 |
|
Upcoming Events
February 9-10: Fairfax Academy Presents: Cry-Baby
February 12: Region One Acts
February 13: US Service Academy & ROTC Night @ Madison HS, 7pm
February 19: President's Day, No School
February 21: Band Pre-Assessment Concert, 7pm, Auditorium
February 23: Fairfax Academy Dance Benefit Concert, 7pm, Auditorium
February 24: Regional Science Olympiad
February 27: Orchestra Pre-Assessment Concert, 7pm, Auditorium
February 29: Chorus Pre-Assessment Concert, 7pm, Auditorium
March 1: Principal's Coffee, 7:30-8:30am, Library
|
Acceso de News You Choose en Español: Haga clic aquí.
Lunar New Year Celebration
📸: Teacher Sara Chae
Save the Date! The annual Cultural Celebration will be held on Friday, March 8, in the FHS Auditorium More info to come!
February 9, 2024
It is a Fabulous Fairfax Friday!
This past week has been filled with so many amazing events. Cry Baby is a top-notch production from our Fairfax Academy students, you will laugh, you will sing, and toe tapping will definitely be a thing. Don't miss your last chance to see the show. We have also welcomed "future" academy students to FHS this week to shadow pathway passions.
Our Science Olympiad scholars hosted a regional competition and the halls were filled with the buzz of all scientific things, but the most exciting part of this competition was watching our students host and facilitate each event. It was evident that they had learned all the skills required to host a 56-school event. Meanwhile, across town our ROARbotics kids took 3rd place in the Region, claiming the THINK award.
We celebrated Black History Month and showcased a Lion Time lesson that was created and narrated by our AP African American History class. We also took the opportunity to recognize Lunar New Year in Lion Time with a celebration in our cafeteria after school. The food, the games, the culture and tradition were a wonderful opportunity to champion community.
Regional Wrestling hit the mats at FHS. We were so excited to host this event and welcome 16 schools to the LION's DEN. Fairfax High School pinned for the wins and took home Regional Runner Up! Congratulations.
Twilight school began this week for students who are working to earn additional credit or recover credits. Our Learning Lounge was filled with students who are focused on meeting and strengthening their semester 2 goals. You can hear the beating of the drums, the sounds of garage bands, and see lots of dancing as our amazingly talented students are getting ready for our "This Is Us" Cultural Celebration.
Have a PAWSome weekend and always be ready to ROAR!
In partnership always,
Included in this issue:
Student Spotlight
- Wrestling
- Science Olympiad
- Robotics Team
- DECA and Mane Market
- Fashion classes at VCU
Staff Spotlight
- Melanie West, Business and Marketing Teacher, DECA & FBLA Adviser
Fairfax Lions Need to Know:
- Calendar Reminders: Presidents Day, School Board Appreciation, 100th Day of School, Lunar New Year, Ash Wednesday
- Important: FHS Construction Feb. 9-13
- Last weekend of shows for Cry-Baby the Musical!
- Here Comes the Bus
Fairfax Lions Nice to Know:
- Food for Neighbors
- Cultural Celebration
- FCPS Summer Camps
- Tutor.com Teacher-Referred Tutoring
- FCPS FY25 Proposed Budget
- Service Academy/ROTC Night
- Fairfax County Teen Job Fair
- Connect - Contact - Reach Us
Fairfax HS PTSA
Wrestling Regional Runners-up!
Fairfax Wrestling is the Regional Runner-up Winners! Congrats, Lions!
Science Olympiad
FHS hosted the Science Olympiad last weekend!
Robotics
Our Fairfax Robotics was awarded the third place “Think” award at the regional championship tournament held at Battlefield High school on Feb 3rd among 54 competing teams!
The FTC describes the Think award as follows: “Think Award: Removing engineering obstacles through creative thinking. This judged award is given to the team that best reflects the journey the team took as they experienced the engineering design process during the build season.”
We would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to the following team members for their hard-earned victory: Ronit Manchanda, Ibtihal Hanna, Kael Nguyen, Lynn Choi, Richard Thomas, Khalid Amikishiyev, and Vedic Vajja.
We could not have advanced to Regionals or won this award without the help from our parent coach Mr. Yogesh Manchanda.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Anne-Marie Hanapole
Geeta Sridharan
Robotics Team Advisers
Fashion Classes at VCU
Fashion Marketing and Fashion Academy students enjoyed field trip learning about fashion careers from VCU Alumni, and fashion merchandising and design faculty. The afternoon included students assessing the retailers' product mix and target market in Carytown.
FHS DECA Mane Market receives Gold-Level Recertification
The Mane Market is a school-based enterprise here at Fairfax High School, started by the DECA club. It is one of 728 enterprises that has achieved gold-level re-certification for the 2023-2024 school year and will be recognized during DECA’s International Career Development Conference this April 27-30, 2024, in Anaheim, California.
A school-based enterprise (SBE) is an entrepreneurial operation in a school setting that provides goods and services to meet the needs of the market. SBEs are managed and operated by students as hands-on learning laboratories that integrate National Curriculum Standards in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. DECA advisors have utilized this effective educational tool for over four decades to provide their students with realistic and practical learning experiences that reinforce classroom instruction, enhance 21st Century skill development, and prepare students for college and careers.
The Fairfax High School DECA members who contributed to the certification were in the Entrepreneurship 2 class with the assistance of their DECA chapter advisor, Melanie West. Fairfax high School's Mane Market has operated for over two years and is to be commended for this achievement.
The Mane Market sells items during lunches on Blue Days (cash only).
Business and Marketing Teacher, Melanie West
Melanie West-Matalavage has been teaching Business and Marketing classes in FCPS for over 23 years with almost 2,500 students at Fairfax, Westfield and Stuart High Schools. She has been an active adviser with Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), DECA and Student Government Associations. She is currently teaching Dual Enrollment and Honors Entrepreneurship levels 1 and 2 and Accounting. Among the other courses she has taught over the years are Business Law and Management, Principles of Business, Economics & Personal Finance, and Information Systems. She has earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - Marketing and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.
Mrs. West-Matalavage worked in Marketing for Yamaha Corporation of America, and Legal Affairs for Nissan of North America before coming to the classroom. She loves to travel the world and has taken students to a dozen countries. She is happiest in summer boating on the Potomac River with her family.
Calendar Reminders: Presidents Day, School Board Appreciation Month; 100th Day of School, Lunar New Year, Ash Wednesday
All schools and offices will be closed on Monday, February 19, for the Presidents Day holiday.
Presidents Day is a time to honor and remember the birthdays and achievements of the country's most distinguished leaders, and to reflect on the role of presidents in shaping the nation’s history and development. Students should have the opportunity to engage in meaningful and enduring learning experiences that explore the remarkable history and impactful contributions of American presidents.
Resources for Presidents Day are available for teachers via this social studies Presidents Day 180 doc. Teachers and school leaders will find ideas for classroom learning experiences across content areas and grade levels. These resources have been curated specifically for the social studies curriculum, but are available and accessible for any content area.
VSBA School Board Appreciation Month
Thank you to the Fairfax County School Board for all they do throughout the year: hiring and evaluating the superintendent; reviewing and approving the FCPS budget, calendar, policies, and more! Want to contact your school board representatives to share your appreciation? Visit their website to find your school board member and contact them.
See the complete school year calendar.
💯February 8th is the 100th Day of School!
 |
|
Note: With 2 snow days, the 100th day of school has moved to February 8. |
🐉 February 10th is the Lunar New Year
Wishing good fortune to those in our community who celebrate Lunar New Year! This year's Lunar New Year artwork was created by Marshall High School student Kerstin Q. For those in many East and Southeast Asian countries, including Pacific Islanders, the Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays of the year and is all about ushering in luck & prosperity with family. #OurFCPSThis artwork was designed as part of the FCPS Observance Design Challenge for Students. Learn more about the challenge: https://bit.ly/47oHw2j
Ash Wednesday, February 14
Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It marks the beginning of Lent, a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving leading up to Easter. Many Christians attend special Ash Wednesday church services, at which churchgoers receive ash on their foreheads. Ash Wednesday derives its name from this practice. Read more about Ash Wednesday in Britannica.com.
⚠️ Important: FHS Construction, Feb. 9-13
- Please be aware that there will be construction underway Feb. 9-13 for the stadium press box demolition.
- Please exercise caution and allow extra time especially during morning and afternoon dismissal. Fairfax City PD will be on site to direct traffic as needed.
- Parking along the north entrance and stadium will be off limits during this timeframe. The areas are marked in blue on the map.
- Affected students have been provided alternate parking spaces.
Last Chance to see Fairfax Academy's Cry-Baby the Musical! Get your tickets NOW
Based on the cult classic 1990 John Waters film, this jumping, jiving Tony nominee is a rebellious teen comedy event! It's 1954. Everyone likes Ike, nobody likes communism and Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker is the coolest boy in Baltimore. He's a bad boy with a good cause – truth, justice and the pursuit of rock and roll. Cry-Baby and the square rich girl, Allison, are star-crossed lovers at the center of this world. Fueled by hormones and the new rhythms of rock and roll, she turns her back on her squeaky-clean boyfriend, Baldwin, to become a "drape" (a Baltimore juvenile delinquent) and Cry-Baby's moll. At the other end of the topsy-turvy moral meritocracy of 1954 America, Baldwin is the king of the squares and leads his close-harmony pals against the juvenile delinquents, who are ultimately arrested for arson, sending the drapes all off to prison. It's Romeo and Juliet meets High School Hellcats.
Tickets on sale here: Cry-Baby The Musical
Please Note: Some material may not be appropriate for children under the age of 13.
🚍 Here Comes the Bus
Want to know if your child's bus is on schedule or where the bus is? Here Comes the Bus® is an easy-to-use website and app that enables parents to see the location of their child’s school bus — almost in real time — on a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer.
Parents can track multiple buses if their children don’t all ride the same bus; know exactly when children arrive at school or the bus stop; and receive customized text and/or email notifications about bus locations, schedule changes, or delays.
To get started, download the app from the Apple iOS or Android app store. Check out the Here Comes the Bus and Frequently Asked Questions webpages for more information.
Already using the Here Comes the Bus app? Send your feedback to HCTB@fcps.edu.
Note: eNotify text messaging will continue to be used for reporting bus delays and bus incidents.
Fairfax Lions Nice to Know:
Food for Neighbors
Fairfax High School is partnering with Food For Neighbors to help feed our local students who deal with food insecurity outside of school hours. Even in a county as wealthy as Fairfax, one in four kids in our area are struggling with hunger.
Food For Neighbors is a local organization addressing this problem by collecting food from our community via the Red Bag Program and donating directly to our local schools. The food is then distributed to the students every week through our food pantry.
We hope you will consider participating in the Red Bag food collection program. You can make a difference in a local student’s life by simply adding a few extra items to your shopping cart every two months.
Here’s how it works:
- Request a reusable Red Bag HERE and Food For Neighbors will drop it off at your house.
- Fill the Red Bag with food items that are listed on a tag on that bag.
- Put the Red Bag outside your front door in the morning on the next bag collection day. Collection dates are also listed on the bag tag. And don’t worry, FFN will send reminders.
Your Red Bag will be picked up from your house, the food sorted at a local school and delivered directly to the school food pantry at FHS. As an added benefit, you can get a tax deduction for the food that you donate!
With your help, even more kids can be fed. For more information on the Red Bag program click HERE. Check out what items FFN collects as they are targeted to ready-made, individually packaged food items that students and teens can eat on-the-go or with little preparation.
As we partner with FFN, other critical volunteer opportunities include: Driving to pick up filled Red Bags and Sorting the donated food during the Red Bag Day events. Visit the FFN FAQ page to find out more and to sign up to volunteer in these two very important roles. These are great opportunities for our students to receive volunteer service hours, too.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kailyn Slade, krslade@fcps.edu or Karen Joseph, Karen@foodforneighbors.org. Thanks for helping us provide food to students who need that extra support!
🥁 Sign Up for FCPS Summer Camps and Learning Programs
Registration is now open for several summer camps and learning opportunities offered by Fairfax County Public Schools for all students.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) camps and Institute for the Arts camps will be held in July at Lake Braddock Secondary School from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bus transportation will be available from select FCPS middle and high schools.
CTE programs are available for grade 6-11 students to explore CTE program areas, develop skills, and begin career exploration. IFTA allows students to select from nearly 90 classes in art, dance, health and physical education 9, music, and theater. Visit the IFTA webpage to register.
Summer Learning
Programs are also available for high school students to fulfill the Economics and Personal Finance course requirement, earn a high school course credit via this summer’s online campus program, or recover one high school course credit through the Credit Recovery Academy.
FCPS’ free online class for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provides FCPS middle and high school English Learners the opportunity to continue developing their academic, reading, and writing skills in online discussions with an ESOL teacher.
Find session dates, registration links, and registration deadlines on FCPS summer programs.
Tutor.com Teacher-Referred Tutoring
Through Schoology®, all FCPS students have 24/7 access to no-cost, year-round, on-demand, 1-to-1 tutoring services through Tutor.com.
A new Teacher-Referred Tutoring program feature provides targeted support and extends student learning. Teachers can now refer students for tutoring, with their specific needs already identified. Students can get extra support — on their own schedule — and reinforce their in-class learning.
We strongly encourage all FCPS middle and high school students to click on the Tutor.com icon in their Schoology portal for homework help, concept review, writing support, and test prep—anytime, anywhere.
Plus, look for teachers’ tutoring session referrals on the Tutor.com homepage.
FCPS FY2025 Proposed Budget
Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid will present the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Proposed Budget at the School Board meeting on Thursday, February 8, at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Reid’s presentation, as well as other budget documents, will be available after she presents to the board.
View the meeting on FCPS Cable TV Channel 99 (Verizon Channel 11), the FCPS YouTube Channel, or the FCPS website. To watch School Board meetings dubbed in Spanish, please visit the FCPS en Español YouTube channel.
If you would like language interpretation or American Sign Language support for any School Board meeting, please contact the board clerk. Find your School Board member and how to contact them on the School Board Members webpage.
U.S. Service Academy & ROTC Night
Representatives from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy & Marine Corps, U.S. Merchant Marine, and U.S. Coast Guard, will talk about the Academies and the ROTC programs. A representative from Gerry Connolly's office will talk about the nomination process.
When: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Madison High School
Contact FHS College and Career Specialist, Maureen Kim, for more information: mhkim@fcps.edu.
See the full flyer here: 2024 U.S. Service Academy ROTC Night Flyer.pdf
Fairfax County Teen Job Fair
 Supervisor Pat Herrity's office is teaming up with Fairfax County Times Newspapers, Fairfax County Public Schools, as well as local chambers and organizations to bring our community two Fairfax County Teen Job Fairs and Career-Building Workshops. The fairs will run on two Saturdays in March.
The fairs are open to all teens in Fairfax County looking for employment, volunteer opportunities, or tips on building their resume.
Student registration is free and open to all teens in Fairfax County looking for employment, volunteer opportunities, or tips on building their resume.
Business registration is also free and open to any organization providing positions for students. Free table space and a complimentary table covering will be provided to registered businesses and organizations to advertise their available positions. Participating businesses must provide positions for students at the fair; soliciting without offering positions is not permitted.
The full list of participating businesses from last year's Teen Job Fair Series, is available as a PDF.
throughout the year:
Fairfax HS PTSA
Table of Contents:
- ANG Update
- PTSA Membership
All Night Grad Party Update - How can YOU Still Help?
Tickets for the All Night Grad Party Will Go on Sale in March!
We are less than two months away from the launch of our ticket sales for the All Night Graduation Party. We are excited about the party we are planning for our graduates and hope you will join us in making this happen. We have a number of fundraising activities coming up where we will need parent volunteers and support, including:
- Community Fundraising Campaign
- Online Silent Auction
- Modelers Show Concessions
- Graduation Yard Signs
We also will be looking for parent volunteers to help at the party on graduation night, June 4. Please come out to our Committee Meeting or email us at: ANG@fairfaxptsa.org to find out more about how you can help.
Next ANG Meeting: February 21, 2024
Our next Committee Meeting is on February 21, 7:00 pm, at FHS in the FHS Library (upstairs). We encourage people to join us in person, but if that is not possible, we will be live streaming on Zoom:
Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81199262921
Meeting ID: 811 9926 2921
Donate to Support the All Night Grad Party
Monetary donations to the All Night Graduation Party are always welcome. If you, or your friends and family, would like to make a donation to the All Night Graduation Party, you can donate online at the PTSA’s giving-site: https://fairfaxhs.memberhub.com/store/items/931830
If you have any questions about the All Night Grad Party, or would like to talk about how you can help, please email us at ANG@fairfaxptsa.org
We look forward to all parents’ support for the All Night Grad Party. Together, we will make this a night for our seniors to remember!
Become a PTSA Member and/or Donate Today
Join the Parent Teacher Student Association, PTSA, to support our FHS teachers, students and community! Your dues and donations work to fund all of our activities and programs. Scan the code provided to JOIN NOW, and/or you can make a DONATION TODAY! Becoming a member does not mean you are committed to volunteering; Membership helps fund our budget, gives voting privileges, helps to keep you engaged and informed of what is happening in our school community, and provides opportunities to get involved if desired.
 |
|
Do you want to celebrate a Fairfax employee who does ordinary things in an extraordinary way? Or goes beyond what is expected? If so, then click here to share with everyone. |
|
