The Nest News- 4th Edition-September 15-19, 2025

Eagles Strong

INFO YOU NEED TO KNOW

VISION-

At Elko Middle School, we are committed to soaring from good to great by cultivating a culture of educational excellence, innovation, and community engagement. Our vision is to empower ever student to reach their full potential—academically, socially, and personally.

We will measure our success by:

Sustaining full accreditation through rigorous academic achievement and continuous improvement.
Expanding extracurricular opportunities that foster creativity, leadership, and collaboration.
Building strong partnerships with local businesses, community organizations, staff and student learning and real-world

MISSION

Elko Middle School is committed to fostering a growth mindset by providing a high-quality education and data-driven instruction within a safe and inclusive environment.

THE THEME FOR 2025-2026

MISSION imPOSSIBLE

ACADEMICS

Eagles,

We are off to a great start to the school year! Students are currently completing their initial diagnostic assessments in English, math, science, and social studies. This information is vital as it helps us understand each student's academic strengths and identify areas where they may need extra support.

Last Friday, September 5th, we held our first club meetings of the year. It's been exciting to see students engage with new interests, and we appreciate their input in helping us shape the club offerings. Clubs will continue to meet every Monday and Friday during advisory classes.

As we move forward, we want to emphasize the importance of literacy and math practice at home. We encourage you to challenge your student to read a book or article of their choice. Consistent reading practice is key to building the comprehension skills needed for all their subjects.

Additionally, please encourage your student to consistently practice the math concepts and processes they learn in class. Math skills build on each other, and regular practice will help them better grasp and retain new information, leading to greater success in their classes.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

ONS

ATTENDANCE UPDATES

Contacts/Pick-up Lists:

Please make sure your student’s pick-up list is up to date by updating the Contacts listed in PowerSchool. You can do this by logging in to your Parent Portal account. Anyone coming to pick up a student for early dismissal MUST be listed in PowerSchool. If someone is not listed in PowerSchool, we will not be able to call the student down.

EARLY DISMISSAL: The cut off time for early dismissals is 2:30 pm.

REMINDER:

Attendance flyer -English

Attendance flyer- Spanish

ATTENTIION-STUDENT PICK UP

Anyone picking up a student from Elko Middle School must present an ID.

If you do not have an ID, the student will not be released. This requirement is in place to ensure the safety of our students.

Additionally, if the person picking up the student is not listed as a contact in PowerSchool, the student will not be released to them.

COUNSELOR'S CORNER

Counselor's Corner

REMINDERS:

Schedule Changes

The schedule change request window will be open from Wednesday, September 3rd through Wednesday, September 17th. This will be the only opportunity to request schedule changes..

Please note:

You can request a schedule change by completing this google form:
https://forms.gle/r5GNkApSewQnZaur9
Students will be contacted directly by their counselor once their request has been reviewed.
Schedule changes will not begin until Monday, September 8th.

8th Grade Specialty Center and ACE Center Corner

Upcoming dates:

September 23 -
Bridge Builders Virtual Information Session:
Join us from 6:00–7:00 PM for a virtual overview of the Specialty Centers available to our students. The presentation will be offered in both English and Spanish.
September 26 - Specialty Center presentation for all 8
th
grade Elko students during Electives and PE
September 29- Application opens at 9am
November 14 - Application Closes

Please see this site for more information about specific open houses: https://www.henricoschools.us/page/student-timeline

More information about the ACE centers will be available at a later date.

6th and 7th Grade - IB Application Window Now Open!

Families interested in applying to the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program can now submit applications to attend the IB program at Fairfield Middle School for the rest of their IB Career. Don’t miss out—the window closes October 6! For more information, please contact Dr. Swingen in school counseling or see the Henrico County website: https://www.henricoschools.us/page/middle-school-special-programs

6th Grade - (Substitute for Ms. Fish) Jennifer Bolding jbolding@henrico.k12.va.us

7th Grade - Counselor Rawls glrawls@henrico.k12.va.us

8th Grade - Ms. Flowers acflowers@henrico.k12.va.us

EL and last names A-B - Dr. Swingen: jkswingen@henrico.k12.va.us

Please see this site for more information about specific open houses:

https://www.henricoschools.us/page/student-timeline

EVENTS

WORLD'S FINEST CHOCOLATE SALES

Chocolate sale

We are excited to launch our school-wide World’s Finest Chocolate Fundraiser! Proceeds directly support student events and activities and we need your help to make it a success.

Fundraiser Assembly – Monday, September 15
The assembly will be held during elective classes in the auditorium.

Permission Slips – Required! Students must have a signed permission slip to receive a box of chocolate. Slips will be distributed after the assembly, and chocolate will be handed out the following day, Tuesday, September 16.

Money Collection & Announcements
Students should turn in money when they arrive at school after selling a box of chocolate. If they want another box to sell please indiate on the permission slip.

Important Dates

Fundraiser Starts: Monday, September 15

Fundraiser Ends: Wednesday, October 15

We can’t wait to see our students get involved! Remember to sign and return the permission slip so your student can participate and help make a difference in our school community.

Click here for a digital permission form for the World Finest Chocolate Fundraiser.

Chocolate fundraiser (English) Chocolate fundraiser (Spanish)