Principal's Note - November 26, 2017
Dear Holmes Families:
Good evening! I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Just 3 weeks of school between now and Winter Break, and those 3 weeks are packed. Scroll all the way down for important dates!
Due to the holiday, we don't have the updated After School Program calendar ready for this week just yet, but I'll send those out tomorrow.
Students will be hearing announcements this week about our Student Council Association's (SCA) first Activity Day of the year, which will be after school on Wednesday, December 13th. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a dance, sports, games, and other fun activities. The event is free, but students must participate responsibly in school in order to attend. Students who have disciplinary infractions and/or 3 unexcused tardies or more in any of the next 3 weeks will not be permitted to attend. More details to come from our SCA sponsors soon.
In our newsletter this week, you'll see information about:
- This Week's Schedule of Classes
- 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!
Sincerely,
Margaret Barnes, Principal
Schedule of Classes*: 11/27-12/1
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*NOTE: Students can always find the blue-white calendar in their agendas or on the website HERE. |
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:
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Pickens at [email protected] or Ms. Oviatt at [email protected]. |
Lunch Bunch with Mrs. Barnes
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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, or if you have any questions about the screening, please feel free to contact your child’s counselor or 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
- 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
