From the Principal
Family,
I wanted to say thank you for sending your children to us for another awesome week of school. This week we got a little closer to every student as we got to engage with them in their individual class meetings. I was able to share my vision for our journey together, as well as to share some important information with them. It was nice to see them in this forum because I could see the classes as individuals; and do their personalities really differ. But more importantly, the administrative staff was able to present our collective human face to our positions. And, now those who didn’t know, realize that I am not the fairly well-dressed security guard they thought I was!
I also want to say that my classroom visits have been very insightful. Students are engaged in learning, and teachers have been truly homing in on the learning of their students rather than their teaching. It seems like common sense, but we educators put a lot of work into planning lessons for students and sometimes the focus of those efforts can be the delivery of that work. Admittedly, I have been the culprit of this as well. So I have asked that learning be the focus this year because when the students’ outcomes are the focus, the student knows that they are being cared for and valued; thus more learning takes place.
Now for a little bit of business that may impact you. As we round out the second week of school, we are still dealing with some scheduling issues. I ask that you all be patient with us as we try our very best to provide the most beneficial and fair experience for all of our students. Please know that there are many moving parts behind the scheduling machine, and even when it looks like there is a clear path for a change, that may not be the case. The ultimate goal is to ensure that your student receives the best possible learning experience that can be delivered. Further, I ask that we all give time for students to learn their teachers and one another. These new relationships will add to the awesome time your students spend with us!
Here is a bit of what I call, “Not It News”, which simply means that it isn’t our fault this time. Unfortunately, the payment system, My School Bucks, did not roll out and become live until later than expected this year. This is a system that is controlled centrally. So some of our parents have elected to pay for class fees and such via cash or check because the system was unavailable. We really do appreciate you doing this. When the system went live, those parents may have seen a fee still owed through My School Bucks and chose to pay that fee as well. If you have already paid either cash or check to a teacher, you do not need to pay again through My School Bucks. If you have paid already, you will be refunded back through My School Bucks by our finance tech. Once again, pleases be patient with us as we work through this.
Finally, I would like to thank those parents who were able to make it out to the Parent Coffee on Friday. I really appreciate the opportunity to interact with all of you. No, really, I do! This year, we, Nannette Henderson and I have decided to hold these coffees both in the mornings and the evenings to give you all the opportunity to have some choice. I am looking forward to my conversations with you and working on building our relationships in the effort to make South County the best school in the district.
Thank you once again for your time. I am excited about the year, and excited to be working with all of you. Have a great weekend and take care of yourselves. #OneStallion
Gary
Yearbook information
Yearbooks and Senior Ads on sale at www.yearbookforever.com.
*YEARBOOK SALE *
Until September 15
Use code SOCO2020 online and save $10 on a yearbook.
Use code Seniors online and save 10% on a senior ad.
Senior Quotes
All senior quotes must be submitted by October 1 to be included in the yearbook. Editors will make final decisions on quotes and will not include anything that is not school appropriate.
To submit your quote, use the following form: https://forms.gle/grmnNEQDyKLWK6h18
From the PTSO
First PTSO meeting of the year
On Monday night, September 9, we will have the first PTSO meeting of the year at 7:00pm in the library/media center. All are welcome. At this meeting, the PTSO will be presenting its budget for the year, so come and learn how the PTSO supports the school community! All PTSO meetings include a report from the Principal, plus, we will have a guest speaker for this meeting: Mr. Gamble, our school security specialist, will be talking about security issues at the school.
For Military Connected Parents
The PTSO has an active Military Connections group. Once a month, the group meets for breakfast/lunch at local restaurants. It's the perfect opportunity to meet and socialize with other South County Parents outside of the school. Hope you can join us! This month we will meet at: Brickmakers Café (9751 Ox Rd. Lorton, VA—in Occoquan Regional Park) Sept 12 @ 11:30 Casual Attire
Follow the PTSO on Facebook and Twitter
Please follow these PTSO pages on Facebook and Twitter.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoCoPTSO
PTSO general page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthCountyHighSchoolPTSO/
PTSO craft fair on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LortonHolidayExtravaganza/
PTSO Military Connections: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2103122980014708/
For Senior Parents
The price of tickets to All Night Grad Party goes up after Back to School Night. Don’t delay; order your graduating senior’s ticket today: https://southcountyptso.membershiptoolkit.com/home
Look for the ANGP tables at Back to School Night for ANGP information.
September 14th is Tag Day!!
Tag Day is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the South County Performing Arts Department. It takes thousands of dollars more than the fees that are charged for each group to run a complete band, orchestra, choir or theater program. To keep our fees low and keep music in our schools we depend on contributions from our incredible community.
Student teams will be coming to your door next Saturday asking for tax-deductible contributions to “Support the Music.” Thank you in advance to everyone who donates to our Performing Arts department and we look forward to seeing you at all of our music productions here at SCHS.
South County Minority Achievement Committee
South County Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) is excited to kick off our fifth year. We will have our annual kickoff September 14th from 10-12 in the SCHS library. This year’s kickoff will be a session on Time Management followed by an Ice Cream and Donut Social. Please come out to learn more about MAC and the MAC Scholars Program and all the exciting event we have planned for this school year.
We will continue the MAC Scholars Program on select Saturday's from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The goal of the program is to create well rounded and balanced students through a variety of engaging extracurricular academic activities. We want to encourage you to register your student to participate now by completing the registration form. Our first tutoring session will be September 28th. We also want to invite all parents and students of all backgrounds and demographics to join the MAC. For additional information regarding the MAC or the MAC Scholars Program, please contact us at SouthCountyMAC@gmail.com.
From the Activities Office
Attention ALL Community Members! The final stages of resurfacing our track is scheduled to begin on September 3 – September 20. Please do not enter the track field area until further notice. Entering on to the surface during this time period will cause major delays and damage. We thank you in advance!
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT INFORMATION
We invite you to join us for our 2019-2020 Back to School Night next Wednesday, September 11th. This program provides an opportunity for you to meet your student's teachers and learn more about specific course curriculum, class expectations, and procedures. Please access your student's class schedule from your SIS Parent Account or your student’s SIS account and bring their schedule with you. First period will begin promptly at 6:10 PM!
During the evening you will also be able to:
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FCPS Cares is an opportunity for parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story so we can all acknowledge the good work of our South County HS Staff. Just click FCPS CARES. |
News You Choose Submission Deadline this next week will be Thursday at noon. Please send all submissions to DBoullianne@fcps.edu.
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