Dear Walkersville Community,

I hope everyone has a chance to make it out to our fall play. If you missed Thursday evening, you can join our talented bunch on Friday at 7:00 or Saturday at 2:00 or 7:00. Congrats to Ms. VanGilder-Martin and her cast & crew for their hard work. Additionally, our football team is still in the playoffs and will be playing at Owings Mills at 6:30 on Friday. Good luck to our Lions!

Finally, as we head into next week and Thanksgiving, I would be remiss if I didn’t give thanks to our dedicated staff and supportive community. It takes a village to raise our students, and I am lucky to work alongside everyone as we strive for meeting the needs of each of our students every day. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday. Rest up and enjoy time with family and friends.

Sincerely,

Dr. Stephanie Ware

Principal

The Career and Technology Center (CTC) is part of the Frederick County Public Schools system. With more than 24 programs to choose from, students have the opportunity to gain college and career experience in a variety of areas. They can earn college credits as well as valuable industry certifications and licenses through a CTC program. CTC programs are taught in half-day blocks, and students attend their high school for the other half of the school day. Shadowing a CTC program is the first step in the application process and is open to students in grades 9-11. Students may shadow and apply to up to two programs.

Interested students can request a shadow from the CTC website https://edu.fcps.org/ctc/

Shadowing is open November 2, 2023 – February 29, 2024.

Last day to request a shadow is February 20, 2024

Application deadline: March 8, 2024

For additional information about the Career & Technology Center visit https://edu.fcps.org/ctc/.

Registration Information Night will be Wed. January 24th from 6-7:30. Come to hear about course offering and requirements for the next school year. Have opportunities to discuss classes with teachers, counselors, and administrators. We hope to see you there!

At Plaza Mexico of Frederick in Wormans Mill

11am-9pm

Dine in or Take out

Plaza will generously donate a percentage of food sales that day!!

Please show a screenshot of our announcement and mention boosters when you place/pick up or sit down to order so we get proper credit

Tickets for upcoming games are $6 and only MPSSAA passes work.

With Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) playoffs beginning this week, FCPS would like to remind everyone of our sportsmanship expectations whether attending a competition in Frederick Country or at another school or venue throughout Maryland.

As FCPS and our 11 high schools have continued to promote, the MPSSAA released a Sportsmanship Plan of Action illustrating the need to improve sportsmanship and respect for all in attendance at athletic events and detailing the collaborative actions all 24 school systems are taking in response. The MPSSAA Sportsmanship Action Plan includes three pillars as the basis for statewide expectations to provide a standard of sportsmanship. The three pillars are Creating Welcoming Environments, Respect, and Accountability for Actions. Under these three pillars, school-based athletic administrators can focus efforts on embracing a positive culture for the management of contests and the conduct of their school's athletic community.

In reference to Accountability for Actions, the state has issued increased consequences for egregious behaviors during regional and state athletic contests. Egregious behavior is being defined as:

• Fighting;
• Physical or verbal personal attacks directed towards an official, coach, student-athlete, spectator, or school personnel;
• Use of racial, ethnic, homophobic or other derogatory or discriminatory language, slurs or practices.

Any ejections under this category have been elevated to a minimum of a two contest disqualification from the current state tournament, next sport season or the succeeding year's tournament based on the circumstances of the situation. As recommended in the plan of action, FCPS has adopted these same consequences for all regular season contests.

We don't pretend to hide our competitiveness in FCPS and strive to win championships on the field and court each year. However, win or lose, we want to leave that contest assured that our school, community and FCPS were represented with pride and class. Whether it is on the field or in the stands, let's hold each other accountable in creating welcoming environments, being respectful guests and always demonstrating good sportsmanship.

This is a reminder that while we love to see our whole community supporting our Lions, children are not permitted to be unsupervised during events. We want our events to be safe, orderly, and allow everyone to focus on cheering our students on. Please ensure that younger children are with adults at all times when visiting WHS. Thank you.

Our Fall block testing window for the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) opens this month. Students will take assessments to meet state and federal requirements. There have been some changes in these requirements over the last several years. For more information about requirements for high school assessments, please reference our Question and Answer (Q&A) document linked here. Changes in Maryland High School Course Assessments For more information about how FCPS uses these assessments to ensure all students are progressing via appropriate personalized pathways, visit our website.

If you have not picked up your academic excellence pin, please visit Mrs. Churco's office (room 300) to pick yours up! If you should have any questions please email her at Bethany.Churco@fcps.org

Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) and Frederick Community College (FCC) invite you to attend one of our Early College Information Nights to learn about the FCPS-FCC Early College program:

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 (in-person, at FCC)

Thursday, January 25, 2024 (virtual)

Wednesday, February 21, 2024 (in-person, at FCC)

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 (virtual)

All times 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Participation in one of the 4 information sessions is a requirement for application!

The Early College program allows high school students to earn an associate’s degree and high school diploma simultaneously by attending FCC full-time during their junior and senior years. The program was created to increase participation and completion for students from populations historically underrepresented in higher education and is open to all FCPS high school students.

FCPS students apply to Early College during their sophomore year of high school. At the Information Nights, members of the Dual Enrollment Team will go through the details of the Early College program and acceptance process, and they will answer questions from interested students and families.

Register to attend one of these sessions at tiny.cc/earlycollegenight. A confirmation email will be sent with further information regarding the location and/or meeting link.

Contact the DE Office at DualEnrollment@frederick.edu, or visit www.frederick.edu/de for more information!

Senior year is busy – let us help you stay on track!

• Senior class reminders will be posted on Schoology in the WHS Senior Class of 2024 group. Students in the senior class have been automatically added to this group. Parents who want to join can follow these instructions:

• Click Groups at the top of Schoology.
• Select My Groups.
• Click Join Group on the right.
• Enter the Group Access Code: F48P-4VV6-QWSQS
• Click JOIN

• Please review the Senior Timeline for all important dates throughout the year
• Students: please let us know how to correctly pronounce your name for senior events (Awards & Graduation, etc.): Senior Name Survey
• Cap & Gown Orders Due 12/22 – order at: https://hub.jostens.com/ls/7ed522a8-6ef6-433e-a669-a571dd80545b/qTeVAWD9ipALv9LC#/

Need Money for College?

As you have heard, the 2024-25 FAFSA is being updated and as a result its opening will be delayed. The form, which usually becomes available October 1st each year, will not open until December of 2023. Because of the delay, the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) is also delaying its statewide outreach activities. However, the agency wants to share the following information with its statewide partners as we all wait for the 2024-25 FAFSA to open.

MHEC wants to inform you about an important step that students, parents, and school counselors can take to help our students be prepared when the FAFSA opens. High school students and parents should go to studentaid.gov and click on Create an Account.

You can use that account for:

• Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form when it opens in December
• Signing your Master Promissory Note (MPN)
• Applying for repayment plans
• Completing loan counseling
• Using the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Help Tool

You will need:

• Social Security number
• Your own mobile phone number and/or email address

The Maryland Higher Education Commission recently hosted a two-hour virtual financial aid open house discussing how to navigate the Maryland financial aid process. The live broadcast includes answers to numerous questions that were pre-submitted by stakeholders, as well as live questions from the audience.

To view the program, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYsSghnY-Uo and please fast forward the video 30 minutes to get to the start of the presentation.

Please also see the list of the frequently asked questions https://mhec.maryland.gov/Pages/FAQ-from-MHEC%27s-Virtual-Financial-Aid-Open-House.aspx

If you have specific financial aid questions, please email osfamail.mhec@maryland.gov. Also, if you have any questions related to the Maryland State Financial Aid Application (MSFAA), submit your question here. You will receive a response within three business days.

Please click the link below to order!

Counseling Department Information – 2023-24

• Schoology: General reminders for students in all grades will be posted on Schoology in the WHS Counseling Office group. Students and parents who want to join can follow these instructions:

• Click Groups at the top of Schoology.
• Select My Groups.
• Click Join Group on the right.
• Enter the Group Access Code: KCCM-CPHP-HGP93
• Click JOIN

• Please review the Counseling Office Newsletter for updates

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

5:30- 7:00 pm

Monroe Center

Register here.

Discover a variety of flexible and affordable career training programs designed to prepare you for employment in high demand industries, including Business & Careers, Computers & Technology, Healthcare Careers, Hospitality, Culinary, & Tourism, Trades & Vocational Training, and more. Meet program staff, tour the Monroe Center facility, and review upcoming course options.