Dear Holmes Families: 

Good evening!  I had the opportunity to get away for a bit this weekend, which gave me some time to reflect on how things are going so far this year.  As we enter the holiday season, I would like to share those things that I am grateful for as principal at Holmes and the two things that I hold in highest priority as I lead the students and staff.  

I could fill a full newsletter with the things that I am grateful for, so I'll just share a few:

1. I am grateful that I have been entrusted with this critical responsibility to support our students and families; it is not something I take lightly.  
2. I am grateful for our amazing students who - in spite of the obstacles that many of them face - bring their boundless energy to school every day, who are finding their voices and learning more about who they are and what they want for their own futures, and for challenging us every day to become better educators so that we can meet their needs in a rapidly-changing world.  
3. I am grateful for a dedicated and committed staff - teachers, custodians, counselors, bus drivers, administrators, office staff, cafeteria staff, etc. - who come to work every day focused on what is best for kids, who continuously work to develop themselves to learn more about how to better serve our students and families, and who devote many hours beyond their contract time to fulfill and exceed their responsibilities. 
4. I am grateful for all of our parents and guardians for the many ways that they support our school by volunteering their time inside and outside of the school day, which is often many hours outside of their own workdays, by quietly showing their support by following up with their students and our staff, who give us shout-outs to encourage us and share their feedback to help us to continue to improve...I could go on and on, because I know that there are many things that our parents do that is often unseen or goes unnoticed that helps our school in some way, and we are grateful for that.  

It takes all of us working together to meet our students' needs, and every day we as a school staff feel a sense of urgency about those needs, whether they are academic, behavior, or social-emotional.  We cannot do this without you as partners, and we thank you for all that you do inside and outside of school to support us.  

My two priorities are part of my core beliefs, and they will never change; each year I will remind students, staff, and our community that I have 2 main jobs as principal:

1. To keep my students and staff safe, physically and emotionally, and ensure that we have a school environment that is positive, welcoming, and responsive.  
2. To ensure that all students are learning and making progress at high levels, and to increase opportunities for parents/guardians to connect with that learning to know better how to support students at home.

That's it.  That is what is most important in our work together, and that is what we will continuously strive to improve every day, every month, and every new school year.  Please continue to communicate with me and other school staff about what we are doing well and what we can continue to improve.  

In our newsletter this week, you'll see information about:

• This Week's Schedule of Classes
• This Week's After School Program Schedule, including information about Voices of Now
• Bus Safety
• National Junior Honor Society (NJHS)
• Lunch Bunch with Mrs. Barnes
• The Signs of Suicide (SOS) Program
• Outstanding Employee Nominations
• Community Conversations with Dr. Brabrand
• Important Dates
• How To Stay In Touch

Thank you, and have a wonderful week and a relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday!  

Sincerely,

Margaret Barnes, Principal

[email protected]                      

Schedule of Classes*: 11/20-11/22

Monday, 11/20 = White Day w/ ER 1 & 2 Tuesday, 11/21 = Blue Day Wednesday, 11/22 = White Day (No ER); 2-hour early release Thursday, 11/23 = NO SCHOOL / THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY Friday, 11/24 = NO SCHOOL / THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY *NOTE: Students can always find the blue-white calendar in their agendas or on the website HERE.

After School Program (ASP) - Week of 11/20

Please contact Mr. Cabezas at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns about the ASP Schedule.

Bus Safety

In response to a few parents' questions about my recent message referencing two incidents on the late buses, I want to clarify our procedure for student discipline in general, including disciplinary incidents on the buses.    Our priority for the students at school bus stops and on the school buses is the same as our priority during the school day: that students are safe.  Each year, all students receive lessons about behavior expectations in all areas of the school, including the bus.  We stress appropriate behavior the bus, because of just how challenging the job can be for drivers with 50+ students on the bus.   When incidents of misconduct arise on the bus (including at bus stops or on the walk to and from the bus stop to the student's home), we respond in the same way that we do for any incidents of misconduct in school: we investigate and assign appropriate disciplinary consequences based on our findings.  Those disciplinary consequences - depending on the seriousness of the incident or on the student's repeated inappropriate behavior - may include anything from a warning and a phone call to parents, an assigned seat, detention, in-school and out-of-school suspension, or removal from the bus temporarily or permanently.   We have an additional advantage with bus incidents that all bus rides are recorded, and our Transportation Team works diligently to get those to us as quickly as possible when we request them.   If you have any concerns about your student's bus, please let the grade-level administrator know so that we can investigate and address it:  - 6th grade = Mr. Kamar - 7th grade = Mrs. Moore - 8th grade = Mrs. Cooper

National Junior Honor Society is now at Holmes MS!

In response to parents' requests, Holmes Middle School now has a chapter of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS)!  We are very excited for this new offering for our students.  NJHS will be sponsored by our librarian, Mrs. Pickens, and one of our teachers, Ms. Oviatt.  NJHS will not only be an opportunity to recognize students who are excelling academically; it will also be an opportunity for students to grow in their leadership and service to their communities. Parents who attended the PTA meeting this past Monday received the information below: 7th & 8th graders who have attended Holmes for at least 6 months and who have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or more will be invited to apply for NJHS.   Eligible students will receive an invitation letter to attend an information session and application workshop, which will be held after school on Wednesday, December 6th, from 2:30-4:00 PM.  Students will not only learn about NJHS and what the application involves, but they will also have time to work on their application, which will be due by 2:30 PM on Friday, December 15th.  The application will include short essays and teacher recommendations, among other items.  If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Pickens at [email protected] or Ms. Oviatt at [email protected].

Lunch Bunch with Mrs. Barnes

Due to our partial power outage this past Thursday, the Lunch Bunch has been rescheduled for Tuesday, November 28th.  There is also one schedule for Monday, December 11th.   Each month, I will invite 9 students from each lunch (so 36 students total) to join me in the Principal's Conference Room (3 from each grade level during each lunch).  With 8 months left in the school year, that will give me the opportunity to meet with 288 different students!   Students who are interested should be logged into their FCPS Google account, and should submit their interest through this Google Form.  There will also be sign-ups at lunch and hanging up in different hallways.

Signs of Suicide (SOS) Program

Holmes Middle School Counselors Kelly Murphy, Luis Sosa, Yolma Torres, and Megan Neforos, along with Director of Student Services Serena Giron, School Social Worker, Jeanmarie O’Sullivan, and School Psychologist, Diane Woolheater will be presenting the SOS program to 7th grade students through History classes during the week of December 4th. 

If you do not wish for your child to participate in the SOS Middle School program, please indicate this on the permission slip (which wasmailed to your home) and return it to Mrs. Girón no later than Wednesday, November 22, 2017. 

If you have any questions about the screening, please feel free to contact your child’s counselor.  If you have questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Girón at 703-658-5900.

Outstanding Employee Nominations

Nominations are open for the Outstanding Employee Awards!  To submit a nomination for a Holmes Middle School Outstanding Employee in one of the categories below, please complete the nomination through https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MWXTF79. 

You may nominate an employee in one or more categories.  All that is required for a preliminary nomination is a paragraph or two about how this employee demonstrates exceptional work in the criteria for that category.  The nomination page has more information regarding the criteria for each of these awards and the eligibility requirements are below.

• Outstanding Teacher: A teacher or librarian with 3 or more years of experience
• Outstanding New Teacher: A teacher or librarian with less than 3 years of experience
• Outstanding New Principal: A building principal with less than 3 years of experience
• Outstanding Leader: A US-20 or above school-based employee with at least one year of experience in the position (Positions included: School-Based Technology Specialist, Technology Support Specialist, Assistant Principal, Director of Student Services, Assessment Coach, Instructional Coach, Psychologist, Social Worker, School Counselor)
• Outstanding Support Employee: A US-19 or below school-based employee with at least one year of experience in the position (Positions included: Administrative and office assistants, custodial staff, food service staff, Instructional Assistants, Public Health Assistants, Public Health Training Assistants)
• Outstanding Hourly Employee: An hourly paid employee with at least one year of experience working at least 10 hours a week at the same location (Positions included: Parent liaisons, hourly office staff)

Note: The deadline to submit a nomination is December 1. 

Once all nominations are collected, we will be looking for a committee of 5-10 teachers, staff, parents and/or community members to narrow down our nominees to the top 5.  The top 5 nominees will be presented to the administrative team who will decide the winner in each category. 

 

If you are willing to serve on this committee or you have any questions, please contact Karli Eddinger (Holmes Awards Liaison) at @email.

Community Conversations with Dr. Brabrand

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Scott S. Brabrand will host five Community Conversations this fall to hear what students, parents, employees, and members of the community are thinking about and what issues are important to them. Brabrand welcomes community members to attend and take part in any of the upcoming sessions that are convenient for them.

Community members needing an interpreter can make a request for services online.

The meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a meet and greet, followed by discussion and questions from the audience from 7 to 8 p.m.

The remaining meetings will be held as follows:

• Tuesday, November 28, Chantilly High School, 4201 Stringfellow Rd.
  Chantilly, Lecture Hall (Region 5)
• Monday, December 11, Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Rd.
  Falls Church, Cafeteria (Region 2).

For more information, contact the FCPS Office of Communication and Community Relations at 571-423-1200.

Important Dates

• Wednesday, 11/22 - 2-hour early release day
• Thursday, 11/23 & Friday, 11/24 - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
• 11/27-12/14 – Divisionwide Horizon testing for Math & English classes
• Week of 12/4-12/8 – SOS Lessons & Screening in History 7 classes
• Tuesday, 12/5, 7:00 PM – Winter Band Concert
• Wednesday, 12/6, 2:30-3:30 PM - NJHS Interest Meeting & Application Workshop
• Thursday, 12/7-Saturday, 12/9, 7:00 PM – MUSICAL!! (Willy Wonka!)
• Thursday, 12/7, 5:00-8:00 PM – PTA Family Dine-out at Five Guys (Pinecrest Plaza)
• Tuesday, 12/12, 7:00 PM – Winter Orchestra Concert (Cafeteria)
• Wednesday, 12/13, 2:30-4:30 PM – School Activity Day in ASP (more to come from SCA)
• Thursday, 12/14, 7:00 PM – Winter Chorus Concert (Gym)
• Friday, 12/15 - Deadline for NJHS applications to be submitted (2:30 PM)
• Monday, 12/18 - Monday, 1/1 - WINTER BREAK

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