Good afternoon, Holmes Families!  

I hope that you are enjoying this beautiful weekend!  Thank you to those who were able to join us on Wednesday night for our first PTA meeting of the year!  I unfortunately forgot to record my presentation, so I will provide a recording in English and Spanish along with the slide deck in an e-notify this week.  We talked about the start to the year, contract tracing, instruction for "paused" students, upcoming Virginia Growth Assessments, and the Social-Emotional Learning Screener coming up in October.  To help us meet some critical needs, I also mentioned some job opportunities that we have a available at Holmes and throughout FCPS (see list below):

• Bus drivers

• Student monitors 

• Substitutes (short- and long-term)

• COVID Case Manager 

• Custodian (application window closes 9/28)

• Finance Technician (application window opens 9/29)

If you or someone you know is looking for work and may be a good fit for one or more of these positions, I encourage you to apply!  

TikTok Challenges

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a message with the community about vandalism that had occurred at Holmes and throughout FCPS as a direct result of TikTok challenges posted assigning points to stealing or damaging items in a school.  It has come to my attention this weekend that one has been posted putting up a challenge for each month, including "smacking a staff member on the backside" and "kissing your friend's girlfriend".  While we certainly hope that our students would not make the choice to do these things, we would appreciate you monitoring your students' social media activity and having conversations with them about the inappropriate nature of these acts and the serious consequences that could result (e.g. out-of-school suspension, referral to the division superintendent, criminal charges).  It is not enough for students to just choose not to engage in this acts; we also need them to help us to keep our community safe by letting us know when they hear about or witness those acts taking place.  They can send an email to me, Mr. Simmons, or Mrs. Moore, or they can speak to us privately to let us know what they heard or saw, and we will protect their confidentiality.  We appreciate you support and help in this matter.  Every moment that administrators are responding to situations like this is a moment that we are not able to support teachers who are doing their best to provide high quality instruction to all students.  

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
• After School Program This Week
• Virginia Growth Assessments
• Extracurricular Theater Opportunities
• Kiss-n-Ride Reminders
• 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

This Week's Schedule - 9/27-10/1

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, 9/27 - WHITE DAY 
• Tuesday, 9/28 - BLUE DAY (SOAR & ER 8)
• Wednesday, 9/29 - WHITE DAY  
• Thursday, 9/30 - BLUE DAY (SOAR & ER 1)
• Friday, 10/1 - WHITE DAY 

After School Program This Week

We had a great turnout for after school activities last week, and we are going to make some adjustments to the plan this week.  

• Students should check Schoology for messages from Ms. Parker about how to sign up for specific activities
• When we dismiss at 2:15, students attending after school  will be dismissed to their activity locations (rather than the cafeteria), and a "Super Snack" will be brought to that location. 
• 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.

Virginia Growth Assessments (VGAs)

Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) is a new test required for students in grades 3-8. The state legislature introduced this requirement to measure student growth and progress within the school year in reading and mathematics. 

For fall 2021, VGA will address content that was taught in the previous school year. The purpose of this fall’s VGA is to identify potential learning gaps resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no “passing” or “failing” outcome for the VGA. Results will provide a starting point to measure growth and will offer information about areas of strength and areas for growth in reading and mathematics.

Students enrolled in grades 3-8 will generally take an assessment in both reading and mathematics. However, elementary and middle school students enrolled in a high school credit-bearing math course, such as Algebra 1, will not take a VGA for mathematics. 

The following points may help you and your student better understand this assessment. 

• VGA must be taken in-person at school. 
• This online, computer-adaptive test is about half as long as the spring SOL test.
• Questions use Standards of Learning (SOL)-like items to measure current knowledge and skills in the content area.
• Student results will be used to help school staff plan for instruction and supports.  

Across Fairfax County, elementary and middle schools will give students the VGA in September or October. Holmes Middle School’s dates are September 30 (Reading) and October 6 (Mathematics). 

If you have questions about this state assessment for your student, please contact Christopher Kamar, Assessment Coach, at @email.

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).

Kiss-n-Ride Reminders

• 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!

How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS

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
  • PTA Facebook
  • Online PTA Membership Form
  • MemberHub

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