Will each group of 120 students in the 6th grade stay together in 7th and 8th grade as well?

In 7th grade, students will have different electives to choose from (foreign languages, coding, etc.). This is one reason we cannot guarantee that they will stay in the same cohort of students.

Will world languages be offered in Watson Mountain MS?

Middle schools in LCPS offer world languages in 7th grade. We will survey parents and students in January of 2025 to determine what languages should be offered when students enter their 7th grade year.

Will the school be a site for the YAS after-school program from Loudoun Parks and Recs?

We have not received notification if we will be a YAS site. If we are not, one of our buses will transport students to a local YAS site.

Will students be allowed to take the next grade math during the summer break. As per my understanding most middle schools in loudoun county allow for this. Is it the same for Watson Mountain?

We will follow the protocols set by LCPS for summer math. This is the information from the Program of Studies (POS) for LCPS:

Virtual Loudoun courses are not available to middle school students during Terms 1 and 2. They may enroll in one (1) course in Term 3-Spring/Summer Session. In addition, non-LCPS courses are not available to middle school students during the school year or during the summer. Courses taken at an institution or with a vendor may not be transferred in for credit during middle school.

Incoming class size and number of classes for 6th grade

We have 510 students in our current enrollment. We believe we may have over 600 by the beginning of the school year. That will determine the number of classes.

Do we know how busses will work? knowing LCPS is already constrained for drivers, will there be dedicated busses for Watson?

We do not know how many buses we will have at the moment. We have been informed that transportation is investigating this and should have an answer soon.

Will kids be allowed to access their mobiles

It will be the expectation that mobiles be housed in the student’s locker.

Will students be able to use their lockers?

Yes, all students will be expected to use their locker. Our staff will help students learn middle school organizational skills, and using their locker will be one important aspect of organization.

How is the projected increase in population impact the school space capacity. More houses are getting build and would be sold before school start.

Our school’s capacity is 1445 total students. We will be able to accommodate all 6th graders who will enroll next year. Not all houses that are sold will have middle school students.

What are school safety measures have been implemented for Watson Mountain? Example. Unauthorized personnel on premise, resource officers assigned etc.

Like all other LCPS schools, we will have protocols established by the Safety and Security. We will have one SRO (from Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department), and one LCPS Safety and Security Officer (SSO). Visitors will be asked to follow the protocols found on this site: https://www.lcps.org/Page/224227

What is syllabus of math for 6rh and 7th grade? So tyat we can decide if we need to skip or not.

Here are the VDOE syllabi for both courses:

Math 6:

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48936/638296739041730000

Math 7:

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48941/638307953444130000

Would the construction be fully completed by the time school session starts in August? Or the construction would still be continuing while students are attending the school?

We believe construction will be fully completed by the start of school. Construction has met every target date on their proposed timeline.

Will lockers be assigned to each student or optional?

Each student will have an assigned locker.

Are there any plans for starting up clubs for the enrichment of the students

Yes, we would like to offer enrichment courses for students. This will be discussed at the parent organization formation meeting. Information will be shared with all families after the meeting.

Any chance we can partner with Loudoun farmers to eat delicious and healthy lunches? I was amazed living in Japan with their public school lunches that had a monthly menu with no repeats and a wide variety of interesting lunches, not a repeat of mozzarella sticks, nuggets, and nachos. Our kids need real food and I’ve seen it done.

Here is a website that details nutrition and menu information.

https://lcpshealthycafe.org/index.php?sid=2407151445268563

Efforts have been made to continuously examine and modify menu options to be healthier and represent the diversity of our student body.

If kids aren’t able to make the orientation camp due to pre-planned vacations, would you consider having another session or opportunity for kids to get familiar with the new school?

Yes! We will have at least two events to welcome families into our building prior to the first day of school. These events are dependent on the successful occupancy of the building.

When will a Special Education Team be in place to begin IEP transition meetings?

Our assistant principal will start on April 1. The assistant principal and/or principal will attend the transition IEPs they are invited to by the elementary schools.

My son is a rising 6th grader from Elaine Thompson. We will be on vacation during the sneak peak week. Will he have an opportunity to see the school, find his locker and his classes, etc. before school starts? Thank you,

Yes. We will have an event called Load your Locker. A date will be determined soon.

I attended your presentation. There was a lot of time spent on accelerated math. In the interest of inclusion, it would have been nice to learn what sped programs will be offered. If you have that information at this point.

Thank you for this question. As of today (2/3/24), we have not received information related to what special education programs will be offered at Watson Mountain MS.

Hi Lenny, as a former police officer my question involves security. While I think the building is beautiful the 4 stories concerned me a bit if there god forbid was ever an active shooter situation. Is there an egress plan for students on floors 2,3 and 4 in the event of a security issue like this? I did not want to ask this at Legacy and freak people out or put you on the spot but hoping fire and situations like these have been considered and planned for.

Yes! In the construction process, the Director of Safety and Security for LCPS was at the table to discuss safety measures. In the coming months, each department, including Safety and Security, will present detailed plans related to ensuring the safety of our students and staff.

Will there be any after-school activities or clubs offered, and if so, do you think some will be up and running in the first quarter? How are they formed, ie. teacher-sponsored or student-led?

Please see question 14. We hope to offer clubs as soon as practicable.

What happens if a student has an IEP at the elementary school, how does that transition into the middle school?

Once our staff is formed, students will be assigned a case manager. We plan to have a special meeting prior to the start of school for parents of students who receive services.

When will the school be ready?

We believe the school will be ready on time.

If not all the time will they be allowed during lunch

Students will have at least 30 minutes for lunch.

At what time will the school day start? Will it be the same time as BAM?

We have not been informed what time our school will start. This information will be shared with the community when it becomes available.

Having 3 older siblings go through Loudoun and talking with other families, there is a problem with kids needing the most expensive goods feeling that everyone else has them. Any way to require volunteering in the community and emphasis on helping each other versus wearing better shoes or driving newer cars?

We do hope to offer service opportunities to interested students.

Will there be contained classes and honors classes? How will they be chosen?

Depending on the need of service, there is a possibility of some self-contained classes.

If grade-level classes are eliminated (all Honors- except Math), will there be any differentiation between types of students in each class, ie by teacher recommendation for those to be in Honors vs. standard? Or will students all be assigned randomly to each class? My sincere fear is that without differentiation of any kind between student abilities (and all students do not have the same academic abilities), there will be a disservice to all students on both ends of the spectrum. Thank you!

Our staff will be adept at supporting all students through appropriate differentiation. A staff read will be Carol Ann Tomilson’s, How to Differentiate Instruction in an Academically Diverse Classroom.

You can find information on this book at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Differentiate-Instruction-Academically-Diverse-Classrooms/dp/1416623302

Is the math trajectory revisited every year?In theory, if a student takes Math 6 in 6th grade,could they take Pre- Algebra in 7th?

We look at each student’s progress throughout the year and at the end of the year. If we have data to support a different trajectory, we will partner with families and teachers to support the student’s academic goals.

Are the teachers going to come from existing LCPS middle schools or will all teachers be hired?

The majority of our teachers will come from existing LCPS middle schools.

Will you monitor mobile usage by kids during bathroom if not allowed during school

In response to question 7, we shared that we expect mobiles to be in our student’s locker. Phones should never be in the bathroom.

Can you please share the plan for world language curriculum in 7th grade?

Depending on the interests of our students, the following courses may be offered:

https://sites.google.com/lcps.org/program-of-studies-2024-2025/ms-world-languages