Woodson Weekly - January 15th

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 01/15/2021 03:00 PM EST
Student Services

Woodson's Student Services staff are meeting virtually with students.  It's Academic Advising time for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Follow @wtwstudentsvcs for updates!

Important Upcoming Dates

NEWLY UPDATED!!!  The week of January 18th now has 2 synchronous learning days and they are both Odd days.

Monday, January 18th - Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, School Holiday

Tuesday, January 19th - Synchronous Learning Day - ODD DAY

Wednesday, January 20th - Inauguration Day, School Holiday

Thursday, January 21st - Synchronous Learning Day - ODD DAY

Friday, January 22nd - Last Day of 2nd Quarter; Synchronous Learning Day - 2 hour early release EVEN DAY

Monday, January 25th - Teacher Workday

Monday, February 15th - President's Day, School Holiday

In this Issue

ACTION Items
1. For IN-PERSON Learning Students ONLY

NEW News
2. Message from Dr. Floyd
3. Academic Advising for the 21-22 School Year
4. WTW Family Engagement Survey
5. Social Justice Book Club
6. Parents for Safe Teen Driving Seminar
7. Athletic Facilities Access
8. College & Career Center News

PAST News but still important 
9. Emotional Wellness Resource
10. Has your contact information changed?
11. SIS ParentVUE
12. Lifetouch - Common questions and answers
13. Free STEM Program for 9th Graders
14. FCPS Laptops and International Travel 
15. FCPS Laptop Tech Support Hours at WTW
16. Parent Technology Help Desk
17. Order the WTW 2021 Yearbook

ACTION Items

1. For IN-PERSON Learning Students ONLY

As we prepare to bring our students back for in-person instruction here are some updates.  Starting after winter break, we will be sending out information each week leading up to the start of in-person learning.  These emails will contain important information and/or action items. 

  1. Parent Health Commitment Form – Can be filled out in ParentVUE.  This needs to be completed prior to your child starting in-person learning. Please see the translated versions
     Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
  2. FCPS Health and Safety Document – FCPS guidance on health procedures
  3. Return to School – FCPS Website for information on returning to school
  4. Lunches – we are still working on the exact schedule.  What we do know is that students will be eating in our cafeterias with all health and safety protocols in place such as 6ft distance, hand sanitizing/hand washing, cleaning of surfaces, and flow of traffic.

NEW News

2. Message from Dr. Floyd

Hello Woodson Families:

As we approach the end of the second quarter (Friday, January 22nd), teachers have been working with their curriculum teams to implement guidelines set forth by FCPS Leadership. Dr. Brabrand sent out the new guidelines to all families earlier this month to include a 50% floor for grades in second quarter, altering late work policies and changing the maximum weight a category can hold. These changes are becoming evident in teacher’s gradebooks as time permits.  

Woodson has developed new grading comments to ensure consistency and clarity in the communication of grades. The first change is that no grade can be below a 50% on any assignment. The first new code is “grade raised” GR which will be used when a student originally scored below the minimum 50%. The second new code is “not submitted” NS which will be used when the student does not turn in an assignment / assessment. In both cases, the grade received and calculated in the gradebook will be a 50%.

Another change is the late work policy. We continue to ask for your support in encouraging your child to complete work on time as this has direct correlation to learning.  The new late work policy is a penalty of 10%. The code in gradebook is LA(10).

The other two changes will not be as evident in the gradebook:

  • no single assignment can be worth more than 20% in the quarter, and
  • the minimum number of assignments per quarter has been reduced to six from nine.

If you have any questions about these new changes, please feel free to reach out to their administrator.

Class of 2021     George Hewan, Math and World Languages

Class of 2022     Paula DiSalvo, English and Career and Technical Education

Class of 2023     Shashi Madan, Social Studies and ESOL

Class of 2024     Kathy Martin, Computer Science, Health / PE and Science

CSS                    Mandy Burke, Special Education Self Contained Classes

Attendance         Marc Brooks, Fine and Performing Arts

Please remember Monday, January 18th (MLK Day), Wednesday, January 20th (Inauguration) and Monday, January 25th (Teacher Work Days) are student holidays.  We return Tuesday, January 26th for the first day of the 3rd quarter. 

Thank you for your continued support of the staff at WT Woodson HS.

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay connected,

Dr. Floyd

3. Academic Advising for the 21-22 School Year

We have started academic advising for next school year. Over the next several weeks, rising 10th-12th grade students will meet individually with the counselors to select classes for next year. We also have information and resources available to help students prepare to select classes for next school year.

New this year – our Woodson HS Advising & Curriculum Video Website! On this site you will find videos from teachers across all of our departments providing descriptions and overviews of the various classes offered at Woodson. This site will provide students with valuable information they can use to make informed decisions regarding course selections for next year, and will be available throughout the academic advising window.

Additionally, during 3rd period next week (January 19th and 21st), students will continue meeting with teachers to get feedback from them on course selections for next year. On Tuesday students will return to their 2nd and 4th period classes for 40 minutes each to meet with those teachers. On Thursday students will return to their 5th period class to meet with that teacher. Students should have already met with their 1st, 6th, 7th, and 8th period teachers last week. If your child was unable to meet with their teacher last week during the assigned time for any reason they can contact their teacher directly to set up a time for them to talk.

Please also look for an email from your student’s counselor sent earlier this week with more specific information about the overall academic advising process, including grade level timelines, deadlines, and instructions for how students are to enter their draft course selections into StudentVUE prior to meeting with their counselor.

For any questions regarding academic advising, please contact your child’s school counselor.

For up-to-date information, follow Student Services on Twitter and Instagram - @wtwstudentsvcs.

Wrestling

Watch all of Woodson's athletic events on the Woodson Broadcast Studio channel on YouTube.

4. WTW Family Engagement Survey

Every couple of years Fairfax County Public Schools sends a survey about family engagement to the families of all students.

This year Woodson HS is looking at a couple of key areas and we would like your input as we move forward. We value your partnership in the education of your students, especially during this difficult year. The information you provide in the survey will help us better serve you and your family.

Please complete this Google survey by Friday, January 29th. 

5. Social Justice Book Club

The Social Justice Book Club will meet on Thursday, January 21st, at 7 p.m.

Chapters 13, 14, & 15 will be the focus of the discussion around the text, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.

A link will be sent via email. If you have any questions, please email Dr. George Hewan at gkhewan@fcps.edu.

6. Parents for Safe Teen Driving Seminar

The next Parents for Safe Teen Driving Seminar is scheduled for Wednesday, February 10th from 7-8:30 p.m.

This presentation is required in order to obtain a drivers license before the age of 18.  This will be a virtual presentation to be held through Google Meet.  This presentation is for all 3rd quarter Driver Education students as well as 1st and 2nd quarter students who missed attending the first two PSTD presentations. 

The Google Classroom with the Google Meet link with be provided to all 3rd quarter students at the beginning of the quarter.  The 1st and 2nd quarter students who still need to attend can email Mr. O’Hara at dgohara@fcps.edu and you will be added to the 3rd quarter PSTD class Google Classroom. 

7. Athletic Facilities Access

Due to social distancing measures and protocols, our Athletic Facilities will be closed to the public during Woodson Athletic practices weekdays from 3pm-6pm. Please note that the end time may extend without notice.

Woodson Parents and Guardians, we are asking for your help. Please communicate to your students that if they do not have a scheduled in season practice or an out of season workout, they should not be accessing Woodson athletic facilities.

8. College & Career Center News

Upcoming Events – all upcoming events with registration information are listed in the College & Career Center Calendar that students can access through their FCPS Google account.

  • College Access Fairfax FAFSA Line-by-Line Virtual Seminar on January 30th, at 10 am. Please click here to register.
  • College 101 – Planning for College Presentation, Wednesday, Feb 3rd, at 7 pm, by Erin Slater, Director of Admissions at Randolph Macon College: “College is a match to be made and not a prize to be won!” Please join us to learn how you can plan and prepare for college and the college application process. This Woodson event is for Sophomores and Juniors, and their parents/guardians. To register, please go to: https://rmc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nsXsLKPaS4yYXmQbRHomig. 
  • Alfred Street Baptist Church is hosting the 19th Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Festival Virtually on Saturday, February 20, 2021.  Registration for Seniors is now open. All other grade levels can register after January 25th. For more info, please visit: https://www.alfredstreet.org/hbcu-fest/ 
  • Save the date! Historically Black College and University HBCU Virtual Fair at Edison HS on Feb 22, 2021, 9 am – 3:30 pm. Please stay tuned for more info and the registration link. 
  • NACAC Virtual College Fairs (Jan – May 2021) – for dates and to register, please go to: https://www.nacacfairs.org/attend/attend-virtual-college-fairs/

Please follow the Woodson College & Career Center on Twitter and Instagram @wtwcareercenter. The next weekly College & Career Center Newsletter will be sent out on Monday. Newsletters are also saved in Naviance under Document Resources – College & Career Center News for you to access at your convenience.

Mr. Wright

Mr. Wright teaches virtually from his classroom at Woodson.

PAST News - Still Important

9. Emotional Wellness Resource

You or your staff may be hearing from parents who are concerned about their child’s emotional well-being. This one-pager (https://bit.ly/38k8Xyz) from Healthy Minds Fairfax provides easy-to-digest information and would be a valuable resource for your school community.

Please consider sharing it with them in your next newsletter and/or during a virtual parent meeting. If you have questions or need additional resources, please let us know.

10. Has your contact information changed?

Has your contact information changed?  Do you have a new cell number or contact email address?

If so, please update your student's Emergency Care Card in FCPS 24-7, Blackboard in the weCare@school section.

weCare@School

11. SIS ParentVUE

The Student Information System (SIS) Parent Account Access, also known as ParentVUE, allows parents access to teacher grade books, attendance information, course history and other useful information.

● New Users: Please use the parent account registration page to register your account. You will need an activation key to log in for the first time. Please email Jennifer Graybill at jagraybill@fcps.edu, if you need a new activation key or are having issues logging onto your ParentVUE Account. Please include your name, email address, student's name, students ID number and a short description of what the issue is.

● Returning Users: Please go to https://sisparent.fcps.edu to log in to your ParentVUE Account.

● Parent Blackboard Access: Parents must have a ParentVUE account in order to have parent access to Blackboard. If you lost your access to Blackboard, please create your ParentVUE account .

● ParentVUE App: Parents may enjoy mobile access to SIS by loading the ParentVUE App, available for both iOS and Android. When prompted for a school, please search for "Fairfax County Public Schools."

12. Lifetouch - Common Questions & Answers

  1. I still have not received the pictures I ordered, when will they come? Lifetouch said that it has been taking 4-6 weeks for orders to be processed and delivered.
  2. I lost my students picture ID code, how do I find it in order to view their proofs online? Lifetouch is not able to provide us with the picture id codes, so, you would need to call Lifetouch directly at the appropriate extension below.
  3. I haven’t received a notification saying my students picture proof has been uploaded to the website, like the previous Woodson Weekly email said – All photos should have been uploaded to the Prestige website by now, so even if you did not receive a notification from Lifetouch, please use your picture id code to view your students photo on prestigeportraits.com. If your students picture is not showing, but your student did indeed take a photo at Woodson, please call Lifetouch directly at the appropriate extension below.
  4. I took my student to a Lifetouch studio to take their photo instead of taking it at Woodson. Will their photo still be included in the Woodson yearbook? It will still be included in our yearbook, as long as it has not passed any page submission deadlines. Please email our Yearbook Advisor, Tessa Weghorst (tmweghorst@fcps.edu), to confirm the picture date does not miss deadlines for submissions.

Call Lifetouch between the hours of 8:30am and 5:00pm Monday – Friday

Underclass Lifetouch Customer Service  800-736-4753

Senior Lifetouch Customer Service  800-736-4775

13. Free STEM Program for 9th Graders

Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology (BLAST) is a FREE educational program of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, designed to ignite a passion in students who already show an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Our hope is that the BLAST 3-day residential, on-campus experience, which is packed with demonstrations and collaborative activities led by college faculty, will inspire students to envision a career in a STEM field and motivate them to expand the number of STEM-related classes they take in higher grade levels. 

Applications are being accepted online through Monday, February 8th.

14. Laptop Tech Support Hours

If parents or students need FCPS laptop technical support at Woodson HS, the following must be completed:

  1. Submit a ticket using the FCPS Parent/Student Tech Support Portal,
  2. Schedule an appointment to come on-site, and
  3. Complete a health screening questionnaire prior to arriving. 

New 2021 Laptop Tech Support Hours

Our onsite laptop tech support hours by appointment only are:
Monday - 1:00 - 7:30 pm
Tuesday and Wednesday - 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Thursday and Friday - 9:00 am - 11:30 am

Thank you,
W.T Woodson HS Tech Support Team

15. Parent Technology Help Desk

To support families who are working with their children during distance learning, FCPS launched a new Parent Technology Help Desk. The number is 1-833-921-3277 (833-921-FCPS). It will be answered by staff 7 a.m.to 11 p.m., seven days a week. If the help desk is unable to solve the issue on the phone with the parent or guardian, they will enter a ticket on the parent’s behalf and the request for help will be transferred to the appropriate FCPS team. 

Parents or guardians who need help in a language other than English should let help desk staff know, and a interpreter will join them on the line. (FCPS also has existing parent information phone lines, available in eight different languages, that can assist with general questions about FCPS.)

FCPS has also set up an online portal to allow older students and parents and guardians to request technology help directly. 

Get more information about the new Parent Technology Help Desk. 

16. Order the 2021 WTW Yearbook!

The WTW yearbook is ready for orders!

I can’t imagine a more significant time to purchase a relic of history and to celebrate our Woodson Cavaliers! 

To purchase a yearbook or to make an adorable ad for your graduating senior, go to https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/ and type in the code 5278. You can create an ad, buy a yearbook, or submit photos all in one place!

Please contact tmweghorst@fcps.edu if you have any questions!

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)