From the Principal's Desk

Fairfax Community –

One of the more special qualities of our school climate is the student voice and participation in many school activities and programs. This presence starts with our New Student Ambassadors welcoming and supporting students new to the school on their first days, and remains strong through graduation. One of our school’s traditions is to offer one of our Honor Graduates – students who graduate with a 4.0 grade point average or higher – an opportunity to speak at graduation. Yesterday, interested Honor Graduates auditioned a preview of their remarks, with the participating seniors voting for who they thought might best address the senior class on their last day at Fairfax High School. Some common themes were Rebel Pride, academic and personal growth, the school as a home, the senior class as a family, and strength in diversity.

On any given school day, our students’ voice is expressed loudest through our Student Leadership classes. We have three Student Leadership classes, and the students in these classes are the planners, directors and central actors of many school events. These student leaders are responsible for events such as our pep rallies, talent show, Homecoming, and the Powder Puff games, which happened yesterday. They also spearhead service projects, including the canned food drive. Our students are also important communicators in our school. They script and film episodes of Pride Time TV, which carry important school messages as well as generate student interest and support for our extracurricular activities. These Leadership students recently surveyed students throughout the school about their programs for feedback, meaning that the Leadership programs are influenced by many student voices throughout the school.

Our students also have important voices on our Student Services and Principal’s Advisory Councils. Our Student Services Advisory Council meets quarterly and is composed of students, parents, teachers, and Student Services staff. Students on this advisory council provide input and feedback on Student Services programming, which ranges from scheduling to academic, personal and college/career planning, and social supports for students. This year, I created an advisory council of 20 students, including five from each grade and representative of our school’s diversity in their backgrounds and school interests. Meeting every month, the students on the advisory council have given me many insights into how our students experience our school and how we can support them in their growth.

ROBOTICS TEAM GOING NATIONAL: Our Fairfax TSA Robotics Team of Thomas Dabney and Jack Rizek will participate in the ION Mini-Urban Challenge at the national level, competing against the top ten high schools at the National American History Museum starting Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. Students must demonstrate 21st-century skills such as collaboration, communication, and critical thinking as teams build and navigate a robotic unmanned car through a LEGO model city.

ACADEMIC BOOT CAMP: In preparation for next school year, we are inviting students new to taking AP or Honors courses as well as those students currently in AP/Honors classes who want extra preparation to participate in a 4-session program this summer. The program runs from 7:00-9:00 p.m. of Monday, July 30 through Thursday, August 2. You must provide transportation for your student to and from Fairfax High School. The invitation and flyer for this program are available in the “Quick Links” on our website, www.fcps.edu/FairfaxHS. This program is an opportunity for your son or daughter to strengthen academic skills and refine study habits prior to the start of the 2012-2013 school year. Sessions will focus on topics such as critical reading, writing skills, and organization and time management. If you would like your student to attend, please return the registration form via email at cddass@fcps.edu. We recommend registering as soon as possible to reserve a place. AP summer assignments will be distributed soon; I will let you know when they are handed out and also available on our website.

GOING THE DISTANCE: In the Liberty District track meet, three of our student-athletes were crowned district champions. Jake Snyder won the pole vault event, Mallory Johnson won the discus, and Yol Ho Sung won the 400-meter dash. Dryanna Renwick placed second in the girls’ long jump and triple jump events. Lorenzo Harris and Soo Beom Park placed 4th and 6th in the 110-meter hurdles. Matt Frank finished 4th in the shot put event and Michael Mezher finished 4th in the discus. As top-6 finishers, all of them qualified for the Northern Region championship held yesterday and this afternoon at Robinson.

As a last example of our students’ voices, I leave you with a poem written by one of our 9th grade students. His teacher asked the students in the class to write a free verse poem about anything important in their lives. Enjoy the 3-day weekend!

We are Fairfax.
Agreed.
We are family?
For life.
We eat together, like a family
We play together, like a family
We work together, which always isn’t the greatest idea, like a family
We struggle together, like a family
We lose together, like a family
But we always work hard together, like a family
We unite together, like a family
We go to the end together, like a family
We WIN together, like a family
We are family
We are Fairfax.

Best,
Dave Goldfarb

Highlights of the week and upcoming events:

Student Obligations
Students will not be able to purchase Prom tickets or receive their Cap & Gown until all their obligations have been paid. Please have your student check with the Finance office via email @ macourtney@fcps.edu to see what they may owe. A callout to those Seniors who owe money will go out on Wednesday.

Effective June 1st, Seniors must pay with cash or money order for any fees and obligations. This eliminates any problems with returned checks during this short and busy month. Thank you for your assistance.
Melissa Courtney, Finance Officer

JUNIOR AND SENIORS:
Don't forget you can order your prom Corsages and Boutonnieres on-line and pick them up after school on the Friday before prom or the Saturday of prom from 9-2. Simply go to www.bloomsforfunds.com and click on Proms In Bloom. They have a great selection and your purchase will benefit the 2012 All Night Grad party! Order must be placed by May 29th.

If you have any questions, please contact fairfaxallnightgrad@gmail.com.

ALL HANDS ON DECK NEEDED FOR ALL NIGHT GRAD PARTY:
The All Night Grad Committee would like to remind seniors and their parents that ticket order forms, raffle ticket order forms and yard signs order forms are due in May. ANG representatives will be in the cafeteria during lunches every Tuesday and Thursday to collect forms and answer questions. Please visit the All Night Grad link at www.fhsptsa.org to download forms and to link to the volunteer spreadsheet. Many volunteers are needed to make this great event a success. Please sign up to help today! Parents of juniors are also encouraged to help out by signing up to help decorate and clean up. Your contribution helps the parents of seniors to rest up before the big night. It also gives you an opportunity to see what is involved in hosting this great (and safe) event when it is your son or daughter who has graduated. Go to the All Night Grad link and click on volunteers to sign up.

From the Registrar’s Office
Did you move recently? Please call the registrar’s office, 703-219-2202, with your new address and phone number. You will need to complete a new emergency card and information update form as well as provide us with a copy of your new lease, settlement papers or residency affidavit and a utility bill or other supporting document. Upon receipt of these items we will update all information in our data base and you should receive mailed items at your new address. Thanks for your assistance!