Annandale Community Insider - November 6

Annandale Students, Families, and Community:

Thank you to families who were able to join last week’s virtual Fall Principal Check-In, where I shared information about our practices as well as how we are supporting students with a focus on our priorities. I especially appreciated the opportunity to hear questions, kudos, and concerns, and I hope I was able to provide some helpful perspective around key issues.

During the Check-In, I shared our updated retake policy: After an attempt(s) to relearn, any student may retake an assessment for full credit. This means that, once students have demonstrated they have attempted relearning, any student may retake an assessment for full credit. We encourage students seeking a retake to communicate with teachers about what additional practice they need, and schedule the retake soon after the first attempt so that they are able to focus on new learning as the year progresses.

Additionally, while teachers provide reteaching and academic intervention during class, through PRIDE Time, and after school, all FCPS students have free, unlimited access to online tutoring with Tutor.com. Accessed through Schoology, Tutor.com offers live, one-on-one tutoring sessions across all grade levels and subject areas. This service is available 24/7. All tutors are subject matter experts and must pass a thorough background check. For the purposes of safety and security, every tutoring session is recorded, and transcripts are available for students, parents and FCPS staff to review if needed. Find out more here.

To support our students with a strong start to the second quarter, we are using W4 to equip them with strategies they can use for their continued learning. Our Atoms Agreement of Determination means that we try, even when it is difficult; do our best; are present and engaged; show up on time; and create goals and strive to achieve them. To support students in demonstrating Determination, Friday’s W4 lesson shared detailed information about ways students can take control of their own learning, including preparing for retakes and accessing supports such as Tutor.com. We will continue to use W4 lessons to build students skills around self-advocacy and determination.

Finally, there is no school for students on Tuesday (Election Day) and Friday (Veterans Day). To celebrate and honor our veterans, we will hold a special Veterans Day lesson during W4 on Wednesday. During this lesson students will have an opportunity to pause, reflect, and recognize the extraordinary sacrifices our Veterans and their families have made on our behalf. We thank all of our Veterans for their service.

Have a great week, Atom Nation.

Sincerely,

Shawn DeRose, Principal

Important Dates

November 7 - Fairfax Co. Youth Survey Opt-Out Forms Due

November 7 - Winter Sports Begin

November 8 - No School (Election Day)

November 10 - Senior Parent College Night, 6:30pm 

November 11 - No School (School Planning Day)

November 14 - W4 Activities Day

November 15 - PTSA Meeting, 7pm

November 16 - PRIDE Time 2.0 Begins

November 17 - Thanksgiving Lunch

November 17-20 - Fall Play: Argonautika

November 23-25 - Thanksgiving Holiday

November 7 - Winter Sport Tryouts Begin: Winter sports include basketball, swim & dive, wrestling, gymnastics, and indoor track. In order to participate, there are 2 items that need to be completed prior to the first day of tryouts: 1) Sports Physical - Completed and turned in to Athletic Trainers Ryan Hughes (rhughes@fcps.edu) or Kathy Ayers (kaayers@fcps.edu) and 2) Activity Registration. This is an online submission that encompasses the Emergency Care Form and Concussion Education Training. For more information about tryouts, check www.annandaleatoms.net or see below for detailed tryout schedule.

November 7 - Fairfax County Youth Survey Opt-Out Forms Due: The Fairfax County Youth Survey will be administered to students in grades 10 and 12. The Youth Survey provides information about our students' physical and mental well being. The survey is anonymous and no individual information is reported. On October 13, students received the Fairfax County Youth Survey opt-out form. This form only needs to be signed and returned if your child should not complete the survey. Opt-out forms should be returned to the main office by November 7.

November 8 - Election Day (No School): Don’t forget to vote!

November 10 - Senior Parent College Night: Join us from 6:30 to 8:30pm in Clausen Hall, to learn about two and four year colleges. We will cover the college application process, and interact with a panel of college admission representatives. We will also hear from a College Readiness Counselor from Northern Virginia Community College. Spanish interpretation will be provided.

November 11 - School Planning Day (No School for Students): As a reminder, Friday, November 11, is a student holiday/school planning day for the Veterans Day holiday. Veterans Day provides a great reason to pause, reflect, and recognize the extraordinary sacrifices our Veterans and their families have made on our behalf, and we thank them for their service. See the complete 2022-23 school year calendar.

November 14 - W4 Activities Day: On Monday, November 14, we will hold our second W4 Activities Day. This monthly event allows students to connect with each other and staff through a variety of activities such as making slime, playing games and sports, learning Japanese, creating watercolor paintings, or just relaxing. Very few other schools the size of Annandale manage to organize an event like this. A huge thank you to our Activities Department for taking on this complex planning! We look forward to continuing to embed opportunities for our students to deepen their sense of connection and belonging at school. 

November 16 - PRIDE Time 2.0: We are continuing to improve the way we identify students for targeted intervention through PRIDE Time. We will be making changes to students’ PRIDE Time assignments based upon the needs of individual students in preparation for PRIDE Time 2.0, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, November 16. 

November 17-20 - Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts: Don’t miss our Fall play, Argonautika: The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts. Over 50 students from all corners of AHS have worked for two months to bring you this fresh retelling of the classic Greek myth, Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece with a modern twist! Join the fantastic voyage and encounter Hercules, Hera, sirens, centaurs, and more—familiar mythological figures imbued with unexpected character and depth. Discover humor, love, and the unimaginable as Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman reveals the humanity in the most monstrous of creatures in this unforgettable journey for the ages.

Tickets are only $5 for AHS Students and Staff and $10 for all other patrons. Rated PG-13 for mature themes. Tickets will be available starting November 1. Click here to purchase tickets!

Opportunities

November 9 - AWC’s WorkKeys Workshop: Attention students taking the Business Writing WorkKeys next week! The Atoms Writing Center will be holding a WorkKeys Workshop after school on Wednesday, November 9 from 3-4pm in Clausen Hall. AWC tutors will review tips for the WorkKeys. Students will have the opportunity to do a practice timed writing. Then, they will receive one-on-one feedback from an AWC tutor. There’s no need to sign up in advance. We hope to see you there!

November 14 & 15 - Scholarship Info Session for Study Abroad Opportunities: The Center for International Education and Exchange has partnered with Annandale High School to provide $25,000 in Scholarship Funds to students to study abroad. Programs are 3-4 week-long experiential learning opportunities that run in over 30 study centers around the world during the Summer of 2023! In addition, students can opt-in for 4 college credits for only $150.00. CIEE is fully accredited by Tulane University.

View the Summer 2023 Flyer to see what opportunities are available or attend the student Info Session on Monday, November 14 during W4 & W8 in the College and Career Center, or the Virtual Parent Info Session on November 15. For more information please visit the website and watch this video.

Sub and Save the Day! Bonus Opportunities! FCPS is always looking for kind and caring substitute teachers and substitute instructional assistants to ensure our students continue to thrive when teachers and instructional assistants need to be out of the classroom. Substitute teaching is a great opportunity for future teachers, stay-at-home parents, retirees, college students, part-time employees, and anyone who wants to make a difference. 

FCPS has started offering bonuses for substitutes who are available to teach on high volume days. Additionally, substitutes who work more, will earn extra bonuses when they reach 50, 100, or 150 days worked in a school year. 

Substitute Teacher and Substitute Instructional Assistant information sessions are held virtually on Wednesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Candidates will receive an email link to the virtual information session the Monday before the session. Sign up for an information session. 

The A-Blast Subscriptions Available: The A-Blast published its first edition and you can pick up a copy in the newsstand in the main lobby or subscribe for home delivery. It’s a great way to keep up with the news of AHS through the perspective of student journalists. The newspaper is published monthly and it is consistently ranked in the Top 10 of all high school newspapers nationwide. AHS is the only school to have a printing partnership with The Washington Post, which prints the newspaper for free. Donate at least $10 and email your home mailing address to Alan Weintraut to subscribe. 

Free Metrobus Pass for Students: Annandale High School students have the opportunity to ride Metrobus for free in Northern Virginia, along with Fairfax Connector and City of Fairfax CUE. When you sign up for the pass, you will receive a specially designed and programmed SmarTrip card. Get started by completing the application with permission from a parent/guardian. Then turn the form in to Jewad Abdulhadi in Student Services. Visit the website for more information.

Awesome Atoms!

Annandale High School Selected as a Global Navigator School: Annandale has partnered with the Council on International Education and Exchange (CIEE). This allows Annandale High School students the unique opportunity to gain access to $25,000 worth of scholarships for students to study abroad this summer. The programs and scholarships are intended to open the world to students, helping them navigate across languages, connect with other cultures, and impact global/local issues in today’s interconnected world.

Fairfax Times Features Field Hockey Team’s District Title: The Annandale Varsity Field Hockey team recently took the district title over Justice with a final score of 2-0. It was Annandale’s first district title in field hockey since 2015. Check out the article in the Fairfax Times.

AVID Students Visit George Mason University: Students in AVID and the Bunya Club visited George Mason University last week this past week. During their visit, students had the opportunity to tour the campus, eat lunch with an Annandale graduate and current GMU student, and visit the Mason Makers Lab.

Annandale Students Participate in Virginia College Application Week - Last week was Virginia College Application Week (VCAW), and our Annandale seniors took advantage of the opportunity to have their application fees waived. We had 61 seniors participate in VCAW! We are excited to support our students with their post-secondary goals, and we look forward to seeing where our students will go! A huge thank you to our College and Career Specialist, Mr. Yeagley, our AVID Coordinator, Ms. Wells, and all of our counselors as they have been working with students to meet their November 1 deadlines!

Important Information

Free Live Tutoring Service Available to all Annandale Students: Students who need homework help, feedback on their writing, need to take a practice quiz to get ready for a test can use Tutor.com! This service is open to FCPS students in all grades, on-demand, 24/7, at no cost to families. Learn more.

World Language Governor's Academies Applications Open: World Language Students, Annandale High School is in the process of nominating students to apply for the 2023 World Language Governor's Academies. Spanish and French Academies consist of 3 weeks of full immersion at Washington and Lee University; sophomores and juniors in levels 3 and above who are not native speakers are invited to apply. We will also be nominating sophomores and juniors in levels 2 and above to attend the partial-immersion Japanese academy at Randolph Macon College - no Japanese experience required! For more information, visit the FCPS website or log in to your FCPS Google Account and sign up for the interest meeting on November 9. Email World Languages Department Chair Lauren Paz Soldan with any questions!

FCPS Outstanding Employee Awards - Now Accepting Nominations! We believe that our staff is truly unparalleled, and that the work we do for our students deserves celebration and recognition beyond our building. Each year, FCPS looks to honor several staff members for outstanding excellence in their roles, including Outstanding Teacher, New Teacher, Leader, Professional Employee, Operational Employee and Principal. We both appreciate and welcome nominations from families and other members of our community. To nominate an Annandale staff member, please complete the AHS Outstanding Employee Nomination Form. Nominations are due by Friday, November 18. Contact Melissa Smith, Dean of Students, with any questions.

FCPS Adopts Two-Way Messaging App TalkingPoints: FCPS has recently adopted TalkingPoints, a two-way messaging app that allows parents and caregivers to communicate with teachers and schools. Look for messages from your child’s school on how they are implementing the app. For more information, visit the FCPS TalkingPoints webpage. The app translates messages, so teachers can input messages in English and parents can respond in their preferred language. TalkingPoints supports 125 languages, making it easier and faster for our FCPS families to connect with their schools. If you need to update your preferred correspondence language, contact the main office.

SIS Weekly Progress Reports: Please note that FCPS Weekly Progress Reports generated through SIS will not be sent to parents between now and Friday, November 12 while first quarter grading is completed. Additionally, the Grade Book and Report Card modules in ParentVUE and StudentVUE will be closed now through Tuesday, November 9 at 6:00am for first quarter grading.

November 30 - Senior Pictures: There is one last chance to take senior pictures on November 30 after school in the library! Follow these steps to register: Go to the scheduling website, scroll down to “View” and select your sitting level - details of each sitting level are there for you to review. Then, select the date and time you prefer. Click “Continue” and enter your information. If applicable, select the “Pay Now” or “Pay with PayPal” (please note that there is a free option that allows you to just take your yearbook picture). You will receive a confirmation at the email provided.

News from Student Services

Check out the latest information from the Student Services Department in their weekly newsletter. The newsletter provides important information, important dates, news from the college & career center and class news.

November 10 - College Scholarship Info Session: Need help searching for scholarships to pay for college? Come to room 90 from 3:00 to 4:00pm on Thursday, November 10.

Transcript Requests for College Applications & Scholarships: Seniors need to request official high school transcripts one month prior to application deadlines. For example, if a college application is due on November 25, the Transcript Request Form is due on October 25. We will be receiving a very high volume of requests in the coming months, and our Student Services staff needs adequate time to process them. Early Action and Early Decision application deadlines are quickly approaching. For step-by-step instructions and forms for submitting Transcript Requests, go to the AHS College & Career Google site.

Fridays During Lunch - FAFSA/VASA Help! Need help filling out the FAFSA or VASA? Every Friday our Financial Aid Champion, Ms. Mahieu will be offering FAFSA and VASA help to students during their lunch period. If you are interested in registering for an appointment during your lunch period please email Ms. Wells at lcwells@fcps.edu or Mr. Yeagley at byeagley@fcps.edu so they can schedule the appointment for you. Please be sure you include the Friday you would like to come in, as well as what lunch you have that day. You can also email Ms. Mahieu directly with questions about the FAFSA/VASA or to schedule a virtual or in person meeting with Ms. Mahieu. She can be reached at kmahieu@fcps.edu. 

College Rep Visits: College Admission representatives will continue to visit AHS throughout November. To view the list of visiting colleges and register, students must log in to Naviance. Then, click on Colleges, College Visits, and choose Register Now next to the visit(s) they would like to attend. Students are limited to attending a total of 5 visits, so please only register for the colleges you are highly interested in learning about. *Please note that space is limited for some of these visits and students must register at least 24 hours in advance.

Once registered, students must get a pass from Mr. Yeagley in the College & Career Center (Room 103) after school the day before the visit or before school the morning of the visit and show it to their teacher. Students who do not register through Naviance, get a pass, and/or get permission from their teacher will not be admitted to the college visit. If you have any questions about the process, please contact Brian Yeagley. 

Early Online College - Spring Session: Early Online College (EOC) allows current high school juniors or seniors the opportunity to take up to two tuition free college courses. EOC courses for the spring semester begin on January 31, 2023, and end on April 24, 2023. Courses are for college credit only and designed to jumpstart students' college experience. These courses were selected because they meet the requirements for most of NOVA’s associate degrees as well as being highly transferable as general education requirements for most colleges and universities. For more information, contact NOVA’s Office of Dual Enrollment at dualenrollment@nvcc.edu. 

News from the Activities Office

With the fall season officially in the books for all of our teams, its now time to turn our attention to all things winter! On Monday tryouts begin for Basketball, Swim, Gymnastics and Wrestling. Indoor Track will get started the following week, on Monday, November 14. See below for the complete week 1 schedule. Keep in mind that we do not have school on Tuesday or Friday!    

Check out the latest information from the Activities Office in their weekly newsletter. In addition, learn more about Annandale High School Athletics and Activities by visiting their website or the AHS Athletics Twitter page. Please email Brandon Sutphin if you have any questions.

November 7 - Winter Sport Tryouts Begin: Winter sports include basketball, swim & dive, wrestling, gymnastics, and indoor track. In order to participate, there are 2 items that need to be completed prior to the first day of tryouts: 1) Sports Physical - Completed and turned in to Athletic Trainers Ryan Hughes or Kathy Ayers and 2) Activity Registration. This is an online submission that encompasses the Emergency Care Form and Concussion Education Training. 

Here is the Winter Tryout Schedule. For more information about tryouts, check our www.annandaleatoms.net or reach out to each sports head coach.

News from the PTSA

Annandale PTSA Pantry Needs Help Restocking! Below is a photo of our shelves before and after each distribution. We need help restocking regularly. Please consider donating, every donation helps. Visit the pantry website here to learn more and about ways to donate.

Support Annandale Booster Organizations!

Gear up with Official Atoms Spirit Wear: Gear up for another action-packed season with official Atoms gear. You can dress in team-spirited garb on game day and every day with the largest selection of Annandale Atoms apparel at the official Atoms Store. Cheer on your Atoms with t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and more. Our online Shop has items for any occasion. Visit spiritwear.atomsboosters.org to see the latest Atoms gear.

Wrestling Spirit Wear Now Available: Wrestling fans! The 2022-2023 Atoms Wrestling Team Spirit Wear store is now open! This year the Grappling Atoms are partnering with Cheers Sports to help bring you awesome gear to wear during the season (and beyond)! Orders are due by Friday, November 11! Click here for the team store! If you have any questions, feel free to email Coach Damico at jwdamico@fcps.edu.

Swim/Dive Spirit Wear Now Available: Interested in buying spirit wear to support the Annandale Swim & Dive team? Check out our team’s online store available through Sunday, November 13. Click here for the team store! Proceeds from every purchase go toward supporting our team!

Join the Annandale PTSA! On behalf of the Annandale High School Parent, Teacher, Student Association (PTSA), we would like to welcome you to the 2022–2023 school year. The key ingredient to our success is YOU. Please dare to make a difference, be better informed and join the PTSA today by filling out the online 2022–2023 Membership Form. For more information about membership, visit our Membership page.

Join the Atoms Athletic Boosters! Purchase an Athletic Pass! We need you as an Atoms fan in the stands cheering on our athletes, as well as behind the scenes as an athletics supporter. 100% of your Booster contributions support the many athletic programs, facilities, and athletes at AHS. 

Cost: Student Pass - $30; Adult Pass - $60; Parking Pass - $30; Fan Pass - $25. For more information, visit the Boosters sight at www.atomsboosters.org.

The BENEFITS of purchasing an AHS Athletic Booster Membership/athletic passes include:

• SAVE MONEY! — Admission for free admission for Freshmen, Junior Varsity, and Varsity regular-season home athletic events (not valid for away games or postseason play).
• Ease and Convenience — Avoid the ticket line, just show your pass at the admissions gate; no need to carry cash.
• Support the Atoms — 100% of the money goes to AHS athletics. Normal gate fees are split between AHS and the opponent.