Mustang Matters Family Newsletter

Picture Opportunity: Our band leading the school to the Homecoming Pep Rally!

Well, that was a crazy couple of days! We sincerely hope that you all are safe and well. Our thoughts are with the families who have experienced loss and/or devastation by the hurricanes in the south and to the west (please see information below about the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry).

The Homecoming Dance was a huge success. Thank you to our Leadership teacher, Jen Csapo and Langely Sloan, countless volunteers, and our leadership students for organizing and executing a wonderful event for our students and school community.

The next big school event will be our Family Conferences scheduled for October 16 and 23. October 16 will be in person and October 23 will be virtual via Zoom. A sign up genius link will be sent soon. We hope to see you at one of the nights!

Yesterday, we welcomed our exchange partners from the Lycée Ledoux in Besançon, France! We have 32 students and three teachers visiting with us from now until October 11. A huge thanks to our French teacher, Barry Keith, and all of our host families for planning and supporting this very special exchange that has existed since 2005.

Did you miss our in person Back to School Night? Not a problem! Teachers created short video presentations so you can still learn important information.

This is the Virtual Back to School Night link.

Senior photos will take place on Monday, October 7 and Tuesday, October 8 during Government classes. Please dress appropriately. Strawbridge Studios will also provide formal tux or formal drape if needed. This is for your official picture in the yearbook. Students will not be able to submit photos taken elsewhere for their official picture.

Please contact Ms. McCaskill (bmccaskill@k12albemarle.org) with questions.

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGOZXYDlwE/8Y_K1Vlca6sSGNtEcwtumw/view?utm_content=DAGOZXYDlwE&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

On October 15, all 10th graders and many 11th graders will take the PSAT at school. Ninth graders will head to a Career Experience with their Freshman Seminar teacher.

Here is the updated PSAT schedule to accommodate teachers' requests to see students all four blocks for a shortened period, as opposed to only having 3rd and 4th blocks.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WwKqvwSoNlIAR036dTZzXY1ddn7TIuiGwJachAtT6i8/edit?usp=sharing

ACPS Family Council representatives had a great September meeting and are excited to share with our Mustang community what was covered and how you can stay updated on all things Family Council!

Still unsure of the Family Council? Visit our website to see questions submitted to ACPS leadership, meeting minutes, survey results, and so much more!

Our website

Have something you want to bring to the attention of the ACPS leadership about our school communities? Please email your Monticello Rep, Sharon Fix, at mhsfamilycouncilrep@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER MEETING:

**We were able to hear from Dr. Eric Irizarry from the Office of Community Engagement - See his slides

**We heard about DonorsChoose and how we can support our local teachers. Follow your school's teachers here here

**Discussed the results from our Spring Survey...and what we will do as a result- check it out

October's meeting will focus on Elementary Math, which will be a huge deal for ACPS later this year.

Submit YOUR comments and questions using this Google Form

Thanks for reading and for taking the time to answer school—and division-wide surveys when they are sent out. It's so helpful!

Monticello High School is pleased to offer many different honor societies. The Art, English, History, Math, and Science Honor Societies are currently accepting applications. (Other honor societies do applications in the spring.) Details for the applications are given below.

Art Honor Society

National Art Honor Society is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year! All 10-12th grade students who have completed at least 1 level of Art, Ceramics, Photography, or Digital Imaging in high school AND have a 3.0 GPA or higher are eligible to join. Please fill out an application by October 4 on this Google Form: https://forms.gle/FMfs9pMzUNgm7nUSA

English Honor Society
The English Honor Society would like to welcome any scholar of English who expresses and shares a love of reading, strives for excellent command of writing, and promotes literacy for all. For membership, students must have a 3.5 cumulative GPA, a recommendation from a former English teacher, as well as 9 hours of community service before the end of the year. We meet the first and third Tuesdays of each month where we discuss volunteer opportunities and plan NEHS events. We will also read a book together and discuss it at each meeting. We look forward to expanding our membership this year. Please contact Matthew Field, our President, or Mrs. Spence, the honor society sponsor, if you have questions. Flyers with a QR code directing you to the membership application will be posted by the end of September. Applications will be due before Christmas Break.

History Honor Society

Do you have a passion for history and want to share your interests with others? Are you interested in historical research, discussions, and films? History Honors Society is accepting applications now through October 18th, 2024. Interested applicants must be sophomores or juniors, have taken or be currently enrolled in one AP or Dual Enrollment Social Studies course, currently have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0, and a 3.0 GPA (B average) across all history/social studies classes. Further requirements and responsibilities can be found on the application. If you are interested and qualify, please complete the application here by the end of the day on Friday, October 18th. If you have any questions, email Mr. Skelton at jskelton@k12albemarle.org

Application

Math Honor Society

Do you enjoy solving problems? Do you crave a challenge? Would you like to help encourage understanding and appreciation for mathematics in the Monticello community, and help other students see that anyone can be a math person? Monticello’s Math Honor Society may be for you. The Math Honor Society (Mu Alpha Theta) is open to any student that has completed or is currently taking Algebra 2 and has an unweighted GPA of at least 3.25 in math classes and at least 3.25 overall. Look for the flyers posted around school for the QR code to the application. Applications are due by Friday, Oct. 18. Please contact Mr. Ritchie in P110 or through sritchie@k12albemarle.org for more information.

Science Honor Society

Do you enjoy science? Are you interested in learning more about current topics in science outside of class? The Science National Honor Society at Monticello High School is currently accepting applications from juniors and seniors. We are seeking members who represent the school as well as the future of the industry, research, and scientific exploration. To qualify, you must have an overall unweighted GPA of 3.0, a GPA in science classes of 3.5, and be enrolled in at least one honors or upper-level science course during or prior to 11th grade and a second year honors or AP course during 12th grade. Further requirements and responsibilities can be found on the application which is linked here. Deadline for applications is Friday, October 18th. If you have any questions, email Mrs. Rowanhill at arowanhill@k12albemarle.org

Reminder:

Interpreters in Training Internship Opportunity (applications due by October 11th )

Learn how interpreters and translators support building partnerships among parents, the community, and the public schools across languages. Schools require multilingual communication in settings such as back-to-school events, parent/teacher conferences, and school decision making forums.

Tasks include:

1. Providing mentorship for younger students who are acquiring English and new to US schooling.
2. Supporting parents in navigating schools during events and communicating with other parents and staff.
3. Work with community partners to support access to services for families.
4. Translating promotional materials (e.g. posters, social media material, slides, handouts, etc.)

Apply on SchooLinks: https://app.schoolinks.com/program-exploration/candidate/WGMaYG . Application due date: Friday, October 11th . If you have questions or need assistance, contact Mrs. Bledsoe in the MHS Career Center.

Dear Albemarle County Public School Families,

We thank you and your family for being our valued partners as we work together to educate the children in our district. As you may already be aware, building our social-emotional learning skills is an essential goal for our school this year. During the months of October and November, students and teachers will participate in several exercises to better understand these concepts and to reflect on how they perceive these skills in themselves.

We will be asking for your child to reflect on their own mindsets and approaches to learning through the administration of the Panorama School Climate Survey, the DESSA Universal SEL Screener, and our Anti-Bullying Peer Nomination Survey .

The Panorama School climate survey will include content that will ask students to self-reflect on their sense of belonging, school safety, the value of school, rigorous expectations, school climate, and cultural awareness. The DESSA self assessment survey will ask students to answer questions about their strengths in the following (CASEL aligned) social emotion categories; self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, goal directed behavior, relationship skills, personal responsibility, decision making, and optimistic thinking. Lastly, students will be asked to participate in our Anti-Bullying Peers Nominations Survey. This survey gives students a chance to raise their voice to help their peers. They anonymously nominate peers who they feel might have been bullied and speak out to address things they are seeing within the school that concern them.

We are asking that all of our students participate in the surveys, as their responses will provide invaluable insights into their experiences and how we can improve and adapt our district to their needs. If a student doesn’t feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they will be able to skip the item altogether. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Beth Costa or your child's grade level administrator.

Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry

Location: 2050 Lambs Rd, to the right of AHS

Hours:

By appointment only:

Tuesday- 4-7 pm

No appointment required:

Wednesdays: 2:00 – 4:00 PM

Thursdays: 6:30 – 8:30 PM

Saturdays: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

About:

Client information is self-declared. No identification, pay stubs, etc. are required to receive food. Everyone will receive “pantry” items– these are grocery store donations and items that L&F purchases. Virtually all clients qualify for USDA foods as well, and the income requirement just increased from 185% to 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. For example, a family of four can make up to $6500 monthly and qualify for all items. A typical client’s cart has 100 pounds of food.

We have a multilingual registration staff. Every distribution has a Spanish speaker, and we are actively working to have a Dari/Farsi speaker at each distribution.

Clients receive shelf stable items, fresh produce, eggs and milk, frozen meats, and bread/desserts. We sometimes also have diapers/wipes (including adult diapers), and pet food.

Clients can request their cart to be customized for dietary needs (Halal, gluten-free, etc.)

Clients can visit twice every calendar month– and their visits can be any two days within the month.

Website: cvillefoodpantry.org

If anyone has any questions, James O'Leary, history teacher, is happy to help- joleary@k12albemarle.org

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.

October 7: Seminar Day-10th and 11th graders will have a computer check, so please bring your charged computer to seminar

October 7 & 8: Senior Picture Days in Government Class

October 14: Panorama and DESSA Surveys

October 15: PSAT Day

October 16 and 23: Conferences

October 24 & 25: Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Work Day

November 4 and 5: No School for students

November 18: Peer Nomination Survey