Western Albemarle News
January 2010 k12albemarle.org/WesternAlbemarle/
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Principal’s Letter
It is hard to believe that the 2009-10 school year is officially half over as we close out the first semester and begin the second one. It has been a busy but highly productive school year so far, and I am confidant this will continue until we finish in June. Twenty-one WAHS students were named as commended scholars in this year’s national merit scholarship competition, while four have been selected as semi-finalists.
Parent teacher conferences for the second semester are scheduled to be held on Wednesday, March 4, from 4:15 – 7:15 PM. Based on input from parents and teachers, and with some help from the PTO, WAHS will experiment with scheduled conferences for the first time in many years, rather than having just walk-ins. We are hopeful that this will benefit both parents and teachers on this busy evening. We will provide detailed information later, but essentially you or your student will be able to schedule conferences with teachers by signing up in person in a calendar book which will be kept in the main office.
For the third consecutive year our school has been named as a recipient for the VIP (Virginia Index of Performance) Award. This program awards points to schools and school divisions based on the percentage of students who achieve at the advanced level on SOL assessments as well as progress made towards other educational goals identified by former Governor Kaine and the Board of Education. At a minimum, schools must meet all state and federal achievement benchmarks for at least two consecutive years. This year WAHS was named as a recipient of the Board of Education’s Competence to Excellence Award. Our school division is one of only 15 divisions in the state to receive the Board of Education’s Excellence Award.
We have had amazing success in athletics this year. Our fall varsity teams won a total of five out of a possible seven Jefferson District championships and two Region 2 championships. These include golf, boys’ and girls’ cross country, football, field hockey, and volleyball at the district level. Golf and field hockey were the regional champions. In addition, field hockey and volleyball teams won district championships at the junior varsity level. I am hopeful that we will experience continued success through winter and spring sports seasons.
We approach spring with some anxiety due to the uncertainties of the school budget and concerns about reduced funds to operate our schools. I am hopeful that we will have registered most students for the 2010-11 school year by late March, so we should have some enrollment numbers by then to help make key decisions about staffing needs. While we may be looking at some larger class sizes than at present, I am committed to doing all I can as principal to maintain a quality instructional program as we prepare our students for the future.
As always, we welcome the input of all stakeholders as we continue our work to meet the many needs of our 21st century learners at WAHS. Dave Francis, Principal
National Honor Society Induction
National Honor Society Induction Ceremony will take place on Monday, February 1, 2010, at 6:30pm in the Auditorium.
Parents of Seniors – We have a few spaces left for messages from parents to graduates (commonly known as PDAs – parental displays of affection). Information about sizes and prices can be found on our webpage accessed by the publications tab on the left of the WAHS homepage. You may also email Jennifer Sublette at with questions. We will be finalizing this section very soon.
WAHS Astroturf Field Project
You may be aware that the Western Albemarle High School Athletic Department is in the midst of raising funds to install a new synthetic turf field in the school’s stadium. The total cost of installing this state of the art Astroturf field is $626,000 and we have raised funds and pledges totaling $486,000. This leaves a balance of $140,000 to be raised before the project can begin. Please help us raise the final 23% to make this project a reality. Contributions of any size are welcome and all donations are tax-deductible. If you would like to make a contribution, pleasemake your check payable to “County of Albemarle” and state in the memo “WAHS Synthetic Turf Project”. Checks can be delivered to the Western Albemarle High School Athletic Department or mailed to:Western Albemarle Community Synthetic Turf Project, 5941 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, Crozet, VA 22932.
Counseling News
School Counselors will begin individual conferences with students to discuss their course selection for the 2010-2011 school year. If you would like to participate in this conference with your child, please contact your counselor at 823-8701 to arrange an appointment. All course requests will be made by mid-March, and no adjustments can be made after June 10, 2010. Please give serious consideration to your course selections for the upcoming school year.
Attention families of College Bound Seniors:Super Saturday will be held February 13 from 10:00 – 2:00 at PiedmontVirginiaCommunity College. Super Saturday is open to the general public offering one-on-one assistance with the FAFSA to college-bound as well as returning college students. Students and parents must bring identification information, W-2 forms and tax return documents to Super Saturday in order to complete the FAFSA. For a complete list of materials please visit This event is FREE!!!
Registration Planning Nightat WAHS– Wednesday, January 27
6:00 – 7:00 pm – Curriculum Expo for parents in the new gym. Come see the many courses available at this school (students in grades 8-11 will visit during the day)
6:30 – 7:00 pm – Concurrent meetings
- Understanding your PSAT scores
- Meeting for parents of rising 9th grade identified gifted students
- Meeting for parents of rising 9th grade students who have an individualized education plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan
7:00 – 8 pm – Grade level meetings
Outcasts, United Author Coming to WAHS for VaBook!
The WAHS Library will celebrate this year’s Virginia Festival of the Bookon Thursday, March 18 with a visit from New York Times journalist Warren St. John, who will discuss his book Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town (c2008). The story of a refugee soccer team, a remarkable woman coach, and a small southern town turned upside down by the process of refugee resettlement artfully weaves together the heart-wrenching escape stories of the players’ from their native countries, the reactions of a town overwhelmed by change, and a pivotal season in the life of the team. "Not merely about soccer, St. John's book teaches readers about the social and economic difficulties of adapting to a new culture and the challenges facing a town with a new and disparate population...This wonderful, poignant book is highly recommended..."—Library Journal, starred review. The book is available for checkout in the WAHS library and the presentation will be attended by interested classes from across the curriculum. For more information, visit and
Thank You for Making the WAHS Library Bookfair a Success!
Thanks to the all-out support of students, teachers, families, and friends, the Barnes & Noble Bookfair held December 12-14, 2009 earned a whopping $980 for the WAHSLibraryMediaCenter! This represents 20% of the gross register receipts from customers making purchases with WAHS vouchers during that weekend, plus the cheesecake sales receipts. This total is a substantial increase over last year’s profits, and is especially remarkable given the hard economic times we are all experiencing. These much-needed funds will be used a) to purchase Grzimek’s Animal Life, an online reference database which supports student research in Biology, Ecology, and Art and b) to supplement the PTO grant for a glass display case in the library. If you’d like to check out the new database, go to the Library web page and click on Online Databases—passwords behind the gold key at the top (ask your student how to access that!) Thanks to all of you for shopping at the bookfair, with a special vote of gratitude to our wonderful student performers: Grace Chiarella, Willie Denton-Edmonson, Darailia Evans, Morgan High, and Spencer Kulow!
Opportunities for Public Input on 2010-11 School Division Budget
The Superintendent’s Funding Request for 2010-11 may be found at
February 2, 2010:School Board Public Hearing, School Division Funding Request, CountyOfficeBuilding.
February 3, 2010:Community Teleforum on School Division Funding Request (We will call all parents on their home phones and invite them to participate. You may listen, respond to poll questions, or ask questions and make comments to the Board and Division leadership.
March 3, 2010:Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on CountyExecutives Proposed Budget, CountyOfficeBuilding.
March 31, 2010:Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on Tax Rate and 2010-11 Budget.
Cinderella’s Closet Helps Students Obtain Affordable Prom Clothing
Monticello High School is gearing up for the annual “Cinderella’s Closet” on Saturday, March 20, 2010, and is collecting PROM related items for Cinderella's Closet! Anything Prom-related is desired and appreciated. Seeking: dresses, shoes, handbags, jewelry, shawls, hosiery, and men’s dressy clothing. We request that items be clean and in good shape. More information forthcoming about the event itself. This event is designed to provide affordable attire for the Prom, Homecoming Dance and any other event.Now is collection time! Donations can be dropped off at MHS during school hours of 8:30-4:30 in the School Counseling office. Any questions should be directed to Lydia at
Keeping Student Contact Data Updated Reminder
In order for us to reach you quickly, it is important that your child’s school record contains up-to-date contact information. The following information is contained in your child’s record:
- Home and work phone(s)
- email address(es)
- phone numbers used by our electronic notification system for school-events, inclement weather, or to notify you of a school or division-wide emergency
- numbers to call if your child has an emergency illness or accident
- authorized person(s) to pick up your child.
If any of your contact information has changed, please contact the counseling department at 823-8701 to provide the current phone numbers and email addresses. Thank you.
All Night Long
All Night Long was conceived in 1986 by a group of local parents who wanted to provide a drug and alcohol-free place for students to hang out after the prom. That year all the local high schools agreed to have their proms the same night. That first year was a huge success and now we are planning All Night Long 2010 for April 17, 2010. We are proud to boast that not one drug/alcohol related teen accident has occurred on prom night since the beginning of All Night Long. We are a 501(c)3 non profit organization and all our monies go to further the cause of providing a safe after-prom party. We are also proud to boast that we are one of only a hand full of parties that is still free to our students.
Students who stay until 5AM receive a free special t-shirt made exclusively for All Night Long 2010.Everything is free for the students: great food, dancing to a DJ’s music, karaoke, big inflated games as well as basketball, volleyball, movies, prizes to win, and lots of fun with their friends. In order to pull off this amazing party and keep our teens safe on prom night, we need the parents and community to help us. We are estimating our expenses to be around $20,000. I can think of no better cause on which to spend your money than one to keep our teens safe. We need volunteers to help plan this event. We meet the first Monday of each month at 6 PM in the CHS first commons room to the right near the west main entrance. We also need volunteers to help staff the party, help set up, clean up, etc.
Please send all monetary donations to:All Night Long, Inc, P.O. Box 5826, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22905.
If you would like to donate a prize, volunteer, or need more information, please send me an e-mail to and I will get back in touch with you as quickly as possible. You can call me at 434-220-2312 (during the day at work) or Leah Puryear at 434-964-1275 (evenings at her home).Won’t you help us make All Night Long 2010 the most memorable event to date?
All the best,Amy Lambert, President, All Night Long, Inc