simpson middle school - loudoun county public schools · the last day of the second quarter is...
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Simpson Middle School
J. L. Simpson Middle School 490 Evergreen Mill Road Leesburg, VA 20175
Principal: Mr. Runfola
Assistant Principals: Ms. Todd Ms. Smith
Deans:
6th Grade Mr. Fritz 7th Grade Ms. Loiselle 8th Grade Ms. Lindsay-Law
Guidance Counselors: 6th Grade Ms. McKean 7th Grade Ms. Nameth 8th Grade Ms. Jeane
School Resource Officer:
Officer Pearson
Contact Information
Main Office (571) 252-2840 Absentee Line (571) 252-2842 Cafeteria (571) 252-2843 Fax (703) 771-6643 School Hours: 8:40 AM– 3:28 PM
www.lcps.org/jlsms
In this Month’s Issue:
Note from the Principal 1 PTO President’s Letter 2 PTO Calendar of Events 2 FLE News 3 Counselor’s Corner 4 School News 5
January 2014
Dear Parents and Students:
Happy New Year to all of you as we welcome in 2014! I hope the winter break and holiday gave all of you time to reflect, relax and re-energize for the important work ahead.
As we all set personal goals, I look forward to our opportunity to help our children make the most of the remainder of this school year.
The last day of the second quarter is Friday, January 24th
. 8th grade students in grade level classes will be taking a summative semester or quarterly assessment worth a test grade that will be applied to the second quarter average. Starting last year, mid-term exams that count one-seventh of the semester average were eliminated in lieu of the summative assessment previously mentioned. Students taking high school credited classes will take the traditional semester mid-term exam worth one-fifth (or twenty percent) of the semester average.
Our exam schedule begins on a “B day” this year beginning Monday, January 14th and ending on Thursday, January 17th
.
Tuesday January 21 B day Exams 6 and 5
Wednesday January 22 A day Exams 1 and 2
Thursday January 23 B day Exams 7 and 8
Friday January 24 A day Exams 3 and 4
Monday January 27 Student Holiday – Teacher Work Day
Report cards come home with students on Wednesday, February 5th
.
I am looking forward to the 6th grade band concerts this month. They’ve been working hard so let’s pack the auditorium with friends and family to watch our kids perform.
The third quarter begins on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, and this will be a “B” day. Remember, you can always check our website to see if it is an “A or B” day. Don’t forget that Monday, January 27, 2014 is a student holiday-teacher work day.
December 2013 was quite eventful and I enjoyed seeing so many of you at our concerts. The chorus and bands did a truly fantastic job! I hope everyone enjoyed the winter assemblies and special thanks to the LCHS music department for joining us on December 21
st. LCHS students performed for our 8
th graders and it was a wonderful treat. We especially enjoyed seeing so many of our former
students sharing terrific stories about high school.
Also, our school community collected many coats for charity in November and did an impressive job collecting books and toys in December! Thank you to Mrs. Herrin, the SCA, and all of our students for your outstanding service to the community.
I am happy to report that all of our efforts in 2013 paid off. Academic achievement is the priority and the climate is positive. I am confident that we will make 2014 our best year ever. Thank you for your continued support as we work together for our students!
Again, Happy New Year! I wish you and your family the best throughout 2014.
Sincerely,
Chad D. Runfola Principal
Jan. 2014 Note from the Principal Pg. 1
Hello Simpson Families,
Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing winter break and time with your family. Right before the break, the PTO helped celebrate our wonderful Simpson staff with baked cookies in each house and a holiday meal for our dedicated custodial staff. I hear the cookies were very much appreciated
Thanks again to Ainsly Rogers and Jen Appel for organizing the 8
th Grade Dodgeball event! Thanks to these ladies, countless
volunteers, and the iLead Club concession crew, everyone had a great time at this event. Thanks again to everyone who helped make it happen!
January is a relatively quiet month for the PTO. We only have one major event planned, our fourth annual “Simpson’s Got
Talent” show on Friday, January 17th
at 7pm. Dena Yeary and Evelyn Sullivan are organizing the event this year. They and their team of volunteers will make sure the show goes off without a hitch, so please make plans to join us for a fantastic evening! Our students have many wonderful talents to share and there is a great show planned for you! Just like last year, we will be selling tickets for this event. Look for more information to come home about this soon. For questions, or if you can volunteer to assist with the event, please contact Dena Yeary at [email protected].
Our Staff Appreciation committee is working on a luncheon for the staff. Please consider making a donation to January's
"soup lunch" that the PTO will be providing for the staff. Soups will need to be delivered in Crock Pots that will also need to be picked up at end of day. This is a very popular lunch that teachers look forward to, but one of the most challenging to get volunteers for! If you are not on the Staff Appreciation contact list and are interested in supplying a soup to help this month, please contact Jen Luzier at [email protected] for more information. Thank you for your help with this great event!!!
As I said in our December newsletter, we are truly fortunate that many of our PTO committee chairmen and officers have diligently served in their positions for multiple years. I certainly appreciate their knowledge and expertise, and it helps make things run very smoothly! However, many of these parents have children moving on to high school next year, so we are beginning the search now for “new blood”. If you have any interest in serving as a PTO committee chairman or officer next school year, please let us know! The more information we can share now, the easier the transition will be next year.
We are always looking for more volunteers to assist with PTO projects and various school activities. Right now, we are
looking for someone to co-chair the Summer Send-Off event at the end of the year. If you are willing or able, please let me know! We are also looking for volunteers to help with Summer Send-Off. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Julie Odenwaldt at [email protected]. As always, if you would like to volunteer in any capacity with the PTO, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Sonya Connors, at [email protected].
I look forward to seeing you at our January PTO meeting, scheduled for Monday, January 13th
at 7:00pm in the Simpson Library! Please feel free to join us! Kim D. Berkey PTO President [email protected]
PTO Calendar of Events January 13 – PTO Meeting (7pm in the Simpson Library) January 15 – Market Day Pick-up (5:15-6:15pm in the Cafeteria) January 17 – Simpson’s Got Talent (7:00pm in the Auditorium) February 10 – PTO Meeting (7:00pm in the Simpson Library) February 12 – Market Day Pick-up (5:15-6:15pm in the Cafeteria) February 21 – Simpson Night at Ashburn Ice House (7:30-9:00pm)
Jan. 2014 PTO President’s Letter Pg. 2
Family Life Education (FLE) Who? ... What? ... When?
The Family Life Education classes will be starting on February 11th at J. L. Simpson Middle School. To find out more about the FLE teacher, Dana Clark, and information concerning this subject, just click on Staff on the school website (http://www.lcps.org/jlsms) and then click on Clark, D. This will take you directly to the FLE page. By simply clicking on School's FLE Schedule (in the column to the left), you will be sent to a calendar section where you can find when the students for each Health/PE teacher will be having FLE instruction. There may be reasons for the schedule to change (i.e. school closings, teacher illness, etc.), but any changes will be reflected at this calendar site.
Even though OPT-OUT FORMS were due on September 13th, a parent/guardian may at any point decide to opt their child out of the program … or certain SOLs. The opposite is, also, true. Should someone decide that they want their child opted back in, a note from home making this request (with student’s name, statement of intent, and parent’s/guardian’s signature) is all that is needed. Phone calls will not be sufficient.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Ms. Clark by clicking on Email me at the bottom of her homepage. She would be more than happy to hear from you and wants to know that parents feel informed and comfortable about what is taking place in the FLE classroom.
Jan. 2014 FLE Pg. 3
Counselors: Sabrina Jeane, 8th Grade Counselor; [email protected] Marianne Nameth, 7th Grade Counselor; [email protected] Eveanne McKean, 6th Grade Counselor; [email protected]
Parent Tea and Talks
Please join the Office of School Counseling for our Tea & Talk series held in the library from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. The fourth Tea & Talk is planned for Friday, January 10th for 6th and 7th grade parents only as we will discuss course selection for 2014-2015 school year. Eighth Graders Interested in Applying to High School Specialty Programs Academy of Science Information: For additional information about the AOS program, please go to http://www.lcps.org/Page/35951 Jan. 3, 2014 Deadline to submit Part II of AOS application 11:59 pm Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology: Go to http://www.tjhsst.edu/abouttj/admissions/ for information on the TJHSST admissions process. Jan. 17, 2014 Semifinalist Notification posted on online portal Jan. 24, 2014 Teacher Recommendation Information Deadline Jan. 25, 2014 Essay/SIS Administration day for (Semifinalist only) Check out the J.L. Simpson’s guidance webpage at http://www.lcps.org//Domain/2639 Mrs. Jeane, Mrs. Nameth and Mrs. McKean have all started small groups this quarter and will continue into 3rd quarter.
We wish you a happy & healthy New Year!!!!
Jan. 2014 Counselor’s Corner Pg. 4
News from the LIBRARY~
Happy Holidays to all the Simpson families! We are so happy to be celebrating this season with your children!
We just wrapped up our Winter Scholastic Book Fair! We would like to thank Sonya Connors for arranging all our
volunteers that helped to make the fair a success!
to
Beth Stowell Kimberly Underhill
Martina Burke Sarah Hutchinson Fiona Ahrweiler
Lisa Hamilton Elena Mussari-Fugate
Megan Curtin Betsy Huie
Kerry Thomas and
Kayla Smith (Mrs. Smith’s wonderful daughter )
Just a reminder – Overdue notices were sent out through the Homeroom Teachers when report cards were distributed. Since then, additional overdue notices have been sent out through the English teachers. Please
encourage your child to bring books back as soon as they finish reading them. Often, the books that are overdue have “holds” on them (students are on a waiting list to check out the book). We would love to give
every student the opportunity to read the books they’re waiting for!
Mrs. Kennedy and Miss Yorkshire
Jan. 2014 School News Pg. 1
The Simpson Spelling Bee January 29, 2014
Simpson Middle School Library 6th Grade- 9:00 a.m. 7th Grade- 10:15 a.m. 8th Grade- 11:30 a.m.
Congratulations to the top spellers in each grade! Those students are
invited to compete in the Simpson Spelling Bee on Wednesday, January 29,
2014. Parents and guardians of the participants are encouraged to attend.
The three grade-level winners of this bee will move on to represent Simpson
Middle School in the Loudoun Regional Spelling Bee on March 6, 2014.
Social Studies This month Social Studies students will be studying the various reforms of the Progressive Movement. They will examine how these reforms addressed the issues created from the rapid increase in immigration, urbanization, and industrialization. Once students have completed this unit they will begin their study of the Spanish American War and how America rose to become a World Power.
Jan. 2014 School News Cont. Pg. 1
Simpson Top Spellers
Simpson Spelling Bee – January 29, 2014
Sixth Grade Seventh Grade Eighth Grade Ameer Ahmed Nick Cheshire Grace Curtin Jack Dunleavy Sirra Faal Marjon Ganjriz Lauren Jackson Rebecca Kauffman Sofia Kazmierczak Olivia Mallow Bauer Morrissey Jamie Pantas Truc Pham Carla Ravelo Erik Robbins Holden Shea Amber Trinh Lorelei Villaflor Claire Wigglesworth
Tomek Anbers Rachel Battiston George Burue Evan Crowe John Cullen Smith Drupa Jesse Gallo David Gragan Megan Hardman Caroline Hronik Ellen Jones Andy Lopez Erin Messner Ally Milder Connor Moon Yvan Nguimdoh Ryan Robinson Nathan Rodriguez Tommy Sheedy Sally Stimpson Michael Tozer Keeyan Tran Annalise Tucker Elliot Underhill Nicholas Wu
Aemu Anteneh Cameron Bonck Natalie Booker Ally Branch Kat Chaney Erin Christoph Garret Conklin Hannah Debnam Steve Figueroa Megan Grimes Alexis Huber Anna Huffman Allison LaPlaine Tucker Lebor John Ortman Veer Patel Cady Rombach Logan Snyder Carson Stillman Kimmy Swift Ryan Thomas Andersen Vaughan Corwin Warner Ryan Wigglesworth Caleb Wiliams Qualan Woodard Marina Yeary Danielle Zambito Zoe Zelsdorf
Jan. 2014 School News Cont. Pg. 1
Congratulations to all of our students who competed in our annual National Geographic Geography Bee. A Semi-Final Run-off was held December 12th. Each Semi-Finalist received a certificate and is to be commended on their effort. The following eight students will be competing in our Final Geography Bee, being held Friday, January 10th at 8:45, in the Library.
Grace Curtin Ryan Donnelly Smith Drupa Sean Fitzpatrick Ketaki Kulkarni Jessilla Phou Nathan Rodriguez Ryan Wigglesworth
Jan. 2014 School News Cont. Pg. 1
Campus is a high school program which gives
additional support for students to stay college focused. To learn more about it check out the school counseling web page and the Campus link. There will be countywide Parent Information Night at Harper Park Middle School on Thursday February 13th from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the auditorium. This program is open to eighth graders only applications will be posted online. Email Mrs. Jeane if you have any questions.
Jan. 2014 School News Cont. Pg. 1
Sign up for 8th Grade FACS!
7th grade students will soon have the opportunity to sign up for their 8th grade courses with the counselor. The 8th grade FACS class is available full and half year, so students can take additional electives if they are torn between this and other courses that are available half year as well.
The 8th grade FACS curriculum covers 20 different topics relating to life skills for the 21st century. In FACS classes, students develop knowledge and skills in: individual, child, and family development; nutrition and food science; clothing and textiles; living environments (housing and interior design); and, resource and time management. Mrs. Allen knows how much students want to be in the kitchen lab, so every unit of study has at least one kitchen lab where students cook and eat!
In addition, other fun 8th grade FACS activities include:
Cook and participate in the faculty Thanksgiving Feast Extra cooking labs during the Nutrition Unit Extra cooking labs during the Family Unit Sewing Pajama Pants in the Sewing Unit Extra cooking labs during the Baking Unit
A former slogan for FACS was, “If you don’t pass FACS, you may not pass life.” FACS courses prepare students for their current and future roles as individuals, family members, and members of society. Please discuss class choices with your child and encourage them to sign up for 8th grade FACS (Teen Living) class. Mrs. Allen looks forward to seeing you next year!
Jan. 2014 School News Cont. Pg. 1