April 19, 2024 YHS Newsletter

Dear Yorktown Families,

Today we celebrated Purple Up Day, to recognize our military-affiliated students and families. This year Yorktown is working toward Purple Star Designation, which includes training for staff conducted earlier this year, peer support for incoming military-affiliated students, and activities to recognize our military-affiliated students.  During lunches on April 24th and 25th, students and staff can participate in the creation of a banner recognizing the military-affiliated students in our building, and for other students to offer their encouragement and support.

This week and next week, many of our seniors will be taking final exams in advance of AP exams that start May 6th. We will be sending out senior information.

Dr. Kevin Clark

Principal

In 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

YHS Cultural Fair and Cultural Spirit Day

The Yorktown Cultural Fair will take place on Monday, April 22nd in the courtyard during all three lunch periods.  Students may visit exhibits showcasing cultures from around the world to learn more about their history, customs, and traditions.  There will be opportunities to sample food items and to listen to music from various cultural traditions.  Students are encouraged to wear clothing representative of their cultural heritage as part of Cultural Spirit Day (also on April 22nd).

Yorktown Student Art Show and Reception

The annual Yorktown Student Art Show will be on exhibit Tuesday, April 23rd to Thursday April 25th. Work will be displayed in the atrium and library. There will be an opening reception with food and live music from 5:30 to 7:00 pm Tuesday April 23.  All are encouraged to come out to enjoy and celebrate the creative accomplishment of our students!

Advisory Plans

This month students are being introduced to the relationship skills CASEL competency. As students develop relationship skills, they learn to communicate effectively, form positive relationships, demonstrate cultural competence, practice teamwork, resolve conflicts, and show leadership. Watch this video about social-awareness and relationship skills at home.

Students will participate in the following activities next week:

• Tuesday (4/23): Grade level lessons regarding online relationships and communication
• Thursday (4/25): Academic check-in meetings

Senior Final Exams and Optional AP Finals

Thursday, April 25-Thursday, May 2 – Senior final exams and optional AP finals will be held as follows:

Thursday, April 25 Periods 1 and 5

Friday, April 26 Periods 2 and 4

Monday, April 29 Periods 3 and 7

Tuesday, April 30 Periods 3 and 6

Wednesday and Thursday Make Ups

CTE Course Workplace Readiness Testing

Please be advised that the Virginia Workplace Readiness skills exam will be administered all day on Thursday, 4/25 and Friday, 4/26.  Students with extended time may be late to classes or need to leave early for sixth and seventh period exams. Students will be given special passes that state that they were in CTE testing, with the time they left or the time they need to leave on them.  There are over 500 students at Yorktown taking this exam.  The CTE teachers appreciate your patience with individual student schedule disruptions during these testing dates.

Students Against Sexual Assault Presentation

On Tuesday, 4/30, 11th graders will participate in a presentation by Students Against Sexual Assault Club members (SASA), APS staff, Project Peace, Doorways, and ACPD. The purpose of this presentation is to provide education and resources for students regarding their rights and responsibilities to a safe school environment, healthy relationships, and prevention. Seniors will cover an overview of consent, and what to do in real life scenarios when things go awry. As our seniors embark on the real world, we want to have a conversation with them about situations they might actually encounter. Students who wish to opt out of this event should let their Patript Period teacher know.

AP Testing Information

AP Exam Standard Testing Window: May 6-May 17

AP Exam Late Testing Window: May 22-24

Timing: Exams begin promptly at 8:20am and 12:30pm each day. Students should report directly to their assigned testing rooms when they arrive at school on the day of their exam(s). The dates and times of specific exams can be found here: 2024 AP Exam Schedule

COUNSELING CORNER

Laugh More/Stress Less and Choose Health Week

This year, as we prepare for testing season, the counseling department is partnering with the Choose Health Initiative to combine LMSL with Choose Health week, April 29th-May 3rd.  Fun activities and themes are planned for each day during all lunches:

APS FAFSA Event April 30

APS College and Career Counselors are reaching out to colleagues and partners to promote opportunities to assist families with FAFSA, and VDOE and SCHEV continue to provide support that we will share with families. All APS Seniors and their families are invited to attend a FAFSA College & Career Event at Wakefield High on April 30, 2024, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Families will be able to receive support with their FAFSA application. View and download flyer with more details here. Additionally, here are some FAFSA resources to share:

• Common App: Paying for College: https://www.commonapp.org/plan/paying-for-college
• Wyatt:  https://www.getfafsahelp.org/

 No Early Final Exams

Students will not be permitted to take their final exams early, with the exception of families receiving military or foreign service orders.  Proof of these orders must be submitted to the counseling office.  Students must remain enrolled in APS through at least May 23rd to avoid being automatically withdrawn before end of year grades are assigned.  Students may take late finals, and grades will be calculated with a zero for the final until they are taken, and then updated based upon the final exam results.  When possible, arrangements should be made in advance for any late finals.  Please contact your child’s counselor with any questions.

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 with Updated Payment Information

For students taking online summer courses through Virtual Virginia or Edgenuity, families are responsible for payment of the course at the time of registration.

Please follow these directions if paying for Virtual Virginia courses:

• Virtual Virginia has an online payment option.  Please use this link to pay

Please follow these directions if paying for Edgenuity courses:

• Courses taken through Edgenuity can only be paid for by check or money order. If paying by check or money order, payment should be made out to APS.
• Families can submit their check or money order to their student’s counselor, or the YHS counseling office.

Please follow these directions if paying for APS New Work courses:

• Fees for New Work courses may be paid via MySchoolBucks. Once the student has been registered, and the fee/scholarship entered in Synergy, an invoice will be sent to the parents directly from MySchoolBucks (invoices will be sent on May 20).
• Parents who do not wish to pay by credit card may take a check or money order to Syphax 2nd Floor Reception(Academics), Monday-Friday, from 8:00am-4:30pm.
• The student’s identification number must be included on the check or money order and placed in a sealed envelope that lists the students’ current address.
• Checks can also be mailed to: Arlington Public Schools, 2110 Washington Blvd, 22204, ATTN: Finance Department, 4th Floor.
• Checks must be received NO LATER THAN 4 PM on June 14, 2024.

Refunds for APS secondary new work for credit courses will only be granted as long as the request is submitted by June 28, 2024 and students meet one of the following criteria:

• A student is ill for a prolonged period (with a doctor’s note)
• Death in the immediate family
• Transfer of residence outside of Arlington
• A student switching from New Work to Credit Recovery because they failed a required class
• A student has paid, but is eligible for a McKinney-Vento scholarship.
• All refund requests must be made in writing with proper documentation for approval. The request should be sent to Emily Villatoro emily.villatoro@apsva.us.
• No requests for refunds will be accepted and/or processed after June 28, 2024.

New Work Summer Courses (through Virtual@APS)

Registration Window: March 4 – May 3

Cost: $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

YHS Club of the Week- YHS Environmental Club

The YHS Club of the Week is the Environmental Club. The Environmental Club works on community and school projects to raise awareness of environmental issues in the community. Recent projects have included working to improve recycling efforts at Yorktown, the installation of water bottle fillers throughout the school, and working to remove invasive plants at local parks.  Membership is open to all Yorktown students. See Mr. Brown for further information.

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.

SENIOR UPDATES

Families of seniors, we will be sending out information about the end of the year next week. Please keep an eye out for a separate email containing critical information about senior experience, senior picnic, prom, graduation and returning items.

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.

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 NEWS

LIGHTSPEED–Opt-in Through ParentVue

Lightspeed (content filter / weekly activity report) is now available for parents/guardians to opt-in for reports. Use the following link to find the district’s direction on how: Lightspeed Opt-in.

Need more information? Lightspeed Content Filter / Weekly Activity Report Basics.

UPCOMING DATES

See YHS Calendar for more information

• Friday, May 3rd – Early Release Professional Learning Day