| 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:
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 |
| Happy Holidays from Our Elko family to you and your family! |
ACADEMICS | Focus on the Finish Line: Our Final Week Before Winter Break Eagles, We are excited for the upcoming Winter Break, but first, we need to make sure we finish this semester strong! We are entering our final week, and we ask for your assistance in helping us keep our students focused on academics until the very last minute of the last day. Celebrating Success and Maintaining Focus We are incredibly proud to share that, thanks to the hard work of our students and staff last year, Elko Middle School has officially exited Federal Monitoring! This is a significant milestone that speaks volumes about the progress we have made together. However, our mission is not over. We are now working diligently toward full accreditation, and maintaining academic focus this week is crucial to keeping that positive momentum. We appreciate your support in ensuring your student remains engaged with their lessons and assignments through Friday. Health and Wellness: Please Help Us Limit Illness We have recently seen an increasing number of students becoming ill. To lessen the impact of sickness on our student body and staff, we respectfully ask that if your student is not feeling well, please keep them at home. If your student needs to miss school, please notify the main office. You can quickly and easily email our attendance secretary, Mrs. Nolte, at mlnolte@henrico.k12.va.us. Thank you for your partnership in reinforcing the importance of attendance, focus, and good health as we conclude the semester. We wish all of our families a safe, restful, and joyful Holiday Season! |
SCHOOL OPERATIONS ATTENDANCE UPDATES | ID Badges Please ensure that your students are wearing their ID badges every day. Students now need to scan their ID badges when they arrive to school late and when they have an early dismissal. Transportation/Bus Information If your student’s bus is running late in the morning, please call the Transportation Office at 804-261-9401. You can also download the Parent Portal Bus App to track the bus: https://www.henricoschools.us/page/parent-portal-bus-app 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 |
GIFT CARDS | During the holiday season, we want to take a moment to recognize and show our deep appreciation for the hard work, dedication, and tireless efforts of our incredible teachers and staff members . They work diligently every single day to support our students and provide a positive, enriching learning environment. A wonderful and flexible way to express our gratitude is through a Gift Card Drive! Why Gift Cards? Gift cards offer our staff the flexibility to treat themselves to something they truly need or enjoy, whether it's a cup of coffee, a tank of gas, a nice meal out, or supplies for their classroom. It’s a personalized way to say "thank you" for everything they do. How You Can Help We are requesting donations of gift cards in any denomination to local retailers, restaurants, or services. Some popular options include: Coffee Shops: Starbucks, Dunkin' Grocery/Retail Stores: Target, Walmart, Amazon Local Restaurants: (Any local favorites!) Gas Stations: Shell, Exxon, Wawa General Visa/Mastercard Gift Cards How to Donate Please send your gift card donations to the school office. You may drop them off or send them in with your student in a sealed envelope marked: "Attention: Staff Appreciation Gift Card Drive." You can email digital gift cards to Dr. Lyles at ttlyles@henrico.k12.va.us. The deadline for donations is December 15th. |
TECHNOLOGY | No technology updates at this time. |
DEPARTMENT UPDATES Counselor's Corner
| NO UPDATES The Counseling Team 6th Grade-Ms. Fish stfish@henrico.k12.va.us 7th Grade - Counselor Rawls glrawls@henrico.k12.va.us 8th Grade - Jennifer Bolding-jbolding@henrico.k12.va.us EL and last names A-B - Dr. Swingen: jkswingen@henrico.k12.va.us |
SPECIALITY CENTER INFORMATION | Click here to visit the HCPS Specialty Center website. |
EVENTS | A Night of Holiday Melodies, presented by the Elko Middle School Music Department |
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/ ELKO/SANDSTON COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES | None at this time. |
VOLUNTEER PROCESS
| If you would like to become a volunteer, please click here to complete the online volunteer/mentor application via the link below. |
UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS | December 22-31: Schools Closed-Winter Break January 1-2: Schools Closed-Winter Break |
ELKO ATHLETICS ELKO ATHLETICS DIRECTOR- Kendra Amis-
| Elko Athletics Week 12/15/25-12/19/25 at glance. |
RESOURCES SPOTLIGHT: ELKO & HCPS TOOLS FOR SUCCESS | |
ELKO ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM | Tyrus T. Lyles, Ed.D.-Principal-ttlyles@henrico.k12.va.us Taleesa Meeks- Associate Principal- tjmeeks@henrico.k12.va.us Corey Calder- Associate Principal- ctcalder@henrico.k12.va.us Akeela Tyson- Assistant Principal- altyson@henrico.k12.va.us Brandon Hardy- Assistant Principal- bahardy@henrico.k12.va.us Jennifer Jenkins-Administrative Aide- jrjenkin@henrico.k12.va.us Torre Siler-Administrative Aide- tsiler@hennco.k12.va.us Abby Thomas- Administrative Aide- arthomas@henrico.k12.va.us Frenchie Travis- Ad-ministrative Aide- fmtravis@henrico.k12.va.us Jocelyn Woodson- Administrative Aide-jrwoodson1@henrico.k12.va.us |
The Nest News-17th Edition- December 15-19, 2025
December 14, 2025
