Important Upcoming Dates
September 18 - Blood Drive sponsored by the Leadership Class
September 19 - student 3-hour early release
September 24 - Driver Education Certification Completion
October 8 - Columbus Day - Student holiday
October 10 - PSAT day
Technology Information for Parents
Technology Survey and Sessions for Parents
We would like to offer monthly information and training sessions to prepare the McLean community for FCPSOn, the 1:1 equity initiative that will occur in all FCPS high schools in 2019-2020. This initiative, which will provide a device for every high school student, supports FCPS Portrait of a Graduate skills and 21st-century learning. Before completing the survey, please visit this website to learn more about the FCPSOn (blended learning) initiative. By completing this survey, you will help us learn what you need.
parent technology survey
After we review the results, we will hold monthly technology sessions for parents. These sessions will occur the second Tuesday of every month and there will be a morning and evening session offering.
Mathspace Information Session
The McLean Math Department would like to introduce a new
resource they are using this year called Mathspace. Mathspace is an
online support tool used for Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 and
Pre-calculus. This online learning platform provides a built-in textbook
aligned specifically to the FCPS curriculum and Virginia Standards of Learning,
instructional videos, custom and adaptive tasks/questions with hints and next
steps, interactive manipulatives, dynamic progress reports and real-world
applications! Teachers can monitor understanding in real time and plan
instruction adaptive to your student’s progress. Please visit this website and watch this video to learn
more! If you have any questions regarding Mathspace, please reach out to
your student’s math teacher. The McLean Math Department is excited to
begin this journey through Mathspace together with students and parents.
Our session will be held on September 26 at 6:00 in the Lecture Hall.
School Safety and Lockdown Drills
This week we will have our first lockdown drill. On Thursday, we will have a review with our students on what to do during a lockdown. Friday we will have a drill. When the drill is occurring, an email will be sent to all parents to inform you all of the drill.
Food Deliveries
Students may not have outside businesses, such as Uber eats and pizza restaurants, deliver food to the school. The main reason for this is student safety. Students have gone outside to meet the drivers and are propping doors open to get back in the building. This presents many concerns for us. First, students are exiting the building to meet complete strangers on campus. Additionally, doors are being left open allowing anyone to enter our building. Please talk to your child about maintaining a safe environment at school.
Remaining consistent with other high schools and for maintaining the safety of all of our staff and students, McLean administrators and security personnel will confiscate any food that has been delivered to the school. All food that is confiscated may be picked up after school from the Security Office.
We appreciate your support in maintaining the safety of our students and staff.
Band Tag Day - Saturday, September 15, 2018 - 9am-4pm
The annual McLean Band Tag Day is this Saturday, September 15 from 9am-4pm! McLean Band students will be in uniform and out in our community, neighborhoods, and shopping centers. They will be collecting donations that will be used toward equipment, travel, music, supplemental instruction, and supplies - all of which make our program the award-winning organization that you all know and love! Please give generously! We thank you in advance for your support of the Arts at McLean High School!
VISION AND HEARING SCREENING – 10th GRADERS AND NEW TO FCPS STUDENTS
10/3 and 10/4--- Wednesday, Oct. 3rd and Thursday Oct. 4th, we will be conducting our Vision and Hearing Screening in the Lecture Hall. All 10th graders and any new to FCPS in 9th, 11th, and 12th will be screened. Students who wear glasses/contacts need to bring/wear them on those days.
If you are interested in volunteering anytime on either or both of these days, please use the “Sign Up Genius” link below to put your name in the time slots that you would be available.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4DADA82EA7FD0-volunteers
You may also contact Julie Gamboa, School Health Aide by e-mailing her at jgamboa@fcps.edu.
2018-2019 PSAT and PSAT 8/9 Information - Updated Information
PSAT Fee
All students in grades 10 & 11 will take the PSAT on Wednesday, October 10, 2018. Grade 9 students will take the PSAT 8/9. FCPS pays the fee for 9th and 10th graders; however, 11th grade students must pay $20 to have their exams scored. Payment for juniors can be made through the MySchoolBucks Store. Additionally, cash and checks will be accepted at Back to School Night. The payment deadline is October 3, 2018. Contact Sara Wheeler, Assessment Coach, at sewheeler@fcps.edu with questions. More information about the PSAT 8/9 and PSAT/NMSQT can be found on the College Board website.
PSAT Pre-Survey
At the beginning of the PSAT, students are presented with a voluntary pre-survey that asks questions about a variety of topics. Parents have the opportunity to preview this survey, and to opt out, if they choose to do so. Parents/guardians may view the pre-survey questions and access further information about the opt-out process via the “PSAT Pre-Survey Opt-Out Policy” public webpage at: https://www.fcps.edu/node/36639. Pre-survey opt-out forms must be returned to Sara Wheeler, Assessment Coach, McLean High School by Friday, September 28, 2018. If you choose to opt your student out of the pre-survey, please be sure your student knows they should not answer the pre-survey questions at the beginning of the test.
PSAT Day Opportunities for Seniors
On October 10th, MHS will host two optional activities for 12th grade students:
- College Application assistance with Mrs. Venos in the Career Center from 9:00 -11:00
- College Essay Writing assistance with English 12 teachers in the MHS Library from 8:30-11:30
Schedule Change Timeline
September 14 - We have been making schedule changes and will continue to permit them this week on a space available basis (Teacher changes not permitted)
After September 14 - no schedule changes until end of quarter. At that point our Add/Drop Committee will begin to review requests for changes.
Driver Education Certification Completion – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm - Auditorium
The state of Virginia requires all 10th grade students and their parent/guardian to attend a 90-minute traffic safety program entitled Partners for Safe Teen Driving as part of the classroom driver education instruction. This condition must be met before a student will receive a Driver Education Certificate of Completion (DEC-1 card).
The dates for this year's presentations are:
Monday, September 24
Monday, December 10
Monday, February 11
Monday, April 22
Attendance for all current 10th grade health & PE students is MANDATORY at one of these presentations in order to obtain their completion card for Driver Education. Students must attend with a parent or guardian. (Parents/guardians, please bring a photo ID with you to the presentation.) The doors are shut and locked at 6:30pm, so please plan to arrive early so that you are not locked out of presentation. Current 10th grade students do not need to
pre-register. If you are not a current 10th grade Health & PE student, you must preregister and pay for this presentation. Registration information can be found on the FCPS ACE website. (https://aceclasses.fcps.edu/) ATTENDANCE AT THIS PRESENTATION MUST BE IN FCPS. NO PRESENTATIONS AT OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS WILL FULFILL THIS REQUIREMENT.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Vivacqua - DJVivacqua@fcps.edu
Request to take a Course Pass/Fail
With parent/guardian approval, high school students are given the option of taking one elective credit per school year to be marked on a pass-fail basis. This may be applied to required physical education credits, world language credits, economics and personal finance and to credits other than those required for English, social studies, mathematics, and laboratory science. The request for Pass/Fail status for a full year course must be submitted to the student’s school counselor by Thursday, September 27th.
Expunging of HS Credit Courses taken in middle school (9th graders only)
In accordance with Virginia state regulations, FCPS Regulation 2408 permits parents of students who take a high school credit-bearing course in middle school to request that the grade be omitted from the student's high school transcript and the student not earn high school credit for the course. Since parents/guardians must make this request no later than the end of the first nine weeks of the school year following completion of the course, only families of 9th grade students are eligible to make this request. Guidelines and the procedures for expunging grades for high school courses taken in middle school, including the required form, can be found at https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/secondary/taking-high-school-courses-in-middle-school.
The deadline for 9th grade requests to expunge a high school credit-bearing course from 8th grade is Friday, November 2, 2018,
Please contact your school counselor for additional information.
Workshops Offered by FCPS
FCPS Mental Health and Wellness Conference
Registration is now open for the fifth annual FCPS Mental Health and Wellness Conference that, for the first time, will also include an Our Minds Matter Teen Summit for middle and high school students, sponsored by the Josh Anderson Foundation. The conference will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Fairfax High School on Saturday, September 29, 2018. Dr. Scott Brabrand, FCPS Superintendent, will open the conference, and Dr. Amy Przeworski, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, will present the keynote message: Using Stress to Your Advantage in Achieving Academic Success and Emotional Well Being. Participants in this conference, which is free to staff, parents, and community members, will be able to choose from 35 breakout options (many offered more than once). Additionally, there will be more than 50 resource tables available, representing public and private agencies providing wellness-related services within our schools and in our community.
IEP Training: Least Restrictive Environment and Services
Join us for this important workshop to learn about new changes to the IEP regarding the least restrictive environment for students receiving special education services. Staff from the FCPS Office of Special Education Procedural Support and the FCPS Office of Special Education Instruction will present this workshop for parents of students receiving special education services.
Register for Thursday, September 20, 2018; 10 a.m. - noon
Register for Thursday, September 25, 2018; 7-9 p.m
Dunn Loring Center for Parent Services
2334 Gallows Road
Entrance 1 - Room 100
Dunn Loring, VA
Gender Differences in ADHD
Join us for this important workshop to learn about the gender differences in children and young adults with ADHD. ADHD is commonly diagnosed in childhood, although it is diagnosed much more frequently in boys than in girls. Unlike boys, many of whom show hyperactivity, girls’ symptoms may present more toward inattentiveness and disorganization. Girls tend to develop ADHD later than boys. Some ADHD symptoms can become less intense for boys after they pass through puberty. For many girls, it gets worse.
Patricia Quinn, MD, will discuss the gender differences in ADHD and the important implications in diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Quinn is an internationally recognized authority on ADHD and the author of more than 20 books on the topic of ADHD in children, teens, and adults.
Register for Gender Differences in ADHD
Friday, September 21, 2018; 10 a.m. - noon
Dunn Loring Center for Parent Services
2334 Gallows Road
Entrance 1 - Room 100
Dunn Loring, VA
My School Bucks
Learn more about this online payment portal for many school fees. Parents can set up an account which they link their student(s) to so there is one account per family. Course fees, lunch funds, some ticket events can be taken care of online. MySchoolBucks eliminates the need for students to carry cash to school and for multiple checks to be written. Learn more and sign up at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/login/getmain?requestAction=home
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