Weekly News From South County High School

From the Principal   

Family,

With a short week, comes a short message from yours truly.  I want to send a huge thank you to the Military Connected Youth students and families who allowed us to assist in celebrating our military families on Friday at our Flag Raising Ceremony.  It was a chilly morning, but the event no doubt warmed the hearts of all of those who were in attendance.  I would like to thank Mr. Kevin Engdahl, our outstanding band director, for not only putting together a group of musicians to play at the event, but for also playing as well with the student group, which goes far in the realm of modeling to our students and others what it means to be dedicated to a cause.  I would also like to give another shout out to Deb Boullianne who once again put together a beautiful display of pictures representing the many families who have sacrificed and served in one of the branches of the Armed Forces.

Wednesday, I opened the doors to the school in the evening for a Principal’s Coffee.  The goal was to provide an opportunity for parents and guardians who could not make coffees in the morning hours to be able to come in the evening.  I want to thank those who were in attendance.  I appreciated the conversations and the feedback.  I am planning to do another in the spring, and I hope that we can triple the attendance at that time.  In the meantime, if you have ideas as to how we can get more participation, or if you are still one of the parents that doesn’t have the time to make it in for a coffee based on the structures we have put in place thus far, please feel free to reach out and share your ideas on how we can up our attendance numbers.  I would be more than happy to hear from you.

I am again sending this reminder to you all to please ensure that your children are dressing appropriately for the weather.  While we aren’t experiencing frigid temperatures yet, it is still chilly out.  On Friday we had our monthly fire drill.  In an attempt to create more realistic drill scenarios, we do not announce the drills before they happen.  I was slightly concerned with some of the attire students had on.  Considering that many of our students choose not to use their lockers, I wondered how they were dressed when they arrived to school.  The good news however, was that we dumped the building very quickly and were able to get our teeth-chattering children back inside to the warmth.  So again, I ask that you have the conversation with them about ensuring they are properly dressed.  We need their voices in the building every day.

A quick congratulations to our athletes who competed this week!  Sarah Cole finished 12th in this week’s Cross Country meet which was good enough to qualify her for states!  Way to go Sarah!  Volleyball beat a feisty Edison team this week to keep them on the court for another match!  And football continued their unbeaten season with a District Championship win over rival Lake Braddock Friday night!  Outstanding efforts by all our athletes.  I look forward to continued success in the upcoming week!

Well this week also kicked off the beginning of the 2nd quarter.  Students have had an extended taste of what the year has in store for them with respect to their classes.  Teachers are beyond in their grooves and students should now understand and be comfortable with classroom routines.  Ensure that your child is taking advantage of every opportunity we have available with respect to resources in the building.  Know that our core content areas have an average of about 15 -17 members in each of them.  So there is always help available, even if for whatever reason, it can’t be their own specific classroom teacher. The Writing Lab and the Math Lab are up and running and they offer both adult and peer assistance for students.  The MAC program is meeting every other Saturday and is open to any student in the South County Pyramid from 9am to 12pm.  Counselors, administrators, and a host of other staff are also available to listen when needed if your student needs an ear.  Please continue to talk to your child about what they are learning, and how they are doing both academically, and socially in school.  The more they talk, the more comfortable they are talking.  And the more we know, the better we can become. 

Okay, so it wasn’t as short of a note as I initially thought.  But I like talking to you all!

Thank you once again for this opportunity to work with you and your children.  I look forward to another great week!  #One Stallion

Gary

 


Attendance Office/Early Dismissals

Please send a note with your student in the morning to give to the Attendance Office, first thing upon arrival, so that they can receive a pass for an early dismissal. Phones calls should be reserved for sickness, late arrivals, and unscheduled events. Not only does this ensure your student will dismissed on time but it also does not interrupt instructional time for other students as the pass is delivered. Please be considerate of all students.

  


Outstanding Employee Awards!

Nominations are now open (10/28-11/15) for the Outstanding Employee Awards! These awards are based on a legacy of excellence and not tied directly to one particular act. To submit a nomination for South County High School Outstanding Employee in a category (listed below) use this google form,

https://forms.gle/BF1WnNnfQBT76GoZ7  

You can nominate any employee in one or multiple categories. We want students, parents and community members to nominate also. All that is required for an initial nomination is a quick paragraph about how this employee demonstrates exceptional work in the criteria for that category. There is a description of each category on the google form. If you want to nominate someone and are unsure of the category, no problem at all. Select the unsure drop-down option on the form and our selection committee will place them appropriately.

Categories include-

Outstanding Teacher- [Life Time Legacy] (at least 3 years of experience as a teacher)

Outstanding New Teacher- (within their first 3 years as a teacher)

Outstanding Principal- (Only Mr. Morris is eligible for this category)

Outstanding Leader- (At least one year experience (examples- Assistant Principal, Director of Student Activities, Director of Student Services)

Outstanding Professional Employee- (At least 1 year experience (examples- Academic and school culture support)

Outstanding Operational Employee- (1 year experience (examples- Administrative and Office staff, Security, Custodial staff, Food service staff, Instructional assistant)

PTSO South County Teacher of the Year- (celebrating a teacher from the current school year)

NOTE- The deadline to submit a nomination is November 15th

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Bennett at dfbennett@fcps.edu  

  


Partners for Safe Teen Driving Program

Presented by SC High School Driver’s ED Program

Auditorium

November 11th (Monday) 

February 13th (Thursday)      

April 21st (Tuesday)

As a part of classroom driver education instruction, students and their parent/guardian are required to attend a 90-minute traffic safety program. This requirement must be met before a student will receive a Classroom Driver Education Certificate of Completion (DEC-District 8).

These programs will be held at South County High School four (4) times during this school year. Parents and students should attend the program during the quarter in which they are enrolled in driver’s education, but may attend other programs. Please be aware that you and your student only need to attend this program one time.

Programs will take place on the following dates: October 16th, November 11th, February 13th, and April 21st. The doors will open at 6:45PM with the programs beginning promptly at 7:00PM in the Auditorium. No registration is required for SCHS students currently enrolled in 10th grade Health & Physical Education (H&PE).

The legislative requirement is for a 90-minute program; therefore, doors will be shut at 7:00PM. No one will be admitted after the doors have been closed. If you are unable to attend any of these programs, additional program dates and locations can be found on the Fairfax County Public Schools website at www.fcps.edu.

If you have any questions, please contact Erich Gunderman, H&PE Department Chair, via email at Erich.Gunderman@fcps.edu. Thank you for your attention to this important requirement.

 


National Honor Society

Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors eligible for membership in the South County HS chapter of NHS should have received letters by now through their Advisory classes inviting them to join. NEW STUDENTS OR STUDENTS IN ACADEMY may not have received letters. If you know your child had a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher as of the end of last year but they did not receive a letter, please ask your student to come by room B231. THE INDUCTION CEREMONY for new members of the SCHS chapter is Nov. 14, 2019, at 7 pm. The list of students who will be inducted will be posted outside of room B231 on Monday, Nov. 11. Students new to South County can still be added to this list if eligible.

  


From the Library

Did you know the South County Library had the highest book check out for last year? We are on the way to being number one again BUT we need your help.

Please asked YOUR child to return their overdue Library book ASAP. Overdue notices are emailed to your child’s fcpsschools.net account EVERY MONDAY.

Books not returned will be charged to your student’ account. Let’s avoid the bills and get the books back for ALL our students to enjoy.

Any questions, please come in and see us in the Library!

  


South County MAC

South County MAC provides FREE tutoring on select Saturdays in all core subjects and Spanish. Our next session is November 23rd from 10 am- 1 pm in the SCHS library.

South County MAC events are open to ALL SCHS and SCMS students and parents. We welcome all to attend. We encourage you to register your student to participate by completing the registration form. For additional information regarding the MAC or the MAC Scholars Program, please contact us at SouthCountyMAC@gmail.com.

     


Fee to Support FCPSOn

As part of FCPSOn, an annual technology support fee of $50 will be charged to high school students. This fee will help ensure students have access to the technology they need by defraying the cost to repair and replace equipment, ensuring all students have the necessary laptops for testing, and providing back-up laptops as a substitute as needed. All students will need access to the same software, which might not be compatible with self-provided laptops. The technology support fee is included in the FY 2020 Approved Budget.

Billing

The technology support fee will be billed centrally using FCPS’ e-commerce platform, My School Bucks (MSB), which retrieves information from the Student Information System (SIS). Students who have Free and Reduced status and have given consent to share their FRM status for a waiver or reduction of the technology support fee will be charged $25 for Reduced status; the fee will be waived for Free status.

The technology support fee will be billed on Monday after the end of first quarter of each school year for all eligible students who are enrolled at that time. Subsequent bills for students who are transferring into the school district will be issued on the first Monday after the end of the second and third quarters. There will be no proration of the fee.

Parents/guardians and students who do not have an MSB account will receive a bill from MSB to the primary email address recorded in SIS. They need to enroll in My School Bucks.

Student Obligations

Students who have not paid the fee will incur a student obligation.

Lost and Damaged Laptops

There will not be additional fees for incidental damage. However, schools will treat repeated instances of damage from negligence the same way they would treat negligent damage to any school property. Students may be financially liable for lost/stolen computers. If you need to purchase a replacement computer or power adapter they are available through MSB School Store.

 


Radium 1
Radium 2

Chorus 1

Field Hockey State Semifinals and State Finals

South County is proud to host the Field Hockey State Semifinals and State Finals this year for class 1-3, Class 4, Class 5, and Class 6 on Nov 15-16, 2019.  What a great way to show off our school and amazing athletic complex!

November 15 - Field Hockey State Semifinals (Stadium and Track Field)

9:30am – Class 5 – FH State Semifinals

11:30am -Class 6 – FH State Semifinals

1:30pm – Class 1-3 – FH State Semifinals

3:30 – Class 4 ­– FH State Semifinals

November 16 - Field Hockey State Finals (Stadium)

10:00am – Class 5 - FH State Final

12:00pm – Class 6 -  FH State Final

2:00pm – Class 1-3 – FH State Final

4:00pm – Class 4 – FH state Final

-Entry is $10

-Fans are expected to park in the SCHS parking lot in the corner of the varsity baseball field and Silverbrook Road. 

-There will be no parking for fans at the middle school either day.

- All fans are expected to enter through the main gate at the Stadium entrance.  

-Game Officials will park in the Kiss and Ride parking spaces both days

-A hospitality room will be available for officials, volunteers, and workers both days

-Fans MAY NOT enter the playing areas at any time - Fans may meet teams after games for pictures / celebrations (Stadium – in the area at the score board end) or (Track Field – Silverbrook grass field)

 


Important Upcoming Dates:

November 27-December 1  Thanksgiving Holiday

December 23-January 5      Winter Break

   


FCPS Cares

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.