Weekly News From South County High School

From the Principal

Family,

Let me begin this week’s message with an acknowledgement of the work our outstanding staff continues to do with our students, especially during this COVID year.  This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and it is unfortunate that we only dedicate a week to highlighting our appreciation of this group, but let me thank all of you who have assisted us in taking time to share our appreciation for their efforts.  This past week we have had donations come in for raffles, two staff luncheons, celebrations of staff through trivia games, additional treats delivered from community members, and a number of personal messages to staff from Families.  It was truly great to see the staff’s smiling eyes behind their masks this week.  I know that I am going to work to be more intentional in my work to remind these professionals just how much I recognize how much of their hearts they pour into our building daily going forward!

I had the opportunity to watch the theatre production, “Bad Auditions on Camera: A Stay at Home Play”.  It was a hoot!  The students both in front of and behind the camera did an excellent job!  I am so envious of their talent; but even more proud to be associated with these fantastic thespians!  I hope that you were able to view it.  You too would be proud!

As we look forward to the end of this school year and then on to the start of a new school year, we must assess our inventory of technology among other things.  There are a number of Families who were provided the Mi-Fi (portable internet) devices for home internet access, and we would like to ensure that those devices that are out are actually being used.  If your Family has a Mi-Fi device and are no longer using it, please return that device to school so that we may repurpose that technology to a Family in need of it.  We appreciate your assistance with this.

Speaking of next year, here is a bit of “heads-up” information around immunizations that are required for school entry.  Please do your best to ensure that your children are properly immunized for the upcoming year.

Effective July 1, 2021, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) will require new school entry immunizations. All grade levels will be affected by these additional immunizations.

Required for School Entry:

  • A minimum of two doses of Hepatitis (A) vaccine are required: For SY 2021/2022, Kindergarten students must have two doses of Hepatitis A.
  • A minimum of two doses of Meningococcal (MenACWY) vaccine are required: For SY 2021/2022, 7th grade students must have one dose and 12th grade students must have one dose. 
  • A minimum of one dose of Rotavirus (RV) vaccine is required: One dose is required for students less than eight months of age.

Recommended but NOT REQUIRED for School Entry:

  • A complete series of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended The minimum age for the initial dose is nine years.  The first dose is recommended for ALL (boys and girls) students entering 7th grade. The parent or guardian, at their sole discretion, may elect for the student not to receive the HPV series. Parent/guardian HPV opt-out documentation is not required.

The SOL’s are right around the corner, and I would like to share that schedule with you. 

Monday, 5/17

Tuesday, 5/18

Wednesday, 5/19

Thursday, 5/20

Friday, 5/21

SOL Biology

SOL Chemistry

SOL Geosystems

SOL Reading

SOL Geometry

SOL Algebra 2

SOL Algebra 1

Normal Schedule

Normal Schedule

No In-House Remediation

Catch-Up Day

No In-Person Instruction

Catch-Up Day

No In-Person Instruction

 

 

 

Students who do not have an SOL on the days listed above should not come to school, but should work on any work that they may need to catch up on.

The make-up schedule and other testing information related to SOL testing can be found here.

I am hoping that each of you who have students who will be returning in the fall (grades 9-11), received and had the opportunity to review the information sent out from the district about the plans the county has in place around virtual instruction for next year, and the process for applying for access to it.  As always, I am going to speak honestly about this.  I truly want every student to be back in the building to access instruction in a face-to-face capacity.  I do understand, and will support any student who may truly need a virtual option due to a medical issue.  But for every other student, I believe that the best instruction will be delivered in person and I hope that all your students will be able to take advantage of our learning environment in this manner.  If you did not receive this information from FCPS, you can find it here.  If you are intending on applying to have your child remain virtual for next year, please complete this intent form.

For our Senior parents, we just received some unfortunate information from Jiffy Lube Live about their social distancing requirements.  They have informed us that their health department folks have shared that the social distancing will remain at 6’ when thought that it would be relaxed to 3’.  This will change our seating arrangements for our students and Families, but will still allow for students to receive between 4 and 5 tickets which is where we initially thought we would be.  The one thing this does do is push some of the tickets on to the lawn area which still provides everyone with a good seat considering that there are two huge screens to view the ceremony as well.  We will make this work for our students, and we have to keep in mind that this is all about the students.  I am asking that our Senior Families complete an intent form for attendance to the graduation ceremony for planning purposes which will allow us to maximize the space we are allotted at the venue.  This form has already been distributed to your children to ensure that everyone is reached.  We will assume that those who do not respond will be attending. I will be sharing additional information concerning the ticketing in a future message.  I would also like to add that the best place to keep up with information concerning graduation and end of year activities for the Senior Class is https://sites.google.com/view/soco2021/home.

As I wrap this up I would like to again thank everyone who was able to donate to help us celebrate our awesome teachers this past week.  They were very touched and I am just as touched by all of the outreach that you all did for them.  Lastly, I want to wish all of our mothers a very Happy Mother’s Day (and our fathers who have to play mother every now and then).  Thank you for being great parents and for sharing your children with us!  Take care and continue to be safe.  We are almost there! #OneStallion

Gary


In This Issue:

  • Message From The Principal
  • Testing Corner
  • Finance Info For Senior Families
  • Senior Class Info
  • PTSO News
  • Activities Office - *NEW* 2021 VHSL Physical



Testing Corner

 

Advanced Placement Testers and Families

All AP Exam testers received a email this week regarding the AP Digital App. It is important that all testers download the Digital App, login in, and practice using the Digital Testing App in advance of the AP tests in the coming weeks. Parents – please check with you students to make sure that they have downloaded and are using the Digital Testing App.

All AP testers – make sure that you have a viable email address attached to your College Board account in order to make sure you receive valuable information from College Board and Mr. Bird, the AP Test Coordinator.

In lieu of traditional “excused absences” forms that have been used in the past, students registered to take an AP exam will be marked as TST (excused for testing) in SIS on the days a student has a scheduled AP exam, whether it is at home digitally or in-person at school.

Testers taking an in-person test – you will receive your room assignments via email one week before your scheduled test date.  If you have any further questions, please email Mr. Bird at cwbird@fcps.edu

 

SOL End-Of-Course Exams

Because of the unique environment we are currently in, SOL End-Of-Course exams will be focused on three days in May. On May 18 and May 19, all students will have asynchronous “catch-up days” at home – there will be no in-person or synchronous instruction on May 18 and 19.  Please see the schedule below:

All SOL testers and their families should have received an email this week with their SOL testing dates and times. If an SOL test is in need of bus transportation for their SOL exams, they need to fill out the South County HS SOL Transportation form immediately. Room assignments for SOL testers will be emailed out to students by May 10. For additional questions regarding the SOL End-Of-Course tests, please contact your school counselor or Chis Bird, School Test Coordinator, at cwbird@fps.edu.

 

 


FINANCE MESSAGE

TO ALL

SENIOR FAMILIES

A few important dates and reminders for all Senior Families. The finance office will not accept checks from Seniors after May 1st. All Senior dues, class fees, outstanding obligations and any prior year textbooks need to be resolved NLT May 14th or this may impact students from receiving their cap and gowns. Debt notices were mailed home before Spring Break to students who have outstanding obligations in Textbook Tracker. If you received a notice, please mail a check along with the debt notice to the school. Checks can be made payable to: SCHS and mailed to South County High School, ATTN: Finance Office, 8501 Silverbrook Road, Lorton VA 22079.

There may be other fees due, such as unpaid senior dues, transcript fees, library fines, lost laptops or chargers, or fees for specific classes. These fees should be paid using My School Bucks (MSB). Class fees will have an invoice in MSB, the other items can be found in the School Store in MSB.

For planning purposes, we will begin Senior collection of laptops and current year textbooks on June 1 – June 4 (time TBD). If these items are not returned on time they will convert to a debt and will also impact them from receiving their cap and gown during Graduation rehearsal on June 7th.

   


Senior Class of 2021!

Our graduation is scheduled!   

June 10, 2021 @ Jiffy Lube Live starting at 2pm. 

Get ready and more information is forthcoming. 

Also, your "Last Ride" class T-shirts are in. They are super soft and very well done. Thanks to your very own Tim Turner for designing the shirts.  We hope that you will pick one up during our next class event.

$50 senior class dues that covers all graduation apparel and venues is past due as of 3/31.  Please make sure you have paid it prior to 4/14 or make payment arrangement with Mrs. Naghmi.

 

Senior Class of 2021 Website

Please visit our senior class of 2021 website for more information regarding senior year (dues, cap and gown orders, etc.) https://sites.google.com/view/soco2021/home” 


From the PTSO

All Night Graduation Party Tickets- ON SALE TODAY!

 

ANGP will be hosted at The ST James Entertainment and Sports Complex on June 7th from 11pm-5am. Click here to register and find out more about this fun event. Get your tickets today before price goes up!

Price:

$60: 3/16-3/31

$70: 4/1 - 5/15

$85: 5/16 - 6/1

PTSO Committee Positions OPEN! SY 2021-2022

We have some committee positions open for next school year. Consider signing up for one of these great volunteer opportunities. Click here to sign up today! Email pres@southcountyptso.org with any questions.

Become a part of the Stallion Brick Wall of Fame

This is a great opportunity to honor and celebrate your child’s SCHS experience—especially if you have a graduating senior!  The "Walk of Fame" is located inside the SCHS Football Stadium, surrounding the Stallion statues by the concession stand. Funds raised from the brick sales support the PTSO.  

Bricks can be engraved with up to three lines of text and two emblems. To see the emblems available and get ordering instructions, go to http://southcountyptso.org/stallion-walk-of-fame/

 


From the Activities Office:

 

*NEW* 2021 VHSL Physical Form

The VHSL released a new physical form that all students must have filled out in order to participate in our athletic program for the 2021 – 2022 school year. This form and directions on how it can be turned in to the Activities Office can be found at www.stallionnation.com.

 

Pre-sale Online Ticketing for Spring Sports

This spring will be our very first season of using a brand new interface for purchasing tickets for South County sporting events (Softball, Baseball, Lacrosse, Soccer and Track), ETix. ETix will allow our fans to purchase tickets online, prior to any game, match, or meet hosted at South County High School. To purchase tickets in advance, use this link to select the event for which you want tickets, then use your credit card information to purchase the number of tickets you want. You will receive a confirmation email for your purchase, and you will pull up that email on your phone to present to the ticket booth, scanning your ticket. This same procedure will also be used for those who wish to make credit card purchases for tickets at the gate on the day of the event.

If you have any questions about these procedures, please contact Terri Smith at tasmith1@fcps.edu.

If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to email me any time! 

 

*New* Live Streaming for Spring Sports – NFHS Network

South County is proud to announce that we have partnered with the NFHS Network, and we've invested in new technology that will bring you every game from our Gym and Main Stadium Venues LIVE.

Join the NFHS Network for full access to:

  • All South County HS live and on-demand sports broadcasts
  • All other sporting events from around the Nation
  • Friends and family members who can’t make the game will never miss a play again! 
  • Here's how to watch:
  • 1) Visit www.NFHSnetwork.com
  • 2) Search for South County High School and go to our page
  • 3) Subscribe and Follow
  • Thank you for your continued support of Stallion Athletics. We look forward to bringing you top-notch broadcasts of our athletic events!

New Merchandise Available

at the

Stallion Spirit Store Website!

South County’s Stallion Spirit Store is open virtually with NEW merchandise available on our NEW website! You’ll find the Order Form with directions on how to return; once the order is filled, payment can be made on MySchoolBucks and picked up at the school.

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.

   

merchandise

Visit the Stallion Spirit Store Website!

   


MOMNetwork, LLC

Celebrating Ramadan and need support?

Ramadan will start on April 12, 2021, depending on the new moon, which indicates the beginning of a new lunar month, is sighted. During this time, Muslims will be fasting for 29 to 30 days between sunrise to sunset.
Several organizations will be providing free food, programs for families, service projects, and so much more. We've designed a list of resources. If you are interested in submitting or benefiting from any of these resources, contact us at info@momnetworkusa.com or 703-579-7149   www.momnetworkusa.com

 


Basketball

 

South County High School

2021 Summer Basketball Camp

Sponsored by

South County Athletic Booster Club

 

Who: Basketball Enthusiasts ages 7-15

What: Boys’ Basketball Camp

  • Daily Skill Instruction from SC Coaches & Players
  • 5 on 5 League Play & Championship Tournament
  • 1 on 1 Tournament
  • Hot Shot Contest
  • Free Throw Contest
  • Individual & Team Awards
  • Free Camp T-Shirt

Where: South County HS Gym (Entrance #12)

When: June 21–25 & June 28–July 2; 9am-3pm

Cost: $195 (Save $20 if you sign up for both sessions)

Checks payable to SCABC Attn: BOYS BASKETBALL or Online at www.Stallionsboysbasketball.com

Bring: Basketball shoes, athletic shorts & t-shirt, Face Mask

Campers may bring a lunch or purchase one from the CONCESSION STAND

Need More Info?

Contact Coach Mike Robinson – Camp Director

MikeRob251@gmail.com

(703) 725.1774

www.Stallionboysbasketball.com

   

Basketball 2