McLean HS: Dr. Reilly's Monday Message 10/26/2020

Important Upcoming Dates

October 29 - PSAT for Juniors

October 30 - Two-hour Early Release

October 30 - End of the first quarter

November 2 and 3 - School Planning Day - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday

November 11 - Veteran's Day - 2-hour Early Release

November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Holiday

December 21-January 1 - Winter Break

January 18 - Martin Luther King Day Holiday

January 22 - End of 2nd quarter - 2 hour early release

January 25 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday


Important Links

Virtual Back to School Night

Teacher Office Hours

Bell Schedule

Red/Silver Calendar

Office and Support Staff

Attendance

Student Services

Student Activities


End of the Quarter

October 30 is the last day of the quarter.  Also, October 29 is PSAT day for Juniors.  For students who are not taking the PSAT, October 29 is an asynchronous day.

October 30 is now an asynchronous day.  Teachers and students need a day to catch up and finish quarter grades while many Seniors will will be finishing college applications.  Thanks for your understanding.

November 2nd and 3rd are teacher work days and student holidays.  The main office will be closed both days.

Virginia Board of Education Exemplar Performance Award

Thursday evening at the  School Board meeting, McLean High School was recognized as a recipient of the Virginia Board of Education Exemplar Performance Award/Continuous Improvement.  This award is given to schools that are progressing towards the objective of achieving equity in opportunities and outcomes for all students

“I congratulate the principals, teachers, support professionals and students of all of these schools and divisions for the achievement, innovations and hard work recognized by these awards,” Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane said. “I believe the success of these schools and school divisions will inspire learning communities across the commonwealth as they plan for the reopening of school and prepare to meet the instructional and social-emotional needs of students — especially students most impacted by the closure this spring.”  

Virtual Band Performances

Our band teachers and students have been working hard this quarter.  Please take a moment to enjoy these virtual performances.

Wind Ensemble - Old Hundredth Chorale

https://vimeo.com/469288040/1d74d12723?fbclid=IwAR2t_0vffyuQvvmTyeqSsWPLW12mGdD4NS_1B68Dmrk7DoIz75FQZULm7z4

Symphonic Band - Bach Chorale

https://vimeo.com/469279196/7e8025633c?fbclid=IwAR1aTtrnzk1kdYNCpt9rmjLv4J3cej5uoxPo3lTSvinTnotSW3FSNHvefYc


General Information

Online Attendance Form

Parents can now report a student absence by using our online attendance form at https://mcleanhs.fcps.edu/about/attendance-form.  The attendance phone line will also be available at 703-714-5725. 


Library News:  Curbside Pickup for library books every Monday starting Nov. 2.

Starting Monday, Nov. 2, students will be able to pick up books they put on hold through the online catalog. The student will login to the catalog using their FCPS login credentials.  When a book is available in the catalog, the student will see book, and be able to click the Hold option.  Once a student places a hold, Mrs. Kong will email the student to sign up for a Curbside Pickup appointment on Mondays from 9:00-2:00.  Curbside pickup will be available every Monday except holidays.

A masked library staff member will take the book(s) to the student’s car at the front entrance of the school (Door #1).  All occupants of the car must wear a mask.  The student’s Name and Student ID Number should be on a sheet of paper and placed on the passenger’s side dashboard.  The library staff member will place the book(s) either in the trunk or the back seat.


2021 Virginia Summer Residential Governor’s School

The 2021 Virginia Summer Residential Governor’s School is beginning its application process. This one-month summer program is for highly motivated current 10th and 11th grade students seeking an intellectually challenging and enriching summer experience. Programs are offered in Visual and Performing Arts, World Languages, Agriculture, Humanities, Math/Science/Technology, Medicine/Health Science, Engineering, and Marine Science. The selection process is extremely competitive. Selected students usually rank in the top 10% of their class and have scored in the 90th percentile or above on standardized tests. Residential programs run from late June to late July. Only students who are available during that time frame and whose records match these criteria should apply. You are only permitted to apply to one SRGS program.

Mr. Allman will hold an interest meeting for Academic Governor’s Schools at 1:00 on Monday, October 26 here https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/5a30d93b4c6c459fb0970cbc0f11bea7

Ms. McNeill will hold an interest meeting for Visual & Performing Arts Governor’s Schools at 1:00 on Monday, October 26 here https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/f179c03733ce4c77b6af17275dd12119

Ms. McNeill will hold an interest meeting for World Language Governor’s School Academies at 2:00 on Monday, October 26 here https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/f179c03733ce4c77b6af17275dd12119

For additional information please visit the VDOE and FCPS links below.

Students interested in Academic SRGS programs will need to complete this Student Interest Form by November 9, 2020.

Students interested in Visual and Performing Arts SRGS programs will need to complete this Student Interest Form by November 9, 2020.

VDOE SRGS website:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/governors_school_programs/summer_residential/


AMC

Sign up for the American Mathematics Competition.  It will be held virtually on February 10.  Go to My School Bucks to register.


National Honor Society Induction Ceremony

Congratulations to all the 11th and 12th grade students who have been accepted into McLean High School’s chapter of the National Honor Society!  Applications for NHS have been reviewed and students were alerted of their acceptance status by email on Friday, October 16th.  The induction ceremony to formally welcome accepted students into NHS will be held virtually on Monday, October 26th at 1:00pm.  Participation in the induction ceremony is encouraged, but not mandatory to join NHS.  We also invite families to join their students for this extraordinary recognition ceremony.  Further information will be sent later this week on how to access this event.


Advanced Placement Test for Non-Enrolled Students

Students who are not currently enrolled in an AP course, but would like to sit for an exam in May, should contact Sara Wheeler (sewheeler@fcps.edu) for exam registration information. McLean HS offers non-enrolled tests based on seat availability/testing room capacity for AP courses currently offered at McLean HS. For exams with limited seats/capacity, non-enrolled students will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. The standard non-enrolled exam fee is $95.00 per exam.  Registration requests after November 10th will incur an additional $40 late test fee (per exam).


Weekly Reminders

Fairfax County Public Library Checkout Now Available to All Students

Effective October 1, all FCPS students (preK-12) are able to check out materials from the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL), even if they don’t have a traditional library card or a card has been blocked due to fines. 

Under the Library Equity Access Pass program (LEAP), a partnership with FCPS and FCPL, students need only their name, not a physical library card, to check out three items at a time for six weeks each (no renewals). LEAP accounts are never charged fines or fees.  

A student can have a LEAP account in addition to a standard library account. Standard accounts allow users to place holds on materials and access FCPL’s digital resources, such as eBooks and databases. 

Families can apply for a standard account online and in library branches.


Free and Reduced-Price Meals

If you submitted an application for Free or Reduced-Price Meals last school year for your child(ren), please remember to submit a new application for this school year. The current eligibility status will expire on October 20, 2020.

Apply for free and reduced-price meals by visiting www.MySchoolApps.com. Eligibility may also provide your child(ren) other important benefits. Be sure your child(ren) are approved for the 20-21 school year. 

The online application is available in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, Tagalog, French, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean. Paper applications are available to complete and submit in English upon request at FCPS food distribution sites. 


Parent Required Signatures

1. Digital Tool Permission

2. Student's Rights and Responsibilities 

1. Parent Digital Tool Permission Application

In an ongoing effort to protect student data, FCPS is required to secure parental permission for student use of software/applications for which FCPS does not have a confidentiality agreement.  An online process has been developed to collect this information digitally and provide school-based reporting.  This process has been designed to meet the legal requirements for authenticating parent identities under FERPA.  The MHS Website has a list of all of the digital tools used at McLean.

2. Student's Rights and Responsibilities Signature Page

Students will review the SR&R on September 11, 2020.  The SR&R booklet can be found on the FCPS website (Sept. 2).  FCPS will release the link to the SR&R Signature page once the SR&R is finalized and updated on the website.  Please review the SR&R with your student.  The final SR&R will be available online at  

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/policies-regulations-and-notices/student-rights-and-responsibilities/video-and-resources


Behind the Wheel and PSTD Information

McLean High School will be offering Partners in Safe Teen Driving (PSTD) seminars twice during first quarter. These seminars will be held virtually through BBCU from 7:00-8:30 PM on Monday, 10/19 and Monday 10/26. Students must virtually attend with a parent or legal guardian and fill out an attendance form at the end in order to earn credit. Attendance of a PSTD seminar is a state requirement in order to pass classroom Driver Education as part of the Health and Physical Education 10 curriculum and obtain a DEC-8 (pink) card. While this seminar is intended for and free of charge for students currently enrolled in Health and Physical Education 10, any juniors who were unable to satisfy this requirement during the 2019-2020 school year are welcome to attend free of charge as well.

Students can register to attend with a parent or legal guardian for one of these two dates HERE. Prior to the seminar date, the STUDENT will receive a BBCU invite to the virtual seminar that will be sent to their fcpsschools.net email account. The student must sign into the seminar before 7:00 PM and a parent or guardian must watch the seminar with them. Virtual Attendance after 7:00 PM will not be permitted. PSTD seminars are only available for attendance by students in grades 10-12. Any 9th graders who attend will not receive credit, as they are not enrolled in the Health and Physical Education 10 course.

If students or parents cannot virtually attend a PSTD seminar during the week, FCPS ACE (Adult and Community Education) will be offering Partners in Safe Teen Driving seminars on Saturdays beginning in October. These seminars are only open to students grades 10-12. Students who attend these Saturday seminars regardless of grade, must register online through the ACE website and pay the $30.00 registration fee, as these seminars are held on the weekend.

Lastly, FCPS ACE is now accepting registration for behind-the-wheel (in-car portion) Driver Education classes.  Registration is available on the ACE website.

The FCPS ACE website can be found here:

https://aceclasses.fcps.edu/CategorySubjectListing.aspx?ProgramID=28&ProgramName=Driver+Education&IsCourse=1.

Questions related to ACE classes ACE seminars may be directed to Jard Shoemake at: wcshoemake@fcps.edu.


Club Participation Information

  1. Go to Clubs-and-organizations for a list of all of our clubs.
  2. Each club will have a Google Classroom link
  3. If you are interested in that club, click on the Google Classroom Link to join the club classroom
  4. In the classroom, there will be a link to join club meetings during Highlander Flex Time(Only FCPS students can enter)
  5. 9:45am-10:25am- Clubs that start with the letter A-L

    10:25am-11:05am- Clubs that start with the letter M-Z

  6. If the Club says “Inactive” that means we have the club, but currently do not have a sponsor. If a student is interested in activating the club a teacher sponsor would need to be identified.
  7. To learn more about student clubs at MHS, as well as information on the process of starting new clubs, please join Mr. Hays’ MHS Clubs class in Google Classroom using class code: euwkxvv

McLean HS 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.

Parent/Student Support Portal Link:

https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/


FCPS Help Desk for Tech Support for Parents and Students

To support families who are working with their children during distance learning, FCPS has launched a new Parent Technology Help Desk, effective Monday, August 24. The help desk can be reached at 833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS) and will be answered by staff members between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week.

Parents or guardians can call this number for basic tech support with parent accounts, help with FCPS student devices and technical assistance with other FCPS applications. If help desk staff members are unable to solve the issue, they will enter a support ticket on behalf of the parent/guardian to escalate the issue to the appropriate FCPS team. Parents who need help in a language other than English can inform the help desk staff when they call of their preferred language, and an interpreter will join in on the call.

FCPS has also set-up Parent and Student Technology Support portal at https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/ to allow older students and parents/guardians to request technology help directly. When a support request ticket is entered through the portal, it is auto-routed to the TSSpec at the appropriate site to expedite service. text.


Social-Emotional Support Information

Mental Health and Wellness Support Services and Resources

McLean’s Clinical Staff are available to consult with parents and students regarding mental health related concerns and behaviors.  They are also able to provide community resources as needed.  Please see their contact information below:

Carol Ann Forrest, School Psychologist, CMForrest@fcps.edu

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

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

For more Mental Health and Wellness Information, please check out these Student Wellness Resources, FCPS’s  Healthy Minds Blog and the FCPS’s 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



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