Stingray Scoop

Dear Stone Hill Middle School Community,

Last Friday, our counseling team hosted a wonderful Parent Coffee event for 6th grade families, focusing on Middle School Success. It was a fantastic opportunity for parents to connect with our counselors and gain valuable insights into helping their children thrive during these pivotal years. We are grateful for the active participation and engagement from our 6th grade parents, and we look forward to continuing these meaningful conversations throughout the year!

In addition, we are excited to announce the launch of our new middle school intramurals program, starting with 7v7 Flag Football beginning on September 19th! This program is a great way for students to stay active, build teamwork skills, and have fun after school. As we embrace our theme for the year, “Going for Gold: Carrying the Torch for Each and Every Student,” we believe this initiative will help our students shine both on and off the field. The deadline to register is September 11th, and all the necessary information, including separate sign-up links for students and parents/guardians, can be found in this Stingray Scoop. Let’s get ready to cheer on our Stingrays as they take the field!

Lastly, we are looking forward to seeing everyone at Back to School Night on Thursday, September 12th and have you meet your child's teachers. We are also excited to invite you to our Welcome Back Social this Friday, September 13th, from 6-8 pm, hosted by the Stone Hill PTO. This community event promises to be a fantastic evening filled with delicious food, fun activities, and live music performed by our talented students. It’s a perfect opportunity to bring the whole family and reconnect with friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to see you there!

We are One. We are Strong. We are Stone Hill.

In service to you and our Stingray community,

Rohini Tohan, Principal

Important Upcoming School Dates

Monday, September 9th

A-day
Reading MAP Test, 8:50 am

Tuesday, September 10th

B-day
Math MAP Test, 8:50 am

Wednesday, September 11th

A-day
Registration Deadline: Intramural Flag Football

Thursday, September 12th

B-day
Meet the Case Manager Night, 5:15-5:45 pm in the SHMS Library
Back to School Night, 6-8 pm, for parents & guardians of all grade levels

Friday, September 13th

A-day
8th Grade Special Programs Assembly, 11 am
PTO Welcome Back Social, 6-8 pm

Week at a Glance

September 16th ~ Activity Buses Begin (Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays)
September 19th ~ First day of Intramural Flag Football, 3:45-4:45 pm

6th Grade Parent Coffee: Middle School Success

This past Friday, our amazing counseling team hosted our first "Parent Coffee" of the year for sixth grade families. Their presentation was focused on Middle School Success, and we are so thankful for the families who joined us for this informative session! You can view a copy of the counselors' slides HERE if you missed the presentation.

This Week's Stingray Shout-Outs

Reading MAP (Mon. 9/9) and Math MAP (Tues. 9/10)

LCPS administers NWEA’s MAP Growth tests in Reading and Math each fall, winter, and spring to students in grades 2-8 and first grade students in Math. Students enrolled in Algebra I and Geometry are assessed in the fall to determine their instructional readiness level.

MAP Growth tests are adaptive, providing a detailed picture of what your student knows and is ready to learn—whether it is on, above, or below grade level expectations. MAP Growth tests also provide immediate and accurate information about your student’s learning, enabling teachers to personalize instruction to meet students’ needs.

For more information about the MAP Growth test, visit: https://www.lcps.org/o/lcps/page/measures-of-academic-progress-map

Stone Hill PTO Website

Click Here to Become a PTO Member!

Join the Stone Hill Middle School (SHMS) PTO and become a member of an active volunteer organization committed to enriching the academic and social experience for all SHMS students and families. The SHMS PTO provides financial and volunteer support for a wide variety of school based activities aimed at building a strong school community, supporting academic and extracurricular activities, and providing opportunities for social and service related events and projects.

Many thanks to all Stingrays and their families who participated in Saturday's Best Runners Fundraiser. Your participation goes a long way in raising funds for our community.

PTO is looking for an active parent volunteer(s) to coach the Java/Python enrichment classes for the fall season starting in Oct until Dec 2024. Coaches will be compensated. Anyone interested, please reach out to Nupur Singh at nupursingh@shmspto.org.

Upcoming at Stone Hill:

Back to School Night! Thursday, Sept 12th, 6pm - 8pm

Please don’t forget to stop at PTO tables to learn about PTO memberships, PTO offered Enrichment Programs and check out SHMS spirit wear for purchase.

Welcome Back Social; Friday, Sept 13th 6pm - 8pm

SHMS PTO would like to welcome you back to a new school year and invite you to socialize with fellow Stingrays and their families. SHMS students are putting up a live performance for you to enjoy. There will be free games, pizza and ice cream for purchase and a lot of FUN. Come join us for this vibrant evening to remember.

If you would like to sign up to volunteer for this event, please use this link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050848AEAE2DA2F49-51034509-volunteers

Asha-Jyothi Run, Sunday, Sept 15th 8:00am at Fairfax Corner

Support SHMS by participating in the Asha-Jyothi 1K & 5K!

Location: Fairfax Corner, Fairfax, VA

Start Time: 8:00am

Select "Stone Hill Middle School" when registering.

Use coupon AJ4Schools for 5K registration. Register at: [Fairfax - 16th Asha-Jyothi 5K](https://www.redpodium.com/)

Stone Hill School Store is Open!

Visit the Stone Hill School Store.

Open Monday-Friday, 8:15am - 9:00am.

The store offers spiritwear, locker accessories, and snacks (cash only).

New PTO members can pick up their spirit wear and magnet with proof of membership.

Share your suggestions at store@shmspto.org.

7v7 Flag Football Sign-Ups Open!

We have an exciting NEW opportunity for your students to be involved in the Stone Hill community with Intramural Sports! Our first sport for the 2024-2025 school year is 7v7 Flag Football. This will occur on Thursdays, after school from 3:45-4:45 pm, and after-school buses will be provided. Students can register either as an individual and be placed on a team or a student can be a designated team captain and can register the entire team. Participating in the sport is 100% free for all Stone Hill Students and is a great way to represent the school and the community.

Our first day after school will be on September 19th and students will play a regular season until October 17th. Following that, we will have our Stone Hill Playoffs, and our championship-winning team will go on to play in an LCPS tournament on November 2nd at Heritage High School for a chance to be the best team in the county. If your student is not interested in Flag Football, other sports will be offered throughout the year. This information and the information to register is below and if you have any questions, please email jonathan.kasman@lcps.org.

Who: Free for ALL SHMS Students
What: 7v7 Flag Football
When: Thursdays after school from 3:45-4:45. September 19th-October 25th
Where: Grass Fields at SHMS
Why: Have fun with your friends and get involved in the SHMS Community
How: There are two links below that must be filled out for students to play. The Student sign-up is for individuals and teams. The Parent sign-up is required through LCPS. Sign-up must be completed before September 13th to play.

STUDENT SIGN UP- bit.ly/SHMSFLAGFOOTBALL
PARENT SIGN UP- https://lcps-ar.rschooltoday.com/home

LCPS Intramural Sports Information

Science Olympiad - Apply by Friday, September 13th!

Science Olympiad is a fun and exciting, team-based science competition. If you are interested in joining, please read through this year's information. You will find the application for this year in the information slides.

The application must be filled out by students and the deadline to apply is 11:59pm on Friday, September 13th. If you have any questions, you can email the team coaches Mrs. Killam at katherine.killam@lcps.org or Mr. Hein at matthew.hein@lcps.org

Bus & Car Line Reminders

Bus Riders

Bus riders should ride their assigned bus and always arrive at their bus stop five minutes early. Please help your student(s) get out of the door on time. Parents are also requested to periodically check transportation information throughout the school year for any changes. Parents will be emailed by LCPS Transportation when changes are made to their student’s transportation.

Car Riders

Carline parents: We thank you for your patience and cooperation in helping to make our car line a safe and efficient area during the morning drop off and afternoon pick up.

Please follow directions displayed on signage and from all car line staff. Please pull as far forward as possible towards the stop sign in order to keep the flow of traffic moving.

Reporting Attendance

All parents/guardians should report attendance, including absences and early dismissals, in ParentVue. Instructions with how-to videos are available on our website or by clicking here.

Counseling Department Information

As we embark on the 2024-2025 school year, there have been some changes to the counseling assignments. Please note who your child’s counselor will be this year based on your child’s last names across ALL grades.

Tutoring Resources

LCPS is proud to provide free access to a suite of online learning resources available on the Varsity Tutors platform. To learn more about Varsity Tutors, a free, on-demand online tutoring service available to ALL LCPS students in Grades K-12, click here.

Family & Community Resources

Parent Liaison Resources

Click here to learn more about resources from our Parent Liaison, Ms. McCreary.

SNAP Provides Eligible Families Access to Healthy Food

The SNAP in Schools initiative from the Virginia Department of Social Service, which is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), helps develop partnerships to bridge the gap of food insecurity among school-aged children. The objectives of SNAP in Schools are to reduce food insecurity in school-aged children, to increase the number of students directly certified for free school meals through SNAP, and to increase the number of students eligible without application for the summer EBT program.

Please advise families who could benefit from this program to access the CommonHelp portal link to submit online SNAP applications.

Please also share the flyer below with your families: