🌸Principal's Message
Hello Tuscarora Family,
We hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warmer weather we are having as we transition into the Spring.
During the month of March we celebrate and honor National Women's History Month. It is important for all of us to pause, learn about, and honor the many contributions women have had on our school community, our history, and in our society. A special thanks to the women of our school community and for the many ways you support Tuscarora. For more information about National Women's History Month, please visit womenshistorymonth.gov.
A few items to highlight...
- Congratulations to the Huskies honored in our Excellence in Education awards. We are proud of your accomplishments and diligence.
- Kudos to our A and A/B Honor Roll students, as well as our RISE Award winners. We are proud of you for your hard work and commitment to the tenets of RISE.
- Credit Recovery opportunities are still available. Please take advantage of the supports provided during Study Hall, Tusky Time, and during the afterschool SLED program to help you succeed.
This newsletter includes a great deal of information to keep you connected with the events, celebrations, and opportunities for our Huskies. Please take a moment to review this information and remain connected with our community.
The entire school staff is here to support our Tuscarora family. Please connect with me or my staff to let us know how we can support you.
Thank you
Pamela Croft
Principal
🌸News from Husky Athletics
Hey Husky Nation! As we begin to close our SY 23 sports season welcome in the Spring Season
Online registration is now open for all SY 23 sport is open at www.huskyathletics.info
All physicals must be dated after May 1, 2022 and be on the VHSL Physical Form – VHSL Physical Form
Please complete all four pages thoroughly. Physicals missing signatures or information will be returned.
There is a new requirement this year – you will need to take the Sudden Cardiac course through NFHS (https://nfhslearn.com/courses/sudden-cardiac-arrest). Course is 10 min. Please create an account, take course, download or save a picture of certificate, you will need it for registration.
Returning Users: go to the website listed, sign in to your account, click ‘Register’ for returning students and ‘Add a New Student’ for new athletes in the family. Update your info and click Pay Later on the last page (there is no fee).
New Users: Please create an account, verify it, and follow the steps from above.
Spring Sports Tryouts started February 20, 2023. Please visit this link to contact individual sport coaches to inquire about out of season workout and tryout specifics. All Sport Coach List
TicketSpicket is our exclusive online ticket provider. Please follow this link to purchase tickets for all Tuscarora Athletic Events: TicketSpicket. This will be the primary ticket purchase moving forward. Family passes will again be offered in the fall.
Remember to search for the home venue to purchase tickets for Husky events.
Below is the coach contact information for the upcoming Spring Season:
🌸Important Information from School Counseling
Spring College Planning Night is March 16th from 7pm - 8:30 pm. This evening is designed for rising 11th graders and their parents who are considering attending a 4-year College or University. We will have a college panel of admissions counselors who will answer questions about the college planning process. Additional information will be sent out in a few weeks.
Loudoun Youth Leadership Program. LYLP is a week-long experience designed to introduce youth to leadership concepts and communication skills while giving them exposure and interaction with local business, government and community leaders. Open to all Loudoun County rising sophomores, juniors and seniors, candidates participate in leadership workshops, have interactive sessions with county leaders and gain exposure to technology, business and agricultural economic drivers in Loudoun. If you are interested in having your student participate, please have them speak with their school counselor.
Student Assistance Services news: Fentanyl (a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine) continues to make headlines due to its high risk for overdose and its presence in a variety of drugs. In an effort to reinforce the seriousness of this drug, LCPS has some additional resources and information to keep kids safe from fentanyl.
Kim Hager, our Student Assistance Specialist, is a member of the Unified Mental Health team who provides substance use education, prevention and early intervention to students at THS. You can contact her directly at kim.hager@lcps.org if you have any questions or concerns about substance use.
The February Student Assistance Services newsletter was dedicated to fentanyl and highlights protecting students from fentanyl, what LCPS is doing to educate students about the dangers of opioid use and how parents can speak with their children. In addition, it includes a DEA fact sheet, information about Narcan (a medication that can reverse the effects of an overdose) and a flier about some upcoming Opioid and Fentanyl Awareness Community meetings that will be held at numerous locations in the county. Please use the link below to access the newsletter.
https://www.smore.com/28mk7-student-assistance-services-news?ref=email
🌸Announcements from the Testing Office
All students in English 11 or AP English Language will take the two-part Writing SOL on March 9th and 10th and the Integrated Reading and Writing Field Test on March 28th. The Reading SOL will take place in May. Please see the following information about the Integrated Reading and Writing Field Test.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has developed a new type of test question for future Standards of Learning (SOL) Reading assessments in grades 5, 8, and high school. Before this new type of test item is administered to students as part of the SOL Reading tests in grades 5, 8, and high school, it is being tried out with students this spring during what is called a field test. Students in grades 5, 8, and high school (usually grade 11) who are scheduled to take the online SOL Reading test will participate in this field test for the new item type.
During the field test, students will read a nonfiction passage online that may be about a history or science topic and then answer four to six questions about what they have read. One question is a writing prompt, or a question that asks students to write about what they have read. Students will complete this online in one session. Currently, the VDOE is only trying out this item type in an online format. In the future, this item type will be available in other formats for students needing an accommodation such as braille, large print, or audio.
Examples of this new item type are available for students, parents, and teachers to view online in what are called “Integrated Reading and Writing Item Sets.” These item sets include examples for grade 5, grade 8, and high school students and can be located using the SOL Practice Items page of the VDOE website. A guide, Integrated Reading and Writing Practice Items, is also available for use with these item sets. The guide gives information about each practice item and how students can use the available online tools.
It is important to know that individual test results from the field test will not be available to students, but results of the field test will be used to make decisions about use of the new integrated reading and writing item type on state assessments in the future.
Each school division has selected a time for their students to complete the online field test. Students may have as much time as they need to complete this test during the school day.
Information about May Testing and the May 2023 Testing Calendar.
If you have questions, please contact Sommer Crawford, sommer.crawford@lcps.org
🌸Attention Rising Seniors! Meningitis Vaccine Clinic
Tuscarora High School is hosting a Meningitis (MCV4) vaccine clinic for rising seniors on March 15, 2023. Loudoun County Health Department Nurses will provide the required vaccine from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. to those who have fully completed the required consent forms.
This is a great opportunity to complete this state required vaccine on entering 12th grade. Many of our students have received the first dose but are still required the second dose after their 16th birthday. Students who have not received any doses and must fulfill this requirement on entering 12th grade.
Consent forms are available in English and Spanish. State required vaccines are free but if you are insured the Health Department requests a copy (front and back) of your insurance card. Please call if you need assistance in completing the forms or if you have any questions.
- Meningitis Consent Form English
- Meningitis Consent Form Spanish
🌸Making Math Count!
Students in SOL courses are preparing for the upcoming SOL. Algebra 1 students will complete an SOL project. Parents please keep an eye for this project being sent home with your student. AP Calculus AB and BC, and AP Stats students are prepping for AP exams.
🌸EL Department News
The EL Department has been busy administering the annual ACCESS test to our English Learners. ACCESS is a state mandated assessment that measures students' annual progress in Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing in English. The results of ACCESS will be used to help determine students' accommodations in the acquisition of English as well as course placement recommendations. Good luck everyone!
EL Parent Night is scheduled for Tuesday March 7, 2023 at 6:30 P.M. in the school library. Our Parent Liaison, Thayanna Delpesche, will be contacting EL families about the event. We look forward to seeing families on March 7th.
🌸Shout Outs from Social Science
The Social Science Department would like to congratulate the following students for being selected as the SSGS RISE students of the quarter: Maryam Barokah, Noah Hoffman, Kike Lizama, and Sydney Nicklas.
Rho Kappa: Stop by for History tutoring every Tuesday morning beginning at 8:30 in room 203.
On January 10th, 2023, our Rho Kappa members took a trip to the Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience in Washington D.C. This interactive museum allowed the students to travel back in time and learn about the king’s family, his childhood, and how he came to rule ancient Egypt at the young age of nine!
🌸2023 Yearbooks!
Yearbooks are selling out fast - make sure to reserve a copy for your student ASAP.
Visit: www.yearbookordercenter.com
Enter our school code: 13699
🌸ACDA National Singer
The conference was held on February 22-28th.
Congratulations Alyce!
🌸Q&A With Broadway Alumni
Mister just came off a Broadway show Ohio State Murders starring Audra Macdonald. The students had great questions for him and were inspired by his career!
Photo: Junior Rachel Giessmann asking Mister Fitzgerald a question via Google Meet.
🌸Masterclass with Professional Playwright
Students have taken folktales around the world and adapted them into plays which will be produced for the public on March 25 @ 10am in the Tuscarora Auditorium. All plays will be published and put into local libraries for young audiences to read/perform. This project has been funded by the Wolftrap Arts Grant.
🌸Silver Key Scholastic Award
Congratulations to AP art student McKenna Fox for receiving a Silver Key Scholastic Art Award. (Silver Keys are awarded to distinguished work demonstrating achievement at the regional level. Approximately 7-10% of regional submissions are recognized with Silver Key Awards.)
Morning Routine "This piece symbolizes the stereotype that women should have a prefect face of makeup when they wake up in the morning. It depicts how a women will still glam themselves up even if they feel dead. Conforming to society's wants instead of doing what is good for themselves, is represented through the beatification of a skull."
Tuscarora High School
Empowering all students to make meaningful contributions to the world.
At Tuscarora, we RISE!
Website: lcps.org/Tuscarora
Location: 801 North King Street, Leesburg, VA, USA
Phone: 571-252-1900
Twitter: @TuscaroraHS