A message from Principal Steven McFarlane
Kilmer Community,
The PTA is an integral part of our Kilmer Community. The Kilmer Middle School PTA is looking for parents to join the executive board for the next school year (2026-2027). There are openings for President, Secretary, and Treasurer. No prior PTA experience required. If you are interested, please reach out to our current PTA executive board at KilmerPTA@gmail.com!
Thank you for your help with cellphones and technology. Our support with phones must be ongoing, and while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to cell phone and electronics usage, I am asking that you continue to take the following steps to help ensure that your child is using their technology responsibly:
- Regularly speak with your child about their online presence on social media and their text messages.
- Check-in on who they’re talking to and what they’re doing online.
- Talk to your student about our routines here at Kilmer, including our cell phone pouches.
- Ask to see their pouch and talk to them about using it each day at school.
Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Steven McFarlane
Principal
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Here are just a few of the Positive Referrals received by our Kilmer Cougars from staff members this week!
Jordyn B. - Jordyn, you did a great job in your Treaty of Versailles negotiation. I'm impressed at your deal making skills and your tough negotiating stances. I also appreciate how committed you were to your county's goals.
Daniella G.G. - Daniela, I love how you collaborate and work with the people around you to complete assignments like the DBQ and Study Guides. Great job collaborating on the Current Events poster too!
Nicole T.A. - Nicole, Great thinking and collaborating on the Current Events poster. Way to go!
Tessa H. - Tessa demonstrated empathy by being kind, accepting, and positive towards other students. Thanks for making others feel welcome.
Wesley L. - You were completely focused for the entire period in science and accomplished so much work on your Gizmo. Keep it up!
 Upcoming Dates
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March 9 - Rising 9th Grade Activities Fair Field Trip Forms Due (see more details below)
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March 9-23 - FCPS Family Engagement Survey Open (see more details below
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March 13-14 - Orchestra & Band Spring Assessments
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March 17 - Integrated Reading and Writing Assessment (IRW) for 8th grade students
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March 18-19 - Chorus Spring Assessment
- FCPS School Calendar 2025-26
Congratulations Students of the Month! Congrats to our February Student of the Month award recipients! Each student earned a positive referral, a $10 gift card, and a chance to win a celebration with friends at the end of the quarter.
Caitlin Adams - Goal Directed and Resilient, Sophie Bayasgalan - Collaborator, Claire Bengtson - Collaborator, Anne Calton - Communicator, Elias Farah - Goal Directed and Resilient, Dwaarak Sai Gali Roopa Kumar - Communicator, Daniel Garfield - Communicator, Brennan Lausier - Goal Directed and Resilient, Alex Le Fever - Goal Directed and Resilient, Logan Lee - Goal Directed and Resilient, Shayra Mejia - All traits, Merey Sagatbekova - Goal Directed and Resilient, Samuel Satterfield - All traits, Leah Sebastian - All traits, Jimmy Umana Ruiz - Goal Directed and Resilient, Lucy Weber - Goal Directed and Resilient, Brooklyn West - Goal Directed and Resilient, Valeria Salazar Galvez - Goal Directed and Resilient, Charlie Williamson - Goal Directed and Resilient
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Congratulations to the MathCounts Team who competed on Saturday Feb. 7th. Participants included: Angelina Song-Ye, Ellie Jiang, Joshua Chong, Neil Khatri, Arjav Prabhu, Catherine Yu, Chloe He, Dipin Subedi, Isabella Wang, Mario Ma, Panashe Sharma, Rohan Halverson, Skylon Jou, and Zere Nagashybek. The team of four (Angelina, Joshua, Neil, and Ellie) placed fourth and Joshua, Angelina, Arjav, Neil, Zere and Catherine all placed in the top 25% in the individual contest. A special thanks to Ms. Baxley and Ms. Bradford for being the sponsors and attending the competition!
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Kilmer students competed amongst 1266 total students in last weekend’s Technology Student Association Northern Regional Fair, the largest ever in the state of Virginia. Kilmer’s Thais Vieira Garcia took first place in Middle School Flight. Zere Nagashybek took 2nd place in Middle School Flight. In Middle School Structural Engineering, our team of Charlotte Oh and Lauren Petersen took 2nd place. These students will go on to represent Kilmer in those events at the State Conference in Hampton Roads in May.
The Kilmer Chorus Department hosted their Pre-Assessment concert at Marshall HS on Thursday evening. We wish them the best of luck as they prepare for the State Chorus Assessment on March 18-19!
Free Math Tutoring every Monday Morning:
Every week, TJ students come to Kilmer to offer free math tutoring. This is typically on Mondays (or the first day of the week if Monday is a holiday). Join us in F123 from 7-7:30am.
Course Selection for 2026-2027: Academic Advising with School Counselors
Over the next month, each student will meet individually with their school counselor to review and finalize course selections in SIS StudentVUE for the 2026-2027 school year. Students will reflect on their choices, consider honors options aligned to their strengths and interests, and balance coursework with extracurricular commitments. After these meetings, students and parents can view course selections in SIS StudentVUE and ParentVUE. If you have questions, please contact your child’s school counselor.
Families can access the Course Selection page on the Kilmer website to explore course options, review course selection information, and view academic advising timelines for all grade levels.
Marshall & Madison HS Rising 9th Grade Activities Fairs Field Trip
8th Grade Students attending Marshall & Madison will receive a permission form in HPE the week of March 2nd to attend an Activities Fair on Monday, April 13th.
Participants will receive information about athletics, fine arts, and extracurricular opportunities available to them next year. *Students not assigned to either may go on the Madison HS field trip.
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Students on the Marshall trip will have lunch at Marshall - $3.50 cash. They also have the option to bring a bagged lunch from home or order one from the Kilmer Cafeteria (back of permission slip) to take on the trip. Students on the Madison trip will eat when they return to Kilmer.
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Completed forms with Student and Guardian/Parent signatures should be turned in through HPE - the deadline is March 9th. (**Disregard directions printed on form to turn in through HPE in Nov.**)
- If a student loses their pre-printed permission form, they may print another from Schoology > All Students Course > Materials > Rising 9th Grade Activities Fair or visit the Main Office or Student Services.
- It is very important that field trip participants arrive at school on time on April 13th for transportation groupings and departures.
FCPS Family Engagement Survey
Starting on March 9, share your feedback on our school's welcoming environment, communication, volunteer opportunities, and more. Parents/caregivers should receive an email invitation with a unique survey link from FCPS on March 9. The subject line is: FCPS Family Engagement Survey. Or, use this link to take the Family Engagement Survey before it closes on March 23: https://bit.ly/FESURVEY2026
Dance Team Juniors Clinic
Marshall High School Dance Team is excited to announce their Spring Juniors Clinic! K-8th graders can meet the team, play games, and learn technique and fun dance team choreography. No experience necessary!
- Date: Saturday, March 14
- Time: 12:00 - 3:00 PM
- Location: Main Gym Marshall High School
The cost is $50 per dancer and includes a T-shirt! Hurry! REGISTRATION CLOSES MARCH 7th!
Register HERE!! Email GCMDanceTeam@gmail.com with any questions!
Tomorrow’s Women in Science and Technology (TWIST) - Techstravaganza
We represent the leadership of Tomorrow’s Women in Science and Technology (TWIST), a student organization at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST). Each year, we promote STEM through our annual flagship outreach event, Techstravaganza, and we would like to invite your school’s students to attend!
Techstravaganza is a free, public, hands-on STEM activity fair for elementary and middle school students in Northern Virginia. In previous years, we've hosted more than 4,500 students and 70 labs presenting STEM activities. Our exhibitors range from TJHSST clubs and our own TWIST volunteers to organizations like NASA SCaN, Art of Problem Solving, George Mason University, American Society of Naval Engineers, and the National Air and Space Museum. This year, we will be holding the 22nd annual Techstravaganza on Saturday, May 16, 2026 from 10 AM to 4 PM at TJHSST.
Admission is free, and we hope that you can spread the word in your school. Here is our registration link: https://tinyurl.com/Techstravaganza26, and attached are flyers in English and Spanish that can be used to advertise this event. We would appreciate you sharing this with families in a newsletter or your school's social media. Please let us know if translating the flyer into other languages will help.
More information about the event can be found on our website at https://techstrav.org/index.html
or tjpartnershipfund.org/techstravaganza/. Thank you so much, and please let us know if you have any questions!
Spring Track & Field
As a part of the FCPS Middle School Athletics Program Kilmer will host Spring Track & Field. Coaches and Volunteers Needed! If interested in volunteering, please contact Kim Kardelis @ kckardelis@fcps.edu
Returning Athletes from Cross Country or Crosstown Hoops:
Do Not Need to resubmit Athletic Physicals if PPE on file is dated after March 30,2025
Do Need to complete the Spring Track and Field Athletics Registration Form
Families new to MS Athletics must complete several required steps prior to participating (including practice):
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FCPS Middle School Sports Athletic Participation/Parental Consent/Physical Examination (PPE) Form.
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The PPE Form must be completely filled in and properly signed (pages 1-3) attesting that you have been examined, found to be physically fit for athletic competition no more than 14 calendar months prior to the date on which report was signed (dated after 3/30/26)
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Proof of Medical/Accident Insurance Coverage (on PPE Form) Any student participating in voluntary Afterschool athletic programs, must have insurance.
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Hard/paper copies of PPE and ECC Forms to the Main Office for review, processing and approval. *Students may not be cleared for participation the same day they submit forms. **Blank copies are available in the Main Office.
- State-Mandated Concussion Education Program
Practice and Meet Details
- Practices Begin 4/07
- 2:30-3:30PM on Monday/Wednesday/Thursday
- Must participate in 4 practices for Meet Eligibility
- NO Tryouts - NO Experience Needed
- 8AM Saturday Meet Schedule:
- 4/25 Herndon HS
- 5/02 West Springfield HS
- 5/09 Marshall HS
- 5/16 Oakton HS
- 5/30 Robinson (MS T&F Champs Meet)
Want to Make a Difference at Kilmer? Join the PTA Board!
The Kilmer Middle School PTA is looking for parents to join our board for next school year (2026-2027). We have openings for President, Secretary, and Treasurer — no prior PTA experience required. Interested? Reach out to us at KilmerPTA@gmail.com!
PTA Website
Stay up to date with news and information from the PTA by visiting the PTA website: https://kilmerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/
Executive Board Contact Information
After School Activities News/Updates
Each week Ms. Kardelis will post a detailed overview of our After School Program to our website. Please visit Kilmer’s website at https://kilmerms.fcps.edu/afterschool_newsletter to find the weekly After School newsletter. If you have any questions regarding our After School Program please reach out to Kim Kardelis, After School Specialist, at kckardelis@fcps.edu.
Save the Dates - 8th Grade Promotion Ceremonies!
- Guardians: June 10, 2026 - 8-9:30 AM
- Pegasus: June 10, 2026 - 12:30-2:00 PM
- Constellations: June 11, 2026 - 8-9:30 AM
- Voyagers: June 11, 2026 - 12:30-2:00 PM
Fairfax County History Conference
Students, teachers, and community members are invited to participate in the Fairfax County History Conference. Participating students are eligible for service hours, while participating teachers are eligible for Continuing Education Credits.
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