Woodson Weekly - December 8th

Woodson Weekly - December 8th

 

W. T. Woodson Holiday Gift Ideas

WTW Ornament

 

Brighten up your holiday season with a W. T. Woodson ornament and peel-and-stick wall decals!  

These make great stocking stuffers for Woodson alumni, graduating seniors, students, and staff.

  

Peel-and-stick wall decals

You can purchase these gifts through MySchoolBucks or at the Woodson main office.  If ordering online, you can select school pickup or have the items shipped directly to your home.  

 

 


Food Drive this Saturday, December 9th

The Woodson Leadership students will be collecting food outside the Fair City Mall Shoppers Food and the Pickett Shopping Center Trader Joe's on Saturday, December 9th from 8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. for their annual "Stuff the Truck" event.  All food items will be donated to the Annandale Food Site which has been serving the needs of 60-80 families per week for the past 8 years.  

Thank you for supporting this year's "Stuff the Truck."


Messages from Woodson PTSO

Dear Parents, Families and Students,

High School isn’t the same as elementary school where we had organized gift-giving and Room Parents.  Please take time throughout the school year, and especially now in the holiday season, to recognize and give thanks to the educators and support professionals that work with our children.  Simple notes of appreciation, emails of gratitude and letters in support of your child's teacher, counselor, principal, and/or support staff have enormous, meaningful impact.

Additionally, Woodson PTSO is collecting gift cards to raffle at the Annual Holiday Luncheon for the Teachers and Staff on Thursday, December 14th.

Parents, families and students are invited to send in gift cards to the Woodson main office in an envelope addressed to Attn: Holiday Luncheon Raffle Prizes- Assistant Principal:  Kathy Martin and/or PTSO Rep Monica Cameron.  We kindly ask that we receive all donations by Wednesday, December 13th.

Please contact PTSO parent representative Monica Cameron at monica.cameron@cox.net or 703-608-1289, or assistant principal Kathy Martin at KAMartin@fcps.edu

Milk and Cookies

On Thursday, December 14, the PTSO will be celebrating our students with milk and cookies.  For those of you new to the school, this is a great tradition.  It is a unique way for parents and community members to recognize our students and to show them positive community support.

Traditionally, milk and cookies are mentioned in "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten" as a valuable life lesson.  Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you!  At this event, parent volunteers make hundreds of dozens of cookies and the PTSO donates milk boxes.  After school on Thursday, December 14th, parent volunteers shower the kids with warmth and pass out baggies of cookies and milk to each student!  In order for this to be successful, we need LOTS of help.  

Please visit the SignUpGenius to donate cookies and/or to help distribute on Thursday, December 14th.  It's a great way to see smiling students and spread holiday cheer.  Please contact Shannon Murphy, parent volunteer at shannon.murphy29@gmail.com if you have any questions.


Hour of Code

Woodson Computer Science students highlighted their creations this week as an "Hour of Code" activity.  Several student creations were demonstrated in the Library during lunches on Thursday and Friday.  Some examples are a Lego Starwars style game and a Unity strategy game. 

Hour of Code

Students demonstrate their app to a new staff member.


Environmental Club visits Canterbury Woods ES

Students from the Environmental Club and Science National Honor Society visited Canterbury Woods ES as part of Woodson's science outreach program on Tuesday, December 5th.  

During this visit, students engaged in hands on learning opportunities including an oil spill lab,  a food web activity, a global warming and ocean acidification lab and virtual reality explorations of the ocean and rainforest.

Virtual Reality at CWES

Girls Field Hockey Team wins Sportsmanship Award

Congratulations to the Woodson coaches, players, parents, and community!  Our Girls Field Hockey team was awarded the 2017 VHSL Class 6 Sportsmanship Award!

VHSL Class 6 Sportsmanship Award Field Hockey

Key Club Winter Blood Drive Success

The Key Club Winter blood drive on Thursday, December 7th was one of the best blood drives ever!  157 units of blood were donated.

Thank you to all the students and staff who took the time to donate and the PE Department for the use of the Aux Gym.  

INOVA shared that we have become one of their best school-based blood drives.


Congratulations on your retirement!

Congratulations to Public Health Nurse, Yvette Semler and Woodson Clinic Aide, Paula Wilson.  They are retiring on Friday, December 15th after decades of dedicated service to the Woodson community.

Please join us for a reception in their honor on Tuesday, December 12th at 3:15 p.m. in the Library.


Course Selection is coming!

Dear Parents/Guardians: 

Starting on Monday, December 11th, Woodson HS staff will begin working with students on the course selection process for the 2018-2019 school year.

Each teacher will meet with students individually across December 11th (odd day) and December 12th (even day) during their normal scheduled class time to provide students with guidance on course options available next year and to provide students with their recommendation of the course(s) that would be the best fit. Teacher recommendations for students will be based on demonstrated work ethic in the class, assessment grades, and applicable standardized testing. This is an important step as we strive to help students and parents navigate the course selection process.

After these advising sessions, students will meet with school counselors, according to the timeline below, to select their courses for the coming year. It is very important for students to choose courses carefully, for changes after the new school year begins may or may not be possible because of class size.

Once counselors have met with students, the students should come home with a print out of their selected courses.  We strongly recommend students to consider the teachers’ recommendations when selecting courses for the upcoming school year. If your student selects a class that was not recommended by the teacher, you will be notified and are encouraged to discuss your student’s selection with him/her.

Academic Advising Schedule

Teacher Course Recommendations: December 11 and December 12
· Teachers will provide students with their recommendations for courses.

Curriculum Night/Electives Fair and Rising Freshman Parent Night: January 10 from 5:00-8:00PM
· 5:00-6:00pm: Breakout Session for Special Education parents in E146 (Chorus Room)

· 6:00-6:30pm: Student Panel in the Auditorium

· 6:00-8:00pm: Electives and Curriculum Fair in BOTH cafeterias (learn about the different classes students can take at Woodson High School and at the Academies [most academy class are for rising 10-12th graders]).

· 6:30-7:00pm: Core subject teachers (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies) present on ninth grade curriculum in the Auditorium

· 7:00-7:30pm: Graduation Requirements for rising ninth grade parents and brief overview of the new AP and Activities Fees in FCPS in Auditorium

Current 10th Graders (Rising 11th Graders)
· Group Advising/Pre-Registration Meeting with School Counselors: January 3rd during Returns

· Individual Advising with School Counselors: January 4th- January 19th (through Health and PE 10 class)

Current 11th Graders (Rising 12th Graders)
· Group Advising/Pre-Registration Meeting with School Counselors: January 22nd during Returns

· Individual Advising with School Counselors: January 23rd- February 8th (through US VA History class)

Current 9th Graders (Rising 10th Graders)
· Group Advising/Pre-Registration Meeting with School Counselors: February 9th during Returns

· Individual Advising with School Counselors: February 12th- February 27th  (through Health and PE 9 class)

Questions?  Please contact your child's school counselor.


Outstanding Employee Awards Nominations

The FCPS employee awards season is here and Woodson High School invites our community and staff to be part of the nominating process for our school.  

The following nominations have been extended and are due by the dates noted below:

  • Outstanding New Teacher (years 1-3 of teaching) nomination due by Thursday, February 1st at 4:00 p.m. To nominate, please complete the Outstanding New Teacher nomination form.  
  • Outstanding Teacher/Librarian (4 or more years of teaching) nomination due by Wednesday, January 3rd at 4:00 p.m.  To nominate, please complete the Outstanding Teacher/Librarian nomination form
  • Outstanding Support Employee (includes administrative assistant, bus driver, bus attendant, custodian, food service staff, instructional assistant, office staff, public health attendant,  public health training assistant,  student information assistant) nomination due by Tuesday, January 16th at 4:00 p.m.  To nominate, please complete the Outstanding Support Employee nomination form.   
  • Outstanding Hourly Employee (includes parent liaison and other hourly employees) nomination due by Wednesday, January 3rd at 4:00 p.m.  To nominate, please complete the Outstanding Hourly Employee nomination form
  • Outstanding Leader (includes assistant principal, counselor, psychologist, social worker, speech and language pathologist, and TSPC/SBTS) nomination due by Thursday, February 1st at 4:00 p.m.  To nominate, please complete the Outstanding Leader nomination form
  • Outstanding Principal (years 3+) nomination due by Tuesday, January 16th at 4:00 p.m.  To nominate, please complete the Outstanding Principal nomination form.    

 Please contact our Woodson Awards Liaisons Adam Entenberg at atentenberg@fcps.edu or Celeste Jones at cbjones@fcps.edu with any questions.