Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1 | P a g e
O
Simpson Middle School
J. L. Simpson Middle School
490 Evergreen Mill Road
Leesburg, VA 20175
Principal: Chad Runfola
Assistant Principals: Katrina Smith Tina Todd
Deans: Michele Loiselle Jonathan Bonner
Guidance Counselors: 6th Grade Marianne Nameth 7th Grade Sabrina Jeane 8th Grade Eveanne McKean
School Resource Officer:
Matt Bennett
Contact Information
Main Office (571) 252-2840 House A (571) 252-2848 House B (571) 252-2847 House C (571) 252-2846 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 2 To the Class of 2020 4 Calendar of Upcoming Events 5 PTO President’s Letter 6 PTO Calendar 7 Counselor’s Corner 8 School News 9 SOL Testing Calendar 11
May/June 2016
2 | P a g e
Principal’s Note May 2016 Dear Parents & Students: I look forward to the important work ahead as we make a big effort to do our best as summer approaches! I’d like to congratulate the 69 band students who earned either a Superior or Excellent rating at the VDOE District 16 Solo & Ensemble on Saturday, April 23. Jazz Way to go to Sophia Macchiarolo, Lily Takemoto, and Katie Manson along with Choral Director Chelsea Curtis! These students were named to the All State Chorus Ensemble. They performed in Virginia Beach on Saturday, April 30 with students from all over Virginia. Oliver Olsen, Nick Cheshire, and Matthew Booker were named to the All District Jazz Band and performed at Briar Woods High School on Saturday, April 30th. Great job gentlemen! Congrats to Mrs. Paquette and to our jazz bands for their superior and excellent ratings at district assessment on Friday, April 29th. Jazz Band 1 took top honors as Best District Jazz Band. These kids can play! We’re proud of you. Our musical ensembles will compete at Hershey Park on May 6th. Good luck to 8th grade band, chorus, guitar, orchestra and select chorus! My sincere congratulations to the cast & crew of “Peter Pan, Jr.” For all of us who attended, we were certainly treated to an outstanding performance! I’d like to especially thank our director Karla Louis as well as all the staff and parents who helped make it possible. The hard work began in February and it proved worthwhile as our students made the most of this opportunity. Great job to all the kids! May and June are filled with end of year music concerts and assemblies. I am looking forward to these final activities and the culmination of their practice and hard work. May 2nd marks the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week. The work in the classroom is the most important work. The profession of teaching makes everything around us possible. I hope you take a moment during this week to say thank you to someone on the Simpson faculty who has helped your child. We begin SOL testing this May and students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will have assessments beginning May 16th. We test grades 6, 7, & 8 in reading and math while 8th graders also take history and science. It will be very important for students to attend regularly throughout the month as teachers begin their reviews and make the final push towards preparing your child for these assessments. A passing score is 400 or higher. Students who score between 375 & 399 are eligible for a test retake. If your child is eligible for a retake, you will receive information from us and I hope you will encourage your child to give it another try. We are accepting Nutragrain bar donations as we help feed our students throughout the SOL testing window. A box is outside the main office and thank you in advance for your donation.
3 | P a g e
Principal’s Note April 2016 Cont. Interim reminder to Parent Vue & Student Vue users, May 16th is a good time for an academic update. As always, contact your child’s teachers with questions or concerns and if a meeting is needed with several teachers, then contact your child’s school guidance counselor. Monday, May 30 is a holiday in observation of Memorial Day and June really is right around the corner. We will be posting the 2016-17 school supply list on our website in June. Please be the lookout for report cards, SOL test results along with other materials which will be mailed home on Monday, June 20th. Thank you for your continued support as we bring to a close this school year. My special thanks to the PTO and all of the volunteers who have done a great deal keeping our school spirit high by providing lots of support! The volunteers make it possible to give our kids a variety of special activities throughout the year. They help with everything from copying to providing special lunches and treats for the staff. All of us applaud you, the parents, for everything you have done for us throughout the year! I treasure the memories from our 8th graders and let me add, CONGRATULATIONS! I hope high school is the best four years of your life. I am extremely proud of all that has been accomplished and working together has made the difference. Although raising children and educating our youth has its challenges, the rewards make it all worthwhile. I hope every student can say this has been their best year ever! I wish all of you a happy and safe summer! Sincerely, Chad D. Runfola Principal
Reminder – There are NO final exams this year.
4 | P a g e
Dear Class of 2020: The next four years will bring many challenges and many chances to do your best. A little advice:
Be kind to one another and take care of your fellow classmates & LCHS!
Be safe and avoid the risky behaviors that can take you off course from fulfilling your potential!
Work hard and open doors to your future! Most of you are joining a high school with the richest traditions in all of Loudoun County. It will be your responsibility to maintain its’ reputation for excellence by doing your best. I want to hear and read about your future accomplishments. Thank you for the wonderful memories! It has been my privilege to be your principal and to walk with you through middle school. Sincerely, Chad D. Runfola Principal
5 | P a g e
Calendar of Upcoming Events
May 2 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 13 8th Grade Dance
May 16 Interims
May 16 SOL Testing begins
May 17 6th Grade Orchestra Concert
May 19 7th Grade Band Concert
May 30 Memorial Day Holiday, no school
May 31 7th & 8th Grade Orchestra Concert
June 1 All JLSMS Chorus Concerts at LCHS
June 2 8th Grade Band and Jazz Bands Concert
June 9 6th Grade Bands Concert
June 13 Last 5th Grade Band Clinic
June 14 Last Day of School!
6 | P a g e
PTO President’s Letter Hello Simpson Families,
As we are closing in on summer, May and June will be a busy time for the PTO as we wrap-up things for this school year with some of our favorite end of year events! During May and early June, we have some big events in the works – Teacher Appreciation Week, the 8th Grade Dance, and Summer Send-Off. Please see more details about these events below.
First, thanks to everyone who participated in the Simpson Stampede 5K at Bolen Park to help raise funds to build a much-needed track for the school! As chairperson, Amy Kemon did an awesome job getting great sponsorship for this event.
The week of May 2nd - 6th we will celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. The PTO has something planned for our wonderful Simpson staff each day this week! If you would like to be involved with it, please contact our Staff Appreciation Chairman, Kate Warren, at [email protected].
Calling all 8th graders! The Simpson PTO will continue the tradition of sponsoring the 8th Grade Dance. This year’s 8th Grade Dance will be on Friday, May 13th at 7:00 PM in the Simpson Auxiliary Gym. This event is a semi-formal. Please look for more information at our PTO website http://www.lcps.org/domain/2765 for the Flyer and Sign up to volunteer for this event! A big thank you to Karen Balac for organizing this event for our eighth graders! If you can volunteer to assist with this event and/or for food donations please contact Karen at [email protected]. The sign up link is http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b45afaf23a75-8thgrade
Please make plans early for your child to join us at the Summer Send-Off event. This is sure to be a fantastic night for the students! This event is scheduled for Friday, June 10th (7-9 PM). Our event chairman, Chris Abbott, is planning for a great night of fun for everyone! Please look for more information to come home with your child soon. We will need many volunteers to help make this run smoothly, so if you can volunteer to assist with Summer Send-Off, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Lucey, at [email protected].
We would love to get some new parents involved with the PTO! Simpson has some wonderful events that have become traditions for our school, but they can only happen each year through the work of the dedicated PTO volunteers. At this point, we need some new faces with helping hands. We are particularly seeking parents interested in the positions of secretary and volunteer coordinator. Please consider one of these important roles! If you are interested in serving or know someone who is, please let our nominating committee Chairperson Christine Gherst at [email protected] know. Nomination information and forms are available on the PTO section of the Simpson webpage. All nomination forms are due by Friday, May 6th. We are always on the lookout for new volunteers! If you would like to volunteer in any capacity with the PTO, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Lucey, at [email protected] or me at the email listed below. We look forward to seeing you at our May PTO meeting, scheduled on Monday, May 9th at 6:30 pm in the Simpson Library. Please plan to join us! Raj Daniel, PTO President [email protected]
7 | P a g e
PTO Calendar PTO Calendar of Events May 2-6 Staff Appreciation Week Gift Card Donations May 9 PTO Meeting 6:30pm May 13 8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance May 30 No School--Memorial Day June 10 Summer Send-Off June 13 PTO Meeting 6:30pm June 13 Staff Appreciation Bus Driver Treats June 14 6th Grade Field Day School Event June 14 Last Day of School June 15 Staff Appreciation Teacher Luncheon
8 | P a g e
May Counselors Corner
May 13- AET offer letters will be sent to 8th grade students who were accepted into the AET program. Mid May- Campus acceptance letters will be sent to 8th grade students. Seventh graders interested in applying to Thomas Jefferson High School in the fall please view their website, www.tjadmissions.org for additional information. At this time, counseling groups are still running. For topic specific information contact your child’s counselor. We are wrapping up course request changes for more information on the process check out http:// lcps.org/Page/20564. To request any schedule change for the fall please send a note with the proposed change and a parent signature to your child’s counselor ASAP. For parents interested in finding tutors or summer programs please check out the school counseling web page for Parent Resources link or the link Summer 2016 on Simpson’s main web page. Loudoun County's PRCS summer camps registration is underway. For additional information on our Counselors and events please visit their webpage. May is mental health awareness month, for extra resources on free lectures check out our Parent Resources and Summer Programs page on the. The Summer Recovery Program at Simpson will start July 5, 2016, students will be invited to attend this program by his or her counselor soon. Students eligible for the program will receive letters from his or her counselor soon. Students attending Virtual Loudoun Courses should see his or her counselor, registration ends May 20, 2016.
Village Wellness Center is sponsoring a presentation by Dr. John Walker at Frying Pan Park on Sat, May 28Mindful Parenting: Navigating the Precarious Road Through Middle and High School Years. Please feel free to share with colleagues and parents.
9 | P a g e
School News
News from the Library!
End of year BOOK EXCHANGE o To be held last week of school in the library - June 6 - 10
o Students will exchange "book for book"
If you bring in one book, you take one book, if you bring in two, you take two, etc...
o Books need to be in "gently used" condition
o Books must be of interest to middle school students
o Bring books in anytime between now and June 3rd
Overdue Books
o All overdue books need to be returned to school ASAP! Students will be fined the replacement cost for books that are not returned.
National Library Week o WOW! We had a great response to our National Library Week activities! Thanks
to all the students that participated in the "Book in a Jar", Book Buffet and filled in a "Why the Library is Important" form.
Virginia Readers' Choice contest o Simpson's 1st Place Virginia Readers' Choice book for this school year is, SHADOW
by Michael Morpurgo
Please check out the Library web page for more details on these items
10 | P a g e
School News Cont.
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month!
Better Speech and Hearing month raises awareness of the
various forms of Communication and Hearing disorders.
One such communication disorder that can be
PREVENTABLE is noise induced HEARING LOSS. This
disorder affects many Middle School students. How can
hearing loss be prevented? By keeping the sound or music
at a safe volume while wearing EARBUDS, HEADPHONES,
EARPHONES and BLUETOOTH® devices……Anything that
allows you to listen to your ipod, iphone, computer, etc.
Please use these safe volume suggestions to preserve your
precious hearing.
Wear headphones (like Beats by Dr. Dre®). “Noise –cancelling” headphones reduce
background noise lessening the need to “turn up the volume”.
Limit your listening using earpieces to UNDER 60 minutes per day.
If someone nearby can hear the sound while the earbuds are in your ears…ITS TOO LOUD!
And remember…your hearing doesn’t come back, once it’s gone.
Ms. Shorten, Simpson Middle School Speech- Language Pathologist.
Academic Decathlon
On Saturday, April 16, ten Simpson 8th grade students competed in the first LCPS Middle School Academic Decathlon. The students broke up into two teams and completed tasks such as "Marbles in a Jar" and "Dewey Code Breakers." The Simpson students scored two perfect scores on the various events and had a great time collaborating to solve problems. This photo shows the team building their car which traveled ~ 4.7 mph. Great job coach Sheridan and team members!
11 | P a g e
SOL Schedule
May/June 2016
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12
SOL Window Opens 13 14
15 Geometry 16 Reading 6 17 Reading 6 18 Reading 7 19 Reading 7 20 21
22 Math 6 23 Math 6 24 Math 8 25 Algebra 26 Algebra 27 28
29 HOLIDAY 30
Math 7
Civics 31
Math 7
Civics 1 Reading 8 2 Reading 8 3
8th Grade Trip 4
5 Science 8 6 Science 8 7 RETEST 8 RETEST 9 RETEST 10
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
