McLean HS: Dr. Reilly's Monday Message 7/27/2020

Important Upcoming Dates

July 28 - Transfer Panel

July 30 - Activities Panel

August 4 - Planning Out HS Courses Panel

August 7 - Study Skills/Tech Resources Panel

August 10 - 13 - Freshman 101

September 8 - First Day of School


General Information

Updates

Due to the construction of our modular, the section of the road highlighted in red will be closed all of next week (July 27-July 31). This section runs from behind the baseball field through the rock entrance (Door 9). We apologize for the inconvenience that this may cause.

Road closure

Freshman 101 Program

Dates: August 10-13

Who:  All rising 9th grade students coming to McLean High School during the 2020-2021 academic year (virtual or face-to-face)

McLean High School teachers and administrators will offer a variety of virtual synchronous and asynchronous activities for students to choose from as they prepare to begin high school at McLean. Students will have flexibility and choice to determine which sessions will be most helpful to them as they prepare - every session is designed to offer tips and advice to guide students toward a successful school year and students are encouraged to complete as many sessions as possible!

Please note: Only students enrolled as 9th graders at McLean High School for the 2020-2021 school year are eligible for the MHS Freshman 101 Program. Please complete the electronic form below to reserve a spot. Send questions to Jeffrey Barham - jbarham@fcps.edu -  Registration needs to be completed by August 3. Click here to complete your registration.


Opportunities for Rising Freshmen and Transfer Students to learn about McLean

Every year, our McLeadership program (mentoring program for rising freshmen and transfer students run by upperclassmen) helps organize activities for the rising freshmen and transfer students. Due to the pandemic, our students wanted to give the rising freshmen and transfer students an opportunity to learn about McLean in a virtual setting prior to the start of the school year. Please see below for student panel opportunities for our transfer students and rising freshmen. At the end of each panel discussion, we will show our virtual tour video and participants will have an opportunity to ask questions about the building.  Information on how to access these panels electronically will be sent next week.

All the sessions will begin at 3:00.

7/28 - Transfer Panel

This panel will briefly explain McLean's course catalog, academics, and activities provided in, and after school. Additionally, there will be a virtual tour of the school provided and a Q&A session. This information is tailored toward transfer students and encompasses the topics discussed in other panels. 

7/30 – Activities Panel

This panel will introduce new students to everything having to do with sports, clubs, and school organizations. We will discuss how to try out for sports, join or start a club, and dive into being a Highlander! We will also introduce the new students to the points of contact for all of McLean’s activities.

8/4 - Planning Out HS Courses Panel

The planning out high school panel goes over the differences between regular and honors classes, work life balance, and FCPS graduation requirements. This panel also covers all the different electives offered at McLean and the requirements within said electives. All of the information presented in this panel will allow freshmen to have a more informed start to their year and be able to make decisions in an easier manner.

8/7 - Study Skills/Tech Resources Panel

In this panel we will be discussing time management and how to implement it into one's routine, and study skills/study habits that are a key component of succeeding at McLean. We will also be discussing all different types of tech resources that are frequently used at McLean and how to navigate them (Naviance, x2Vol, Edpuzzle, Flipgrid, Peardeck, GC, ect). Lastly, we will be going over information about Student Services, how to contact counselors, and resources for mental health.


First Day of School - September 8

At their July 9 business meeting, the Fairfax County School Board approved delaying the start of the 2020-21 school year to provide staff members additional time to plan instruction and schedules, provide professional staff development, and finalize transportation and other operational details.

The revised calendar delays the first instructional day for students by two weeks, from Tuesday, August 25, to Tuesday, September 8. Other employee work schedules will remain unchanged and the revised calendar provides adjustments for additional staff development and planning time between Tuesday, August 25, and Thursday, September 3.

View the revised 2020-21 school year calendar


Summer Contact - email addresses

Ellen Reilly - Principal - ereilly@fcps.edu

Paul Stansbery - Director of Student Services - pwstansbery@fcps.edu

Greg Miller - Director of Student Activities - GMMiler@fcps.edu

Assistant Principals

Jeffrey Barham - jbarham@fcps.edu 

Sean Rolon - sprolon@fcps.edu 

Aidan Vigil - aavigil@fcps.edu 

Support Staff

Sue Tabish - Administrative Assistant to the principal - dstabish@fcps.edu 

Brian Stagliano - Technology Support Specialist - BMStagliano@fcps.edu 

Ashley Lowry - School Based Technology Specialist - aclowry@fcps.edu 

Sara Wheeler - Assessment Coordinator - sewheeler@fcps.edu 

Mary Bartenfeld - Registrar - mbartenfeld@fcps.edu

Please note that administration and support staff not listed above, will return on Wednesday, July 15th. Instructional staff returns on Friday, August 14th. Please refer to our website for a complete staff directory.

We encourage you to email any questions or concerns to staff listed above.

Additional Information

Registration: Parents will need to complete the registration paperwork that is available online and reach out to the registrar, Mary Bartenfeld via email.   Families will be contacted via email or phone for the next steps in the registration process.

Withdrawal: If you need to withdraw your student from McLean for the 2020-21 school year, please contact McLean Registrar, Mary Bartenfeld, who will schedule a time/date to return the school issued laptop, complete a withdrawal form and other learning materials.

Records Request: If a family has a transcript or records requests, they should email the registrar throughout the summer.


Office Hours

As the state enters Phase Three, FCPS administrative and school offices will be open to the community by appointment only starting Monday, July 13, 2020.  

Summer office hours for the public will be from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  The phones will be monitored during this time.

All visitors must have a scheduled appointment with a staff member to enter the building.  Visitors with appointments, must call the main office 703-714-5700 to check in and must answer a Health Questionnaire before being granted access.  

If any visitor answers “YES” to any question on the health questionnaire, then he/she will not be permitted to enter the building.  Visitors who answer “NO” will be instructed to access the building through Door #1 and will be greeted by a masked employee, who will direct them to their meeting.  All visitors must wear a mask while inside the building.

As we continue to practice social distancing, we will limit the number of visitors to our building.  If you have an appointment with a staff member, only bring others with you who are relevant to the meeting. 

We encourage parents and students to email questions or concerns using the staff directory on our school website


Continuity of Learning Modules – McLean Google Site

In addition to the resources on the FCPS Continuity of Learning website McLean teachers have developed asynchronous learning modules for students to access to review past course material and prepare for future courses. These resources are ready and can now be found on the McLean Continuity of Learning Google Site!

To continue to support student learning through July 31, teachers will hold one hour per week of virtual “office hours” for both FCPS Continuity of Learning and McLean Continuity of Leaning resources. Office hours for Mathematics, Language Arts, English Language Development, and Special Education will continue to be with one of our own outstanding staff members and are intended to support students with the digital asynchronous practice resources. Attendance is optional.

Students can access these office hours by logging on to their Blackboard 24-7 FCPS accounts. After logging on, they should select the McLean Student Support course under ‘My Courses’. Once in this course, they will click on the Collaborate Ultra tab on the left hand side menu. Once they click on this tab, they will see the session links to the office hours.

Here is the schedule of office hours:

Math - Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays @2:00PM

English - Tuesdays and Fridays @1:00PM and Wednesdays @8:30AM

English Language Development with ESOL teacher - Mondays @8:00PM

Special Education Teacher - Wednesdays @1:00PM


Summer Reading Assignments

Students and parents can access summer reading assignments on the McLean website using the following link:   https://mcleanhs.fcps.edu/academics/summer-assignments


Mental Health and Wellness Support Services and Resources

During the summer months, McLean’s Clinical Staff is available to consult with parents and students as needed.  See contact information below:

Beth Werfel, School Psychologist, bawerfel@fcps.edu

Beverly Parker-Lewis, School Psychologist, baparkerlewi@fcps.edu

Marly Jerome-Featherson, School Social Worker, mjeromefeath@fcps.edu

Additionally, FCPS Mental Wellness Consultations are available.  Any FCPS parent may request a 45-minute phone consultation with a school psychologist or school social worker.  Parent consultations are available for all grade levels, and student consultations are available for students in middle and high school.  Use this link to request a consultation:

For more Mental Health and Wellness Information, please check out FCPS’s Healthy Minds Blog and Parent Resource Center.


 Emergency Resources

Crisis Link Regional Hotline            703-527-4077

Crisis Text                                       Text NEEDHELP to 85511

Dominion Hospital Emergency       703-536-2000

INOVA Emergency                         703-289-7560

Merrifield Center Emergency         703-573-5979  TTY dial 711

Life Threatening                             911


AP Fee Refund Information:

Q: Will homeschool students, non-enrolled students, and students with AP exam counts over the six FCPS-funded exams who have paid the $94 AP exam fee and chose to not take their exam(s) be refunded the AP exam fee?

A: Yes. No action is necessary to request a refund. After all AP exams have been administered, the parents, guardians, or students that are due a refund will be identified by Financial Services. Refunds will be processed in late June/July.  

AP Score Information:

Students in Virginia will receive access to their AP scores on July 17 at 8 a.m. ET.  Students will access scores via their College Board account.  If students don't remember their username or password, they can recover them on the College Board website—they should NOT create a new account.  Students who are unable to reset usernames or passwords online, can call AP Services at 888-225-5427 or 212-632-1780 for assistance.   

  • Get Your AP Scores (Link to College Board score information)
  • AP Score Send ReminderJune 20 is the deadline for students to indicate or change their free score report recipient in My AP.  Be sure to indicate through My AP the college, university, or scholarship program you would like to receive your free score report.

Tech Support for Students

If you are experiencing issues with your FCPS issued laptop, please use the link below to enter your information.  The tech support team will then get back to you as soon as possible.

We will continue to support students remotely as much as possible. If a computer has been identified as needing hands-on repair, we will schedule an appointment for you to come to the school to exchange it.  

Description:  This form should be filled out by a student if they are experiencing issues with their FCPSOn laptop.

Please click on the link below to access the Tech Support Request Form. 

McLean HS - Tech Support Request Form


FCPS Cares

FCPS Cares

Do you know a McLean High School or FCPS employee who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way or goes beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to share with everyone.


My School Bucks

Learn more about this online payment portal for many school fees.  Parents can set up an account which they link their student(s) to so there is one account per family.  Course fees, lunch funds, some ticket events can be taken care of online. MySchoolBucks eliminates the need for students to carry cash to school and for multiple checks to be written. Learn more and sign up at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/login/getmain?requestAction=home