THOREAU MATTERS...Help is needed for the Thoreau Garden . The Garden Committee meets on Wednesday...
Transcript of THOREAU MATTERS...Help is needed for the Thoreau Garden . The Garden Committee meets on Wednesday...
September 14, 2017 Volume 5 Issue 2
Thoreau Matters is published every two weeks by the Thoreau Administration and the PTA
to inform the community of important information about school life at Thoreau Middle School.
THOREAU MATTERS
Dear Thoreau Community:
It was wonderful to see hundreds and hundreds of
parents at Back-to-School Night last Wednesday. I
realize it was a rainy evening so I wanted to extend my
appreciation to those parents who were able to make it
to meet our dedicated teachers and staff. For those
parents not able to attend, here is the YouTube video of
the Thoreau administration and PTA president
welcoming our parents back to the new school year.
As I did last year in my Thoreau Matters messages, I will
continue to update you on instructional initiatives that
are multi-year focal points for our school. These items
include 1) block scheduling, 2) project-based learning,
and 3) our executive functioning program known as Steps to Success. We started these initiatives last year and we are
in our 2nd year of implementing each of them. I would use this forum last year to update the community regarding our
progress in each of these areas and I will continue to do the same this year. Instruction is at the core of what we do and
I hope you will find my brief updates in Thoreau Matters to be useful in staying informed as to what is going on at
Thoreau from a school-wide perspective.
Finally, Eagle Time has started and it is a daily 40-minute period for all of our students. It is listed as 4th and 5th periods
on the students’ schedules. Eagle Time is used for five main reasons:
1. Intervention (teachers helping students who are struggling along the way)
2. Remediation (teachers going back to reteach students who did not meet learning standards)
3. Organization (students organizing their binders, notebooks, lockers, etc.)
4. Work Completion (students completing assignments, making up assessments, etc.)
5. Enrichment (students extending their learning)
A good question for a Thoreau parent or teacher to ask a student is, “How did you use Eagle Time
today?” With 200 available minutes at our students’ disposal each full week, Eagle Time is the
perfect opportunity for students to keep up with their academics, get extra support and/or move
ahead in their learning.
Sincerely,
Yusef Azimi
STUDENT INFORMATION
SYSTEM (SIS) 2
EXCEPTIONAL MILITARY
FAMILIES SUMMIT 2
MENTAL HEALTH AND
WELLNESS CONFERENCE 2
CREDIT EXAM FOR
WORLD LANGUAGES 3
THOREAU YEARBOOK 3
THOREAU LETTER AWARD 3
NEWS/NOTEWORTHY 4
PTA NEWS 4
MESSAGE FROM MR. AZIMI
Inside this issue:
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
School Planning Day (Student Holiday) - Friday, September 22nd
First Day of After-School Programs and Late Buses - Monday, September 25th
Columbus Day Holiday - Monday, October 9th
THOREAU MATTERS
Page 2
The FCPS Parent Resource Center will host an Exceptional
Military Families Summit on Saturday, September 16th from
9:00AM to 1:30PM at Mount Vernon High School. This
event is for military families who have children with special
needs.
Staff members from the FCPS Department of Special
Services along with school liaison officers from Fort
Belvoir will present important information in order to
support parents’ understanding and navigation of
services provided for special education students in
FCPS. Exhibitors from FCPS along with local military
organizations will provide additional information and
resources. Register for this event on the Parent Resource
Center website.
The fourth annual FCPS Mental Health and Wellness
Conference will be held on Saturday, October 21st
from 8:00AM to 1:45PM at Fairfax High School.
FCPS Superintendent of Schools Scott Brabrand will
open the conference, and Dr. Jonathan Dalton, found-
er of the Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change,
will be the keynote speaker.
Participants in this conference will be able to choose
from over 50 breakout sessions. There will be many
resource tables available representing public and
private offices and agencies providing services within
our schools and community. More information, includ-
ing registration information and conference website
address, will be available on the website soon.
Student Information System (SIS) Parents, have you created your SIS ParentVUE account? ParentVUE provides you with the following information:
Attendance
Class Schedule
Discipline
Grade Book
Health Information
Weekly Progress Reports
Once you have created your ParentVUE account, your username and
password will also get you into your FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard)
account. This account provides you with the following information:
Access homework and classroom assignments
Access various tools designed to facilitate student learning and
communication between students, parents, and staff
Explore links to enrichment activities
Update emergency contact information
View class calendars
There is a mobile app for ParentVUE. Click here for more information. If
you are having issues getting started, please contact Thoreau’s main
office at 703-846-8000 for help.
SIS StudentVUE - Every FCPS middle and high school student has access
to their own StudentVUE account. StudentVUE allows students to view
their attendance, class schedule, course history, grade book, report card,
and link to their FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard) account.
There is also a mobile app for StudentVUE so that students can access
their school information on their mobile devices.
Exceptional Military Families Summit Mental Health and Wellness Conference
Paren
tVUE
Studen
tVUE
Mr. Ulderich (above) and Ms. Sliter
(below) working with their students.
Volume 5 Issue 2
Page 3
The Credit Exam for World Languages is designed to
assess students’ native language proficiency and enable
them to earn one or two credits toward fulfilling the world
languages requirement for the Advanced Studies Diploma.
The 2017 Credit Exam for World Languages will be
administered on November 1st, 2nd, and 8th. Twenty-six
languages will be included: American Sign Language,
Amharic, Arabic, Bengali/Bangla, Chinese/Mandarin,
Farsi/Persian, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit/
Samskritam, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog/Pilipino, Tamil,
Telugu, Tigrinia, Twi, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
School counselors will register students at their individual
schools. Registration opened on Monday, September 11th
and will close on Wednesday, October 11th at 4:00PM. Late
registrations will not be accepted. Credit exam information
can be accessed here. For more information, parents can
contact their child’s counselor.
Credit exam dates, times and testing sites:
Madison HS - Wednesday, November 1st at 4:00 PM
West Potomac HS - Thursday, November 2nd at 4:00 PM
Falls Church HS - Wednesday, November 8th at 4:00 PM
Credit Exam for World Languages
Thoreau Yearbook!
The Thoreau yearbook is the cheapest it will be all year -
only $30 through Tuesday, October 31st! Yearbooks can
be purchased online through MySchoolBucks. If you have
questions, please contact Ms. Benzion, yearbook sponsor,
The Thoreau Letter will be awarded at the end of the school year based on participation and
accomplishments in the following areas:
Academic recognition
Service to the community
Extracurricular activities
Students will accumulate points for activities and honors throughout the school year, and must have a total of 200 points in order to be awarded the Thoreau Letter at the end-of-year
awards ceremony.
Applications are available in the
Student Services Office.
Thoreau Letter Award
Thoreau students at
work in class this week.
Page 4
Volume 5 Issue 2
Thoreau Matters is
published every two weeks
by the Thoreau
Administration and the PTA
to inform the community of
important information
about school life at
Thoreau Middle School.
Main Office: 703-846-8000
Attendance: 703-846-8080
Thoreau Website:
www.fcps.edu/ThoreauMS
PTA Website:
www.ThoreauPTA.org
News/Noteworthy
Kiss and Ride Reminders - Vehicles should pull forward as far as possible in the
designated Kiss and Ride lane before loading and unloading.
Is Your Current Address Correct? If you have moved to a new location within the Thoreau
boundary, documentation must be submitted to the school in order for your address to
be updated in the FCPS Student Information System (SIS). Please provide a copy of your
new deed or lease to Thoreau registrar Denise Schwandt at [email protected]. Do
you have children in elementary or high school? Let us know and we will forward the
documentation to those schools. It is important that we have your current address as US
mail from FCPS and Thoreau is not forwarded.
Vienna Community Center Grand Opening and Open House - The grand opening
ceremony and celebration for the renovated Vienna Community Center will take place on
Saturday, September 23rd from 1:00PM-5:00PM. There will be building tours, camp and
class demonstrations, and giveaways. Visit www.viennava.gov for more information.
Navy Federal Credit Union 5K - The 25th
annual Navy Federal Credit Union 5K Run/
Walk will take place on Saturday, September
30th at 9:00AM. The race is held to bring the
community together to raise money for those
in need but also to promote physical activity and health. The race supports the
Committee for Helping Others, which is an all-volunteer organization that helps those in
need in the surrounding communities. For more information and to register, click here.
PTA NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our first PTA meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 19th from 9:30AM-10:30AM in Eagle Hall where we will
discuss plans for the school year and vote on the 2017-2018 PTA budget. Our next PTA meeting will be held on
Tuesday, October 17th at 7:00PM and will also feature educational consultant Ann Dolin.
SAVE the DATE! The annual 7th Grade Family Dinner will be held on Wednesday, November 15th!
Current open PTA board positions for 2017-2018 include: Garden (chair, co-chairs or committee members), Thoreau
Auction (committee members), School Directory, and Thoreau liaison to FCPS and FCCPTA. Please let PTA President
Beth Eachus know if you have any interest in the open positions or know someone who might!
Volunteers are needed for the Thoreau School Store! Please see this schedule to sign-up through December 2017. The
School Store provides a service to our students and raises funds for the school so your help is greatly appreciated. Huge
thanks to school store chairs Tana Keeffe and Negin Dehn for all of their efforts!
Help is needed for the Thoreau Garden. The Garden Committee meets on Wednesday mornings from 10:00AM-11:30AM
and then often go out to lunch. They focus on weeding, planting flowers, feeding both land and water turtles and fish,
caring for the pond, filling bird feeders, moving plants, building walkways. Come join them!
Thoreau spirit wear is available online! Wear your Blue and Gold and show your Golden Eagle pride! If you are interested
in purchasing Thoreau spirit wear, please use this link at https://athleticunion.com/thoreau/. All purchases are made
online and will be delivered straight to your door! Thank you to Natacha Moore and Talene Lanuza Staab for
volunteering to chair spirit wear!
Sincerely,
Beth Eachus