The NEST News

INFO YOU NEEED 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

THE THEME FOR 2026-2027

MISSION imPOSSIBLE

ACADEMICS

Strengthening Critical Thinking at Elko!

Thanks for another great week at the Nest!

As we dive deeper into our curriculum, our students are tackling higher-level critical thinking skills every day. To support this growth, we have intentionally capped screen time at 50% or less. By stepping away from computer programs, we're making more room for hands-on learning strategies.

We are returning to high-impact, traditional learning tools—such as structured note-taking, graphic organizers, and text annotation. These proven methods build strong comprehension, helping our students master the rigors of the SOLs while preparing them for high school success.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support as we guide our students through this exciting phase of learning!

SCHOOL OPERATIONS

ATTENDANCE UPDATES

TECHNOLOGY

Partnering for Student Digital Wellness!

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

8th Grade Parents-Counselor Rawls

The Elko Counseling Department is sad to announce that on September 25, 2026, Counselor Rawls will be leaving the Elko Community.

Counselor Rawls has been a cherished member of our school, and we will deeply miss them and the remarkable passion they brought to working with our students every day. Their dedication has made a lasting impact on our school community.

We invite you and your students to join us in wishing Counselor Rawls the absolute best in their next chapter before their final day on September 25. Ms. Bolding will serve as our interim 8th grade counselor. Ms. Bolding was with our school counseling department last year so that she will be a familiar face for our students.

Schedule Changes

September 9th to 23rd is the schedule change request window. Parents can request their students schedule be changed by filling out a google form. When a request is submitted both admin and the counselors will review the request and determine if the change can be made. Fill out the google form here: https://bit.ly/32odMCS

8th Grade Specialty Centers

Highland Springs High School will host an information session with all specialty centers in attendance on Saturday, September 12th, from 11 - 2 pm. https://www.henricoschools.us/page/information-sessions All specialty centers will host individual open houses, you can see those dates here: https://www.henricoschools.us/page/specialty-centers-open-house-schedule

Level Up Elko - starting Wednesday, September 9th, 7th and 8th grade students can sign up to hear from specific specialty centers during Advisory. Currently we have 7 specialty centers signed up to visit our students and hopefully more to come! Students will be able to signup on a google form on the School Counseling Schoology starting Wednesday the 9th.

Tamika Stacy Registrar

Phone ext. 20007

tcstacy@henrico.k12.va.us

Sarah Fish 7th Grade

stfish@henrico.k12.va.us

Gracyn Rawls 8th Grade

glrawls@henrico.k12.va.us

Corey Hancock 6th Grade

clhancock1@henrico.k12.va.us

Jorli Swingen

Director for School Counseling/ EL & last name A- B

Jkswingen@henrico.k12.va.us