This school year is flying by! With the end of the first semester next week, it is time to start planning for the 2024-2025 school year. 

On Tues, Jan 9, parents and students received an email from Director of Student Services Dr. Braden Peterson titled “Langley HS Academic Advising and Course Registration Information for SY 24-25.” The email contained a link to a virtual curriculum presentation. The email also contained links to several academic advising resources such as graduation requirements, course sequencing, course catalog and the dates when students will meet with their counselors to register for next school year’s classes. Registration began this week for current 9th graders and will end in February. 

I encourage you to watch the video presentations and discuss the academic advising materials with your student. This will allow your student to think about their academic goals and areas of interest. I encourage you to discuss with your student the importance of balancing academic rigor and extracurricular activities, such as sports. Keep in mind that finding courses that are the right fit for your student is important, since it may not be possible to change classes next year.

Langley students are smart and dedicated, but they also need time to relax and enjoy their high school years. I hope your student finds the right balance as he or she is picking courses for next year.

~ Joy Hohenthaner, PTSA President

integirls: A team of students spent their Saturday morning on Dec 11 at the InteGIRLS DC Math Competition! InteGIRLS is the teen-led international organization behind the math competition and virtual puzzle hunt. Both are team-based competitions that encourage contestants to work together to solve difficult questions. 

The team consists of Isha Joshi (9th, LHS), Josephine O’Malley (9th, LHS), Shveta Sunkar (9th, LHS), and Adya Garg (9th, Briar Woods). Isha Joshi won 2nd place in the individual competition and Adya Garg won 1st place. If you know these students, congratulate them on a job well done!

The Mathletes (team name “Pumpkin Pi”) after the competition. 

From left to right: Isha Joshi, Josephine O’Malley, Shveta Sunkar, and Adya Garg.

pioneer research program: The math department would like to recognize Jayce Walton for his achievement in Mathematics. Jayce wrote and submitted a research paper to the Pioneer Research Program. His research paper has been nominated for the 2023 Pioneer Research Journal, an international publication featuring original undergraduate-level research from secondary students around the globe. Only 8.9% of the more than 1,400 papers that were submitted in the 2021 academic year were nominated for the journal, so this nomination is a truly remarkable accomplishment! It was announced last week that his paper will move forward in the process. 

As part of the selection process leading to publication, Pioneer considers the degree to which each student went above and beyond what is normally expected of them. If you know Jayce, please congratulate him on this well-deserved honor. 

amc competition: Langley’s Math students participated in the annual American Mathematics Competition. The Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competitions (MAA AMC) program leads the nation in strengthening the mathematical capabilities of the next generation of problem-solvers. The MAA AMC program helps America’s educators identify talent and foster a love of mathematics through classroom resources and friendly competition, and positively impacts the analytical skills needed for future careers in an innovative society.  

Over 350,000 students take one of these multiple-choice exams each year and 3,000 of these students qualify for the next step, the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME) contest. Several of our students have moved to this next level. The goal is to qualify for the Math Olympiad test, which takes only 250 students of the 350,000. 

Please congratulate the following Langley students for qualifying for the AIME. This is an awesome honor and the problems are not easy.  

Edward Guo

Bennet Huang

Leon Huang

Andrew Hwang

Danna Jia

Rachel Ku

Ian Liao

Maureen Mao

Shumvobi Mitra

Evan Ru

Ethan Shan

Kaushal Siruvuri

Joowon Song

Shveta Sunkar

Sin Kwan Xu

Kaicheng Ying

Zifan Zhao

Zifei Zhao

The Langley Bands had a record-smashing forty-three Langley band students selected for District Band! The Bands also have a record eighteen students who have qualified to audition for the All-Virginia groups! All of the band students who went through the audition process represented Langley well. 

Congrats to the following students (*denotes All-Virginia eligible, including Senior Regional Orchestra)!

Symphonic Band: Arianne Almeida, Amber Cao, Abhinav Chakravarthy, Katie Chen, Catherine Dunn, Tyler Engola, Josh Felder, Viraj Ganguli, Anya Huang, Collin Le, Kevin Lee*, Nya Lewin, Jason Pan, Christian Perrin, Calvin Qi, Anniyah Rizvi*, Cody Schofield, Vishwa Surabhi, Diego Tablett*, Abhay Velliyatt, Noah Workie, Daniella Wu, Cecelia Ye, Triston Yu, Merik Zhang, Lily Zhang

Wind Ensemble: Sophie Cao*, Clare Colligan*, Aidan Connell, Jacqui Go*, Ryan Healy, Anderson Hoang*, Zelmay Jan*, Sheila Keshavarz*, Jayden Lee*, Henry Lin*, Elliot Pomper*, Kelly Shi*, William Tian*, Myah Tokajer*, Glenn vanValkenburgh*, Marianne Wang*, Allen Zhang*

The Langley PTSA Nominating Committee is working to fill PTSA executive board and committee chair positions for the 2024-2025 school year. Whether you can share several hours of your time or only an hour each month, there is a role that is just right for you. There are also several opportunities that can be done remotely. The Nominating Committee would love to assist you in finding the right spot for you. Please contact Susan Connery at [email protected] or Erin Lobato at [email protected] for more info.

Do you have what it takes to be the ultimate Saxon trivia champion or do you simply want to have fun? Then come join in for Langley Trivia – a free, fun competition after school on Wed, Feb 14 from 3-4:30 pm in the Cafeteria. There will be music, prizes, free Chick-fil-a and pizza. See the flyer here. Students must register to participate using this link.

The Langley Nice Cream Club is sponsoring a SHARE food drive. Donations can be dropped off in Senorita Stocks' room (#1216) from Tues, Jan 16 through Fri, Jan 19. SHARE has an abundance of canned vegetables and soup, but is currently in need of canned fruit, diced tomatoes and sauce, canned or dried beans, cereal, pasta, crackers, powdered milk, coffee/tea, laundry detergent, toothbrushes and toothpaste. More info is on the SHARE website and a complete list of requested items can be found here. 

Rise Against Hunger – Langley Pyramid

Colvin Run ES

1400 Trap Road

Vienna, VA 22182

Sat, Feb 3, 8:30 am-3:30 pm

On Sat, Feb 3, families in the Langley Pyramid will join together to help children in need. In partnership with Rise Against Hunger, our Pyramid goal is to prepare 75,000 meal packages for schools and orphanages around the world. All volunteer and waitlist spots are full, but donations are only 7% of our goal. We can only pack meals that are purchased. See the Help by donating for meal purchases or volunteering to help package meals! View the website for more info and to donate.

Attend the 2024 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 30, 6-8:30 pm at Marshall HS (7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church). The evening begins with “Gap Fair 101” from 6-7 pm and then the Gap Year Fair is 7-8:30 pm.

View the flyer here and follow this link for more info. Click here to register.

Get ready for some fun! Langley Basketball is hosting two upcoming Youth Nights! Kids get in free – wear your jersey! There will be a raffle and giveaways, plus prizes during halftime fun!

Langley Girls Basketball Youth Night is tonight Thurs, Jan 18, 7:30 pm vs Herndon

Langley Boys Basketball Youth Night is Mon, Jan 22, 7:30 pm vs Yorktown

Seth J. Gillihan PhD from Psychology Today writes, “Anxiety often acts like a rude visitor, showing up uninvited and staying long after you’ve asked it to leave.” What can you do when anxiety won’t go away? Here are 5 strategies to help manage anxiety.

Calling all senior parents! Planning for the Class of 2024 All Night Grad Party (ANGP) kicks off this month! Join our virtual planning launch call on Mon, Jan 29 at 7:30 pm. Click here to join the Zoom meeting.

Questions? Contact Kristi Grgeta at [email protected].

Save the date! Our Junior College Forum Night and Class Dinner Fundraiser are Tues, Feb 6. Junior students and their parents/guardians are invited to join us for dinner and an informative panel discussion led by college admission professionals. This is both the biggest class event and the only fundraiser of the year!

Dinner begins at 5:45 pm in the Cafeteria and will be catered by Cafe Rio. More info on purchasing dinner tickets to come. Dinner will be followed by the College Forum at 7 pm in the Auditorium.

4-H camp counselor: Fairfax Arlington Alexandria (FAA) 4-H will host their annual 4-H Summer camp June 23-27 and are looking for camp counselors. The camp is a residential summer camp for youth ages 9-13, where teens ages 14-19 serve as camp counselors. Students can earn 100+ service hours for helping during the week. The deadline to apply to has been extended to Fri, Jan 26. 

View the flyer here and the FAA 4-H summer camp website for more info.

performing arts scholarship: High school students are invited to showcase their artistic achievements in the 2024 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 Fri, Jan 26. 

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 5, and at the final competition on Wed, Apr 17 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 Alden Youth Theatre Programs Director Danielle Van Hook at [email protected].

bingo night: Churchill Road ES (CRS) PTA is looking for student volunteers (middle school and high school students) to assist with setting up, running and cleaning up at Churchill Road ES Bingo Night on Fri, Feb 2. Sign up here. 

Questions? Contact Erin Moreno, CRS PTA VP of Membership, at [email protected].

Jan 18: One Act Performance, 6:30 pm tonight, Auditorium

Jan 25: End of 2nd Quarter – 2hr early release

Jan 26: Holiday - No School

Jan 26: Talent Show, 6:30 pm, Auditorium

Jan 30: Gap Year Fair, 6-8:30 pm, Marshall HS

Feb 3: Rise Against Hunger, 8:30 am-3:30 pm, Colvin Run ES

Feb 6: Junior Class Night, 7 pm, Auditorium