Annandale HS PTSA

WHAT’S NEW……

School Budget Crisis continues; read more……On January 8th, FCPS Superintendent Jack Dale will present his FY 2010 budget to the School Board. He will make his presentation at the School Board meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School that begins at 7:00 p.m. While it is not clear what will be in the proposed budget, it is understood that even middle-of-the-road cuts will be very hard on the school system. Dr. Dale has advised the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council that he is working on a Tier 4 approach to the budget crisis to utilize “if necessary” and which would expand on the proposed Tier 3 cuts of $219M. Tier 4 cuts would include everything in Tier 3 plus no raises and no step increases for teachers, and an additional 1-day furlough for FCPS employees, saving an additional $25M. We are asking you to read the important information about the budget cuts, which is updated constantly, and contact your school board representative to voice your concern about the budget cuts and the impact that it will have on Annandale High School. Read more.

Do you know a faculty member, administrator, guidance counselor, cafeteria helper, custodian or support staff who has gone Above and Beyond the expectations of their jobs? The PTSA is seeking nominations for the Above and Beyond award recognizing those staff members. Nomination forms can be found under the Faculty/Staff Recognition link.

The PTSA is sponsoring a FREE SAT practice test for Juniors on Saturday, January 10th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the cafeteria. A parent follow up session will be held on January 17th at 10:00 am in the Cafeteria. You must register with the Summit Education Group to attend. Summit can be reached at www.mytutor.com/orientations or 1-800-698-8867.

FAIRGRADE Update. Dr. Dale has released his recommendation to the School Board with regard to changing FCPS grading policy. This recommendation includes a change in the weighting system (giving .5 additional weight for Honors classes and 1.0 additional weight for IB/AP classes), but leaves the current grading scale in place. The School Board will make its final decision on January 22nd. A copy of the report can be found at www.fcps.edu/news/grading.htm. FAIRGRADE is encouraging its supporters to contact School Board representatives and Dr. Dale’s office and to also attend the January 8th School Board meeting wearing white. Further information about FAIRGRADE can be found at www.fairgrade.org.

It is now even easier to sign up to receive announcements from FCPS, Annandale High School and the PTSA through Keep in Touch. Find out about the changes at http://www.fcps.edu/kit/index.htm.

SLEEP UPDATE. SLEEP (Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal) has announced that the FCPS Transportation staff have released a report outlining the plan for implementing revised bell schedules at no additional cost. Under this proposal, most high schools would start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:20 p.m. The School Board will discuss the proposal at its January 12th work session. Further information regarding SLEEP can be found on their website at www.sleepinfairfax.org.

We are looking for a few fun volunteers…..the All Night Grad Party Committee is looking for volunteers to assist with the All Night Grad Celebration – including decorating, set up, clean up, fundraising, and supervising the night of the event. Even though it won’t be held until June, reserve your place now…. To volunteer, contact Mary Kay Ippolitto at ippolitomk@aol.com.

The FCPS Safe and Drug Free Youth Office and their Unified Prevention Coalition (UPC) is organizing a countywide substance use and violence prevention conference, “What Today’s Youth Need You To Know.” The conference will focus on educating adults, youth and professional service providers, on current trends based on the 2008 Fairfax County Youth Survey as well as issues pertinent to raising healthy families. The conference will be held on March 28, 2009 at Luther Jackson Middle School. View Flyer.

The next PTSA meeting of the year will be held on Tuesday, January 21st at 7:00 pm in Clausen Hall. Come be involved in your child’s education.

Committees