Woodson Weekly -
April 24th
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Woodson Weekly is published every Friday to provide the community with important information from Woodson High School.
Vision Statement
We are a school community where all students have purpose and value!
 During their time away from in-person instruction, students recreated Woodson HS in the Minecraft video game complete with labeled hallways, classrooms, lockers, etc.
In this Issue
1. Grading Updates
2. What are the impacts on the SAT and ACT?
3. Woodson Morning News Show
4. #celebrateyourplan
5. New NOVA Jump Start Opportunity
6. 2020-2021 Course Registration
7. FAQs About Refunds and Fees
8. Yearbook Info - Yes, it will be published!
9. Lunch Money Refunds and Transfers
10. 30 Minute Consultation with a FCPS Clinician
11. FCPS Resources
12. AP Exam Updates
13. Families Needing Internet
14. Fairfax County Family Services Resources (Translated - Spanish/Korean)
1. Grading Updates
Good morning Woodson Community,
Yesterday we heard positive feedback from teachers that many students were able to successfully log into Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and connect with their classroom teachers. By Tuesday April 28, all classrooms should be back and up and running!
Below are some important updates regarding grading:
Third Quarter
Third quarter has been extended to Friday, May 1st. Teachers may continue to work with students to close out the third quarter and accept assignments through that date.
- Access to ParentVUE and StudentVUE will be turned off from Friday, May 1st - Friday, May 8th to allow teachers to export during that time.
Fourth Quarter
Fourth Quarter Timeline: While third quarter work is being accepted until May 1st, fourth quarter work has been assigned to students. Any new work will be entered into fourth quarter gradebooks beginning Monday, May 4th.
Providing Feedback to Students/Parents and Monitoring Progress: Teachers should provide feedback such as comments on quality of work and guidance for improvement.
- Assignment “marks” will be entered into the gradebook and will be: Proficient, Attempted, Not Attempted
- This data will be considered to positively influence the final course grade
- Students and families will be able to see “marks” in SIS, though weekly emails will not be sent since there will not be a Qtr 4 grade
Calculating Final Grades
Final Exams: There will be no final exam and/or culminating activity included as part of the final course grade calculation this year.
Year-Long Courses - Calculating Final Grade
- Teachers have the discretion of raising a student's final grade by one grade distribution (B to B+), based on demonstrated proficiency of Qtr 4 learning.
- A student’s final grade will be the highest of the following:
- Avg of Qtrs 1, 2, & 3
- Avg of (Qtrs 1, 2, & 3) plus 1 grade distribution increase consideration
- 1st Semester Grade
- Quality Points as per FCPS Grading and Reporting
Current Semester Courses - Calculating Final Grade
- Schools/teachers have the discretion of raising a student's final grade by two grade distributions (B to A-), based on demonstrated proficiency of Qtr 4 learning.
- A student’s final grade will be the highest of the following:
- Qtr 3 Average
- Qtr 3 Average (w/up to a two grade distribution increase consideration)
Report Cards
Report Cards/Progress Reports: Report Cards/Progress Reports will be mailed centrally for both third and fourth quarters.
Parents/Guardians may opt into “Go Paperless” for report cards by following the below instructions:
- Parents/Guardians can take advantage of the paperless option, by logging into ParentVUE, then going to “My Account” and selecting "Go Paperless!". This 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. This option must be selected prior to May 12th to prevent the 3rd quarter report card from being mailed.
Last Day of School
The last day of school for all students (except seniors) is Friday, June 12. Seniors’ last day of school is Wednesday, May 27.
Summer Courses
Additional summer offerings and support through FCPS summer learning programming are being discussed and will be shared as soon as available pending developments with the state-wide closure of schools.
Sincerely,
Dr. Floyd
Principal
2. What are the impacts on the SAT and ACT?
What is the impact on SAT administration? The College Board is canceling the May 2 and June 6, 2020, SAT administrations. The College Board will provide weekend SAT administrations every month through the end of the calendar year, beginning in August. This includes a new administration in September and the previously scheduled tests on August 29, October 3, November 7, and December 5. Read more at CollegeBoard.org.
What are the impacts on ACT administration? In addition to three previously planned fall/winter 2020 national test dates in September, October and December, ACT will also offer a remote proctoring option for the ACT test, allowing students to take the test at their home on a computer. ACT will launch the test-at-home option in late fall/early winter 2020 as part of its national testing program. The fee waivers ACT provides to students from low-income homes will apply to the at-home testing option, and ACT is considering other ways to address access and equity issues. Read more at ACT.org.
3. Woodson Morning News Show
The Woodson morning news show has continued during this break from in-school instruction. To see the three episodes of the Distance Learning editions of the morning news, visit this YouTube link.
4. #celebrateyourplan
COMING SOON! On Friday, May 1st – Formerly known as “balloon day” we are celebrating and recognizing the postsecondary plans of all graduating seniors in FCPS.
Schools and students are asked to use and promote the hashtag #celebrateyourplan when communicating your plans!
5. New NOVA JumpStart Opportunity
NOVA announced the launch of JumpStart, a new opportunity for current and rising seniors to take up to two, tuition-free online college courses this summer. NOVA has identified a specific set of courses available through this initiative, including courses for NOVA degree requirements that are also highly transferable credits to four-year institutions as well as coursework in cloud computing through a collaboration with Amazon Web Services.
FCPS is excited to partner with NOVA on this opportunity and will share more information for students and families as additional details about qualifications and registration emerge.
6. 2020-2021 Course Registration
The last day to make changes to a students course selection for the 2020-2021 school year is May 1st. Please contact your child's counselor or Woodson Director of Student Services, Josh Peters at fjpeters@fcps.edu if you have any questions.
 Another image from the student-created Woodson HS world in Minecraft.
7. FAQs About Refunds and Fees
Question: What is the status of refunds for fees paid for various activities that are not going to happen due to the pandemic?
Answer:
- Teachers, sponsors, and supervising administrators have been working with vendors and travel companies.
- Refunds for field trips are issued only if the vendor/travel company is providing refunds.
- Travel companies and vendors may just issue a credit to the student’s name on the reservation for a postponed field trip.
- We will issue a refund for a field trip once the vendor or travel company returns the money to Woodson High School.
- Class fees will be refunded at the end of the year as usual based on what is not used on consumables in the class.
- These will typically be issued through the credit card on file in MySchoolBucks.
Question: Can students get a refund on his parking fee?
Answer: Yes. If you paid the full amount you will receive $50 (1/4 of the year). A check will be sent to your house from FCPS. They are currently working on this process, and it will take some time. The school does not have any control over this process.
8. Lunch Money Refunds and Transfers
If you would like to request a refund of money on your student's MySchoolBucks lunch account or transfer the funds between students' accounts, please complete the following instructions.
Requesting a transfer of funds between my students' accounts
Meal account transfers can be requested by e-mailing the following information to mealaccountrefund@fcps.edu:
Transfer FROM: Transfer TO:
- Student Name 1. Student Name
- FCPS Student ID # 2. FCPS Student ID #
- School Name 3. School Name
Requesting a refund for my student's meal account
Meal account refunds can be requested by e-mailing the following information to mealaccountrefund@fcps.edu
- Student Name
- Student ID # (listed on the student's schedule)
- School Name
- Parent Name
- Street Address
- City, State and Zip code
- Phone #
Allow 4-6 weeks for transfers and refunds to be completed due to required audit documentation processing.
For full information regarding student lunch accounts, visit https://www.fcps.edu/node/31166.
9. Yearbook Info - Yes, it will be Published!
The yearbook is on schedule for publication and distribution information will be shared once there is a plan.
It's more important than ever to have a record of this historic 2019-2020 school year!
It's not too late to reserve your student’s yearbook!!!
Last year’s book sold out! Order now at https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/index.cfm/job/5278
The deadline to order online is Friday, April 24th!!
10. 30 Minute Consultation with a FCPS Clinician
Any FCPS parent may schedule a 30-minute phone consultation with a school psychologist or school social worker, for either themselves or their middle or high school student.
This consultation provides an opportunity for parents to receive guidance on how to support their child’s emotional well-being during their time away from school. Student consultations will provide support and strategies to students who may be experiencing difficulties with anxiety, mood, behavior, or peer or family interactions during this unprecedented and challenging time. Information about community resources will also be made available. Parents can schedule a phone consultation online.
This service is not intended for mental health emergencies. If an emergency is suspected or indicated, please call 911. Additionally, students and families can access mental health support online if there is a crisis of emergency during the time of the closure.
11. FCPS Resources
FCPS is now publishing daily updates for the FCPS community, highlighting things you need to know such as updates on the FCPS digital learning plan, major county and state announcements, and news articles.
Quick links to resources:
Food Resources
Talking to Students about COVID-19
Fairfax County Resources (Assistance from a Distance) Flyers posted below
Ways to Support Local Organizations
Academics and Continuity of Learning Plan
FCPS cable channels with learning activities are available. Channel 25 includes middle school programming and Channel 99 includes high school programming. This content will also be available online at www.fcps.edu.
12. AP Exam Updates
Here are some updates from the College Board regarding Advanced Placement Exams.
A great resource for learning about this year's AP Exams is Trevor Packer's presentation
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Exam Window: Exams will be given from May 11–22.
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Makeup test dates will be available for each subject from June 1–5.
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13. Families Needing Internet
Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, Comcast is offering 2 months free to new Internet Essentials customers in response to recent and anticipated emergency measures associated with the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Please use this website for more information: https://www.internetessentials.com/
14. Fairfax County Family Services Resources
 
 
 
Mental Health Resources | 24/7 Emergency Numbers
If you are in crisis, text NEEDHELP to 85511, call 1-800-273-TALK, or dial 911; TTY dial 711
CrisisLink Regional Hotline: 703-527-4077 (CrisisLink is a hotline for individuals in crisis or family/friends seeking guidance for how to help a loved one)
Dominion Hospital Assessment and Referral Line: 703-536-2000
Inova Emergency Services: 703-289-7560
Mobile Crisis Unit: 1-844-627-4747
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE
Merrifield Center Emergency Services: 703-573-5679; TTY dial 711 (The Merrifield Center of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, offers a range of clinical programming. Emergency Services, staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week, works with people in psychiatric crisis who need immediate attention.)
Plan D Nova https://www.plandnova.org/ (a website for Northern Virginia teens who suffer from depression: #breakthestigma)
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