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Annandale Community:
I had the pleasure of watching our students warm up at our pyramid pre-assessment concert this week, which featured the AHS Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. In addition, it was exciting to introduce myself to the Holmes and Poe Symphonic Bands and respective band directors. Shoutout to Joe Witkowski, AHS Band Director, for an amazing performance and good luck at the upcoming District X Concert Band Assessment.
This Tuesday, March 2 is a School Planning Day and my first opportunity to meet the entire staff in a group setting. We will come together to participate in Cultural Proficiency Module V training. I believe that equity is ensuring all students have access to quality classroom instruction that meets their needs through complex academic tasks, purposeful learning targets, scaffolds to ensure access and using evidence of student learning responsively. We are committed to this work so that students have the knowledge, skills and mindsets they need to be successful.
Finally, you may have noticed the admin and security team welcoming students into the building from different locations the last few weeks. Our goal has been to ensure that every student is greeted at least once as they enter the building each morning. Finding ways to connect with our students and ensure they feel seen is a simple and important way to invite them into the learning they will do at Annandale High School.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Go Atoms!
Shawn DeRose, Principal
Contact Information:
Twitter: @ShawnDeRose
Website: https://annandalehs.fcps.edu/
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Important Dates
March 3 - Teacher Planning Day (No School for Students)
March 6 - Just World Festival, 4:00-6:00pm
March 6 - Heritage Festival, 7pm
March 10 - IB Visual & Upper Level Student Art Exhibit
March 13 - Spring Pep Rally
March 13 - AHS FanQuest
March 23 - Red Cross Blood Drive
March 6 - Just World Festival and Heritage Night: The Just World Interact Club of Annandale High School is holding its 14th Annual Just World Festival on March 6 from 4:00-6:00pm at Annandale High School. The festival aims to teach youth that they are not only a part of their local community, but a global one. Through our goal, we want to educate both youth and community leaders alike about global issues, environmental issues, fair trade, human rights, and most importantly social action. This year we are partnering with Heritage Night to host a community dinner in the Cafeteria at 6:00pm. Everyone can eat together before Heritage Night which starts at 7:00pm.
You can participate in the Just World Festival in one of the following ways:
1. Just come to enjoy the festival which includes food, an interactive exhibition hall, workshops, and cultural events. 2. Register to host a booth in our exhibition hall and/or sell items in our fair trade marketplace. 3. Donate to our festival raffle or general fund to host the event. If you have any questions, please contact Meredith Hedrick at mphedrick@fcps.edu.
March 10 - IB Visual and Upper Level Studio Art Exhibit: IB students will be exhibiting their artworks in Clausen Hall on March 10. Upper Level Studio students will be exhibiting their work as well. A ceremony with refreshments will be from 6:00-7:30PM. Please join us to congratulate these students. If you have any questions, please email Jackie Pappas at jppappas@fcps.edu.
March 13 - FanQuest: For the first time ever, our Annandale HS Special Olympics Basketball team will be hosting a FanQuest home game! We will have 2 schools that will come play in our Fanquest (Lee HS and Poe MS). The tailgate will begin at 4:30 pm in the jock lobby followed by game 1 vs Lee HS at 5:15 pm and Game 2 vs Poe MS at 6:00pm. Please come to the Fanquest and show your support, we will have Fanquest t-shirts on sale at the event! If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Arias at jarias@fcps.edu or Jae Lee at jmlee3@fcps.edu.
March 23 - Red Cross Blood Drive: Annandale High School will host its 8th annual spring blood drive. The Red Cross Club invites students, faculty and family to donate blood for our community. Every day, hospitals provide lifesaving blood to patients in need. Your willingness to donate blood remains vital to the lives of the patients that we serve, not only locally, but across the country. We are truly thankful for your support. Please use this link to sign up for a donation time if you are 16 or older and help the Red Cross fulfill its ongoing mission of helping save lives. If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Mele at rluphold@fcps.edu.
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Awesome Atoms
PRIDE Fives Winners! Congratulations to our PRIDE Five bi-weekly drawing recipients, Louis Bryson (9), Brandon Iriarte-Jordan (10), Lilian Rivera Argueta (11), and Kevin Salazar Carbajal (12). We celebrate these students for exhibiting the PRIDE Five characteristics, Participation, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Empathy.
Annandale Wrestlers Compete at State Competition: The Annandale Atoms wrestlers had an outstanding performance at the State meet this weekend placing 13th overall. Glory Nseka made it to 1st Wrestleback and Patrick Lee made it to Quarterfinals. Michee Nseka took 4th place in the State at Heavyweight and Dylan Weaver took 2nd place in the State at 172 lbs. Congratulations on a great season!
IB Lang and Lit Students Attend Theater Workshop: As prep for their upcoming field trip to see the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of "The Amen Corner," IB Language and Literature juniors attended a workshop conducted by teaching artists from the theater. The students learned about James Baldwin's life and work and discussed race and civil rights in America. This activity is part of a larger unit on African American literature and drama. The field trip is supported by the IB Scholars Program/ County Student Achievement Grant.
NOVA Medical Education Campus Visit: 52 Awesome Atoms came to the NOVA Medical Education Campus to learn about the 15 different programs offered there, including nursing, medical laboratory technology, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, and radiology. They took a tour and were able to participate in demonstrations with the professors.
Congratulations Mr. Obando! Congratulations to Mr. Roberto Obando, AHS math teacher and Math Honor Society sponsor who recently returned from Nicaragua where he was instrumental in the success of the latest Bridging the Americas/Unidos por las Aves cultural and environmental education exchange program. While there, he helped students from the DMV area and Latin America gain a greater appreciation for birds, an awareness of the threats birds face and actions people can take to help ensure their survival, and an enhanced understanding of their partner class's country and culture. The experience was coordinated by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center of the National Zoo.
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Important Information
Kiss-N-Ride Update - For the safety of all our students, beginning on Monday, March 2, vehicles participating in Annandale High School’s Kiss-N-Ride will no longer be permitted to turn left onto 4 Year Run during arrival (7:45 am to 8:15 am) and dismissal (2:45 pm to 3:15 pm). Instead, vehicles will be directed to continue straight onto Medford Drive.
Safety Tips include: 1) Drop your student off ONLY in the Kiss and Ride traffic pattern. 2) Pull your car forward as far as possible in the line. 3) Make sure your student enters and exits your car on the building side. 4) Do not pass other cars in line. 5) Plan ahead! Rushing can cause accidents, injuries, and stress. 6) Always follow the directions of the adults directing traffic. 7) Please observe that Kiss and Ride is a no cell phone area.
“Go Paperless” Report Card Option Now Available - Starting with 3rd quarter, high school and middle school parents will now have the option to “Go Paperless” in ParentVUE and receive only online report cards. To take advantage of the paperless options, parents/guardians will need to log into ParentVUE, then go to “My Account” and select "Go Paperless!". This process is the only way to keep a paper report card from being generated for students at the secondary level. All parents who share the same address as the student must have a SIS ParentVue account and must select the paperless option. Questions Contact: pdisalvo@fcps.edu.
Academic Advising Completed - School counselors have met individually with students to assist them in exploring their academic and postsecondary/career goals. Students reviewed their transcripts and verify their course selections for the coming school year. 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!
PTSA Mulch Madness Sale Starts Now! - Mulch Madness Sale is Open! This is our biggest and most critical fundraiser of the year! Proceeds from the sale support the PTSA’s Senior Scholarships and All Night Graduation Celebration, which provides a fun, safe, alcohol and drug-free parent-chaperoned celebration for our AHS seniors the night of graduation. Order mulch online now through March 19, 2020. Pick-up Saturday, March 28 at AHS from 8 a.m.–12 p.m. or have it delivered to you by the AHS Boy’s Lacrosse Team. Order now on our website: https://annandalehsptsa.membershiptoolkit.com/mulch_sale.
Buy All Night Grade Party Tickets Now! Buy your tickets now to 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!
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News from the Activities Office
Spring sports are underway. 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.
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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.
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Read the A-Blast
The newest edition of the A-Blast is now available! 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!
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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!
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4700 Medford Drive Annandale, VA 22003 | Main Office: 703.642.4100
Attendance: 703.642.4150 | Web | Twitter
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