Husky Highlights Newsletter

Greetings Tuscarora Family,

This past month, the school community has been bursting with energy and school spirit. Between the Friday "Pink-outs" to raise awareness for breast cancer and the school spirit days, the entire Tuscarora community continues to model RISE (Respect, Integrity, Service, and Excellence).

Thank you to all the parents and guardians who attended the Parent/Teacher Conferences held on October 30th. We value the collaboration and communication as we work together to support our students' success. If you did not have an opportunity to meet with a specific teacher, I encourage you to reach out via email or phone.

During the month of November, we celebrate Native American Heritage month, honoring the culture, history, and contributions of the Native American peoples. We would like to express a special thanks to America's indigenous peoples in our community for your contributions to our community and our country. For more information about Native American Heritage month, please visit https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/ .

On Monday, November 11, we celebrate Veterans Day. We would like to acknowledge and thank the veterans on our staff and in our community. We are grateful to you and your families for your service to our country and your sacrifices for our freedom. Thank you!

As we begin our second quarter of school, I encourage students and families to continue to connect with teachers and staff in support of your student's success. Our after school SLED program is already in progress. We welcome all students to attend this after school program to receive additional academic support from content teachers. First quarter grades are expected to be accessible on StudentVue and ParentVue by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 7.

In this newsletter, you will find information to keep you connected with the school and upcoming events. Please let us know how we can support you and help your student succeed.

Pamela Croft

Principal

Pamela.Croft@lcps.org

🌰 🍂

Many thanks to our PTSO and volunteers for all your support and donations for Homecoming 2024. The event was spectacular! We were overwhelmed with the generosity of our community, donating chips, cookies, and water to keep everyone's energy going through the night. The efficient coat/bag check was a tremendous help, keeping students carefree and safe to enjoy the evening.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the different ways you support the students, staff, and school. We appreciate you!

Thank you to the students, staff, and parents that helped put on a fabulous 15th Homecoming! We could not have had such a wonderful event without every team member's contribution! Thank you!

Congratulations to the Marching Huskies! With 43 dedicated members contributing over 500 hours this season, your hard work has truly paid off.

Now, here’s a look at our recent accomplishments:

• Woodgrove Classic: 1st Place in 2A, with Best Music, Visual, General Effect, Guard, and Percussion.
• Herndon Showcase: 1st Place in 2A, winning Best Music, Visual, General Effect, Guard, and Percussion.
• South County: 1st Place in 2A, earning Best Music, Visual, General Effect, Guard, and Percussion.
• Shenandoah Valley Marching Invitational: 1st Place in 3A and 5th overall out of 29 bands, with Best Music, Visual, and General Effect.
• Oakton Classic: 1st Place in 2A and Grand Champions for Class 1-3A, winning Best Music, Visual, General Effect, and Guard.
• Freedom Showcase: 1st Place in 2A, with awards for Best Music and General Effect.
• VBODA (State Assessment): Received the highest rating of Superior.
• VMBC State Championship: Finished 2nd Place in 2A.

We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you!

Congratulations to the Tuscarora Cheer Team!

On Wednesday, October 30, Tuscarora's Cheer Team captured 2nd place at the Region 4C competition clenching a spot at the VHSL Class 4 State Competition Meet. This is the first time since 2019 the Cheer Team is heading to states!

Let's congratulate our Lady Huskies on this tremendous accomplishment and wish them luck as they compete at the State Competition on Saturday, November 9.

Congratulations to the Tuscarora Girls Cross Country team for winning the Dulles District Championship! Catherine Moschera took first overall. The Huskies had 5 of the top 9 runners with Moschera followed by Wilson, Duah, Quist and Sillman. Great job Huskies! We will see the Girls Cross Country team at the Region meet.

Congratulations to Tuscarora's Ben Kelly on moving on to the Region 4C Boys Cross Country meet

Congratulations to the Tuscarora Football Team for winning the Dulles District. This makes them back-to-back champs, two years in a row!

Hello THS Families!

Don't forget to order your Holiday Greens through the PTSO! Wreaths, centerpieces and sprays make great gifts but don’t forgot to order one for yourself! $8 from each order goes directly to the PTSO and our Senior RISE scholarships!

For more information and to order: https://giftitforward.com/

Did you know the THS PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support) Team provides rewards (snacks and candy) to our students for earning Husky tickets?!

Let’s help the Team stock their shelves and celebrate our students’ accomplishments!

Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3QBBXMG86H7EK?ref_=wl_share

(Choose “Deliver to Rachel Taton” at checkout and your items will be sent directly to THS.)

Ornaments: It’s time to place your THS ornament order! Order here and pick up at the THS main office!

*Personalize your ornament! We’ll add your student’s name or “Class of 2025” (or both) to the back your ornament!

For more information and to order: https://thsptso.ptboard.com/formvw?store=5479&form=2

School Counselors are holding Senior meetings for the next several weeks. Parents/Guardians, please encourage your student to meet with their school counselor so they don’t miss any upcoming college application deadlines.

Students must submit a completed and signed transcript request at least 3 weeks prior to the deadline. The following deadlines are intended to help ensure that we have adequate time to process the request, but students are welcome to submit the request early. If students miss the 3 week transcript deadline, please have students talk with their counselor so that we can personally assist the students.

The transcript request must first be submitted to the School Counseling office in order for the counselor to send their transcript to any college.

If requesting a counselor letter of recommendation, please submit a Student & Parent Insight Sheet.

If applying through Common App, the student must first complete match their Common App with SchooLinks in order for us to submit their transcript and for teachers to submit their letter of recommendation and teacher evaluation forms.

Below are the Transcript Request Deadlines. Please make sure students read the information and adhere to the deadlines in the link below:

On Tuesday, November 26, from 9:30 am - 11:30 am, the Arc of Loudoun is hosting a session at the ALLY Advocacy Center on Catoctin Circle NE. The following presentations will be included in this session:

• Online Safety and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• The Special Olympics and What it Offers

The session is free for adults 18+. For more information, click on the link below to view the event flyer and to register for this session.

If you took the PSAT on October 9, 2024 at Tuscarora High School then your scores should be released by the College Board on October 24th. If you don’t see your score, please be patient as College Board is also releasing scores on November 7th and November 14th.

To prepare and access your score, students must create a College Board account (if they do not already have one). Please follow these directions to create a College Board account. Please remember your email and password for future testing, including AP testing. LCPS suggests using your personal email to create the account, so you have access to College Board after you graduate.

To create the account, click here.

If you have trouble viewing your scores, ensure your name (same as it is in StudentVue) and your Student ID are listed in your account. If you still can’t access your scores, you will need to call College Board - 1 (866) 630-9305.

Winter Indoor Wind/Percussion and Guard Ensembles -

We are excited to share that we will be having TIME: Winds AND TIME: Guard! We will be having an interest meeting on November 6th at 7pm! We are welcoming all THS Students PLUS any 8th graders! No experience is needed for guard and we would like students to be enrolled in a band class either at SMMS or THS for Winds! Indoor Winds includes Percussion AND Wind Instruments! Click here for calendar.

Tickets are now on sale for the Fall play, Wuthering Heights (Nov 16-23). This ghostly adaptation of the Emily Bronte classic features student written music composition by Luke Pierce (11th) and Sydney Nicklas (12th). Saturday Nov 23 will be the Glamies production so we would love to see a HUGE crowd of fans in the audience that night. Get your tickets now!

Come out and see our wonderful Performing Arts Ensembles perform festive music and comedy to get you excited for the holidays! All are FREE, so save these dates:

Dec. 5th @ 7PM Band Holiday Concert

Dec. 10th @7PM Guitar Concert

Dec. 12th @ 7PM Orchestra Concert

Dec. 17th @7PM Choral Holiday Concert

Dec. 18th @ 7PM Shenanigans Performance

Mrs. Cathleen Gough, FACS teacher, and Mrs. Shelly DeMartino, Social Studies teacher, teamed up to strengthen the understanding of foods in religion. Mrs. Gough led the students through making and braiding Challah Bread during the 10 Days of Awe, a Jewish period of reflection and repentance that takes place between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The students of Mrs. DeMartino’s World of Religions class braided, baked and took home their own mini Challah and discussed how food is used in a variety of religions.

The members of FCCLA, Family and Career Community Leaders of America, took part in the Virginia FCCLA Precious Pumpkins Contest. We had 14 FCCLA members come before school and work together to create a decorated pumpkin of their choosing. A fun time to create and get to know each other. The new year has brought many new members. We are looking forward to the year ahead with community service projects, fellowship and competition.

Students in Intro to AP World are learning about Ancient Egypt. Students are learning about ancient Egyptian culture including medicine, mummification and mythology. Students created their own mummy and comics about Egyptian culture

In AP Psychology students are learning about the anatomy of the brain. Students completed a brain project examining pop culture characters of their choice.

Rho Kappa National Social Science Honor Society would like to congratulate the following students for being inducted into the honor society:

Rho Kappa National History Honor Society is pleased to offer history tutoring every Tuesday morning beginning at 8:30 in room 203. Tutoring is also available during study hall upon request. If interested please email stefanie.lane@lcps.org.

Tuscarora Model United Nations News This month, the THS MUN Team will be attending the William & Mary Model United Nations Conference. This Conference is in its 38th year and will host nearly 1,200 students from around the Nation and will be held in Williamsburg, VA from Nov. 15-18, 2024. Good luck Huskies!

Senior Seal of Biliteracy Test: If you signed up to take the AAPPL Seal of Biliteracy test, please plan to test on Nov. 7th at 9:30am. Check in with your teachers prior to the testing date so that you can get any work you will miss in class.

Credit Through Testing: The registration window has closed for Credit Through Testing. Test dates and locations can be found at this webpage for those who need a reminder.

We are thrilled to announce the latest addition to our community space, a beautifully crafted bulletin board created by our talented German classes. We invite you to come check it out!

Congratulations to Donald Matute, 12th grade, who is our winner of the THS 4th Annual Hispanic Heritage Art Contest with his beautiful submission about the Honduran Guacamaya bird!

Spanish Club students had a great Club Day learning about the Mexican cultural tradition of Day of the Dead. They participated in a fun craft competition to represent the tradition. Congratulations to Fabiola Garcia-Juarez, 11th grade, our winner!

Attending the ALCANZA College Fair at George Mason University is a valuable experience for EL students, offering direct exposure to various colleges and universities. These experiences encourages students to think about their academic futures, explore opportunities, and gain confidence in their post-secondary choices.

This experience enables them to:

1. Broaden horizons: Discover programs and campuses students might not have considered.
2. Ask questions: Interact with representatives for personalized advice tailored to students' interests and goals.
3. Compare options: Evaluate academic offerings, campus culture, financial aid, and extracurricular activities across multiple schools.

4. Plan for the future: Use gathered insights to refine choices and make informed decisions about applications.

Overall, the fair provided the students with valuable insights and motivation for their educational journeys ahead!

Geometry students have done a great job on their logic projects. Students applied their knowledge of logic to write jingles, advertising some of their favorite restaurants or clothing stores. Students' work products are displayed proudly in the Mathematics hallway.

The English department is pleased to offer English Support during students’ study hall times!

If a student needs help in English, they should make an E-hall pass to the English Support Study Hall.

(Support is also available during after-school SLED tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the library from 4:20- 6:15 pm.)

Winter Sport Season is just around the corner Husky Nation! That means time to get ready for SY 25 Winter Sports! As we wrap up our fall sports seasons please start turning in physicals for the upcoming winter and spring seasons.

Here are dates you need to know if you plan to participate in off-season conditioning for winter and spring sports and what is needed to be ready to play for the upcoming year:

All physicals for SY 25 must be dated after May 1, 2024 and be on the VHSL Physical Form – VHSL Physical Form

Please complete all four pages thoroughly. Any Physical missing signatures or information will be returned.

Registration is open for the SY25 school year. Students will need to take the Sudden Cardiac course through NFHS (https://nfhslearn.com/courses/sudden-cardiac-arrest) yearly and upload to the registration. Course length is approximately 15 min. Please create an account, take course, download or save a picture of certificate, you will need it for registration.

Returning Users: go to the website listed, sign in to your account, click ‘Register’ for returning students and ‘Add a New Student’ for new athletes in the family. Update your info and click Pay Later on the last page (there is no fee).

New Users: Please create an account, verify it, and follow the steps from above.

Please visit our website www.huskyathletics.info to contact individual sport coaches to inquire about out of season workout and tryout specifics under the All Sport Coach List.

New Ticket Partner: Card and Mobile Payment with GoFan

For the upcoming school year, LCPS is pleased to announce that we will be using GoFan for mobile ticketing athletic events beginning this school year. GoFan is the most used mobile ticketing platform for high schools in Virginia and is our official VHSL digital ticketing partner. This will drive consistency for our communities across schools and with both regular and postseason events. Ticketing information can also be found on our district and individual school websites.

Fans are encouraged to buy tickets online prior to reaching the facility, however, credit card payments will be accepted on site.

BEFORE THE EVENT

1. Purchase your ticket on the GoFan app (icons linked below) or by visiting the LCPS GoFan page

• You can also visit gofan.co and search your respective school.
• Favorite your home school for easy access
• LCPS will now also can take card or mobile payment at our event gates.

2. Once you purchase your ticket online, you will get an order confirmation email and click on the “VIEW TICKET” on your mobile device. Within the app, select Tickets to view your ticket order.

3. Pay attention to the important information shown on the confirmation screen!

AT THE EVENT

1. Before arriving at the gate, access your confirmation email or view the ticket in the mobile app and click on the “VIEW TICKET” on your mobile device.

2. Show your mobile device to gate personnel, who will validate your ticket for admission.

• DO NOT Validate your ticket prior to arriving at the gate. Staff members will validate your ticket.

3. Tickets CANNOT be printed. You must use your mobile device to access your ticket(s).

LCPS can now take onsite card payments, Apple & Google Pay

• Cash App and PayPal available by having digital card option saved to mobile wallet.
• Add Cash App to Apple Pay
• Add Cash App to Google Pay
• Add PayPal to Apple Pay and Google Pay

HOW TO GUIDES

Additionally, you can visit the GoFan How To Guide to access videos for assistance, or can access these quick links below for step by step instructions.

• How to Buy Tickets
• How to Transfer Tickets

Can’t use your tickets?

If you cannot use your tickets, you have the option to transfer those tickets to a friend or another fan.

For more information on how to transfer GoFan tickets, CLICK HERE. Have more questions or need fan support? Submit a request

Online tickets are issued subject to the Rules and Regulations of LCPS Athletics office. Breach of any of these Rules and Regulations or any unacceptable behavior likely to cause damage, nuisance, or injury shall entitle event staff, school administration and/or school safety to eject you from the venue. The venue reserves the right to refuse admission should patrons breach any Rules and Regulations of the athletic event.

Friday, November 1 - Holiday (Diwali)

Monday, November 4 - Student Holiday (Professional Development Day)

Tuesday, November 5 - Student Holiday (County-Wide Staff Development)

Thursday, November 7 - Senior Seal of Biliteracy Test at 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, November 16 - Saturday, November 23 - Fall Play, Wuthering Heights

Wednesday, November 27 - Thanksgiving Break Begins

Friday, November 29 - Thanksgiving Break Ends

Friday, December 20 - Applications for World Language Governor's Schools are due

Thursday, December 5 - Band Holiday Concert at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 10 - Guitar Concert at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, December 12 - Orchestra Concert at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 17 - Choral Holiday Concert at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 18 - Shenanigans Performance at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, December 23 - Winter Break Begins

Tuesday, December 24 - Holiday (Christmas Eve)

Wednesday, December 25 - Holiday (Christmas Day)

Wednesday, January 1 - Holiday (New Year's Day)

Friday, January 3 - Winter Break Ends (Classes Resume January 6, 2025)

Monday, January 20 - Holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)