Harmony Newsletter

Jan 14-15 - MAP Testing (Out of English Class)

Jan 15 - School Spelling Bee Finals

Jan 15 - Instrument "Try Night" for Rising 6th Graders (6 - 8 PM)

Jan 16 - Guitar 7 and 8 Concert (7 PM)

Jan 16-17 - MAP Testing (Out of Math Class)

Jan 20 - School Holiday

Jan 22 - Instrument "Try Night" for Rising 6th Graders (6 PM to 8 PM) - Band Fittings only

Jan 24 - End of Second Quarter

Jan 24 - Staff VS. Student Basketball Game

Jan 27 - Student Holiday / Teacher Workday

Jan 28 - Student Holiday / Teacher Workday

Jan 28 - Staff "Chili Cookoff" Contest

Jan 29 - School Holiday

Feb 5 - International NIght

School Website Link

This year we have completed: bus evacuation drills, two lock down drills, four fire drills, and an earthquake drill. We also reviewed these "Safety Scenarios" in Advisory. We did a fire drill on Nov 13 and had an unplanned "Sprinkler Issue" that led to an evacuation of the building on Dec 13. Contact names are below for any questions.

• School Security Officer, (SSO), Josh Stillwell (joshua.stillwell@lcps.org)
• School Resource Office (SRO), Loudoun County Deputy Chris Salter (christopher.salter@loudoun.gov)
• 7th Grade Dean and School Safety Contact, Justin Dailey (justin.dailey@lcps.org)
• Principal, Eric Stewart (eric.stewart@lcps.org)

School Phone is 540-751-2500 (then dial zero to reach the main office)

From the Week of:

VIDEO LINK (Dec 9)

VIDEO LINK (Dec 16)

This written to Mr. Eddie Stetz by a parent,

"She absolutely loves your class. We have never seen her so confident in math. We never ask her to come to your morning sessions, she simply reminds me every B day we must leave a little early to be there for them.

Thank you for making math accessible to all and for removing the tears from math and inspiring confidence. If we could clone you to teach them every subject indefinitely, we would! We appreciate your love of math and your students. Thank you for being an educator every kid deserves."

8th Grade Families - It is time to think about scheduling for next year so Woodgrove’s counseling department will be at Harmony on January 14th and 15th to present information on graduation requirements and course offerings. These presentations will occur during students’ Resource classes.

Our school contact person for this is:

Christy Pierson, 8th Grade Counselor

christy.pierson@lcps.org, 540-751-2500

LCPS administers NWEA’s MAP Growth tests in Reading and Math each fall, winter, and spring to students in grades 2-8 . Students enrolled in Algebra I and Geometry are assessed in the fall to determine their instructional readiness level. Harmony will administer the Winter MAP Growth testing through English classes on January 8th and 9th and Math classes on January 14th and 15th.

MAP Growth tests are adaptive, providing a detailed picture of what each 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 a 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 or contact assistant principal, Kristen Hepner at khepner@lcps.org .

Students will be watching this during January. It has information about all of the special programs available in Loudoun.

Parents, please check this out and contact your child's school counselor with any questions.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1t8Ruxq8lj4LFpLg9vI4C0BLcZ4zZGERrDchskItz_h4/edit?usp=sharing

As you read above, the 8th graders begin scheduling for next year. All 6th grade students will be engaging with course planner through SchooLinks starting next week (January 13th) in School Counseling Lessons. During this time, school counselors will be providing lessons on the course offerings for the following school year. At this time, students will be able to select courses they want to take next year (four content area classes and electives). 7th grade students will follow a similar plan.

Additionally, the Office of School Counseling Services will offer a virtual Course Planner Learning

Session for Parents/Guardians on Wednesday, January 15th, 2025.

The first session is designed for parents and guardians of 6th grade students and will start at 6 p.m.

Here is the webinar link if you are able to attend.

The second session is designed for parents and guardians of 7th through 11th grade students and

will start at 7pm. Here is the webinar link if you are able to attend. If you have any questions, please reach out to your school counselor.

• Dr. Gosnell's son was named Student of the Month at his school. Good job MOM!
• Ms. Julie Thompson was selected to present at the Virginia Middle School Association conference this spring.
• Mr. George Cassutto's stepdaughter, Evelyn, got married at the Frederick County, MD on Friday, Dec 20.
• Ms. Gueits received two remarkable letters of appreciation from former students. One said, "I respect her because she is always calm, explains things, and doesn't scream and tell us we are wrong." Another said, "You could be having the worst day and still be able to put a smile on your face and that's something I look up to."
• Ms. Hepner's son, Jackson, made First Team Golf for the Northwestern District Tournament (in Winchester area).
• Ms. Susan Jacobs had another grandchild last week.
• Ms. Cheri Holdredge had her first grandchild, a girl named Lena.

Harmony students Connor, Daniel, and Dominic (and younger sister) all went to the Zoo recently to help celebrate the holidays.

The National Zoo is a fantastic local resource for families.

This article has some reminders about the available resources for school counselors and the Mental Health team. We have lots and lots of help available. Contact a counselor for assistance.

Harmony Mental Health Resources

LCPS Mental Health Services

BTW... Before the Holidays we collected 68 TOYS for TOTS which have since been donated to the Salvation Army.

YAY, Harmony! Thank you SCA for organizing:)

Our School Social Worker, Ms. Sarah Miller, recently became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker by passing her national board exam. We are proud of you Sarah.

A person who passed their national board exam today is now officially considered a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), meaning they have successfully completed the necessary requirements to practice clinical social work in their jurisdiction, which typically includes passing the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) clinical exam and meeting other state-specific licensing requirements.

The Sylvester Family all came to support the youngest, Eve Sylvester, at her strings concert recital. A wonderful thing about being at the same school for a while is that we get to be part of the families who grow up in this community and come to school with their little or big siblings.

It is really rewarding to see families mature and start heading to college.