The Wildcat Chat
What's Happening at Willard? | February 12, 2021
Preparing for a Move to Hybrid
In preparation for hybrid instruction beginning on Wednesday, March 3, we will be holding both parent and student orientations. Our Virtual Parent Orientation will be on Thursday, February 25, starting at 6:00 p.m. Interested parents should complete this RSVP Form by Monday, February 22 to receive the web link. Moreover, you shall see, below, the Student Orientation sessions that we will be offering for our scholars throughout the day on Monday, March 1. For students to RSVP for this activity, please click here. In the upcoming Wildcat Chats, we will be providing additional information on: bus information, drop off/pick up, lunch, schedule modifications, and needed supplies.
Accessing Hybrid Information Online
For our families, accessing information related to the move to hybrid is critical. To access information regarding hybrid days and bus information, please note the following:
- When logged into ParentVUE/StudentVUE, click on the Student Info tab.
- To see bus information, scroll down to the Transportation Information section.
- To gain access to the hybrid/distance learning information, continue to scroll down to the Return-To-School section. And, under the 2020-2021 Return-to-School Semester 2 Option, it will note the hybrid or distance learning selection. For those returning to the building, TW means your child will be school on Tuesday/Wednesday and RF states that he/she will be at Willard on Thursday/Friday.
Changing Return-to-School Selections
Updated Transition & Curriculum Nights
Science Olympiad Greatness
Led by science teachers Maria Gore and Amanda Gworek, 13 of our Wildcat scientists participated in the first-ever virtual Virginia Science Olympiad. This is a school-based program for students from third grade through their senior year in high school. It offers students the opportunity to improve their understanding in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to work together in teams to learn new skills. We are still waiting for results, but we wanted to give a special shout out to the following scholars: Aadi Dhruv, Namish Dondeti, Harika Gunda, Gavin Holland, Asmita Kodityala, Prathima Prakash, Kabilan Prasanna, Guhan Ramanathan, Pratyush Saxena, Chetan Vanga, Vrishak Vemuri, Sthavir Vinjamuri, and Rahul Viswesh. Great Job, Scholars!
All You Need is to Buy a Yearbook
Music, You, & The Yearbook
Do you have the pleasure of playing an instrument for one of our Willard music courses? Are you a budding trumpeter, a violin virtuoso, or a future Grammy Award winner? Then, we would love to feature you in this year's yearbook. Take a photo of yourself with your instrument or mid-song and submit your masterpiece to this form: https://forms.gle/EunBjRZBSpAqzZFx7 by Friday, February 26. Thank you for your participation, and we cannot wait to spotlight you!
Art & Poetry Come Together
Recently in Amanda Skillings's eighth grade art classes, artists have been working on crafting pieces that thoughtfully weave in Black Out Poetry, the highlighting of perfectly-selected words. Moreover, they have tackled pop art and art surrounding nature. We wanted to recognize some artists' work, as seen below and here. Thank you to Vanya Angara, Bhavana Balasubramani, Camila Fecteau, Emelene Kaur, Olivia Kim, Alyssa Matharoo, Ashley Mendez, Emily Ngo, Neyla Ngo, and Ashmita Srinivasan for sharing their work with us.
Upcoming MAP Assessments
The Wonder Delivered on Tuesday
Explore the Good
UVA Summer Enrichment Program
FORTitude Teen Workshops
FORTitude Teen Workshops are a new series of online teen workshops using evidence-led best practices in mindfulness and positive psychology, helping teens discover their inner enoughness and personal superpowers. These workshops have been specially created for teens to promote a positive sense of identity and well-being. Ideally suited for those struggling with anxiety, self-worth, loneliness and/or depression, they are intended to help not just ward off negative thoughts and risk, but also teach teens essential life skills and habits that can support a life-time of positive mental health. To learn more about how to take part in these powerful workshops, please visit the organization's detailed website. Future sessions are beginning at the end of February.
Thomas Jefferson Application is Available
Thomas Jefferson (TJ) High School has started accepting applications from now until Wednesday, February 24, at 4:00 p.m. We wanted to provide to our Willard families detailed information regarding this effort. In the links below, students may access a background video about TJ, information about how to apply, and the detailed calendar for submission deadlines. To get started, please click on the following:
Building Healthy Relationships
Local organizations are providing virtual seminars to support teenagers as they navigate building respectful relationships. On Wednesday, February 17, at 6:30 p.m., students may participate in the "It's Not Love" webinar. To learn more and to register, please click here. In addition, on Tuesday, February 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk (VBIS) will be offering a webinar on navigating virtual dating relationships. For more information, our Willard parents may click here.
Suicide Prevention Support Video
The Loudoun County Public Schools United Mental Health Team (UMHT) has crafted an informational video on suicide prevention geared toward middle school families. This supportive video looks at suicide risks, signs, protective factors, and current data trends. For those in need of immediate support, please reach out to Loudoun County Emergency Services at 703-777-0320. In addition, our Willard Counseling Team contact information may be found here.
Course Recommendations
Course recommendations for core courses (English, math, science, and social studies), World Language, and some Fine Arts electives have been loaded and are visible in StudentVUE and/or ParentVUE for our Willard families.
Our goal is to empower families to make well-informed decisions regarding course selections for the 2021-2022 school year. For this reason, we will be hosting curriculum night presentations for parents and course selection presentations for students in February. The schedule for these presentations may be found here.
Beginning Monday, March 1, parents and/or guardians will have access to a Google Form to change course requests if families would like to override a course recommendation. This will allow us to be able to monitor course changes, identify concerns, and encourage rich communication between families, students, and teachers, as needed. It is encouraged, but not required, for parents to reach out to the recommending teacher to gather additional information about the basis of the recommendation for their child, so as to make a fully informed decision to override a recommendation. To further support our families, we wanted to provide the answers to our most frequently asked questions and answers during this process:
- Do parents have the final say regarding core content selections? Yes.
- Is there a deadline for course recommendation override requests? Yes. Forms are due by Thursday, June 24, 2021. Late forms will not be accepted.
- What if a student changes his/her mind next year? Unfortunately, once courses are locked in, changes cannot be made.
Please feel free to reach out to your child's counselor with any additional questions/concerns.
Contest Time | Meet Shelley Pearsall
In March, the amazing author of our CLAWS Club Go WILD for Reading book The Seventh Most Important Thing, Shelley Pearsall, will be hosting a Writing Workshop for 20 of our Wildcat Scholars. This interactive session will be an opportunity for students to hear directly from her about how to craft an memorable story, generate ideas, and create literary works. To be considered, you must enter our Meet Shelley Pearsall Contest—Exciting! Choose one of the four activities listed below to submit for the contest. Submissions are due to http://bit.ly/TSMITContest by Friday, February 19. Please feel reach out to Mrs. Russell (gela.russell@lcps.org) with any questions. Contest winners will be announced the week of February 22. Good luck!
Quarter 2 CLAWS Award Videos
Last Friday, January 29, we celebrated our scholars through our quarterly Character, Leadership, Attitude, Work Ethic, and Service (CLAWS) Awards. Nearly 100 students earned top honors in their core content classes and exploratories. In addition, we were able to highlight our scholars who earned Principal's and A/B Honor Roll. We are beyond proud of them. Please use the links below to access the grade-level presentations as well as the corresponding videos.
Grade 6 Award Presentation & Grade 6 Video Presentation
Join Our Virtual Talent Show
Have you ever had a secret, wacky, or just plain cool talent that you’ve wanted to show off? Well now you can, in our first-ever Willard Virtual Talent Show, sponsored by our very own Student Council Association (SCA)! Your talent could truly be anything. Picture it—you can show us your video gaming, drawing, skating, cooking, and musical skills. You could even highlight your cooking skills, magic trick prowess, sports expertise, and best pet tricks. So, to join, please complete this participation form. We can't wait to see what you do!
Upcoming SOL Information & Parent Refusal
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) will be supporting the completion of the Standards of Learning (SOLs) for the 2020-2021 school year. These assessments may not be administered remotely to students. Students in any instructional model (100% distance or hybrid) must attend school in person to participate in testing. To support our students’ health and safety, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) will ensure that health mitigation procedures are in place and social distancing is observed. Transportation can be provided if needed.
While we encourage all students to participate in these assessments, we understand that some families may retain concerns about the in-person testing requirement. Parents who do not wish for their student to participate in state and/or federally mandated assessments may indicate their refusal by completing this form.
If you have any questions, please contact Assistant Principal and Testing Coordinator Steve Pickering at steven.pickering@lcps.org or call the school at 571-367-4040. In addition, the comprehensive communication from LCPS regarding testing may be found here. Below, you shall find the comprehensive list of upcoming SOL test dates.