Stingray Scoop

Dear Stone Hill Middle School Community,

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended our Back to School Night last Thursday. It was wonderful to see so many families engaging with our teachers and staff, setting a positive tone for the year ahead. Your presence and enthusiasm truly made the evening special.

A special shoutout goes to our incredible Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for their unwavering support, not only during Back to School Night but also at our Welcome Back Social community event last Friday. Their dedication and hard work are instrumental in fostering a strong sense of community within our school. We are so grateful for their efforts in helping us kick off the school year on such a high note! This community event was undoubtedly a resounding success as students showcased their talents and staff, students, and parents/guardians mingled. Thank you especially to PTO President Shweta Walia for her vision and her relentless efforts in making it all come together so beautifully. We look forward to hosting many more events like this!

In this week’s newsletter, you’ll find important updates and highlights, including upcoming events, student achievements, and new opportunities. Whether it’s in academics, extracurricular activities, or community involvement, let’s strive for excellence in all that we do. Together, we can make this year truly "golden."

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

In service to you and our Stingray community,

Rohini Tohan, Principal

Monday, September 16th

• B-day
• MAP Test Make-Ups
• Activity Buses Begin

• A-day
• MAP Test Make-Ups

Wednesday, September 18th

• B-day
• Activity Buses

Thursday, September 19th

• A-day
• First day of Intramural Flag Football, 3:45-4:45 pm
• Activity Buses

Friday, September 20th

• B-day
• 8th Grade Choir performs at RRHS, 6:55 pm

• September 16th ~ Activity Buses Begin (Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays)

Come hear the Stone Hill 8th grade choir, along with choirs from Rock Ridge High School and cluster elementary schools, perform the National Anthem and the RRHS Alma Mater at the Patriot Day football game on September 20th at Rock Ridge High School. The students will be performing at approximately 6:55 pm on the RRHS track. The students are doing an amazing job and will proudly represent Stone Hill in this performance! If you have any questions regarding the performance, please contact Mr. Uhlir at puhlir@lcps.org, and we hope to see you there!

Congratulations to 8th grader, Yash Kolla, who competed in an official USA Triathlon sanctioned event in Williamsburg last weekend in the Adult Sprint Triathlon competition (750 Meter Open Water Swim; 20K Bike; 5K Run).

Yash secured 2nd place in his age group (14 and under) with a time better than even a few collegiate athletes who were racing the same race. Way to go, Yash!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As a part of our ongoing equity work across LCPS and at Stone Hill Middle School, we will be selecting students to represent our school to serve in the role of Student Equity Ambassadors for the 2024-2025 school year. This opportunity for students stems from our division’s core values of “Equity and Opportunity” and “Trust Through Listening,” outlined in the One LCPS: 2027 Strategic Plan for Excellence as well as our Commitment to Equity. The goal is to provide an ongoing opportunity for student leaders who are passionate about equity and have the desire to make their school the best possible learning environment for every student.

Each middle and high school in LCPS will select up to three Student Equity Ambassadors to meet regularly with the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility and other LCPS leaders during the meetings. These sessions will occur periodically throughout the school year and the dates will be provided to you by your school’s representative. This opportunity is open to all students who, amongst other attributes, have a passion for equity, are willing to engage in conversations, will listen to learn, and will represent the voice of their peers.

To express their interest, students should fill out the Student Equity Ambassador Interest Form SHMS Student Equity Ambassador Interest Form by Monday, September 23, 2024. School staff can also recommend students to serve as Student Equity Ambassadors or students may be recommended by a peer. The principal or designee will make the final decision regarding student participation.

Ensuring that our school is a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment for each student is important. Providing this opportunity for students to meet in a space where their voices and experiences are heard is one way of supporting this effort. We are looking forward to selecting our Student Equity Ambassadors and their future participation.

Thank you for your continued support of our commitment to provide a safe and caring learning environment for our students.

Sincerely,

SHMS Equity Committee

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 today's Asha-Jyothi Run and not only ran for a great cause but also supported their school. 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.

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.

My name is Beth Carlson. I am one of the SEAC representatives for SHMS as well as a voting SEAC member. This is my 3rd year being a representative (MSES for 2 years). The second SEAC representative for SHMS is Megan Matson.

WHAT IS SEAC?

Special Education Advisory Committee

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF SEAC.

The primary role of the special education advisory committee is to advise the school board on unmet needs a special education students. SEAC is made up of 21 members. A SEAC member is appointed for a two-year term by the school board through an application and recommendation process. SEAC requests a representative for each LCPS school to be appointed each year to attend meetings participate in discussions and report back to the school on matters that affect special education.

We work with the school board, administrators, parents, and teachers, who are responsible for students receiving special education services and help identify unmeet needs in LCPS special education and make recommendations to address those needs.

SEAC focuses on systemic needs rather than focusing on individual issues. (Any individual needs are best discussed with the schools special education dean, teacher as well as the case manager).

SEAC meetings are held monthly AND ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. They take place the 1st Wednesday of each month at the administration building.

Within the SEAC committee are subcommittees (awards committee, executive committee, literacy and math committee, meaningful inclusion, policy and compliance and transition committee) each committee has meetings and work sessions throughout the year.

If you have any questions (Beth’s email) beth.carlson1986@gmail.com or beth.carlson-seac@lcps.org

(Megan’s email) averagemomskills@gmail.com

I can redirect any questions to our seac chair Liz Crotty SEACChair@lcps.org

___________________________________________________________________

The first SEAC meeting took place on September 11th. Presenters were Dr. Aaron Spence (superintendent), Ms. Tedra Richardson (assistant superintendent student services), Kari LaBell (school board liaison for SEAC), and Dr. Paige Carter (Director of Special Education).

SEAC will be reviewing 64 policies this SY. We review these policies to make sure they are up to VA code.

.There will be a zoom meeting for seac school reps (date TBD)

POLICIES DISCUSSED

POLICY 6320 PLAYGROUNDS

Last year, we were focusing on how to make elementary school playgrounds more inclusive. There was a survey that was sent out during the 2023-2024 SY on what “improvements” could be made to playgrounds. PLAYGROUNDS WILL GET FENCING.

POLICY 8655 STUDENT PERSONAL DEVICE USE

POLICY 6640 EMERGENCY FIRST AID, CPR, AED AND DIABETES MANAGEMENT TRAINED AND CERTIFIED PERSONNEL

POLICY 2610 LOUDOUN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD STAFF AIDES

POLICY 8420 STUDENT MEDICATION (specifically diabetes)

POLICY 5345 RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION OF STUDENTS (I can write up another report about this)

POLICY 5360 and 5365 HOMEBOUND AND HOME BASED INTRODUCTION (medical homebound instruction and home base instruction- can write up another report)

Hello, historians! Stone Hill is sending students and parents on a trip to one of the birthplaces of our nation: Boston, Massachusetts! This in-depth educational adventure will take place in July of 2025, and it will cover so much of our middle school history curriculum! During the virtual meeting on September 24th at 6 pm, we will go over our itinerary, travel safety, meals, and cost of enrollment. The link to the meeting will be emailed to you after you RSVP. We hope to see you at the meeting and on the trip! Email david.geiger@lcps.org, school librarian, with any questions.

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 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.

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