Why volunteer? Because it is good for you! Studies show that when you volunteer, you reap physical and mental rewards. By focusing on someone other than yourself, you interrupt your usual tension-producing patterns, which reduces stress. You may also have an elevation in mood while experiencing positive emotions like joy, optimism and satisfaction, which can strengthen your immune system and improve your self-esteem.
Thinking about starting a new career after the kids go off to college? Volunteering can provide you with a risk-free way to explore fields that differ from those of your current job and educational background. You might even discover new interests, hidden talents and outstanding abilities you didn’t know you possessed.
When you volunteer at Langley, you set a great example for your kids about the importance of giving back to your community. By supporting your child’s school, sports and activities, you are demonstrating that you care about what matters to them and that you are willing to put in some time to make sure they have the best possible experience. Although your kids might pretend they don’t see you, your efforts will not go unnoticed by them.
What’s the biggest perk of volunteering at Langley? Collaborating with other parents, of course! Langley parents are smart, productive and fun to be around. They approach their volunteer roles with enthusiasm, good humor and expertise, and serve as tremendous resources for the parents who follow them. Volunteering at Langley is also a great way to get to know your child’s friends’ parents better, expand your own social circle and create contacts throughout Northern Virginia.
If you are interested in giving yourself the gift of volunteering, contact PTSA Membership chair Kristen Simko at kristen.simko@gmail.com to inquire about a position that would be perfect for you.
Thank you!
~ Clare Bradshaw, PTSA President
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langley’s outstanding employee winners need your help |
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Langley HS has four outstanding employee winners at the pyramid level. They are now competing at the Regional level and need your help!
LHS parents can write letters of support, showing examples of thoughtful moments and insightful recognition which AP Wayne Biernesser will compile and forward to the appropriate place.
Address letters to the “Awards Selection Committee” and email them to wcbiernesser@fcps.edu. Letters must be received by tomorrow, Feb 11.
Our winning Langley teachers and staff are:
* Outstanding Teacher – Jen Stocks
* Outstanding New Teacher – Yeon Je Cho
* Outstanding Operational Employee – Nancy Ayoub
* Outstanding Leader – Braden Peterson
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open house for 8th graders |
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Know any eighth graders trying to decide which high school to attend next year? Forward this issue of eNews to let them know about Langley's upcoming Open House on Sun, Feb 13, from 2-4 pm!
Eighth-grade students and their families are invited to attend an information session presented by administrators, tour the building with student ambassadors, and chat with experienced parents and faculty at a reception following the tours.
Families should park in the main lot and enter through Door 14. The presentation will be in the Auditorium.
To RSVP for this event, please click here.
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Mark your calendars for next Tues, Feb 15 at 7 pm! As a part of the 28 Days of Equity program, the DEI committee invites you to join us in a virtual pyramid-wide conversation with our featured speaker, Jamestown public historian Mark Summers. Mark will lead us through a discussion exploring how we teach history and examining perspectives traditionally left out, with an emphasis on the arrival of women and enslaved Africans at Jamestown. Please RSVP here and come be a part of the conversation!
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new year, new opportunity! |
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Join our Langley PTSA team! The PTSA Nominating Committee is hard at work finding wonderful volunteers to fill various chair positions for our committees for next school year. Click here to read more about each opportunity and/or receive more info from the Nominating Committee. Questions? Contact Kristen Simko at kristen.simko@gmail.com.
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Congrats to Langley students who participated as attorneys and witnesses in the virtual Model Judiciary Program last Saturday morning. The program was sponsored jointly by the Virginia Bar Association/Young Lawyers Division and the Virginia YMCA. Students were able to participate in mock trial simulations of a criminal case, developed by the D.C. Street Law Clinic at the Georgetown University Law Center, which centered on a hypothetical hazing incident at a local university.
Four Langley teams of 18 students joined 250 students from area high schools including Chantilly, Robinson, South County, Patriot, Battlefield, and Paul VI for the event. Congressman Gerry Connolly welcomed the group in opening remarks noting that, “Justice in America is a work in progress: we are participating in that work today.” To prepare for the event, Langley students met weekly during Model Judiciary Club meetings after school and practiced their trial advocacy skills to include opening and closing statements and witness examinations. This is Langley’s third year participating in the MJC program. Mrs. McCommas is the faculty sponsor of the club.
Shout outs to senior students Ivy Chen and Selena Al-Shihabi for serving as Model Judiciary Club co-presidents this year and organizing a very enthusiastic and dedicated club of over 70 students.
Prosecution Team 1: Kendall Snow, Josie Amspah, Vishwa Rakasi, Sophia Bongiovi
Prosecution Team 2: Lucas Kim, Matthew Burns, Nathaniel Soesetio
Defense Team 1: Kira Thornton, Ann Gillis, Anshra Malik, Anastasis Leonidov, Lianna Hong, Raevyn Kangas
Defense Team 2: Ariaana Downing, Jenny Wang, Diego Tablett, Grace Chen, Aryana Molaiy
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Each summer, many Langley students take the required FCPS Economics and Personal Finance course in a self-directed, pass/fail, online format in order to free up an elective period at LHS. The course is accessed through Schoology and includes 14 interactive modules, 140 exit tickets and a final exam.
Registration is open for the two sessions, which run from Apr 18-June 17 and from June 27-July 29. Click here to register and for more info.
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Bring your treasures to sell and benefit the Class of 2022 All-Night Grad Party (ANGP)! Rent a space and become a vendor at the Langley Spring Community Yard Sale & Craft Fair on Sun, Mar 27 from 8 am - 2 pm at LHS. The standard selling space (2 parking spaces) is $30. Larger spaces are available. Vendors must provide their own tables, display racks, and tents/covering. Pre-register online here!
This community event provides local businesses, community artists, and those with yard sale items a venue to display and sell their items. Langley clubs, organizations, and teams are encouraged to use this event to fundraise for themselves. Vendor fees and individual donations go towards helping the Langley Class of 2022 ANGP, while participating vendors keep all profits they earn.
Many volunteers will be needed on the day of the event. Community service hours will be offered. More on this soon!
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28 days project: The Langley PTSA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee launched a second year of the 28 Days of Equity Awareness project. Our goal is to begin a conversation based on our learning about perspectives from an intersection of marginalized voices. We invite participants to check out this themed list of short readings, videos, and podcasts, and complete as many as possible.
Tomorrow, Feb 11, we will hold our second lunch hour reflection session to provide a safe space for discussion and exploration of the material. To sign up for those sessions, fill out this form: Feb 11 at 12 pm.
On Tues, Feb 15 at 7 pm, we will hold a virtual pyramid-wide speaker presentation
with Historic Jamestown Public Historian Mark Summers, on the topic of discovering and
teaching a more complete history of America. Complete this form to RSVP for this
presentation.
On Thurs, Feb 24 at 7 pm, we will hold a second pyramid-wide speaker presentation
focusing on the LGBTQ+ community. More details on that event (also virtual) soon.
You can find all these forms and the 28 Days list on the PTSA website.
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art exhibit: Langley students are invited to get creative for an upcoming art exhibit: DIVERSEartLANGLEY, sponsored by the Langley DEI committee.
You don’t have to be taking an art class to enter: We’re accepting art submissions from anyone with an idea to express. Submissions can be in any of the seven art forms: painting/drawing, sculpture, literature (short stories) music, dance, theater/cinema, architecture, and should answer any (or all) of these questions:
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Diversity: What does diversity look like in my community?
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Equity: What does equity mean to me?
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Inclusion: Are you able to be your authentic self and still be safe and accepted? (Do you feel like you have to code switch?)
Exhibit will be held Thurs, Mar 24, beginning at 6 pm. Prizes will be awarded to the top three submissions. Questions? See the PTSA website.
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saxon service: If taking a break from the classroom to work on a fun community service project sounds like something your student would enjoy, encourage participation in Saxon Service on Fri, Feb 18 in the Cafeteria during Langley Links. To register, students just need to scan the Saxon Service QR codes posted on signs around the school.
Students who participate in Saxon Service earn an hour of service time. Projects include crafting origami cranes for hospitalized patients, making dog and cat toys for animals in shelters, coloring/writing cards to active-duty military and creating polar fleece blankets for the homeless. These enjoyable, hands-on activities facilitate stress-reduction as the students focus their energies on helping others.
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empty cereal boxes needed: Langley's Community Service Club is collecting empty cereal boxes, which will be used to make necklaces for a Haitian charity. Cereal boxes should be completely empty. Feel free to break the boxes down and fold flat for easy transport.
Boxes can be dropped off in the bin in the College and Career Center. The next Saxon Service event at Langley will be Feb 18!
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college admissions discussion |
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Save the date! Author Jeff Selingo will return to Langley on Mon, Mar 21 at 7 pm to discuss his book Who Gets In and Why. This bestseller is filled with insights gleaned from Jeff’s year in the trenches with college admissions directors and includes research done at Langley! Join us for a discussion on topics such as the test-optional choice, applying early decision and creating a balanced list for college apps.
This is currently planned as an in-person event. All LHS families and staff are welcome.
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join in langley's book talk! |
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McLean's Safe Community Coalition is helping to bring best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims to town to present the talk Throw out the Checklisted Childhood: Tips and Strategies for Raising Successful Kids on Apr 6, 7 pm at Temple Rodef Shalom in McLean. Ms. Lythcott-Haims is a renowned speaker, former corporate lawyer and Stanford Dean, and author of the best-seller How to Raise an Adult.
Prior to this community event, the PTSA Family Network Committee will host a parent book club on Mar 23 at 11 am to discuss Ms. Lythcott-Haims's book. Langley's School Psychologist Anna Davis and School Social Worker Catherine Kennedy will facilitate the discussion and share their thoughts on what is especially relevant to Langley families in How to Raise an Adult. Click here to purchase the book from Amazon.
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spring sports tryouts: Spring tryouts begin Mon, Feb 21. If your student is planning on participating in a spring sport, complete these steps prior to trying out for a team:
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Register at the new FCPS Athlete Registration Website. Registration must be done each year. Click here to register your child.
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Complete a physical after May 1, 2021. The physical must be done on the official VHSL form found here. Send the completed VHSL form to langleyathletics@fcps.edu.
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Check each respective team's site on the Langley Sports website for tryout information.
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covid protocols for student athletes: FCPS highly encourages all student athletes to be vaccinated for the spring athletic season, where all sports are held outside. During the spring athletic season, unvaccinated student athletes will not be required to participate in weekly surveillance testing but will be required to follow all CDC protocols pertaining to isolation and quarantine for COVID positive persons and close contacts.
Students who are unvaccinated and exposed to the virus as close contacts or become positive will miss both their sporting activities and valuable learning time in the classroom as they will need to follow the protocols for quarantine and isolation as outlined by the CDC.
Questions? Contact the FCPS Office of Student Activities and Athletics at FCPSSAAP@fcps.edu.
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hockey: Langley hockey takes on McLean tomorrow, Feb 11 at Reston SkateQuest. The puck drops at 7:55 pm. Admission is free and so is the pizza. To thank our fans, the hockey team will have pizza for fans in Langley spirit wear at the start of the game. Come early to get a slice and stay to cheer on your Saxons!
While on the road last Friday, Langley hockey came up with its third win in row, beating the joint Gainesville-Patriot team 6-1. In a fast-paced, hard hitting game, Max Moser led with two goals. Zach Cash, Alston Zhang, Kameron Khazai, and Brady Nicholas each had one goal to seal the victory.
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… Due to the increase in counterfeit pills and the overdose rate among our youth, the DEA started the One Pill Can Kill initiative. Here is the link that provides info about the initiative and pictures of counterfeit pills. Social media plays a role in the distribution of pills. Here are the social media accounts used and the emojis used between the dealer and “customer.”
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Read below for class news. Click the green class buttons to go to each class's webpage.
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grad fee: The graduation fee of $50 has been set by the school. This is a mandatory fee for families. If this fee is not paid, it will be listed as an obligation towards the end of the year. Students will not receive their cap, gown, or graduation tickets until the fee has been paid off. To pay the fee, pleas log onto MySchoolBucks and filter by student fees.
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virtual college night: The virtual Junior College Planning Night is tonight, Feb 10 at 7 pm. This program will provide an in depth look at the current college landscape, as well as walk students and families through the college planning process. We have five incredibly experienced college admissions representatives joining us for a Q&A panel discussion.
You must register in advance to attend this Zoom webinar. Go here to register and you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
junior class dinner canceled: Our Junior Class dinner scheduled for Feb 10 is canceled, due to our College Night program going virtual. Parents who already paid for a boxed dinner on MySchoolBucks will be refunded their payments. We hope to have a Junior Class fundraiser sometime later in the spring.
donations wanted: Please consider making a Junior Class donation. This can be done by selecting the Class Donation icon on MySchoolBucks.com. Due to Covid restrictions, our class is behind in meeting its fundraising goals. These funds are used for Treat Days and to offset Senior Year expenses and ANGP.
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college case studies: Save the date! College Case Studies Night will be held Thurs, Apr 14 at 7 pm. Our hope is to host this in person!
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Our next Freshman Parents Forum is tomorrow, Feb 11, 9:30–11 am, to hear The Study Pro's Debbie Rosen and Lindsey Thoms presentation about How to be your Child’s Executive Function Cheerleader.
In this intriguing presentation by The StudyPro, they will share:
● What Executive Functions (EF) skills are and why they matter
● How to recognize and improve “missing skills” behind common school challenges
● How to partner with your student to help build their EF skills
When it comes to school, we praise the obvious skills such as doing well on a test or getting an A on a paper, but often miss the less obvious, but equally important ones, such as overcoming challenges to get started on an assignment or adequately planning to finish a longer-term assignment on time.
Improving Executive Function skills will help with focus, flexibility, and pushing through frustration. A link to the meeting will be posted on the PTSA Class of 2025 website.
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tips for talking to your kids |
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We all want to keep current with our kids' lives, and it can be challenging to get kids to open up. Whether it's little things like knowing how their day was or big things like raising concerns for their well-being, it can be hard to get the conversation flowing.
On Mon, Feb 28 from 7-8 pm, the Safe Community Coalition (SCC) will host a one-hour virtual program dedicated to family communication with local mental health professionals Mimi Weisberg and Heather Tedesco. They’ll use this article from The Washington Post as a jumping off point to share concrete tips and strategies for connecting with your kids through conversation.
The free program is open to all and the link can be found on the SCC website.
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mcc call for youth candidates: Want to be a leader? Want to earn valuable community service and outreach experience? Run for a seat on the McLean Community Center governing board! MCC is looking for high school students who wish to serve the community by playing a leading role in helping to carry out MCC's goals.
The board includes two youth seats, one each from LHS and McLean HS, and youth members serve a one-year term. Completed petition packets are due to MCC by Fri, Mar 11 at 5 pm. Requirements and info are on the MCC website.
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paying for college virtual workshops: College Access Fairfax is holding a series of webinars for parents of 9th, 10th and 11th graders to learn the ins and outs of paying for college. Tune in on Sat, Feb 12 at 10 am; Tues, Feb 15 at 7 pm; or Thurs, Feb 24 at 7 pm to learn about the cost of attendance, financial aid, financial need and more. Click here for information. Questions? Contact questions@collegeaccessfairfax.org.
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instruction 2 industry: FCPS is hosting a virtual career exploration event nightly from Mon, Feb 14-17, 4–8 pm each day. Career clusters will be highlighted, including Arts, Audio/Video Technology and Communications; Government and Public Administration; Health Science; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and more.
The regional event will connect students to more than 100 local industry professionals to learn about work-based learning opportunities, career planning support sessions, postsecondary education and training and more. Click here for more info and to register. Questions? Email workbasedlearning@fcps.edu.
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cte summer academy: Are you interested in coding, marketing, robotics or animal care? FCPS has an opportunity for students to explore these areas and many more through the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Summer Academy. Students in grades 7-11 can dive deeper into CTE program areas, develop new skills and explore future careers.
Space is limited! Registration is on a first-come basis until seats are filled. Click here for more info and to register.
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health and safety guidance: With so much new and updated information available for schools and families due to the current COVID-19 surge and recent CDC changes, the FCPS Health and Safety Guidance Document is your source for the most up-to-date information.
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vaccines: Teens ages 12-17 years old are eligible to get a Pfizer booster shot. Click here for further guidance on booster shots.
To make an appointment, click here or call 877-VAX-IN-VA. Walk-ins may also be available depending on the site.
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testing: Drive-through COVID-19 diagnostic testing is available for all FCPS students and staff who are experiencing symptoms or have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. Testing is also a step in the return to school process following illness or exposure. Click here for locations and schedules. Appointments are not required, but families must register here before testing. Click here for more info.
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Feb 10: Tonight! Junior Class Forum (Virtual), 7 pm
Feb 11: Freshman Parent Forum (Virtual), 9:30 am
Feb 11: DEI Lunch Hour Reflection, 12 pm
Feb 13: 8th Grade Open House, 2 pm
Feb 15: Pre-Assessment Orchestra Concert w/Cooper MS, 7 pm
Feb 15: DEI Virtual Pyramid-wide Event, Public Historian Mark Summers, 7 pm
Feb 21: President’s Day Holiday – No School
Feb 21: Spring Sports Tryouts Begin
Feb 24: DEI Virtual Pyramid-wide Event, LGBTQ+ community speaker, 7 pm
Feb 24, 25: Saxon Studio, 7 pm
Mar 3: Pre-Assessment Wind Symphony Concert, 7 pm, Auditorium
Mar 3: Two-Hour Early Release
Mar 4: Student Holiday
Mar 9: PTSA General Membership Meeting & Principal Coffee Q&A, 9 am
Mar 10: Pre-Assessment Band Concert, 7 pm, Auditorium
Mar 15: Pre-Assessment Choral Concert, 7 pm, Auditorium
Mar 21: College Admissions Discussion with Jeff Selingo, 7 pm
Mar 23: Family Network Book Club, 11 am
Mar 27: ANGP Yard Sale & Craft Fair, 8 am - 2 pm
Mar 31: End of Third Quarter – Two Hour Early Release
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Join the LHS PTSA! Click Here.
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LHS PTSA eNews Editors
Gary Coetzee, Ghida Damirji, Michelle Francis, Helen Miller and Amy Prewett
Stephanie Maxwell (Technical Advisor)
Amy P
The Langley eNews is published by PTSA volunteers and includes news that pertains to LHS, PTSA and FCPS.
Any opinions expressed herein are those of the submitter and not necessarily those of LHS, PTSA or FCPS.
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