Help us show our teachers & staff how much we care AND earn a $1000 grant for Teacher Appreciation Week: Stock the Break Rooms!

One of our major PTSA goals this year is to ‘Stock the Break Rooms!’; part of our teacher appreciation initiative.

You can help us reach our goal by signing up for our new givebacks program, where our over 25,000 local and national businesses will donate to our PTSA when you shop with them. And you’ll get cashback too!

Givebacks will send us an extra $1000 if we can get 100 parents to participate in the next 3 weeks! 

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP! 

Step 1 – Join givebacks! https://www.givebacks.com/join/7e1d24a5-46d2-4330-9a0f-e91615cab9c4

Step 2 – Add the givebacks browser extension if you didn’t during signup by clicking here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/givebacks-genie/djidapogageiehhmihamgimggepbnojp

Step 3 – Shop online via the givebacks app. You’ll need to activate the browser extension when it pops up for us to get credit.

Step 4 Help stock teacher & staff breakrooms by shopping from this list:

https://www.walmart.com/registry/ER/028ac518-0812-4f56-9bde-48702bfe1db2

Some items will ship directly to the school, while others are available for you to pick up in-store. We’ll send dropoff times and locations soon for those who want to shop/pickup in-store.

It’s fast, simple, and once you’ve joined, you can get cashback for yourself and for our PTA every time you shop at participating businesses! Everyone WINS!
Thank you for your support!

Message from Virginia PTSA, Sept 20, 2022

VDOE continues to implement the History and Social Science Standards of Learning, Overview of the Review and Revision Process.

Virginia PTA has been actively engaged with the Virginia Department of Education from the earliest stages of this process and encourages members to contribute to public comment on the proposed standards.

Public comment on the standards will be accepted until September 25, 2022.

The proposed standards can be found here: https://doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2022/08-aug/item-g-attachment-a.pdf

Individuals can visit the History and Social Sciences SOL page (https://doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/index.shtml) to leave public comment. Each set of standards is listed by grade level or secondary level course topic.

Community Engagement sessions are expected to begin in October. The proposed standards will be presented to the Virginia Board of Education in November for first review. Afterwards, public hearings will be held in December.

Please support the PTSA fundraiser at the Asian Grille for TWO NIGHTS: Monday Sept. 19 and Wednesday Sept. 21.

You can order at https://www.asiangrillspringfield.com/

Please mention WSHS PTSA!

Asian-Grill-Sept-2022

Tuesday, September 13
7:30 PM via Zoom. Please register here to receive the link.

We’ll make quick work of some start-of-year PTSA business, hear from Principal Mukai, then Leah Conte (Director of Student Activities) and Sam Jonsson (Assistant Director of Student Activities/Student Government Advisor) will be speaking with us about ways for students to get involved with clubs and activities at the school. They’ll share important resources, offer some tips for families, and be available for questions.

CURRENT NEEDS:

_____________________________________________________________________

Restaurant Spirit Night Coordinator (1 Year commitment, a couple of hours per month) One of our major sources of funds comes from restaurant nights. Local restaurants agree to give us a portion of their proceeds for a particular day/night. The Restaurant Night Co ordinator will simply work with the existing list of enthusiastic restaurant managers to schedule our dates and times and work with our communications committee to promote them.

Think you’re interested in this important role or want a bit more information? Contact Laura Whitton at wshsptsa@gmail.com.

Community Education Coordinator (1 Year commitment, 2 events, a couple of hours per month) Our kids are stronger and safer and our community is richer when we learn together. The Community Education Coordinator would work with the Executive Board to help identify and coordinate topics and speakers for 2 to 3 events. Some suggested topics: digital/social media safety, mental health, growth mindset, etc. You would be supported by the Communications and Events committees.

Think you’re interested in this important role or want a bit more information? Contact Laura Whitton at wshsptsa@gmail.com.

The PTSA will be providing a second annual social for students and teachers to enjoy a cool treat while socializing in celebration of the end of the school year! Come down to the concession stand in the athletic fields.

We could also use some help handing out the ice cream. Parents and students are invited to volunteer using our Sign-Up Genius:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0444A5AB2AABFB6-ptsa

Please e-mail us at wshsptsa@gmail.com if you have any questions.

The PTSA has awarded 2 sets of scholarships to a total of 4 graduating seniors. Each scholarship recipient will receive $500.

Spartan Scholarship

The PTSA offers scholarships each year to WSHS graduating seniors who are PTSA members to recognize outstanding leadership, school spirit, community service, academic achievement, and a high level of involvement in extracurricular activities. 

2022 Recipients: Corinne Alonzo and Alyssa Maldonado

Scholarship for Success

The PTSA provides its Scholarship for Success award to WSHS seniors who are members of the PTSA and have had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in place for at least two of their four years in high school, and who have overcome obstacles on the road to either academic or social success. The purpose of the scholarship is to recognize the growth that a student has achieved throughout his/her high school career.

2022 Recipients:

Catherine Birden and Luke Jackson

Congratulations to the 2022 recipients!

Thank you to Awards chair Krissy Houchins and to the committee of volunteers who reviewed and scored the applications!

The PTSA held elections on May 10 for new officers. Two new officers have joined the Board: Laura Whitton was elected President, and Meredith Stankiewicz will be the new Secretary. Maggie Ewell returns as VP2, and Richard Ewell is switching from President to Treasurer.

We are still looking for a VP1, so please contact us if you are interested!

The PTSA awards two types of scholarships: the Scholarship for Success for students with an IEP who have overcome obstacles, and a Spartan Scholarship for students who have made an impact on the school community.

Applications for those scholarships are due by 8pm on Monday, May 2nd.

Note that this year we are not requiring a letter of recommendation for either scholarship, but a transcript is required for the Spartan Scholarship to verify a G.P.A. of 2.5 or above.

For additional information about these scholarships and the application forms, please view our Scholarships page at https://wshsptsa.net/programs/scholarships/

Click here to register via our MemberHub site. Registration is free for WSHS PTSA members and $15 for others. There are two options for you to select: one “button” for PTSA members, and one for non-members. If you are not already a member, just sign up now and then you can sign up for the free version of the practice test. The options for joining the PTSA are separate “buttons” on the Memberhub site.

SAT-Fundraiser-Flyer-WSHS-PTSA-4.23.22

(All funds raised will go to WSHS PTSA)

NOTE: If you are interested in taking the practice test but unable to do so on that day or between 9am and 1pm, let us know and we can try to find an alternative test time.

If you have questions, please contact PTSA President Richard Ewell at wshsptsa@gmail.com