January 9, 2026 Newsletter

Good afternoon Yorktown Families,

Welcome back! We hope you and your family had a restful and enjoyable winter break. It has been wonderful welcoming our students back to school this week and seeing the energy and enthusiasm they’ve brought with them.

As we begin the new year, we look forward to continuing our work together to support student learning, well being, and success. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support of our staff and school community. We’re excited for the months ahead and all that they will bring.

Warmly,

Laura Porter

Acting Principal, Yorktown High School

In this message: 

• Counseling Corner
• Activities Updates
• Senior Updates
• Technology Corner
• Upcoming Dates
• English Learner Corner
• Technology Corner

COUNSELING CORNER

Advisory Information

Tuesday, January 13:

• 9th-11th Grades: Students will review SchooLinks course planning video
• 12th Grade: Academic Check Ins

Upcoming Information for Academic Planning

We are gearing up to begin our very busy academic planning season where students will learn about and choose courses for next year, and we want to be sure you have the information you need.  Please reference the 2026-2027 Program of Studies to see descriptions of all courses.  This year, students will be using our new platform, SchooLinks, to create their course plans and to choose classes for next year.  If your student(s) has not already completed their SchooLinks onboarding, please have them do so using the following video instructions:

• Grades 9 & 10: SchooLinks onboarding video (watch through minute 6)

• Grade 11: SchooLinks onboarding video (watch through minute 4)

Students will be completing course plans in SchooLinks which will help them plan out the remainder of their high school years, to make sure all graduation requirements are met.  These plans will be reviewed each year, and can be adjusted as needed.  Only the courses students select for next school year (2026-27) will be submitted as actual course requests.  

This coming Tuesday, January 13th, students will watch a training video during Patriot Period about how to create their course plans.  Starting next week and through January 23rd, teachers will be making course recommendations for students for their next year courses directly into the student course plans in SchooLinks.  During the first 3 weeks of February, counselors will be meeting with students through their English classes to complete their course plans.  Students are encouraged to begin making their plans after the 23rd, but before their counselor meets with them in February.

Upcoming events for parents:

The course plan process is about more than picking classes, students will explore courses and build their academic plans towards graduation. It’s a personalized journey that helps students shape their future. School Counselors will continue to work individually with students to ensure they stay on track for graduation.

Parents/guardians must review and acknowledge their student’s course plans. This allows parents/guardians to actively engage in academic advising with their student and School Counselor.

Please join us for a webinar to learn how to review and acknowledge your student’s course plan in SchooLinks.

SchooLinks Course Planner Webinar – High School Parents/Guardians

Tuesday January 13, 2025

7:00 PM – 8:00PM

Zoom Direct Link to Webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83736360716

Meeting ID: 837 3636 0716

SchooLinks Registration: https://app.schoolinks.com/events/eYdZDj/k12-user/redirect/

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.We recognize this is a lot of information, and much of it is new this year.  Please feel free to reach out to your child’s counselor with any questions.

Yorktown Ambassadors

The YHS Ambassadors is a group of students working to make all students feel comfortable, happy, and supported at YHS.  We are currently looking for students interested in being part of our team. If your student would like to help others who are new to Yorktown, please have them fill out this google form and join us at our next meeting which takes place on Wednesdays during Patriot Period in Patriot Hall.

If your student is new to Yorktown this year, please encourage them to join us at one of our events. No need to sign up ahead of time—just drop in!

The next scheduled event will be:

Board games in the Cafeteria on Friday, January 23rd during Patriot Period

ACTIVITIES UPDATES

College Signing Event – February 4

Yorktown’s annual College Student-Athlete Signing ceremony will be held on Wednesday, February 4 at 5:30 pm in the cafeteria.  All seniors who plan to participate in sports in college at any level next year are invited to be recognized.  Please email [email protected] to be added to the list of those being recognized.

Seniors should invite family members, high school coaches, travel/select coaches and friends – all are welcome.  Seniors will have a chance to briefly discuss their future plans and thank others who have helped them succeed. The recognition will include a photo opportunity for families and friends!

Free Health Physicals – January 30 at Wakefield High School

Arlington Public Schools and Arlington County Health School Bureau will offer free health exams (acceptable for sports participation) and teen vaccinations on Friday, January 30 from 1-4 pm at Wakefield High School.  There is no school on this day for students.  Students who wish to attend should register with their school nurse.

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.

APS High School Programming Competition – Save the Date

The 2nd Inaugural APS High School Programming Competition (APS HSPC) will take place on February 7th, 2026, from 10:45 AM to 3:30 PM. Students will be challenged with a wide variety of algorithmic programming problems. Working in teams of up to three students, they will write code to solve the problems. If a student does not have a team, a team will be provided for them. Allowed programming languages are Python, Java, and C++.

The contest is open to middle and high schoolers within APS. All students are welcome, regardless of programming experience. High school programming contests are a fantastic way for everybody to learn more about computer science. Both seasoned programmers and absolute beginners are encouraged to come and improve their programming skills.

Last year, nearly 60 students showed up to the competition.

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 will be May 19.  The start date for golf (no earlier than July 30) and girls flag football (no earlier than August 17) have not yet been finalized.

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

Cap and Gown ordering for seniors is now closed. Any senior who did not order a cap and gown must come to the activities office ASAP. All seniors must have a cap and gown to walk at graduation, and the cost of caps and gowns are included in senior dues.

Senior Dues

Senior class dues have increased to $85.00 beginning January 1, 2026. Senior families can pay their class dues using this link. All students are expected to contribute to class dues. If a student is experiencing undue financial hardship, they should speak to the activities office regarding a payment plan.

Graduation

Looking ahead for graduation planning – Yorktown’s graduation will take place at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, June 10th at 3:00 PM.  More information will follow.

Graduation Announcements

Graduation 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

TECHNOLOGY CORNER

LightSpeed Parent Opt-In

With a variety of instructional tools and learning methods available to your student, your active engagement in your student’s learning is more important than ever. To help keep you informed about your student’s use of internet resources, APS has partnered with Lightspeed Systems to give you visibility into your student’s internet usage while using APS-issued devices, and more control of their use at home and after-school hours.

There are two types of reports you can receive: the Weekly Online Student Activity Report and the detailed Parent Portal dashboard.  All the information in the Weekly Report and on the Parent Portal can be viewed and enabled on desktop or mobile devices. Instructions on how to opt-in to the Weekly Online Student Activity Report are here.

UPCOMING DATES

See YHS Calendar or the APS Calendar for more information

English Learner Corner 

Students will participate in the WIDA ACCESS for English Learners assessment on January 15 and 16, with make-up testing scheduled for January 21 and 22. To help students feel prepared and confident, your child will attend an informational meeting on January 8, 2026, during Patriot Period in Patriot Hall. During this meeting, students will learn when, where, and why they are expected to take the assessment. Christina Smith, Department Chair; Justine Springberg, Lead Teacher; Susan Tucker, English Learner Teacher; and Danielle Harrell, School Administrator, are available to answer any questions you may have.