arctic blast …

langley eNews

January 23, 2025

3 things to know

1. New time! Don’t miss the 8th Grade Langley Open House this Sun, Jan 26, 1-3 pm. Details below.

2. Girls Youth Basketball Night. Wear a local basketball jersey and get free admission to cheer on the Langley Varsity Girls Basketball Team tomorrow, Fri, Jan 24, at 7:30 pm in the LHS Gym.

3. Follow the PTSA on Instagram!

class notes

Read below for class news. Click the green class buttons to go to each class's webpage.

all night grad party (angp): The All Night Grad Party Committee is happy to announce this year's party will be at Punch Bowl Social Arlington. ANGP is a safe and drug-free party the night of graduation, Jun 5, from 11 pm to 3 am. Activities include bowling, casino, dancing, karaoke, skee-ball, darts, cornhole, photo booth, prizes, unlimited food and more. Check the ANGP webpage for information and updates.

senior yard signs: Let your graduate know how proud you are of them and support the ANGP. Purchase a Congrats Class of 2025 sign with their name on it to display in your yard! Deadline is Jan 31! Click here to order.

junior class dinner and college night: Junior parents and students, join us for our annual Class of 2026 Dinner on Tues, Feb 4 in the Cafeteria starting at 5:30 pm, catered by Cafe Rio. Tickets are $25 per person. The class dinner will raise funds to support Class of 2026 activities but is optional and not required for attendance at the LHS Student Services presentation. Click here to purchase tickets thru MySchoolBucks.

After dinner, Junior College Planning Night will begin at 7 pm. Juniors and their parents/guardians are invited to attend an informative panel discussion led by college representatives in the LHS Auditorium. Come learn more about creating the college list, the admission process, testing, letters of recommendation and much more!

class of 2026 parent coffee: Our next Junior Class Coffee will be held on Thurs, Feb 6 (8:30 am coffee/9 am program) in the Langley Lecture Hall. The program will include a presentation by Student Services on curriculum options and course registration for rising seniors.

save-the-date: College Application Case Studies Night and Sophomore Class Dinner is scheduled for Wed, Feb 26.

sophomore class forum: Did you miss the most recent class forum and Dr. Peterson's outstanding presentation and Q&A session? Be sure to check out the Academic Advising page to view a wealth of materials that you and your student can reference when choosing classes for junior and senior year. Sophomores will meet with counselors to select courses starting Jan 30.

Check us out on Facebook and stay in the know for anything related to the Class of 2028!

kudos

cappies review of beauty and the beast: FCPS News this week features a cappies review of Saxon Stage's fall musical Beauty and the Beast! Click here to read the review of the dynamite production, written by Warner Smith of Lake Braddock SS.

young readers contest: Junior Elliot Pomper was named a runner-up in the New York Times' "Coming of Age in 2024" contest, which challenged young readers to submit an essay, image, video or audio about the issues that matter to them most. More than 1,600 students from around the world submitted entries.

Elliot's entry was a cartoon titled "The American Media Diet," which depicted media and social media platforms as the equivalent of fast food. His accompanying essay warned of the dangers of "easy-to-digest, bite-sized nuggets of misinformation" that he believed were "unhealthy for ourselves... and for the nation as a whole." View the full article here.

open house new time!

The 8th Grade Langley Open House is on Sun, Jan 26, from 1-3 pm. Eighth-grade students and their families are invited to attend an information session presented by administrators, tour the building and chat with experienced parents, students and faculty. Come and see all of the reasons that Langley is an incredible community with amazing opportunities for our students to thrive.

Also note: Construction around I-495 will impact traffic over the weekend, so plan for extra travel time. See the travel advisory here.

be my valentine!

Help support this year's seniors! All Night Grad Party (ANGP) is selling Valentine's Day Candy bags! Bags will be distributed on Thurs, Feb 13 and Fri, Feb 14 in the Cafeteria during lunch. Order here.

chess tournament

Calling all chess lovers! The Langley PTSA is hosting a Chess Tournament on Sat, Feb 22 at 9 am! There are both USCF-Rated and Non-Rated Sections! See the flyer here for more details and register here.

gap year fair

Students, attend the 2025 Gap Year Fair to learn about the growing array of gap year opportunities. The fair will provide students with broad exposure to gap year programs that emphasize experiential education and personal growth through travel, language immersion, directed study, outdoor adventure, community service and internships.

The fair is scheduled for Tues, Jan 28, 6-8:30 pm at Marshall HS (7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). The evening begins with Gap Year presentation from 6-6:45 pm and then the Gap Year Fair is 6:45-8:30 pm.

Click here for more info and to register.

comprehensive boundary review

If you did not get a chance to attend an in-person meeting, consider participating in one of the virtual Community Boundary Review Meetings. All virtual meetings will follow the same format as the recently held in-person meetings and the same information will be shared.

Register for a meeting by clicking the desired date. Each virtual meeting will be limited to 400 participants and each participant will receive their own unique Zoom link. Language interpretation will be available.

Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 9:30-11 am

Mon, Jan 27, 2025, 6:30-8 pm

Tues, Jan 28, 2025, 6:30-8 pm

Mon, Feb 10, 2025, 6:30-8 pm

View the meeting slides here.

donate to the ptsa

The PTSA depends on donations from our families to provide programming and school support. The PTSA budget relies on families donating $125 per student. If you have already donated this year, thank you for your support! If you have yet to donate, you can do so here.

In just the first few months of school, the PTSA:

held social events for our students to help build community, like the Tailgate and Trivia Tournament,
hosted appreciation events to show our wonderful Langley staff how much their work with our students is valued, including the Welcome Back Breakfast and Fall Appreciation Lunch,
supported the academic and artistic pursuits of our students, including buying books for the English department, sponsoring the Robotics Club and Reflections contest, and supporting the performing arts.

Help us make more of these programs and sponsorships possible! Donate today our website, ptsalangley.org, or donate directly here!

spirit wear

Brrr... it's cold outside! Stay warm and show your spirit with our large selection of sweatshirts, pants, flannels and coats! Visit the Langley Boosters website and scroll to click on Shop to see the selection. We deliver!

sports notes

girls basketball youth night: Cheer on the Langley Varsity Girls Basketball Team on Fri, Jan 24 at 7:30 pm in the LHS Gym and be part of the fun. There will be free admission to all youth who wear a local basketball jersey. Don’t miss out on t-shirt giveaways, half-time games and concessions. Click here for more information.

Come support our Freshman (4:30PM) and JV (5:45PM) teams as well! Prizes and halftime games will only be during the Varsity game.

Let’s go Saxons!

student opps

performing arts scholarship: High school students are invited to showcase their artistic achievements in the 2025 James C. Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition. The competition is open to 9th-12th-grade students who reside or attend school in Dranesville Small Tax District 1A. The deadline to apply is this Mon, Jan 27.

A $1,200 scholarship prize will be given to first-place winners in each of the following categories: Dance, Theater, Vocal Music and Instrumental Music; second-place winners in all four categories will receive $800; third-place winners will each receive $400. There are no restrictions on the use of the award money. Applicants must be present and prepared to perform in the preliminary round of the competition the week of Feb 3, and at the final competition on Wed, Apr 30 at 8 pm to be eligible to receive an award.

Info and applications can be found online. A non-refundable, $20 fee is required for each application form submitted. Questions? Contact The Alden at alden@mcleancenter.org.

Looking for volunteer or other opportunities? PTSA volunteers maintain this running list of opportunities for our students. The Service and Jobs Opportunities Committee's goal is to help connect students to summer internships, jobs and volunteer opportunities to fulfill community service requirements, gain job experience and explore career paths.

upcoming events