It was wonderful to see so many of you come out to support our Lions at their first home football game this past Friday! A big thank you to all the families and staff members who helped in our concession stand to support our new Lions Activity Boosters to support our clubs and sports teams at Unity Reed HS. Your efforts truly make a difference! As our STRENGTH is IN UNITY, I also invite you to join me in participating in our Principal’s Advisory Council and Parent Teacher Organization. This year, these groups are joining forces to meet as one, providing feedback on school-related topics and collaborating on events and fundraising ideas to enrich our school community. More details and sign up information is listed below.

I look forward to your continued support and participation throughout the various events and activities hosted at Unity Reed HS this school year. Please read below for important information regarding this week, to include information on a new direct admissions partnership with George Mason University for our Seniors this year!

• September 9: Home Volleyball Game vs Mt. Vernon, 6:00PM

• September 10: Suicide Prevention Day; Home Field Hockey & Volleyball Game vs. Osbourn Park @6:00PM

• September 11: Patriot's Day; Home Field Hockey vs. Gainesville HS

• September 12: Home Football Game vs. Mt. Vernon, 7:00PM

• September 19: Principal's Advisory Council Meeting, 6:00PM

• September 25: Save the Date! Hispanic Heritage Night, 6:00PM

• September 28: Save the Date! Senior Parent Breakfast, 9:00AM

• October 9: PSAT Day (Grades 9-11); Asynchronous Day for Grade 12

• October 18: Homecoming Game

• October 19: Homecoming Dance

Unity Reed HS Students are eligible to purchase season passes or annual passes for discounted prices. Season passes are $20 and Annual passes are $50. These passes will get you into ALL HOME GAMES for either the season (if purchasing the season pass) or for the entire year (if purchasing the annual pass). The pass is not eligible for tournaments or post-season events. STUDENT ID WILL BE REQUIRED AT THE GATE IF PURCHASING A STUDENT PASS!

Save the Date! Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at 6:00 PM. Join us for our first annual Hispanic Heritage Night: “Embracing Our Roots” in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15). Experience a vibrant evening filled with diverse foods, exciting games, captivating performances, and much more from a variety of Hispanic cultures. All are welcome! Stay tuned for more details coming soon.

Unity Reed will be starting back a Principal's Advisory Council (PAC) and Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and will meet as one group to meet at least 6 times this year from 6:00 - 7:00PM. Please join me for our first Principal's Advisory Council to provide feedback on school related topics, collaborate on school events and fundraising ideas to support and enrich our school community. Students, parents/guardians, staff and community stakeholders are welcome to join!

Our first meeting will be held in person on Thursday, September 19th, from 6:00 - 7:00pm in our Library. There are no fees associated with joining. The remaining meetings will be on November 14, December 19, February 20, April 10 and May (TBD). We look forward to collaborating with you!

Prince William County Public Schools contracts with Follett School Solutions to manage our library resources. Parents/guardians can now designate the titles they wish to restrict access to for their student(s).

• If parents/guardians would like to restrict titles for more than one student, they need to restrict the items in each student's account.
  
• Parents /guardians can toggle between student accounts in the top right of the Additional User Account.
  
• The restriction will follow the student indefinitely until the primary parent/guardian removes the "Do Not Check Out" designation in the Additional User Type account.
• Restrictions will follow the student if they change schools in PWCS.
• Librarians, administrators, and other school staff do not have the ability to change the restrictions made by parents/guardians.

Report your child’s absences: Parents should notify the school before, or at the start of, the school day when their child will be absent. Parents must send written or electronic communication citing the reason(s) for the absence to the school no more than five school days following the date of the absence.To report an absence at Unity Reed HS, please call the school at 703-365-2900, submit the note via ParentVUE or have your student submit a written note to the main office. For early dismissals, please call the main office at 703-365-2900.

How sick is too sick for school? For information about when your child should go to school or when they should stay home due to illness, visit the When to Keep Students home webpage. If you have additional questions, please contact our school nurse, Nurse Lawton, at lawtonst@pwcs.edu.

Planning a prearranged absence? We understand that some absences are unavoidable, however we encourage parents and guardians to schedule appointments and trips on scheduled days off for students throughout the school year. View the 2024-25 school calendar website to view days off for students.

We appreciated our families understanding that attending school every day helps our students build a solid foundation for their future in school and in life. Please contact our Attendance Officer, Ms. Gilliam at 571-598-3216 or gilliadb@pwcs.edu; or our School Social Worker, Mr. Jahanian at 571-598-3232 or jahanir@pwcs.edu; if your family or child are in need of resources to have a successful school year.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, most recently reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states that parents in Title I schools have the right to request certain information about their child’s teachers. The information that you have a right to request about your child’s teacher is:

• Whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subjects the teacher is teaching.
• Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing has been waived.
• The baccalaureate degree major of certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
• Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

At Unity Reed HS, we are extremely proud of our teachers and paraprofessionals and are happy to provide you with any of the information above pertaining to your child’s teacher(s). If you have such a request, please call the school at 703-365-2900 and ask to speak with your student’s administrator to obtain the information you are interested in.

• Weekly LIONS’ ROAR: This will include the latest updates with pertinent information for the upcoming week and will be emailed to students and families every Sunday. This information will also be posted on our school website.

• URHS website: This will be updated more frequently so that we can share the most up to date information with you. In fact, click here to view our school website.

• School Status: This is our messaging system, and it allows staff to send text messages, emails, or make phone calls to families. When an email comes to your inbox with this system, the sender will be listed as School Status or Teacher name. A text message will include the staff member’s full name in the message but will be a random number. This system allows the recipient to respond directly to a message.

• The PRIDE Newsletter: This is a monthly newsletter where we celebrate and highlight the incredible accomplishments of our students, staff, and community at Unity Reed High School. Each month, we will showcase achievements, events, and milestones that make our school proud. Stay tuned for inspiring stories, academic successes, athletic triumphs, and much more. All this information will also be available on our school website for easy access and sharing.

I encourage you to continue to stay in touch with important updates by visiting our website. We are here to support you. Please reach out throughout the school year with any questions, concerns, or to share general feedback, and thank you for being part of our school community, as our STRENGTH is IN UNITY!

Sincerely,

Milagros Polanco
Principal, Unity Reed High School