McLean HS: Dr. Reilly's Monday Message 10/25/2021

Important Upcoming Dates

October - 26 - Book Talk - Virtual

October 27 - PTSA Meeting Virtual

October 29 - End of 1st Quarter - 2-hour early release

November 1 & 2 - Teacher Work Days/Student Holidays

November 4 - Diwali - Religious and Cultural Observance Day

November 8 - Partners for Safe Teen Driving

November 11 - Veteran's Day - 2-hour early release

November 24-26 - Thanksgiving Break

December 8 - Bodhi Day - Religious and Cultural Observance Day

December 20-31 - Winter Break

June 1 - Graduation at 2:30 at Constitution Hall


Links

Bell Schedule

Schoology Information

MySchoolBucks

ParentVue Information

Recordings 

Schoology Training - recording

Back to School Night


Gradebook

ParentVue and StudentVue will close this Friday at 4PM and reopens November 13 at 6AM.


Halloween - October 29 - two-hour early release

We enjoy Halloween at McLean.  Our teachers will be dressed up, and we will hold our yearly competition between departments.  While we like our students to also dress up, we want to ensure that they follow the dress code as well.  All costumes must be school appropriate and we can not have any costume that conceals a student's identity.  While we all have face masks on, we cannot have costumes that cover the head and face entirely.

October 29 is a two-hour early release.  You can find the bell schedule here.


Upcoming General PTSA Meeting

Date: Wednesday, October 27th

Time: 7:00pm-8:15pm

Use this Zoom link to participate in the PTSA meeting

** In case you need it: the Meeting ID is : 954 9956 8462 and the Passcode is: 884229. If you will join by phone dial: +1 301 715 8592

Meeting minutes from the last General PTSA Membership meeting can be found here.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the PTSA President at president@mcleanptsa.org.


Governor's School Information

The 2022 Virginia Summer Residential Governor’s School is beginning its application process. This one-month summer program is for highly motivated current 10th and 11th grade students seeking an intellectually challenging and enriching summer experience. Programs are offered in Visual and Performing Arts, World Languages, Agriculture, Humanities, Math/Science/Technology, Medicine/Health Science, Engineering, and Marine Science. The selection process is extremely competitive. Selected students usually rank in the top 10% of their class and have scored in the 90th percentile or above on standardized tests. Residential programs run from late June to late July. Only students who are available during that time frame and whose records match these criteria should apply. You are only permitted to apply to one SRGS program. 

Ms. McNeill will hold an interest meeting for Visual & Performing Arts Governor’s Schools at 3:00 on Wednesday, October 27 in the Career Center located in Student Services.

Mr. Allman will hold an interest meeting for Academic Governor’s Schools at 3:00 on Wednesday, November 3 in the Career Center located in Student Services. 

Ms. McNeill will hold an interest meeting for World Language Governor’s Schools at 3:00 on Wednesday, November 10 in the Career Center located in Student Services. 

For additional information please visit the VDOE and FCPS links below: 

Students interested in Academic SRGS programs will need to complete this Student Interest Form by November 9, 2021. 

Students interested in Visual and Performing Arts SRGS programs will need to complete this Student Interest Form by November 9, 2021. 

Students interested in the World Language Governor’s Academies are asked to complete this WLGA Student Interest Form by November 19, 2021. 

VDOE SRGS website: 

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/governors_school_programs/summer_residential/index.shtml

FCPS SRGS website: 

https://www.fcps.edu/node/32439


Food Deliveries

Students may not have outside businesses, such as Uber eats, DoorDash and pizza restaurants, deliver food to the school.  The main reason for this is student safety.  Students have gone outside to meet the drivers and are propping doors open to get back in the building.  This presents many concerns for us.  First, students are exiting the building to meet complete strangers on campus.  Additionally, doors are being left open allowing anyone to enter our building. Please talk to your child about maintaining a safe environment at school.

Remaining consistent with other high schools and for maintaining the safety of all of our staff and students, McLean administrators and security personnel will confiscate any food that has been delivered to the school.  All food that is confiscated may be picked up after school from the Security Office. 

Please remember that FCPS is providing free lunch and breakfast for every student.

We appreciate your support in maintaining the safety of our students and staff.


The Fairfax County Youth Survey - 10th and 12th Graders

Impact Aid Survey forms were distributed to all students on Monday, October 25th.  Students should turn the completed form into their 3rd period teacher no later than Friday, October 29th.  

Returning this form is important because information from this survey results in an additional $3 million in grants each year from the U.S. Department of Education.  These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers.  

For each school-aged child in your household, please complete, sign, date, and return the survey to your child’s school.  If sections 1 and 2 of the survey do not apply to you, just check the boxes in Section 3.  All results are confidential.  

More information is available online.


Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid

Beginning on October 13, FCPS will be asking all families to fill out a Student-Parent Survey for Federal Impact Aid.

Returning this form is important because information from this survey results in an additional $3 million in grants each year from the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers.

For each school-aged child in your household, please complete, sign, date, and return the survey to your child's school. If sections 1 and 2 of the survey do not apply to you, just check the boxes in Section 3. All forms must be signed, dated, and returned by November 5. All results are confidential

More information is available online.


Mask Policy

Book Talk - Virtual

The authors of the new parenting book What Do You Say? How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and  Happy Home will be speaking to McLean parents on Tuesday, October 26 from 6:30 – 8 PM.  This event has been changed from an in-person event to a virtual event.

Dr. William Stixrud and Mr. Ned Johnson, who also wrote The Self-Driven Child, are parenting experts who live in the DC Metro area.  Their latest book provides much-needed practical parenting tips as our children come back to school.  Parents learn how to engage in respectful and effective dialogue with their teens, improving communication and the parent-child relationship.  Boundaries around technology, family problem-solving, and anxiety around current events are addressed.

We invite all parents of McLean students to hear the authors speak!  Purchasing the book is not required, but if parents do want to purchase they can do so at this link.  Please fill out this google form to register for the event.  Those who register will receive an email with a link to attend on the day of the event.   Thank you and we look forward to “seeing” you there!


World Languages Credit Exam Registration Open

The 2021 World Languages Credit Exam will be administered on November 16, 17 and 18, 2021.  Students who have experience with languages other than English can earn up to three high school credits through this assessment. Thirty languages will be included: American Sign Language, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi, French, German, Greek*, Hebrew*, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese*, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya, Turkish*, Twi, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Please reach out to your school counselor for more information and to get registered. Registration closes on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 4:00 p.m.  Late registrations will not be accepted. Additional credit exam information can be accessed at: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/high-school-academics-9-12/world-languages/credit-exam-world-languages


Weekly Reminders

Partners for Safe Teen Driving - Virtual

McLean High School will be offering Partners for Safe Teen Driving (PSTD) seminars throughout the school year. All students enrolled in classroom driver education must attend one 90-minute PSTD presentation. The presentation is connected to classroom instruction and must be completed in addition to successful completion of classroom instruction in order for a student to receive a DEC-District 8 (pink) card.

McLean High School’s dates for the 2021-2022 calendar year are:

November 8

February 7

April 18

To register for the October 4 PSTD seminar, students can register with a parent or legal guardian here. To access the registration form, students must be logged into their fcpsschools.net account.

All seminars will be held from 6:30-8:00 PM virtually via Schoology Zoom. Registrants will receive an email with the PSTD ZOOM Meeting Link prior to the meeting. We encourage registrants to enter the meeting ten minutes prior to the meeting to avoid technical issues. Attendees who arrive late will NOT BE allowed entry and WILL NOT earn credit for attending. Students and a minimum of one of their parent/guardian(s) must attend a presentation during the calendar year in which the student is enrolled in 10th grade Health and PE. While it is recommended that the PSTD seminar requirement be satisfied during the quarter in which the student is taking classroom driver education, students are welcome to attend any quarter. Important: Students who successfully complete their classroom driver education quarter but have not satisfied the PSTD requirement will have earned an Incomplete for the class grade until the requirement is met.

This program is only available to FCPS students enrolled in grade 10 health and physical education at no charge. Students who are completing classroom instruction through a commercial driving school, are home schooled, are enrolled in another school division, or are FCPS students in grade 11 or 12 must register to attend the 90-minute PSTD seminar through FCPS Adult and Community Education (aceclasses.fcps.edu); a $30 fee will apply. Students enrolled in grade 10 health and physical education do not have to register.


Helping Highlanders

Helping Highlanders

McLean HS Tech Support for Students

If you are experiencing issues with your FCPS issued laptop, please use the link below to enter your information.  The tech support team will then get back to you as soon as possible.

We will continue to support students remotely as much as possible. If a computer has been identified as needing hands-on repair, we will schedule an appointment for you to come to the school to exchange it.  

Description:  This form should be filled out by a student if they are experiencing issues with their FCPSOn laptop.

Please click on the link below to access the Tech Support Request Form.

Parent/Student Support Portal Link:

https://itweb.fcps.edu/itsupport/


Social-Emotional Support Information

Mental Health and Wellness Support Services and Resources

McLean’s Clinical Staff are available to consult with parents and students regarding mental health related concerns and behaviors.  They are also able to provide community resources as needed.  Please see their contact information below:

Carol Ann Forrest, School Psychologist, CMForrest@fcps.edu

Beverly Parker-Lewis, School Psychologist, baparkerlewi@fcps.edu

Marly Jerome-Featherson, School Social Worker, mjeromefeath@fcps.edu

For more Mental Health and Wellness Information, please check out these Student Wellness Resources, FCPS’s  Healthy Minds Blog and the FCPS’s Parent Resource Center.


 Emergency Resources

Crisis Link Regional Hotline            703-527-4077

Crisis Text                                       Text NEEDHELP to 85511

Dominion Hospital Emergency       703-536-2000

INOVA Emergency                         703-289-7560

Merrifield Center Emergency         703-573-5979  TTY dial 711

Life Threatening                             911


FCPS Cares

FCPS Cares

Do you know a McLean High School or FCPS employee who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way or goes beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to share with everyone.