| 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 |
ACADEMICS | Eagles, Welcome back! We hope you had a restful winter break. As we transition back into our school routines, we are excited to see our students refocusing on their academic goals. To ensure every student succeeds, we want to emphasize the importance of following school policies and procedures. A safe and orderly environment is the foundation for student success. By maintaining these standards, we keep our Eagles focused on their mission: learning and safety. Laptop Readiness & Responsibility We have noticed an increase in students arriving without their laptops, forgetting to charge them, or bringing in damaged devices. Please partner with us to ensure your student is prepared by: Charging daily: Laptops should be fully charged at home every night. Bringing the device: Laptops are a required tool for daily instruction. Maintenance: Students are responsible for maintaining their devices and bringing their chargers to school. Replacements: If a charger is lost or damaged, it is the student’s responsibility to purchase a new one. Semester Transition & SOL Prep As we close the first semester and head into the second, it is time to build momentum for the upcoming SOL (Standards of Learning) assessments. The remainder of the year will move quickly! To keep students engaged, we have several fun events planned throughout the semester to celebrate their hard work. Grades & Attendance Monitor Progress: Please encourage your student to check their grades regularly and seek help from teachers if they are struggling. Attendance Matters: Consistent attendance is vital. If your student is ill, please call the main office and provide a doctor’s note upon their return. When we partner together on these expectations, we ensure a successful finish to the school year for every student. Thank you for your continued support of Elko Middle School. Go Eagles! |
SCHOOL OPERATIONS ATTENDANCE UPDATES | NEW INFORMATION- If your student is absent, their absence needs to be reported within 48 hours. Absences can be reported by: Filling out the Elko Attendance Google Doc Emailing Mrs. Nolte: mlnolte@henrico.k12.va.us Sending a Parent Square message to Mrs. Nolte Sending a handwritten note with your student when they return to school Calling the school: 804-328-4110 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 |
SAFETY & SECURITY | At Elko Middle School, the safety and well-being of our students and staff are our absolute top priorities. We believe that a secure environment is the foundation upon which all great learning is built. To that end, we are writing to inform you of an enhancement to our daily entry procedures. We will be incorporating the use of handheld safety wands as part of our morning arrival process. Why are we doing this? We want to be clear: There have been no specific incidents or "issues" at our school prompting this change. This is a proactive step designed to add an extra layer of security to our building. By refining our entry process now, we ensure that we have the tools and routines in place to keep our campus a safe haven for every student. We appreciate your partnership in keeping Elko Middle School a secure place to learn and grow. |
TECHNOLOGY |
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DEPARTMENT UPDATES COUNSELOR'S CORNER
| 8th grade Night at Varina High School- Click here to view flyer. Course selection time is here! The course selection window is open from January 5th to January 19th . During this window you and your student can pick their classes for next year. You can find directions for course selection here. The Curriculum Fair for 6th and 7th grade students will be Thursday, January 15th during your student's elective block. Varina High School is going to have a Family Night for rising 9th graders on January 22 from 6-7. It will be an opportunity for our students and families to learn about high school. 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 | MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL IMMUNIZATION CLINIC It is never too early to start planning for the next school year. If you are the parent or guardian of a rising 7th grader, Henrico County Public Schools, in partnership with the Richmond/Henrico Health District, will be hosting immunization clinics at every middle school. Our school’s clinic is being held on Monday, Feb. 9 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. These immunization events will provide the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) and the MenACWY (meningococcal conjugate) vaccines for rising seventh graders. A full list of required vaccinations is available at the Virginia Department of Health website. You may register for our school’s clinic using the link provided here: hcps.info/ElkoClinic2026. Please note that each link is unique to the school, so be sure to sign up only for your child’s school clinic. Important registration details: Students are eligible to receive their vaccines at these in‑school immunization clinics without the need for a parent or guardian to be present. The online form must be completed in its entirety and signed by the student’s parent or guardian before vaccines can be administered. Please be sure to complete all demographic information and insurance sections in entirety, to include uploading a photo of your insurance card if applicable. Please select BOTH the Tdap and MenACWY vaccines on the consent page, unless there is a specific reason your student cannot receive one of these vaccines. Registration will close at 8:30 a.m. 2 business days prior to the event to allow for staff to prepare for the clinic, so please sign up as soon as possible. For more information about the Tdap Vaccine VIS: https://www.immunize.org/vaccines/vis/tdap/ For more information about the Meningococcal-ACWY Vaccine VIS: https://www.immunize.org/vaccines/vis/menacwy/ Once your form is completed and submitted, you will receive a confirmation email with additional details. If you have any questions, please contact our school nurse. Nurse Barrett: klbarrett@henrico.k12.va.us |
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/ ELKO/SANDSTON COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES | Family Resource Center Flyer- English Family Resource Center Flyer- Spanish IEP University Flyer- Click here to view flyer |
EXPANDED FOOD PANTRY - OAK AVENUE COMPLEX | The Oak Avenue Complex 15 S. Oak Avenue Highland Springs, VA 23075 Families may access the pantry in three ways: 1. Participate in walk-in hours every Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 2. Receive a referral from school-based staff to coordinate a pick-up or drop-off time. a. Contact Kevin Robertson, Community School Resource Coordinator, via email at kmrobertson@henrico.k12.va.us, or by phone at 804-328-4000. 3. Contact FACE directly at 804-952-8100 to coordinate access to the pantry outside of walk-in hours. |
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 | January 14th- Student 1/2 Day January 19th- School Closed-Martin Luther King Jr. Day February 16th- Schools & Offices Closed- Wellness Day February 17- Staff Professional Development Day |
ELKO ATHLETICS ELKO ATHLETICS DIRECTOR- Kendra Amis-
| Elko Athletics Week at a Glance 1/12/26-1/16/26. |
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-18th Edition- January 12-16, 2026
January 11, 2026
