The Nest News- 2nd Edition-August 25-29, 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

THE THEME FOR 2025-2026

MISSION imPOSSIBLE

ACADEMICS

SCHOOL OPERATIONS

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.

Please see the 2025–2026 Elko attendance flyer for the most up-to-date attendance procedures for parents when reporting absences and picking up students early from school.

Attendance flyer -English

Attendance flyer- Spanish

TRANSPORTATION

*Transportation information is forthcoming.

Parent Portal Bus App HCPS families can access The Edulog Parent Portal bus tracking app. This app will empower families, improve communication and foster efficiency. Parents, guardians, and caregivers can follow their student’s bus, receive notifications when a bus enters a user-defined zone, and receive notifications that their student has boarded/disembarked the bus. Download on App Store or Google Play.

DRESS CODE

Will be strictly enforced.

Dress Code The HCPS dress code policy permits any student to wear any religiously, ethnically, or culturally specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows. All students will be subjected to the same set of expectations regardless of gender, gender identity, or gender expression. These expectations should also carry to clubs, and extra-curricular activities. Staff are prohibited from applying the dress code by direct physical contact with a student or a student’s attire and from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual. This policy complies with the Code of Virginia.

The administration of every school has the authority to notify students and parents/guardians of modifications to the dress code for spirit days and other school celebrations, as particular items pose a disruption, or as other circumstances warrant. Students may not wear the following items unless otherwise stated:

Students may not wear the following items unless otherwise stated:

Hoods (on heads), hats, or face masks (that covers more than the mouth and nose) inside school buildings, during regular school hours, unless required for religious or medical reasons. • Sunglasses (worn indoors), unless prescribed by a physician.
Clothing must reach the tip of the thumb when hands placed at the sides (arms straight with palms flat).
Messages on clothing, chains, jewelry, and personal belongings that pertain to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, gangs, vulgarity, or messages that negatively represent a religion, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, transgender status, or people, or that could cause a substantial disruption to the learning environment.
Spiked jewelry, chains, and items which could cause student injury. • Beachwear (which includes bathing suits and trunks) and sleepwear.
Clothing that reveals undergarments.
Clothing that is see-through, revealing the midriff (while sitting or standing), or resembles undergarments.
Bedroom slippers or shoes with wheels.

The administrative team in each school shall have discretion regarding dress code decisions. Parents/Guardians of students who violate the dress code may be contacted to provide appropriate clothing for their child(ren), if necessary.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Counselor's Corner

Requests for elective or other schedule changes will open after the first two weeks of school and remain open for two weeks. More information on this will be forthcoming.

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

EVENTS

Back to School Night

9.3.2025-Back to School Night 4:30pm-6pm

Fall Tryouts

8/25-FOOTBALL, GIRLS BASKETBALL, SOCCER, and CHEER-6TH GRADE ONLY MUST HAVE A PHYSICAL TO PARTICIPATE

To be eligible for fall athletics, your student must have a valid physical on file.

A physical completed in August 2024 is valid for tryouts and participation this fall.
Physicals are valid for 14 months from the date they were completed.

Please check the date on your student's physical to ensure it is up-to-date. If a physical expires during a sports season, your student will not be allowed to complete that season.
We recommend parents keep a copy of the physical once it is completed by the physician.
For any questions, please contact our Athletic Director, Ms. Amis, at kdamis@henrico.k12.va.us.

RESOURCES SPOTLIGHT: ELKO & HCPS TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

ELKO WEBSITE

HCPS CAREERS

HCPS ONLINE SERVICES & RESOURCES

COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES (ELKO AND SANDSTON COMMUNITIES)

None at this time. Stay tuned!

VOLUNTEER PROCESS

volunteer