From The Principal
Family
Week 3 is in the books and we are still rolling with the punches of what is to come next. But we are resilient and choosing to make this opportunity a great one no matter what comes our way. Thank you in advance for your ongoing support of both your children and our staff.
This year’s BTSN will be held in a totally virtual and asynchronous environment. Families will still be able to visit each of their child’s virtual classes, but this year they will be able to do so in any order they wish. In fact, they will be able to visit any teacher’s classroom in the entire building at their leisure. We only placed a time on the event because it was required for our region supervisors.
The Back To School Night (BTSN) link is now active and can be accessed here. It will also be on the South County High School website on Tuesday. I want to share that just because the BTSN is virtual and asynchronous, it does not mean that you are not able to contact your child’s teachers to ask specific questions. The South County school staff will always do our best to make ourselves available to you to address concerns about school or our practices. Please be sure to take us up on this and to remain in contact. We need you to be a part of the team that is working to assist your child to the highest levels of success possible.
Thank you to those who attended our first Principal’s Coffee on Friday morning. It was nice to see you all (yet not see you all?). At the coffee I was able to introduce some members of our admin team, our System of Support Advisor (SOSA), our School Social Worker, and our School Psychologist. I hope that you were able to walk away from the meeting with a sense of some of the supports that are available to your children and you if needed. If you weren’t able to make the meeting, we will be holding the next coffee in the evening on October 22nd at 7:00pm. I hope to see you all there.
I was involved in a teacher leader meeting this week and one of the messages that I took away from the conversation with our teachers is that this work is very hard in this environment. It doesn’t take away from the efforts of the teachers, but they are truly feeling strained by these circumstances and what it is taking to deliver instruction at a high level. Now from this I get this take away. Our teachers are comparing this work to the high input they produce in a normal environment. They are doing their best to match the outcomes for students as well. And as I just shared earlier in this message, it is a team effort; to include the efforts of the students. Our teachers need to see them to be able to work more closely with them and to make faster and more productive inroads with them. This “sacrifice” of turning on their cameras will only pay much larger dividends in the end due to the creation of stronger relationships. So I again, strongly encourage you to have the conversations with your students to be an even bigger part of their classrooms by being present and fully engaged.
I would like to thank our Senior parents who had students to come and take the SAT on Wednesday. I along with the staff who were a part of this process believed it to be a huge success. The messages you shared with them about taking care of themselves and one another was clearly felt in how they interacted. Now there were a few who were so excited about seeing one another that we may have needed to pry them apart a couple of times, but that was required only a few times. Our staff also had a great experience as they were delighted to see the students in the building. It was like old times! We can’t wait to welcome them back when the time comes.
Here is a bit of the district business news:
The May 2021 AP Exams will match the traditional published exam descriptions. The College Board plans to support in-school testing in 2021 or will release a contingency testing option in the spring. The fees for the first six AP/IB tests taken for courses in which students are enrolled for high school credit will be paid for by FCPS. The College Board is not assessing the $40 cancellation fee, so AP students will have an opportunity to cancel an exam without a cancellation charge by March 1, 2021.
If you have registered for SIS ParentVUE and have a primary email address recorded in ParentVUE, you can receive your student’s Weekly Progress Report via email. For the 2020-21 school year, Weekly Progress Reports are scheduled to begin on Monday, October 5, 2020. This report provides a summary of your student’s grades for the current quarter. To activate the Weekly Progress Reports via email, login to your SIS ParentVUE account and verify that you have a primary email address within the system. It is listed under the “My Account” tab.
If it is blank, enter the email address where you would like to receive the progress reports, and click on “Update account.” Once your email is confirmed, return to the “My Account” tab to activate and select your preferences for receiving these reports. Emails will be sent according to your selected preferences. Weekly Progress Reports for all of your middle and high school students will be included in one email. For additional help, refer to the quick reference guide for FCPS parents/guardians.
Parents can also access student grades through ParentVUE via the Grade Book tab.
If you haven’t done so already, please join the PTSO. This parent group does so much for our school and students and right now, we need them and you more than ever. You can access the PTSO page from this link. Be a part of the group everyone wants to be in when they grow up!
South County plans to begin our Math and Writing Labs in the very near future. Students will have the opportunity to work with their peer tutors in these two areas just as they did last year. The lab opportunities will occur during the planned return periods on advisory days. We are working out the logistics to account for security and safety. But we are very excited about these opportunities for students to continue working with one another.
We will also be continuing our efforts to keep our students engaged outside of the traditional instructional opportunities. Our Activities Office is working with our instructional personnel to further develop and maintain our focus on students being involved in a club or some other type of activity. Be on the look out for more information on how your child can become a member of a club and become engaged in an experience they will be able to grow from.
Lastly, we are embarking on a new venture which will expand our efforts to be able to give our student body a larger voice in our school. South County is in the process of developing our first online newspaper. The site will be schsnews.com (not available yet). This idea was generated by two of our students who were involved in our Broadcast journalism class last year. Having been in a building with a successful online newspaper in the past, I was beyond excited to hear that our students wanted to bring this to South County. The awesome thing about this is that the newspaper will ultimately not be limited to those students who are a part of this club. We have aspirations of opening the opportunity for students to publish articles through their classes providing the newspaper with an unlimited source of input and copy! Please stay tuned for more about this new venture as well!
So, we are through week number 3 and no one’s computer has blown up yet. We all could fathom the utopia of virtual learning, but I will say that I could not come up with a better group to begin it with than the Family that I work with at 8501 Silverbrook Road. I continue to be excited about what will come next from this group of professionals, and I am never let down by the heart that the efforts come from. Send your child’s teacher a note of thanks and copy me on it so they know that I know what the parents of their students think of them. They need that pat on the back, and something they can look back on when the instructional day doesn’t go exactly as planned. Their work is tough, and we need to support them however we can. Thank you for all that you do to help us keep this flying construction project going. Until next week, take care, stay safe, and we will see you on the other side! #OneStallion
Gary
Weekend SAT On October 3rd
South County High School will be giving the SAT, SAT with Essay, and SAT Subject Tests on Saturday, October 3. If your student is registered to test on October 3, and has a test ticket provided by College Board, have them go to the SAT Testing page to see required materials, testing times, and where to report. Additional questions can go to Terri Smith, SAT Coordinator, at tasmith1@fcps.edu.
Senior Photo Update
All South County High School seniors who had confirmed appointments that were canceled for 8/18 or 8/20 will have an opportunity to be photographed at the Lifetouch Virginia studio location on 10/20 or 10/21. Seniors can use the Lifetouch supplied drape, tux, and cap and gowns for these appointments IF THEY CHOOSE TO. Lifetouch steams items between all student uses. Students who do not feel comfortable sharing Lifetouch clothing can bring a neutral top of their choice, preferably black.
Notifications will be sent by mail in early October directing students to set and confirm an appointment time on the prestigeportraits.com website. If the August appointment was canceled and a sitting fee was paid online for that appointment, there will be no sitting fee due when scheduling for October. Please do not pay online when scheduling. Our Virginia studio is located at the John G. Fox Memorial Hall, 7128 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003.
If you are unable to attend on either of those dates, or if you did NOT have an appointment scheduled over the summer, Lifetouch/Prestige Portraits will be having another session of senior portraits in late November/early December. More specific details and notifications for those dates will be communicated in mid-November.
Should you have further questions, please contact Lifetouch Customer Service team at 800-445-1189
IMPORTANT REMINDER
(Only if you haven't submitted this for your child yet.)
Digital Resources Consent Form
At South County High School, our teachers will use a variety of digital resources to support student learning and promote communication and collaboration with students and families. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. You can find our school’s list of the resources that require parental consent here: https://southcountyhs.fcps.edu/adopteddigitalresources
Included on this page is also a link to a form where the enrolling parent or guardian will need to indicate whether or not their student is allowed to use the list of digital resources this year. This page also provides more information about how FCPS carefully reviews digital resources for approval and why we must request your consent before using certain tools. We encourage you to complete the parental consent for digital resources form as soon as possible, as your child will not be able to use the digital resources until we have received your permission. Please reach out to your child’s teacher or our School Based Technology Specialist, Leslie Lewis, if you have questions or concerns about the digital resources, we’ve chosen to use this year.
From the Library
Curbside Pickup
Does your student need a print book for class or personal reading? South County HS Library is beginning curbside and contactless pickup of library books on Mondays 8am-4pm beginning September 28th. Please see the 24/7 Blackboard South County HS Library Course for details on how to request and pick up books. Masks must be worn when picking up books.
Virtual Librarian Support
Does your student need book recommendations, homework support, research help on assignments, or help proofreading their assignments? They can schedule a virtual meeting with one of the librarians for support. Please see the 24/7 Blackboard South County HS Library Course for details about how to schedule a time.
Please contact Emily Strong erstrong@fcps.edu or Lisa Muir lkmuir@fcps.edu with any questions.
PTSO
PTSO Website
Come check out our website https://southcountyptso.membershiptoolkit.com/home . This is where you can join the PTSO, sign up to help volunteer, order Walk of Fame bricks, White house Christmas ornaments and class magnets. Looking for other ways to stay connected, download our membership toolkit app in the apple store or google play store.
Stallions Trample the Virus
Virtual 5k Challenge
Race Dates: Sept 28-Oct 3
What is a Virtual 5K?
- Event that can be completed anytime and anywhere during the 6-day challenge period
- 3.1 miles of a: run, walk, relay, skateboard, roller skate etc. You Choose – BE CREATIVE!!
- Can be done “together” as a group if you do it at the same time of day with proper social distancing
- Goal is to raise money for our programs AND promote a sense of community and connection
- Race Details:
- Cost $30 per registrant which will include a t-shirt and race bib
- Potomac Running is hosting the event for us
14th Annual South County Golf Classic
The PSTO and South County Athletic Booster Club would like to invite you to register our 14 annual South County Golf Classic fundraiser. This year’s tournament will be held on October 19 @ Laurel Hill Golf Club. The practice facility will be open starting at 11:30am with a shotgun start promptly at 1:00pm. Your registration will include a golf cart, lunch, dinner and refreshments on the course. Please use this link to registration - https://birdease.com/scgolfclassic
Lorton Community Action Center
In Need of Help During These Difficult Times?
Do you know of someone in the area that may need help? Fairfax County has non-profits throughout the county that work in specific zip codes to help folks in need. In South County’s area, the Lorton Community Action Center (LCAC) provides food, emergency financial assistance and educational programs to help families and seniors in the community. You can learn more here: https://lortonaction.org/need-help/
Let's Raise Some Dough!
Join us Wednesday, September 30th from 4-8:30 pm when up to 30% of sales* from your support gets donated to the
Emma Jordon Kidz Fighting Cancer Foundation.
*Excludes all coupons, discounts, specials*
Squisito- 8971 Ox Road, Lorton, VA 22079
703-646-5248 www.squisitopizzaandpasta.com
|
