PTSA
Newcomers Potluck Dinner – Friday, Sept 12th 6 pm
New!!
All 9th grade
students and families and new 10-12th grade transfer students and
families are invited to attend a potluck dinner on September 12, at 6:00
pm in the Cafeteria. This will give everyone a chance to meet members
of the PTSA board, administrators, and class parents, and learn more
about McLean High School! There will be an opportunity to have your
questions answered. Please bring a dish to share that will feed 8-10
people, along with a serving spoon. For last names beginning
with: A-K - main dish or pasta; L-R - salad, vegetable or
fruit; S-Z - dessert. For questions, please contact: Sally Evans
(703) 556-8624 or Susan Hekking (703) 827-9054.
September
2008 PTSA Newsletter Posted
Click here to read
the September 2008 PTSA
Newsletter which includes welcome notes from MHS Principal, Dr.
Deborah Jackson, and PTSA President, Susan Perla; information on fall
activities and promotions; and the membership form to join the
McLean PTSA.
McLean High
School PTSA support of FAIRGRADE
At its March 10
meeting, the McLean High School PTSA voted to endorse and support the
mission of FAIRGRADE: “…to revise FCPS grading policies so that
FCPS students are no longer at a disadvantage in competing for college
admissions, merit-based scholarships, and admissions to honors
programs…”.
FAIRGRADE was created in January 2008 to advocate for major
revisions of the current grading policies in Fairfax County Public
Schools (FCPS). The four Co-founders include a former Admissions
Officer for Georgetown University and Admissions Reader for Duke
University, a demographer, a former FCPS special education teacher, and
a longtime FCPS volunteer and current president of the Fairfax County
Association for the Gifted.
FAIRGRADE supporters believe that FCPS' current 6-point
grading scale and weighting disparities between Honors and AP/IB classes
hurt our kids. FAIRGRADE's immediate goal is to persuade FCPS to join
the majority of American high schools who have implemented the more
commonly used 10-point grading scale with added weights for Honors and
AP/IB classes or a straight numeric scale with added weights for Honors
and AP/IB classes.
FAIRGRADE's extensive research shows FCPS' current grading
policies put FCPS students at a disadvantage for the following:
-
College
admissions
-
Receipt of
valuable merit-based academic scholarships
-
Admissions to
college honors programs
-
NCAA athletic
eligibility
-
Car insurance
"good student" discounts
Following initial refusals from FCPS officials to address
FAIRGRADE's findings and concerns, FAIRGRADE took its research directly
to PTA's and PTO's in Fairfax County schools in the spring of '08.
After successful presentations at numerous FCPS schools, hundreds of
parents flooded the FCPS Administration with e-mails and phone calls and
a grassroots movement was born. As a result, FCPS Superintendent Jack
Dale assembled an FCPS research team to provide analysis about how FCPS
grading policies compare to other school districts regionally and
non-regionally, the impact of these policies division-wide and to
determine what, if anything, supports current FCPS grading policies. FAIRGRADE
participated in an FCPS Forum on Grading Policies at Luther Jackson
Middle School on August 25th.
Click here to read the Washington Post article about this meeting.
Other Coverage:
FAIRGRADE Co-founder Marcy Newberger appeared on the Kojo Nnamdi Show
on WAMU 88.5FM– The Politics Hour – on Monday, June 16th. To
listen to the segment
click here.
Sign the FAIRGRADE Petition
See the Channel 9 Article by Peggy Fox and View
the Video
For more
information, or to find out how you can help please visit the FAIRGRADE
website
www.fairgrade.org
or contact FAIRGRADE at
fairgrade.fcps@gmail.com.
Junior Class (Class of 2010)
Presents
The Class of 2010 is selling
INNISBROOK WRAPS for their Fall Fundraiser. The entire
fundraiser is being conducted ON-LINE. The sale runs from
August 20 to October 3,
2008. Proceeds from the
fundraiser will be used to defray the cost of the Jr./Sr. Prom.
Please support our efforts by sharing the Innisbrook catalog with
family, friends and co-workers. Every orders helps us—we receive
50% PROFIT on each order. Go to
www.innisbrook.com, fill your shopping cart and when prompted,
enter McLean’s customer number 108809. Your order will be
shipped directly to your home—no pesky school pick-up required!
If you have any questions, please contact Parent Sponsor Gayla
Hassett at 703/534-7480 or
ghassett@cox.net.
FCPS Introduces New Keep in Touch
Vendor
FCPS has selected a new vendor for
the Keep in Touch Program. Click here for
directions on how to update your contact information for Keep in Touch.
