Principal's Note - August 12, 2022
Good Evening, Holmes Families!
In just 9 days, we will be welcoming your students to their first day of the 2022-23 school year at Holmes Middle School! This past week, we welcomed our new teachers to Holmes and teachers began setting up their classrooms and completing trainings. Our big kickoff for staff will be on Monday, and we will spend the week training and collaborating with staff to ensure we provide a safe and welcoming learning environment for all students to grow and thrive.
We hope that you will join us for our open house for ALL students and their families on Wednesday, August 17th from 5-7 pm when students can pick up their schedules and find their classrooms. Teachers will not be required to attend the Open House, but you will have the opportunity to meet them on Tuesday, August 30th, at Back to School Night.
All 6th graders and new 7th and 8th graders are invited to attend Jumpstart on the morning of August 18th from 8:30-10:30 am. See the image below for the transportation information. Families of new students are welcome to attend our family orientation from 8:30-9:30 the same morning.
NOTE: The bus information below does not include the regular bus assignments for the school year. You should receive an email from Transportation with your student's bus route information in the upcoming week.
Staffing Update
I am very happy to let you know that we have secured teachers for the Science and Family and Consumer Sciences teacher vacancies that I mentioned to you all last week! While they are processed with Human Resources, we have secured long-term substitutes for both classrooms to ensure students have someone to welcome them on the first days of school.
Unfortunately, one of our Special Education History teachers who has been at Holmes for a few years resigned this past week, so we are in search of one more teacher to make our staff complete. I will keep you updated!
Remember that FCPS needs teachers, counselors, bus drivers, substitutes, student monitors, etc. If you know of someone who is looking for work, please send them to explore our Career Opportunities.
Holmes Behavior Matrix
Each year, as part of our introductory lessons with students, we explicitly teach and reinforce our Holmes Behavior Matrix, which clearly states our expectations for behavior at school. It is anchored in 3 of the IB Learner Profile Traits - Caring, Principled, Thinkers - and highlights what appropriate behavior looks like in different settings. Each student will receive a copy on the first day of school, and it will be posted in classrooms and throughout the school. Please take the time to review these expectations with your students to help us ensure we have a safe school environment that is conducive to learning.
Cell Phones Away for the Day
One piece from the behavior matrix that I want to highlight is that all students' cell phones and earbuds should be Away for the Day from 7:25 am to 2:15 pm. "Away for the Day" means the phones and earbuds need to be in lockers or backpacks, not in pockets. This is part of the new language adopted by the School Board in the Student Rights and Responsibilities. For more information about the benefits of students having their phones Away for the Day, check out this site.
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IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Laptops
Students will receive their laptops on the first day of school, but we learned this past week that many students have not returned their laptops to their elementary schools. Students who still need to turn their laptops into their elementary school WILL NOT be able to receive a laptop from Holmes. Please turn your student's laptop in as soon as possible to ensure they have what they need on their first day of school at Holmes.
School Supplies (the list is short!)
At Holmes, we supply each student with a laptop, a charger, earbuds, a 3-ring binder, and a set of dividers. For 6th graders and other new students, we have a few more basic school supplies that we are also able to provide. Check out our supply list HERE.
HOLMES UPDATES
Here are today's newsletter topics:
Holmes Updates
- Student Services Information
- 2022-23 Blue/White Schedule
- 2022-23 Bell Schedule
- Apply for Free & Reduced Meals
- Required Immunizations for School
- Important Upcoming Dates
- How to Stay Connected to Holmes MS
FCPS & Community Updates
- School-Required Vaccinations For Free
- Annandale Family & Community Night - 8/19
- Say Yes to FCPS Food & Nutrition Services
- Consider joining Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services Team
- Stay Connected with FCPS
Please feel free to reach out and let us know what questions you have. Thank you, and we'll see you very soon!
Sincerely,
Margaret Barnes
Proud Principal, Holmes MS
Student Services Information
2022-23 Blue/White Calendar
Most classes at Holmes are 85-90 minutes blocks. Blue days are odd periods, and White days are even periods. This calendar will also be posted to the website, and each student will receive a copy on the first day of school.
UPDATE: This week, we caught a mistake in our blue-white calendar for the week of February 27th. We will be sure to update you about those changes as we approach those dates.
2022-23 Bell Schedule
This bell schedule is different from the 2021-22 school year. Periods 3 and 4 will meet every day. Periods 1, 5, and 7 will only meet on blue days, and periods 2, 6, and 8 will meet on White Days. This will be posted to the website, and each student will receive a copy on the first day of school.
Apply for Free & Reduced Meals
All students will have to pay for breakfast and lunch this year unless they qualify for free and reduced meals.
Families will need to apply for free and reduced-price meals, which they have not had to do since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
- Online applications are now available.
- Paper applications will be available at schools (except ones designated as a CEP school) at a date to be determined.
- Approved FRM eligibility letters may also be used to provide additional benefits.
- Please know that we will not share your data or personal information with anyone else. See FCPS’ Trust Policy.
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When applying for FRM, don't forget to complete the "Consent to Share"
The Consent to Share Information Letter informs parents that their children may be eligible to participate in several fee-based programs (art, music, Family & Consumer Sciences, etc.) at either no cost or a reduced cost, if they participate in the Free and Reduced-price meals program, and provide a consent to share information form.
Some students are directly certified (i.e. Medicaid recipients) as receiving Free and Reduced-Price Meals. Even though they do not need to submit a Free and Reduced-Price Meals application, they will need to submit the Consent to Share Information form to be eligible for additional benefits.
The FRM application also includes a section with the Consent to Share information for other programs. If section four of the application is completed, the Consent to Share Information form does not need to be filled out.
Required Immunizations for School
All students need to have all of their required immunizations to attend school this year. All students are required to be immunized against certain communicable diseases to attend school in the state of Virginia. It is important for all students to receive the required immunizations.
Please talk with your family health care provider about whether or not your children are up to date on their vaccines before the new school year begins. Submit updated immunization records to Holmes as soon as possible by bringing them into the main office or scanning and sending a copy of the immunizations to Wendy Alfaro at @email.
More information on immunization requirements and the necessary documentation is available online.
Important Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday, 8/17, 5:00-7:00 PM - Open House (welcome to all students and their families)
- Thursday, 8/18, 8:30-10:30 AM - Jumpstart Orientation for all 6th graders and 7th and 8th grade students who are new to Holmes. Transportation will be available (more details to come at a later date).
- Thursday, 8/18, 8:30-9:30 AM - New Holmes Family Orientation for families of 6th graders and 7th/8th graders who are new to Holmes
- Monday 8/22 - First Day of 2022-2023 School Year
- Tuesday, 8/30, 5-8:30 PM - Back to School Night (welcome to all families)
- Friday, 9/2 & Monday, 9/5 - NO SCHOOL / Labor Day Holiday
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
FCPS & COMMUNITY UPDATES
School-Required Vaccinations For Free
Annandale Family & Community Night - 8/19
Say YES to FCPS Food and Nutrition Services
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