December 12, 2025 Newsletter

Dear Yorktown Families,

As we head into the final stretch before winter break, I want to thank you for your continued partnership and support. Our students are pushing through these last few days with great energy, and we’re proud of all they’ve accomplished so far this year.

We hope you and your families enjoy a restful, joyful, and well-deserved break. Take time to relax, recharge, and celebrate the season in whatever way is meaningful to you.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead and a very happy winter break!

Warmly,

Laura Porter

Acting Principal, Yorktown High School

In this message: 

• What’s Happening at Yorktown
• Counseling Corner
• Activities Updates
• Senior Updates
• Technology Corner
• Upcoming Dates
• 2025-26 PTA Information

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT YORKTOWN

FIRST Robotics Team Finishes First 

The Yorktown FIRST Robotics team participated in a BunnyBOTS competition this past Saturday at Montgomery Blair High School in MD.  There were 20 robots competing. All match-ups are 2 on 2.  Yorktown, in partnership with another, won first place!

FIRST Robotics is a world-wide competition.  Each year’s challenge is revealed in January, with competitions starting in March. Students, not adults, are in charge of the entire process. BunnyBOTS is a pre-season opportunity that teams enter so that they can build skills in robot design, fabrication, assembly, programming, trouble-shooting, and driving.

COUNSELING CORNER

Advisory Information

Tuesday, December 16: All Grade levels will participate in a SchooLinks onboarding lesson and advisory relationship building activities

Upcoming Dates for Academic Planning

• We are excited to announce the launch of SchooLinks Course Planner for our middle school and high school students on January 5, 2026.
  • All students in grades 6-11 will be utilizing SchooLinks to create their academic course plan towards graduation, including courses for next school year. With SchooLinks Course Planner, our students will have access to a comprehensive platform that empowers them to take charge of their education. They will be able to explore a wide range of courses, create personalized academic plans, and chart their path towards success. This will not only help them make informed decisions but also foster a sense of ownership and responsibility for their educational choices. Counselors will work individually with students to ensure they are on track for graduation.
  • Your involvement in this process is essential! Please join us for a webinar to learn how you can review your student’s academic course plan in SchooLinks.
  • Wednesday, December 17, 2025

5:30pm – 6:30pm, virtual on ZOOM

Spanish Interpretation will be provided

Register Here! https://app.schoolinks.com/events/VXq232/k12-user/redirect/

Zoom Direct Link to Webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81875608802

• Yorktown’s Academic Planning Night
  • Please join us Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 7pm in person for our annual event.  We will cover Yorktown specific course selection via a presentation in the auditorium, followed by an opportunity to speak with content department representatives in the atrium.

Laugh More, Stress Less

The holiday season can be stressful, so to provide a little relief the counseling department and mental health club are planning some fun activities.  See below for the daily events, plus you might see a therapy dog or two!

Winter Message for 12th Graders

As we approach the winter break, we wanted to check in to give an update on college applications. Counselors will be submitting everything in SchooLinks for the JANUARY 1st deadline prior to the start of the Winter Break – if you are planning to add any last-minute applications, please be sure to let your counselor know! If you have not done so already, please also add any requests for transcripts/counselor letter of recommendations into the Transcript and Rec Letter Request Form

Remember: colleges and admissions offices will be closed during the Winter Break as well. So, you may not see updates regarding your application status or materials received until January. Remember to check the deadlines to ensure all documents are requested appropriately.College Application Updates

• If you were “deferred” from your ED/EA school – deferral is not defeated! This article (Ivywise, 2025) offers some suggestions for managing deferrals, but you should check with your individual schools about their procedures.
• If you have colleges that are asking for your 1st quarter (MP1) grades, please email your counselor and let them know. They can send an updated copy of your transcript with your 1st quarter grades. Just a reminder, the GPA still does not change for MP1 grades.
• GPA’s will be updated again at the end of the first semester (beginning of February). At that point, we will update the transcripts again to reflect your mid-year grades (1st and 2nd quarter) in your GPA. If colleges request a mid-year transcript (or a transcript with “7 semesters” please let your counselor know. We will send out an email reminder when the quarter is over.
• In SchooLinks, there are two things you want to make sure you do:
  • Update your college list (including acceptances and denials)
  • Request letters of recommendation from teachers for all colleges in your list that require them! As a reminder, Counselors send the counselor letter of recommendation with the transcript – you do not need to add this request to SchooLinks.
• Please check your emails for updates from your colleges and remember to check the portals for your various colleges. If you are not sure if anything is missing or the status, you can always call or email the Admissions Office and ask if your application is complete. Please check these regularly and if there are any issues, let Ms. Dessaso know!
• If colleges require official SAT/AP/ACT score reports, remember those must be sent directly from the testing agency. (College Board for SAT or AP and ACTstudent.org for ACT). (Remember, that is the one thing that does not come directly from the school.)
• Scholarship Information –please check your SchooLinks Announcements and Scholarship match to see opportunities for scholarship opportunities.
• Interested in starting out at Northern Virginia Community College next year?! Let’s chat! We have a NOVA counselor that works with our Yorktown students, and Ms. Dessaso would be happy to connect you with her to discuss NOVA programs
• Interested in a GAP Year? There are programs that we can share with you!. Interested in joining the military? We have reps you can speak with to provide more information about that too. Questions about this can be directed to our College & Career Counselor, Ms. Dessaso.

We know this is a lot of information, but we are here to assist with this process! We will send another reminder about mid-year transcripts towards the end of January when the quarter is ending. Keep up the good work – and have an enjoyable and relaxing holiday season!

ACTIVITIES UPDATES

Winter Sports – Spectator Information

Winter sport competitions are underway.  A schedule of events is available on www.yorktownsports.org Many games held in the gym are available online on www.nfhs.com Tickets for events in the gym are available online at www.gofan.co Adult tickets are $7 and students are $5.  Backpacks, as well as outside food or drinks, are not permitted.  Students in middle school or below need to be accompanied by their parent/guardian for admission to sporting events.

Upcoming Home Events

Where to find Athletics Information

Athletic Website – www.yorktownsports.org

Athletic Twitter – @yhssports

Athletic Instagram – @yhssports

Athletic Specific Sport Information – www.teamapp.com

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

Looking Ahead – Spring and Fall 2026

Sports Spring sports will begin on Monday, February 23 and tryouts will continue throughout that week.

Fall 2026 sports will begin on Monday, August 3 for cheer, volleyball, field hockey and JV/V football.  Freshmen football and cross country will likely begin Monday, August 10.  Dance team tryouts are typically in late May/early June.  The start date for golf (no earlier than July 30) and girls flag football (no earlier than August 17) have not yet been finalized.

Club of the Week

The YHS Club of the week is The 28th Street Improv Troupe. The 28th Street Improv Troupe is an improvisational comedy troupe that performs at benefits, competitions, open houses and at many other functions. Students are selected to act in an audition process early in the Fall with the possibility of future auditions later in the year. No previous acting experience is necessary, but an open mind is required. See Mr. Zito for more information

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.

Cap and Gown

Thank you so much to those of you who have already ordered a cap and gown. We still have roughly 120 students who still need to order. To those still needing to place your order, please do so ASAP by using this form. Orders will be taken up until Winter Break. All students must have a cap and gown to walk at graduation. Remember, cap and gowns are included in Senior Dues.

Senior Dues

For those of you who have not yet paid Senior Dues, please note that class dues are $80.00 if paid prior to Winter Break, and $85.00 if paid after. You can pay online using the following link: https://arlingtonva.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/4907/444/False/True . All students are expected to contribute to class dues. If a student is experiencing undue economic hardship, they should speak to the activities office regarding a payment plan.Graduation AnnouncementsGraduation announcement cards are typically sent to extended family and close friends to share the exciting news of your upcoming graduation (they are not an invitation to attend). If you wish to order graduation announcements, or any other senior memorabilia please visit the Herff Jones Virginia website and search for Yorktown High School.

Senior Experience

Students wishing to participate in Senior Experience (May 18-June 8) will need to access the Senior Experience Canvas page. Please take your time to review all information and materials on the page.

A few dates to note:

– Student Application Due by 3/13

– Mentor Application Due by 3/13

– Parent Authorization Due by 3/13

– Senior Experience Kick Off Meeting on 5/15

– Senior Experience from 5/18 to 6/8

– Senior Experience Seminar on 6/9

Senior Portraits Last Call for Northern Virginia

Lifetouch Prestige will be having a senior portrait “last call” for students in Northern Virginia, being held at their studio in Chantilly on December 13th from 12pm-6pm. You must use this link to sign up. The studio is located at 4500 Daly Drive – Suite 130, Chantilly, Virginia 20151.

UPCOMING DATES

See YHS Calendar or the APS Calendar for more information