The Wildcat Chat
What's Happening at Willard? | November 20, 2020
Teamsgiving on November 24
Congratulations to Our Scholars
Wildcats Read
Crissy Casey, one of our phenomenal librarians, created two exciting ways to help students select their next reading gem. Our families can check out the Virtual Starbooks Café or the
Wheel of Book Fortunes to find a book in a variety of genres. These selections may be used to fulfill the reading for the Spark Movement, outlined by our English teachers. Happy reading, and we cannot wait to hear about what you are reading!
Dulles South Pop-Up Event
Naviance Parent Registration
Naviance Student is a comprehensive mobile-friendly website that is used in career and college planning. You have the opportunity to link a Naviance Parent account to your child(ren)’s account. This morning, you should have received an email from our Naviance system with your registration code. To register, please follow the simple steps below:
Click here to navigate to the Naviance page in our School Counseling website > Click on Parent Login > Enter the zip code 20105 > Click Willard > Click Parent or Guardian > Click “I’m new and need to register!” > Enter your registration code sent by Naviance > Continue the steps to creating your account
At this time, students in the same household that attend different LCPS schools are unable to be linked under the same Naviance Parent account. A separate account must be made for each school.
Free Flu Vaccines
Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition
During our CLAWS Club Teaching Tuesday lesson this week, students were introduced to the Step Up Loudoun Youth Competition. This effort challenges students to find ways in which to enhance and enrich their community. Interested students should visit: http://www.loudounyouth.org/programs/step-up/ to learn more. Registration will close on Friday, December 18. We look forward to seeing what our students create!
Teacher Shout Outs
This past week, our community recognized many of our amazing Willard teachers. We wanted to spotlight a few. Seventh grade scholar, Kashvi Garg, thoughtfully shared how Ms.Hoelscher is incredibly helpful when it comes to understanding assignments and figuring out complex information. Her patience is profound. Scholar Sophia Mustachio highlighted Mme. Ochoa, for her great effort in making and delivering rich lessons to help her master French. Lastly, Katerina Benson shared how Ms. Mills is patient, kind, and always ready to help. Katerina shared that Ms. Mills is an "exquisite teacher." To spotlight a teacher, please complete this shout out form.
Parent Involvement Survey
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is asking for families who have a child with a disability and is provided special education services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to participate in the 2019-2020 Indicator 8 Parent Involvement Survey. The online survey can be accessed via the LCPS website > Pupil Services > Special Education. The online survey is now open and available for completion in English and Spanish at the following websites:
- English Version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/vdoeenglish
- Spanish Version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/vdoeespanol
Families who have more than one child receiving special education services are requested to complete a survey for each of their children. It is important to note that your responses are recorded anonymously and cannot be linked to your child. The survey concludes Sunday, January 31, 2021.
The Wonder Newsletter & Schedule
Given the Thanksgiving Holiday, parents will not receive The Wonder, our weekly assignment newsletter next week. Families will receive the next edition on Monday, November 30. Principal Rounsley will send this at 3:00 p.m., so students may have a glimpse into the upcoming activities for the time period of Tuesday, December 1 to Monday, December 7. Enjoy the holiday!
Yearbook Portraits Opportunity
Did you miss picture day? We’d still love to include you in our Into the Wild yearbook. Click here to submit your scholar’s portrait using eShare. Portraits are due no later than Friday, December 18. If the link does not work for you, you may go to HJeShare.com and enter code willard (all lower case). You will see portrait guidelines as you submit, or you can view them by clicking here. For an informational video on how to use the eShare portal, please click here. Thank you for your submission!
Yearbook Purchasing
Haven’t purchased a yearbook yet? More than 300 copies have been sold; however, limited quantities are still available! To get your gem today, go to www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 17606 to purchase. The cost of the yearbook is $30, and you may add the personalization option for $35! We look forward to showcasing the great work of our Yearbook Staff, as they have been working on crafting a fantastic book for their friends and family!
LCPS Covid-19 Case Data
Calling All Spellers
This year, Willard is participating in the Scripps Spelling Bee. Interested students need to complete this form by Tuesday, December 1 to receive additional details. Interested scholars would need to be available on Monday, December 14, for a virtual spelling test.The time(s) for the test will be finalized in the coming week. As a special note, parents would act as proctors and must be physically present at the time of the test administration. Each grade-level has a specific study sheet, please click the appropriate grade level sheet to get started: Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8. For any additional questions, students should reach out directly to their English teacher.
NJROTC Application Opens Soon
The NJROTC Admissions Application for the 2021-2022 school year will open on Monday, November 30, 2020, at 8:00 a.m., and be available until Friday, January 22, 2021. It is open to all current LCPS Grade 8 students. Interested students may visit www.lcps.org/cte to complete the online application. In addition, more information may be found at: http://bit.ly/NJROTCAdmissions. Lastly, please feel free to reach out to our counselors with any additional questions—they are here to help!
BLAST STEM Program
Building Leaders for Advancing Science and Technology (BLAST) is a FREE educational program of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, designed to ignite a passion in students who already show an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Our hope is that the BLAST three-day residential, on-campus experience, which is packed with demonstrations and collaborative activities led by college faculty, will inspire students to envision a career in a STEM field and motivate them to expand the number of STEM-related classes they take in higher grade levels.
Many students who attend BLAST go on to participate in our advanced educational programs, two of which offer free college credits through dual enrollment with Thomas Nelson Community College. Participating students in these competitive programs develop advanced skills related to the 5 C's of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate: critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and citizenship, in addition to building STEM-specific knowledge and skills. Applications for the Summer 2021 BLAST sessions will open online Friday, November 13.
Loudoun Library's 1 Book, 1 Community
The Loudoun County Public Library is pleased to announce that this year’s 1 book, 1 community selection is Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This title is an award-winning debut middle grade novel about a 10-year-old Chinese American immigrant girl who manages the front desk of a motel while her parents clean the rooms. Front Desk was awarded the 2018 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature, the Parents' Choice Gold Medal, is the 2019 Global Read Aloud, and has earned numerous other honors.
- Loudoun County Public Library will offer free, simultaneous eBook access to Front Desk from their LCPL OverDrive portal from Sunday, November 1 through Saturday, December 12. You must have an LCPL library card to access it, you can obtain one online or at any branch location.
- Loudoun County Public Library branches will also have free print copies available beginning in early November and additional copies in their collection.
- Kelly Yang will be providing an online program Saturday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. More information regarding that effort will be coming soon!