April 5, 2024 YHS Newsletter

Dear Yorktown Families,

We hope you had a good week back from Spring Break. Next week is the last week of the third quarter. Please encourage your children to take advantage of extra help opportunities such as Patriot Period, The Learning Center, and their fantastic teachers! We will have “study week” during Patriot Period, which means students report to Advisory but can request a pass to visit a teacher with permission of sending and receiving teacher. A big shout out to our fantastic Administrators during Assistant Principal Appreciation Week, Mr. Conroy, Ms. Evans, Ms. Harrell, Ms. Porter, and Dean of Students, Ms. Jenkins.  Thanks for everything you do to support our students, staff, and families. Paraprofessional Appreciation Day was on Wednesday and we would like to thank them for all of their hard work with our students. Next Wednesday, April 10th is a school holiday in observance of Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. Monday, April 15th is a telework optional grade preparation day with no school for students. Dr. Kevin ClarkPrincipalIn this message:

• What’s Happening at Yorktown
• Counseling Corner
• Activities Updates
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Senior Updates
• Technology News
• Upcoming Dates

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT YORKTOWN

Les Misérables by Yorktown Theatre

Yorktown Performing Arts presents: Les Misérables (School Edition).  All shows are sold out. Seen by over 130 million people worldwide in 53 countries, 438 cities and 22 languages, Les Misérables is undisputedly one of the world’s most popular musicals.

Congratulations Scholastic Art and Writing Award Recipients!

Congratulations go to Yorktown’s Art students and teachers for their Regional Scholastic Art Awards! This year, we have a total of 440  winning entries: 202 Honorable Mentions, 143 Silver Keys, and 69 Gold Key Winners! Along with these individual awards, 26 Seniors won awards for their  portfolios of six artworks: 21 Gold Keys, 4  Silver Keys, and 1 Honorable Mention.  And, one of our seniors, Hannah Bigley, has two of her paintings being nominated for the American Visions Award, a very prestigious award! Students were recognized at the Awards Ceremony with the Superintendent on Tuesday, April 2nd at 6:30pm at Kenmore Middle School. Please stop by the Syphax Center, 2nd floor, to see the Scholastic Art Show exhibition of Gold Key Awards on display through April 26.

Scholastic Writing Awards

Congratulations to the following YHS Literary Magazine students and Ms. Dillon on their regional honors in the Scholastic Writing Awards. Enjoy their work in the upcoming Literary Magazine!

Gabriel O’Toole;  Mia Dimina, Deira Distaso, Noe Antoine, Ella Haynes, Lilah Grace Kresse, Charlotte Weingart, Isabel Corbett

Advisory Plans

Since it is the last week of the quarter, there is no advisory lesson next week. Students must report to their advisory classroom first and have a pass to see other teachers Monday-Friday.

April is Month of the Military Child & Purple Up Day

April is Month of the Military Child which is a time to recognize our military-affiliated students. One of the highlights of this month is the annual Purple Up Day when students and staff are encouraged to wear purple to celebrate military students. This year, Yorktown and APS will join the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) in honoring Purple Up Day on April 19.Yorktown is also working toward Purple Star Designation this school year as we extend our commitment to supporting and recognizing our military-affiliated students and families.

MCEC provides a number of free resources for schools in planning events for Month of the Military Child and Purple Up Day: Month of the Military Child | Resource Toolkit – Military Child Education CoalitionSilent No More Assembly PostponedUnfortunately, we need to postpone the Silent No More presentation planned for April 16th until next year due to the organizer being on medical leave. We will plan for an October presentation. Students still receive instruction from our Substance Abuse Counselor in all Health/PE classes (9th and 10th grades) and English classes (11th and 12th grades.)

COUNSELING CORNER

Arlington’s Teen Summer Job Fair

Is your teen looking for summer work, or you want to help Arlington’s 14-18 year-olds secure summer employment?  Arlington’s Teen Summer Job Fair!

When: Saturday, April 6, 2024 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Where: Thomas Jefferson Community Center 3501 2nd St SouthArlington, VA 22204

Employers interested in promoting your job openings at this free event, click here. Questions, contact jobseeker@arlingtonva.us.

JumpStart2NOVA for summer 2024 is open 

This program is available to seniors graduating this spring and considering NOVA in the fall. Students may select one 3 or 4 credit approved course plus SDV 100. The application for JumpStart2NOVA is now open and closes at 5pm on Friday, May 10, 2024. Courses begin on Monday, June 3 and end on Monday, August 12.

JumpStart2NOVA Information Session:

• Tuesday, April 30 from 6 pm – 7 pm
  • Register in advance for this meeting

Qualified seniors graduating this spring who are considering attending NOVA in the fall and in good academic standing at the college may apply for one approved course and NOVA’s 1-credit College Success Skills course, SDV 100, at no tuition!  Courses are open to public, private, and home school seniors residing in NOVA’s service area, including Arlington.

All classes will be offered through NOVA Online and run June 3 through August 12, 2024.  Students are responsible for purchasing textbooks or other course materials, if required. Courses have been selected based on their usability in NOVA degrees and their status as part of the Uniform Certificate of General Studies.

The application is now open and will close at 5PM on May 10, 2024.  First-time NOVA students will need to apply to NOVA and create an account to request the course in nvcc.dualenroll.com.  Current DE students can skip the NOVA application and go straight to nvcc.dualenroll.com, selecting term “JumpStart2NOVA 2024.”  All students will be required to upload a current high school/home school transcript and qualifying test scores if they do not have a 3.0 GPA. To learn more about JumpStart2NOVA, including course offerings, minimum qualifying scores, and details on how to apply, please visit http://www.nvcc.edu/jumpstart/.

Summer School Information

New Work Summer Courses (through Virtual@APS)

Registration Window: March 4 – May 3Cost: $350.00  (Free/Reduced Lunch Eligible Students $87.00)

Courses Offered (Health/PE9 including CPR, Health/PE10, Economics & Personal Finance)

• Virtual@APS Health/PE 9 (including CPR)
• Virtual@APS Health/PE 10

The Health/PE courses are blended courses where 2 weeks will be at Yorktown (from 7/8 – 7/19 from 7:45am – 12:15pm). For the remainder of the course (from 7/22 – 8/2) students will engage in asynchronous virtual self-paced learning (including daily submission of physical activity logs and online participation) and weekly virtual check-ins with the instructor.*Students who exceed 2 absences during the in-person portion will be unable to continue in the summer program and will be withdrawn.

*Registration form for Virtual@APS Health/PE 9: click here

*Registration form for Virtual@APS Health/PE 10: click here

• Virtual@APS Economics & Personal Finance

Students should block out 5-6 hours each weekday to complete the assigned work for this ASYNCHRONOUS course. Additional information about this course can be found here.*Registration form for Virtual@APS EPF: click here

New Work Summer Courses (through Outside Vendors)

Virtual Virginia Outside Vendor

Registration Window: March 4 – June 7

Cost: $375.00 (no reduced rates available)

• Virtual Virginia has an online payment option

Instruction  – SYNCHRONOUS (APS students can ONLY participate in Cohort 2)

• Instruction Dates: June 17 – July 26
• All courses will meet for daily synchronous instruction at 9am Mon – Fri. A select number of Summer Cohort 2 courses (check here) will provide the option for synchronous instruction at either 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. Each session will include approximately 45 minutes of instruction, followed by approximately 15 minutes of Q&A.

Edgenuity Outside Vendor

Registration Window: March 4 – June 7

Cost: $195 (no reduced rates available)

• Check or money order (payable to Arlington Public Schools) should be dropped off at Syphax or to the ACC Treasurer (Katrina Rainey)

Instruction – ASYNCHRONOUS

• Instruction: June 17 – Aug 2 (the exact start date and end dates are flexible within this window)
• Students are expected to work regularly and consistently over the summer to complete the course.

For more information, FAQs, and the Yorktown specific form, please see the APS Summer School site.

ACTIVITIES UPDATES

Softball Pink Out This Monday!

Pink Out is almost here! Yorktown Softball is proud to once again be hosting this annual breast cancer awareness event in partnership with Yorktown Baseball and Mclean Softball. All proceeds will be donated to the Arlington Free Clinic, so please come join us on Monday, April 8th!

Gates will open at 5:45pm. Raffle tickets will be sold until 7pm, and the drawings will be held between innings throughout the game. In addition to the raffle, concessions will be sold (cash/credit card/venmo for the raffle tickets and concessions), the auction will go live, and Kendra Scott will have a booth. And of course, there will be great softball on the field! If you are unable to join us but would still like to support the cause, please click here to purchase raffle tickets online, or to make a direct donation.

PTA Spring Fling Rescheduled – Saturday, April 13

The Annual PTA Spring Fling will be held on Saturday, April 13.  The event will take place from 7:30-10:30 pm in the atrium and courtyard.

Tickets are $10 and will be on sale next week during lunch.  Cash and venmo accepted.  Students can bring a non-Yorktown guest by filling out a guest form available at the ticket table or outside the activities office.  Students must enter the dance by 9:00pm, and there will be no re-entry for any reason.

Senior Send-Off Fundraising Opportunity – April 20

The PTA is looking for donations to support the Class of 2024 Senior Send-Off event to be held during the school day on June 12.  It’s easy to contribute – just clean out your attic, closets and garage and bring your gently used items to the YHS senior parking lot on April 20 from 8 am – 2 pm.  The PTA will get money based on total volume.  More information can be found here.

Spring Game Information

With spring sports season beginning, please note the following guidelines for attending.  Games in the stadium will be streamed on the Yorktown Boosters Youtube website and tickets are available at GoFan or at the gate. Tickets are $5 for adults, and students ages 6-18 are $2 at the gate.  Season passes are available.

• Backpacks and outside beverages are not allowed at sporting events.
• High-school-age students must show a student ID or StudentVue indicating they attend a participating school.
• Students younger than high school age must be accompanied by their parent/guardian.
• The most up-to-date athletic schedule can be found at www.yorktownsports.org

Home Games this Week

Where to find Athletics Information

Athletic Website – www.yorktownsports.org

Athletic Twitter/X – @yhssports

Athletic Instagram – @yhssports

Athletic Specific Sport Information – www.teamapp.com

Athletic Registration – https://yorktownhs-ar.rschooltoday.com/

Fall 2024 Sports Tryout Dates

For planning purposes, most fall sports will begin no earlier than August 5, 2024, with the exception of golf and cheer which might begin as early as August 1. As in past years, dance tryouts will take place in May, cross country will start mid-August, and ultimate frisbee will start approximately two weeks after school begins.

Some of these dates are estimated but they will not move any earlier. Please note playing a high school fall sport requires a commitment to be present for the duration of tryouts and daily practices thereafter. Families are advised that vacations planned after the start of fall sports will not be considered favorably during the tryout process because there is limited practice time to build a team prior to the start of scrimmages and games in mid to late August.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Did you know…?

• National Arab American Heritage Month began as a 2017 initiative that only involved a few states and cities
• In April 2021, President Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a proclamation acknowledging Arab American Heritage Month
• Estebanico Azemmouri, a native of present-day Morocco, and Antonio Bishallany, a native of present-day Lebanon, arrived to what would many years later become the United States becoming the first members of the Arab American community that is estimated today to number approximately 3.7 million people
• The Arab American community is made up of individuals with roots in 22 countries

located in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen

• Arab Americans are diverse in faith—despite a common misconception, not all Arabs are Muslim—as well as race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ability. Within their diverse community, Arab Americans are united by their primary language, Arabic, as well as by their shared history and culture

Peruse this online collection from the Smithsonian, browse the Arab American National Museum’s virtual offerings, or attend this (free!) commemoration of NAAHM at the MLK Library in Washington, DC.

SENIOR UPDATES

Be sure to bookmark the Seniors website, which is linked on the Yorktown HS home page under Quicklinks and loaded with information for senior year.  If you have not yet paid your senior dues ($85), please see Ms. Ashby in the main office.

TECHNOLOGY NEWSTesting

Season Computer Check-up!

With testing season upon us, now is the time to check your student has their APS-issued device in good working order. See the list checklist below for what to review:

• APS-issued device has a working charger
• APS-issued device is charging properly
• APS-issued device has good battery life
• APS-issued device has been turned off and on successfully

If something isn’t working, if your student is missing a charger, or if an issue arises with your student’s APS-issued device, be sure your student stops by rooms 287 and/or 235 before testing begins!

UPCOMING DATES

See YHS Calendar for more information

• Wednesday, April 10 – Eid al-Fitr – No School
• Monday, April 15 – No School for Students, Grade Preparation Day