Important Dates
- 1/12 - Curriculum Night (6:15 pm, see updated announcement below)
- 1/17 - Holiday - Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday
- 1/19 - Religious/Cultural Observance - Orthodox Epiphany
- 1/19 - Partners for Safe Teen Driving (6:00 pm, see announcement below)
- 1/20 - End of 2nd Quarter (2 Hr. Early Release)
- 1/21 - Teacher Workday/Student Holiday
- 1/24 - Student Holiday
- 6/2 - Graduation (2:00 pm)
Useful Links/Information
FCHS Bell Schedule
Schoology
SIS ParentVUE
FCPS Return to School
FCPS Health & Safety Guidance Document
Navigating the January 2022 COVID Surge
FCPS has been working hard to prepare for staffing shortages with the recent COVID surge. These shortages will impact schools in every way, from classroom instruction to operations.
Below is the FCPS plan to provide instruction as we return from this extended winter break.
Classroom Coverage: When a classroom teacher is out, we will consider providing sub coverage in the following order:
- a substitute teacher from the sub pool
- another teacher or staff member
- Central Office volunteer subs who have instructional experience
- Grouping multiple classes to provide supervision during asynchronous instruction.
Teachers will be reminded to upload classroom materials to Schoology, when students need to access lessons asynchronously.
Transportation: Staffing shortages are impacting our operational staff as well. Expect that there will be delays in bus routes with more double-backs that may mean students will arrive after the bell. We will adjust instruction to ensure that no student is missing important classroom time. Access the Bus Delay App to receive current bus delay information. When possible, please consider driving to school, or walking or biking if you are nearby.
Food Services: Breakfast before school and lunch service has not been impacted at this time, but it is possible that with greater staff absences, we may need to change to providing bag lunches, instead of the regular menu.
Health and Safety: Below are some ways that you can partner with us to keep our schools safe and open for learning.
- Keep your children home when sick.
- We encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated or boosted, which is the best protection against serious illness caused by COVID-19.
- Sign your child up for optional screening testing and make use of our diagnostic testing if your child has symptoms.
- Remind your child about our layered prevention strategies including proper mask wearing, hand washing and using hand sanitizer.
- Be sure your child brings home their laptop and charger every night.
Supporting Our Classrooms: Apply to be a substitute teacher. Watch for emails from your school leadership for other volunteer opportunities.
FCPS will follow this operational plan for the next 2-3 weeks. During this time, we must adjust our expectations about instruction and give our staff the space needed to make adjustments and on the spot decisions needed to combat this COVID spike.
Please know that while things will not be perfect, we are all doing our best. We are all in this together as a community, and it will take all of us to keep our schools open.
Updated Health & Safety Guidance
Effective January 10
This new guidance is effective Monday, January 10, 2022. The information provided below provides a summary of the updates. Please reference the FCPS Health and Safety Guidance for additional details.
New Guidance for Returning to School After Quarantine, Pause, or Isolation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance for isolation and quarantine in late December, with multiple updates in January. This guidance reduces isolation and quarantine to five days. The VDH states that school districts may choose to continue more stringent isolation and quarantine requirements or may implement the new CDC guidance.
FCPS will adopt the new guidance with one exception:
- FCPS will adopt CDC’s recommendation for a five-day period of quarantine for students and staff.
- FCPS will adopt CDC’s recommendation for a five-day period of isolation for staff.
- FCPS will NOT adopt CDC’s recommendation for isolation for students as we are unable to implement the required physical distancing protocols during meals. FCPS students with COVID- 19 will need to continue to complete a ten day isolation period.
Return Guidance for Students with COVID-19
Students who are COVID-19 positive are able to return to school when ALL of the following criteria are met:
- Student completes at least 10 days of isolation from symptom onset for symptomatic students or 10 days since testing positive (day test administered) for COVID-19 for asymptomatic students; AND
- Student is fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication; AND
- Student’s symptoms have improved; AND
- Student submits the FCPS Isolation Letter with the return date to their attending school
Return Guidance for Students who are Close Contacts to School Related Exposures
Asymptomatic students who are close contacts and required to quarantine are able to return to school when all the criteria for one of the two options below is met:
- Option 1:
- Student completes five days of quarantine; AND
- Student is asymptomatic; AND
- Student is able to wear a face mask at school- Day 6 thru 10 ; AND
- Student submits FCPS Pause Letter with the return date to their attending school
- Option 2:
- Student completes ten days of quarantine; AND
- Student submits FCPS Pause Letter with the return date to their attending school
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Students with mask exemptions will need to utilize Option 2 to return from quarantine.
Some students and staff may be exempt from quarantine if they meet the CDC criteria, are able to wear a face mask, and are asymptomatic:
- Students must complete the FCHD vaccination survey, and receive a clearance email from the FCHD prior to resuming in-person learning and activities.
- Staff must complete the Fully Vaccinated Exemption Form
Return Guidance for Students who are Close Contacts to Community Related Exposures
NEW! FCPS will no longer require Return to School documentation for a student deemed a close contact outside of the school environment, in the community. FCPS recommends that families adhere to the Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) quarantine guidance, as appropriate. If families have questions regarding COVID-19, they are encouraged to consult their physician or the Fairfax County Health Department.
Updated Health and Safety Guidance Documents
The best source of the most up-to-date information, including how students return to school after quarantine or isolation, is available on the Health and Safety Guidance Document on the FCPS website.
FCPS staff should refer to resources on the Employee Hub for updated guidelines to return to work.
Falls Church High School Curriculum Night - UPDATED
January 5, 2022 January 12, 2022 at 6:15pm
We wanted to share with you that the first event to begin our academic advising timeline will be our curriculum night on January 5, 2022. The virtual event will be hosted by our Principal, Director of Student Services, Academy Administrator, and department representatives.
Who: Parents of 8th, 9th, 10th, & 11th graders
When: January 12, 2022, 6:15pm - 8:30pm
Where: Virtual Link to be shared prior on January 11, 2022. This event is NOT in-person. (Habrá interpretación al español)
What: Curriculum night is a presentation to families regarding course selection information, diploma requirements, Academy opportunities and curriculum information such as AP and honors levels.
Why: Your child will be selecting his/her/their courses for the next school year; this presentation offers information on making the best choices for a successful school year.
Questions can be directed to Jessica Grenfell. A similiar presentation will be shared with students during advisory on January 13th. However, we recommend if they are available they join you to watch the Curriculum presentation.
High School Athletics Spectators
No General Admission to High School Athletics through Friday January 14th
High School Athletics will continue with limited spectators. There will be no general admission to any sports contests through Friday, January 14th. Spectators will be limited to family members of both the home and visiting teams and select guests as determined by the Principal and Director of Student Activities.
Livestreaming of athletic events is available through the NFHS network. Sign up for a free account and watch Falls Church athletics by visiting https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/
Partners for Safe Teen Driving
The PSTD Meetings for FCHS are scheduled for the following dates. Please be sure to attend one meeting to fulfill your driver’s education requirement.
- January 19th 6:00m
- February 23rd 6:00pm
- May 11th 6:00pm
All of these meetings will be virtual and your 10th grade Health and PE teacher will provide details for signing up!
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FCPS Cares
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HS or FCPS employee who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way or goes
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