Principal's Note - Nov 22, 2020

By Margaret Barnes
Principal's Note
November 22, 2020

Calendar Reminder: Schools and Offices Closed November 25-27 for Thanksgiving Holiday

As a reminder, schools and offices will be closed Wednesday, November 25 through Friday, November 27, for the Thanksgiving holiday. Classes will resume on Tuesday, December 1. Monday, November 30 is an asynchronous day. 

See the complete 2020-21 school year calendar. 

Principal's Note 

Good evening, Holmes Families!

I hope that you all have had a great week and enjoyed the weekend!  I hope that you and your family will be able to have some time to relax as we head into this Thanksgiving weekend.  While my first thoughts of Thanksgiving are usually about family, friends, food, and football, the first thing that comes to my mind this year is hoping that everyone has a safe Thanksgiving. Check out the first 5 minutes of Friday's episode of NPR's Here and Now to hear how biologist Aaron Bromage is preparing for Thanksgiving with his family. While we all certainly do not have the resources to take some of the steps that he has, listening to this on Friday truly highlighted for me that with every choice that we make right now in this pandemic, we also have a deep responsibility to protect the members of the different communities we belong to: at home, at our places of worship, at our workplaces, at our students' schools, etc.  As we head deeper into what is normally just cold and flu season and hear of new records of Coronavirus cases every day, please be safe and protect yourselves and each other as best as you can.  This balance of choice and responsibility will remain true as we head into the new year and plan to phase more students into in-person instruction.  

In Tuesday's 3rd period SOAR classes, all students will experience a lesson about the history of Thanksgiving developed by students in the Social Justice Club (with the support of various members of the Holmes staff).  I am so proud of these future leaders as they committed to exploring the history of this holiday as part of learning more about Indigenous People's Month this month.  Through this process, they were wrestling with some of the painful parts of our country's history while also celebrating the contributions that have been made and continue to be made by Native Americans.  If your student is interested in exploring more, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has many great online resources.

Students will also hear what our Holmes administrative team and I are grateful for.  While I feel very fortunate that my list of things I am grateful for is long, what stands out in my mind right now is that I am most grateful for OUR TEACHERS.  Please take some time this week to send an email to your students' teachers or submit a story to FCPS CARES (scroll down for more info) to recognize and acknowledge their hard work. The students in Mr. Cho's leadership class sent emails to the admin team last week, and it truly lifted our spirits.  I know our teachers would appreciate that as well.  

Here are today's newsletter topics:

  • Student Services - Important Information
  • 2020-21 Virtual Bell Schedule
  • After School Program Schedule - November 
  • FCPS CARES Program
  • Important Updates on Grab & Go Meals
  • Library Curbside Pickup - 12/7/20
  • Catchup Days
  • Important Dates
  • Reporting Student Absences
  • How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS

Thank you, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Margaret Barnes

Proud Principal, Holmes MS

@email

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schedule

After School Program Schedule - November

Virtual after-school activities will be a blend of school clubs, community service, arts and crafts, leadership, recreation and sports, and other activities. 

For any specific questions related to the After School Program or to share new ideas for after school activities, please feel free to contact Ms. Taylor, our After School Program Specialist.

ASP Nov

FCPS Cares Program

The FCPS CARES Program is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees.

Watch this video to learn more. 

Important Updates on Grab and Go Meals

Fairfax County Public Schools is offering no-cost nutritious meals to ALL students through June 30, 2021. Meals are available at school sites and along bus routes.

As of November 9, grab and go bus delivery times and some bus stop locations have changed. The updated bus schedule is now available online. Bus delivery times were changed to accommodate the need for more buses to transport students returning to school buildings for in-person learning.

Breakfast and lunch meals are offered Monday through Friday (excluding holidays). Breakfast and lunch are served at the same time. Breakfast and lunch are also offered at no-cost to any student who attends in-person instruction at a school Monday-Friday. Meals for Saturday and Sunday are offered at sites and on bus routes every Friday.

More information is available online, or by calling the Office of Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800

Library Curbside Pickup - 12/7/20

December checkout

Directions:

Must be signed in to FCPS Google Account to Access: 

Click HERE to ebooks on MackinVIA

Click HERE to Choose Library Books for Curbside Pickup

Catchup Days

In order to help manage student and teacher workload, anxiety, and stress, all middle schools and high schools will have catchup days this quarter.  Catchup days will be days that students will not receive new instruction but will sign into class as they normally would to get support from the teacher to complete assignments and review concepts that have already been taught.  Our catchup days at Holmes will be:

  • Thursday, December 17th & Friday, December 18th
  • Thursday, January 21st & Friday, January 22nd 

Important Dates

  • Monday, November 23rd
    • 11:30 am - 7th Grade Lunch Bunch (rescheduled from last week): Interested 7th graders should go to the 7th grade Google Classroom and click on the Google Meet link
    • 12:30 pm - 8th Grade Lunch Bunch: Interested 8th graders should go to the 8th grade Google Classroom and click on the Google Meet link
  • Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th - NO SCHOOL/ THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY 
  • Monday, December 7th - Library Curbside Checkout & Materials Pickup
  • Wednesday, December 9th, 7 pm - Holmes MS PTA Meeting: Return to School information 
  • Monday, December 21st - Friday, January 1st - NO SCHOOL/WINTER BREAK
  • Tuesday, January 13th - Start date for 6th graders receiving in-person instruction to come to building (2 days a week)
  • Monday, January 18th - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day / NO SCHOOL
  • Wednesday, January 20th - Inauguration Day / NO SCHOOL
  • Friday, January 22nd - Last day of 2nd quarter / 2-hour early release / No in-person instruction
  • Monday, January 25th - Teacher Workday / STUDENT HOLIDAY
  • Tuesday, January 26th - Start date for 7th and 8th graders receiving in-person instruction to come to building (2 days a week)

Reporting Student Absences

Do I need to report my student's absence during the virtual classes?

How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS

Please stay in touch with us throughout the year by: