Monday, February 13, 2023
Dear Lancers-
This weekend I was fortunate enough to join our AVID students and teachers on a field trip to GMU. Our students were able to tour the campus, ask questions to current GMU students, and even watch the GMU vs. Rhode Island basketball game. Thank you to Ms. Hill and Ms. Schinstock for planning this event! We look forward to bringing more college and career awareness opportunities to our whole school during our 2nd annual Career Day on May 12th. Parents, we will be asking for career day volunteers as we get closer, so please be on the lookout!
As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks,
Jim
Jim Patrick
Principal
Longfellow
Student Spotlight: Arnav Talreja
Congratulations to Arnav Talreja and his teammates on winning the Congressional App Challenge! Rep. Donald Beyer has named Arnav Talreja, Anisha Talreja, and Neel Jain as the winners of the 2022 Congressional App Challenge in Virginia’s Eighth District. The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/22-va08/
MathCounts
Congratulations to Shunyao Yan, Michelle Lin, Yeeyung Li, and Anderson Hao from the MathCounts team, who placed 1st as a team at this weekend’s competition! They are moving on to the MathCounts State Competition on Saturday, March 4th in Fredericksburg. Great job!
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Debate at Norwood School Debate Tournament
Congratulations to Noelle Kim, Ian Kim, and Saumya Mehta who placed 2nd as a team at the Norwood School Debate Tournament this past weekend. Great job!
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CALENDAR EVENTS
 Longfellow MS Trivia Night - February 24th
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Special Education Enhancement Plan: Feedback Opportunity
Fairfax County Public Schools is developing a Special Education Enhancement Plan to help ensure an excellent educational experience for all students with disabilities. As part of this effort, FCPS is seeking feedback from employees, families, and community members on Part 1 of the Draft Special Education Enhancement Plan. Please complete this form by Friday, February 17, to provide input on FCPS’ priorities regarding special education including vision, mission, core values, goals, and objectives. Thank you in advance for lending your voice to this important work.
Tutor.com - Extra Help for Students at No Cost to Families
With Tutor.com through Schoology, FCPS students are able to get learning help at any time, even from bilingual tutors! Students in FCPS meet with tutors thousands of times each week to practice reading, prepare for an upcoming math test, write computer programs, study for the SAT, or to get feedback on scholarship essays–all at no cost to their families! If you haven’t already, we encourage you to take just a few minutes to connect with a tutor with your child. More info about Tutor.com in FCPS is available here.
PARENT INFORMATION
T-SHIRT RECYCLING
Have old t-shirts? FCCLA needs old t-shirts that need to be recycled for sewing projects. Donations can be dropped off in the main office.
Have Your Say on Our Future!
Remaining FCPS Strategic Planning Community Forums will take place:
• Wednesday, February 15, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at West Springfield High School.
• Thursday, February 16, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Hunters Woods Elementary School.
Click the date above to register for that forum, or check out the full schedule of Community Forums and register for one that is convenient for you. Childcare will be provided at in-person forums. Language interpretation will be provided, as available, at all events. Please register today.
McLean Pyramid Art Show
On Display: March 1-11/Reception: Thursday, March 9, 4:30-6 PM
Location: McLean Project for the Arts at the
McLean Community Center -Emerson Gallery
1234 Ingleside Ave
McLean, VA 22101
Gallery Hours: Tues-Fri 1pm-4pm, Saturdays 10am-3pm
Late hours Fri March 10 until 7pm
https://mpaart.org/visit-2/
Safe Community Coalition "Improving Your Family's Emotional Health"
The Safe Community Coalition, in partnership with the McLean Community Center, is pleased to share details of an upcoming event on Wednesday, March 15th, 2023 from 7 to 9pm at The Alden Theatre.
Anxiety and worry are normal and expected parts of learning and growing, but when teens and children face challenges cognitively, socially or emotionally, anxiety can step in and take over. Anxiety can be overwhelming and rigid, but it’s also based on predictable patterns that can be shifted once we learn how it operates.
Lynn Lyons licensed independent clinical social worker and best-selling author of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents and the newly-released The Anxiety Audit, presents Helping Your Family’s Emotional Health: Practical, Strategic Skills and Solutions for Managing Anxiety, Enhancing Flexibility, and Creating Wellbeing.
Based on current research and over 30 years of clinical experience, Lynn Lyons presents a strategic approach based on skill-building, with prevention as the preferred route. Using creativity, connection and awareness of their own patterns, parents will learn how to increase their child’s flexibility, support the tolerance of uncertainty, and emotionally and preventatively equip themselves and those they love as we all move forward.
This program takes place March 15th from 7 to 9 pm at The Alden Theatre, 1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at http://mcleanscc.org/. Space is limited.
Visit the Safe Community Coalition website for more information: http://mcleanscc.org/.
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Eating Disorder Parent Information
“Eating disorders are serious but treatable mental and physical illnesses that can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights. While no one knows for sure what causes eating disorders, a growing consensus suggests that it is a range of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. Eating disorders are not fads or phases, and can have serious consequences for health, productivity, and relationships.”
In collaboration with the Fairfax County Health Department, FCPS has developed a webpage with detailed information and resources to be provided to parents and guardians of Fairfax County Public Schools. This information may be found at the following link: https://www.fcps.edu/node/37440
McLean Student Services and McLean PTSA presents:
Helping Your Kids Build a Life They Want: Parent Talk with Authors Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson
Thursday, March 30, 2023
6:30 – 7:30 PM
McLean High School Auditorium
No registration needed!
We all want our kids to be happy and successful in life. Too often, many parents feel that if kids aren’t pushed harder, they won’t be successful. But this can result in anxiety and depression, chronic stress, and a negative parent-child relationship.
Instead, let’s help our kids build a life they want – a life where success is defined by happiness, strong relationships, and overall wellness, and not simply by academic and career achievement. Bill and Ned will share strategies parents can use to help our kids achieve this life!
We welcome all McLean HS and Longfellow MS parents to attend this informative session. If you are interested in learning about Bill and Ned’s work, please check out this podcast on achievement culture, as well as their books, linked below.
https://www.steventshapiro.com/experiencematters/thisisyourbrainonachievementculture
https://theselfdrivenchild.com/
Text-to-Speech Available on FCPS Websites
FCPS is introducing an innovative way to address the diverse needs of the community. A new text-to-speech feature, available on the FCPS website and each school website, will read the words aloud from webpages.
The feature will help those with accessibility needs, such as visual impairments, dyslexia, or other difficulty reading large amounts of online text. The text-to-speech feature is available for English, Spanish, and Korean. Learn more and try out the new feature.
Gwyneth’s Gift
Cardiac arrest claims more lives than breast cancer, prostate cancer, influenza, auto accidents, firearms and house fires combined. At Gwyneth's Gift Foundation, we are working to provide specific practices that build and reinforce life-saving skills for those suffering from cardiac arrest. We accomplish this through our programs of CPR & AED Training.
We are so glad they are coming to Longfellow to train the 7th and 8th grade students during their PE classes!
We need YOUR help with volunteering your time to help monitor the classes in the gym while the training is going on. We thank you in advance!
Please sign-up to volunteer HERE.
Low-Cost Internet for Free and Reduced-Price Eligible Students
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program to lower internet costs for families with children who have been eligible for free or reduced-price meals within the last 12 months. A qualifying household will receive $30 per month toward internet services and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet. Families can check their eligibility and register at AffordableConnectivity.gov or by calling 877-384-2575.
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