Request for Support from the Stubans to FCPS PTSA

Posted by: NFG
at 12:06 pm

At 7 p.m. on June 9th at Luther Jackson Middle School, the FCPS School Board will hold a meeting and vote on the discipline policy. In light of this, Steve and Sandy Stuban asked that we share a letter from them with the PTSA membership. They also sent Steve's comments to the FCPS School Board from a meeting on May 26th of this year and a white paper on stopping involuntary school transfers. To read these items, go to the Forms page of this Web site and click on the following links toward the bottom of the page:

  • StubanLetterToPTSA.doc
  • FCPS_SB_Cmt_110526_v3 - Stuban.doc
  • FZTR_White_Paper_Involuntary_Transfers.pdf

May 162011PTSA OPEN POSITIONS FOR NEXT YEAR

Posted by: NFG
at 9:05 am

The following PTSA positions remain open for candidates for the 2011-2012 school year:

Executive Board:
Vice President- OPEN (Mary Chapin will stay on until a replacement is found) ** Two- Year Term**


Standing Committees:
Beautification Co-chair-OPEN
Beautification Co- chair-OPEN
Communications-OPEN
County Council/Legislation Rep-OPEN
Fundraising-OPEN (SAT/ACT Practice Test Coordination)
Longfellow Liaison-OPEN

Membership Co- chair-OPEN




Questions or to volunteer, please contact :




Malou Rennert at malouren@gmail.com or Mary Chapin at mchapin3@cox.net

Nominating Committee





Feb 122011Beautification Day

Posted by: NFG
at 6:07 am
Saturday, March 19, is our next Beautification Day. We'll work from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. cleaning up and mulching the beds. We'll put in some pansies out front and work on the edible/teaching garden in the Senior Courtyard. As always, please bring work gloves if you have them as well as any tools you have. We have some tools also.


There is one thing that needs to be done prior to this date. The teaching garden needs to be uncovered so a soil sample can be taken. This sample is sent to the Virginia Tech lab for analysis (fyi, soil test kits are available at your local library, county extension office, and at Fairfax County Farmer's Markets). I'll do this one day next week after this weekend's warm-up. Let me know if you want to help out with this. We'll receive an analysis that indicates what amendments the soil will need, if any. Hopefully we'll have the results from Tech prior to March 19. We'll incorporate any necessary amendments on that date.



Please e-mail me if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you on March 19 or before. Thanks so much for your interest in helping maintain GCM's landscape.



Nancy Monroe

G.C. Marshall Beautification Committee



Feb 92011Mulch Sale

Posted by: NFG
at 12:32 pm

Say goodbye to snow and hello to spring! What better way to start thinking about spring than by purchasing all your MULCH from the Marshall Booster Club. On the weekend of March 19 and 20, the GCM Booster club will be selling mulch in Marshall's front parking lot. So plan to stop by Marshall and purchase your mulch on those days.


Better yet, pre-order your mulch in order to guarantee that you will get all the mulch you need! (Last year we ran out of mulch.) To pre-order your mulch, please fill out the form on the Marshall Booster web page at www.gcmhsboosters.org. You can pay via credit card online or you can print the form and send it, along with a check, to Tad MacDonnell, 9824 Squaw Valley Dr., Vienna, VA 22182.


If you order 20 bags or more, we will deliver it to your house free of charge to any Vienna, Falls Church or McLean address! Combine with your neighbors to reach the 20 bag minimum. All bags do not have to be delivered to the same address—just close by.


Pre-order sales close March 12, so don’t delay, order now! For more information, please contact Tad MacDonnell at 703-938-7113 or tadmacdonnell@gmail.com.


Nov 42010Touching Bases

Posted by: NFG
at 11:23 am

Have you marked your calendar yet? Thursday, November 18
GCM High School cafeteria and gym, 7:20 to 9:50 a.m.

This is an opportunity for parents to meet briefly with their students’ teachers.
All conferences will be on a first come, first served basis. No appointments are necessary. School starts at 10:20 a.m. (3 hours late opening).


Nov 32010FCPS Has Released FAQ About IB Exam Fees

Posted by: NFG
at 9:59 am
If you have any questions about the IB exam fees, please click on this link: http://fcps.edu/marshallhs/academics/ib/testfeefaq.pdf

Oct 252010Saturday's Beautification Day

Posted by: NFG
at 9:03 am

Thank you to all the parents and students whose hard work helped us accomplish so much during Saturday's Beautification Day. Everyone's efforts allowed us to get the marquee area edged, weeded, planted and mulched. The beds in front of the school were also spruced up. The area along the sidewalk in front of Marshall was edged. And, most amazingly, the senior courtyard teaching garden was completely weeded and covered with plastic for the winter. The beds in the center of the courtyard were also weeded.

Thank you again for such a great effort.

Nancy Monroe
Chair
Marshall Beautification Committee




Oct 92010ACADEMIC LETTER & NATIONAL MERIT CERTIFICATE AWARDS CEREMONY UPDATE

Posted by: NFG
at 6:52 am

Congratulations to all of the awardees! We had 325 academic letter award recipients, 10 National Merit commended scholars, and 2 National Merit semi-finalists.

NM Semi-Finalists:
Melissa Goitia
Emily Shibut

Commended Scholars:
Yara Alemi
Olivia Baskerville
Charles Belt
Jenny Chong
David Dziedzic
Abigail Epremian
Caroline Goh
Taylor Moore
Jesse Peterson
Robert Tolbert

You will find the names of the 2010 academic letter recipients here. The names of Class of 2011 students who have received at least one academic letter in Marshall High School will be included in a plaque which will be displayed in Michael Hall.

The event was very well attended and went smoothly. Mr. Richard Hildreth, past PTSA president who established the academic letter award in 1987, honored us with his presence to commemorate the award's 23rd year. A million thanks to Jay W. Pearson, Cindy Blakeley, Jim Rixse, and the other counselors; Mike Hirka and the PTSA hospitality committee; the administrative and custodial staff; and especially to all of the parents who donated food for the reception, their services, and took time out from work to help us recognize and celebrate our students' outstanding achievements. A very special thanks to Robin Harris (former Marshall parent) of Harris Designs, Inc. for donating her time and services (designing the layout and formatting the event's program).

All awardees who were, unfortunately, unable to attend the ceremony may pick up their letters, pins, or National Merit certificate (commended scholars only) in the guidance office. As a cost saving measure, academic letter certificates were not distributed at the ceremony. If your family would like a certificate e-mailed to you, please contact Suzanna Pangilinan at SIPangilinan@fcps.edu .

GO STATESMEN!
Malou Rennert and Ann Schneider
MAEF Co-chairs


Sep 232010Tonight is Back to School Night

Posted by: NFG
at 4:45 am


6:00 - 6:50 p.m., Cafeteria
Information, clubs, and activities fair: Join the various booster
groups (including the PTSA!) that support our students.
7:00 p.m., Auditorium
General information session
7:25 - 9:00 p.m.
Classroom visits

Feb 202010SB #209 Works in Favor of IB Students

Posted by: DMK
at 6:20 pm
SB #209 Works in Favor of IB Students

Asheesh Misra, former Marshall IB co-coordinator, current IB coordinator at George Mason HS, and president-elect of the Mid-Atlantic Association of IB World Schools,, is asking parents of IB students to write to their Delegates for the House of Representatives to urge them to support VA Senate Bill 209, which states "each institution of higher education shall have policies for course credit for standard and higher level International Baccalaureate courses that are comparable to its policies for granting course credit for Advanced Placement courses."


Senate Bill #209 was passed unanimously on the Senate floor in Richmond on the February 15, 2010. It is posted below. The best parts in this bill are that institutions will have to establish a credit policy for any student who earns the IB Diploma (see A2 below) and that IB standard level exams begin to be recognized more consistently (see B below).


**********************************************
SENATE BILL NO. 209
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Education and Health
on February 11, 2010)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Barker)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 23-9.2:3.8, relating to course credit for International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 23-9.2:3.8 as follows:
§ 23-9.2:3.8. Course credit; International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses.
A. The governing boards of each public institution of higher education shall implement policies to grant undergraduate course credit to entering freshman students who have successfully completed one or more International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement courses. The policies shall:
1. Outline the conditions necessary for the institution to grant course credit, including the minimum required scores on examinations for courses in the International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement programs; and
2. Identify the specific course credit or other academic requirements of the institution that the student satisfies by successfully completing the diploma program.
B. Each public institution of higher education's policies for course credit for standard and higher level International Baccalaureate courses shall be comparable to its policies for granting course credit for Advanced Placement courses.
C. The governing boards of each public institution of higher education shall report to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia the policies adopted and implemented pursuant to this section, and shall make the policies available to the public on the institution's website.

The House of Representatives has to approve this bill before it passes.



Barbara Comstock,
DelBComstock@house.virginia.gov. Room Number: 407 is the delegate for George C. Marshall HS.