From the Principal
Family,
Well I have good news and some bad news. Since I truly believe that we should always part ways on a good note, I will start with the bad news. I can tell you that the bad news is not that technology is crashing, and it’s not that I have a new vocabulary term for you like synchronous or asynchronous learning. Nor is it that I am delivering a new schedule that students will have to adapt to. The bad news is that I am writing you again and that you have to read this until the end before you stop holding your breath. To be honest, I wanted you to have a little of what I have been experiencing every time my email dings. I don’t panic, but I do say words to myself that I shouldn’t say in front of my children. But that truly is the extent of the bad news. You can yell at me later for that one.
The good news is that there really isn’t any school news. And right now, as things have been going, no news is great news. I think that we all can agree with that. I have already shared with you our plan to move forward with synchronous learning on Tuesday. By giving our teachers a little bit of breathing room on Thursday to go live if they could and to not continually ram their heads into the wall, I think our staff are in a much better place to receive your children on Tuesday, and have been able to take care of their own children at home at the same time.
Some things that I would like to share that are truly on the lighter side of things are that I was invited to a drive by celebration of one of our Senior students Omar McKinney, and I was able to attend and give my congratulations to him. It was nice to be able to see the community support and to also see some smiling faces. Now this does not mean that I will make it to every student’s birthday celebration, but if you invite me, I will try. Especially our Seniors.
Another great piece of news if you haven’t already heard is that South County students will be represented by one of our own as the Student representative on the Fairfax County School Board! Nathan Onibudo, a rising Senior was selected over at least 26 other students vying for the role of Student Representative. Nathan is an awesome student in our school community, and he will be an awesome leader in this role as well. Wish him the best if you get the chance!
I had a meeting with the Senior Class Officers on Friday to listen to some of the ideas they, along with their classmates, have been coming up with to celebrate. I shared with them that it is my goal to be the “Principal of YES”, and that I will do all I can to support any idea that they come up with that will still allow me to have my job after I say yes to their idea. Let’s hope we all walk away from this with a future.
Well you can stop holding your breath not. I am at the end of this message, and I promised that we would walk away from this conversation on a good note. In fact, here are 8 of them:
DO Re Mi Fa So La Ti Dooooo! (in my best but surely horrible opera voice). I miss your children dearly. Take care Family, and be safe.
Gary
Advanced Placement (AP)
Testing Updates
As previously announced, traditional face-to-face AP exams will not take place this school year. To prepare for the 2020 online AP exams, students will be accessing lessons, tools and review resources provided by their AP teacher during distance learning, as well as those provided by the AP program. For details, AP students and parents are encouraged to access recently published AP Testing and Instruction Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Students, Parents and Staff.
The College Board emailed each AP student relevant AP testing information on Monday, April 13; therefore, it is important that students check the email associated with their College Board account. If a student has not received this email, they should contact their school’s AP Testing Coordinator or AP teacher(s). Students will be able to take online AP exams with College Board approved accommodations such as extended time automatically. Additional details are available through this link.
In order to continue to receive communication from the College Board about this year’s online exams and to receive communication from the College Board beyond high school, it is important for students to use a personal email (and not their @fcpsschools.net email) in their College Board account. Students should login to their College Board account and change their email in their AP profile. For instructions on how to verify/update your College Board email address, please see the document below:
Verifying your Student Account Email Address.pdf
Students may need to update their personal email account settings to allow messages from collegeboard@e.collegeboard.org.
Please email Mr. Bird, AP Test Coordinator, at cwbird@fcps.edu with any further questions.
Class Officer and Hype Squad Leader
Campaigning for Class Officer and Hype Squad Leader began on Monday, April 20th. Information, Interest Forms, and Applications are posted on all graduating classes’ Google Classroom pages. If students are interested in running for Class Office or Hype Quad Leader, please read the information and fill out the interest form. Students should then read over the application and work to complete its components. All components of the applications are due by 11:59pm on May 1st. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Price at kaprice1@fcps.edu.
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
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