Stingray Scoop

Dear Stone Hill Middle School Families,

I am thrilled to congratulate our students on successfully completing the second quarter and the first semester of this school year! Your hard work and dedication have truly shone through. Whether in academics, arts, or extracurricular activities, you have all demonstrated remarkable effort and talent.

As we move forward, please remember that there is no school on Monday, January 27th, Tuesday, January 28th, or Wednesday, January 29th, for two student holidays and the observance of Lunar New Year. We hope you enjoy this time with your families and take the opportunity to rest and recharge. We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Thursday, January 30th.

For our 6th and 7th grade students, please be reminded of the class changes for the second semester. Sixth graders will switch between Intro. to Computer Applications (ICA) and Art, while seventh graders will switch between Tech Ed and Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) beginning on Thursday. Students can view their updated class schedules, including their new teacher's name and room number, in StudentVUE. A paper copy will also be distributed during Advisory on Thursday.

Wishing everyone a restful and enjoyable long weekend!

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

In service to you and our Stingray community,

Rohini Tohan, Principal

Monday, January 27th

• No School ~ Student Holiday

Tuesday, January 28th

• No School ~ Student Holiday

Wednesday, January 29th

• No School ~ Lunar New Year

Thursday,January 30th

• A-day
• First Day of Quarter 3 and Second Semester
• Activity Buses

Friday, January 24th

• B-day

• February 4th ~ Math MAP Test
• February 5th ~ Reading MAP Test
• February 5th ~ Registration Deadline for Intramural Basketball
• February 5th & 6th ~ World Languages Round Robin Event, after school @ SHMS
• February 17th ~ No School: Presidents Day
• February 25th ~ Quarter 3 Interim Date
• February 25th ~ VML Math Test, after school @ SHMS
• March 31st ~ No School: Eid al Fitr
• April 3rd ~ Last Day of Quarter 3
• April 4th ~ No School: Student Holiday
• April 7th ~ No School: Student Holiday
• April 14-18 ~ No School: Spring Break

Weeks of January 27-February 7, 2025

Stingray Reports are a snapshot for families of what students will be learning in class during these weeks. Don’t forget to check out the “Show & Tell” sections, which include great conversation starters to ask your student at home!

Congratualtions to our amazing 8th-grade students who participated in the first LCPS Middle School Volleyball tournament at Heritage High School against 17 other middle schools in Loudoun County. Sportsmanhip, skills, teamwork, and school spirit was on full display at Heritage High School! So proud of our Stingrays!

Thank you to our staff who came out to support the team and Mr. Kasman at Heritage High School: Ms. Hazzard, Mr. Connors, Ms. Souqi, Ms. Bottego, and Mr. Loya. It was truly wonderful to see you all there as we cheered for our players together !

Sreeja Inumella, Jada Peyton, Sadikshya Basyal, Eva Bocanegra, Aadya Pakkala, Emma Hwang, Ashritha Pondugula, Victoria Whitaker, and Rima Al-Enezi

Congratulations to our fantastic Strings 6 students for their concert this past Thursday evening. We are so proud of your hard work and dedication. You sounded amazing, too! Thank you to our wonderful Mr. Maeshiro for all you do to support our musicians.

Congratulations to a team of Stone Hill 8th graders whose FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team (Team 16605 - Yogic Transformers) participated in the Mount Maryland Qualifier in Maryland this past weekend. They were awarded Motivate Award 2nd Place for their outstanding work in raising awareness about robotics as a STEM program in Loudoun community schools through STEM Expositions, Robotics Tournaments and Robotics Coaching and Mentoring.

Way to go, Shriya Yellamagari, Prisha Hasija, and Yash Kolla!

Stone Hill will offer the VML Math League Test on Tuesday, February 25th after school. Please register for this test using the link below. The test will be given in Grade Level Houses and parent pick-up will be at 4:30. There is no cost and registration closes on February 20th.

VML Registration Link

We have an exciting NEW opportunity for your students to be involved in the Stone Hill Community with new Intramural Sports! After a successful flag football and volleyball season, our third sport for the 2024-2025 school year is 3 v 3 Basketball. This will occur on Mondays OR Thursdays, after school from 3:45 to 4:45, 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 is set for February 10th, with playoffs and the championship occurring during the week of March 17th. The championship-winning team will represent us in the LCPS tournament on March 29th at Heritage High School, competing for the title of the best team in the county. If your student is not interested in participating in 3 v 3 Basketball, there will be other sports available throughout the year. The registration details are provided below, and if you have any questions, please reach out via email at jonathan.kasman@lcps.org.

Who: Free for ALL SHMS Students
What: 3 v 3 Volleyball (Up to 5 players per team)
When: Mondays OR Thursdays after school from 3:45-4:45. February 10th-March 20th
Where: Main Gym 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 on BOTH links must be completed before February 5th to play.

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

Is your child still deciding on which language they will take next year? Our World Languages team will be offering 30-minute sample lessons for all languages offered at Stone Hill on February 5th and February 6th. See the attached flyer for more information and use this link to sign your child up.

All 7th and 8th grade students will be engaging with course planner through SchooLinks starting this week in School Counseling Lessons. During this time, school counselors will be providing lessons on the course offerings for the following school year. Seventh and eighth grade students will also begin planning through high school graduation. At this time, students will be able to select courses they want to take next year (four content area classes and electives). Once a student has met with their counselor and planned their options, communication will be shared for you as the parent/guardian to go in and review the choices. Students will have the option to go in and change their courses until February 28th. It is encouraged that parents/guardians collaborate with classroom teachers and school counselors to ensure that their student is planning course to have a successful school year.

Parents/guardians can access SchooLinks through ParentVUE. There is a tab labeled “Schoology and SchooLinks”. This will link parents/guardians directly to the SchooLinks platform. Parents/guardians do not need a claim code to access the platform. Please view the Onboarding Directions in either English or Spanish. Please view the guide to Review Student Course Plan in English or Spanish.

If you missed the Curriculum Night last week at Rock Ridge High School, we encourage you to review this Rising 9th Grade presentation.

If you have questions about your student's course options for 9th grade, please reach out to your student's school counselor.

REGISTRATIONS FOR SHMS PTO OFFERED SPRING ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS OPENS TODAY at 9:00PM.

SHMS PTO is excited to announce that our Spring Enrichment Programs are opening for registration for paid PTO members(Supreme and Ruby) from today, Jan 26th, 2025 @9 pm till Feb 7th. General Registration for all StoneHill families open Thursday, Feb 1st at 9:00pm. More details about these programs will be available on the PTO website https://www.shmspto.org/initiatives.

Stone Hill Middle School PTO Fundraiser is STILL ON!!

🎬 Enjoy movies with a purpose! 🎬SHMSPTO is giving you the best reason to head to the cinema. Until February 23, 25% of each Regal Movie Ticket Bundle (2 tickets. No expiration) you purchase will be donated back to SHMSPTO, when you buy via our fundraising sales page.

Treat yourself, your friends, and family to an unforgettable movie night in support of a great cause!

Grab your tickets here: grouprai.se/regalcinemas52469s

School Store

🍬 Sweet News for All Students! 🍬

We’ve got something new and exciting just for YOU! 🎉 Our school store has just dropped some brand-new candies that’s sure to make your day.! ✨

Upcoming at StoneHill PTO

Spring Enrichment Programs - To be announced soon!

General Body PTO Meeting - February 11th, 2025

March Madness - March 7th, 2025 (Joint event with Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School).

The Division of EL FACE Office, in collaboration with the EL Specialists, is pleased to share the WIDA ACCESS Family Information Resource in the top 3 languages: Spanish, Arabic, and Farsi/Dari.

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.

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.

Designated walking zone: Only students who live within our designated walking zone are permitted to walk home. If LCPS Transportation has assigned your student a bus, they must either take the bus to and from school or be transported by car.

Exiting the building at dismissal: All student walkers should leave the building through the [B2 door/front of the building], located on the side of the building by the cafeteria. Students should walk either directly to their community behind the school or down the sidewalks in front of the school, as applicable. No student should ever cross Evergreen Ridge Dr. as there are no crosswalks, making it a safety hazard for both students and drivers.

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.

As a reminder for 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.

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.

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:

• English
• Spanish

William & Mary School of Education is excited to announce their 2025 Saturday/Summer Enrichment (SEP) classes! They have a lot of new classes, lower prices, and more summer class options.

Please use this link to check out the SEP page for more information!

Email: rohini.tohan@lcps.org
Website: www.lcps.org/SHMS
Phone: 703-957-4420
X (formerly Twitter): @StoneHillMiddle