LOVE FEST was a huge success and a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day. Many thanks to Leadership students and teachers for organizing and for all of our student singers and performers for sharing their talents with us and others!

Spring Family/Teacher Conferences are on March 1 from 4:45-7:15. To schedule a conference, use the following link:

SignUpGenius https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094CAAAC23A6FCC16-03012023

The access code is 1400

Career Corner

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events!

Career Speaker Series with the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) during Mustang Morning (sign up in adaptive scheduler or contact Mrs. Bledsoe)

• Wednesday, Feb. 22: Selling the Destination (Pre-Visit and During)
• Sales Manager Teresa Lamb and Visitor and Community Relations Manager Cassie Ivey
• Wednesday, March 1: Marketing and PR
• Director of Marketing & PR Brantley Ussery and Marketing Manager Amanda Vierrether
• Wednesday, March 8: DMO Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement/Relations
• Executive Director of the CACVB Courtney Cacatian

MoHS JOB FAIR!!! Wednesday, March 15th In the Atrium during all lunches (11am-1pm). Hosted in partnership with the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau. There will be over 20 employers hiring for part-time and summer jobs. Students who attend will also be entered to win Raffle prizes! Contact Mrs. Bledsoe if you need assistance preparing a resume for the event.

March - Writing SOL Test

Our 11th graders are scheduled to take the Writing SOL test during the week beginning March 6. The Writing SOL test has 2 parts that have to be given on 2 separate days, and students must complete both parts – multiple choice and short paper (essay). All students are required to pass the Writing SOL test in order to graduate, so we ask for your help in communicating with your 11th grader how important this SOL is. You and your 11th grader should have received an email already with their test dates and other test information. Contact Melissa Hankins if you have any questions.

March – SOL Field Test

The week after the Writing SOL test, our 11th graders are scheduled to take the SOL Field Test. Virginia is developing a new SOL test that integrates reading and writing, and they are examining the test’s format and questions. This SOL Field Test will contain a reading passage, 4 to 6 multiple-choice questions about the passage, and 1 writing prompt related to the passage. This SOL Field Test will be given all at once on the same day and will not be scored. With limited exceptions, all juniors are required to participate. Be on the lookout for an email with your 11th graders testing date and further testing details. Contact Melissa Hankins if you have any questions.

March – SAT Day

Also for our 11th graders in March, we are offering the SAT on a school day – Wednesday, March 22, and most of our juniors have signed up to take advantage of this opportunity. Contact Laura Gaskins if you have any questions about the SAT.

This means that March is a testing-intense month for our juniors. Create some relaxing space(s) at home, plan some stress-reducing activities with your child/children, or simply check in on them to see how they are feeling about these tests.

Here are some quick tips for relieving stress or anxiety.

1. Exercise
2. Reduce your caffeine intake
3. Write it down
4. Get more sleep
5. Laugh
6. Learn to say no
7. Listen to soothing music
8. Deep breathing
9. Spend time with your pet
10. Spend time with friends and family

All 9th graders are attending a field trip during 1st and 2nd blocks on Tuesday, March 7. They are going with their Freshman Seminar/AVID 9 classes to tour CATEC and Center 1.

Spring Sports Tryouts start this week (Feb. 20). Tryouts information, updated schedules, coach contact information and more are available online at www.GoMonticello.org.

During the month of February, Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) will be sharing ongoing updates about Career Learning Communities. In order to better inform our school community about new and current programs available to students, we are hosting two events in the coming week.

We invite you to attend a virtual community information forum focused on Career Learning Communities (CLCs) on Wednesday, February 22, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. You can join this forum, hosted by the ACPS Office of Community Engagement, by clicking on the following Zoom link.

A panel of school division leaders and community partners will discuss our CLC offerings and the launch of programming scheduled for this fall. Among specific areas that will be addressed are the specific pathways and CLCs located within each high school; details about the courses in each pathway and layout of yearly experiences; resources for students and parents; and opportunities for work-based experiences through community partnerships. Participants will be able to ask questions through Zoom’s Q&A feature.

We also invite you to attend a virtual forum focused on Career Learning Communities (CLCs) by location. You can join this forum, hosted by the schools, by clicking on the following Zoom link.

Each school, Albemarle, Monticello, Western Albemarle, Center One and CATEC, will share programming at their sites. Principals, school counselors, teachers will be available to provide a short presentation and allow families the opportunity to ask questions. There will be time allotted for families to visit at least three sites. You will be invited to join breakout rooms by school sites. Each breakout room will be open for 15 minutes and then we will allow families to remain in a breakout room or join another.

If you are unable to attend but you would like more information regarding programming or course selection for your child, we encourage you to reach out to your student’s school counselor.

Buy your 2023 Yearbook now, available until we sell out. We sold out last year and expect to do so again! Yearbooks are $65.

Dear seniors and families of MHS seniors,

2022 yearbooks are now for sale! They are $65. Please purchase them through Balfour (www.balfour.com). Balfour also sends you direct marketing materials via email, and you can use their links to order the same book.

Along with the yearbook, you have the option to purchase a “student ad” for your graduating senior. (You might hear people refer to these as ‘baby ads’ because families often include photos of their seniors when they were little.) This is a privilege extended only to seniors; it is optional and certainly not required. Our deadline for all ad submissions is Friday, March 18th.

If you would like to purchase an ad, you will do so on Balfour, using a very similar process to buying a yearbook itself. Here are the steps:

1. Visit www.balfour.com and search for Monticello High School (be sure to pick the one in Charlottesville)

2. Shop “Yearbook products” and purchase the ad size you want. Our prices are: ¼ page = $25; ½ page = $50; ¾ page - $75; Full page - $100. Please see the attached image if you cannot find this ad purchase option.

3. Create an account on Balfour.com

4. Look for an email within 1 business day confirming your Ad Workspace is available

5. Log into your Balfour.com account and look under My Orders to design your ad. Watch this short video to see how to design.

6. When you’re ready, choose “Submit Your Ad” to send it to the yearbook staff.

The attached flyer explains how to design an ad as well.

The design process is relatively easy and very well explained by Balfour – but we know this can be daunting! If you purchase an ad but need our support in designing, please send your senior to G104 during 4B or right after school. Our yearbook staff and I can support your student in designing the ad. If you want the ad to remain a surprise but are having trouble designing, check out the resources below, call the Balfour support line, or email me with questions.

Sincerely,

Ms. Deegan

February 25-9th Annual WinterSongs Concert to Benefit the Shelter for Help in Emergency (MHS Auditorium)

March 7: Freshmen Field Trip to CATEC

April 29-Junior/Senior Prom

May 23-Last Academic Day for Seniors

June 6-Graduation (JPJ at 6:00)