From The Principal
Family,
We are that much closer to having our Group 8 students return to school. This is going to be like…, like…, a Family Reunion…. but with all the Family members we like! (You know what I mean!) While I know that this isn’t going to be “normal” school, it is going to be closest thing to normal school that we’ve seen in a really long time. I’ll take it! Yeah, I’m a little giddy about it!
To get us ready for the return, I wanted to remind you all about the Town Hall Meeting that the administration team will be hosting this week. The date will be February 24th at 6:00pm. We hope that you will be there. I think there may be singing. Nah there won’t be singing, but I do think it will be a good time! In the event that you are not able to make the meeting, we will record it and make the recording available to Families the next day. Also, you will see below that there is a PTSO General Membership Meeting tomorrow. Please find the link below to access the meeting. And to that, I want to say that membership has been very low this year. I get it that we are in this disconnected environment. But membership drives so much of what the PTSO can do. There are no requirements in terms of duties, but with your membership, the PTSO can do more to help positively impact the school, the teachers are able to do more to provide resources to students, and I can do more knowing that I have a ton of additional support to lead South County HS. Now if that doesn't move you,.... Well, it should!
Did you know that we are about to hit our 100th day in school and that there are less than 75 days left in the school year? I wasn’t sure we were going to make it this far, but we have and we are making it work on so many levels. If you have the opportunity to, please give a huge thank you to your child’s teachers for the great work they have done to get us here! I am so very proud of our teachers! The students are alright too!
South County HS will provide a Students Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R) mid-year review for all students by mid-march through their advisory period. All students are expected to participate in the SR&R mid-year review on the date delivered. In the event your child is not able to participate in the presentation, we will schedule another opportunity. Please encourage your child to participate on the initial presentation date because otherwise, they would likely miss class to participate on the make-up date. The SR&R can be accessed online at https://www.fcps.edu/srr if you would like to view it for yourselves.
Reminder that Feb. 25th and 26th are teacher planning days and that students will attend classes asynchronously. There will be actual lessons for students on this day, so students should be sure to log on to each of their classes on these days.
Thank you to one of our awesome librarians, Mrs. Lisa Muir for sharing this news about not just ONE but TWO fantastic news stories out of SCHS this week for the FCPS news page. Congratulations to the DECA and the ELDER OUTREACH Clubs.
See link below:
https://www.fcps.edu/news-and-events
Elder Out Reach Club; https://www.fcps.edu/news/south-county-hs-students-reach-out-retirement-community-residents
DECA: https://www.fcps.edu/news/south-county-deca-recognized-outstanding-school-based-enterprise
Thank you to our teacher mentors who are providing these students with opportunities to do great work in our community.
Here is a bit more student news. On Feb 6th, 3 Science Olympiad teams (45 students) from SOCO participated in the Virginia Regional Science Olympiad Tournament. SOCO students walked away with seventeen medals in all. The team came in 4th place overall and qualified for States competition where fifteen students plus two alternates will now compete on March 20th. Go Stallions! If you see any of these students in your classes, please give them a huge congratulations for their efforts! Also, let’s not forget the club sponsor, Ms. Maerna Kauffman. Way to go Ms. Kauffman!
Congratulations to the following medalists at Regionals:
Anna Patel Sara Michel-Le Ayaan Shaikh
Jai Agarwal MacKenzie Williams Teague Keyser
Katie Lee Lily Lai Elizabeth Erickson
Diya Amat Zoe McDowell Christine Rolfe
Kimberly Haque Bethel Daniel Siya Patel
Zayd Khan Caelan Wommack Rishika Deshmukh
Celia Fujita Niya Guta Asmita Karandikar
Tiffany Doan Matthew McCollum Kush Patel
Here is another bit of news that may put a mile on a lot of faces. We received some VERY preliminary news that talks are happening at the district level about an in-person graduation for our Seniors! Now don’t go quoting me or anything (in fact this message will self-destruct in 30 seconds), but this is being discussed and depending on how the governor views our progress in this pandemic, we could be having a limited participation graduation in June. As will everything else related to this COVID stuff, we all have to do our parts and that means masking up, social distancing, washing hands frequently, dressing properly, etc. So please encourage your children to do whatever they can to Stop The Spread! Let’s put an end to this thing that has had so much perceived control over us.
Lastly, I want to remind you again of the Town Hall Meeting that will be held this week on Wednesday, the 24th at 6:00pm. While we will be talking to the community, you all are more than welcome to attend. The link to the event will be shared sometime in the next couple of days.
Well that is all that I have for you this week. Please continue to take care of yourselves and continue to be safe. #OneStallion
Gary
Military Connections
A special event will be hosted by Ft Belvoir ES for all schools. There is no pre-registration, it is free and all are welcome. This presentation is a licensed curriculum being done throughout Fairfax County and the whole state, but will be customized to include a focus on military families.
Building Resilience and Promoting Healing in Children, Families and Communities
How ACEs Impact Health and Well-Being
Monday, February 22nd: 5pm-6:30pm
Virtual at https://us.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/guest/fb5c3cbe1d8944dbafb170178df44ab0
Contact: Florence Newsome, Parent Liaison, Ft Belvoir Schools fnewsome@fcps.edu or Jenna White, FCCPTA at ticn@fccpta.org.
Testing Corner
Parents of Students in
English 11 and English 11 Honors
The March Writing SOL test is scheduled to take place at South County High School on Monday, March 1 and Monday March 15. Parents and students should have received an email notice regarding the test this week, as well as a Google form to submit regarding your student’s testing preferences. The email and the link to the Google form can also be found here on the SCHS Testing Information web page.
Parents of 11th Grade Students in
AP English Language and Composition
South County High School has received approval from Fairfax County Public Schools to allow students enrolled in AP English Language to substitute a passing score on the AP exam in place of the Writing SOL test if it is still needed for graduation. A score of 2 or above on the AP English Language exam will qualify for a passing score on the Writing SOL test. Parents and students should have received an email notice regarding this option this week, as well as a Google form to opt your student in to take the Writing SOL in March. The email and link can be found here on the SCHS Testing Information page.
Please contact Chris Bird, Assessment Coach, at cwbird@fcps.edu or at 703-446-1643
If you have any further questions.
10th Grade Students and Families of 10th Grade Students
Subject: PSAT 10 Intent to Participate
On Monday, April 19, South County High School tenth graders will have the opportunity to take the PSAT 10. FCPS will cover the cost for any tenth grade student to take this test.
To help the school prepare for testing, families are asked to complete the form below by Friday, March 19. This form asks about participation in the test, the need or bus transportation, and interest in free breakfast or lunch on the day of the test.
South County High School: PSAT 10 Intent to Participate Form (https://forms.gle/zt35XLfQbJWCgYgn8)
A translated version of the form content may be found on the PSAT 10 Intent webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/node/42692). Due to health and safety protocols, FCPS sites cannot accept walk-ins on the day of the exam.
General information about the PSAT 10 test format is available on the College Board webpage (https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10). Monday, April 19 has been designated for independent learning in FCPS high schools, so students who choose to take the PSAT 10 will not miss synchronous instruction or intervention with their teachers.
Note: the PSAT 10 cannot be used for as a qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program. The PSAT/NMSQT must be taken in 11th grade for that qualifying score. The PSAT 10 is also not a requirement for graduation and will have no effect on your student’s grades or cumulative GPA.
For students who want to practice the SAT from the comfort of their own homes, College Board has several SAT Practice tests available on their website.
We will share more details about test day schedules and bus transportation in the coming weeks. FCPS health and safety protocols for PSAT 10 administration are available online (https://www.fcps.edu/node/41891).
If you have questions about the PSAT 10 administration at South County High School, please contact us at Chris Bird, School Test Coordinator, at cwbird@fcps.edu or at 703-446-1643..
Yearbook News and Make-Up Pictures
Underclassmen (9-11) Make-up and Retake Photos
This is the final day for students in grades 9-11 to retake or make-up their photos and be in the yearbook People section.
Underclass Portraits – Make-Ups and Retakes
Monday, February 22
Start - 8:00 am
End - 3:00 pm
Location – Theater
All students must sign up for an appointment time in order to have their pictures taken. Use the form below to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040A4AA8AC2CA1F94-underclassmen1
Visit mylifetouch.com to order pictures.
Enter your Picture Day ID EVTQSM9FD
Order your perfect pakage and don't worry about returning anything on Picture Day!
Senior Picture Sessions- FINAL
All seniors should have been scheduled for a photo session time. These were communicated on the Senior page, on the student news, as well as in English classes. Students who were not included can schedule a time by following the directions below:
Call 410-644-7700 as soon as possible (like today) and Press 1. Then, tell them you want to schedule a photography session. They will ask you what kind of session you want (just a yearbook sitting, or do you want other photos taken as well?) These sessions are at Lifetouch's Annandale location, which is Fire Station 8, 7128 Columbia Pike, Annandale, Va 22003. All students will have the option to use Lifetouch clothing, or their own clothing, or both for photo sessions.
These sessions keep going fast because so many people are trying to coordinate this. Ask for the next available time, and please let Ms. Delinski (jldelinski@fcps.edu) know when you are scheduled so we can ensure your photo is in the yearbook.
Due to the large number of people trying to schedule photos and the constraints due to COVID, these time slots are incredibly difficult to schedule. Please try to attend at your scheduled time.
Ordering Yearbooks and Senior Ads
Yearbooks and Senior Ads are on sale at www.yearbookforever.com . The only way to guarantee you have a book is to pre-order it online. We may have extra books on sale at the end of the year, but can not guarantee it. Last year we sold out, so if you want a book, buy now.
Senior ads will continue to be sold until space runs out. We currently have filled about half the senior ad space. They can also be bought at www.yearbookforever.com
Sharing Pictures
The yearbook is relying heavily on pictures from the community this year, and we really want to represent as many people as possible. If you would like to share photos with the book (especially if you haven’t done so yet), you can email them to Ms. Delinski directly at jldelinski@fcps.edu. Or you can upload them at www.yearbookforever.com, go to South County’s page, and click “Community Upload.” Our access code is SOCO2021
From the PTSO
PTSO Scholarships
The South County High School PTSO is pleased to offer achievement-based scholarships to well-rounded graduating seniors pursuing full-time higher education at a two or four-year college or university or technical/vocational institute. These scholarships are available to PTSO members or children of PTSO members, and award amounts will be $500 each. Student and/or student’s parent/guardian must be a paid member of the South County High School PTSO by April 23 2021. To verify membership status, and download your application, log in to your account using the “Membership Toolkit” app or go to https://southcountyptso.membershiptoolkit.com/home. Any questions can be directed to Melinda Fortunato at melindafortunato@gmail.com.
PTSO General Membership Meeting
The PTSO will be having a general membership meeting Wednesday, February 22nd at 7:00pm via Zoom. We will have a special presentation from our School Psychologist, Ms. Blanchard and Social Worker, Ms. Frost. Along with school updates from our principal. Click here to access the meeting. All are welcome to join!
Senior Families
Senior Yard signs are on sale for $15.00. Log into https://southcountyptso.membershiptoolkit.com/home to buy your yard sign today! This is a great way to support the ANGP and recognize your seniors.
Orders will be accepted until the end of March.
All Night Graduation Party Meeting
We are in the process of planning our ANGP for our seniors. Join us on Wednesday, Feb. 24th at 7pm to be a part of the action! Click here to join the meeting.
New Merchandise Available at the Stallion Spirit Store Website!
South County’s Stallion Spirit Store has a new look in a couple ways! NEW sweatshirts and PJ pants are available on our NEW website! You’ll also find the PDF Order Form for download; invoicing for payment on MySchoolBucks will be sent after your order is fulfilled.
Thank you in advance for supporting the Entrepreneurship & Marketing program as well as the Work and Transition program here at South County. The students from these programs typically work the Spirit Kiosk at lunches to build customer service skills as well as count inventory and review financial records. These work-based learning opportunities allow students to connect classroom lessons to actual scenarios. This year, the students will still review the financial records and inventory while virtual as well as create promotions and research new merchandise options.
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