Largo Principal's Parent Press

The Largo Principal's Parent Press is a bi-weekly communication newsletter that will be used to keep parents in the know about events, happenings, and updates at Largo High School straight from Principal Lewis' desk.

Hours of Operation: 7:45 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.

Please find contact information for each of Largo High School's Administrators:

9th Grade: Tanya Parris-Andrews (tanya.parris@pgcps.org)

10th Grade: Robyn Jones (robyn.jones@pgcps.org)

11th Grade: Dr. Vivian Powers (vivian.powers@pgcps.org)

12th Grade: Christopher Jackson (christo.jackson@pgcps.org)

Immersion Programs: Denise Cabrera (denise.cabrera@pgcps.org)

Please find contact information for each of Largo High School's Professional School Counselors:

9-12 A-G - Valerie Johnson (valerie.alston@pgcps.org)

9-12 H-O - Tomeco Dates (tomeco.dates@pgcps.org)

9-12 P-Z - Dr. Monet Hawkins (monet.hawkins@pgcps.org)

When reaching out to a PGCPS member via email or phone, they have 48 hours to reply to your inquiry. Please see the information below for where to share your concerns:

Admin Concern: Step 1: Grade level administrator-----Step 2: Principal----- Step 3: Instructional Director

Scheduling Concern: Step 1: Counselor--- Step 2: Grade level administrator--- Step 3: Principal

Special Education Concern: Step 1: Case Manager--- Step 2: IEP Facilitator--- Step 3: Principal

Teacher Concern: Step 1: Teacher-----Step 2: Grade level administrator----- Step 3: Principal

Our goal is to meet your needs to the best of our ability with the resources that are available to us. Please use processes above to give Largo every opportunity to work with you for the best school experience possible.

For the first time since the 2020-2021 school year, we will be inducting new honorees into the Largo Chapter of the National Honor Society. The induction program will take place on Thursday, December 7, beginning at 5:30 PM, which will highlight the academic accomplishments of our celebrants. Also, we will have a guest speaker. Recently, under the direction of sponsor Dr. Mabel Smith, we installed our new officers for the 2023-2024 school year. Our honorees are excited about this endeavor, and are ready to get to work uplifting the tenets of this organization.

One of the critical factors that supports our work is how we support our ninth grade students. Assistant Principal, Tanya Parris-Andrews, is sharing some critical information with parents of ninth grade students to demonstrate the ways in which we are moving this cohort. Please see the link for the information below:

9th Grade Parent Letter

Here are a few updates from our immersion program. After an exhaustive process, we are excited to announce that we have fully hired new French immersion and Chinese immersion teachers. Our candidates will begin with us on Monday, December 11. We appreciate the patience of our Largo Spanish immersion community, and are excited about the experiences that they bring, which will open the doors to a robust program in alignment with our vision.

Also, please click the link below to see some of the experiences that are emergent students have had this year:

Link to Immersion Experiences

Largo will hold two honor roll assemblies to celebrate Lions who made the honor roll for the first quarter. Assemblies will be held on the dates below for the following grade levels:

December 11 - 9th and 10th Grade

December 12 - 11th and 12th Grade

Congratulations to all of the students who made this mark. We look forward to celebrating their continued achievement throughout the school year.

This is one of the busiest times of the year in the life of a high school. Winter sports season is underway. Beginning the week of December 4, our winter sports will be in full bloom to include. Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Indoor Track, Swimming, and Wrestling. We look forward to having our parents and community in the stands to cheer these students on during these events. More information can be found via our Athletics page on our school website.

As the calendar year comes to a close, Largo High School has annually had a "Winter Spirit Week" to culminate the last week of the year heading into Winter Break. Be on the lookout for an advertisement that will share with you what those themed days will be and activities that will correspond with each day.

As a reminder for parents and guardians in our community, we want to continue to focus on student attendance. Please make a habit of checking your child's overall attendance and class attendance on a daily basis. We are seeing trends in school attendance decrease, and we want to bolster those numbers as soon as possible. But, we need your help. If you see that your child has any discrepancies in their attendance, please connect with our registrar, your child's professional school, counselor, or their grade level administrator. Remember, your child's attendance plays a part in our rating with the Maryland State Department of Education.

Reading stamina is an individual’s ability to focus and read independently for long periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. This is an important skill students need to cultivate. Reading stamina is something that parents can help students develop. Here’s how:

1. Reduce Distractions - Your student’s reading space should be free of any obstructions. You can help them to minimize interruptions by encouraging them to turn down or remove electronics, and reduce noise. They will be able to focus more quickly if there is less distraction.
2. Establish a Goal - Your student needs a reason to read, whether it’s just for fun, to discover something new, or to find out what happens next in their favorite series. Your student can check out books at our library and when they’re finished, plan some time to have them share what they read.
3. Establish a Special Reading Space - Encourage your student to find a comfortable and peaceful spot for reading. This is helpful for concentration, and it increases their reading stamina as well.
4. Implement The 50-10 rule - A good strategy to help your student build their reading stamina is to practice the 50-10 rule. According to this method, they should read or study for 50 minutes, take a 10-minute break, and then repeat. It will enable their brain to unwind before they can concentrate once more.
5. Self Evaluation - Ask your students to evaluate the number of books they have finished, their favorite novels, the ones they have revisited, and the amount of reading they have done at home over the month or year. Encourage them to use their self-evaluations to create attainable independent reading goals, which could be anything from reading longer books, expanding their reading time by fifteen minutes, trying a new genre, or reading more works by a particular author.

It takes time to develop reading stamina in your adolescent students, being patient and having consistency can make it easier.

Mrs. Nicole Mintz, Parent Engagement Assistant, is your direct link to providing you with support. Mrs. Mintz provides parents with issues ranging from helping you to access SchoolMax to providing workshops to help our parents navigate our school and school system. Mrs. Mintz can be reached at Nicole.Mintz@pgcps.org.

Did you miss an edition of the Principal's Press? Don't worry. We've you got covered. Go back and review any of the previous editions of Principal Lewis' letter by clicking the links below:

August 25, 2023

September 10, 2023

September 26, 2023

October 6, 2023

October 18, 2023

November 1, 2023

November 17, 2023

Within the next 2 Weeks:

• December 6, 2023 - Largo Monthly PTSO Meeting - In Person (6:00 p.m.)
• December 7, 2023 - Basketball Season Begins
• December 7: Induction for National Honor Society (5:30 p.m.)

Save the Dates:

• December 18 - December 22 - Winter Spirit Week
• December 25, 2023 - January 2, 2024 - Winter Break (PGCPS Schools and Offices Closed)***

Email: Albert.Lewis@pgcps.org
Website: https://schools.pgcps.org/largo/
Location: 505 Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, MD, USA
Phone: (301) 808-8880
Twitter: @Albert_TLewis