Annandale Community Insider - End of the Year!

Annandale Students, Parents and Community:

“The hallmark, the heart and the foundation of Annandale is its ability to bring together over 60 languages spoken, a plethora of nationalities, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic status – and inevitably, perspectives.” said Lauryn Mills, President of the Class of 2022 in her graduation speech. And while this is true of Annandale in any year, I have never been more proud of the strength we have shown as a community than this past year.

Despite facing unprecedented challenges, this year was a tremendous success. Based upon our recent SOL scores, we performed at the highest level, even exceeding pre-pandemic pass rates in certain subjects. Even more important than our pass rates, however, is the way we continue to grow as a professional learning community.

Teacher teams met multiple times each week to collaboratively plan lessons, create common assessments and respond to student data. When planning high quality instruction, our focus was on learning targets to guide student learning and academic tasks or the level of thinking students are expected to do. Finally, and most important, was our priority of relationships and support. Teachers focused on building relationships, and supporting social emotional growth, especially during W4, our advisory period. For students who struggled academically as we returned to in-person instruction 5 days a week, we used PRIDE time and our After School Academic Program (ASAP) to provide targeted intervention for their core academic needs. 

Tomorrow, we will hold our Annandale Leadership Retreat with all collaborative team (CT) leads, subject area leads, instructional coaches and administrators. We will spend the day reflecting on this past school year and planning for the 2022-23 school year. I am excited to spend this time with such a talented group of educators as we continue to grow and improve as a school.

Take time this summer to relax and rejuvenate with loved ones. I will keep you updated periodically throughout the summer via the Insider, and we will see you on August 18 at New Student Orientation or at Open House for students in grades 10-12.

Thank you for your support all year long!

Shawn DeRose, Principal

Important Dates

June 13 - Summer School Registration Support

June 13-17 - Rising 9th Grade Volleyball Camp

June 18 - Dance Team Tryouts

July 28 - Golf Tryouts Begin

August 1 - Football, Cheer, Field Hockey, Cross Country, Volleyball Tryouts Begin

August 18 - New Student Orientation/Open House

August 22 - First Day of School

June 13 - Summer School Registration Support: Annandale High School will be supporting families with in-person summer school registration on Monday, June 13 from 9:00am-1:00pm. We will have laptops set up in the Parent Resource Center for families to use as well as school staff on hand to assist and answer any questions. Please contact your student's counselor for more information, or see the Summer School Registration website.

June 13-17 - Rising 9th Grade Volleyball Camp: Annandale High School is hosting a free volleyball camp for rising 9th grade students from 4:00-6:00pm. Click here to register. Contact John Ellenberger at jellenberger@fcps.edu with any additional questions. 

June 18 - Annandale Dance Team Tryouts: The Annandale High School Dance team will be conducting tryouts on June 18 from 9:00am-12:00pm. Check out the 2022-23 tryout packet for more information about tryouts and the upcoming season. If you have any questions, contact Coach Brenna at brsurette@fcps.edu or Coach Dorothy at dedwards@fcps.edu

Awesome Atoms!

Annie Ray Announced as a Quarterfinalist 2023 Music Educator Award: Annie Ray was recently named a quarterfinalist for the 2023 Music Educator Award. A total of 207 music teachers from 180 cities have been announced as quarterfinalists for the 2023 Music Educator Award, a joint partnership and presentation of the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum. In total, nearly 1,500 initial nominations were submitted. The semifinalists will be announced in September. 

Annandale Ethiopian Eritrean Alliance Wins First Place in Dance Competition: The Annandale Ethiopian Eritrean Alliance won first place in a five-school EEA dance showcase and competition last Friday! AHS Heritage Night has always been very near and dear to the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities here at Annandale, and this year, they took it to the next level by entering this competition immediately after Heritage Night concluded. Students worked hard to prepare for the competition, choreographing, arranging, and rehearsing their 16-minute dance routine, complete with costumes and props. Their efforts really paid off. Thank you to Mr. Ellenberger and all of the others at AHS who made these rehearsals possible; their patience and support was hugely appreciated!

Thank You Providence Presbyterian Church! Thank you to our community partners at Providence Presbyterian Church for all the support they have provided the Annandale community this year. They started the year by donating backpacks and school supplies and then provided us with coats during the winter. They also provided our school with hygiene kits for students who may need them during the school year and into the summer. Their partnership has been a great addition to our school and we appreciate everything they have done and will continue to do moving forward.

Ten Seniors Graduate from George Mason’s EIP Program: The Early Identification Program (EIP) serves as the college preparatory program at George Mason University. With over 1,600 graduates, EIP provides access to educational resources for middle and high school students who will be the first in their families to attend a college or university. This year, Annandale had 10 seniors graduate from George Mason University’s Early Identification Program. Additionally, Abdulai Bangura and Daniel Soto were awarded the Mason Virginia Promise Scholarship, and Jasmeen Linares was awarded the University Scholars Scholarship, which is the highest academic distinction a student can attain at GMU! Congratulations to these scholarship winners, and all the EIP graduates!

AWC Game Night a Huge Success! The tutors of the Atoms Writing Center know the importance of a strong conclusion, so it was no surprise that the first AWC Game Night to end the year was a triumph. Tutors, teachers, friends, and those who wanted to learn more about the writing center gathered in Clausen Hall after school on Friday, June 3, for a serious match off in Wordle, while others joined friendly games of Uno, Bananagrams, Headbanz, Telephone Pictionary, and Jenga. Participants feasted on snacks and pizza as the Wordle tournament went down to the wire. Semir Ali won the Worlde Tournament and a $15 Chick-Fil-A gift card, while Quang Bui, Than Nguyen, Mr. Vitelli and Ms. Hanneman gave strong challenges. Alison Coria-Tarazona won the $10 Kung Fu Tea gift card by earning the most points playing games throughout the night. To learn more about the AWC, or to apply to become a tutor next year, watch for announcements in the Insider or email Stephanie Hanson.

Orchestra Teacher Annie Ray Receives FACE Award: Congrats to Annie Ray who received the Fairfax Arts Coalition for Education Award in the category of Service for her work bringing music education to members of our community not typically reached by high school programming. When presenting her with the award, Mary Wagner highlighted the work Annie has done to bring music into the lives of  students participating in the CAT B orchestra. In addition, Annie, with the support of her colleagues, has grown the Parent Orchestra to four locations. In both cases she is recognized for bringing music to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity. 

Summer Sports Camps

Annandale High School is offering various summer sports camps for rising 2nd graders through rising 9th graders led by Annandale coaches. Help spread the word to friends, family and neighbors!

Camps run each day from 8:30am to 3:00pm. The cost of the five-day camps is only $125 (Olympics Camp is 4 days for $100). Credit cards or checks are accepted. Checks should be made out to “Annandale Athletic Boosters”. Payment is due on the first day of camp. Campers can bring their lunch or purchase lunch at camp, and they should bring a snack and a water bottle each day. 

Click HERE to register for any or all of these camps. More information can be found at AnnandaleAtoms.net. If you have any questions, please email John Ellenberger, Director of Student Activities, at jellenberger@fcps.edu. 

SOLD OUT... Multi-Sport Camp - June 13-17: Have fun playing a variety of sports including basketball, kickball, volleyball, soccer, and touch football. This camp includes fun contests, competitions and lots of prizes!

Basketball Camp - June 20-24: Run by Annandale’s Boys Varsity Basketball coach, Andrew Hypnar, this camp is open to both boys and girls and will focus on basketball fundamentals, skill development and game play.  

Olympics Camp - June 27-30 (4-day Camp at Holmes Middle School): This exciting camp features team activities including soccer, volleyball, basketball, touch football, relay races. In addition, individual campers will get a chance to demonstrate their talent through various skill competitions. 

Girls Multi-Sport Camp (Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Basketball) - July 11-15: This camp, led by various Annandale coaches, will provide campers the opportunity to learn and develop skills in three different sports: field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball. 

Girls Basketball - July 18-22: Run by Annandale’s Girls Varsity Basketball program, this camp will focus on the fundamentals, skill development and game play.

Important Information

Student Laptop Collection: All laptops must be returned at the end of the year to be reimaged, cleaned, and reset for 2022-23 school year. Any student who has not already returned their FCPS issued laptop must drop off their computer this week from 9:00am-12:00pm in the main office. Students who are participating in an FCPS summer program may keep the laptop and power cord for the summer.

Please contact the school if the laptop or power cord has been lost or stolen. As indicated on the FCPS website the replacement cost for a power cord is $23.00. Payment can be made through MySchoolsBucks.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener Spring Reports: This spring, students completed the SEL Screener through Advisory classes. Parent/guardian reports are scheduled to be mailed around June 20. Reports will include a link to the public website, which will be updated with information on where parents and guardians can access support through FCPS summer resources or community programs when schools are not in session. If you opted your child out of the screener, you will not receive a report. Information about the SEL Screener can be found here. 

Preview Student Spring SOL Scores in SIS ParentVue: Want to know how your student did on their spring SOL tests before the official report? Families can now see SOL scores in the Test History section of SIS ParentVUE. To access Test History, log into your ParentVUE account using a web browser (not the app). You will see spring SOL test subjects, performance levels, and overall scores. Families will also receive an official SOL score report letter with more details by the end of July. Additional information about SOL assessments is available online. You can also learn more about SIS ParentVUE and how to activate your account.

Free and Reduced Lunch Meal Plan Returns for 2022-23 School Year: For the past two years, the federal government has provided no-cost meals to all public school students without the need to complete the annual Free and Reduced-Price Meal application. This benefit is expected to expire at the end of the year. Families must submit an application and be approved to be eligible for free and reduced price meals for the 2022-23 school year. 

Eligible families are encouraged to submit the Free and Reduced-Price Meal application before the first day of the 2022-23 school year. The online application will be available later this summer and accessible via the FCPS homepage. Paper free and reduced-price meals applications are available to all households at school offices, school cafeterias, and other FCPS buildings or by contacting Food and Nutrition Services at 703-813-4800 or 703-813-4844. Also, it’s important that parents/guardians complete the Consent to Share form so that their course fees can be waived based upon their FNR status. This form is available here in different languages.

Students approved for Free and Reduced-Price Meals may qualify for additional benefits such as waived or reduced fees for instruments, uniforms, field trips, FCPS class fees, and Parktakes classes. No-cost summer meals will be served at all FCPS summer school locations this year. Please visit this website for updated information during the summer. 

Class of 2023 Meningococcal Vaccine Reminder: The Code of Virginia requires all students to be immunized against certain communicable diseases prior to entrance into one of its schools. All students in grade 12 are required to have been immunized with one dose of the Meningococcal Vaccine given at the age of 16 or older. Please review the immunization requirements here. Proof of immunization must be submitted to the school. These documents need to be returned prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year, preferably by July 1. For more information on this requirement, visit this FCPS website.

Academic Support

Tutor.com - Online Tutoring Services Summer 2022 Access: FCPS students will continue to have unlimited access to 24/7, on-demand, online tutoring support services through Tutor.com during the summer of 2022. Details about how students can access Tutor.com via archived courses in Schoology are provided in Summer Access at Tutor.com - Online Tutoring Services.  In addition, students are able to use Tutor.com during the summer to review and/or practice in subject areas of interest or need. Students may also choose to access other tools/services such as practice quizzes in a variety of subject areas, as well as self-paced study courses for SAT/ACT preparation. Students can log into Schoology from any device with internet access to get to the Tutor.com site!

Summer Assignments: All FCPS middle school and high schools will not give summer assignments. Instead, schools have the option to recommend optional enrichment activities that are not for a grade. At Annandale, we highly encourage student selected texts/books to read over the summer.

Summer School (Credit Recovery Academy) Registration Now Open: The Credit Recovery Academy provides an opportunity for students to recover one high school course credit. Students may not take these courses for new course credit. Students will attend class in person. Transportation information will be communicated to families prior to the start of the program. Please contact your student's counselor for more information, or see the Summer School Registration Website.

News from the PTSA

Pantry Summer Distribution Hours: The PTSA sponsored AHS Pantry distributes food to AHS students and families in need. In the past 6 months (December through May) we have served 516 families which equates to 2410 individuals. 

We are trying something new this summer. In addition to 3 standard distributions, we are holding pop up farmers markets on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer in the parking lot near the pantry. Fresh produce that is gleaned from the Mosaic Farmers Market in Partnership with Food Rescue. Email questions about the pantry to pantry@annandalehsptsa.org.