|
English | Español | አማርኛ | 中文 | 한국어 | Tiếng Việt | العربية | فارسی | اردو
- Wednesday, 3/19, 9:30-10:30am - Family Coffee
- Wednesday, 3/26 – PTA Cancelled so that families can attend Mason District Budget Town Hall Meeting (see info below)
- Thursday, 3/27, 6:30-8pm - Student-Staff Basketball Game
- Friday, 3/28 - 3rd Quarter Ends
- Monday, 3/31 - NO SCHOOL / Eid al-Fitr
- Tuesday, 4/1 - NO SCHOOL / Teacher Workday
- Thursday, 4/3, 6-8pm - Annandale Pyramid Art Show
- Tuesday, 4/8, 5-7pm - Heritage Night
- Monday 4/14 - Friday 4/18 - NO SCHOOL / Spring Break
- Monday, 5/26 - NO SCHOOL / Memorial Day
- Friday, 5/30, 7-9pm - 8th Grade Dance
- Wednesday, 6/11 - Last Day of 2024-2025 School Year
Holmes families,
Lately, we’ve seen a high number of students arriving between 7:28-7:45 AM, leading to long lines in the office as each student must be checked in and issued a pass. This delay is causing some students to miss valuable class time and breakfast. The school day begins promptly at 7:30 AM, and any student arriving after the first bell must check in at the main office for a late pass. To ensure a smooth start to the day, please aim to drop off your child before 7:25 AM so they can get to class on time. Thank you for your support in helping students start their day successfully!
Later this month, Holmes is welcoming a special visitor! To celebrate the end of the third quarter, on March 28th, the school will be treated to a performance by Okorie “OkCello” Johnson, an Atlanta-based cellist-composer, looper, improviser, and storyteller. Mr. Johnson has been a recipient of the Kennedy Center Residency and has been featured on the Tamron Hall Show. His compositions have been premiered by the Georgia Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance Theater, and his score for the documentary Imperfect Alibi won an Emmy award. He has recorded and performed with many artists, such as Maxwell, India Arie, De La Soul, and Big Boi of Outkast.
Mr. Johnson will work with our orchestra students during the day, teaching them about improvisation and storytelling through music. He will also perform two 30-minute assemblies in the afternoon, sharing his story and music with the entire school. Our students will benefit from hearing this live performance and hopefully be inspired to create their own music!
A HUGE thank you to Educate Fairfax for their generous grant which has allowed us to bring this amazing opportunity to our students!
Sincerely,
Serena Giron
Principal
Parents, we need your ideas, talent, expertise and creativity to host the dance for our 8th graders! We're beginning to put together the committee to plan the dance. If you would like to help, please reach out to Holmes8thGradeDance@gmail.com. Moms, dads, and all caregivers welcome! Let's send them off to High School with a night they'll always remember.
The Spring Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener was administered to students in grades 6-8 during the week of 3/10. Students use the SEL Screener twice a year to share their perspectives on how well their school and community help them develop skills they need to succeed. The screener works by asking questions or presenting statements that students can think about and respond to. More information is available about the SEL Screener by accessing this link: https://www.fcps.edu/student-tests-and-assessments/student-assessment-details/social-emotional-screener
If you have any questions please reach out to our SEL Screener Lead, Natrisha Sanchez, at nrsanchez@fcps.edu
SEL Screener Google Site
From Dr. Ricardy Anderson:
Mason District Community,
The third quarter is set to close in a little over two weeks on March 28, 2025. Please take a moment to connect with your student’s teacher(s) to discuss their progress. There is still some time to ensure that all assignments have been submitted.
I will be joining Supervisor Andres Jimenez for a Mason District Budget Town Hall on March 26th at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is virtual and details regarding registration are below. Please feel free to submit your questions ahead of time to mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.
There have been many inquiries regarding the potential of various reductions in the County budget and their impact on schools. Please find below the programs which will directly affect FCPS included in the County reduction package.
I value the input I receive from the Mason Community and am happy to address questions or concerns via email or phone. You can reach me by email at rjanderson@fcps.edu. If you are interested in scheduling a phone call, please reach out to my assistant, Cristy Coffey, at cmcoffey@fcps.edu to arrange a time.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has issued a new, first-time waiver allowing students fasting during the school day from February 28 to March 28, 2025, to request take-home breakfast and lunch meal kits. The Office of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) will provide meal kits reflecting the school menu. Meals will be kept cold and must be heated at home. Students may claim one breakfast and one lunch kit per day. If a student purchases breakfast or lunch at school, they cannot pick up a kit that day. Meal kits must be picked up by students at the end of the school day—adults cannot collect them. Parents or guardians must submit a weekly request form via the FCPS FNS website by the deadlines:
-
March 17, 2025, for the week of March 24, 2025
Forms must be submitted on time to receive meal kits for the following week.
On Monday, March 24, parents and guardians of will receive an email with a link to the FCPS Principal Evaluation Parent/Guardian Feedback Form. This questionnaire is part of the Performance Evaluation Program and provides an opportunity to share anonymous feedback about our school’s leadership and environment.
Topics covered in the survey include:
- Instructional leadership
- School climate
- Management (human resources and organizational)
- Communication and community relations
- Culturally responsive and equitable leadership
- Professionalism
The questionnaire will be open March 24 – April 4 and will be collected online. Keep an eye out for an email from FCPSSurvey@fcps.edu and take a few minutes to complete it.
Your input is valuable and helps shape the future of our school. Thank you for your time and feedback!
Holmes Middle School is partnering with Food For Neighbors to help feed our local students who deal with food insecurity outside of school hours. Even in a county as wealthy as Fairfax, one in four kids in our area are struggling with hunger.
Food For Neighbors is a local organization addressing this problem by collecting food from our community via the Red Bag Program and donating directly to our local schools. The food is then distributed to the students every week through our food pantry. We hope you will consider participating in the Red Bag food collection program. You can make a difference in a local student’s life by simply adding a few extra items to your shopping cart every two months.
Here’s how it works:
- Request a reusable Red Bag here and Food For Neighbors will drop it off at your house.
- Fill the Red Bag with food items that are listed on a tag on that bag.
- Put the Red Bag outside your front door in the morning on the next bag collection day. Collection dates are also listed on the bag tag. And don’t worry, FFN will send reminders. Your Red Bag will be picked up from your house, the food sorted at a local school and delivered directly to Holmes. As an added benefit, you can get a tax deduction for the food that you donate!
With your help, even more kids can be fed. For more information on the Red Bag program click here. Check out what items FFN collects as they are targeted to ready-made, individually packaged food items that students and teens can eat on-the-go or with little preparation.
As we partner with FFN, other critical volunteer opportunities include: Driving to pick up filled Red Bags and Sorting the donated food during the Red Bag Day events. Visit the FFN FAQ page to find out more and to sign up to volunteer in these two very important roles. These are great opportunities for our students to receive volunteer service hours, too.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Juan Benavides, Family Liaison at jfbenavides@fcps.edu or Karen Joseph Karen@foodforneighbors.org.
Thanks for helping us provide food to students who need that extra support!
As required by the Code of Virginia, parents or legal guardians need to provide proof of immunizations for their child to attend public school. All students entering seventh grade are required to receive one dose of each of the following immunizations:
- Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis booster (Tdap) given at age 7 or older.
- Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) given at age 10 or older.
- A complete series of 2 doses of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
- After reviewing educational materials approved by the Board of Health, the parent or guardian, at the parents/guardians sole discretion, may elect for the child not to receive the HPV vaccine.
Parents/guardians are encouraged to plan ahead by scheduling an appointment with their child’s health care provider now to avoid the rush this summer. If your child does not have a health care provider, please visit the FCPS Immunizations Resource page to find out where to get an immunization.
Please review the Virginia Department of Health Information Packet for more information on rising 7th grade immunization requirements.
 
Annandale Pyramid Art Show is Thursday, April 3 from 6-8pm at Annandale HS Clausen Hall. Featuring student work from: Annandale HS, Holmes MS, Poe MS, Annandale Terrace ES, Braddock ES, Bren Mar Park ES, Columbia ES, North Springfield ES and Weyanoke ES.
All Day Absence:
1. Use ParentVUE. Log in and click “Report Absence.” Don’t Have a SIS ParentVUE Account Yet? Contact your school for an activation code and follow the directions on the SIS ParentVUE Account webpage.
OR
2. Call the attendance line on 703-658-5919 and leave a message with spelling of your student's first and last names, your | 