, a Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) waiver allows students fasting during the school day to request take-home meal kits. These kits include a complete school breakfast and lunch to be eaten after the school day ends.

Important Meal Kit Information: 

• Kits are charged based on a student’s meal status (Free, Reduced, or Paid).

• Students may claim one breakfast and one lunch kit per day.

• Students who eat a meal at school during the day are not eligible for a take-home kit on the same day.

• Kits are distributed at the end of the school day. Students must pick up their own kits; adults are not permitted to collect them.

Parents or guardians must submit a weekly request form via the FCPS FNS website by the deadlines:

• February 11, 2026 for week of February 18, 2026

• February 16, 2026 for the week of February 23, 2026

• February 23, 2026 for the week of March 2, 2026

• March 2, 2026 for the week of March 9, 2026

• March 9, 2026 for the week of March 16, 2026

Forms must be submitted on time to receive meal kits for the following week.

🏫School Counseling Week- Thank You to Our Counselors!

National School Counseling Week (Feb. 2–6) is a time to recognize the vital role Cooper school counselors play in supporting students’ academic growth, emotional well‑being, and future planning. This week, we celebrate the many ways counselors help students succeed and encourage you to take a moment to thank your school’s counselor(s). To learn more about the impact of this essential profession, visit: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/role. Please take a moment to reach out to your student's school counselor to say thank you for the work they do every day.

Lewis, Keyosha klewis1@fcps.edu 

Donnelly, Jill jrdonnelly@fcps.edu  

Saint Germain, Michele mvsaintgerma@fcps.edu 

Wiley, Laura P lpwiley@fcps.edu 

A big thank you to our amazing team of counselors here at Cooper: Ms. Lewis, Ms. Donnelly, Ms. Wiley, and Ms. Saint Germain - we appreciate all you do!

Summer Opportunities

2026 FCPS Career and Technical Education Summer Academy (CSA)

CTE Summer Academy is a weekly enrichment program that allows students to dive deeper into CTE program areas, and encourages skill development and career exploration.

Students choose 4 classes each week they participate and learn new content, discover interests, and build their skills.

Registration opens February 2nd - June 5th

Visit the CTE Summer Academy webpage: bit.ly/FCPS_CSA for more information!

For questions, please contact Beth Mehr at bgmehr@fcps.edu

Fairfax Public Access Television & Radio Summer Camps

Fairfax Public Access (“FPA”), Fairfax County’s community media station, is offering a full range of summer camps in these exciting areas. This summer, they have revamped their Studio Production, Radio Production and Video Editing camp.

Additional summer camp information regarding courses and registration is available online at:https://www.fcac.org/summer-camp-registration-forms

Summer Learning – FCPS Online Campus

Families interested in summer learning should visit FCPS Online Campus to explore available courses and complete enrollment.

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/summer-learning/online-campus

Important News from our Cooper Counselors

Creating Positive Habits

Parents and Guardians!  

One of our school counselors is running a group during the second semester called Creating Positive Habits. The group will have approximately 8 students in it and will meet for six 30-minute sessions during QST (so they won’t miss class time!).  It’s a fun opportunity to meet some new people while learning some new life skills. Some of the topics we will discuss are:

1. Mindset: Fixed vs Growth (learning the difference, figuring out where our minds might be stuck and how to practice growth thoughts)
2. Celebrating Others: Reversing Jealousy (how can I get outside of myself to SEE and CELEBRATE others)
3. Giving others the benefit of the doubt (empathy, perspective-taking, assuming positive intent, etc)
4. Cause and Effect (how have I gotten myself INTO situations and how do I get myself OUT)

Space is limited. If you would like your child to be considered for this group, please talk with them and fill out the google form.  Looking forward to it!

STEM Essay Contest

The 8th annual STEM Essay Contest sponsored by the McLean Area
Branch of AAUW (American Association of University Women) is now
open. The contest challenges 7th and 8th girls and boys to discover and
publicize women including women of color (non-white) who made a
difference in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields,
but who received little or no recognition for their contributions while
they were alive. Strong preference is given to essays about women who
are not well known even today.

Each student is asked to write an essay of no more than 500 words to
describe one woman's contribution to STEM, discuss the impact, and
clearly state why he or she picked that woman. The branch will award
five prizes: 1st Place ($100) and four Honorable Mention prizes (each
$25).

Two versions of the application form (a fillable PDF and a Word document), which include essay guidelines and instructions for submission, are available on the branch website at https://mcleanva.aauw.net/stem-essay-contest-2026/  The deadline is February 8, 2026, at 11:00 pm ET, and the winners will be recognized at the Branch dinner on March 24, 2026, at the McLean Community Center.

Any questions may be submitted to mcleanaauw@gmail.com

🏨News from Cooper Clinic

FCPS Illness Exclusion Guidance

Student Illness Guidance: When to Stay Home

This  guidance follows the FCPS attendance policy and reflects CDC guidance on preventing infections in K-12 schools. Guidance may change if a healthcare provider gives your child a specific diagnosis or there is an outbreak of a communicable disease at school. Visit FCPS’s attendance website for additional guidance on when to keep students home during an illness: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/policies-regulations-and-notices/attendance-policies/attendance-recommendations

Immunization Events for FCPS Students

FCPS, in partnership with Inspire Health Alliance, will provide school-required immunizations and optional flu shots for all FCPS students with no out-of-pocket costs. Multiple events will take place at designated FCPS locations. Additional dates will be available throughout the school year. 

Parents or guardians may view upcoming events and schedule an appointment for their student. Participation is voluntary. View immunization resources on the FCPS website. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are a vital part of Cooper Middle School, and we value their time and dedication. To enhance student safety, FCPS has updated its volunteer process to include sex offender registry checks and, in some cases, background checks.

We invite all who are interested in becoming a volunteer to register through Volunteer FCPS. Click “Learn More,” then “Sign Up” to create a profile, watch the orientation video, and complete the application.

All volunteers — including field trip chaperones, book fair helpers and classroom assistants — must be registered. 

We understand these changes may feel new for long-time volunteers, but they are designed to help ensure every student feels safe and supported.

Reminder: All volunteers and visitors must sign in using the visitor kiosk and scan their ID. For more details, visit the Volunteer FCPS FAQ page.

Community Updates from our Family Liaison

🐝📖Cooper’s 2nd Annual Spelling Bee

It’s that time again!  Cooper will be holding a spelling bee at the end of February/beginning of March.

This year, we will use the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s online testing platform to hold our preliminary school spelling bee via an online spelling and vocabulary test.

The first step to spelling bee participation for your child is registering for the online testing platform by visiting https://online-test.spellingbee.com.  (If you have already registered in the online testing platform for another child, you can log in to your account and add an additional child to that same parent account. There is no need to register a different email address for each child in your household.) Once you have registered, I will specifically reach out to you to provide you further information and instructions.   

Our school champion will then move on to represent Cooper Middle School in the next level of the 2026 Fairfax County Spelling Bee program on 3/22. 

Please reach out to me if you have any questions about our school spelling bee program. I also encourage you to watch this video tutorial that will walk you through the registration process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ThKRsffiFc

I look forward to having your child compete to represent our school!

Getting to Know FCPS: A Family Orientation is an interactive seminar that provides information about the school system, the importance of family engagement, school staff and programs, as well as technology supports for families new to FCPS. This presentation is conducted in Arabic, English, Korean, and Spanish several times a month. Newcomers to FCPS can greatly benefit from this offering, and families may register themselves on the Family Academy  

Camp Fairfax Winter and Spring Break Camp registration has started. Click for more details.

💙 Cooper Wear Donations  - Share the Spirit!

Do you have Cooper Wear your student has outgrown or no longer needs?

We’d love to pass it along to new families and our rising 7th graders!

Students can drop off any items you’d like to share. Every piece helps a fellow Cooper family feel right at home!

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Family Liaison, Mollie Cannon, at mcannon@fcps.edu.

📚 There is still time to Order Your Yearbook Today! Cost:  $42.00 🌐 Order Online: YearbookOrderCenter.com 🏫 School Order Number: 5267

Urgent Request from the Yearbook Staff! Last chance to submit any SUMMER, SPORTS, FIRST DAY, OR FALL photos of your student and friends!  Please email any photos you would want to see in the yearbook to Cooperyearbook@gmail.com ASAP. THANK YOU!

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