Good evening, Holmes Families!
I hope that you enjoyed this beautiful week and that the second week of school was smooth for your students! We have been keeping an eye on the attendance to make sure we are not missing any students, and it has given us a lot of peace of mind to see our attendance improving every day!
For this week's Principal's Note, I have a few reminders for you and some information about Back to School Night. Tomorrow, I will send a dedicated Back to School Night message with more details. A mailing was also sent to your homes this week with the Back To School Night information along with a quick guide of information about Holmes.
 Our Holmes MS PTA website is up and running!! It is linked from our school website (click on "Get Involved" from the Full Menu, or scroll down until you see this icon (the heart in hand) to take you there. To find out more about the PTA and to join for the 2020-21 school year, check out this site!
The first PTA meeting on the year will be on Wednesday, September 30th, from 7-8 pm. Stay tuned for more details.
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Important Reminders
- Every student needs to complete the Monday Minute in their SOAR (3rd period) Teacher's Google Classroom by 10:30 am tomorrow (and every Monday).
- Virtual Back to School Night is September 24th from 6-8:15 pm!
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Step 1: Visit the Holmes website beginning tomorrow evening (Mon., 9/21) to watch videos about your students’ classes
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Step 2: Join us using this link at 6:00 pm on September 24th for a brief welcome and overview.
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Step 3: With the help of your student using his/her Blackboard Collaborate Ultra links, visit each of your student’s teachers following the schedule below.
  Required Forms for ALL Families Must Complete:
It is critically important that we receive the information below from ALL families (be sure to complete the forms for each student you have at Holmes):
- Parent Consent for Digital Resources. Our teachers have been training in a variety of different digital resources to provide high quality, engaging instruction to all students. Some of those resources require parent consent. Please click HERE to see a list of resources that we will be using, and HERE to fill out the form to provide consent for each student you have at Holmes.
- NOTE: You will need your student's ID number and either the phone number or email of the parent in SIS in order to complete this. If you need any assistance, please contact Mrs. Asma Hindi at @email or call the school at 703-658-5900.
- Emergency Care Card
- Health Information Form
- FCPS' 2020-21 Student Rights & Responsibilities Guide is now available online for review. Please access THIS FORM to acknowledge receipt of the document for each student you have at Holmes. Booklets will be available in multiple languages at a later date for families.
- Immunizations.
- Even though we are starting the year virtually, students' immunizations still need to be update (including the TDAP for 7th graders). If you have not done so already, please provide that important documentation to Ms. Hindi at @email.
Forms that SOME Families May Need to Complete:
Here are today's newsletter topics:
Holmes News
- Student Services - Important Information
- 2020-21 Virtual Bell Schedule
- FREE Grab & Go Breakfast & Lunch Closest to Holmes
- Frequently Asked Questions & Resources
- Step-by-Step Login Instructions for Students
- Important Dates
- How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS
News from around FCPS
- 7th Annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference
- Free Meal Program for ALL FCPS Students Extended to 12/31/20
- Tech Help & Resources for Students & Families
- FCPS 24-7 Learning: Parent View
Thank you, have a great week, and I hope that you can join us for Back to School Night on Thursday!
Sincerely,
Margaret Barnes
Proud Principal, Holmes MS
@email
 HOLMES NEWS
FREE Grab & Go Breakfast & Lunch Close to Holmes
Please note that it is best to check this website for the most updated information. This food service is available for ALL students. Here are the curbside and pop up locations closest to Holmes' neighborhoods:
- Annandale Terrace ES, 7604 Herald St., Annandale
- Braddock ES, 7825 Heritage Dr., Annandale
- Bren Mar Park ES, 6344 Beryl Rd., Alexandria
- Mason Crest ES, 3705 Crest Dr, Annandale
- North Springfield ES, 7602 Heming Ct, North Springfield
- Parklawn ES, 4116 Braddock Road, Alexandria
- Weyanoke ES, 6520 Braddock Rd., Alexandria
- Chelsea Square Apartments, 10-10:15 a.m. 5734 Backlick Road, Springfield (parking lot next to the pool)
- FCPS Food and Nutrition Services, Energy Zone Center, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 6840 Industrial Rd, Springfield
- James Lee Community Center, 12-12:30 p.m., 2855 Annandale Rd, Falls Church
Frequently Asked Questions & Resources
- For questions about your student's schedule, please contact the counselor using the contact information in the chart below.
- For support with technology, check out the new help desk provided by FCPS 7 days a week, 16 hours a day (7 am - 11pm). You can also call 1-833-921-3277.
- Do I need to report my student's absence during the virtual classes?
- How do I get access to SIS ParentVue?
- How do we get access to free or low-cost internet?
- Please contact Gary Rossen at @email to learn how to get a MiFi hot spot device
- Please contact Jeanmarie O'Sullivan at @email to learn how to take advantage of Cox Communications Connect2Compete program with FCPS, which ultimately provides FREE internet access to families who qualify.
- Verizon & Comcast also have free and low-cost internet options, but the cost is not supplemented by FCPS.
Step-by-Step Login Instructions for Students
Below are very detailed instructions to help students at all levels of technical ability to get logged into all classes successfully each day:
- Step 1: Log into computer. Know your FCPS login (your student ID number) and password. It will be the same login and password that you will use for a few different programs.
 Step 2: Log into Google Chrome. After you power up your computer and log in, open up Google Chrome as your internet browser.
This video shows you how to log into Google Chrome and get to Google Classroom. When you log into Google Classroom, you may see that some teachers have already added you to theirs, and you should see your grade-level Google Classroom.
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Step 3: Open your FCPS email. Next, you'll need to check your email for 2 things - your schedule and your Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BBCU) links. To check your email, click on the icon that looks like a waffle in the top right corner of Google Chrome. You'll get a menu of Google Apps that looks similar to the picture. Click on the Gmail icon.
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Step 4: Find your schedule. Find the email from Ms. Giron sent on Monday, August 31st with your schedule. The email will also have an organizer for you to keep track of the BBCU links for each class along with a video with instructions about the organizer. Your schedule will have 8 periods. (Note: You will only be able to access the organizer and make a copy if you are logged into your [email protected] address in Google Chrome.)
 Step 5: Find your BBCU links. All Teachers sent Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BBCU) links to your FCPS emails last week. The emails will look like the picture below. These are the links you will use to sign into your different classes each day. You should have one for each of the classes on your schedule.
- You may notice that the teacher name in the invite is a teacher whose name is not on your schedule. Many of our classes at Holmes have 2 teachers, so the link is from a teacher who is partnering with the teacher on your schedule.)
- Here's a video with some tips for signing into and using BBCU for the first time. (Note: This video is available HERE in multiple languages.)
 Don't have a link for one of your classes?
- Please contact the individual teacher using the Staff Directory to request the link.
- If you still do not hear back from the teacher or receive the link, please contact Ms. Barnes.
Step 6: Set up your schedule and link organizer (picture below).
- Either type or copy and paste the name of your class and teacher in the first two columns of the blue day chart and the white day chart.
- Blue Days are on Tuesdays and Thursdays and include periods 1, 3, 5, and 7.
- White Days are on Wednesdays and Fridays and include periods 2, 4, 6, and 8.
- SOAR is during 3rd period this year.
- Go to each BBCU invite for each class, and copy and paste the link into the correct row on the organizer.
- Not sure how to copy and paste? Take a look at this video for a quick shortcut.
- Want to get really fancy and put the classes and links on your Google Calendar? Check out this video. You'll need the bell schedule below to help you set up the calendar if this is an option you choose.
 Important Dates
- Thursday, September 24th (New date) - Virtual Back To School Night
- 6:00-6:15 - Welcome & Overview
- 6:20-8:15 - BBCU Classroom Visits
- Wednesday, September 30th, 7-8 pm - 1st Holmes MS PTA Meeting!
How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS
Please stay in touch with us throughout the year by:
NEWS FROM AROUND FCPS
7th Annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference
This year we will continue to partner with INOVA and Kaiser Permanente to host the 7th Annual Mental Health and Wellness Conference. The conference will feature multiple keynote speakers who will address social emotional learning and resiliency. Virtual sessions will be offered September 14th-October 3rd. The kickoff panel will be hosted by NBC 4’s Eun Yang. Registration is available at the following website: https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/mental-health-and-resiliency/mental-health-and-wellness
Additionally, Our Minds Matter will be hosting a student summit for the Mental Health and Wellness Conference. Students may register here: bit.ly/ommsummit2020
Free Meal Program for ALL FCPS Students Extended to 12/31/20
Under waivers granted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) free breakfast and lunch program for all FCPS students is being extended through December 31, ensuring that students have access to nutritious food during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
FCPS has distributed more than 2.3 million Grab and Go meals since schools closed in March.
Beginning Tuesday, September 8, Grab and Go service hours will be extended to 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) with both breakfast and lunch being served at the same time. Bus routes for food distribution are being added and the current routes updated. Meals on buses will be distributed Monday through Friday beginning at 6:30 a.m. Specific information about meal distribution locations and bus distribution schedules are available here.
“We greatly appreciate this decision by the USDA and Virginia Department of Education that support our efforts to provide meals to as many students as possible,” said FCPS Superintendent Scott S. Brabrand. “Extending the summer program authority will also ensure that parents have the security of knowing their children will be fed.”
These waivers will:
• Allow Summer Food Service Program meals to be served in all areas and at no cost;
• Permit meals to be served outside of the typically required group settings and meal times;
• Waive meal pattern requirements as necessary; and
• Allow parents and guardians to pick up meals for their children.
Tech Help & Resources for Students & Families
- To support families who are working with their children during virtual learning, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is launching a new Parent Technology Help Desk, effective today, Monday, August 24. The help desk can be reached at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS) and will be answered by staff members between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week.
- FCPS has also set up an online portal to allow older students and parents/guardians to request technology help directly.
- Tips for online learning success can be found on the FCPS website.
- FCPS Parent Information Phone Lines are available in eight different languages.
FCPS 24-7 Learning: Parent View
Find out what's happening in your child's classroom
Please note that it is necessary to have an active Student Information System (SIS) Parent Account to be able to login to FCPS 24-7 Learning: Parent View. The same login credentials will be used to access both the SIS and FCPS 24-7 systems.
General Information
FCPS 24-7 Learning provides parents access to available courses the student is enrolled in, Naviance Student to view College and Academic Career Planning (for Middle and High school students), weCare@school to view and update Emergency Care information, and Bus Stop Information via the Bus Stop module.
Support
Content Available to Parents
- Course Information – This includes content areas such as announcements and course specific information. While most classroom sites are pre-set to provide parents access, some courses may have modified settings, or have been created after the course access settings were made and may therefore be inaccessible. If you have a concern, contact the teacher. Also, should you see course information from a previous school year, you may contact the previous year's teacher to ask them to update their course information accordingly. Please note that the following content areas are not accessible by parents: gradebook – grades can be seen through the SIS Parent Account; wikis, blogs, and discussion boards; and organizations.
- Naviance Student - Supports academic and career planning for middle and high school students. Only parents with middle or high school students will see student names in the Naviance Student module.
- Emergency Care Information Management (weCare@school) - Is an emergency care information system, available to FCPS parents and guardians with access to FCPS 24-7 Learning : Parent View.
A Note About Student Data Management
Each student has a unique student ID number which will ensure that a parent is matched to the correct child(ren). Also when a student withdraws from FCPS the student's account on FCPS 24-7 Learning is disabled. Once the student's account has been disabled the parent view will no longer include the student's information.
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