Guest Speaker, Dr. Clifford Sussman: Screen-Time Balance and Internet Safety During Distance Learning. Tuesday, Feb. 2nd at 9:30
How do we as parents help our students strike a screen-time balance during distance learning and COVID lockdown? How to we help our middle schoolers maintain their safety in their increasingly online world? Dr. Clifford Sussman, who has been featured as an authority on screen use related issues throughout the media and peer reviewed literature, will help unpack this issue for us. Dr. Sussman is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He completed an adult psychiatry residency at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, PA, and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. Please join us on Tues, Feb 2, at 9:30 for this important presentation followed by a Q&A session.
RSVP here by Monday, Feb 1, to receive the link prior to the PTO meeting.
Book Discussion Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People - Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30PM
As we continue our programming around the theme of “Equity at the Center”, please join the Cooper PTO and Langley PTSA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion groups on Tuesday, Feb 16, at 7:30, for the first of three book discussions of Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald. The book is based on Harvard’s Implicit Association Test (IAT). For the first discussion, it will be particularly helpful to have read Chapters 1-7 of the book, as well as to have completed the following Implicit Association Tests online (free of charge, a few minutes each to complete):
Flower/Insect IAT, Race IAT, Race/Weapons IAT , Gender/Career IAT
As with all PTO virtual PTO meetings, please RSVP here in order to receive the BBCU link to attend the session. We look forward to our first discussion!
Governor Northam Declares Virginia School Principal’s Appreciation Week
Last week, Governor Northam issued this proclamation , naming THIS WEEK, Jan 24 - 30, as Virginia School Principal’s Appreciation Week. While we *may* have preferred a little bit more notice (!) from the Governor, we are nevertheless thrilled to celebrate Principal Barrow, Assistant Principals Rath and McLoughlin, and Director of Student Services, Mrs. Scabis. If you’d like to add your personal words of thanks, please complete this form, and they will be added to the expressions of gratitude compiled by Mrs. Midgley, Administrative Assistant to Principal Barrow (thank you, Mrs. Midgley!).
The PTO is so thankful for the Cooper administrative team on behalf of our students, and never more so than this time of increased complexity!
PTO Executive Board Nominating Committee Forming
We need you! Please consider serving on the PTO’s nominating committee, as we begin to create both our slate of executive board officers for the 2021-22 and fill our committee chair positions. The committee will meet virtually 2-4 times between February and April, and will work to name and recruit candidates.
The goal of the nominating committee and the eventual slate of officers is to reflect the racial, ethnic, religious diversity of our student and parent population, as well as to try to represent as many of our feeder elementary school communities as possible. Please complete this form if you are interested in serving on the nominating committee, or are interested in a role on the board.
Exec Board position descriptions can be found here .
Attention Parents of the Class of 2025: In Search of 2025 LHS Class Parents
Are you the parent of a rising LHS 9th-grader? Are you eager to get involved in the next level of your student's educational experience? Class Parents work closely with class officers, parents and school administrators to help support and plan activities for the class throughout their four years at Langley High School. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Class Parent, please contact Clare Bradshaw at crbradshaw@verizon.net. Thank you!
Diversity in STEM - Invitation from TJ PTO
The PTSA Diversity Committee of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology will hold it's second Diversity in STEM Talk in February! This series is especially for elementary and middle school students in grades 4-8.
Join us Monday, February 8, at 6 p.m. to hear from Anthony Nunez, CEO INF Robotics Inc. and Carla Rodriguez, Head of Operations INF Robotics Inc. Mr. Nunez graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Applied Information Technology and from Worchester Polytechnic University with a masters degree in Systems Engineering. Mr. Nunez is a published author in robotics, holds two robotics patents and has over a decade of experience building all forms of land, air and water robots in addition to working for DARPA Autonomous Vehicles programs, where he worked on the early versions of autonomous cars. Mr. Nunez has successfully lobbied Congress as part of the National Robotics Week Advisory Council to have the second week in April recognized for robotics and STEM education importance in the U.S. Ms. Rodriguez has worked as Vice President of Infamous Robotics where she grew the company's curriculum offerings and expanded on key partnerships with the Smithsonian, the U.S. State Department and others. Ms. Rodriguez is a key architect of the Robotics Inventor curriculum and has experience building everything from snake robots to autonomous robots for healthcare. She has been a key mentor for children building their first robot for years, helping them get over roadblocks and build confidence around themselves and STEM. Through their current work at INF Robotics Inc., dba INF Care, Mr. Nunez and Ms. Rodriguez are bringing robotics and assistive technologies to older adults to improve their health and aging in place experience. Some questions we'll explore are:
- What sparked their interest in STEM?
- What is happening in the field of robotics?
- How are robotics and technology used in health care?
Parents, register at this Zoom link: http://bit.ly/TJStemTalk2
January Fun Lunches - Friday, January 29th at 10:30-11:10
Remind your students - there is an opportunity to join a Fun Lunch this Friday, 1/29 at 10:30. Invitations and the link for the lunch were issued this week by the counselors.
STEM Essay Contest
Announcing the third annual STEM Essay Contest sponsored by the McLean Area Branch of AAUW (American Association of University Women). Last year's contest was very successful, and students from Cooper, Longfellow, and The Potomac School received recognition for their essays. The contest challenges 7th and 8th girls and boys to discover and publicize women who made a difference in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields, but were not recognized for their contributions while alive and whose contributions are not well known even today. We will award four prizes: First Place ($100), Second Place ($50), and Honorable Mention (2 Prizes, each $25).
Our application forms (a PDF and a Word document) are posted online at https://mclean-va.aauw.net/stem-essay-contest/. The deadline is February 11, 2021, at 11:00 pm ET, and we will recognize the winners at our virtual Branch Event on March 16, 2021.
There are over 300 students who have not taken or submitted a portrait for the yearbook!
We extended the deadline to Friday, February 5th. Instructions are below.
Also, encourage your student(s) to complete this form for a chance to WIN A FREE YEARBOOK!
If your student was not photographed by Lifetouch, our school photographer, we ask you to submit a portrait through Herff Jones's eShare application.
Please follow the school's guidelines for portraits:
- Portraits must be submitted through Herff Jones eShare
- Color photos only
Plain/neutral background preferred
Full face view, facing forward
Clothing and jewelry must fit school dress code guidelines
No creative filters or photographic treatments
No weapons or hand signs of any kind
You may access the eShare application in a variety of ways:
Review this how-to video: https://herffjones.wistia.com/medias/qaz0mrbp43.
You are encouraged to also submit candid photos of your student from this school year, that may be used in other parts of the book!
And don't forget to purchase a yearbook at www.yearbookordercenter.com. Use school code 5267
Thank you!
From your journalism staff
Calendar at a Glance:
Feb 2: PTO General Membership Meeting, 9:30AM
Feb 1 - 9: Rising 8th grade Asynchronous Core and Curriculum Tour via Cooper Website
Feb 10: Rising 8th grade Cooper Night via BBCU, 6:30PM
Feb 15: President’s Day - School Holiday
Feb 16: Joint CMS/LHS Book Discussion, 7:30PM
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