Annandale Community Insider - Atoms On The Move!

Annandale Students, Parents and Community:

We have accomplished incredible things at Annandale these past few years, coming together to navigate the pandemic and its aftermath to support our students, and I am so proud of the work we have done. None of this would have been possible without our staff, who collaborate every day to meet students’ needs. I am always proud to share with prospective candidates that Annandale can be challenging, yet incredibly rewarding, and when you join our work, you will grow and make an impact. 

To that end, I would like to celebrate several staff members who have been promoted or will be moving into positions that will allow them to continue to amplify their impact throughout FCPS and beyond. While their leaving is a loss for Annandale, I know they will do great things in their new positions. See below to read more. Please join me in congratulating them and wishing them well! 

Thank you for your support all year long!

Shawn DeRose, Principal

Awesome Atoms!

Several staff members here at Annandale have been promoted or will be moving into positions that will allow them to continue to amplify their impact throughout FCPS and beyond. Please join me in congratulating them and wishing them well in their new positions!

John Ellenberger - As Annandale High School’s Director of Student Activities for the past five years, John encouraged all students to be involved in a club, performing art or sports to feel a part of the school community. John is retiring from FCPS and moving on to become the Director of Athletics and Activities at Osbourn High School.

Brian Valentine - Throughout his time as Assistant Principal at Annandale, Brian supported the CTE, Math, and World Languages departments. Additionally, Brian was heavily involved in the successful implementation of Second Chance Breakfast at Annandale, coordinating with FCPS Food and Nutrition Services. During that first year, Annandale won the No Child Hungry Award for greatest increase in school breakfast service in the Commonwealth! Brian has accepted an Assistant Principal position at West Potomac High School. 

Fabiola Alba - Fabiola has worked at Annandale as counselor to Level 1 and 2 ESOL students. During her time here she worked with administrators, social workers, and our ESOL Department Chair to provide and coordinate support for students who are struggling. Fabiola established a partnership with Wedgewood Community Center to provide Literacy Essentials Programming students in our community. Fabiola will be transitioning to Alexandria City High School to help lead their Academic Literacy Program.

Keith Downing - Keith served as the Spanish 3 Team Lead at Annandale for the last two years. As a leader in the department, Keith supported his team and colleagues in implementing literacy instruction and incorporating technology into the World Languages curriculum. Next year, Keith will be supporting Belvedere Elementary School as their School Based Technology Specialist.

Liz Keyes - As the Environmental Science Team Lead, Liz supported her team’s collaborative planning with a specific focus on meeting English-Learner students’ needs to ensure all students can access high level academic tasks. Starting late summer, Liz will be the Middle School Science Educational Specialist, supporting middle school science instruction division wide. 

Brent Litherland - Brent, our part-time Technology Support Specialist came to Annandale to support the one-to-one laptop program several years ago. He will be moving on to a full time position at Key Middle School, where he will support their staff, students, and families in the distribution and use of technology.

Kristin Reagan - Kristin served as Assessment Coach for these last two years, informing our approach to testing and intervention. In addition, Kristin was able to create a testing schedule that met students’ needs while preserving teachers’ time to plan for instruction. Kristin will now be serving as a Data Analyst in the Office of Special Services.

Mike Ward - Officially, Mike was Department Chair for Performing Arts and Guitar teacher. However, Mike wore many hats here at Annandale. He supported the coordination of our After School Academic Program (ASAP), student testing, and maintained the school website. Next year, Mike will be the Assessment Coach for Edison High School.

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. 

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

Graduation Survey - We Need Your Input: For the past two years, our community has gathered on our stadium field for our graduation ceremony. As we begin preparations for the graduation of the class of 2022-23, we have an opportunity to continue this tradition of holding graduation here at Annandale, rather than another venue. By hosting graduation here at Annandale, we are able to provide graduates with more tickets than some other venues, and the commute and/or parking is more convenient for families. We also recognize there are pros and cons to hosting at this location and would like your input. On Monday, Annandale families will receive an e-Notify message with a survey around their preferences for a graduation venue. Please complete the survey to let us know your thoughts!

Summer Office Hours: Annandale High School will be open from 8:00am-2:00pm in the summer. The building will be closed on Monday, June 20 in observance of Juneteenth. In addition, the building will be closed on June 27 and 28 due to roof repairs.

Registrations are by appointment only. Please contact Nicole Salgado Lopez at nasalgadolop@fcps.edu to schedule an appointment.

Student Laptop Collection: Reminder that 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. If your student is participating in an FCPS summer program they may keep the laptop and power cord. 

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

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.

AHS Selects New Student Equity Ambassador Leaders for 2022-23: Congratulations to Husna Basiri, Sosan Barakzai, Jenna Saykhamphone who were selected to serve as Annandale High School’s Student Equity Ambassador Leaders (SEAL) for the 2022-23 school year. Student Equity Ambassador Leaders is a leadership program that amplifies students’ voices and provides an increased understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion through leadership development, projects, and relevant experiences.

Academic Support

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.

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.

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!

Report Cards Mailed Out This week: Report cards will be mailed out this upcoming week. For questions about a specific progress report or grade you can login into your SIS ParentVUE Account to find detailed grade book information.

Preview Student Spring SOL Scores in SIS ParentVue: Want to know how your student did on their spring SOL tests before the official report? Starting today, families can 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.

News from the PTSA

The Class of 2022’s All Night Grad Party was a smashing success! Held on June 2 at Audrey Moore Rec Center from 11:00pm-5:00am, seniors (and the adults!) had a wonderful time celebrating the Class of 2022. The All Night Grad Committee will start working on the event for the Class of 2023 in early Fall. We are seeking help from parents of Freshman-Senior to help plan and coordinate next year’s fundraising and Celebration. Email angc@annandalehsptsa.org if interested.