Good afternoon, Holmes Families!  

We had a great turnout yesterday for schedule pickup!  As a reminder, we will continue to have schedule pickup opportunities for the following days/times:

• TODAY, August 22, 2-6 pm (1 hour left!)
• Thursday, August 23, 11 am - 5 pm (8th Grade Only)

Medication Drop-off

For families who need to drop off medication in our school clinic, our school health room aide will be available the following dates and times:

• Thursday, August 23rd: 8 am - 12 pm
• Friday, August 24th: 8 am - 12 pm

A medication authorization form is required for any medication, prescription or over-the-counter, to be kept at school. Medication authorization forms may be obtained from the school or online. If you have any questions, please contact our school health room aide, Melissa Anderson, at (703) 658-5910.   

Parent/Guardian Survey

In order to help us with our parent programming for the year, please fill out this quick surveyto give us your feedback!  

In today's newsletter, scroll down for detailed information about:

• 6th Grade & New Student Orientation - Thursday, 8/23
• 8th Grade Laptop Distribution & Schedule Pickup - Thursday, 8/23
• Resources to support families with students' Digital Citizenship
• Open House & Back to School Night - Thursday, 8/30
• 2018-19 Holmes MS PTA Board & Meeting Dates
• Important Dates

We are looking forward to seeing you throughout the week this week and next week! 

Sincerely,

Margaret Barnes

Proud Principal, Holmes MS

[email protected]

6th Grade & New Student Orientation - Thurs., 8/23, 8:30-10:30 am

Calling all 6th grade and new 7th and 8th grade students:The “New Student and 6th Grade Orientation” is Thursday, August 23 from 8:30-10:30 am.  Parents will drop students off at Holmes or at the bus stops below.  A staff member from Holmes will be at each bus stop to meet students and will ride back with them after the orientation is over.  (NOTE: Parents are invited to join us at our Open House / Back to School Night next Thursday, August 30th.)  

Transportation will be provided from the following locations:

For students who attended Weyanoke Elementary:

• 8TH ST & LINCOLN AV @ 8AM
• 4949 MANITOBA DR @ 8:02AM
• BEAUREGARD ST & LACHINE LA @ 8:05AM
• SOUTHLAND AV & KING LOUIS DR @ 8:10AM

Bren Mar Park Elementary @ 8:10AM (Door 5 – back of school)

Columbia Elementary @ 8:10AM (Bus Lane)

Parklawn Elementary @ 8:10AM (Door 1)

North Springfield Elementary @ 8:05 (Bus Lane)

Parents/guardians may also drop students off at Kiss-n-Ride.  Instructions for Kiss-n-Ride lineup:

• Please enter the school parking lot at the entrance closest to Braddock Road. 
• After turning into that entrance, make an immediate right to drive around the parked cars (follow the cones).
•  You'll drop your student off at the curb right by the flagpole.  A staff member will be there to direct your student.  

8th Grade Laptop Distribution & Schedule Pickup - Thurs., 8/23, 11 am - 5 pm

When: Thursday, August 24,11AM-5PM

Where:  Holmes Middle School Library

Who:  All 8th grade students accompanied by their parents/guardians

As you prepare to join us on Thursday for the laptop distribution, please read through the information below, and be sure to bring your patience along with your excitement to receive a new laptop!  Parents and students must be present for the laptop to be issued. Students will have a few steps to walk through to complete the distribution process, so please plan to spend about 30 minutes at the school preparing your laptop with the possibility of it taking more or less time depending on the number of students arriving at that time.  Prior to picking up your laptop, please be sure to review the permission form.

Student Device Guidelines:  

Please review the student device responsibilities and guidelines.  The student is responsible for his or her laptop and cord at all times.  We also recommend all students purchase a sleeve to protect a 14 inch screen laptop.

Personally Owned Devices:  

All 8th grade students are expected to have a computer for learning this year.  If you and your student choose to use a personally owned device rather than an FCPS issued laptop, it must meet the criteria noted on this permission form.  Students using their own device must return a signed permission slip when returning to school next week. 

Resources to support families with Digital Citizenship for students

We are excited about the work that we are doing at Holmes to not only increase access to technology for students and to make instruction more engaging, but also to encourage our students to be responsible Digital Citizens.  Last year, one of our students designed the logo above to promote Digital Citizenship at Holmes, and students learn about Digital Citizenship through their ER-8 classes throughout the year.  

Here are a couple of resources to support the use of devices and the internet with your children at home:

• When your child begins to use the Internet, it is important to have a conversation about when and how they use it and what they use it for. This Family Media Agreement is one tool you can use to support this conversation.
• When your child reaches that important milestone where they get their own personal or school-issued computing device, an important step is to talk with your child about expectations for use in your home. Use the suggested guidelines to help make sure that you and your child are on the same page and use this customizable form to outline your agreed-upon expectations. 

Open House & Back to School Night, Thurs, 8/30, 5-8:30 pm

Save the Dates! 2018-19 PTA Board & Meeting Schedule

First and foremost, I would like to introduce our new Holmes MS PTA Board to the school community!

Welcome & welcome back to:

• Rob Hardin, President
• Carol Gabriel, Secretary
• Andre McGinity, Treasurer
• Rheanna Bernard, VP Fundraising
• Renate Thompson, VP Membership

Joining me from the staff to work with the board this year will be:

• Chris Kamar, 7th grade Assistant Principal
• James Cho, Math Teacher

Our PTA meetings this year will be held monthly on the 1st or 2nd Monday, at 6:30 pm, in the library. See dates below:

• 9/10
• 10/1
• 11/12
• 12/3
• 1/14
• 2/11
• 3/4
• 4/1
• 5/6
• 6/3

Important Dates

• Wednesday, 8/22, 2-6 pm - Schedule Pickup
• Thurs., 8/23, 8:30-10:30 am - 6th Grade Orientation (for students)
• Thurs., 8/23, 11 am - 5 pm - 8th Grade Schedule Pickup & Laptop Distribution
• Tues., 8/28 - First Day of School!!
• Thurs., 8/30, 5:00-8:30 pm - Open House & Back to School Night
• Monday, 9/3 - NO SCHOOL (Labor Day)
• Monday, 9/10, 6:30 pm - 1st PTA Meeting (Library)
• Mon., 9/10, Wed., 9/12,  & Thurs., 9/13 - Auditions for Winter Musical After School (late buses provided)
• Monday, 9/17 - First day for Homework Rooms & Hawk Club in After School Program (parent pickup only)
• Wednesday, 9/19 - 3-Hour Early Release Day (Student dismissal at 11:15 am) - No Homework Room or Hawk Club
• Monday, 9/24 - First day for late buses, academic help with teachers, and after school clubs
• Mon., 10/1 & Tues., 10/2 - School Pictures (through PE classes)

How to Stay In-Touch

Please stay in touch with us throughout the year by:

• keeping your contact information up-to-date throughout the year
• visiting the Holmes MS website
• signing up for News You Choose
• following us on Twitter  
• monitoring your student's progress with SIS Parent Account
• join the Holmes MS PTA and attend meetings (website being updated)