2/5/17 PTSA E-Blast

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KEY DATES (complete calendar at ptsa.westfieldhs.org):

2/6 – 2/10 – National School Counseling Week

2/6 – Student Holiday/Teacher Workday

2/8 – National History Day Fair, judges needed

2/10-2/12 – Theatre’s “The Laramie Project”

2/11 – BITS Free Tutoring

2/14 – Report cards distributed

2/14 – “A” Day Celebration during lunches

2/15 – Neil McNerney presentation of “The Teenage Brain”

2/25 – Practice SAT/ACT

 Here are several updates from around the school:

1. 2017 Mulch Sale and Delivery:  The annual mulch sale has begun! Delivery will take place on April 21st and 22^nd.  To order online, click here.  To download the order form, click here.   Bags are $5 each, with $2.60 of each bag ordered being tax deductible. The mulch spreading service is being sold and is available for customers who purchase mulch through the mulch sale. Both the mulch and the spreading service sell out each year. Order early – we are already 25% sold out, after just over a week of sales!  Free delivery is available for orders of 15 bags or more to WHS boundary addresses and parking lot pick up is available at Westfield for orders under 15 bags and those outside WHS boundaries. 
2. Neil McNerney Presentation, February 15^th at 7 pm:  On Wednesday, February 15^th, Neil McNerney, a well-regarded and respected counselor, author, and speaker, will present “The Teenage Brain – Temporary Insanity”. Please invite friends and neighbors!  Visit Neil McNerney  or see attached flier for more information.
3. National School Counseling Week:  February 6^th-10^th is National School Counseling Week! Did you know that each counselor at Westfield has responsibility for nearly 300 students?! Thank you for your support, caring, and guidance for our students and community Ms. Craig, Ms. Cudahy, Ms. Fargo, Ms. Gulgert, Mr. Harris, Ms. Hughes, Mr. Sidener, Ms. Shaw, and Ms. Snyder!
4. Practice SAT or ACT, February 25^th:  The PTSA and Kaplan are sponsoring a practice test on Saturday, February 25^th. Students register to take a full-length test of either the SAT or the ACT. Scores are for student use only, and are not reported to the test companies. The cost is $20, with payment made to the PTSA. To register, click here or use the link at the bottom of this e-blast.
5. National History Day Fair: The fourth Annual National History Day Fair at Westfield High School is Wednesday, February 8^th! Do you want to be a part of history? If so, volunteer at our National History Day Fair!  The Social Studies department is in need of a few more judges to evaluate the History Day projects created by the honors students at our school. Come be a part of our gallery walk or watch amazing documentaries created by our students. If you are interested in becoming a judge please follow the link to sign up: http://tinyurl.com/o9929rk  You may not judge your own students category. Questions? Email Jennifer Santiago  jmsantiago@fcps.edu
6. WHS Theatre Presents “The Laramie Project”: Come see some of Westfield’s amazing thespians perform their latest work! The show runs February 10^th and 11^th at 7:30 pm and February 12^th at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $10 in advance and with a student ID and $12 at the door.  For more information and to purchase tickets online, click here.
7. Congratulations to Ms. Ferguson, WHS Special Education and SGA teacher, who was recently inducted into the Fairfax High School Athletic Hall of Fame!
8. Thank you to Ambrose Lewis who has taken on the task of maintaining the PTSA website this year. He has spent countless hours learning the system, keeping it current, and helping the PTSA spread information for the benefit of our members and community.  Thank you! We truly appreciate all you do!
9. BITS Tutoring - Free!  BITS runs up to 3 Saturday mornings per month. Student tutors are needed and earn service hours for their time! To be eligible for tutoring, students must attend Westfield or any of the schools that feed to Westfield (elementary and middle). For information and to see the required forms, click here   Everyone must arrive on time. No late arrivals will be admitted. February 11th is the next BITS tutoring date.
10. WHS Football Champion Spirit Wear:  A new “Back2Back” WHS Football spirit wear design is on sale now, with orders being taken through February 9^th. Click here to order.  If you ordered items in December and haven’t picked them up yet, they are in the Activities Office. Please pick them up asap!
11. Turbo-Tutoring: March 8^th is the next SAT prep class, plus classes through the summer have been scheduled. To see the calendar and to register for a one-day seminar for SAT or ACT prep, click here or see the flier attached at the bottom of the e-blast.
12. New for the 2017-2018 school year: WHS will be offering a new science course-Genetics and Biotechnology available for juniors and seniors! Please have your student talk to his/her counselor soon for more information and to sign up! 
13. Gap Year Fair: Learn about what a gap year between high school and college is about and learn about specific gap year programs. The fair is on February 7^th, with a speaker from 7-7:45 pm and the fair being from 7:45-9 pm and is at George C. Marshall High School. Preregistration is required and this is a free event. To register, visit usagapyearfairs.org/fairs
14. Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters:  On March 11^th from 9-11 am at Oakton High School, College Access Fairfax will present “Make a Wise Decision: Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters”. Space is limited.  To register, visit here.
15. 2017 ASBC HBCU College Festival: Students and parents are all invited to attend the Alfred Street Baptist Church 15th Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities College Festival. This year’s event will be held at TC Williams High School 3330 King Street Alexandria, VA 22302 on Saturday, February 18, 2017 doors open at 9:00 am.  Over 70 colleges and universities will be in attendance. Some schools will conduct on site admissions and provide fee waivers. There will be seminars for parents and students. Visit the website for more information and to register for seminars: http://www.alfredstreet.org/ministries/outreach-and-missions/hbcu-festival/ .  It’s free!
16. Senior Parent Meeting:  Senior Parents – please mark your calendars for the “70 Days Until Graduation” Senior Parent meeting on April 6^th at 7 pm. Come learn about everything related to graduation (June 15^th at 7:30 pm), including ticket information (yes, tickets are required), rehearsal information (required for all students who will be graduating), prom information (May 13^th), Mulch Day (April 21-22), All Night Grad Celebration, and much more! 
17. Congratulations to Brian Delaney: Brian was selected as the Parade Magazine’s All American Punter!
18. Sully District “State of the Station”: On February 8^th from 7:30 – 9:00 pm, there will be a citizen’s advisory committee meeting where attendees will hear a presentation about the past year’s crime trends and community outreach efforts, plus a discussion about ongoing plans. The meeting will be at the Sully District Station, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd.
19. Westfields Triathlon: The Westfield Business Owner’s Association is sponsoring the 5^th annual Westfields Triathlon on April 30th! The WBOA is a fantastic business partner for our school!  Please consider supporting the triathlon as a participant or volunteer!  For information, click here.
20. College Partnership Program:  Applications for the College Partnership Program are being accepted now. The College Partnerships Program assists students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education such as first generation, African American, American Indian, Alaskan native, Hispanic, limited English proficient, students with disabilities or economically disadvantaged students. See Mrs. Campbell, Maggie Craig, or Bobby Snyder, CPP advocates, for more information or to request an application. Or, visit here.   Applications accepted January 18 – March 31, 2017. 
21. FCPS Parent Resource Center:  There are many resources available at the FCPS Parent Resource center. For information and to register for classes, visit here.  
22. FCPS Summer Classes:  Information regarding a wide variety of summer classes through FCPS is available here.  Many registration windows opened February 1^st.
23. News You Can Use: If you haven’t already done so, please consider registering to receive PTSA updates through the FCPS News You Can Use program. It’s a bit cumbersome to register but this is the main way the PTSA will be able to send messages (other than the eblasts and Facebook).  To register: Go to FCPS.edu; Scroll to the bottom then click on the mustard yellow banner “Stay Updated with What’s Happening at FCPS with News You Can Choose; Click the “Sign Up Now box; Enter your email address and click “submit”; Find the button for “High Schools” and select “Westfield”; Choose first line “News and Announcements” then choose second line “PTSA” and click submit. You will see a green banner with a check mark and “Subscriptions Updated”.  While in the system, you can opt for other areas of interest as well.
24. Athletic Teams Calendar:  To see the games/matches/meets for all WHS athletic teams, click here!  
25. Amazon.com Ordering:  If you order from Amazon.com, please access the website through the link on the right side of the PTSA webpage   Every order placed earns the PTSA much needed funds, at NO cost to you! Thank you!
26. Silent Fundraisers:  We participate in several store school support programs, such as Giant’s A+ School Rewards and Harris Teeter’s Together in Education program. You DO have to relink your Harris Teeter card each year but you do not have to relink your Giant card (but please check to ensure that you’ve designated Westfield!)  Please check out this link for more information!
27. Have something about a club, team, or class at Westfield that you’d like in the e-blast? Send a request to cpisarcikptsa@cox.net

Congratulations Wrestlers – 2^nd place in the Conference! Congratulations to Fabrizio Lazo, Will Lisenby, and Brandon Whitton – Individual Champions!

Congratulations to both Leo Wang and Olivia Masterson who set new school records in the 100 meter Breaststroke at the regional meet this weekend!

Congratulations to the boys 200 Medley Relay team of Max Kuranda, Ben Neubauer, Leo Wang, and Alan Zhai for setting a new school record at the regional meet this weekend!