McLean HS: Dr. Reilly's Monday Message 1/3/2022

Important Upcoming Dates

January 6 - Three Kings Day\Epiphany

January 7 - Orthodox Christmas

January 17 - Martin Luther King Day - Holiday

January 20 - End of 2nd quarter - 2-hour early release

January 21 - Teacher Workday/Student Holiday

January 24 - Teacher Workday/Student Holiday

January 26 - Book Talk for Parents

June 1 - Graduation at 2:30 at Constitution Hall


Links

2022 Bell Schedule

Schoology Information

MySchoolBucks

ParentVue Information

Recordings 

Schoology Training - recording

Back to School Night


Happy Snow Day!

Enjoy these pics of McLean High School's faculty, staff, kids and pets enjoying an unexpected snow day!

Snow Day

COVID-19 Screening Testing

Parents and guardians can use the secure online portal to register their child(ren). If you do not want your child to participate, no action is required. You will have the option to update your child’s vaccination status and/or withdraw consent for testing anytime.

Student-athletes do not need to pre-register with the LTS online portal for screening testing, they will use a separate portal provided by their school’s student activities director.

For more information on student COVID-19 testing, visit the FCPS website.


Preparing to Come Back to School

Please take some time to discuss with your student(s) the following reminders:

  • Stress the proper use of masks at all times.
  • Wash hands and use hand sanitizer that is in every classroom and in various places around the school.
  • Students should bring home their laptops daily, with power cord, and any learning materials that may be needed in the event that a class or a student may need to be virtual for a period of time.

Computer Updates

If you have not turned on your laptop over the break, please follow these steps to ensure that you receive any necessary updates that may have been deployed:

  1. Plug in the laptop using the charging cable.
  2. Power on the laptop.
  3. Leave the laptop on and let it sit overnight tonight while connected to your home WiFi.   

Password Recovery:

If forgotten, students can use the link below to reset their password.  If you are unable to recover your password, please stop by the Tech Center located in the McLean HS Library during school hours.  Also, please pay attention to the note that follows the password recovery instructions.

CHANGE/RESET YOUR PASSWORD

Go to the FCPS Account Recovery Website

  1.   Enter your Student ID
  2.   Select your Recovery Option
  3.   Click Get Code
  4.   Click the reset password link that was sent to your phone or e-mail
  5.   Follow the on screen directions to complete the changing/recovery of your password

Note: If you change/reset your password from home, you must bring your laptop to any FCPS school parking lot, get as close to the building as possible, and sign into the laptop one time with your updated password for the laptop password to be updated. Otherwise, only your password to online resources will be updated and the logon password to the computer will not be updated until the next time you login onsite/at school.


Book Talk for Parents

This past October, the authors of the book What Do You Say? How to Talk with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home spoke to McLean and Longfellow parents virtually.  They offered much-needed practical parenting tips as our children came back to school.

On Wednesday, January 26, Kathleen Otal, one of McLean’s school counselors, will be hosting a book talk for interested Longfellow and McLean parents.  We will discuss the first half of the book as well as share struggles, ideas, and tips with one another regarding our own children and parenting experiences.  The event will take place in McLean’s Lecture Hall from 6:30 – 8:00 PM.

If you are interested in attending this book talk, please register here.  If you need to purchase the book, you can do so here.

If you have not seen the author talk from October 2021, you can do so here.

Please contact Kathleen Otal, McLean School Counselor, for more information.  We hope to see you there!


SAT Accommodations - Deadline January 4

Students with disabilities who have testing accommodations documented in a 504 Plan or an individualized education program (IEP) may be eligible for testing accommodations on the Advanced Placement (AP) exams. The College Board must approve a formal request for each student. Please note that testing accommodations listed on IEPs or 504s are not automatically granted by the College Board for AP testing, so families must apply separately to the College Board. If a student already has College Board accommodations approved from a previous PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, SAT, or AP test, then no further action is needed. Once instated, accommodations remain in place for all College Board testing. Students who would like to apply to the College Board for testing accommodations must submit application forms to the school before January 4, 2022 to meet the College Board deadline.   Please visit the McLean Testing page  for more information and application forms.


Bell Schedules

This school year we started with a bell schedule that allowed 10-minutes of passing to allow more time for students to get back into the groove of school, and we were thinking that this longer passing time would provide more room for social distancing in our halls.  However, what we have noticed is that students have been hanging out in the halls with friends and not getting to class on time.   As a result, we have decided to get in line with other schools across the county and create a 7-minute passing time in the halls.  This bell schedule is the same passing time as we had prior to schools closing down in 2020.  This will start when we return on January 3.  Please see attached schedule.

Additionally, before the beginning of first block, the halls have been quite crowded with students coming to school late.  These students drive themselves to school or have been dropped off by parents.  If you are a person who falls in the category, please plan accordingly and leave for school ten minutes earlier than your current departure time.  Our hope is to start 2022 off to a great positive start for all of our students!

All bell schedules can be found on this link. Go to printable schedules to find the two-hour delay schedule and the two-hour early release schedule.

Please find the two-hour delay opening bell schedule here.


2022 VA School Survey of Climate & Working Conditions

This spring our school, in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Virginia Department of Education, is conducting the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions of students, classroom instructors, and staff. The purpose of this survey is to measure student support, student engagement, school discipline, and safety conditions in each school. This information will be used to guide educational practices that produce a safe and supportive school environment.      

The survey will be completed online between January 10, 2022 and February 4, 2022. The survey does not ask for your child’s name and all answers are anonymous (no one will know how your child answered the survey). Parents and guardians will not have access to their child’s survey answers. You may review the student survey at this website: https://tinyurl.com/VaSchoolSurvey.

The survey will ask questions such as how students feel about their school, how students get along with one another and their teachers, how students feel about school rules, and their perceptions of their teachers’ willingness to help them. Students will also be asked what kinds of bullying they may have observed during school and whether they have been bullied themselves.

All students in your child's grade level will be eligible to participate in the survey. Students participating in remote instruction and in-person instruction are both eligible to participate. The survey is voluntary and your child can decide not to participate. No action will be taken against you, your child, or the school if your child does not participate. If you do not wish for your child to participate, please notify the school office by telephone or letter by Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

Your child will not receive any immediate benefit from participating in the survey, but the survey will help us to maintain a safe, inviting, and supportive learning environment for your child.


PSAT Scores

Students are expected to have access to their October 13, 2021 PSAT scores on either December 6th or 7th. Students can access their scores by logging into studentscores.collegeboard.org. Students who do not already have College Board accounts will be prompted to create an account, which will be useful for PSAT, SAT, and AP exam notifications. Students should use a personal email address, not their fcpsschools.net email address, for their College Board accounts, as emails from the College Board may be blocked. Please contact your student’s school counselor with questions about the PSAT.


MHS Toy Drive

Thanks to everyone who donated toys and books to Housing Up! Thanks to our SGA and Cancer Kids First for adding to the donations. Your donations made a positive impact on families in need!


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:

February 7

April 18

To register for the February 7th 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.