The Falcon Connection

Dates are current as of publication. Check the QHMS website and social media for updates.

FEBRUARY

• Mon 3 Report Card Pick Up Night 5:30-7:00 Drop In
  
• Mon 3 Student Led Conf Forms due to Math teachers!
• Mon 3 Basketball at JM Robinson
• Mon 3 Special Olympics
• Tues 4 Report Cards Distributed (if not picked up Monday)
• Tues 4 Elective Course Cards Sent Home
• Wed 5 Mid Year Interim Testing
• Wed 5 South Meck Sabre Showcase 5:30-7:00 (SMHS)
• Thur 6 Mid Year Interim Testing
• Thur 6 Home Basketball v. AG
• Fri 7 Mid Year Interim Testing
• Fri 7 Honor Roll Celebration
• Tues 11 SLT Quarterly Meeting
• Feb 13 Valentine's Day Dance 4:30-6:00 **Details coming soon!
• Mon 17 NO SCHOOL: Teacher Workday
• Wed 19 6th grade Family Program with Ana Homayoun

We will be featuring a Family leader Opportunity around the 7 Habits in each edition of the Falcon Connection! Check our the full parent guide here).

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind. Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen.To help your student (and maybe other members of the family!) try out some of these activities!

Begin with the end in mind:

1. Discuss your child’s career ambitions and help him or her identify the most important skills that will be needed to succeed in that career. Then encourage your child to meet with the school counselor to discuss his or her career ambitions, and the skills it will require, and plan the school path that will make it happen.

2. Identify and encourage extracurricular activities that support your child’s goals.

3. Help your child look for jobs and internships related to his or her goals.

4. Older kids have more expensive “wants,” but they are also capable of earning more money. Ask your teen if there is something special he or she would like to buy, then help your child plan how much money he or she will need to save and how long it will take. Discuss ideas for earning extra money like getting a part time-job or doing extra chores.

Dress for Success is an inclusive event for all students to participate in every Tuesday. We encourage all students to dress professionally every Tuesday. Dressing professionally could be from wearing a tie or bow tie, a polo, dress, skirt, or you can dress like a professional, you know, or you can dress like you would in your future career! Throughout the year, there will be more leadership opportunities for students with Dress for Success! Thank you for your support!!

All students are engaged in a Leadership Club that meets every Wednesday during the Leader In Me time block. Each club supports leadership in some way around the school. This feature will share the exciting things being done by our amazing Falcons!

Young Men of the Hollow is a Leadership club of 6th and 7th grade young men. This club strives to help it's members to be leaders at home, at school, and in their community. Quail Hollow teacher, Mr. Lyons, has partnered with Officer Green and Officer McCrary from the Community Outreach department of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office to lead this club. Lessons this year have included learning how to tie a necktie (pictured below) and building positive relationships and etiquette.

Earlier this week, students completed a pink student led conference sheet that should be used to help facilitate a productive student-led conference at home. Students should guide their families in the process and parents should complete the parent portion. This form must be given to the student’s MATH teacher by February 3. We also still would love to see ALL parents at Report Card Pick Up Night on Monday, February 3. The event will be drop in from 5:30-7:00. We are also excited to announce that a representative from the public library will be here to help you navigate resources available in the branches and online. And finally, there will be *Free* pizza courtesy of Communities in Schools for families while supplies last! We look forward to seeing you Monday!

Students will start the course registration process for the 2020-2021 school year next week by selecting the electives they are interested in. Parents who attend Report Card Pick Up Night on Monday, February 3 will also pick up their child's elective registration card. Students who are unable to attend will receive their elective registration cards during homeroom on Tuesday, February 4, along with their report card. Course registration cards must be returned to homeroom teachers on or before Friday, February 14. Core class registration will take place after the third round of MAP testing. This information being sent home is only for rising 7th and 8th graders. More information will come soon for rising 9th graders.

At Quail Hollow Middle School, we are always focused on the safety, security and well-being of our students and staff. Last school year, as part of CMS’ Circle of Safety, the CMS Police Department successfully implemented a safety screening process in randomly selected high schools. The purpose of the safety screenings was to serve as a deterrent for students bringing drugs or weapons to school.

I want to notify you that safety screenings in our middle schools and in the middle school grades of our K-8 schools will begin in February, while we continue to conduct high school screenings. Schools will always be selected at random.

CMS’ safety screening process includes students being moved to a location outside the classroom to proceed through a metal detector. During this time the drug detection K9 and firearm detection K9 are brought into the classroom by their handlers to screen the students’ belongings. A team of CMS Security Associates, CMS Police Department K9 handlers and the CMSPD Chief conduct and oversee each screening, with assistance from myself and other building administrators. Families will be notified via ConnectEd messages when a safety screening begins and when it is completed.

Two important notes: schools are selected at random but individual students are never identified for screening. In addition, the K9s are never in contact with students. The students are removed to a separate location while the dogs and their handlers conduct their screening.

A letter with more details about this process was sent home with your student on Friday, January 31. Should you have questions or require additional information, please feel free to contact me. Copies of the letters can be found below.

The International Festival is a celebration of ALL backgrounds and heritages! Come dance, watch performances, play games, try new foods, and celebrate the beautiful diversity of Quail Hollow! The event is Saturday, April 25 1:00-3:00! More info to come soon!

This year, we have begun using HERO to recognize positive student behavior. This online system captures data about what students are doing in a platform that students can view and that parents can view, too. Want to learn more about HERO? Click the link below to see the explanation. Parents can also log in to see their student's progress! Check out those directions below, too!

Quail Hollow Middle School is no longer a CEP school and lunch is no longer provided for free. Families only need to submit one application for all students. Applications can be found at:

https://www.wearecms.com/apps/pages/applyforfreeorreducedmeals

Families have a 30 day grace period in to a new school year to complete meal applications but this period will come to a close on 10/8/19. Students that do not have an approved meal application for free or reduced price lunch will need to pay $2.75 beginning 10/8/19. Breakfast will continue to be served to all students, every school day, at no charge.

Pre-K, elementary and middle school students who do not have an approved application on file and do not have money in their account will receive a complete meal. The price of the meal will be charged to the student’s account. Students will be asked to return any extra items on their tray to the cashier. Parent/guardian is responsible for reimbursing the cafeteria for any money charged to the student’s account, even if an application is approved at a later date.

Parent/guardian is responsible for making sure their child has an approved application on file. If a letter detailing the status of the meal application is not received within 10 working days after the application is submitted, call (980) 343-6041 to inquire about the status of your application.

We are pleased to inform you that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) will continue to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for School Year 2018-19. Schools participating in the CEP are able to provide healthy breakfasts and lunches each day at no charge for ALL students enrolled in the school. No paperwork necessary! Read more about the CEP Program.

QHMS School Teachers are committed to supporting all Falcon learners. Falcons have the opportunity to attend tutoring with each if their teachers at least once weekly. QHMS School Teachers have made a commitment to offer tutoring before and/or after school at least once a week. For specific days and times as well as other information about tutoring, click here!

Want to know where your student's bus is in real-time?! Download the Here Comes the Bus App and see where the bus is!

Here Comes the Bus is a school bus tracking app that can simplify morning and afternoon routines for parents and students by giving them real-time bus location and text or email notification alerts to help get them to the bus stop on time. Here Comes the Bus utilizes our GPS data and an easy to use customizable map that works on a computer, tablet or smartphone.

Signing up is EASY! On your desktop computer, you can sign up at https://herecomesthebus.com/getting-started/. You will need the district code (73877) and your student's ID number to sign up. For your smartphone or tablet, download the Here Comes the Bus app from the App Store or Google Play.

Once activated, you can customize or edit features, including how the app will communicate with you and the size of the notification radius around your bus stop.

Pro Tip: If you used the app last year, you may need to uninstall and reinstall the app for all of the features to work!

Please take time to review the Dress Code with your student. Please note that bottoms must be fist length when the students arms are fully extended. A few more highlights: straps must be three fingers wide (no off the shoulder tops), leggings are only allowed with a top that is fist length or longer. Check out the dress code here.

National Junior Honor Society now has a website! Visit http://bit.ly/NJHS2020 for meeting dates, current projects and upcoming volunteer opportunities!

Quail Hollow Middle School is in need of backpacks for some of our students. We have a lot of students who have families that cannot afford to get backpacks for students when they enroll or when their current backpack wears out and tears. If you are able to do so please drop off a new backpack at the school in the bin provided outside of our front office. Thank you so much for your support!

Want to extend a small gesture to a QH staff member but not sure what they like? Check out our list of Favorite Things! This list is also posted under the "News" section of our school website.

Your Booster Club funds go directly to Quail Hollow sports programs, to supplement our physical education department and growing school spirit!

Forms to join Booster Club are in the front office or went home with your child this week. Return the form to the front office or their homeroom teacher.

If you are interested in volunteering or would like specific information on what the Booster Club supports please contact Sara Harb at scharb2317@gmail.com

GO FALCONS!

This is one of the EASIEST ways for our families to help our school earn funds from the generous donation from Harris Teeter. Each year, you must re-link your card to Quail Hollow Middle School. Click here to link your card. Our school code is 1471. You can also mention this code at check out the next time you shop!

Do you have a rising 7th through rising 9th-grade student that is looking for an interactive and engaging summer STEM experience? Introducing the new Wake Forest University Middle School Summer Exploration Program! Our six-day, overnight summer program offers hands-on learning of STEM topics such as forensics, genetics, hydrology, and epidemiology led by our very own Wake Forest faculty and staff. Students will engage in learning through the lens of a Zombie Apocalypse on campus. They will be challenged with the task of curing the infected and preventing the spread of a mysterious toxin before the entire campus becomes contaminated. Our summer 2020 application is now live. Apply today! If you are interested in learning more about our program, click here or feel free to reach out to us at middleschool@wfu.edu. Need-based scholarships may be available for those who qualify.

Having trouble logging on to your Chromebook from home? Follow these easy steps to get through the filtering process!

1. Connect to your home Wi-Fi
   
2. Log in to Chrome with your Chromebook user name: StudentID@student.cms.k12.nc.us password: your Chrome password
   
3. Once you enter the first website, you will encounter the filtering process. Type in your: user name: StudentID@cms.k12.nc.us
   
4. Last screen of credentials type in your: user name: StudentID@cms.k12.nc.us password: YYYYMMDD (8 digit birthdate)
   

There is also a tutorial video here.

The Falcon Connection is a volunteer collaboration with the school, and would love to hear your news! Send us ideas for stories, and definitely send us your favorite photos! Want to help out? Have a correction or an update? Let us know!

Email: jaimes.mccaughna@cms.k12.nc.us
Website: https://wearecms-quailhollowmiddleschool.edlioschool.com/
Location: 2901 Smithfield Church Road, Charlotte, NC, United States
Phone: 980-343-3620
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuailHollowMiddleSchool
Twitter: @QuailHollowMS