Stingray Scoop

Dear Stone Hill Middle School Families,

I hope everyone is enjoying the three day weekend. This Presidents' Day, let's honor the leaders who shaped our nation by creating a brighter future for our students.

It gives me great pleasure to share results from Saturday's Science Olympiad Competition. We had five groups of students who received medals. Congratulations to:

• Ackshat Tiwari & Raghavendra Deshpande won 4th place in Anatomy & Physiology
• Samheetha Vasan & Nabhya Kumar won 3rd place in Dynamic Planet
• Santosh Chintaluri & Ivanna Liskova won 6th place in Dynamic Planet
• Pragathi Purushothamaiah & Viraj Nimkar won 5th place in Optics
• Santosh Chintaluri & Arya Bonasu won 6th place in Optics

All the teams did a great job, and we are extremely proud of them all for participating in a rigorous competition where students engage in STEM related challenges. A very special debt of gratitude to our Science Olympiad sponsors Ms. Killam and Mr. Hein for their steadfast dedication in guiding our young scientists with a keen aptitude for scientific exploration at such a young age.

Finally, thank you to all our families who came out last week for our Rising 7th and 8th Grade Parent Night. Presentations are linked below under Course Planner information in case you missed this night. Please reach out to your child's counselor with any quesstions or ollow-up information you may need.

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

In service to you and our Stingray community,

Rohini Tohan, Principal

Monday, February 17th

• No School ~ Presidents' Day

Tuesday, February 18th

• A-day

Wednesday, February 19th

• B-day
• Activity Buses
• Japan Spring Break 2026 Information Meeting, 6:00pm @ SHMS Auditorium (RSVP below)

Thursday, February 20th

• A-day
• Activity Buses
• Registration deadline for VML test (details and link below)

Friday, February 21st

• B-day

• February 25th ~ Quarter 3 Interim Date
• February 25th ~ VML Math Test, after school @ SHMS
• March 13th~ Culture Night @ SHMS (save the date!)
• 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 February 10-21, 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!

Congratulations to all of our amazing Students of the Month who were nominated by their teachers for demonstrating "optimism" during the month of January! These students were recognized by their deans on the morning announcements last week and received a prize. We are so proud of you!

And we're off! Our Laps for Lexia competition is back in action and our 6th graders have the lead for week 1 of Quarter 3! Remember, the competition will run all quarter and the grade level that completes the most units gets a prize! Keep up the great work everyone!

Congratulations to the students below who COMPLETED the Lexia PowerUp program! Hard work and dedication has paid off for these Superstar Stingrays! GREAT job, everyone!

And finally, congratulations to our 7th grade students for winning the Laps for Lexia Challenge for Quarter 2!

Congratulations to the Stone Hill leaders in the AMC-8:

For 6th grade, Aditi B. came in first with Abrar K. and Anirudh S. tied for second.

For 7th grade, Ruchit S. came in first with Ivanna L. and Aarya S. tied for second.

For 8th grade, Shriya S. came in first with Anik D., Nishka T. and Ackshat T. tied for second.

Congratulations and thank you to all the students who took part in the AMC-8 competition! Scores are available from the student's math teacher.

Happy birthday to all of our wonderful students born in the month of February!

Stone Hill MS is excited to offer a community book club using the graphic novel A Sky of Paper Stars by Susie Yi. This book features a young Korean American girl named Yuna who struggles with grief and guilt after her grandmother passes away. Yuna blames herself for her grandmother’s death, and she tasks herself with making 1,000 folded paper stars to cast a wish and bring her back to life.

For this club, we ask that students read the book with their families and then come to the library to discuss the story, read a nonfiction connection, and learn to make paper stars of their own! We will also enjoy some yummy breakfast refreshments.

The cost to attend is $5 per person. This will cover the food and crafting activity. We recommend that families get the book from the Loudoun County Public Library or their favorite book seller. If cost is prohibitive and the book is not available at the library, please reach out to david.geiger@lcps.org or rachel.heron@lcps.org for assistance. What would you wish for with 1,000 paper stars?

Signups will close on February 14th.

Attention world travelers: Are you interested in a spring break trip to Japan in 2026? Then you’re in luck! Stone Hill Middle School is taking a journey around the world. Middle school travelers (and their parents!) will get to learn taiko drumming, explore a bamboo forest, visit ancient castles, go to a Pokémon center, enjoy time in the Harajuku shopping district, and more. Students can get informational fliers from their advisory teachers or from the Tour Group Leader, Mr. Geiger, in the library.

Use the link below to register for our informational meeting this Thursday, February 20th, at 6:00 pm in the Stone Hill MS auditorium. We will discuss itinerary, flights, hotels, meals, cost, fundraising, scholarships, and more. We hope to see you there. Our plane takes off in 14 months, and we already cannot wait to get started.

RSVP for the informational meeting: bit.ly/4h2ebQE

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 this Thursday, February 20th.

VML Registration Link

The LCPS Student Maker Showcase returns to the Academies of Loudoun on Wednesday, March 26th.

Information is available on the showcase website at https://lcps.org/makershowcase and the application to exhibit is open now at https://forms.gle/wNawELbJqBjBJLji8

At this time, students are still 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.

Families ~ Thank you for coming to our Rising 7th & 8th Grade Parent Night last week! Here are the two presentations for you to access:

Rising 7th Grade Parent Presentation

Rising 8th Grade Parent Presentation

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.

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.

Is your child a first-generation college-bound student? If both parents/guardians did not earn a Bachelor’s degree in America, encourage your child to apply to CAMPUS! CAMPUS is a high school program that helps first-generation college-bound students prepare for college! Students learn about goal setting, time management, applying to college, financial aid, scholarships, take college field trips, listen to guest speakers and more! While CAMPUS replaces the student's Study Hall, students still have time during CAMPUS to work on their schoolwork!

The application is open January 8th until March 1st and can be found in Student Opportunities through LCPSGO!

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