From the Principal (Musings from Morris)
Well Family,
We are coming up on the end of this ride. You have put up with the many communications that have come from me and others. If you are like me and you receive your notifications via your cell phone, you may have contemplated going back to an analog device, or just simply going off the grid. That being said, I thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we have tried to navigate the ever changing landscape this pandemic has put us through. While you will not be hearing from me nearly as frequently over the next month and a half, know that we will be feverishly at work collaborating with our county leadership developing the plans that we will use when your child returns to us in the fall.
I would like to thank those of you who came out to support the outstanding student effort one June 10th at the Black Lives Matter rally. It was a great showing of unity that we can only aspire to expand on. It was great to see so many adults out there alongside the students. It meant so much to them. Thank you.
On Friday afternoon we met as an entire staff virtually to close out the year with our End Of Year Faculty Meeting. We celebrated our teachers who have hit milestones in terms of years of service, as well as those who have decided to move on to new adventures such as changes in schools or retirement. (View these wonderful teachers here.) Further, we discussed the gains we have made in the area of collaborative efforts as well as the strategies that we have learned around the use of the FCPSOn devices to enhance the learning experience. I charged the staff with not letting go of these gains and to think about further expanding their work in these areas because we could very likely find ourselves in a similar situation. But even more than that, I challenged them to expand their practices because the experiences from distance learning have shown that we can engage our students from afar, and that we should take advantage of that opportunity to be able to provide all students with accessibility options in the digital environment regardless of what our learning space is in August.
I want to remind you that we will be doing underclassmen textbook drop off this week. Please have your children take the time over the weekend to put their hands on their books before it time to come up to school to drop off their items. Remember, they will not be turning in laptops unless they are leaving FCPS. I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to reclaim all of our books from students so that we can have them for the next class of students. Otherwise, we have to repurchase those items out of our local school accounts. Due to modifications to the county budget in response to COVID-19, money is tight. So we really need to be prudent in our spending.
For those of you who are interested in viewing the Virtual Graduation Celebration of our phenomenal Senior Class, the Virtual Graduation celebration will be aired on June 30th at 6:00pm on Apple 21 and Channel 99 and streamed through this url: https://www.fcps.edu/tv/ch99.
Keeping in the spirit of celebrating, I wanted to share another video that was put together by the World Languages Video ( WL Video Final.mp4 ).
And here is an inside look at some collaboration by our music department from this year. The students from the band, orchestra and choral groups got together to perform "America". It is just a short piece of the selection, but I thought I would share it with you to remind you of all the talent that resides in our building. Enjoy!
https://www.facebook.com/782418888/posts/10156824022853889/?d=n
As you think about things to do in the summer, you may want to consider this:
Grow at Home Enrichment Activity with the Emergency Food Distribution Program
The Office of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) is excited to announce the launch of the FCPS Grow at Home activity as an enhancement to the emergency food distribution program. An expert team from FNS, Get2Green, and school gardens across FCPS have developed seed kits for children to grow their own green bean plants. The kits include green bean seeds, soil, and planting instructions. Grow at Home is optional, no-cost, and provides interested children with the opportunity to engage in a farm to school enrichment activity. There are limited kits available.
As soon as I receive more information about when these kits can be picked up, I will share that with you.
To ensure you have the summer school information, I have included again information about summer learning. There are three types of opportunities available for students. Here they are:
Credit Recovery, Intervention, Continuity of Learning
Credit Recovery
Due to school closure, schools are able to use Edmentum to provide courses for credit recovery. Feeder middle schools will notify high school DSS if they have any students that need to be included in the credit recovery program.
Intervention
In addition to credit recovery, schools can invite students to participate in non-graded, Edmentum classes for practice. Up to 20% of last summer’s enrollment may be invited.
Continuity of Learning
FCPS will offer continuity of learning for students using self-directed digital materials available online. All students will have the opportunity to practice mathematics and literacy skills and participate in virtual office hours with math or language arts teachers for support and connection. This program is free to all students and more information about continuity of learning resources will be provided before the end of the school year. Here is a link to the FCPS Summer Learning Webpage.
On Saturday while I was trying to find ways to spend the 5 dollar that was burning a hole in my pocket at Lowes, I ran into one of our parents who spotted me behind my mask. She scared the you know what out of me when she called my name because I am always thinking, “Who knows me by Mr. Morris in Woodbridge?” She introduced herself as a South County parent, and then proceed to thank me for writing these publications. I have heard that before from a few of you and I just want to say “thank you” to each of you for taking the time to lend me your ear (or eyes as the case may be) each week. It is truly my pleasure to communicate with you all, and it is even more of a pleasure to do so when I know you appreciate the effort I make to try to make these worth your while. I will miss all of you over the course of the summer and want to say once again, I am proud to serve as your principal. Have a wonderful summer, and please continue to stay safe. #OneStallion
Gary
Underclassmen
Textbook/Library Book Returns
June 15 – Underclassman Textbook/Library Book Return @ Front of the building from 10am – 7pm.
- Instructions: Books prepared in trunk
June 16- Underclassman Textbook/Library Book Return @ Front of the building from 8am – 12pm.
- Instructions: Books prepared in trunk
For either of these days, families can sign up through this link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48ABAA2EA0FB6-south1
Summer Reading Resources
From the Library
We’ve put together summer reading resources, with an emphasis on free ebooks that will be accessible to our students. The resources include some book recommendations, ebook access instructions for both FCPS and the Fairfax County Public Library, and a reading log. The resources are posted both on the South County High School Library Google Site HERE and in the South County High School Library Blackboard course so that students and families can access it in either place. Please contact Emily Strong erstrong@fcps.edu or Lisa Muir lkmuir@fcps.edu for any questions about summer reading, recommendations, or accessing the eBooks!
Happy Reading All!
Students and Parents of the Class of 2020
We are so excited to bring you the South County virtual graduation! Many of you have completed your photo and message to be shared on June 30. This is a reminder for those of you who have not done so. A few items of importance:
- You should have received an email from graduation@marchingorder.com . This email was sent to the email address on file through Naviance, so it may NOT be the fcpsschools.net email address. A reminder has been sent this week, so if you did not receive any email, PLEASE contact Sam Gero at jvgero@fcsp.edu
- The deadline for the photo and message, and optional video, has been extended to June 18th. However, the pronunciation deadline is June 14th. If you want to make sure your name is pronounced correctly, please go on the site and write the phonetic spelling and record your name.
- If you are just posting a photo, or just posting a message, PLEASE email Ms. Gero so that she can approve it without contacting you concerning the other portion. If you just want to post a photo, or just want to post a message, that is fine, we just need to know.
- Once you have completed the photo and message, marching order will direct you to stageclip for you to record your optional video message.
- Remember, your photo should be of you in your cap and gown picture, or your yearbook photo along with your text message. For uniformity, your photo should be a portrait style image of your face, head and shoulders with a solid background and must be compatible with the K-12 educational environment and with good citizenship. The text message of 150 characters can be a thank you, your achievements, or your future plans.
- If you wish to use your yearbook photo instead of a cap and gown photo, please email Ms. Gero at jvgero@fcps.edu
- If you do NOT wish to participate in the virtual ceremony, please email Ms. Gero at jvgero@fcps.edu so she can take you off the list.
- If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
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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