Excel in Mind, Body and Character

George Mason High School Newsletter

Tyrone Q. Byrd, Principal February, 2011

Dear Mustang Parents and Guardians,

This packet contains your child’s second quarter and first semester grades. Each quarter contributes
40% of the semester grade for a total of 80%. The semester exam contributes the other 20% of the grade.
Please note that only the semester grade appears on the high school transcript. This means those
colleges/universities and others seeking transcripts will receive only two grades for each course taken at
George Mason High School: The 1st semester grade and the 2nd semester grade.

While the weather held out for the majority of the quarter, Mother Nature didn’t exactly go quietly
into that good night and decided to provide us with a few challenges during our exams. A consequence of
making amendments to the exam schedule was that our third quarter/second semester began in a non-
traditional fashion. We began engaging in third quarter studies on Tuesday, February 1st, although students
had not completed each of their mid-term exams (4th and 6th Blocks) until Tuesday and Wednesday of last
week respectively. We greatly appreciate the flexibility this community demonstrates at every bend in the
road and we fully expect a smooth beginning of the second half of our school year.

George Mason High School values the strong relationship between school and home. We appreciate
the continued efforts of parents and guardians as we all work together to provide for the developmental needs
of the children we all love. Please encourage your children to utilize the resources available to them
throughout their time at Mason. We are dedicated to all children and the advancement of learning with the
expectation that we will help them prepare for an uncertain future. Excellence in Mind, Body, and Character
requires a full-time commitment by each and every one of us. We’ve made a collective effort to offer no
excuses. We robustly celebrate our successes, and meet our failures with renewed passion, teamwork, and
determination. This community can count on George Mason’s very best. Go Mustangs (and Yankees☺)!

Sincerely,

The following items (if applicable) are included in your child’s report
card packet.
Tyrone Q. Byrd
Letter to Parents of AP Students Principal
Booklet for AP Students and Parents
SRI –Scholastic Reading Inventory Letter GO MUSTANGS!
SOL Test Scores
Special Education Progress Reports
Navigating the Waterways (10th grade only)
ACT Practice Test Registration Form
` All Night Graduation Celebration Flyer
PAGE 2 GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Important Dates: Please note that some of these dates have changed since the beginning of
school and some other changes may still occur.
March 19
February 9 District X Chorus Festival
Report Cards Distributed TC Williams High School
February 9 March 22
Parent Walk-In (PWI) Special Ed Parent Meeting
7:15 a.m. – 7:45 a.m. 8:15 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Mustang Café Mustang Café – B121
February 9 March 23
Early Release Wednesday – 1:45 p.m. Early Release Wednesday – 1:45 p.m.
February 10, 11 and 12 March 23
District Chorus ACT Test Strategies Seminar
West Potomac High School 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
February 21 Library
President’s Day April 1
All-Staff Holiday End of 3rd Quarter
February 22 April 4
Special Ed Parent Meeting Professional Day
8:15 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. No school for students
Mustang Café – B121 April 5
February 23 Begin 4th Quarter
Early Release Wednesday – 1:45 p.m. April 6
February 26 Report Cards Distributed
State Band Auditions April 6
James Madison University PTSA Meeting
March 2 7:30 p.m. – Library
Interims Available on AccessGM April 7-9
March 2 State Band
International Dinner/PTSA Charlottesville High School
6:30 –8:30 p.m. – Mustang Café April 7
March 4-5 College 101 – Senior Panel
District X Band Festival 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. –Library
TC Williams High School April 13
March 9 Parent Walk-In (PWI)
Parent Walk-In (PWI) 7:15 a.m. – 7:45 a.m.
7:15 a.m. – 7:45 a.m. April 13
March 9 Early Release Wednesday – 1:45 p.m.
Early Release Wednesday – 1:45 p.m. April 13 – 14
March 11 IB Art Show
Parent/Teacher Mini Conferences Open to Public
7:45 – 9:30 a.m. 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Cafeteria/Auxiliary Gym/Main Gym Auditorium
Two-hour Delay for Students April 18 – 22
March 12 Spring Break
PTSA/Kaplan ACT Practice Test April 26
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – TLC Special Ed Parent Meeting
Pre-registration Required 8:15 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
March 12 Mustang Café – B121
ANGC Fundraiser April 30
Byrd Feeder Solo & Ensemble Festival
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Twain Middle School
Claire & Don’s Beach Shack
PAGE 3 GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Naviance/Family Connection
Family Connection is a powerful planning and advising website (https://connection.naviance.com/gmhs)
for students and parents. Some of the options offered in the program are:

• Building multi-year course plans

• Researching local scholarship options
• Searching for colleges and viewing multimedia college profiles
• Displaying scattergrams and application statistics from GMHS
• Registering for college visits
• Accessing Web links and custom pages from GMHS
• Exploring personality types and career interests

Students, if you have forgotten or misplaced your password, please contact your counselor or Ms. Bracken.
Parents, if you would like access to Naviance, please contact your student’s counselor or Ms. Bracken.

Summer Enrichment Programs

Information on summer college and university enrichment programs, experiential camps, internships, etc. is
available:

• In the College and Career Center in the Summer Opportunities binder

• On the Naviance/Family Connection website under College, Enrichment Programs
• On the Summer Opportunities bulletin board in the math hallway

Parent/Teacher Mini-Conferences
Parent/teacher mini-conferences will be held on Friday, March 11, beginning immediately at 7:45 a.m.
and ending promptly at 9:30 a.m. in the Mustang Café, auxiliary gym and main gym. These
conferences will provide you an opportunity to speak with teachers of your choice for three to four minutes
to discuss your student’s progress and to make appointments for additional conferences if you so desire. No
appointments are required for these March 11 mini-conferences.

All classes will begin at 10:00 a.m. that day with buses serving students on a modified schedule. (A letter
detailing bus routes will be published on the www.fccps.org/gm/ website in early March.)

National Honor Society News

In September 2011, juniors and seniors with at least a 3.5 GPA will be invited to submit a list of activities
and service to the NHS Faculty Council. This list will be used to help the Council select members for the
2011-2012 school year. Please retain formal documentation for all out-of-school activities and service.
Juniors and seniors who were new to GM this past September with at least a 3.5 GPA will be invited to
submit a list of activities and service to the NHS Faculty Council during February for possible admission to
NHS. This invitation will come to eligible students by mail.

If you have questions, please see Mrs. Weber or Ms. Webster.

PAGE 4 GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

International Dinner
A Night of Family Fun
Wednesday, March 2
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Mustang Café

This year the GMHS International Dinner will be held on Wednesday, March 2 at 6:30 PM in the Mustang
Café. For those new to the school, the International Dinner is an annual event hosted by the GMHS
International Club and sponsored by the PTSA and ESOL/Foreign Language staff. It is a fun celebration of
our diverse Falls Church community, with over 250 attendees enjoying a delicious array of ethnic foods and
entertainment with an international flair. It is a time for all families to come together. It is a wonderful family
event.

The International Club will auction off International Baskets as part of the school’s fund raising efforts!
The theme of this year is "Snack Basket". Bring your checkbook or cash so you can participate in the silent
auctions. We will announce the winner of each basket at the end of event. The net proceeds will be going to
continue support a child in the name of GMHS, INTL Club.

Attendees should bring an entrée, side dish or salad for 8-10 people to share. Disposable containers are
advised and please label your dish. Don’t have time to cook?? Bring a family size dish from one of our local
ethnic restaurants!! Desserts are provided by the PTSA.

As there is about 20 minutes of entertainment after dinner, please contact Jane Cashin or Tina Kao
(kaot@fccps.org<mailto:kaot@fccps.org>) if you have any ideas about entertainment for the evening. We
certainly hope there will be student performers and perhaps an invited group from outside the school.
Dancers, singers, musicians welcome.

Volunteers are needed. This is a PTSA sponsored event which can not happen without the help of volunteers
to make extra food and/or be part of the kitchen crew. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Jane
Cashin at 703-534-5247 or at cashinjl@hotmail.com<mailto:cashinjl@hotmail.com>.