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The heart of any successful school lies in cultivating a strong sense of belonging for all students. When students feel safe, valued, and respected, they thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. A culture of belonging goes beyond mere tolerance; it embraces diversity, celebrates individual strengths, and provides a supportive environment where every student feels seen and heard. At our core, that is who we are, and have always been, and continue to be as a South Lakes and Reston community.
As we embark on the second semester, it's an opportune time for reflection and renewed focus. Let's learn from the past semester, celebrate our successes, and identify areas for improvement. By setting clear goals and approaching each day with intention and purpose, we can create a positive and productive learning environment for all.
Executive function skills, such as planning, organization, and self-regulation, are crucial for academic success. For students who struggle with these skills, navigating school can be challenging.
Here's a link from our school division’s website on Strategies to Support Classwork and Homework. By implementing these strategies and fostering a supportive and inclusive school environment, we can empower all students to reach their full potential.
With Gratitude,
Carlos Seward
We value your feedback. Share your observations, suggestions, questions and celebrations with me here.
 Important Dates
- January 21, 2025: Individual Academic Advising/Course Selection Meetings begin
- January 28, 2025: End of Second Quarter/First Semester - Dismissal at 2:55 PM
- Tuesday, January 28, 4 p.m. - Tuesday, February 4, 6 a.m: StudentVUE and ParentVUE unavailable..
- January 29, 2025: Lunar New Year/Student Holiday/Teacher Work Day
- January 30, 2025: Start of Quarter 3
- January 31/February 1: Broadway Night
- February 1 - March 1, 2025: Black History Month
- February 12, 2025: IB Information Night, 6:30 - 7:30PM
- February 17, 2025: Holiday (Washington’s Birthday and Presidents’ Day)
StudentVUE/ParentVUE to Close with 2nd Quarter End
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 is the end of the second quarter and our first semester (See the complete school year calendar.) Students will be dismissed at the regular time of 2:55 PM. Students and parents are able to review their student’s grade books until 4PM at which time StudentVUE and ParentVUE will be unavailable. They will re-open at 6AM on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.
Access Your Child’s Grades Through SIS ParentVueLearn how your ParentVUE account allows you to easily access grade reports and other helpful information about your child.
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Quarter 2 Attendance Report Cards
Coming Soon!
With quarter 2 ending, we will be sending home the attendance report cards for each student via email. Thank you for reviewing the information with your student and supporting their attendance in Quarter 3!
 Academic Advising and Course Selection for SY2026
Academic advising and course selection has begun! Starting this month through March 11, students will meet individually with their counselor to discuss course selections for the 2025 - 2026 school year. Counselors will look at current course performance, students' interests and strengths, as well as post-secondary plans to help students choose courses that best suit them and their goals.
It is important for students to choose a course load that will challenge them and help prepare them for their post-secondary endeavors while also allowing for balance with their extracurricular and personal commitments. Conversations with teachers, participating in the Curriculum Fair, looking at the Curriculum Fair videos and attending Curriculum Night are key components of choosing the right courses.
All of our academic advising and course selection information can be found here Academic Advising/Course Selection .
Academy Open Houses Continue
FCPS high school academies open houses for interested students continue into February. Open houses are a great opportunity to visit classrooms, labs, instructors, and academy counselors. Academy elective courses provide students with a variety of career experiences, including shadowing, mentoring, or internships with local businesses. Students can explore more than a dozen career fields through FCPS academies!
Watch this video to learn more about academy programs. View the calendar of Academy Open Houses. For questions, email Bonnie Wannett.
✨ Availability of, accessibility to, and student enrollment in coursework in the arts, STEAM, career and technical education, trades, technology, and world languages is one measure of the FCPS Strategic Plan Goal 4: Equitable Access and Opportunity.
South Lakes Pyramid Chorus Teachers Present: Broadway Night: 100 Years of Broadway
Congratulations, Scholastic Bowl/
It’s Academic Team
 Our Scholastic Bowl/It’s Academic team has had a very successful 2024-2025 season so far.
It’s Academic: On November 16, the South Lakes team won its first-round match against Gaithersburg and Edison High Schools and advanced to the playoff round. This appearance will air on WETA on February 15. On February 9, they will meet TJHSST and Lake Braddock in the playoff round.
Scholastic Bowl: Our VHSL Scholastic Bowl team placed in the Concorde District tournament, advancing to the 6A Northern Region Championship. The competition was spirited, and the tournament was won by McLean HS which advanced to States.
Members: Kevin Morrow, Eric Loizeaux, Zahra Farooq, Amany Nassar, Robin Newhouse, Rithvik Kondam
Congratulations, Seahawk Robotics Team
Over the weekend, our Seahawk Robotics Team participated in a First Tech Challenge Qualifier at Moorefield High School in West Virginia. Fifteen of our students participated in this event. And although there were some early technical problems with a plastic part on a claw arm used to pick up samples (objects) snapped off during the second round, the team successfully problem-solved and used metal parts, a drill, screws, and other supplies to repair the broken arm and connect the new piece back to the bot by the next round. Our team won two of the five matches and ranked 16 out of 24 teams.
The Seahawks team won the Connect award for the Moorefield Qualifier. The Connect award is given to the team that most connects with their local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community. The team that wins the Connect Award actively seeks and recruits engineers and explores the opportunities available in the world of engineering, science, and technology. This team has a clear team plan and has identified steps to achieve their goals.
Coach Cecila Garin shared with me that: "Their teamwork was outstanding! They demonstrated awesome gracious professionalism during the qualifier. They represented South Lakes well." Thank you to our students, and their coaches, Cecila Garin and Sherri Evans!
Congratulations, Seahawk Battalion Drill Team
Congratulations to our Seahawk Battalion Drill Team, who competed in the District of Columbia Public Schools/General Wheeler Drill Competition over the weekend. They achieved FIRST PLACE OVERALL for the competition. Additionally, cadets won awards in the following areas: Armed Inspection, Armed Platoon, Armed Colorguard, Armed Exhibition, Unarmed Platoon, and Unarmed Squad. Thank you to our students and our AJROTC leadership for, Colonel Bullard and Sargent Handy.
SLHS Japanese Global Classmates
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Our students taking Japanese 3 and 4 are globally connected! A huge thanks to Mayfield Sensei who in partnership with Joyou High School in Kyoto, Japan, has connected our students with other Japanese students across the globe through an international online exchange program called Global Classmates. It is sponsored by Kizuna Across Cultures, an organization that supports friendship between schools in Japan and the United States. These internationally minded students learn about themselves, their community, and each other through inquiry and questions in both English and Japanese. The connection is facilitated through messages via Canvas around designated topics from August through February. As a culminating activity, the students send and receive a small “omiyage” (a small gift). Not only does each school send a gift to one another, they also receive a video recording of the joy of receiving and opening these gifts. SLHS students received a variety of Japanese candies, snacks, and traditional items such as folding fans. The Joyou students received items that are very specific to South Lakes, such as South Lakes t-shirts and D.C. souvenirs.
South Lakes Theatre Triumphs at VTF!
The recent Virginia Thespian Festival (VTF) was a resounding success for South Lakes! Our talented students demonstrated exceptional dedication and skill, achieving remarkable results.
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Outstanding Scores: South Lakes earned an impressive 31 Superior ratings, surpassing all other 50+ participating schools. Several students even achieved perfect scores – a truly exceptional accomplishment.
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Thespy Recognition: Four South Lakes entries were called back for further evaluation, and two students – Clara Neag and Sitina Tochterman – were selected to perform on the mainstage at the closing ceremony.
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Exceptional Student Behavior: The students exhibited exemplary behavior throughout the festival, demonstrating a strong work ethic and a positive attitude.
This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, the tireless support of our parent volunteers (Hilary Ingraham, Jennifer Holoviak, Yumiko Scoville, Elizabeth Anderson, & Andy Birch), and the unwavering support of our school.
 SR&R and Cell Phone Policy Survey
All FCPS families of middle and high school students received an email invitation on Tuesday, January 21, to participate in a survey about FCPS’ Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R), cell phone policy, and cell phone storage options. The survey will be available from January 21 to February 3. Please take a few moments to share your feedback and help FCPS make informed, inclusive decisions for all of our schools.
Cell Phone Policy
📵 Phones Down, Engagement Up: FCPS Cell Phone Policy Keeping cell phones off during the school day helps students focus and learn. It also boosts positive social behavior. Review FCPS’ cell phone expectations by grade level with your child and help keep our classrooms free of distractions! If you need to reach your child during the school day, please call our main office at 703-715-4500.
Application for the 2025 Student Representative to the School Board
The School Board student representative represents the interests of Fairfax County Public Schools students. The student representative is not a member of the School Board but serves in a nonvoting, advisory capacity. Students currently in grades 9, 10, and 11 are eligible to apply.
Watch this video to learn about the student representative experience from the current representative, Megan Sawant.
Application Information and Deadlines
To be considered for the election, students are required to provide:
- A written component, which is due Monday, February 24.
- A 30-second candidate video statement, which is due Wednesday, March 26. Candidates will be emailed a link to record their video on Monday, March 17.
Both application components are required to be considered for the election. Read more about the election process.
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Proposed Budget Presented to School Board
Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid presented the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Proposed Budget at the School Board meeting on Thursday, January 23. Watch a video of the presentation.
The proposed budget reflects FCPS’ continued focus on providing a world-class education for each and every student while recognizing the hard work and commitment of our outstanding employees. The budget focuses on competitive compensation — including a 7% salary increase for all staff — investing in students who require additional support, and the continuation of multiyear investments. It reflects the needs of and FCPS’ commitments to Fairfax County students, families, and community members. Learn more on the Budget website.
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Judges Needed! Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair
The Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair will be held on Saturday, March 22, at Robinson Secondary School. Each year, more than 250 judges are required to evaluate science fair projects in a wide variety of categories ranging from plant science to engineering technology. Volunteers serving as judges should hold an advanced degree or possess extensive academic and/or professional experience in their selected judging category. However, all interested individuals are encouraged to apply.
Please note that parents/caregivers, teachers, and family friends are not permitted to judge in categories in which their child, student, or family friend’s child is competing.
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Virtual Community Boundary Review Meetings
On Friday, we held our first virtual Community Boundary Review meeting. If you weren’t able to attend one of our recent in-person Community Boundary Review meetings, registration remains open for the following virtual meetings:
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FCPS Cares
Do you know of a South Lakes High School or FCPS 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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Parent Resources
Parent Information Line
- Parents who speak Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, or Vietnamese can call a telephone information line for general information about FCPS and to receive support if they are having difficulty communicating with their children's schools due to a language barrier.
Parent Resource Center
- The FCPS Parent Resource Center offers a wide variety of information and resources to support the success of all students. This includes monthly workshops and webinars. More information can be found on the FCPS website, including registration information.
Varsity Tutors
- FCPS is partnering with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors’ services at no cost, including weekly live online classes, on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests. Learn more about online tutoring with Varsity Tutors.
No Cost Virtual Therapy for High School Students
- Virtual therapy sessions are available at no cost to FCPS high school students to provide a safe space to address concerns such as:
- Mood/behavior changes, motivation, grief/loss.
- Anxiety, worry, fears.
- Social skills, bullying, peer and family relationships.
- Academic stress.
In order for students to participate, caregivers must give permission for FCPS to share basic demographic information with Hazel Health in ParentVUE. They must also provide consent for their student to access therapy services.
Students may then be referred by a guardian or designated school staff member. Refer your child by calling 571-749-2940 or contacting an FCPS school counselor, social worker, psychologist, or director of Student Services.
Visit the FCPS Teletherapy webpage for more information.
Free Webinars and Events for Families
In January, the Family Resource Center (FRC) will host webinars for families on:
Sign up for the FRC newsletter or visit their webinar webpage.
Upcoming Family Academy Events
You are an important part of your child's education! The FCPS Family Academy compiles classes, webinars, workshops, and programs offered by FCPS to help you support your child's needs and learning at home. Browse Family Academy offering
Helpful Links
South Lakes High School Website
Follow The Lakes on Social Media!
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Be sure to follow us on Instagram (@south_lakeshs) and X (@southlakeshs)!!
Follow South Lakes HS on Social Media: Stay connected with South Lakes High School by following us on social media! It's the best way to keep up with our latest news, celebrate student achievements, and keep up with everything going on at The Lakes! Links: Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
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Upcoming PTSA Meeting
Our next PTSA meeting will be on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 7:00pm in the College & Career Center.
It's not too late! if you have not done so already, please consider joining the PTSA by filling out the online membership form. For more information about membership visit the South Lakes PTSA website.
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