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Dear Thoreau Families,
This week's holiday spirit days have been fantastic, culminating in today's fun-filled door decorating contest. Thank you to the PTA and all the families who donated cookies for our staff – they were truly appreciated!
We're thrilled to announce our amazing Thoreau Middle School staff members who have been selected for awards this year! The nominations we received showcased the incredible dedication and exceptional work of our educators and support staff.
- Outstanding Teacher Olivia Hinrichsen- Civics Teacher
- Outstanding New Teacher Emily Borkowski- ESOL Teacher
- Outstanding Leader Rachael Feiertag- Assistant Principal
- Outstanding Professional Employee Frangca Lee- Counselor
- Outstanding Operational Employee Maureen Berry- Office Assistant
These nominations will be submitted for consideration at the Madison Pyramid Award level the week we return from winter break. Do you have a story or anecdote that highlights the dedication of a nominated staff member? Your input can strengthen their nomination! Please share your feedback via this Google Form. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the award recipients! Their talent and commitment are truly appreciated, and we're so fortunate to have them at Thoreau Middle School.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Teresa Khuluki
Principal
The Thoreau main office will be closed on
Monday, December 23 through Friday, January 3.
We start winter vacation at the end of the day today, and we would like to wish all of you a wonderful break. To that end, we have communicated to the Thoreau faculty the need to give our students (and themselves) a respite from the daily grind of schoolwork during the winter break. While teachers may have long-term assignments that span over the course of a break, I have shared with the faculty to not assign homework, projects, essays, etc., to be specifically done over the break.
This break, all of us need the opportunity to spend time with our families and friends. We want our students to have the opportunity to catch a breath from schoolwork and to enjoy time with friends and family. We also want our teachers to decompress and put their lesson plan books and laptops away for a few days to enjoy time with their friends and family. Our goal is to have students and teachers return to school anxiety-free without the pressure of looming deadlines. This is a unified message that Madison pyramid principals are sending out to all our schools.
We continue to be thankful for all the hard work on the part of our staff and students.
Service learning is a civic education curricular standard, and FCPS encourages a target of 15 total hours of recorded service learning for grades 7-8. To this end, the Thoreau Civics Department is offering all students a Day of Service experience through all Civics class periods on Thursday, 1/16 and Friday, 1/17. Do you volunteer your time or resources to a particular group or organization? If so, please reach out to Hannah Converse, Thoreau’s Advanced Academic Resource Teacher (AART), at hpconverse@fcps.edu. We are in need of at least three more facilitators to lead our students in either a service-oriented presentation or service-learning activity (25-30 minutes in duration) on both the 16th and 17th for most of the school day (7:30-2:00). Our intentions for our Day of Service are to expose all our students during the school day to different service-learning opportunities and to expand their notions of how they can contribute positively to our community.
Students who are involved with planning a service learning project may count the planning time as service learning hours. The time taken to reflect on the service learning activity may also be counted as service learning hours.
For your planning purposes, please make note of the following registration events
in preparation for the 2025-2026 school year:
Rising 9th Grade Academic Advising and Course Registration Information
Please see individual school websites for additional details
Oakton High School Curriculum Night (Oakton HS Informational Flyer)
Thursday, January 9, 2025
4:30 PM – 6:30 PM (specific sessions outlined in the above flyer)
Madison High School Curriculum Night (Madison HS Information)
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Auditorium Presentation
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Curriculum Fair/Elective Showcase
Marshall High School Curriculum Night
Thursday, February 6, 2025
In addition to these events, counselors from Madison, Marshall and Oakton High School will be meeting with Thoreau students through our Eagle Time class on the following dates:
Oakton HS: Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Madison HS: Friday, January 10, 2025
Marshall HS: Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Throughout the months of January and February Thoreau teachers and counselors will meet with 8th grade students for 1-1 academic advising sessions to ensure they are fully registered for the 2025-2026 school year. Counselors will send updates to families in January as we complete steps in this process.
Rising 8th Grade Academic Advising and Course Registration Information
Thoreau counselors will conduct course presentations in mid-February and will continue to work with students and families through mid-March to complete this process.
Rising 7th Grade Academic Advising and Course Registration Information
Rising 7th Grade Parent Coffee
Wednesday, January 15th
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM; Eagle Hall
This is an optional event for parents to learn more about the key differences between standard level, honors level, and AAP level IV core classes at Thoreau. A larger session on this topic will be offered at Curriculum Night, this is an opportunity to preview that information in a smaller setting
Thoreau Activity Fairs for Rising 7th Grade Students
Thursday, February 6th and Friday, February 7th
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Students are transported to Thoreau MS from feeder elementary schools for this event
Dates for individual schools are available on our web site and will be sent home in the coming weeks
Thoreau Curriculum Night & Family Open House
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 @ Thoreau MS
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Detailed invitation and session information will be published in January
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The Madison Athletic Department will be hosting an informational session on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2025, at 6:30pm – Auditorium – Door #19. The event is designed for rising frosh and parents/guardians to receive information transitioning to high school athletics. Current Madison student-athletes will be on hand to share their experiences.
Please complete the form HERE if you have a specific topic that you would like to hear more information.
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After-School is an amazing opportunity for our staff & students to connect outside of the normal school day hours! Students & staff are coming up with some really creative clubs to kick off this exciting school year. After-School clubs & late buses will continue to occur on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between the hours of 2:25pm - 4:45pm throughout the school year!
Check out all of the after-school information linked below!
Please have your student access these links using their FCPS Google account!
Weekly After-School Club Schedule – this is the club schedule for the week of January 6th – January 10th. The weekly club schedule is updated weekly since clubs are always being added as they are created by students and Thoreau staff. If a club is highlighted and crossed out, that means that the club will not be meeting that day.
Club Descriptions – learn a little bit more about what each particular club is and what they will be offering to the students.
Late Bus Routes/Stops – help your child find their late bus stop. Late buses depart from Thoreau on Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 4:30pm-5pm only!
NO After-School Activities or Late Bus Transportation on: Early Release Days, County Holidays or possible cancellation due to inclement weather.
In January, the Family Resource Center (FRC) will host the following webinars and events for families:
Sign up for the FRC newsletter or visit their webinar webpage.
You are an important part of your child’s education! The Family Academy compiles classes, webinars, workshops, and programs offered by FCPS to help you support your child’s needs and learning at home. Browse Family Academy offerings.
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