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Upcoming Events
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
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Another Fun Friday filled with bingo, chess, LUSA dancing and more!
February 16, 2024
Happy Friday Fairfax Family and Friends,
This week has been delightful. We showed our Lion Love on Valentine's Day, in so many ways-flowers from fashion club, PALentine's for friends, sweet treats from orchestra, cafeteria karaoke, and a "breaking up" with bad habits Lion Time lesson. The sharing of our love continued today as we hosted our "Lions Taking the Lead" honors program and recognized an amazing group of students who demonstrated "POG" skills and leadership in their classes. We also recognized scholarship recipients who have made their next step decisions. If you listen closely, you may even hear the sounds of our district chorus students fill the air.
Do you know what else is in the air - a Spirit of Winning! Tonight, the FHS Basketball Team will compete for the district title against Alexandria City. Our Science Olympiad crushed the competition at Regionals and medaled in 19 events. The Olympiad theme is "can't stop, won't stop" as they are now on a bus to UPENN to do it all again. Our Wrestling team is currently representing at the state tournament and victory has been the word of the day. It is always exciting to celebrate students and our community. We are excited to announce AP Brian Plancich was named the Outstanding Leader Winner for the Fairfax Pyramid, and he will join our Fairfax Pyramid Winner for Teacher of the Year, Ms. Addy.
On this FUN Friday, I encourage you to ask your students how they spent their day. We offered crochet, trivia, dancing, games, movies, crafts, open gym, Mario Kart, and my favorite BINGO as options for students to engage in during Lion Time. Lots of smiles and laughs could be seen and heard as we prepared for our long weekend.
The ground hog said, "Less winter" and now the weather man says, "Much more winter." We will see who is right. Stay safe, Stay warm, Stay connected!
In partnership always,
 
Included in this issue:
Student Spotlight
- Scholarship Winners
- Lions Taking the Lead
- Science Olympiad Regional Tournament
Staff Spotlight
Fairfax Lions Need to Know:
- Calendar Reminders: Presidents Day, Bus Driver Appreciation Day
- FY2025 Proposed Budget
- Community Conversations
- Online School Registration
- Teach for FCPS!
Fairfax Lions Nice to Know:
- Fairfax Academy Dance Benefit: Visionary Movements
- FHS Literary Magazine, The Matrix
- Kids Culinary Challenge
- City of Fairfax Voter Sticker Contest
- City of Fairfax Language Arts Competition
- Food for Neighbors
- FCPS Summer Camps
- FCPS Regional Science and Engineering Fair
- Connect - Contact - Reach Us
Fairfax HS PTSA
- ANG Message
- Hospitality Committee Message
- Membership
Scholarship Winners, Lions Taking the Lead
Valencia Rodriguez, Posse Scholarship
Congratulations to Valencia Rodriguez, one of 742 students from across the US selected as a recipient of the Posse Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Virginia, a Posse partnering institution. Posse Scholars have demonstrated extraordinary leadership within their high school, community and/or family, and excelled academically. Valencia will join a national network of young leaders who work to make the world a better place.
For more information about Posse, see: https://www.possefoundation.org/
Posse Self-Nominations for the Class of 2025 will be announced in late Spring.
We are confident that Valencia will contribute in great ways to Posse and the UVA community.
Sami Moudarres, QuestBridge Scholarship
We are thrilled to announce that Sami Moudarres has been awarded a full four-year scholarship, worth over $200,000, to Duke University through QuestBridge. The QuestBridge National College Match is a scholarship program for seniors who have excelled academically, despite personal circumstances, and have demonstrated evidence of strong writing ability, intellectual spark, determination and extracurricular involvement.
For more information on QuestBridge, see: https://www.questbridge.org/
The Questbridge College Prep Scholarship Program Application for the Class of 2025 is currently open and has a deadline of March 20. Learn more about eligibility here: https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/college-prep-scholars
Adan Eftekhari, Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Leadership Award
Fairfax High School is so proud of Adan Eftekhari who was awarded the $25,000 Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Leadership Award for the 11th Congressional District. This program rewards high school students who demonstrate academic accomplishment and embody excellence of character, leadership and good citizenship.
For more information about this award, see: https://byrdleadershipaward.org/
Lions Taking the Lead
Today, we celebrated Lions Taking the Lead. This award means these students have shown growth or improvement academically or behaviorally, have shown themselves to have outstanding character, or have shown excellence in portrait of a graduate attributes.
Science Olympiad Regional Tournament
The Fairfax HS Science Olympiad team earned First Place at the Centreville Regional Tournament last weekend. Our blue team medaled in all 19 events! Congratulations, Lions!
School Resource Officer Day, Feb. 15
 Photo Credit: City of Fairfax Police Dept.
The School Resource Officer (SRO) assignment is unique within the law enforcement profession. These officers fill a three-part role, serving as informal mentors or counselors, law educators and law enforcement officers to support the students and communities they serve. They are valuable and essential members of the education community who deserve unwavering respect and support from the public in the pursuit of keeping schools and students safe.
We are thankful and grateful to Officer Carrie Johns and Officer Patrick Lynch for their unwavering dedication and support in protecting and serving our City Schools community. Thank you!
Calendar Reminders: Presidents Day, Bus Driver Appreciation Day
All schools and offices will be closed on Monday, February 19, for the Presidents Day holiday. Learn more about Presidents Day in Britannica.com. Classes will resume on Tuesday, February 20. See the complete school year calendar.
Bus Driver Appreciation Day, Feb. 22
We want to thank the outstanding folks who drive our buses EVERY day! They are sometimes the first smiling adult a child sees each morning, and the last before they get home. They brave the weather and get our students safely where need to be. THANK YOU! FCPS Bus Drivers are the BEST!
FY2025 Proposed Budget
Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget Focused on Educational Excellence and Competitive Compensation
At the last School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid proposed a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 that focuses on excellence and providing students an equitable education in an inclusive and respectful environment, where access, opportunity, and achievement are available to all.
The budget also prioritizes competitive compensation to attract and retain a world-class workforce.
The FY 2025 Proposed Budget totals $3.8 billion, an increase of $301.8 million, or 8.6%, over the FY 2024 Approved Budget. Nearly 86% of the budget is focused on instruction. Key highlights include:
- Supporting students academically by maintaining existing class size formulas and providing necessary support to all students.
- Retaining and attracting world-class educators with a 6% market scale adjustment.
- Strengthening student well-being outside of the classroom with expanded athletics offerings, additional athletic trainers, and enhanced stipends for fine and performing arts.
- Continuing initiatives including expansion of inclusive preschool, adoption of green initiatives, and funding assistant director of student activities positions previously funded with ESSER III.
Special education daily contract extensions, funding for the safety and security screening program, and late buses to support academics and activities at middle schools are several of the priorities to be addressed at the end of FY 2024.
The School Board is scheduled to adopt the Advertised Budget on Thursday, February 22. Read more about the proposed budget. Keep up with FCPS’ budget development process.
🎤 Our Schools, Our Future: Community Conversations Continue
Join Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid for Our Schools, Our Future – A Community Conversation. Your voice matters! Share your thoughts about FCPS and bring your questions to a conversation on:
- Tuesday, April 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Graham Road Elementary School.
- Tuesday, April 30, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at South County Middle School.
- Thursday, May 2, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Terraset Elementary School.
- Wednesday, May 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Hybla Valley Elementary School.
- Thursday, May 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Poe Middle School.
- Tuesday, May 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Katherine Johnson Middle School.
Pre-registration for a Community Conversation is not required but will help FCPS plan. Childcare and interpretation services will be provided for all events based on staff availability. Events are open to all. Learn about other opportunities to connect with Dr. Reid.
💻 Try Online Registration
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Parents may register their children online for kindergarten through 12th grade. Learn how to begin the online registration process.
When registering, parents will create (or log in to an existing) SIS ParentVUE account. Please note that passwords should be more than 12 characters long. If you have an existing account and your password is shorter, please update it when you log in.
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👩🏫 Help Students Achieve Their Dreams. Teach for FCPS!
Save the date! Attend FCPS’ instructional job fair on Saturday, February 24, 9 a.m.-noon, at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Network and take advantage of interview opportunities with representatives from various FCPS schools. Employment offers may be extended during the fair. Register today.
Fairfax Lions Nice to Know:
Fairfax Academy Dance Benefit
Please join us for an evening of performances to benefit Dance Exchange, expanding who gets to dance, where dance happens, what dance is about, and why dance matters.
Friday, February 23, 7pm, FHS Auditorium
Tickets are not required but donations encouraged. Please come and support!
Matrix Magazine
Hello, FHS family! The Matrix is Fairfax High School's official literary magazine, where talented students are encouraged to submit their art, prose, poetry, photography, music, and more. Submissions close soon, on the 29th of February, so encourage students to submit quickly! Submit here at linktr.ee/fairfaxcw and check out the mini-Matrix releases!
Real Food for Kids Culinary Challenge
The Real Food for Kids Culinary Challenge will be held on Saturday, March 2, at 10:45 a.m., at Hayfield Secondary School. The event features a public tasting of student dishes and demonstrations from two local celebrated chefs.
The student challenge at the heart of this event is to create healthy, delicious, and culturally diverse school menu items that meet USDA guidelines. Entries will be judged by a panel including celebrity chefs, school food professionals, and local food producers. The public is invited to vote for their favorite dish.
Chefs Najmieh Batmanglij and Chris Morgan of Joon will offer a demonstration at 11:15 a.m. Public tasting of student dishes will get underway at noon.
Student-created dishes from this annual event have been featured on school menus throughout the Greater Washington Region. It is free to attend, but registration is required.
City of Fairfax Voter Sticker Contest
The City of Fairfax Office of Elections and City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts invite all City of Fairfax school aged students to design our next "I Voted" and "Future Voter" stickers.
All forms or artwork must be received on or before April 12, 2024. Late entries will not be accepted. No entry fee is required to participate in the contest.
Find all the information here: City of Fairfax Voter Sticker Contest
City of Fairfax Language Arts Competition
The City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts is sponsoring a Language Arts Competition. For 2024, we are focusing on the topic of forgiveness. We are eager to read examples of our citizens’ thoughts on forgiveness as either a fiction or a nonfiction submission.
Contestants must be:
- Fourth through sixth graders
- Seventh through ninth graders
- Tenth through twelfth graders
- Adults (college age and beyond)
- Individuals who do not derive their primary income from writing
- Neither related to nor household residents of any City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts member
Contestants must also meet any of the following criteria:
- Reside, are employed, or own property in the City of Fairfax
- Attend public or private high school in the City of Fairfax
- Reside and are home schooled within the City of Fairfax
See the City Website for more information. Deadline to submit is 6:00pm, Friday, March 29, 2024.
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.
FCPS Regional Science and Engineering Fair
Members of the general public are invited to attend the science fair open house at Robinson Secondary School on Sunday, March 17, 1-3 p.m.
throughout the year:
Fairfax HS PTSA
Table of Contents:
- ANG Message
- Hospitality Committee Message
- PTSA Membership
All Night Grad Party Update ~ Still Time to Help!
Tickets for the All Night Grad Party Go on Sale in March!
Next month we start selling tickets for the All Night Graduation Party. These will be available online and at certain events at FHS. Watch this space for more information on how to purchase tickets.
Donations Needed for Online Silent Auction
We will be holding our annual ANG Online Silent Auction this spring to raise funds for the party. To make this a success, we need donations of items that we can auction off. These can be products, team-themed baskets, sports tickets, vacations, or services from a business.
If you or your business have an item or service you would like to donate, please contact us at : ANG@fairfaxptsa.org
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!
Staff Appreciation Week, March 4-8
Please help celebrate the teachers and staff at FHS during Staff Appreciation Week, March 4-8! There are many opportunities to volunteer and donate to their luncheon on Wednesday, March 6, and support the daily raffles.
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Lunch & Raffle: Please sign up here Staff Appreciation Lunch & Raffle to ensure that this event is special, and our teachers, counselors, administrators, custodians and cafeteria staff know how much they are appreciated! The PTSA honors staff in March rather than waiting for National Teacher Appreciation Week in May to avoid the busy testing season.
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Monetary Donations: The PTSA is catering lunch from Moby Dick House of Kabob and we are seeking donations to help cover the cost. Shout out to Moby Dick for offering a more affordable “teacher discount” and Wegmans for donating toward our event! Monetary donations can be made at: https://fairfaxhs.memberhub.com/store/items/691099
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Food Donations: We are also looking for donations of desserts and beverages. Donated food items can be left in the FHS Office no later than Tuesday, March 5, 2024 (school holiday). Please label any items for Staff Appreciation Lunch! Any surplus packaged foods will be used by our school counselors and leadership students during Wellness Week in April or donated to the FHS Food Pantry. Food Donations.
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Raffle: We are seeking donations of gift baskets from individuals, groups or businesses or other donated items such as gift cards to raffle. Our goal is to have something for EACH of our wonderful staff members! Please drop items in the office no later than Friday, March 1 clearly labeled “Staff Appreciation.” If you need to make other arrangements, please contact Sandy Murray at saguidice@hotmail.com. Raffle Donations.
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Volunteer: If you can help on the day of the event to set up, hand out items and clean up please sign up! Volunteer Signup.
Questions, please contact the PTSA hospitality committee:
Lisa: lmwooditch@verizon.net
Sandy: saguidice@hotmail.com
Susan: soldbysusan@skares.com
Laura: laurabuice@gmail.com
Thank you for supporting our amazing staff!
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.
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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. |
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