Annandale Community Insider - February 17

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 02/17/2020 12:03 PM EST
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Annandale Community:

Happy Presidents’ Day! I hope you are enjoying the long weekend with family and friends.

It has been an exciting week getting to know Annandale. I have had the opportunity to watch several Atoms basketball games, visit classrooms, and meet with our student government representatives in their leadership class. I am especially looking forward to my first PTA meeting on Tuesday night at 7:00pm and hope to see many of you there. 

It is already clear what makes Annandale special. One of my highlights as Principal so far has been getting to know our incredible students. Recently, I was able to sit with a group of students who had come to cheer on their peers at the Annandale Unified basketball game. They asked me many thoughtful, interesting questions and shared their perspective on what matters most to them, including diversity, engaging instruction and their desire to be challenged in their learning. I loved hearing their passion and perspective, and look forward to partnering with our students as we work together to make Annandale the very best school it can be for their learning. 

Another highlight from this week was the time I spent in classrooms. The more opportunities I have to see the learning happening on a daily basis at Annandale, the more excited I am to work with our faculty and staff on our vision for quality classroom instruction. In a math class that I visited, the teacher used clear structures to ensure students spent the majority of time practicing challenging problems together with her support and the support of each other. In another classroom, teachers used an exit ticket to check each student’s understanding before the end of the lesson. It is clear to me that Annandale is a place where students are eager to learn at the highest levels, and teachers are dedicated to ensuring students are successful. 

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Shawn DeRose, Principal

 

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

PRIDE Fives Drawing Winners! - Congratulations to our PRIDE Five bi-weekly drawing recipients, Meysel Mejia Turcios (9), Eric Alcantara (10), Maseray Luseni (11), and Eric Gonzalez (12). We celebrate these students for exhibiting the PRIDE Five characteristics, Participation, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Empathy.

 

Congrats Annandale Theater 4 Class - Congratulations to our Annandale Theater 4 class for placing 2nd in the VHSL regionals this week. Shoutout to Raffi Kasparian for receiving best actor!

 

Annandale Students Selected for District X All District Chorus - Last November, the following chorus students either placed or were selected as alternates in the District X All- District Choirs. 40 out of the 55 students from Annandale High School received this distinction and participated in the District X Honors Concerts held last weekend at South County High School in Lorton.

Those selected for the District X SSAA Honors Chorus were Audrey Barnes, Jewel Coulter, Isabel Dalsimer, Madisyn Dixon, Daniela Dosen, Madeline Dosen, Brenna Downey, Camille Grullard, Taylor Nugen, Klaire Reynoso, Trisha Tran, Hannah Vaughn, Joscelyn Ventura and Amanda Weaver.

Those selected for the District X SATB Honors Chorus were Harneet Bhullar, Noah Byrne, Brandon Cao, Makayla Collins, Nia Collins, Colomba Cruz Rivera, Jack Dalrymple, Gaby Deleon, Jason Dock, Lizzie Earhart, Jackson Fornaris, Savannah Gravitt, Tim Hurd, Zack Hurd, Kadijah Janneh, Grace Kliewer, Jimmy Le, Garrett Meadows, Izzy Mesfun, Isabel Pho, Brent Sanchez, Asta Singui, Ramzy Tabbah, Evan Trachsel and Claire Vaughn.

In addition to these honors, 12 Annandale students prepared for the All-Virginia Chorus auditions that were held in conjunction with the All District Event. Congrats Garrett Meadows, first chair in the Tenor 1 section in the SATB All-Virginia Choir and Claire Vaughn, fourth chair in the Soprano section in the SSAA All-Virginia Choir! In addition, Brandon Cao (2nd alternate Tenor) and Jackson Fornaris (3rd alternate Tenor) were also a part of the final tally. Please join me in commending ALL of these chorus students for their hard work and dedication throughout these last few months. Go Atoms!
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Important Dates

February 18 - PTSA Meeting, 7:00pm

February 19 - NOVA Information Night, 6:30pm

February 19 and 21 - IBMYP Personal Project Fair

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. 

 

IBMYP Personal Project Fair - February 19 and 21: Annandale HS IBMYP Personal Project Fair will be held on Wednesday, February 19 and Friday, February 21 in the library. English 10 classes have been hard at work on this project since early December, as the students began developing topic ideas and research questions. The Personal Project is a wide ranging project that is student-inquiry driven and not tied to a specific topic or idea. Students are asked within the scope of the project to research their topic or idea, and create a product or take action in some way. This year, we had students who documented the process of learning to build furniture, analyze running gaits and techniques, learn a new sport, learn to cook, and many more.

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 sophomores and juniors is completed. Freshmen academic advising is now being held and will continue through February 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!

 

Buy All Night Grade Party Tickets Now! Buy your tickets now for $35 and save! Ticket prices go up after February 28! The All Night Graduation Celebration (ANGC) provides a safe, chaperoned, alcohol-free and drug-free event for the Class of 2020 to celebrate together one last time. For more details, visit the ANGC page and order your senior's discounted ticket now! Parents, sign up now to help during the event! Thank you!

 

PTSA Online Auction Now Open! - The 2020 Online Auction is now open and bidding for the auction will be run now through February 28. Check out the auction now!
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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.
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FCPS Cares

Do you know a Annandale High School staff member who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way or goes beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to submit your story so we can all acknowledge the good work of Annandale faculty and staff members.

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!