Harmony Newsletter

On behalf of the Staff, Counselors, Faculty, and Administration, we wish ALL FAMILIES a restful, relaxing, and safe two weeks. We hope you find peace, joy, happiness, and fun during our winter holiday season.

We look forward to having everyone back in the building on January 6th, 2025. Wow. 2025.

Jan 6 - Return to School / First Day Back From Winter Break

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

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

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)

Congratulations to 8th Grader, Hamilton Perry. He will be a Senate Page in the Senate Page Program during the 2025 session of the General Assembly. The Senate Page Program has been recognized nationally by the State Board of Education for training in leadership and civics. Way to go Hamilton.

From the Week of:

VIDEO LINK (Dec 9)

VIDEO LINK (Dec 16)

6th Grade Social Science classes were in the library for the 3rd Annual Colonial Market Day. Kids made goods to live on and then bartered them to others. The market saw dried fish, an ax, boats, clothes, bread, and other essential items for Colonial survival items.

On Friday, December 13th, kids were treated to one of three assemblies:

6th Grade - They heard from our very own 8th grade (and some 7th grade) music department singing and playing various holiday music.

7th Grade - They also heard from our very own 8th grade music department singing and playing various holiday music. A favorite was the staff participating in the celebration as part time drummers.

8th Grade - They heard the Woodgrove HS music department perform for one hour and 15 minutes.

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 .

The picture in this article is a snapshot of our newly designed school Honor Roll and Cornerstone Award bumper stickers. The brain behind the design was our assistant principal, Ms. Kristen Hepner. She used Canva, a school resource to help her and won top prize among many other staff entries.

The new stickers will be used starting Quarter 3 this year.

WOW! Harmony CUSTODIANS!!! An LCPS supervisor performed a periodic evaluation of our school; basically a work performance audit. The inspection scored a 98%.

Thank you Richard. Thank you Santa. Thank you Cesy. Thank you Melissa. Thank you Howard. Thank you Jennie. Thank you Maria. Thank you Tania!

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

"We would like to share a few shout outs to some of the outstanding teachers at Harmony. We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Beytullah. He was our son’s math teacher last year and is now his homeroom teacher. Our son truly enjoyed his math class and always spoke highly of Mr. Arikan’s teaching. We’re thrilled that he has the opportunity to learn from such a positive role model again this year.

We also want to acknowledge Mr. Schear for his incredible dedication as the Orchestra teacher for our daughter throughout middle school. Her growth and performance have been remarkable, and we deeply appreciate Mr. Schear’s hard work and commitment to nurturing his students’ musical talents.

Lastly, we want to thank Mrs. McClellan for being an outstanding math teacher to both of our children. Even years later, her lessons and impact are fondly remembered in our home. She has truly left a lasting impression on their education. Thank you very much for leading an educational institute to its highest standards."

Thank you Nassar family, for your kind words!

After surviving the classroom rounds, and then a 20 word spell off, the following students advance to the School FInals in January, with the winner representing Loudoun at the LCPS Spelling Bee. Congratulations finalists:

One lucky 8th grade student was able to visit Seattle and Vancouver to see Pike's Place, Mt Rainier, Granville Island, the Vancouver Science World and Art Museum, the Suspension Bridge, and attend the Taylor Swift Eras Tour. Super fun! Even Mr. Stewart LOVES Taylor Swift.

Thank you Blue Ridge Eagles, a local non-profit group, dedicated to helping its community.

They have donated gift cards to our Parent Liaison, to be used to help Harmony Middle School families.

Thank you so much for thinking of others.