March 22, 2024 YHS Newsletter

Dear Yorktown Families,

We made it to Spring Break! This week we welcomed visitors from the College Board to visit our AP Seminar and AP Pre-Calculus classes. They were impressed with the quality of instruction, our insightful students, and our AP program. We also want to encourage families to familiarize themselves with the new AP Capstone Program and opportunities for students to take AP Seminar as an English 10 class or as an elective (YHS AP Information). Also this week, the College and Career Office hosted a two-day Career Fair with representatives from many different industries. The Student Government Association planned an incredible Spring Pep Rally where we showcased our spring musical, Les Misérables; Winter Guard; Drumline; Robotics Team; and the state champion Field Hockey and Girls Swim and Dive Teams.   A reminder to please complete the Your Voice Matters Survey if you haven’t already (search PanoramaEd in your email). We appreciate your feedback!

Have a great Spring Break!

Kevin Clark

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

Les Misérables is Coming to Yorktown Theatre

Yorktown Performing Arts presents: Les Misérables (School Edition) on April 4 & 5 at 7pm, and April 6 at 2pm & 7pm; tickets are $10 students, $20 adults. 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. If you would like to purchase tickets, go to: http://tinyurl.com/YHSTheatre.

Congratulations Yorktown Music Ensembles

The Yorktown Bands, Choirs, and Orchestras recently completed their annual assessment events, which are performances evaluated by a panel of adjudicators. Seven YHS music ensembles performed, and all earned Excellent or Superior ratings at their respective assessments. Additionally, the advanced band, choir, and orchestra all received straight Superior ratings. This achievement earns YHS the Blue Ribbon award from the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) for the third year in a row. Please congratulate our extraordinary music students and their directors on this significant achievement!

Advisory Plans

After spring break, all students will participate in the following grade level lessons. Special thanks to Ackesha Patrick for providing these lessons most closely related to the social awareness CASEL competency. Tuesday (4/2):

• 9th Grade: Bullying
• 10th Grade:  Lunch Box Moment
• 11th Grade:  Deafness and Ableism
• 12th Grade:  What are Hate Symbols

 Thursday (4/4):

• Academic Check-In Meetings or students can leave with a pass.

COUNSELING CORNER

Summer School Information

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.

Northern Virginia Regional College Fair

The Office of Admissions at George Mason University invites students to join them for the 37th annual Northern Virginia Regional College Fair (NVRCF)! Students will have the opportunity to meet with admissions representatives from more than 200 colleges and universities. This will be a great opportunity to get your students motivated and excited about their post-secondary plans while equipping them with the tools and information necessary to successfully navigate the college search and application process.

Northern Virginia Regional College Fair  Wednesday, April 10, 2024 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm George Mason University – Fairfax Campus – Eagle Bank Arena This is a StriveScan Fair. Students can pre-register for a barcode at https://app.strivescan.com/registration.  Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Parking is available, free of charge, in Parking Lots A and L, directly across from EagleBank Arena. To view a campus map, click here.

If you have any questions about this event, please email the Mason Admissions Events Team directly at admevent@gmu.edu.

ACTIVITIES UPDATES

PTA Spring Fling Rescheduled – Saturday, April 13

The Annual PTA Spring Fling was postponed to Saturday, April 13.  Make your plans now and join this yearly tradition put on by the PTA. The event will take place from 7:30-10:30 pm in the atrium and courtyard.

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

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

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

Women’s History Month

Explore the impact that women have had on society during Women’s History Month and year-round:

New York Historical Society Center for Women’s History

The Center for Women’s History at the New York Historical Society explores the lives of a wide range of notable women in American history from different cultures, sexualities, classes, and races.

UNLADYLIKE2020:

A series of 26 short films and a one-hour documentary profiling diverse and little-known American women from the turn of the 20th century, and contemporary women who follow in their footsteps. Each documentary short engages readers with brilliant art, upbeat music, expert interviews, and vivid details.

Becoming Visible:

Bringing American Women’s History into FocusThis digital exhibit presents the stories of five women whose stories have been excluded, erased, obscured, forgotten, and almost lost.

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 NEWS

Spring Break Tech Checklist!

As we get closer to Spring Break, be sure to review the checklist below. Questions? Issues? Come by room 287 to speak with Ms. Cordero.

• Take your laptop charger with you
• Shut your laptop down if you’re not using it.
• Do not keep your laptop on and plugged in all break.
• Do not store your laptop anywhere near a heater.
• Do not store your laptop anywhere the temperature is extremely cold.
• If you take your laptop with you when you travel, bring it back
• Do not allow other people to use your school-issued laptop.
• Keep your laptop away from small children, siblings, and pets.
• Keep your laptop and charger in a secure space–see if your parent or guardian has a space they can store it for the break.

Thanks for taking good care of your device over break!

UPCOMING DATES

See YHS Calendar for more information

• Monday, March 25 – Friday, March 29 – Spring Break
• Wednesday, April 10 – Eid al-Fitr – No School
• Monday, April 15 – No School for Students, Grade Preparation Day