It takes a village! An important goal of the Langley PTSA is keeping you informed, and at a school as large and as accomplished as Langley there’s much to report and discuss. Kudos to our eNews crew (listed below) and to our PTSA webmaster, Betsy Vrankovich, who maintains the website beautifully and keeps it up to date. 

I also want to give a shout out to Langley's class parent leaders and teams, who work for four years on behalf of your students. Class parent committees are led by Maura Bollinger (12), Elizabeth Trumbull (11), LeeAnn Brownlee and Noelle Soobert (10) and Amy Swaak (9). Each class has a team of 10 to 12 parents who work throughout the year on events such as All Night Grad Party, Senior Slideshow, Prom and Homecoming, as well as to keep parents abreast of important information and timelines pertinent to each student-year. At four class forums during the year, the teams present valuable practical information to help parents guide their students through everything from new student orientation, to drivers’ ed, to SATs and ACTs, to college applications and finally, graduation! 

If you haven't tapped into your class group yet, please take advantage of this great resource! Access your class page here.

~ Patty Burgess, PTSA President

Nicole Bernard is in her second year as a Counselor in the Department of Student Services. Before arriving at Langley, Ms. Bernard worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. However, she wanted to make a switch to work with high school students, and so she went to George Mason University for a post-master’s degree in school counseling. Langley is Ms. Bernard’s first job counseling high school students and she loves it! 

One of Ms. Bernard’s favorite aspects of counseling is that “every day is different and every student is unique.” Ms. Bernard enjoys meeting with students and talking with students and parents. During the start and end of the year, course selection is the focus of many conversations, but other aspects of high school come up during throughout the year.  

In her spare time, Ms. Bernard tries to enjoy her hobbies as much as she can. “I love to read and exercise and spend time with friends,” she said, “but I don’t have as much time as I used to since I have a preschooler!”

~ Eve Heisel and Michael Himy , Saxon Scope staff writers

testing notes

youth night at lhs:   Does your Langley family include younger siblings? Bring them out this Fri, Dec 14 to the Saxons girls' hoops games for Langley Youth Basketball Night! This is the first in a series of Youth Sports Nights this year. 

Admission is free for anyone wearing their youth basketball jersey. Come and enjoy door prizes, t-shirt tosses and watch half-time events for youth ball players during the Varsity game. The action against Oakton HS starts at 4:30 pm (Frosh) and continues at 5:45 pm (JV) and 7:30 pm (Varsity). Contact Laura Bean at lcbean09@gmail.com for more info.

Langley’s winter athletes are busy in the weeks before Winter Break! Listed below are this week’s near-by events. Come out and cheer on the Saxons! 

Fri, Dec 14: 

Wed, Dec 19:

Going once, going twice ... last chance! Even if your kid doesn’t recall leaving at item at school, please check the lost and found area to make sure. The large collection of items is now located in the Langley Cafeteria.

Items not claimed by Fri, Dec 14 will be donated to charity.

… according to the FCPS Youth Survey, only 2 out of 10 sophomores and 1 out of 10 seniors get enough sleep (8+ hours) on school nights. A lack of sleep can greatly affect memory, concentration and academic performance, and increases feelings of sadness and irritability.

Thank you to those who attended our Junior Parent Forum last week! We apologize for the technical issues during the Naviance training session. Due to those issues we are holding a virtual session, to demonstrate specific ways to look for information about colleges using Naviance. The session is tomorrow, Fri, Dec 14, 9:30-10:30 am.

To join, click this Blackboard link . During the session, you may want to access your student’s Naviance to follow along. To access your account, log in to Blackboard . Then click on your student's name in the "Naviance for Families" section at the bottom left.

What: Coping Strategies for Anxious Children

When: Fri, Jan 11, 10 am-12 pm

Where: Dunn Loring Center for Parent Services, Entrance 1, Rm 100, 2334 Gallows Rd

The National Institute of Mental Health presents this free workshop for parents of anxious students ages 8-17. Highlights include how to help your student with anxiety, when anxiety becomes a disorder, strategies for treating specific anxiety disorders and stress reduction tools.  Click here to register for this helpful, research-based workshop. 

upcoming events