The Mustang Messenger

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Good evening, JLS Mustang Families!

This past week was definitely another awesome one at Simpson as it gave us a wonderful chance to see so many of our families on campus!

Our First Quarter Honor Roll Assemblies on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, November 15-17 were incredibly well attended to support our Mustangs...and it made me think that we need to build a parking garage adjacent to our school. ;-) We really enjoyed welcoming our families to these inspiring events, witnessing our honorees shine on stage with their certificates, and enjoying some special time with one another in celebration in our cafeteria afterwards. It was refreshing to see the return of so many former Mustangs as representatives and mentors from clubs/organizations at Loudoun County High School as they joined us for all three days to recognize their younger peers.

We also had our second PEP (Parents as Educational Partners) Meeting of the current school year on Thursday, November 16, which revealed an impressive level of attendance of families to learn more from Mr. Cabezas, our PEP Sponsor, about how they can engage on a variety of topics to support their Mustang's continued success at JLS. Our Empowered Girls under the leadership of Ms. Herrin and Ms. Ashley were rock stars as they prepared delicious quesadillas and chocolate brownies for our families to enjoy. We also would like to thank our Loudoun County HS NHS / Tri-M representatives for their support by providing tutoring and childcare for our Mustangs and their younger siblings in the library during the meeting time. A sincere note of gratitude to Mr. Cabezas, Ms. Chisholm, Ms. Lee, Ms. Costic, Ms. Matz, Ms. Miller, Ms. Herrin, Ms. Simpson, Ms. Kennedy, Ms. Ashley, Ms. Oliver, Mr. Dungan, Mr. Filsinger, and Ms. Lopez for supporting our PEP event as well!

The interims for Quarter 2 will be upon us during the week of Monday, December 4 - Friday, December 8, 2023, so please do check with your Mustangs about their current performance by reviewing Schoology / StudentVue with them...and empower them to connect with their teachers if they have any questions or need any further support in their classes.

Finally, an enormous expression of GRATITUDE and APPRECIATION to all of you as our Mustang community. It has been such a pleasure collaborating with you, our students, and our Mustang Professional Staff each day at Simpson. I find myself to be very fortunate on a regular basis and look forward to a bright future in our community to work together in pursuing the utmost of HONORABLE, ENGAGED, RESPECTFUL, and DEDICATED quality efforts from all of us as Mustangs!

Enjoy the forthcoming Thanksgiving Recess with your family and friends. You deserve it!

Dr. Frank G. "Tripp" Di Nicola, III

Principal

JL Simpson Middle School

Monday, November 20 - A Day

Tuesday, November 21 - B Day

• Crazy Hat Day - Wear Your Best School-Appropriate Hat!
• 8:30 AM-10:00 AM: Drama Students Visit Evergreen Elementary
• 10:30 AM -1:30 PM: Bloom Day Event

Wednesday, November 22 - Friday, November 24 - Thanksgiving Holiday - No School

Monday, November 27 - A Day

Tuesday, November 28 - B Day

• 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM: PTO Meeting - Library/Media Center

Wednesday, November 29 - A Day

• Clubs During The Day Bell Schedule - See graphic below.
• 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM - After School Clubs
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes - Aux Gym (Ms. O'Hara, Sponsor)
• Student Council Association - B12 (Ms. Herrin and Ms. Suttie, Sponsors)
• Empowered Girls - A17 (Ms. Ashley and Ms. Herrin, Sponsors)

Thursday, November 30 - B Day

• 8:30 AM - 3:18 PM: Bring Your Parent to School Day

• 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM - After School Clubs
• Writers Club - Library/Media Center (Ms. Everett, Sponsor)
• Running Club - Meet in main entrance vestibule (Dr. Di Nicola, Sponsor)

Friday, December 1 - A Day

We are excited to announce our 2023 Simpson Spring Musical, Mary Poppins, Jr. If your student is interested in auditioning for cast or crew positions, please plan to attend the mandatory parent information night on Thursday, November 30 at 5:30 pm in the Simpson Auditorium.

Auditions will take place in January (more information to follow).

• Bus passes are back!

Beginning November 14 we will resume bus passes. If your student is planning to take a bus with another student after school, please send a written note or email to your house secretary. Once permission from parent or guardian is received, the secretary will prepare a bus pass to be picked up by the student at dismissal time. We kindly ask that all notes/emails are received during the morning so that passes can be ready for pick up in the afternoon. We cannot accept bus pass permissions after 3:00 pm.

• Early Dismissal Procedures:

When picking up your student(s) for early dismissal, please be advised that you will need to come to the main front door to show your photo ID. Please keep in mind that lunch times are extremely busy and may require extra time to locate students. We recommend that lunch pick ups be avoided when possible. While we recognize that last minute things come up, we request that you do not pick up students for early dismissal after 3:00 pm unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

Save the Date! The PTO will be hosting a Bingo Night on December 6th in the cafeteria. Stay tuned for more information!

The Simpson Book Fair is Coming!

Merry Mustangs is a program that strives to support the needs of students and their families at Simpson Middle School. We are collecting donations to provide families with retail gift cards. During this Season of Giving, please consider donating to the Merry Mustangs Program.

There are 2 ways you can contribute.

• You can purchase and donate gift cards in any denomination. Ideas for store gift cards include Target, Walmart, Nike, Aeropostale, Old Navy, Marshalls, Ross, and Dicks Sporting Goods. Donations can be dropped off at the Simpson front office Monday-Friday 8:30 am - 3:30 pm. We will be collecting gift cards through December 8th. Please use this link to sign up for gift card donations.

• You can make a monetary donation (any amount) that will be used to purchase various gift cards. Monetary donations can be made here through School Cash Online.

The application process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology is now open. Current 8th grade students who meet the eligibility criteria below are invited to apply for the 2024-2025 school year. Please feel free to share this information with your eligible students. To apply, students must be:

• in 8th grade
• interested in STEM
• enrolled in Algebra 1 or higher
• enrolled in science honors and one other honors course (English or Social Studies)
• Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher (7th grade & first quarter of 8th grade)

Click here for the TJ Application Details.

Application portal: https://jasonline.fcps.edu/jase-web/jase

Last day to open an application is November 15 at 4:00 PM.

Application deadline is November 17th at 4:00PM.

If you have questions, please contact our 8th grade counselor, sabrina.jeane@lcps.org

Our lost and found tables are already becoming quite crowded. We have accumulated quite a few unclaimed hoodies, water bottles, lunch boxes and other various items. Please ask your students to check the lost and found tables outside of each of the house offices. Items that go unclaimed will be donated later.

Did you know that you can order your yearbook now? Orders can be placed at yearbookordercenter.com

Be sure to use our school code 13625

The Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition presents middle and high school students an opportunity to identify an issue in their communities and implement a solution as they contribute to the world around them.

In the past few years, we have seen projects delve deep based on things already being done in school as part of Project Based Learning and Personalized Learning methods. These provide the perfect place for students to make their project work public by explaining, displaying and presenting it to people beyond the classroom. As in the past, students will create a five (5)-minute team video due on February 21, 2024, and then the top 20 teams will present live to judges on March 11, 2024. The Finals and Awards Ceremony will be on March 21, 2024, where the top 10 teams will be invited to present for cash prizes.

Please refer to this slide presentation for complete information on how to participate, photos of past competitions, and more.

To hear from a previous competition winner, check out this short video clip.

Registration for the Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition is now open. You will find information about SULYC and the link for the application at: www.loudounyouth.org under Programs: Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition.

Are you trying to figure out how to stay involved during those middle school years?

There are small and big ways that really make an impact on our AMAZING school! Please reach out to Natalie Sutter nsutter@gmail.com or Sara Conner sbc070178@gmail.com if you are interested in helping with our PTO activities in any way. You can also sign up to help by clicking here!

The PTO has many things planned for our staff and students! Check out our Volunteer Signup! A board member will reach out with more details!

• FREE Grade Level Events for each grade
• Monty's Cafe (Coming back for a 3rd year)
• Family Bingo Night w/ Silent Auction and Concessions
• Enhance our social media platforms
• Lots of Appreciation Days / Weeks for Staff
• Joint 5K with other middle schools

Click here for the Official J.L. Simpson MS PTO Webpage.

We look forward to engaging all of our Mustang families in PTO in service and support of all of our children!

Be sure to check here often as we will continue to add dates and events as they become available.

December 6 - PTO Bingo (more information coming)

December 11-15 - Book Fair in the Library/Media Center

December 13 - Monty's Cafe Open at 8am at school main entrance

December 14 - PEP Meeting - 5:30pm - Cafeteria

December 21-January 1 - No School - Winter Break

January 15 - No School - Holiday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 17 - Monty's Cafe Open at 8am at school main entrance

January 19 - End of Second Grading Period

January 22 - No School - Student Holiday

February 9 - No School - Holiday - Lunar New Year

February 15 - PEP Meeting - 5:30pm - Cafeteria

February 19 - No School - Holiday - Presidents' Day

February 21 - Monty's Cafe Open at 8am at school main entrance

March 5 - No School - Student Holiday

March 14 - PEP Meeting - 5:30pm - Cafeteria

March 20 - Monty's Cafe Open at 8am at school main entrance

March 25 - 29 - No School - Spring Break

April 4 - End of Third Grading Period

April 5 - No School - Student Holiday

April 10 - No School - Holiday - Eid al Fitr

April 17 - Monty's Cafe Open at 8am at school main entrance

April 18 - PEP Meeting

May 15 - Monty's Cafe Open at 8am at school main entrance

May 27 - No School - Holiday - Memorial Day

June 5 - Monty's Cafe Open at 8am at school main entrance

June 14 - Last Day of School/End of Fourth Grading Period

Email: Tripp.DiNicola@lcps.org
Website: https://www.lcps.org/jlsms
Location: J. Lupton Simpson Middle School, Evergreen Mills Rd, Leesburg, VA, USA
Phone: 5712522840
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JLSimpsonMS2020/
Twitter: @JLSMS_Official