News from our President, Jennifer Campbell

February 2010

"10 Years of Tradition—A Decade of Excellence"

It's hard to believe we are now half way through the year! Report cards will be distributed Feb 5th during 7th period classes, so please ask your student for it!

If your student is having difficulty in a particular subject, there is free tutoring available through the BITS Tutoring program, co-sponsored by the school and the PTSA. Go to http://www.fcps.edu/WestfieldHS/student_services/bits.htm. It's not too late to improve on things before the end of the year. If your student is sailing through with flying colors, BITS also offers tutoring opportunities which can help your student earn service hours for various school honor societies, while helping kids you struggle. Only the final grades are what appear on the end of year transcript!

Chantilly Pyramid Minority Student Achievement Committee put together a wonderful artistic celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's Legacy on Sunday January 17th. Students and adults from Westfield and the surrounding community performed in this terrific event. Thank you to Deneen Vaughn, Mark Richardson and Dr. Johnny Nelson, President of CPMSAC for their support in this effort.

Thanks also to Jin Yeo and Bonnie Castillo of PNC Bank in Centreville for their presentation on Identity Theft at the January PTSA meeting. It is especially important to be wary of identity theft following a disaster such as the Haiti earthquakes, when scam artists try to dupe people into sending them money. Two web sites - www.bbb.org/charity and www.charitywatch.org - may be helpful to check the legitimacy of non-profit organizations.

These are grim times when it comes to the FCPS budget and cuts in the upcoming year. Please stay informed about the school budget issue. I recently attended one of the community discussions and felt a bit disenfranchised, as there seemed to be little representation by current high school parents. Parents of younger students often don't realize how important a role some high school programs play in integrating new kids into our jumbo-sized schools and keeping them in school until they have a child is in high school. There are decisions being made this year on both paying fees for some programs and services (for those who can afford them) and on total elimination of programs that contribute to student success. More information is available at http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=1332 and http://www.fcps.edu/news/fy2011.htm. School Board Chairman Kathy Smith sums things up in her Centreview commentary. Please contact the FCPS School Board members ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) about your concerns. It is also critical that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/government/board/ hear from you regarding the need for transfer of an additional $57.8 million of county funds to FCPS to prevent any further cuts and to help maintain the high standards of education that we have come to expect.

In spite of the gloomy financial forecast for FCPS, over 40 Westfield teachers showed their school spirit and strutted their stuff in the Friday, January 15 pep rally – in fact, they did so twice, due to technical difficulty with filming! For both academic and extracurricular reasons, we are blessed to have teachers who are committed to our kids, regardless of what is going on around them. Take a peek at the pep rally. You've got to love them! Go Bulldog Teachers- they rock!

The Northern Virginia District PTA, George Mason University and Virginia Lottery are promoting the SUPER TEACHER PROGRAM, dedicating the GMU basketball game on February 9th against VCU to recognize our great teachers! The Super Teacher award honors outstanding Virginia public school teachers and thanks them for their dedication and commitment to students and their families. Nominations from Westfield parents for Super Teachers include: Susan Bean*; Deirdre Crescioli*; Carmen Danies; Brigid Duffy; Shaun English; Greg Greentree; Charles Homm; Danielle Miles; Angie Sheldon*; Joy Sibley*; Diane Underwood*; Todd Utter; Barbara Wiley* and Kristi Williams* (* denotes staff PTSA member:). These names will be put in a hat and two will be drawn and will receive two free tickets to the basketball game. Other teachers are welcome to attend the game as well, receiving 50% off the standard ticket price with their valid teacher ID. We thank all teachers who go out of their way to help our students and inspire others to do the same. More information on this event is available at http://www.novadistrictpta.org/events/superTeacherDay.htm. The VA Lottery also has an additional teacher recognition program where teachers can be nominated for cash awards during Feb 1 – March 5, 2010. For more information, go to http://www.valottery.com/promotion/teacher/

We are still accepting registrations for the Saturday February 6 Princeton Review SAT/ ACT combination test at Westfield High School, 9:00am - 12:45pm in the cafeteria. Download a registration form to reserve your place at this test. Please keep in mind that the Snow Date is 2/13, same time, but the location will be in various rooms in the E hallway and Lecture Hall. This is a PTSA fundraiser: please make checks payable to WHS PTSA for $15 per student. There will be no refunds for no-shows.

Save the date for the WHS Saturday Night in the Suburbs, a free presentation for parents on Thursday, March 18, 7pm, in the Lecture Hall. We will be selecting a panel of WHS 12th graders to be led by a moderator to answer questions about what teens are doing when adults aren't looking. For those who missed the Reaching Out: To Protect Your Child From the Realities of Substance Abuse program that we held at WHS on October 19, CD’s have been made, thanks to Lauren Jones, but without recordings of the teen speaker contributions to insure confidentiality. A copy is available for each of the departments at school and I have a couple copies that parents can sign out through me to view. Even without the teen speakers it is quite informative.

Our After Prom Celebration is back! Thank you to Damita Snow and Mark Richardson for chairing the event and making it possible for our seniors to have a safe, chaperoned, alcohol and drug free celebration following their senior prom on June 4th. They are looking for feedback regarding location of the event, as well as adult assistance the night of the event. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Attention parents of seniors- buy your student's All Night Grad ticket (for June 20) before the price goes up March 1. More information is below or on our web site http://ptsa.westfieldhs.org/ANGP/ANGPindex.htm. Risk (permission) Forms are now available on our web site to download, print, and drop off at the main office at school. All students attending the event MUST have these forms filled out to attend the event for safety reasons. Please save the date, APRIL 10 for All Night Grad's major fund raiser- Mulch Day! Volunteers are needed! Sales have been begun and order early, since we will be cutting off orders once we've reached our 14,000 bag goal!

Phantom Ball invitations will be mailed out within the next week. This is the "ball that doesn't really happen" and is a smaller, secondary fundraiser for our All Night Grad Celebration that enables us to provide ticket scholarships for seniors who otherwise cannot afford to go to the event.

We need to form a nominating committee to fill PTSA board slots for the upcoming school year, including Treasurer, Newsletter, PTSA Web Site coordinator and others. While not mandatory, it is desirable for willing persons to fulfill two one year terms for continuity and transitions of the board. If you are interested in being on the nominating committee or in any PTSA position, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Based on feedback received at our last meeting, please note some additions to the newsletter regarding student activities that parents might want to encourage their child to participate in. Our next PTSA meeting is Thursday, February 18 in the library. Hope to see you there!

Contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks!
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Westfield High School PTSA President