Principal's Note - Sept 12, 2021

By Margaret Barnes
Principal's Note
September 15, 2021

Good evening, Holmes Families!  

I hope that you had a restful weekend.  I know it may have been a somber one for many as we all commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  At Holmes, we did a moment of silence on Friday morning and Social Studies did lessons about the event in classes on Thursday and Friday.  

This week marks our second religious and cultural observance day with Yom Kippur on Thursday, September 16th.  If your student will be absent, please let us know through the attendance line. 

Kiss-n-Ride Reminders

I just want to share a few reminders to ensure that our Kiss-n-Ride process and safe and orderly each morning.  A few tips:

  • Please keep your speed down when on Montrose Road and in the parking lot and watch closely for walkers.  There have been a couple of close calls. 
  • Please ONLY drop off your students on the kiss-n-ride entrance of the school.  Pleas do not use the other entrance closer to the pool since it is for buses and for staff, and please do not drop them off on Montrose Road. 
  • As you leave the kiss-n-ride, please turn RIGHT onto Montrose.  See the map below for alternatives to getting back to Braddock Road if needed. 

Thank you for helping us to our Kiss-n-Ride safe!

kiss n ride

After School Program Begins This Week!

We are very excited to let you know that our after school program begins this week!  Here are a few important things to know:

  • Students should submit a permission slip for after school to Mrs. Parker.  One was included in the after school packet and students picked up copies during lunch this week.  
  • When we dismiss at 2:15, students attending after school  will be dismissed to the cafeteria and will receive a "Super Snack".  Then they will be dismissed by club or by teacher (if they are staying after with a teacher for extra help).
  • This week is an opportunity for students to get to know the different clubs that are available.  Signing up for and attending clubs is very flexible. 
  • If students don't want to stay after for a club, they can always stay after for Hawk Club, which gives students time for homework the first hour and time for recreation the second hour.  
  • Late buses run Monday through Thursday.  Friday is pickup only.
  • Late buses typically arrive between 4:30 and 5:00, so students could arrive home as late as 5:30 or 6:00. You are also welcome to pick them up any time from after school by 5:00.  
  • Your student's late bus is DIFFERENT than the regular late bus.  Mrs. Parker will go over late bus assignments with students each day after school.  
  • For any and all questions related to the after school program, please contact Mrs. Parker at @email.

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Here are today's newsletter topics:

Holmes Updates

  • Student Services - Important Information
  • 2021-22 Blue-White Calendar
  • 2021-22 Bell Schedule
  • This Week's Schedule
  • Extracurricular Theater Opportunities
  • Upcoming Assessments
  • Schoology
  • How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS

FCPS Updates

  • Stay Connected with FCPS

Please feel free to reach out and let us know what questions you have.  Thank you, and have a great week!

Sincerely,

Margaret Barnes

Proud Principal, Holmes MS

@email

HOLMES UPDATES

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This Week's Schedule - 9/13-9/17

To help families and students keep track of the Blue-White Day calendar, I will also have a section in the Sunday update with the week's schedule.  The Blue-White Calendar will also be on the inside cover of student agendas and can be found HERE on our school website. 

  • Monday, 9/13 - WHITE DAY
  • Tuesday, 9/14 - BLUE DAY (SOAR ONLY)
  • Wednesday, 9/8 - WHITE DAY
  • Thursday, 9/9 - BLUE DAY (SOAR & ER 4)
  • Friday, 9/10 - WHITE DAY

Extracurricular Theater Opportunities

There are lots of ways to get involved in Theatre at Holmes! The below opportunities are open to ALL Holmes students (you do not have to be enrolled in Theatre or Chorus to participate, and can be in any grade level!).

  1. Audition for the Winter Production: This year we will be performing a student written play. This play was written by the Advanced Theatre students from the 2019-2020 school year. Students must audition to participate, and there IS music in the production, so students must sing as part of their audition. Auditions will be Monday 9/13 or Wednesday 9/15. Late buses are available. Students can sign up to audition here! Students can also sign-up to join the stage crew (backstage) by clicking here!
  2. Theatre Sports: Theatre Sports is a competitive improvisation team. This year, no audition is necessary. Join us after school on certain Tuesdays to work on your skills. There will be opportunities for small groups of students to attend competitions against other FCPS Middle Schools. Students who were on last year’s Virtual Team do not need to sign up again. Newly interested students can sign up here.
  3. Holmes News Broadcast: The Holmes News Broadcast will be back this year. Holmes News Broadcast airs as part of our SOAR lessons. If you were on the News Crew last year, you do not need to sign up again. If you are interested in signing up this year, please click here!
  4. Voices of Now: Voices of Now is a partnership with Arena Stage in Washington DC in which students write their own original play which is then performed at a festival in May. We do not yet have all of the details about this year’s offerings. However, please click here to express your interest and we will follow up with more details when they are available!

More information about Theatre offerings at Holmes Middle School can always be found on the Holmes Middle School Theatre Department Website (you will need your child to log into their @email for this website to work).

Upcoming Assessments

Over the course of this quarter, students will take a series of assessments to help us to determine their instructional needs moving forward.  See the chart below for details.  While these assessments are not graded, we ask students to take them seriously and do their best so that we have the most accurate information possible that will inform our instructional planning. 

test

  • Reading Inventory & Math Inventory - (Fall Window) Required as a beginning-of-year screening assessment for all middle school students.
  • Virginia Growth Assessments - Required reading and mathematics assessment for all students to address new General Assembly legislation. Fall 2021 growth tests will assess students on the curriculum they received during SY2020-21. Tests are only available for grade level content; no assessments are available for high school credit-bearing courses (Algebra 1 and Geometry).
  • SEL Screener - (Fall Window) Beginning of year screener of social-emotional learning needs to inform student supports.
  • No Red Ink Writing Diagnostic - (First Assessment Window) Required as a beginning of year diagnostic for all grade 7-8 students, measuring grammar, usage, and mechanics aligned to grade-level writing standards.
  • CogAT - Required for any students in grades 6-7 who do not have a CogAT score on file and are not already centrally eligible for Level IV services. Parents/guardians may request a one-time retake to be administered during this window.
schoology

Make Sure You Sign Up for Schoology!

Students, families, and staff throughout FCPS and in our school community will use Schoology (pronounced /SKOO-luh-jee/) as our learning management system. 

Here is what you need to know now:

How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS

Please stay in touch with us throughout the year by:

FCPS UPDATES

Stay Connected with FCPS

Being connected to your school and division is important every year, and even more so now as we navigate our return to school. The best way to stay informed is to sign up for newsletters through News You Chose. 

Your school and FCPS have a variety of topics you can choose from, including:

  • School Newsletters- featuring everything you need to know about your child’s school
  • FCPS This Week- a weekly newsletter featuring news and happenings from across the division, published Wednesday mornings
  • School Board Meeting Update- a recap of important news coming out of school board meetings, published the Friday morning after the meeting
  • FCPS Employee News- weekly updates just for staff, published Tuesday mornings