Mustang Matters Family Newsletter

We are moving right along here at Monticello and settling into the new year! We concluded our class meetings yesterday and we had a Freshmen presentation from the UVA Medical Center today. Our youngest Mustangs are already proving to be an amazing group of young people and we are so lucky to have them.

Click on the QR code to the right to follow MHS on Facebook!

Thank you for your assistance in supporting the ACPS cell phone policy. We have had very few issues since the first day of school and we are hoping to keep it that way.

Back to School Night is right around the corner! On September 12 from 5:00-8:00, we'd like for you to join us in the day in the life of your child. We will have a State of the School meeting, class meetings, and an Early College/Dual Enrollment meeting before we break and families meet their students' teachers. Save the date...we look forward to seeing you!

Monticello is also lucky enough to host the Regional College Fair from 5-7 pm on the same night. Come on out and get some information from 2/4 year colleges and our military.

We have three main lots in the front of our school building and one in the back. The lot closest to the front of the school and the one in the back are for staff and athletic parking. Students should not park in those lots. We have a limited number of parking spots across the back of the staff lot, closest to the road, for our CATEC students. Only students with a CATEC parking pass may use those spots.

The next lot, adjacent to the staff lot, is the senior parking lot. Only cars with a green, senior parking pass may park in these slots. They are first come, first served. Sophomores and juniors are not permitted to park there. We have staff present in the morning and at lunch to monitor our drivers.

The athletic field parking lot is for all other cars/drivers, including those without a parking pass. We will begin checking all cars for parking passes on Tuesday, September 3. Beginning Monday, September 9, no cars will be allowed in the lots without a pass. This is a safety check for us and we appreciate your cooperation.

Parking passes are $35. Have your child complete this application:

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/1998/638251923945700000

and bring a check and the application to the main office for a pass. If a child is in need of a pass and cannot afford one, please contact your child's counselor. We appreciate your understanding and your driver's cooperation.

Our students are growing young people and often hungry! Our teachers, counselors, and other staff members like to keep healthy snacks on hand in the event a child needs one. This can get expensive with almost 1200 students. Can you help?

If able, could you purchase a snack and donate it to the school? Popular and healthier choices could be peanut butter and crackers, fishies, granola bars, apples, cheese sticks, cheez its, and small water bottles. Donations can be dropped off in the main office and we will distribute them. Our students will be so grateful!

Items of clothes, in particular, gym shorts, t shirts, and leggings, are also in need for our clinic. If you have clothing you can donate, please drop off in the main office and we will get it to our nurse.

REMIND is the new text communication tool used county wide K-12. It replaces Talking Points. You do not need to have the app on your phone to receive text messages from your students' teachers, counselors, or admin. You can add the app, if you would like.

Support for downloading and using the app will be available at Back to School Night.

Each spring we offer the SAT to our juniors at no cost. This year the SAT will be offered to juniors on Tuesday, April 15th. We will be in touch with juniors and their families in the winter with more information. In the meantime, you can find out more about the SAT on our College Guide.

If you interested in representing our school on the Talent Development Advisory Committee this year, please fill out the Google form.

This group provides input on the execution of ACPS' Local Plan for the Education of the Gifted. Members will meet in person four times a year at the Albemarle County Office Building (October 21, January 13, March 10, and May 19) from 5:00-6:00 p.m.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9IP63kiSs7XVnjVtG2EzeSflxmSAdYGr6d54-1wF70DLgow/viewform?usp=sf_link

In order for the school nurse to give your child over the counter medicine, such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen, she must have a signed permission form on file.

We are having issues with electronic copies, so please have your child go to the nurse's office to get a paper copy. We're working on it.

If a child needs to take prescription medication at school, the same form must be completed, but a doctor must sign off on it. Students should not have prescription medication on them while at school. It should be kept with the nurse for her to dispense. Carrying prescription medication on a student's person may result in disciplinary action. Please understand it is a safety procedure.

Seniors may leave for lunch beginning at Mustang Morning (if they have first lunch and a pass). Seniors receive pink passes when they turn in a signed permission form.

While we discourage underclassmen from leaving for lunch, we recognize that parents/guardians may elect to allow their student to go to lunch. They will receive a green pass. They may not leave for Mustang Morning and must wait for 1st block to end at 11:00.

Excessive tardies as a result from coming back to school late from lunch may result in lunch detentions or revocation of privilege. Thank you in advance for your support.

For the first 8 days of school, during our regularly scheduled Mustang Morning time, we have been doing lessons and having class meetings. The linked lesson below shows what Lightspeed is from the student point of view and how it works. This lesson will be done 9-12 tomorrow or Friday.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14-5jWbTVZYHYTXOQBXTU8galG4iRXpi5zzDeTwnrQH0/edit?usp=sharing

For updated rosters, coach contact information, detailed schedules including live stream video links (when available), ticket information, results, or out-of-season workout schedules, please visit www.GoMonticello.org.

The Department of Technology has asked us to send a school specific list of technology tools students may be using throughout the year. Students may create an account, but the sites have been vetted and approved as those that do not share private information. They follow COPPA laws.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LDy-BoXCBRnmHfJeNK3zBKw8Lc3IxwVJ8pcLFcl3toc/edit?usp=sharing

September 2: Labor Day (holiday)

September 3: First official day of Mustang Morning

September 5 & 6: Underclassmen Picture Days

Septtember 9: First Seminar Lesson during Mustang Morning

September 9: PTO Meeting, 6:00 in the Forum

September 12: Back to School Night and Regional College Fair

September 16 & 30: Club Days

September 18: United Way Day of Caring

September 23-27: Spirit Week for Homecoming

September 27: Homecoming football game vs Goochland

September 28: Homecoming Dance

October 16 and 23: Conferences