August 31, 2023 Yorktown Weekly News Letter

Good Afternoon Patriot Families,

What a great first week of school! It was amazing to see our Patriots back in the building and enthusiastic about the school year. We appreciate your partnership in making this week go smoothly. We want to echo Dr. Durán’s message on promoting strong attendance and encouraging you to work with your children on being here and in class on time. This makes a huge difference in your child’s success at Yorktown.

There is no school Friday, September 1st, and Monday, September 4th in observance of the Labor Day Holiday. Enjoy the long weekend!

Dr. Kevin Clark, Principal

In this message: 

• What’s Happening at Yorktown
• Counseling Corner
• Activities Updates
• Senior Updates
• Technology Corner
• Upcoming Dates
• 2023-24 PTA Information

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT YORKTOWN

Underclass Picture Day – September 7 and 8

Students will be photographed during English class on either September 7 or 8 for the yearbook and purchase.  Each student will receive a flier with a QR code early next week for picture order information.  Parents/guardians who are interested in purchasing pictures can do so at mylifetouch.com using the Event ID EVTG36B4Q  Photo purchase is not required but participation ensures placement in the yearbook and a student ID card to be delivered in about three weeks.

School Messenger Transitioning to ParentSquare

We have fully transitioned to the ParentSquare platform for community messages to unify division, school and one-to-one parent-teacher communication. Download the app and register here: https://parentsquare.com/signin Parents who do not register will still receive emails and text messages.

Advisory Plan

This week, students will continue to meet with their advisors during Patriot Period. We will be introducing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills and Advisory, working on establishing norms and desired behaviors for the year, and then introducing Skills for Academic success.

Back to School Night

We invite you to join your child’s teachers on Wednesday, September 20th at 7:00 pm at Yorktown High School for our Back to School Night. We will send more information closer to the date.

Excellence in Teaching and Learning Parent & Student Session with Dr. Willingham, UVA Professor

Please save the date for an engaging presentation on helping your child become an Excellent Learner. Dr. Willingham, Professor at the University of Virginia, will present to Yorktown families and students on strategies from his research and recent book, Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make it Easy. The presentation will be virtual on Wednesday, September 27th from 7-8:30 p.m. Click here for the link to attend.

Drop-Off/ Pick-Up Reminders

The roads and parking lots are very busy places around Yorktown High School, especially during the morning rush to get to school and the afternoon rush to leave school. Please be sure that you are aware of the entrance/exit for student Drop-Off or Pick-Up. We do appreciate it if you follow the entrance/exit routes as this helps people move along in a relatively efficient process. Please see the visual map below for assistance. If you need to park on campus for any reason, please be sure to stop by the main office to pick up a Visitor Parking Pass.

COUNSELING CORNER

Student Schedule Update

Student schedules are available on ParentVUE and StudentVUE. Updates will continue to be made to rooms and teacher assignments, so students will want to periodically check their schedules for possible changes. If your student identifies an incorrect course (ex. French 3 instead of Latin 3) or has an incomplete schedule, have them contact their counselor directly, or one of our Counseling Administrative Assistants, Ms. Falbo or Ms. Wade. Preference changes (ex. wanting a different elective) must be made no later than the end of the second week of school, September 8th.  Dropping a level of a course must happen by the midway point of the 1st quarter, September 29th.

Counseling Team

We have had some changes in our counseling department this summer and are finalizing changes.  Some counselors have moved into other positions within the building, while others have moved on to pursue new opportunities.  We are working diligently to ensure that all students will remain fully supported academically and social-emotionally.  The following is a list of counselors’ email addresses (specific assignments will be shared once they’re finalized):

ACTIVITIES UPDATES

Upcoming Home Games:

Yorktown General Athletics Game Attendance Information

We look forward to seeing you at upcoming events.  Please note the following:

• No backpacks or bags are allowed and no outside food or beverages can be brought into any home games.
• Anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be admitted or will be asked to leave the event. Parents will be notified to pick up their child from the event. Infractions are subject to disciplinary action.
• Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for ages 6-18 and free for APS high school students at all fall sporting events except Varsity Football (see details below).  Tickets will be sold online before the game at https://gofan.co/app/school/VA24974 as well as at the gate (exact change is preferred)

Arlington Public Schools Varsity Football Attendance Information

Varsity football games are community events.  For the safety and security of all those in attendance, in addition to the above rules, the following rules are in place:

• All tickets $5. Exact change is appreciated and speeds up admission.
• Only students from Yorktown and the opposing school are allowed admission without their own parent or guardian present.  IDs or StudentVUE will be checked at the gate.
• Middle-school students (and younger) must be accompanied and supervised by a parent or guardian.
• There will be designated seating areas for Yorktown students, Yorktown band and general spectators.

Fall Sports Update

Most fall sports are underway and began August 1 or August 7.  The only remaining fall opportunities are cheerleading and ultimate frisbee.  Cheerleading will hold a supplemental JV cheerleading tryout on September 6 and 7 from 3:30-6 pm in the auxiliary gym.  Please make sure to register on the new athletic registration site before attending.  The registration process includes uploading a VHSL doctor’s physical page. Hard copies of physical forms are no longer accepted as all registration is done online.  Ultimate frisbee is an intra-county activity which meets twice a week and does not require a physical or prior registration to join – all are welcome.  The boys team will meet on Tuesday, September 12 at 3:30 pm on the grass softball field and the girls team will meet Tuesday, September 12 at 5 pm on the grass baseball field.  Interested students should bring sneakers/turf shoes and cleats (if desired) as well as water to the first practice.

YHS Activities Fair- September 13

There will be an Activities Fair on Wednesday, September 13, in the Atrium during all three lunch periods. Students will have an opportunity to see what clubs may be of interest to them for the school year.

Back-to-School BBQ – September 14

There will be a Student Government Association Back-to-School BBQ before the varsity football game on Thursday, September 14, with free food, music, and games.  The event is for Yorktown students and will begin at 6 pm.  More details in upcoming weeks.

Homecoming is October 13th Weekend!

The Homecoming football game will be October 13 at 7 pm against Langley with the dance on Saturday night, October 14, from 8-11 PM.  More information on purchasing tickets will be available at a later date.

Where to find Athletics Information

Athletic Website – www.yorktownsports.org

Athletic Twitter – @yhssportsAthletic

Instagram – @yhssports

Athletic Specific Sport Information – www.teamapp.com

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

Winter and Spring Sports

For your planning purposes, winter sports (basketball, gymnastics, swim/dive, wrestling, cheerleading, rifle, indoor track) and crew winter training begin on November 6th; and spring sports (baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, outdoor track, crew) begin on February 19th.  Please note tryouts and practices will be held on school holidays such as Grade Preparation Day (Nov. 7th), Veterans Day (Nov. 10th), and Presidents’ Day (February 19th).  Students can join www.teamapp.com for specific off-season and tryout information on winter and spring sports, which will be posted as it becomes available.  Please make sure to register on the new athletic registration site before attending any off-season activities or tryouts (see information above).

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. Find answers to your questions about these topics and more:

• Announcements for Graduation
• Caps & Gowns
• Class Dues
• Class Rings for Juniors and Seniors
• Graduation After-Party
• Graduation Ceremony
• Off Campus Lunch Privilege
• Prom
• Senior Experience
• Senior Portraits
• Yearbooks

Off Campus Lunch Privilege for Seniors

Seniors may obtain an Off-Campus Lunch Pass and may leave the school grounds during their lunch period.  Because the school is responsible for all students’ behavior and activities during the normal school day from the time a student leaves home until returning home after school (including extracurricular activities), please review the following Code of Conduct before completing the form linked below.A photo ID or appropriate ID (StudentVue) is required for Seniors to go off campus at lunchtime.

1. Seniors will return to campus early enough to ensure that they are not tardy to their next scheduled class.
2. Proper conduct and respect for private property, both in the immediate school neighborhood and the adjacent community, are necessary.
3. Seniors may not take underclass students off campus at lunchtime.
4. Seniors may not bring back food for non-12th grade students.

Failure to observe the above Code of Conduct may result in the revocation of this Senior privilege.  If the student continues to go off campus, disciplinary action will be considered.Please complete the form linked here.  Off campus passes will be available for pick up their off-campus lunch pass on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.  Seniors will not be allowed to leave for lunch the first week of school.

Senior Portraits

Portraits will be taken at school on September 26-29. Seniors who have not yet been photographed should be on the lookout for an appointment card in the mail.  Make-up appointments may be self-scheduled. The final make-up session on site will be November 30-December 1. After this time, Seniors may then schedule an appointment at one of the Studio locations in Hanover or Rockville.

Senior Parking

This notice is to inform you that we are still accepting applications for parking permits for the 2023-2024 school year. If you wish to apply for a parking permit, please submit this google form application no later than Friday, September 1st. Senior Parking Information is also available on the Yorktown High School website.  The on-campus parking fee is $200 and is non-refundable. For questions, please contact Emmet Conroy (emmet.conroy@apsva.us).

Save the Date

Class of 2024 Graduation – Thursday, June 13, at DAR Constitution Hall.

TECHNOLOGY CORNER

COMPUTER DISTRIBUTION:

The second round of device distribution is complete. For those with no computers, Mr. Wilson will arrange a pick-up time next week.

HARDWARE ISSUES:

Students receiving error messages about security or those with devices that are broken or in need of repair will need to see Mr. Wilson in room 235.

Acceptable Use Policy Slides:

Please see the links to the Yorktown High School AUP slide presentations below. Additional information on how to access items for new students has been added.

AUP ENGLISH

AUP AMHARIC

AUP ARABIC

AUP MONGOLIAN

AUP SPANISH

UPCOMING DATES

See YHS Calendar for more information

• August 28 – First Day of School K-12
• September 1 & 4 – Holiday – Labor Day
• September 25 – Holiday – Yom Kippur