Annandale Community Insider - October 25

Annandale Community:

It is hard to believe that this week marks the end of the 1st quarter. Students should have all their work completed and submitted by October 30 for it to be reflected on their report card. Please note that FCPS Weekly Progress Reports generated through SIS will not be sent to parents between now and Friday, November 6 while first quarter grading is completed and report cards are generated. Additionally, the Grade Book and Report Card modules in ParentVUE and StudentVUE are closed until November 6 during the grading window.

Last week, Dr. Brabrand released a YouTube video and sent an email to FCPS staff and families outlining FCPS’s plans to bring back students and staff through cohorts 5-8, with the majority of Annandale’s students returning on January 26 as part of Cohort 8. We will be sending out an email tomorrow with detailed information and directions on how to update your intention from the summer, either in-person or online. I am sure you have many questions and so we will hold a Town Hall early next week to answer any questions you may have. Stay tuned for more information. 

This week, we begin to welcome students back into the building. On Mondays, Culinary, Auto Tech and ESOL Level 1 and 2 students come back into the building for additional support. Our CAT B students will be coming back full time Tuesdays thru Fridays. Special thanks to the teachers, admin, support staff and custodians who have been working hard to prepare for the safe return of students.

As a reminder, Thursday is an asynchronous day for all students due to the PSAT and Friday is a 2-hour early release. Students will attend 2nd, 6th, and 8th periods. We included the bell schedule below for your reference. In addition, there is no school for students on Monday, November 2, and Tuesday, November 3. These days are student holidays and no asynchronous work will be posted. 

As always, reach out if you have any questions.

Shawn

Contact Information:
Twitter: @ShawnDeRose
Website: https://annandalehs.fcps.edu/

Important Dates

October 26-30 - October/Halloween Spirit Week

October 29 - PSAT Day for Juniors

October 30 - End of the 1st Quarter

November 2 - School Planning Day (No School for Students)  

November 3 - Teacher Workday (No School for Students)

November 11 - Early Release for Students  

November 17 - PTSA Meeting, 7pm

November 25, 26, 27 - Thanksgiving Break

October Spirit Week: October 26-30 - Our October/Halloween spirit week has arrived! Students, gather all of your Atom Pride and your most creative outfits!

• Monday, October 26: Sweater Weather (Wear your coziest sweater!)
• Tuesday, October 27: Terrifying Twins (Match outfits with a friend or a group!)
• Wednesday, October 28: Pink Out (Wear as much pink as you can in honor of breast cancer awareness!)
• Thursday, October 29: Class Colors (Freshmen = green, Sophomores = purple, Juniors = orange, Seniors = black or togas)
• Friday, October 30: Mask and/or Costume (wear your fanciest/favorite COVID mask or your best Halloween mask/costume!)

Be sure to take & post photos and tag @atomsleadership on Instagram and Twitter. Don’t forget to use our virtual situation to your advantage…feel free to show your AHS spirit by using your best photoshopping skills to be anywhere and wear anything! Here is a video (featured in the morning announcements) to give students ideas for the week.

PSAT: October 29 - Annandale High School will offer the PSAT to enrolled eleventh graders on Thursday, October 29. It will be an asynchronous day for students. Students are expected to complete the asynchronous work posted on Google Classroom. Attendance will be based on student engagement in their asynchronous work or participation in the PSAT exam. If you have any questions about the PTSA, contact Marcelo Valencia at lmvalencia@fcps.edu. 

End of 1st Quarter and 2-Hour Early Release: October 30 - Friday, October 30 marks the end of the 1st quarter and is a 2-Hour early release for students. Note: There is not W4. The early release is for teachers to plan, conduct grading activities and meet with their teams/departments at their discretion. 

Important Information

Go Paperless! - High school and middle school parents will now have the option to “Go Paperless” in ParentVUE and receive only online report cards. To take advantage of the paperless options, parents/guardians will need to log into ParentVUE, then go to “My Account” and select "Go Paperless!". This process is the only way to keep a paper report card from being generated for students at the secondary level. All parents who share the same address as the student must have a SIS ParentVue account and must select the paperless option.

Schedule Changes - Schedule Change Requests will close on Monday, October 26 and any outstanding requests will be completed by October 29. Counselors will not make any schedule changes after this date.

Senior Picture Make-Ups - Senior picture make-ups are happening! Seniors should have received information in the mail from Lifetouch Prestige that tells them how to sign up for a date and time for their pictures. Pictures will be taken in the upstairs gym (note location change), following social distancing guidelines, on October 26-28. Seniors must have signed up for a time; walk-ins will not be welcomed. If students did not receive information, they can still sign up by going to www.prestigeportraits.com. If you have any other questions or difficulty signing up, they can call Lifetouch Prestige at 410-644-7700. Because sharing clothing items is not permitted, seniors are asked to dress nicely and wear solid colors.

Partners for Safe Teen Driving Presentation: Final Session November 20 - The PSTD presentation is a required component of the  Drivers Education classroom curriculum. and will be hosted at Annandale High School. Any student enrolled in Drivers Education this year OR any student who has completed Drivers Education but was unable to attend the 90-minute PSTD presentation last year due to the school shut down can sign up here. Parents/guardians must attend the virtual presentation with their student. Presentations will start promptly at 6:30 PM and are available for AHS students only. The meeting link will be emailed to students who sign up on the day of the presentation. Reach out to Lindsey Ottavio at leottavio@fcps.edu with any questions.

The A-Blast is Now Available! The first issue of The A-Blast will be published on Wednesday, October 21. The virtual edition of the newspaper can be found on the website, https://www.thea-blast.org/. Additionally, you can support The A-Blast by subscribing for $10 for the whole year (8 issues) and have it delivered to your home. Subscribe at https://www.thea-blast.org/subscribe/.

Required Forms: We understand how the beginning of the year can be overwhelming with forms. Here are some you can access now.

• Emergency Care Form: Required for all returning FCPS students to review and update if needed.
• Emergency Care Card: Required for students NEW to FCPS.
• Parental consent for digital resources: These are the apps and programs that our teachers will use to engage our students in the virtual world. Please go here for more information and follow the link to give your consent.
• FCPSOn Computer Opt Out Form: Only for students who are not planning to use a school laptop. We highly recommend you use the FCPS laptop because all software and other applications will be loaded and accessible. Software used by FCPS and Annandale HS cannot be loaded on personal devices.

Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) - Parents and guardians, please review the Students Rights and Responsibilities and related resources at www.fcps.edu/srr. After reviewing the information, fill out the SR&R Parent Acknowledgement Form using this link https://forms.gle/Pbz5C42jJPADQLyu5. The form must be filled out one time per student. 

News from the Activities Office

Join Us for Off Season Practices - It is really important to be mindful of the fact that our students are sitting and staring at a computer for the majority of the day. At Annandale, we want to strongly encourage you and your students to take advantage of the activities that are going on in the afternoons and evenings throughout the week. You don’t have to have a background in the sport to participate. Social distancing and CDC guidelines are enforced. 

The practice times fluctuate every week, so just check the athletic website for times. All you need is a completed Physical Exam and a Emergency Care Form. If you have any questions, please contact John Ellenberger at jellenberger@fcps.edu.

Call for Coaches - The Atoms are looking for a Head Dance and Head Dive coach. Both will start on December 14. If interested, please reach out to John Ellenberger, Director of Student Activities at jellenberger@fcps.edu. 

News from the PTSA

PTSA Meeting - Dates and Times: Mark your calendar for monthly PTSA meetings which are held the 3rd Tuesday at 7:00pm. We will start the school year with virtual meetings and details will follow on how to join us. These dates include: November 16, December 15, January 19, February 16, March 16,  April 20, May 18, June 8.

You are invited to attend our second virtual PTSA meeting of the 2020-21 school year on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:00pm. You can join our meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone here.

Trivia Night - November 12: The PTSA will be hosting an AHS Community Virtual Trivia Night on Thursday, November 12.  It will be open to all in the AHS community. Start getting your team together. Teams can be made up of students, families, teachers, staff, clubs, sports teams, friends, alumni, etc. Questions will in several categories including some AHS trivia questions. More details to come.

Stay Connected - “Visit”, “Like” and “Follow” - Our e-newsletter, ATOMail, is sent the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month and highlights PTSA programs and opportunities to support our students, teachers, and staff. To receive ATOMail, please sign up and set your preferences on the FCPS "News You Choose" webpage. Select “Annandale High School” and check the box for “Annandale HS PTSA”. You can also stay up-to-date on our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

• Website: www.annandalehsptsa.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnandaleHSPTSA/
• Twitter and Instagram: @AtomsPTSA