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sophomores
Join fellow parents and administrators to discuss the latest sophomore class news at our next Class Coffee on Dec 9 at 9 am. The coffee will be at the Joostema home at 10509 Wynfield Woods Dr in Great Falls. Coffee and breakfast items will be served. If you can bring something, please sign up here.
we goofed
Last week, we incorrectly identified Clare DaBaldo, Menaal Saeed, and Jonathan Canfield as new National Honor Society inductees. In fact, the students are the newly elected NHS officers.
We regret the error.
eNews will take a holiday next week, but look for a new edition on Thurs, Dec 3.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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quick links
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Activities
703.287.2750
Attendance Line
703.287.2727
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letter from the ptsa president
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The more I understand about the serious funding predicament FCPS is in, the more unfair it seems. Did you know that FCPS receives 23% of its funding from the state of Virginia? That doesn't sound too bad -- until you discover that most other Virginia school districts receive 45% of their funding from the state. Hmmm.
 The state of Virginia, Fairfax County and FCPS are at a crossroads. Are we going to commit to supporting our schools, or are we going to pay lip service to the cause of education, but do nothing about it? The Commonwealth Institute (an independent group focused on economic issues facing lower-income residents) released a report criticizing Virginia, specifically because the state cut funding to all school districts six years ago by adjusting the formula it uses to calculate how much each district should receive. This has not gone unnoticed by Langley parents who attend meetings at the McLean and Great Falls Citizens Associations, Fairfax County Council of PTAs, and candidate debates in order to convey support for our teachers and our schools.
Home values in many areas of Fairfax County are tied directly to the reputation of local schools, so even individuals without children in the system should support the schools. But state-level candidates and politicians report that they hear more about about other issues than about schools -- at many meetings, proponents for libraries and parks outnumber school supporters. Maybe that's because people with kids are busy: we drive them to and from school, to the doctor, to sports practice; we're making dinner, doing laundry, reading to our children; we work.
I think it's a safe assumption that we all want to pay our teachers enough to stay in Fairfax County, and not have to move to Loudoun, Arlington or Montgomery County. This is not just anecdotal; we've lost good teachers from our own school. So if we support adequate funding, how do we make our voices heard? We are all busy, but if we could take just a few minutes to let the folks at the top hear that it's unacceptable for Fairfax County to receive only 23% of its school funding from the state of Virginia, while the rest of the state receives 45%, then just maybe these numbers won't be so lopsided in the future.
You can contact your elected representatives and other administrators with these
web links:
Click here to see Budget Task Force recommendations for 2016-17.
Of course, for more information, you can always contact our principal
Fred Amico, budget task force chair
Matt Haley, or
me. If we don't have the answers, we'll help you find them.
~ Terri Markwart, PTSA President
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Judy Ventimiglia
is the 2016 Langley Teacher of the Year! The Langley PTSA is proud to announce that Ms. Ventimiglia received over 220 nominations by students and teachers, and was distinguished not only as an outstanding teacher, but as a mentor to other teachers as well. Even with 30 years experience, Ms. Ventimiglia still looks for new ways to develop her craft and collaborate with other teachers. Because of the expectations she has for her students, and the trust that she builds with them, she's the kind of teacher that makes students want to be better and do better.
As Langley Teacher of the Year, Ms. Ventimiglia will be our nominee for the FCPS Outstanding Teacher award and will be recognized at the FCPS Awards gala in the spring. Congratulations to Judy Ventimiglia!
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 Langley journalism students traveled to Orlando for the Journalism Education Association and National Scholastic Press Association Conference last weekend. Students heard from keynote speakers Andy Staples with Sports Illustrated and Eric Deggans of NPR. They learned about new desktop publishing techniques, and they participated in writing contests and journalistic ethics discussions.
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Starting a new job at a new place is never easy, but
Alex Mantel is approaching his position as a guidance counselor at Langley with a high level of excitement and enthusiasm. Mr. Mantel grew up in Manhattan, but attended college at UVA. After he got an English degree, he moved to the DC area with some college friends.
Initially, he was a commercial real estate analyst, but he felt like something was missing. "My work lacked a human connection as well as the fulfillment. I was going home at the end of the day and didn't feel like I helped anybody or was a part of a greater community." He looked into becoming a counselor.
He got his first job at Churchill Road ES, which feeds into Langley HS. "That was a great experience for me. I made a lot of great friends and met a lot of great students." Mr. Mantel loved Churchill, but after five years there,
he achieved his original goal of becoming a high school counselor.
Now that he's here,
Mr. Mantel feels at home. "All the other staff have been really supportive and seeing old students has been great. It has been a very welcoming community so far, and you can't ask for more (than that)." Mr. Mantel still has a lot of students he wants to meet, and he invites all of his students to stop by and
say "hello" when they have a chance.
~ Matthew Feinstein, Saxon Scope reporter
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opening night for saxon stage
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 Saxon Stage
proudly presents John Cariani's
Almost, Maine
on Nov 19-21 at the Langley School.
Almost, Maine
is a delightfully
quirky romantic comedy
about a small town in Maine, where love is in the air. Of course, Cupid's arrows don't always fly straight, and sometimes they don't fly at all!
Join us at
7 pm tonight for opening night! The play will also run
Fri-Sat at 7 pm, and
Sat at 2:30 pm. You'll be captivated by the joys and jeopardies of finding one's soulmate. Check out the totally charming
YouTube trailer by clicking
here.
Tickets are available online
here, and are also available at the door. The Langley School is located at 1411 Balls Hill Road, McLean.
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 The Langley Choral Department presents
the annual Renaissance Feaste Dec 4-5 at 7 pm at the Capital Church in Vienna. Journey back to Merrie Olde England for a festive evening of Renaissance-style dining and holiday musical entertainment, featuring jesters, minstrels, musicians, and the Langley Madrigals. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students and must be reserved and paid for before the event. Seating is limited (especially Dec 4), so reserve now! Click here for the invitation and order form.
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someone else cooks . . . you relax:
Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Save time and order a HoneyBaked ham, turkey, sides or desserts and 15% of the proceeds will be donated to Langley Orchestra! To order, click HoneyBaked Ham and use Employer Code J46UPB. All orders must be received by Sun, Nov 22. Orders will be individually packaged and delivered to Langley. They can be picked up at the orchestra room (by Hertzler Hall) on Tues, Nov 24 from 2:30-5:30 pm.
theater fundraising party: Come support a great cause as you put a dent in holiday shopping and stock up on unique hostess gifts before party season. Eat, hang out, and shop
Wed, Dec 2 from 3-7 pm at 6611 Jill Court in Langley Oaks. Great raffle prizes and incredible vendors like
Stella & Dot and
Jamberry will be available.
All vendors are contributing 20% of sales to Langley Theater and Saxon Stage. Contact
Jenny Anthony at
jennifer.anthony12345@gmail.com with questions.
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senior ad and yearbook deadlines
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The senior ad deadline is fast approaching! To include a senior ad in the 2016 yearbook, you must submit all required material to the main office by
Wed, Nov 25. Parents wishing to purchase an ad should click
here for information. For required ad order form, click
here.
Yearbooks are currently on SALE for the special discount price of $75.75. After
Dec 2, the price will increase to $85.85. Click
here to visit the Yearbook Order Center and enter Langley's order code 4159 to buy a yearbook today.
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The
upcoming holidays are a perfect time to give back to the community. Here are a few opportunities to enhance the holiday spirit:
- Red Kettle Bell Ringer, various locations. Contact Major Kim Feinauer.
- Thanksgiving Dinner, Lewinsville Presbyterian Church, Nov 26, 12-2 pm. To volunteer, click here.
- Angel Tree volunteers needed at the Angel Tree Warehouse. Contact Mavelyn Alonzo.
- 25th annual tree lighting, Sat, Dec 6. For more information, visit Celebrate Great Falls.
- Wreaths Across America, Arlington Cemetery, Sat, Dec 12. Click here for more information.
For more details about the above events, and additional opportunities, please visit the
LHS Service Learning webpage
here.
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volleyball:
The Saxon volleyball team is going to the State Finals! At the Regional Tournament, they
secured a spot in States with big wins over South County and two number-one conference seeds, Oakton and Battlefield. The team's efforts reached its pinnacle with a big win over Madison in the Regional Championship Saturday to become the North 6A Regional Champions. And Tues, Nov 17 they triumphed in the State Tournament semifinals over First Colonial from Virginia Beach (last year's champions)! The State Final Championship will be played at the Siegel Center in Richmond at 7 pm on Fri, Nov 20, where the Saxons will face Madison again.
Go Saxons!
Special recognition to these players:
All 6A North Region players:
1st Team: Jessica Donaldson, Elena Shkylar. Hon Mention: Sarah Maebius. All-Tournament Team: Katie Sissler, Allison Franke. MVP Tournament Team: Jessica Donaldson
All Liberty Conference players:
1st Team: Jessica Donaldson, Elena Shkylar, Sarah Maebius (Libero of the year). 2nd Team: Kristin Sanford. Hon Mention: Allison Franke, Raya Mufti.
All-Tournament Team: Katie Sissler, Jackson Friedman
girls' golf: Seven members of the girls' golf team qualified for the regional qualifier:
Mallory Langpaul, Kaitlin Bonacci, Kendall Deese, Meso Kim, Cathy Park, Maria McQuade, and
Anna Sampson. And
Anna Sampson and
Cathy Park qualified for States.
Congratulations!
booster volunteer extraordinaire:
Many thanks to Gabriele Aulisi for the countless hours she spends running all the concession stands! She fires up the grill, coordinates many food deliveries and pickups, trains volunteers, and adjusts to renovation inconveniences, always smiling and never complaining. Every season has its challenges, but in the spring, she has three concession areas to orchestrate with her binder full of spreadsheets.
Please stop by concessions and thank Gabriele in person for her amazing dedication to Langley.
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Langley Crew is sponsoring a study skills workshop
Sat, Dec 5 designed to help students augment their study skills and strategies, and maximize their study time. The seminar is open to all Langley students and parents. There is no cost to participants, but you will need to register in advance to reserve your space. View the
full brochure and
register today!
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FCPS high schoolers can go to Peru! FCPS is working with EF tours to lead a
Global Volunteers trip to Peru this summer from
July 2-11. Students will tour Cuzco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas, visit Machu Picchu, and spend several days engaged in a service project in a local village. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity promises to be both educational and lots of fun. Additionally, participating students will earn up to
30 FCPS-approved community service hours. These hours count towards graduation honors such as the Service Learning Cord and Civics Diploma Seal. If you are interested in the trip or have any questions, please contact
Allison Gaynor, Woodson biology teacher, at
agaynor@fcps.edu.
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parent education and support
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Dec 2: What can parents do -- both for themselves and to support their children -- when their children face mental health challenges? Come to this discussion with
Dr. Heather Tedesco, an applied psychologist who focuses on supporting parents of children with anxiety, depression, and other challenges.
McLean HS, room 196, 7:45 pm.
For more information on Dr. Tedesco, click here.
Jan 13: Jennifer Weaver will present an overview of mindfulness techniques. Jennifer is listed as one of Washingtonian magazine's top therapists for children and is a contributor to the NPR radio program Invisibilia.
McLean HS, room 196, 7:45 pm.
For more information, click here.
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fcps parent resource center
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Langley-McLean Relay for Life hosted a
Lighting Ceremony last Saturday at
Glen Echo Park. Raising money to assist current cancer patients, participants had previously purchased light bulbs representing someone in their life touched by cancer.
As each person's name was read, a light bulb was screwed in, ultimately revealing the message "HOPE." Music was provided by the bands
Out of Line and
Code Fracture, and by the
McLean High School Jazz Combo. Relay for Life Langley-McLean would like to thank the following local businesses who provided food, drinks, and support for the event:
Ichiban Sushi, Enrico's Cleaners & Tailors, Shishkabob Grille, Jimmy Johns, Subway, Clare and Dons Beach Shack, and
Chick-Fil-A. Relay for Life is May 18; you can sign up now.
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Dec 1
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Orchestra concert
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Dec 2
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Principal's coffee/PTSA meeting
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Dec 4-5
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Renaissance Feaste
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Dec 8
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Freshman parent coffee
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Dec 9
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Sophomore class coffee
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Dec 10
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Junior class coffee
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Dec 16
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Band concert
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Dec 17
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Choral concert
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Dec 18
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Two-hour early dismissal
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Dec 21-Jan 1
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Winter break
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