The Wildcat Chat
What's Happening at Willard? | February 19, 2021
New Bell Schedule for All, Starting March 3
Lunch Excitement
We will have three lunch shifts starting on Wednesday, March 3, when hybrid students enter the building. These lunch shifts are known as: Lunch A (11:58 a.m. to 12:28 p.m.), Lunch B (12:38 p.m. to 1:08 p.m.), and Lunch C (1:20 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.). Lunch is determined based on a student's Block 3 and Block 7 class. This means that students may have a different lunch shift on "A" and "B" Days. For the full lunch schedule, please click here. In addition, this also means that students remaining in distance learning will have to follow this updated lunch schedule. If distance learning students are picking up a lunch from Willard, they may do so from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; however, class time should not be missed.
In the beginning, teachers will be walking students directly to the cafeteria, so they may easily find their assigned seating location. Students will be able to pack lunch or pick up a lunch from our cafeteria (this will remain a free option). If students need to get out of their seat for any reason (to visit the bathroom, go to the nurse, gather napkins, etc. ), they will need to raise their hand and receive permission to do so.
Kiss and Ride Drop Off & Pick Up Process
Many of our families may elect to participate in Willard's Kiss and Ride effort. This allows for parents to drop off and pick up their child(ren) each school day. For this year's Kiss & Ride dismissal process, we will do the following:
STEP 1: Before Arriving at Willard (Car Window Sign): Parents will place a sign in their front window with the first and last name of their child/children written large enough to be seen from a distance (please use the visual below as a guide).
STEP 2: Curbside Pick Up (Kiss & Ride Loop, All the Way to Cafeteria Side Entrance): Parents will enter the main entrance to Willard. Using the properly labeled car window sign, Willard staff will radio for your child/children to come outside to meet you at your vehicle. Students participating in Kiss & Ride, will be located in our cafeteria at dismissal time. This means that parents will ultimately end up driving next to the cafeteria side entrance.
We will have staggered dismissal times (3:18 p.m., 3:21 p.m., and 3:24 p.m.) to minimize the number of students in the hallways at any given time. To help us gauge a likely participation rate in our Kiss & Ride effort, we ask that participating families complete this questionnaire.
Supplies, Backpacks, & Lockers
E-Hallpass & Navigating Willard
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. Please RSVP for this event by Friday, February 26. Thank you!
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
WMS Spelling Bee Winner
On Thursday, February 18, we held a run-off for the selection of our WMS Spelling Bee winner. After six intense rounds, we were able to declare a winner—seventh-grader Lalitha Aravind. She won by correctly spelling the word "itinerary." She was competing against two amazing scholars, sixth-grader Adyanth "Adi" Agili and seventh-grader Bhavya Yendapalli. Lalitha will represent Willard in the Thursday, March 4 District Run Off. To watch our spelling bee, please watch this.
Science Olympiad Goes to States
Congratulations to Willard’s Science Olympiad team! The students' hard work at the regional competition in areas of STEM secured them a place in the state competition in March–Wow! Congratulations to our 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. And, thank you to our sponsors, Maria Gore and Amada Gworek! Good luck, Wildcats!
Doodle for Google Contest
Quarantine Experiences, Photos Needed
Brightbytes Survey
As you may know, Loudoun County Public Schools has partnered with Brightbytes, a data analytics organization built specifically for K-12 to provide insights into our new and changing learning environments with the goal of ensuring equitable learning support for all students. We are reaching out to ask you to take part in our school survey. Your responses are completely anonymous, and the survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. The last day to complete the survey is Friday, February 26.
Upcoming SOL Questions & Answers
Rising Sixth Grade Transition Night Recap
Rising Seventh & Eighth Curriculum Nights
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:
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.
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.
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.
Upcoming MAP Assessments
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!