August GHMS Update Newsletter 2026

Greetings Hampton Families,

What a great first week we have had welcoming our students back to school!

For the 2026-2027 school year, PWCS has updated its late arrival procedures. If a student arrives late or returns from an appointment, a parent or guardian must accompany the student into the school and sign them in. This procedure helps ensure the safety and security of all students.

If your student is a walker and arrives late to school, the school will contact you by phone to notify you of the late arrival.

All students have received their iPad and charger. Returning students who did not turn in their charger at the end of last school year will not receive a replacement charger. Replacement chargers may be purchased from the school for $10.

Students are expected to bring their iPad and charger to school each day for learning purposes, as PWCS continues to implement its 1:1 device initiative.

Fall sports tryouts will begin on Monday and continue throughout the week. Activity buses are available Tuesday through Thursday only. Students participating in tryouts must arrange transportation home on Monday.

Team selections will be announced after students return from the Labor Day holiday.

We have seen students using their phones while in school. At Hampton Middle School, we have a designated student phone that students may use if they need to contact their parent/guardian or if a parent/guardian needs to reach them. To do this, students would need to do an ehallpass, just as they would do to go to other parts of the school. This ensures communication can happen without disrupting instructional time.

For clarification on what is and is not permitted under the PWCS Cell Phone Policy, please watch the video linked below. The below picture also outlines the consequences students may receive for having or using their phone during instructional time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CUTXXNEc3c

If you have not yet submitted your Back-to-School Packet through ParentVUE, please do so by September 18. If you need assistance, please contact the school at 703-670-6166 and select Option 3.

We will be conducting our Code of Behavior assemblies after the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Please note that there will be no school on September 4 and September 7, 2026, in observance of Labor Day. Classes will resume on September 8, 2026.

Yours in Education,

Jehovanni Mitchell,

Principal

Please see the below attachment for our activity buses for this school year that start September 1, 2026 til the end of May 2027.

The following club will start next Monday:

Cheer

Sponsor: Ms. Rabii - RabiiNE@PWCS.EDU

We have the following clubs starting in September:

Yearbook - September 15th

Sponsor: Mrs. Chopin - ChopinMF@pwcs.edu & Ms. Rabii- RabiiNE@PWCS.EDU

NJHS - Thursday, September 10th

Sponsor: Ms. Karlik - KarlikCM@PWCS.EDU

Robotics - Wednesday, September 16th

Sponsor: Mr. Grear - GrearEQ@pwcs.edu

SCA - Tuesday, September 22 during school and Wednesday, September 23 afterschool

Sponsor: Ms. Fitzgerald - FitzgeP@pwcs.edu

Dance Team - Thursday, September 17th

Sponsor: Ms. McLaughlin - Mclaugkl@pwcs.edu

The following clubs will be starting in October:

Literary Magazine - Thursday, October 1st

Sponsor: Ms. McLaughlin - Mclaugkl@pwcs.edu

Drama Club Friday, October 2nd

Sponsor: Ms. McLaughlin - Mclaugkl@pwcs.edu

According to the Virginia Department of Education, "All students in tested grade levels and courses are expected to participate in Virginia's assessment program, unless specifically exempted by state or federal law or by Board of Education regulations." On December 10, 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) was signed into law. Section 1112(e)(2) of ESSA states that parents of students in Title I schools have a right to know about state or division policies regarding student participation in any assessments mandated by ESSA, including any policy, procedure, or parental right to opt students out of such assessments. The Commonwealth of Virginia does not currently have an Opt Out policy for SOL assessments. However, Section 22.1-253.13:3.C

of the Code of Virginia states that, “The Board of Education shall not include in its calculation of the passage rate of a Standards of Learning assessment for the purposes of state accountability any student whose parent has decided to not have his child take such Standards of Learning assessment, unless such exclusions would result in the school's not meeting any required state or federal participation rate.” Prince William County Public Schools regulations state that, if a parent or guardian decides to not have a student take a state or local assessment, then the person making the request should be informed about the academic consequences that decision could have on the student.

If you would like to receive more information about this topic, please contact the principal.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, most recently reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds

Act, states that parents in Title I schools have the right to request certain information about their child’s

teachers. The information that you have a right to request about your child’s teacher is:

a. Whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and

subjects the teacher is teaching.

b. Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state

qualification or licensing has been waived.

c. The baccalaureate degree major of certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of

discipline of the certification or degree.

d. Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

At George M. Hampton Middle School, we are extremely proud of our teachers and

paraprofessionals, and are happy to provide you with any of the information above pertaining to your

child’s teacher(s). If you have such a request, please call the school at 703-670-6166 and ask for

the information you are interested in.

NOTIFICACIONES A LOS PADRES: REQUISITO DE LAS ESCUELAS DE TITULO I

Derechos de los Padres sobre los maestros/as

Según la ley de “Ningún Niño/a Se Quede Atrás” del 15 de Decembre del 2015, los padres de

alumnos/as que asisten a las escuelas de Titulo I tienen derecho a solicitor información especifica

de las maestras/os de sus hijos/as:

a. Saber si la maestra/o de su hijo/a ha superado los requisitos establecidos por el

Departamento de Educación para enseñar las materias que enseña.

b. Saber si la maestra/o de su hijo/a está bajo licencia provisional o de emergencia o si las

licencia para enseñar se le ha suspendido o ha cambiado.

c. El grado de titulación de la maestra/o y las titulaciones adicionales a nivel académico o

de discilpina que la maestra/o pueda tener.

d. Si el alumno/a está recibiendo servicios de un paraprofessional y si es asi, de quien se

trata y sus cualificaciones.

Aqui en la escuela George M. Hampton Middle School, estamos muy orgullosos de nuestras maestras/os y de

las asistentes y estamos deseosas de poder proveerles con la información que deseen de

cualquiera de nuestras maestras/os. Si quisiera saber esta información, por favor llame al

703-670-6166 y le ayudaremos en lo que desee.

Under Regulation 757-4 Section 17, "spray or aerosol products are not to be used for the comfort and safety of others."

Students should not bring body sprays or aerosols to school due to the risk of allergic reactions among staff and students.

Please ensure that your student does not bring body sprays or aerosols to school. Any such items brought to school will be confiscated, and parents/guardians will be required to pick them up.

We appreciate your cooperation and assistance in this matter.

Sports tryouts for the following sports will be held on August 31:

• Football
• Boys Soccer
• Girls Track
• Volleyball

Students must have a current sports physical and be registered in Arbiter in order to participate in tryouts. Sports physical must be uploaded in Arbiter. No paper copies will be accepted. Additional information is available on our school website: https://hamptonms.pwcs.edu/activities/athletics/index

📋 Health Conditions and Treatment Plans

If your student has a health condition such as asthma, severe allergies, diabetes, seizures, or any other medical condition that requires care at school, a new health treatment plan must be completed by your child's healthcare provider and submitted to the clinic for the current school year.

Updated treatment plans help ensure that we can provide safe and appropriate care for your child while they are at school.

🍳 Don't Skip Breakfast!

A healthy breakfast is an important part of a successful school day. Please make sure your child eats breakfast at home or participates in the school's breakfast program each morning.

Students who eat breakfast are more likely to:

• Stay focused and alert
• Have better concentration and memory
• Maintain energy throughout the day
• Be ready to learn

✅ Healthy Start to the School Year

Help your child have a great school year by:

• Getting enough sleep each night
• Eating healthy meals and snacks
• Drinking plenty of water
• Washing hands frequently
• Keeping emergency contact information up to date
• Informing the clinic of any health concerns or changes in medical status

We look forward to partnering with your family to keep our students healthy, safe, and ready to learn. Thank you for your cooperation, and we wish everyone a wonderful start to the school year!

Sincerely,

Bianca Gray, BSN, RN
School Nurse
Hampton Middle School 🩺🏫

Hampton Middle School provides breakfast and lunch free of charge for all students this school year.

Per PWCS Regulation 452.1 – Food Services shall ensure children have access to adequate and healthy foods. Students cannot use delivery services, such as Doordash or Uber Eats to bring food for their consumption.

Food delivered to student to school will be sent back. Students are not to come in with outside food after coming from an appointment.

🕒 Tardy Drop-Off

• Late Arrival: Parents must accompany students inside to sign them in.
• Excused Tardy: A doctor’s note is required if the tardy is due to an appointment.
• Unexcused Tardies: Multiple instances may lead to consequences like:
• Loss of privileges
• A possible parent conference

🚪 Early Dismissal

• Cut-Off Time: No early dismissals after 2:30 PM.
• ID Requirement: Physical identification is mandatory. Without it, the student cannot be dismissed.
• No Advance Notice Needed:
• You don’t need to call or email ahead.
• Students are not called down until you arrive.
• Anyone picking up a student must be on the emergency contact list
• Once your ID is verified against the emergency contact list, your student will be dismissed.

📅 Reporting Absences

• Use ParentVue to report:
• Full-day absences for today
• Future absences (up to 30 days in advance)

📧 Excusing Prior Absences or Late Arrivals

• Email Mrs. Keyber Mendez, attendance secretary at:
  mendezka@pwcs.edu and/or ghms-attendance@pwcs.edu
• Only emails from a parent’s email address will be accepted
  (Emails from student accounts will not be processed)

Parents/guardians, safety is our number 1 priority for students and staff.

Even though we see you everyday, we need to always, check your identification when you are picking up your student or coming inside the school. Please relay this information to your emergency contacts and family members as stated on the regulation below:

Regulation 926-1 section 1 paragraph D, E and F states: "...

1. Visitors shall be required to report to the main office at the school or PWCS facility, provide and leave staff with a valid government photo identification, and state the nature of their visit to the PWCS facility.
   
2. The visitor’s identification badge or the PWCS employee photo-identification badge shall be worn in a manner that makes the badge readily visible to students and staff in the PWCS facility.
   
3. Upon the conclusion of the visit in the PWCS facility, the visitor shall return to the office, turn in the visitor’s identification badge, and collect their photo identification before exiting the PWCS facility.

Regulation 926-1 section 2 paragraph B states: "...

1. All visitors at a PWCS facility shall provide a valid government-issued identification which contains their full name, date of birth, and photograph. Below are acceptable forms of identification:
   
1. U.S. or foreign driver’s license;
   
2. U.S. or foreign government identification;
   
3. Military identification;
   
4. Department of Motor Vehicles’ photo identification;
   
5. Passport;
   
6. Permanent Resident Card (Green Card);
   
7. Re-entry permit; or
   
8. Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) identification