Thursday Round Up for
News from the Homefront:
Arts in Western Education is looking for Student Board Members!
Are you a sophomore or junior who is dedicated to the arts who want to make a difference in arts in the Western Feeder Pattern? Apply today!
FAFSA and Virginia College Advising Corps:
The Virginia College Advising Corps (VCAC). VCAC is a college access organization based at the University of Virginia that places recent college graduates in high schools throughout Virginia to serve as college advisers and support students with their plans for life after high school. Our college advisers have received extensive training on how to support families with navigating the new application, and we would like to extend our support to high school seniors who have not yet finished it. To that end, they are offering virtual FAFSA assistance appointments to any high school senior in Virginia through June 28, 2024. VCAC college advisers are available to support students with the FAFSA and VASA (Virginia Alternative State Aid Application) on weekdays, including in the evenings. Need help finishing your FAFSA? The Virginia College Advising Corps is offering free virtual appointments through June 28 to help you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in order to see what financial aid you may be eligible for. Set up your virtual appointment and learn more at at.virginia.edu/FAFSA. FAF$A Now is an initiative of the Virginia College Advising Corps, an AmeriCorps program based at the University of Virginia, and is sponsored by the Pell Initiative for Virginia.
CARELab
Is an initiative of Catalyzer Lab, equips young future leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills needed to create a great career path and positive social impact via an immersive 2-week summer workshop taking place in your community this July. CARELab is ideal for rising 11th and 12th graders seeking to become confidently future-ready.
CARELab participants will learn how to use AI tools responsibly to conceptualize and build an original social enterprise, learn 21 essential leadership skills for creating Conscious, Accountable, Regenerative & Equitable organizations, engage with innovative local business leaders, and boost their college applications and future earning power with the CARE Impact Credential. Learn more and reach out.
MOCHA/WOCHA
Men of Color, Honor and Ambition (MOCHA) and Women of Color, Honor, and Ambition (WOCHA) is a one-year district-wide initiative open to 7th-12th grade students. The program is open to all students but is specifically designed through the lens of male and female students of color. In partnership with the University of Virginia’s Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, students will participate in a series of monthly workshops offered by faculty, staff and community leaders; foster a sense of community and bonding with each other and other role models of color through social outings; and support their health awareness and development through their participation in wellness activities. Our organization will ensure student mentorship, academic support, college and career readiness, leadership development, holistic wellness, and life skills. Applications are open! See Ms. Curry for more information!
WAHS Athletic Hall of Fame Nominations Needed
The Western Albermarle Athletics Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the Fall 2024 Hall of Fame Class. The deadline for nominations is May 21, 2024. All nominations should be submitted by the online nomination form (Click this link). Nominees must be at least 5 years removed from their role as an athlete, coach, administrator, etc. Click on Hall of Fame By-Laws for more information on the selection process.
Prom Tickets!
Tickets will be on sale between now and 10 May:
Senior Field Trip:
We hope you're enjoying the end of your Senior year. We have a really exciting opportunity to go on a Senior Class Field Trip to Busch Gardens. Permission Forms are being passed out to all who indicated that they would attend the Senior Field Trip. The signed permission form and $40 payment are due by May 3rd. Any student who failed to fill out the interest form is not guaranteed a spot, but we do have additional spots open so if you would still like to go please email [email protected].
Valediction:
Graduation is around the corner and that morning we will be having the Valediction Ceremony at 10am in the WAHS Auditorium. This ceremony celebrates all seniors through senior song, music and the presenting of scholarships, honors colleges, and culminating awards (think Gold and Eagle Award as well as Military enlistment/academies/). We need your documentation of these awards to be able to announce them and put them in the graduation program. While the form asks for the monetary amount, this figure is not advertised, but calculated as a whole for the entire senior class. Please only list scholarships to a college/university where you plan to attend. Please fill this form out before May 10th to be able to make the Valediction/Graduation Program.
Did you know the library has a Free Little Library?
Summer's coming and that means more free time for reading! We have a Free Little Library in our library where you can bring in gently used books and exchange them. Take note, the books in the WAHS Free Library have not been reviewed for graded assignment usage per ACPS policy. These books are donations. Read at your own risk. But please read something!
The UNC Chapel Hill Morehead Cain Scholars
This is a full Tuition, Room and Board Scholarship to UNC Chapel Hill. WAHS is able to nominate TWO juniors to then apply to this prestigious program. Morehead Cain is looking for OUTSTANDING students who are involved in their school and/or community. Students who have fared well in past competitions are those who have excelled in the highest level of academics at WAHS as well as have achieved greatness in leadership roles, civic engagement or other academic pursuits. If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please fill out this google form by Tuesday May 7th. With AP exams looming, do not procrastinate on this one. There is a required resume as well as a short essay. Google Form Application Here is the link to the program site if you would like more information:. Let Ms. Poole know if you have any questions.
Healthy Relationships!
SHE is leading three different zoom group sessions for teens this summer on healthy/toxic relationships.
Arts in Western Education is looking for Student Board Members!
Are you a sophomore or junior who is dedicated to the arts who want to make a difference in arts in the Western Feeder Pattern? Apply today!
FAFSA and Virginia College Advising Corps:
The Virginia College Advising Corps (VCAC). VCAC is a college access organization based at the University of Virginia that places recent college graduates in high schools throughout Virginia to serve as college advisers and support students with their plans for life after high school. Our college advisers have received extensive training on how to support families with navigating the new application, and we would like to extend our support to high school seniors who have not yet finished it. To that end, they are offering virtual FAFSA assistance appointments to any high school senior in Virginia through June 28, 2024. VCAC college advisers are available to support students with the FAFSA and VASA (Virginia Alternative State Aid Application) on weekdays, including in the evenings. Need help finishing your FAFSA? The Virginia College Advising Corps is offering free virtual appointments through June 28 to help you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in order to see what financial aid you may be eligible for. Set up your virtual appointment and learn more at at.virginia.edu/FAFSA. FAF$A Now is an initiative of the Virginia College Advising Corps, an AmeriCorps program based at the University of Virginia, and is sponsored by the Pell Initiative for Virginia.
CARELab
Is an initiative of Catalyzer Lab, equips young future leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills needed to create a great career path and positive social impact via an immersive 2-week summer workshop taking place in your community this July. CARELab is ideal for rising 11th and 12th graders seeking to become confidently future-ready.
CARELab participants will learn how to use AI tools responsibly to conceptualize and build an original social enterprise, learn 21 essential leadership skills for creating Conscious, Accountable, Regenerative & Equitable organizations, engage with innovative local business leaders, and boost their college applications and future earning power with the CARE Impact Credential. Learn more and reach out.
MOCHA/WOCHA
Men of Color, Honor and Ambition (MOCHA) and Women of Color, Honor, and Ambition (WOCHA) is a one-year district-wide initiative open to 7th-12th grade students. The program is open to all students but is specifically designed through the lens of male and female students of color. In partnership with the University of Virginia’s Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, students will participate in a series of monthly workshops offered by faculty, staff and community leaders; foster a sense of community and bonding with each other and other role models of color through social outings; and support their health awareness and development through their participation in wellness activities. Our organization will ensure student mentorship, academic support, college and career readiness, leadership development, holistic wellness, and life skills. Applications are open! See Ms. Curry for more information!
WAHS Athletic Hall of Fame Nominations Needed
The Western Albermarle Athletics Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the Fall 2024 Hall of Fame Class. The deadline for nominations is May 21, 2024. All nominations should be submitted by the online nomination form (Click this link). Nominees must be at least 5 years removed from their role as an athlete, coach, administrator, etc. Click on Hall of Fame By-Laws for more information on the selection process.
Prom Tickets!
Tickets will be on sale between now and 10 May:
- Seniors: $25
- Juniors: $30
- Seniors: $30
- Juniors: $30
Senior Field Trip:
We hope you're enjoying the end of your Senior year. We have a really exciting opportunity to go on a Senior Class Field Trip to Busch Gardens. Permission Forms are being passed out to all who indicated that they would attend the Senior Field Trip. The signed permission form and $40 payment are due by May 3rd. Any student who failed to fill out the interest form is not guaranteed a spot, but we do have additional spots open so if you would still like to go please email [email protected].
Valediction:
Graduation is around the corner and that morning we will be having the Valediction Ceremony at 10am in the WAHS Auditorium. This ceremony celebrates all seniors through senior song, music and the presenting of scholarships, honors colleges, and culminating awards (think Gold and Eagle Award as well as Military enlistment/academies/). We need your documentation of these awards to be able to announce them and put them in the graduation program. While the form asks for the monetary amount, this figure is not advertised, but calculated as a whole for the entire senior class. Please only list scholarships to a college/university where you plan to attend. Please fill this form out before May 10th to be able to make the Valediction/Graduation Program.
Did you know the library has a Free Little Library?
Summer's coming and that means more free time for reading! We have a Free Little Library in our library where you can bring in gently used books and exchange them. Take note, the books in the WAHS Free Library have not been reviewed for graded assignment usage per ACPS policy. These books are donations. Read at your own risk. But please read something!
The UNC Chapel Hill Morehead Cain Scholars
This is a full Tuition, Room and Board Scholarship to UNC Chapel Hill. WAHS is able to nominate TWO juniors to then apply to this prestigious program. Morehead Cain is looking for OUTSTANDING students who are involved in their school and/or community. Students who have fared well in past competitions are those who have excelled in the highest level of academics at WAHS as well as have achieved greatness in leadership roles, civic engagement or other academic pursuits. If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please fill out this google form by Tuesday May 7th. With AP exams looming, do not procrastinate on this one. There is a required resume as well as a short essay. Google Form Application Here is the link to the program site if you would like more information:. Let Ms. Poole know if you have any questions.
Healthy Relationships!
SHE is leading three different zoom group sessions for teens this summer on healthy/toxic relationships.
AP Exam Schedule:
New trail!
Come see the NEW TRAIL AROUND CAMPUS!
The WAHS mountain bike team has built a 3.5 mile trail around the campus that is open to the public outside of school hours. The trail map kiosk (see photo) is located in the upper parking lot and the trail has signs posted throughout. The trail was built as a mountain biking trail though walkers and joggers are most welcome. WAHS is hosting a large bike race on Saturday, May 4th, from 9am to 5pm. Stop by and cheer on the riders! Email [email protected] with questions. |
Tomorrow is a(n) A Day
Upcoming Events:
Upcoming Events:
- 5 May – WAHS Band Concert
- 17 May – Drama 2 Show
- 18 May – Prom
- 21 May – Last Day of Classes for Seniors
- 21 May – Spring Choir Concert
- 22 May – Graduation Practice
- 23 May – Senior Field Trip
- 23 May – Spring Orchestra Concert
- 24-25 May – Student Run Drama Performance
- 27 May – Memorial Day
- 31 May – Valediction
- 31 May – Graduation!
- 7 June – Last Day for Students (1/2 Day)
Use Your Brain for Fun (and $)
HumanitiesThe International Peace Essay contest is looking for your work. Submit your writing by 15 June
The Fraser Institute has an essay contest that is open to people in high school. There are several essay prompts. Submit yours by 5 June for a chance at $1500. The League of Women Voters poster contest designed asks you to educate all eligible voters about voting rights, responsibilities. The contest offers cash prizes for winning posters. Find more information here. Due 10 June Jane Austen fans, it's time for the yearly Jane Austen Essay Contest. Submit your essay on whether or not Austen remains relevant today by 1 June The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is taking submissions until 1 June. Submit your work today. |
STEMBecome a Student Ambassador for Virginia's Environment! Passionate people committed to making Virginia's environment better wanted. Apply by 15 June
The Earth Chronicles invites you to talk about why we should take climate change seriously right now. Submit your entry by 15 June Climate activists, submit your work to the Bowseat Ocean Awareness Contest and tell your Climate Story. Submissions are due by 10 June Pixelplex wants to give you $2,000 for folks going into STEM. Submit your essay by 5 June. Stop the Bleed is a program open to high school students to raise awareness of the dangers of bleeding wounds. Submit your work by 31 May |
Art & DesignNatures Wild Neighbours Society is hosting a Get to Know Contest. You can submit writing, art or photography.
Climate activists, submit your work to the Bowseat Ocean Awareness Contest and tell your Climate Story. Submissions are due by 10 June The PLURAL+ Youth Film Festival will take submissions until 31 May. They will take submissions for 12 and under, 13-17, and 18-25. The League of Women Voters poster contest designed asks you to educate all eligible voters about voting rights, responsibilities. The contest offers cash prizes for winning posters. Find more information here. Due 10 June Photographers submit your photos to Cortona on the Move Award. Deadline is 18 May and the prize is €3,000 Podcasters, The New York Times wants you to submit something that informs or entertains! It's due by 15 May. |
Scholarships for Seniors
The Margaret Irving Memorial Scholarship is for seniors who are involved in their church/synagogue/mosque and has at least a 2.5 GPA. An essay, 3 recs (1 from minister), and application are all due by May 5th. Awards vary but are usually between $500-$1,000. The application is attached
Thomas Jefferson EMS Council accepts applications for a competitive $1,000 scholarship that will be awarded to a high school senior, recent high school graduate, or GED recipient who is 21 years of age or under, and is currently affiliated, for at least 90 days, with an EMS agency, and is currently enrolled or will be enrolled in an institution of higher learning or an accredited ALS training program in the coming year. Applications are due June 30th. Students can fill out the application here . We look forward to hearing from your students. If there are any questions, please contact us at either [email protected] or (434)295-6146.
Thomas Jefferson EMS Council accepts applications for a competitive $1,000 scholarship that will be awarded to a high school senior, recent high school graduate, or GED recipient who is 21 years of age or under, and is currently affiliated, for at least 90 days, with an EMS agency, and is currently enrolled or will be enrolled in an institution of higher learning or an accredited ALS training program in the coming year. Applications are due June 30th. Students can fill out the application here . We look forward to hearing from your students. If there are any questions, please contact us at either [email protected] or (434)295-6146.
Self Care:
|
Scholarships
Start Here:
JLV College Counseling The CIA Stokes Scholarship is for students with demonstrated need who will be able to give 1.5 years to the CIA. Apply by 30 June The Breakthrough Junior Challenge offers up to $250,000 for college bound high school students. Submit your work by 25 June. Stuck at Prom invites you to create formal wear out of Duck Tape. Take home up to $15,000 for school! Submit your work by 5 June. Science Saves is offering $10,000 for a video that explains "What science has done for me or someone I know." Submit your entry by 6 May. The Cameron Impact Scholarship is looking for young leaders with demonstrated passion and commitment to any variety of positive impact. This is a full tuition scholarship and open to juniors until 22 May. They are only taking 3,000 applications this year so do not wait! Do Good Things for PeopleSupport the 2nd Street Gallery with their Galley Rally on Saturday
Morven Farms has a work day on Saturday |
"The Best School" and "The Best School for You" should be one and the same. You're not buying a pair of shoes. You're going to school for four years. Just because it's a good brand name, doesn't mean it fits you or that you're comfortable there.
College Corner:
When We Do Too Much
Davidson College, Davidson North Carolina
This morning I had a conversation with a colleague who is, like me, the parent of adult children. She said something that has reverberated through my head all day.
“When you always do for your child they learn they can’t do for themselves.”
We live in a culture of competitive parenting. There is constant pressure on us as parents to do the “right things.” It comes from everywhere: social media, physicians, parenting magazines, books, news, and worst of all from ourselves. In a comparing world, we need to make sure we are measuring up so we put our kids in sports, and art, and clubs, and assorted other programming, and we schedule and control their lives.
But the end result of this is that if we are making all the decisions, our kids do not learn to make choices and strive for things themselves. We make them rely on us to check their grades, nag about retests, contact their teachers, know their schedules, make meals magically appear, and laundry wash and fold itself. When we as parents are the ones who are always there to remind and to cajole and to nag and to coax, we rob our kids of the agency they need to develop to be able to push themselves to do these things. They become passive in their lives because they have been shown over and over that they cannot do it themselves as well as we can do it as their parents.
The more kids give up on running their own lives, the more nervous we become. My children don’t have passions! They don’t know what they want to major in! They don’t know what job they might want in the future! For parents, these seem like warning signs we’ve clearly lost the parenting race. Our solution? Push more. Lessons, and classes, and meetings, and discussions. You liked that woodworking class last summer, how about doing engineering? You like baking, what about a culinary class? Sports medicine? Business? Law? Data science? Cyber security? Environmental science?
It’s easy to see our kids as an extension of ourselves, proof that we have aced parenting, that we “got it right.” People don’t ask what kind of humans we’ve raised, they ask what our kids do. And we have to produce answers to these questions. We tell people at the gym our child is going to X school, or got Y award. We tell our friend in the checkout line at the grocery that our precious was given a scholarship, a team captain spot, a place in National Honors Society. We speak to each other in lists of things, but we don’t always make sure that our kids develop their own drive the way we have for them. As a result, many of our kids lack it.
I am extraordinarily privileged to have gone back to work when my daughter was around two years old. I was not a good stay at home mom. It was boring and isolating, and stressful. The year I returned to work I co-taught with a brilliant educator, Bonny Ely. She was the mom of four (two kids twice) and her eldest was my age and her youngest was a senior in high school. She said something that stuck with me as we raised our daughter: You have to give your children roots and wings.
Too often though we are working hard on that root part and forgetting the wings part. We are rooting our kids to the spot without giving them the responsibilities they need to have in order to develop their wings. This has far reaching consequences. It can affect how kids do when they head to college, their relationships with others, their ability to meet deadlines and challenges. It can cause them to rely on us constantly to solve their problems.
I am not immune to this! My twenty-five year old will often call me to ask if she should take a sick day or go to the doctor. I too have done too much managing in the past. But what I have begun to do is to leave it to her. If she asks me should she take a sick day, I don’t get a list of symptoms. I say, “I don’t know. Are you sick?” When she calls to ask if she can still use the spinach that has an expiration date of a week before, I say “I don’t know, is it bad?” And recently when she asked me if I thought she needed the $950 worth of repairs on the 21 year old Subaru, I said “I don’t know, I’m not a mechanic.” to which she responded, “I think I’ll get a second opinion.”
It’s never too late to let go with love. And our kids are resilient. So what if our 16-year-old isn’t sure what she wants to do in college? That doesn’t mean she will never know what she wants to do. If our 15 year old isn’t sure what clubs to join, we don’t have to tell him which. It’s not a problem that has to be solved by us. It’s a problem they have to solve on their own. Because while it’s fine to worry about whether our children will be successful (whatever that means), they never will be if their success is because of us and not themselves. Kids are ready for their lives at different times just as they have been all their lives. Yes, some babies walk at 9 months. Mine was 19 months. It didn’t mean she was never going to walk (even if it felt that way). It meant she would do it on her schedule.
Our children are not just precious to us. There are no words to express the role they play in our lives and the roles we play in theirs. It’s a relationship that is beyond just love. But love means letting go as much as it means holding close.
“When you always do for your child they learn they can’t do for themselves.”
We live in a culture of competitive parenting. There is constant pressure on us as parents to do the “right things.” It comes from everywhere: social media, physicians, parenting magazines, books, news, and worst of all from ourselves. In a comparing world, we need to make sure we are measuring up so we put our kids in sports, and art, and clubs, and assorted other programming, and we schedule and control their lives.
But the end result of this is that if we are making all the decisions, our kids do not learn to make choices and strive for things themselves. We make them rely on us to check their grades, nag about retests, contact their teachers, know their schedules, make meals magically appear, and laundry wash and fold itself. When we as parents are the ones who are always there to remind and to cajole and to nag and to coax, we rob our kids of the agency they need to develop to be able to push themselves to do these things. They become passive in their lives because they have been shown over and over that they cannot do it themselves as well as we can do it as their parents.
The more kids give up on running their own lives, the more nervous we become. My children don’t have passions! They don’t know what they want to major in! They don’t know what job they might want in the future! For parents, these seem like warning signs we’ve clearly lost the parenting race. Our solution? Push more. Lessons, and classes, and meetings, and discussions. You liked that woodworking class last summer, how about doing engineering? You like baking, what about a culinary class? Sports medicine? Business? Law? Data science? Cyber security? Environmental science?
It’s easy to see our kids as an extension of ourselves, proof that we have aced parenting, that we “got it right.” People don’t ask what kind of humans we’ve raised, they ask what our kids do. And we have to produce answers to these questions. We tell people at the gym our child is going to X school, or got Y award. We tell our friend in the checkout line at the grocery that our precious was given a scholarship, a team captain spot, a place in National Honors Society. We speak to each other in lists of things, but we don’t always make sure that our kids develop their own drive the way we have for them. As a result, many of our kids lack it.
I am extraordinarily privileged to have gone back to work when my daughter was around two years old. I was not a good stay at home mom. It was boring and isolating, and stressful. The year I returned to work I co-taught with a brilliant educator, Bonny Ely. She was the mom of four (two kids twice) and her eldest was my age and her youngest was a senior in high school. She said something that stuck with me as we raised our daughter: You have to give your children roots and wings.
Too often though we are working hard on that root part and forgetting the wings part. We are rooting our kids to the spot without giving them the responsibilities they need to have in order to develop their wings. This has far reaching consequences. It can affect how kids do when they head to college, their relationships with others, their ability to meet deadlines and challenges. It can cause them to rely on us constantly to solve their problems.
I am not immune to this! My twenty-five year old will often call me to ask if she should take a sick day or go to the doctor. I too have done too much managing in the past. But what I have begun to do is to leave it to her. If she asks me should she take a sick day, I don’t get a list of symptoms. I say, “I don’t know. Are you sick?” When she calls to ask if she can still use the spinach that has an expiration date of a week before, I say “I don’t know, is it bad?” And recently when she asked me if I thought she needed the $950 worth of repairs on the 21 year old Subaru, I said “I don’t know, I’m not a mechanic.” to which she responded, “I think I’ll get a second opinion.”
It’s never too late to let go with love. And our kids are resilient. So what if our 16-year-old isn’t sure what she wants to do in college? That doesn’t mean she will never know what she wants to do. If our 15 year old isn’t sure what clubs to join, we don’t have to tell him which. It’s not a problem that has to be solved by us. It’s a problem they have to solve on their own. Because while it’s fine to worry about whether our children will be successful (whatever that means), they never will be if their success is because of us and not themselves. Kids are ready for their lives at different times just as they have been all their lives. Yes, some babies walk at 9 months. Mine was 19 months. It didn’t mean she was never going to walk (even if it felt that way). It meant she would do it on her schedule.
Our children are not just precious to us. There are no words to express the role they play in our lives and the roles we play in theirs. It’s a relationship that is beyond just love. But love means letting go as much as it means holding close.
On the Town
Events:
- Tomorrow is a Q&A with Lou Haney
- Motherhood Out Loud opens tomorrow
- It's Friday Night Writes tomorrow
- Friday the Nucleus Trio performs
- Saturday is the 1st Saturday Bird Hike
- Learn 30 things in 3 hours at the JMRL How To Festival on Saturday
- Saturday you can hear Mike Albo read from his book Another Dimension of Us
- It's Batesville Day on Saturday!
- Saturday is the Piedmont Master Gardeners' Plant Sale
- Snow White will be danced on Saturday
- Saturday there is a webinar on how to write a bestselling book
- Enjoy a Butterfly Program on Saturday
- Preview the Charlottesville Opera's upcoming season on Sunday
- Sunday you can take a Wild Flower Walk
- Tuesday the Howard Levey 4 perform