| 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 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. |
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THE THEME FOR THE 2025-2026 SCHOOL YEAR: | MISSION imPOSSIBLE |
ACADEMICS | Eagles, As we move further into the third quarter, I want to take a moment to celebrate our students. We recently completed the Virginia Growth Assessments (VGA) for Math and ELA, and I was incredibly impressed by the concentration and diligence our Eagles displayed. Their commitment to showing what they know is a testament to the hard work happening in our classrooms every day. Focusing on the Future Our teachers are working tirelessly to create engaging, high-energy lessons. We ask for your help in reminding students to come to school prepared to learn and ready to participate. Our goal is for every student to leave our building each afternoon with more knowledge than they arrived with that morning. While we are certainly preparing for the upcoming Spring SOLs, our mission is much bigger than a test—we are preparing our students for the rigors of high school and for success in their lives beyond Elko. A Crucial Note on Chronic Absenteeism We are currently facing a challenge regarding school attendance. While we know life happens and illnesses occur, we have seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism. The Documentation: Our parents do a wonderful job of calling in or sending notes when a child is out. Please keep doing this! This documentation ensures the absence is excused in our records. The State Policy: Under Virginia state requirements, a student is labeled "chronically absent" once they miss three or more days, regardless of whether the absence is excused or unexcused. Our Goal: To remain in compliance with the state and maintain our Fully Accredited status for the 2025-26 school year, our school-wide absenteeism rate must stay below 15%. Current Status: Elko is currently at 18%. How You Can Help We are working closely with our most severe cases, but we need the help of our entire community to bring that 18% down. When to stay home: If a student is truly sick, they should absolutely stay home to recover. When to be here: If a student is healthy, being in the classroom is the only way to ensure they don't fall behind. Every day counts toward our students' success and our school's accreditation. Let’s work together to keep Elko Middle School a place of high achievement and consistent growth. Thank you for your continued partnership and support of our students. Go Eagles! Stay warm and safe. Click here to view the Student Performance and Support Framework Final. |
REMOTE WORK/ASYNCHRONOUS ASSIGNMENTS | Here is a quick update remote learning: The asynchronous assignments posted by teachers will count for both a grade and attendance for the three days. Students will have two full weeks to complete the work. It is vital that students complete their assigned work on time. Please be aware that these assignments are not only graded but are also directly tied to daily attendance records. Our goal is for every student to be successful and accurately counted as "present" during these days. Parents, we ask for your partnership in emphasizing the importance of this work to your children. Ensuring these tasks are finished will help them stay on track academically and maintain a clear attendance record. Where to find the work: All assignments are located in Schoology within each class folder. If parents or students have questions, please reach out to that student's teacher. |
SCHOOL OPERATIONS ATTENDANCE UPDATES | 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 |
TECHNOLOGY | NO TECHNOLOGY UPDATES THIS WEEK. |
DEPARTMENT UPDATES COUNSELOR'S CORNER
| We were excited to celebrate Virginia Kindness Week last week, from February 9th through 13th. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to practice kindness in meaningful, everyday ways—supporting their peers, using encouraging words, and making choices that help create a safe and welcoming school environment. Virginia Kindness Week provided a meaningful opportunity to reflect on how we treat one another. We invited families to join us in talking with students about kindness at home and recognizing the small acts of kindness that make a big difference. Report Cards were posted to ParentPortal on Friday, February 5th. If you are unable to access your ParentPortal account or have questions about your student’s grades, please feel free to reach out to your student’s school counselor. 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
| February 20th & 21st @ 7:00PM and Feb. 22nd @ 2PM Elko Middle School in the Auditorium. |
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES | FEBRUARY 17TH-CONFERENCES STARTING AT 3PM(IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL) Parents & Guardians, Please schedule your in-person or virtual appointments in advance. Scheduling ensures you have dedicated time with your student’s teacher. While walk-ins are welcome, there may be a wait. Please note that all conferences will conclude at 5 p.m. Sign-Up for Parent/Teacher Conferences HERE! |
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/ ELKO/SANDSTON COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES | No community or Elko/Sandston Community opportunities 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 | February 16th- Schools & Offices Closed- Wellness Day February 17th- Staff Professional Development Day |
ELKO ATHLETICS ELKO ATHLETICS DIRECTOR- Kendra Amis-
| Elko Athletics Week at a Glance 2/16/26-2/20/26. |
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-22nd Edition- February 16-20, 2026
February 14, 2026
