Stingray Scoop

Dear Stone Hill Middle School Community,

We hope all of our students and families are enjoying this three-day weekend! As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow, Monday, October 14th, in observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day. Students will return to school on Tuesday.

Mark your calendar for this Thursday, Oct. 17! Superintendent Aaron Spence has formally declared Thursday, Oct. 17 as One LCPS Celebration Day! We are so proud of our school division and we want to celebrate! Students and staff are invited to show their LCPS spirit by wearing their school’s spirit wear or school colors. Dr. Spence and members of LCPS senior staff will be visiting schools to congratulate and thank our students and staff for their hard work. Schools with the most spirit will receive awards. We look forward to seeing your LCPS spirit!

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

In service to you and our Stingray community,

Rohini Tohan, Principal

Monday, October 14th

• No School- Indigenous Peoples' Day

• B-day

Wednesday, October 16th

• A-day
• Grade-Level Assemblies: World's Finest Chocolate Fundraiser Kick-Off
• Activity Buses
• Drama Rehearsal, 3:45-4:45 pm

Thursday, October 17th

• B-day
• One LCPS Celebration Day! (Wear SHMS spirit wear and/or school colors)
  
• Activity Buses
• Intramural Flag Football, 3:45-4:45 pm
• Deadline to Register for Fall Clubs (see information below)

Friday, October 18th

• A-day
• Deadline to submit interest form for Stingray News Network (student morning news program)
  

• October 25th ~ Parent Coffee: Building Positive Peer Relationships @ Stone Hill Auditorium, 10:30am (check-in begins at 10am)
• October 29th ~ Last Day of Quarter 1
• October 30-31 ~ No School (Teacher Work Days)
• November 1st ~ No School (Diwali)
• November 4-5 ~ No School (Staff Professional Development)
• November 6th ~ First Day of Quarter 2
• November 11-12 ~ School Picture Day During PE Blocks
• December 6th ~ Math Counts Tryout Test, 3:45-4:45 pm, SHMS Cafeteria
• December 10th to 17th ~ Scholastic Book Fair in the SHMS Library

Weeks of October 7th to October 18th

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!

REGISTRATION CLOSES THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17

Clubs Begin the Week of October 21st

REGISTER HERE:

• Board Game Club
• Bollywood Dance Club
• Book Club
• Cricket Club
• Crochet Club
• Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
• Graphic Novel Club
• Minecraft Club
• Video Game Club

Reminder: Clubs are different from intramural sports. Information about our next sport, volleyball, will come out later in October. Volleyball will be offered at least two days a week.

If you have any questions, please email our 6th grade dean, Mr. Kasman.

Each month, our Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS) committee chooses a "word of the month" to focus on during Advisory and in classrooms. September's word was "ready," and we had the opportunity to recognize our amazing students and staff who demonstrated this quality. Students are nominated by their team of teachers and students also have the opportunity to nominate teachers! Congratulations to all of our September Student & Teacher of the Month winners!

We're so proud of our SHMS students who participated in the AWS Girls' Tech Day earlier this month!

We are excited to share that we are launching our annual fundraising event with World’s Finest Chocolate this week. This fundraiser will allow us to engage in additional school initiatives to support student learning experiences as well as a variety of school beautification projects. We will kick off our fundraising event on Wednesday, October 16th with our grade level assemblies.

On Wednesday, October 16th, please look for an email from Ms. Tohan with a link to the Permission Click granting permission for your student to participate. If you wish to participate, please complete the Permission Click by Thursday, October 17th and students will be given their box of chocolate to sell on Friday, October 18th. Once the entire box of chocolate is sold, students can turn in the $60.00 payment. You can write a check made out to Stone Hill Middle School or preferably pay online by creating an account at https://lcps.schoolcashonline.com. Please provide a copy of the online receipt with your child to bring to school.

You may give your child permission to sell additional boxes of chocolates; however, students will only be provided one box of chocolates at a time. The last day to check out a box of chocolates will be Friday November 8th. All payments will be made by Friday November 15, but collections will be ongoing throughout the fundraiser.

The Math Counts Tryout Test will be held on Friday, December 6th right after school in the cafeteria. To indicate your interest in taking the tryout test, please use this Sign-Up Genius link to register for a place at the tryouts. Stone Hill's math department will choose 14 students to represent Stone Hill MS at the regional Math Counts Competition on February 1st. The test will be given in the cafeteria immediately after school ends and parent pick-up will begin at 4:40 pm.

Dear Stingray Families -

Registrations to all Enrichment Programs have been closed.

First Stingray Spirit Night of this school year is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct 23rd at Scotto's Rigatoni Grill at Brambleton Town Center.

Splash the Stingray will be there to meet you. Let's get together to have a fun evening as well as to support our school.

Mention "Stingray" at the time of ordering for the school to receive 20% of the sales back. Please see flier for details.

***** Upcoming PTO General Body Meeting

First PTO General Body Meeting is coming up on Tuesday, November 12th 2024 at 6:30pm in Cafeteria. All Stingray Families are encouraged to attend the meeting and learn about what the Admin team and PTO is upto. Getting involved with the PTO is a great way to support your child's education.

PTO Paid Members,

Thank you for supporting our school by becoming a PTO member! Your complimentary spiritwear and Stingray magnet is waiting for you.

Please have your student stop by the school store on Fridays (ONLY) to pick up your items. Thank you again for your support!

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.

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.

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

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