In this Issue
1. Message from Dr. Floyd
2. New Student Laptop Distribution
3. Students with FCPSOn Laptops
4. Welcome New Staff
5. Textbook Drop Off
6. Instrument & Uniform Drop Off
7. News You Choose for Athletics and Activities
8. Student Services Information
9. First Day of School - Tuesday, September 8
10. Woodson Minds Matter
11. WTW Military Family Network
12. Summer Yearbook Pictures Needed
13. Mental Wellness Consultations
14. Healthy Minds Blog
1. Message from Dr. Floyd
Hello Woodson Families!
We are excitedly preparing for the start of school on Tuesday, September 8th! I’ve had numerous inquiries about hardback books for this year. Here is the issue – if we do not get the books returned from this past year, we will not have enough to give out and therefore won’t be able to give any out. PLEASE, please, please find those books and bring them back! We have contactless return to a cart outside Door 1. A huge thank you to those who have returned books so far, this year’s students appreciate it!
Our rising freshmen, the class of 2024 will have a different experience to be oriented to Woodson High School. We have developed a site for new students (grades 9-12) to use as a resource to learn about Woodson. Please visit the Woodson New Student Orientation site to view and this will be updated over the next three weeks with more introductions and information.
Thank you again to everyone who attended the Pyramid Town Hall on Tuesday night. We are looking forward to future discussions around equity and cultural responsiveness at Woodson and throughout our community. Our faculty will engage with students prior to the start of school to hear the stories of our alumni. These powerful truths will help to shape the antiracist future of our school.
Stay safe, stay healthy and stay connected, Cavaliers!
Dr. Floyd
Principal
2. New Student Laptop Distribution
We will have FCPSOn laptop distribution for new students to Woodson on Tuesday, August 18th; Wednesday, August 19th, Thursday, August 20th; and Friday, August 21th during different time slots. Please use this SignUpGenius link to select a time slot for your pickup. Students must be present for pickup in order to set up laptop properly.
Families who do not wish to receive a school laptop, can opt-out of receiving the laptop for the 2020-2021 School Year. To opt-out, please complete the opt-out form and submit it to the student’s administrator no later than the end of first quarter, Friday, October 30, 2020. Opt-out forms can be turned into the school in one of three ways:
- Scanned and emailed to the student’s administrator
- Mailed to W T Woodson HS: 9525 Main Street, Fairfax, VA 22031 (ATTN: Student’s Administrator)
- Completed in person at W T Woodson High School during laptop distribution days.
On your scheduled date of pickup, please arrive at Woodson HS and enter the parking lot via Whitacre Road and proceed to the front of the building in the bus lane. There will be signs indicating which way to enter and staff will direct you accordingly. Please post in your vehicle dashboard window a sheet of paper with your student’s legal name, student ID and t-shirt size printed on it. We ask that everyone in the car wear a mask and remain in the car at all times.
There will be a few stops in order to ensure that students are able to access all the necessary tools on their computer. The first stop will be at Door 17 in the front of the building to pick up the laptop. After receiving your laptop, students will login and complete a set of instructions while on site. For students who cannot attend any of the pickup days, an alternate date will be made available the following week. Please look for this information in next week’s communication.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Kathy Martin at kamartin@fcps.edu.
3. Students with FCPSOn Laptops
Pease help us continue to prepare student FCPSOn laptops for the new school year by following these steps:
- Plug the device into an outlet.
- Turn the device on and let it boot up.
- Ensure it is connected to the internet at that location.
- Let the device sit for 30 minutes. No additional log-ins or activities are required.
- Do this once per week this month to ensure the laptop has the latest updates to start the new school year.
This weekend/next week, please take time to turn on student laptops, charge them if needed and test the microphone and video. To do so, please type the word "Camera" in the search bar on the lower left side of the desktop screen. Open the camera app. Switch from still camera to video mode on the right. Press the red button to record with some audio. Now view and listen to your video. Can you hear your voice? Can you see yourself? Hurray! Your webcam and microphone are working. If your camera or mic doesn’t work, have the student log on to this site to look for troubleshooting tips: https://sites.google.com/fcpsschools.net/cav-kiosk/tech-help/bbcu-audiovideo-troubleshooting?authuser=1.
We need to run a report at the school to see if our devices are online or if we have an issue at the school.
4. Welcome New Staff
Help us welcome more new faces to Woodson this year!
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My name is Bomin Collins and I’m the new Orchestra (Strings) Director at Woodson. I am here for anything music-related! I went to Langley HS, Boston University (Bachelor’s in Cello Performance) and George Mason University (Master’s in Music Education). This upcoming year will be my 10th year teaching in FCPS. I am coming from Longfellow MS, where I oversaw 250 students daily as the Orchestra Director. I live in Springfield with my husband and a slobbery 7-year-old English Bulldog Pumpkin (ask me for pictures). I am very excited to start my journey as a fellow Cavalier at Woodson. I hope to see all of you in person soon! |
My name is Hoon Kim and I am a new math teacher at Woodson. I graduated from George Mason University with my undergrad in Mathematics & masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
I have been in Fairfax County for the last 18 years as a math teacher at John Lewis High School (formerly known as Lee High School) and 5 years at a private high school in Maryland. I am so excited to start this new chapter in my career at Woodson. I look forward to meeting and working with you all this year.
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I am Andy Saffron and I will be working in Fine Arts teaching Digital Art primarily and also a photo class. I just spent 3 years at Lake Braddock, and prior to that, I was at West Springfield for a number of years as well, so this is my 12th year in the county. I am also a WSHS alumnus (1990) and JMU graduate (1994) with a BFA in Painting and Drawing. I'm a career switcher, so I spent about 15 years working in multimedia design and animation before becoming an art teacher. My wife also teaches photo at South County and we sometimes get each others email because she is "amsaffron" and I am "awsaffron". Anyhow, our daughter, Kaya (rhymes with Maya), is in 3rd grade (turning 9 in November) and our son Teo (Matteo) will be 3 in December. I'm looking forward to working with you all this year!
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My name is Nora Schaefer and I will be joining Woodson as a new Art teacher. I studied Illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and then earned my Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University in Boston. I previously taught at Poolesville High School in Montgomery County, MD for the past nine years. I live in Reston with my husband and our chihuahua. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and being a part of the Woodson community! |
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5. Textbook Drop Off
Students if you have textbooks at home, please bring them back to Woodson so we can prepare for the new school year.
Please drop your textbooks off at Door 1 between the hours of 8am-3pm, Monday through Friday prior to Thursday, September 3rd. There will be a cart/table outside Door 1 to place your books on if the weather is nice. If it is raining, the drop off cart/table will be just inside Door 1.
If you have any questions please contact Dr. Paula L. DiSalvo at pdisalvo@fcps.edu.
6. Instrument & Uniform Drop Off
Students if you have instruments & uniforms at home, please bring them back to Woodson so we can prepare for the new school year.
You can drop off your instrument and/or uniform just inside Door 1 between the hours of 8am-3pm, Monday through Friday prior to Thursday, September 3rd.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Marc Brooks at drbrooks@fcps.edu.
7. News You Choose Athletics and Activities
In order to receive updates and information from the Woodson Activities Office, be sure to select your subscription options within the News You Choose preference portal. Visit https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/VAEDUFCPS/subscriber/new?preferences=true to update or opt out. Our Activities Office will send out weekly information on topics such as Yellow and Green Day workout schedules, games and tournaments, ticket sales, spirit wear, etc.. Stay connected by following us! Go Cavs!
8. Student Services Information
Registration: Until our offices reopen, parents will need to complete the registration paperwork that is available online and reach out to the registrar, Christine Lieb-Mosley via email until offices reopen. 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 Woodson for the 2020-21 school year, please contact Woodson Registrar, Christine Lieb-Mosley, who will schedule a time/date to return the school issued laptop, complete a withdrawal form and other learning materials.
Records Request: Until our offices reopen to the public, there are no office hours. However, if a family has a transcript or records requests, they should email the registrar throughout the summer.
9. First Day of School - Tuesday, September 8th
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.
10. Woodson Minds Matter
Woodson Minds Matter is a student-led movement to change school culture around mental health. They are accepting applications for the 2020-2021 leadership board NOW through August. Are you interested? Apply using this link!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hfc0VrxuKKthQJsZ6IIHTvehMY26bahbCxsa5-k7jJA/viewform?edit_requested=true
11. WTW Military Family Network
Calling all current and new military families! We are restarting our military network effort for the upcoming school year. Our mission is to foster a community of military members at WT Woodson High School. This year will be particularly difficult for new students and families to make connections due to the continued pandemic crisis we face.
Current military families, that would like to be part of our “Connections” effort by being a buddy to a new military family or by sharing neighborhood information --or --new families that would like to join our network, please send and an email to: wtwmilitarynetwork@gmail.com
We will be in touch soon!
12. Summer Yearbook Pictures Needed
The 2021 yearbook needs your help!
Work on the 2021 yearbook has already begun. We want to cover how Woodson students are living their lives in quarantine (and phased reopenings). We need photos of YOU making the best of your spring and summer. Are you…
- Playing lots of video games?
- Sitting with friends around the fire pit (keeping social distance, of course)?
- Trying some new projects in the kitchen?
- Keeping fit?
- Zooming a lot with friends?
- Training your quarantine puppy?
Whatever you are doing, yearbook needs photos!
You can share your pictures with the yearbook staff via eShare. You can do this two easy ways.
- Go to www.HJeShare.com and enter the school code: wtwoodson
- Download the HJeShare app for iPhone or Android at the App Store or Google Play. Again, the school code: wtwoodson
Either place will give you instructions on uploading your images and letting the yearbook staff know who is in the pictures!
While we cannot guarantee that all shared photos will be published, if you don’t share, your great pictures can’t even be considered! Start sharing today!
Contact Beth Koby, yearbook adviser, if you have problems. ewkoby@fcps.edu
13. Mental Wellness Consultations
The FCPS Office of Intervention and Prevention Services will continue to offer mental wellness consultations throughout the summer. If you have concerns about your child’s well-being or if your child would like to speak with a school psychologist or school social worker, please request a consultation. Our FCPS mental health providers are available to help families get needed support through a 45-minute phone consultation or through secure video conferencing. Appointments are open to all FCPS families.
Consultations are offered in two ways:
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Directly to parents of students in any grade level. This consultation provides an opportunity for parents to receive guidance on how to support their child’s social-emotional, behavioral, or academic functioning. Information about community resources will also be made available.
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Directly to students in middle or high school. This consultation provides support and strategies to students who may be experiencing difficulties with anxiety, mood, behavior, or peer or family interactions; as well as academic challenges such as organization, time-management, or adjusting to a new school.
We encourage parents to take advantage of this service. Click here to request a consultation. You may also leave us a message at 571-423-4276.
14. Healthy Minds Blog
Healthy Minds is a blog for parents, educators, and community-based providers who are interested in supporting student mental health and wellness.
As a part of the Healthy Minds Fairfax initiative, the FCPS Office of Intervention and Prevention Services develops posts with timely information for all. Recent topics have included social and emotional learning, countering stigma and racism, and building resilience to handle challenging times. Healthy Minds includes tips and strategies for increasing wellness and resiliency, as well as fostering success at home, school, and in the community.
New content is posted weekly. Visit the Healthy Minds Blog.
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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