Annandale Community Insider - February 9

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 02/09/2020 11:18 AM EST
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Annandale Community:

Thank you for the warm welcome this week. It was exciting to meet many of our staff, students, parents and community members. In addition, it was fun to see our students and staff beyond the classroom at Friday night's Girls Basketball game and the Special Olympics Unified Basketball game this morning at Woodson High School.  

This is the first edition of the “Annandale Community Insider.” It will be a weekly email that will be sent out on Sunday via News You Choose that should provide you the information needed for the upcoming week and beyond. My hope is that this email will streamline communication about important events that impact your student(s). In addition the “Community Insider” is also a way for us to build culture, reinforce our school vision, share celebrations, and establish a sense of community.

As I mentioned when I was introduced last Thursday, I have a lot to learn and I am looking forward to the ways you will help me understand what makes Annandale special and the vision you have for our future as a school. 

As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Go Atoms!

Sincerely,

Shawn DeRose, Principal

 

Contact Information:
Twitter: @ShawnDeRose
Website: https://annandalehs.fcps.edu/
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Awesome Atoms!

Manny Precht Recieves Student Peace Award Award: Congratulations to IB diploma candidate, Manoucher (Manny) Precht, as he will receive the Student Peace Award of Fairfax County on Sunday, March 1 at the Sherwood Community Center. Manny is being recognized for his efforts working with Earth Sangha an organization committed to removing invasive plant species to improve our local ecotype.

 

District X All District Band - Last week, nine Annandale High School Band students participated in the Virginia Music Educators Association / Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association District X All-District Band event. These students were selected through a competitive live audition process in December. At the event, they joined other exceptional student musicians from District X to rehearse and perform a fantastic program, under the leadership of skilled guest conductors. Eva Gomez, piccolo, was a member of the Wind Ensemble. The following students were members of the Symphonic Band: Denis Coca-Hernandez, oboe; Timo Aav (not pictured) and Zachary Russell, bassoon; Liliana Inkpen, clarinet; Tracey Cortez and Ilson Guevara Rivas, bass clarinet; Bereket Berhe, trumpet; Brian Mercado, trombone. The Wind Ensemble was conducted by Dr. Mary Schneider, Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Eastern Michigan University. The Symphonic Band was conducted by Mr. Denny Stokes, retired FCPS band director and current director of the Virginia Winds Academy.

 

Science Fair a Huge Success - Thank you to all of our parent and staff volunteers who helped judge Annandale's Science Fair on Wednesday, February 5. Good luck to all of the winners at the upcoming Regional Science Fair in March.

 

Congrats "Students of the Quarter" Recipients - Last Thursday, we celebrated several hundred students who were named "Student of the Quarter" by a staff member. Winners played games, enjoyed the recognition and of course the ice cream!

 

Congrats New Atoms Writing Center Tutors - Congratulations to the newly named Atoms Writing center tutors: Subha Bakhtiar, Kennedy Beal, Madison Cruz, Katherine Elise Davis, Madeline Dosen, Carla Escobar, Jasa Gellert, Emily Ha, Chaimaa Hafid, Tejh Hardin, Adiba Hasnat, Maram Ibrahim, Fahima Karimi, Danya Khreshi, Stephany Melendez Mejia, Dylan Brian Mercado, Natane Nguyen, Melita Nkembe, Anna Peters, Isabella Rodas-Guardado, Tania Ruiz Castillo, Savion Simmavong, Izzy Teinfalt, Emma Tlusty, Joscelyn Ventura, and Yixin Xie.
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Important Dates

February 17 - No School 

February 19 - PTSA Meeting, 7:00 pm

March 3 - Teacher Planning Day (No School for Students)

 

PTSA Meeting - February 18, 7:00pm: Join us at the next PTSA Meeting on Tuesday, February 18 at 7:00 in the library for a meet and greet with our new Principal, Shawn DeRose and two school board members, Megan McLaughlin and Ricardy Anderson. If you have any questions, please contact Norma Fodi, PTSA President at atoms.ahs.president@gmail.com. 

Important Information

Academic Advising Updates - School counselors continue to meet individually with students to assist them in exploring their academic and postsecondary/career goals. Students will review their transcripts and verify their course selections for the coming school year. These sessions will take place during students’ English classes. Academic advising for juniors is completed. Sophomores will be completed on Monday, January 10.  Freshmen academic advising will be held February 11-24. Parents can always view the course selections via their SIS ParentVUE account. Please email Paula DiSalvo, Director of Student Services at pdisalvo@fcps.edu if you have any questions.

 

Sign Up for Weekly Progress Reports: All parents/guardians of middle and high school students who have registered for a SIS ParentVUE Account and have a primary email address recorded in SIS ParentVUE can receive Weekly Progress Reports via email. This report provides a summary of your student(s) grades for the current quarter. 

To activate the Weekly Progress Reports via email, login to your SIS ParentVUE Account and first verify that you have a primary email address within the system. It is listed under the “My Account” tab. If it is blank, enter the email address where you would like to receive the progress reports and click on update account. Once confirmed, parents/guardians are able to activate and select their preferences for receiving these reports within the SIS ParentVUE “My Account” tab. 

Weekly progress reports for all of your middle and high school students will be included in one email. For questions about a specific progress report or grade you can login into your SIS ParentVUE Account to find detailed grade book information. Additionally, your student’s teacher is always the best resource to answer any grade book questions that you may have. Weekly Progress Report Parent Quick Reference Guide.

 

Yearbooks on Sale Now! - Parents are encouraged to purchase a yearbook today! The cost is $85. You can purchase your yearbook online at https://yearbookforever.com or bring in cash/check to Ms. Hanneman. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Hanneman at jehanneman@fcps.edu. Please note, yearbooks will be distributed to students at Annandale near the end of the school year.
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Get Involved!

Join the Annandale PTSA! - Please consider joining as it is a great way to become actively involved in your student's education and the AHS community. Moreover, the PTSA works very hard to stay on top of critical activity and decisions being made by the school board, school system and local government. Regular updates are provided at PTSA meetings (held each month on the 3rd Tuesday at 7pm), on our website and through PTSA electronic updates. Click here to join today!
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News from the Activities Office

Check out the latest news from the Annandale Activities Office, including schedules, rosters, and coaching information for all sports teams at all levels. In addition you can read game summaries, revisit previous seasons, volunteer, and more. To subscribe to the new AHS Athletics feed, use this FCPS "News You Choose" online form to add your email address. If you have any questions, please contact Jeff Ellenberger at jellenberger@fcps.edu or call the Activities Office at 703-642-4170.

Career Center Updates

The College and Career Center and the Career Center Specialist assist students with their college, career and employment searches. Students can find a wide variety of resources on colleges, careers, scholarships, financial aid, part-time and full-time employment opportunities, and SAT, ACT, and TOEFL registration. The goal of the Career Center is to help students make informed career decisions about their post-secondary plans, which may include four-year colleges, two-year colleges, technical schools, apprenticeships, military, full-time employment, or gap year opportunities. 

Click here to check out the latest information from the Annandale HS Career Center. If you have any questions, please contact Princess Brown at pnbrown@fcps.edu or call 703-642-4263.

Read the A-Blast

The A-Blast is a student run newspaper for Annandale High School. Through a partnership with the Washington Post, they print a new edition every two or three weeks, focusing on current events both inside Annandale High School and the Annandale community. Click here to read the latest edition of the A-Blast!

Attendance Matters

When students miss too many days of school, they fall behind and struggle to keep up with their classmates. Whether the days missed are due to illness, truancy, or for any other reason, the end result for the student is the same: learning time is lost. Children and adolescents will get sick at times and may need to stay at home, but we want to work with you to help minimize the number of days your child misses school. Check out the "Attendance: When Should I Send My Student to School" website for more information.
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Be Informed, Stay Involved!