December 8 - Band/Orchestra Winter Concert
December 14 - Chorus Winter Concert
Dec 19-30 - Winter Break
Jan 2 - Schools Re-Open
Jan 16 - Schools Closed, MLK Day
Jan 26 - End of Semester 1
June 6 - DSF Class of 2023 Graduation (7pm)
Did you know?:
Missing 10% of the school year (for excused or unexcused absences) is considered "Chronically Absent" by Virginia department of education metrics.
Chronic Absenteeism is one way that schools are judged as "accredited" or not.
What can I do?:
Minimize non-sick absences. Of course keep contagious students at home and call in absences, but minimize full-day absences from school for trips, appointments, or other avoidable school days missed.
Thanks!
-DSF Admin Team
Applications for the Advanced Career Education (ACE) Centers are now live. Students interested in applying to one of these CTE programs may access the application here. Applications are due by December 2nd.
HCPS is no longer sending out physical, printed report cards at the end of each quarter. You can see finalized Q1 grades by logging on to your child's powerschool account.
PowerSchool Parent Portal - click here . If this is your first time logging on, choose “Create Account” tab
PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING ITEMS TO SUPPORT THE HENRICO CHRISTMAS MOTHER ORGANIZATION!
Parent/Guardians of Class of 2023 Seniors,
Please find linked here the Josten’s Graduation newsletter with information about ordering graduation announcements and other senior graduation related gear. Paper copies of this information was given to your Senior by their Government teacher (or 1st period teacher if they are not in Gov’t class) last week. It is recommended to have your order placed no later than December 1st to ensure you receive the custom school announcements for graduation (OPTIONAL). A Josten’s representative will be available on November 30th during all lunches in the cafeteria if your student prefers to place the order in person. You can also order online anytime at www.jostens.com.
Is your student struggling to complete homework or understand class concepts? Henrico County has contracted with a tutoring service, FEV Tutor, to provide *FREE* one on one online support after school hours and during designated school hours. Students can book a session ahead of time, get instant on-demand help 24/7, or set up a regular meeting time with a tutor for more comprehensive support. Students should connect through Clever and search for “FEV Tutor”. Students and tutors work together using an interactive whiteboard, chat or audio chat function and the format can be personalized for different learning styles. For more information, visit the FEV tutor website or the Student Dashboard guide. If you have any other questions, you can email Mrs. Reilly, DSF Testing Coordinator csreilly@henrico.k12.va.us.
Save the date for the first annual 5k honoring Kirck Jackson, late Tuckahoe Middle School Band director. More information to follow.
Families of student drivers. Please be aware that we will not be allowing student drivers to leave on their own if they are sick; they must be picked up by an authorized adult. We do not accept early dismissals over the phone in attendance or the clinic and we are not comfortable putting sick kids behind the wheel. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.
Students and families, there are free take-home COVID tests available in the clinic for anyone who'd like to pick them up before the holidays. You can call our Clinic if you have any questions.
HCPS has partnered with MajorClarity, an online academic and career planning platform designed to help every student in grades 6-12 explore and discover future careers and courses that closely relate to their interests, personality, skills and strengths and take ownership of their academic and career goals! Because parents/guardians play an integral role in their student’s academic and career planning process, students are encouraged to access MajorClarity at home with their family in addition to the various planned and scheduled opportunities to work in the platform at school. Parents/guardians also have the opportunity to access MajorClarity via their student's account anytime, from any device, using Clever. Check out the MajorClarity Parent/Guardian Login Instructions for detailed directions!
The following MajorClarity resources may also be helpful to HCPS parents/guardians:
The Secondary Student Journey in MajorClarity
Career Exploration & Self-Discovery in MajorClarity
Finally, HCPS Bridge Builders Academy will be presenting a virtual “Getting to Know MajorClarity” session in January, and details will be coming soon! In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to your school counseling department, your partners in academic and career planning, with any questions or concerns.
Each year, the school counseling department conducts classroom lessons with all Health/PE 10 classes on “Signs of Suicide.” This year, the SOS lessons will take place on December 5th and 6th. Families of students enrolled in Health/PE 10 this year will receive more information, including an opt out, in the coming weeks. All families are invited to attend the HCPS Bridge Builders webinar on the Signs of Suicide program on November 15th at 6:00 pm. Signs of Suicide is a universal, school-based prevention program that teaches students how to identify the symptoms of depression and suicidality in themselves or their friends, and encourages them to seek help using the ACT technique (acknowledge, care and tell). To learn more about the HCPS Bridge Builders series and attend the SOS webinar, please click here.
Thank you Freeman Families for supporting the Freeman Fund! We have exceeded our 2022-2023 goal of $10,000.00!!
Your generosity is overwhelmingly appreciated and will help our students, teachers and staff throughout this school year!
Online sales for the Choral Booster’s Charleston Wrap fundraiser continue through December 2nd - so it is not too late to order last minute gifts and wrapping paper and still support Freeman Choral Dept! (Organization ID: 20330)
Here is the link to order:
Click Here to Support our Chorus
DAILY ATTENDANCE
ABSENCES: CALL ATTENDANCE OFFICE (804) 673-3700 EXT. 1 TO REPORT STUDENT ABSENCES OR SEND A NOTE* WITH STUDENT UPON RETURN TO SCHOOL (TECH STUDENTS: CALL DSF AND TECH CENTERS FOR ABSENCES)
*NOTES FOR STUDENT ABSENCES: STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED 10 SICK DAYS PER YEAR (WITH A NOTE OR PARENT/GUARDIAN PHONE CALL); AFTER 10 SICK DAYS, A STUDENT MUST HAVE A DOCTOR’S NOTE FOR THE ABSENCE TO BE EXCUSED – IT IS HELPFUL TO BRING A DOCTOR’S NOTE AFTER A VISIT, SAVING PHONE CALLS AND PARENT/GUARDIAN NOTES FOR WHEN A STUDENT IS HOME SICK
LATE ARRIVALS: SEND STUDENT TO SCHOOL WITH NOTE (FROM DOCTOR [PREFERRED] OR PARENT/GUARDIAN) – LATE ARRIVALS ARE NOT ACCEPTED BY PHONE
EARLY DISMISSALS: IF A DISMISSAL IS KNOW IN ADVANCE, SEND NOTE TO SCHOOL WITH STUDENT (NOTE SHOULD HAVE STUDENT’S FULL NAME & GRADE, REASON FOR DISMISSAL, PARENT/GUARDIAN NAME AND PHONE NUMBER) – THIS WAY, STUDENTS CAN SIGN THEMSELVES OUT ON THE DISMISSAL LOG AND MEET THE PARENT/GUARDIAN IN THE PARKING LOT
IF THE STUDENT DOES NOT HAVE A NOTE FOR DISMISSAL, THE PARENT/GUARDIAN MUST COME INTO THE SCHOOL TO PICK UP THE STUDENT. THE PARENT/GUARDIAN MUST BRING A PHOTO I.D. TO THE ATTENDANCE OFFICE AND SIGN THE STUDENT OUT ON THE EARLY DISMISSAL LOG
NOTE THAT EARLY DISMISSALS ARE NOT ACCEPTED BY PHONE, FAX, EMAIL OR TEXT – IN ADDITION, WE WILL NOT CALL A STUDENT OUT OF CLASS AHEAD OF TIME – ONCE WE HAVE VERIFIED THAT THE PHOTO I.D. IS ON OUR AUTHORIZED PICK-UP LIST, WE WILL BE HAPPY TO RETRIEVE THE STUDENT FROM CLASS.
COLLEGE VISITS
COLLEGE VISIT PRIVILEGES ARE EXTENDED TO JUNIORS AND SENIORS, AND WITH PROPER DOCUMENTATION, WILL NOT COUNT TOWARD EXAM EXEMPTION
PROPER DOCUMENTATION:
1. LETTER/NOTE FROM THE COLLEGE PROVING THAT THE STUDENT ACTUALLY ATTENDED THE COLLEGE FOR A TOUR/VISIT [PREFERRED] - MOST COLLEGES HAVE THEIR OWN FORMS, AND ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE
2. CONFIRMATION OF THE SCHEDULED VISIT
3. IF A TOUR/VISIT IS NOT POSSIBLE, A PICTURE OF THE STUDENT TAKEN IN FRONT OF THE COLLEGE SIGN WILL BE ACCEPTED
As a part of our culture of appreciation and acknowledgment of the positive things that happen at DSF each week, we ask our staff to share "Shout-Outs" or positive messages about a colleague from the week prior. We publish them for the whole staff to see as a way of growing the good and celebrating wins.
I'd love to have the community's help. I'll post this link each week and deliver any "shout-outs" to our whole staff in our internal weekly newsletter. If you hear of a cool lesson, or a teacher or counselor goes out of their way to make your student's learning experience better, send in a quick note using the form below. Thanks for considering, your appreciation means a lot!
The HCPS Code of Conduct stipulates that student cell phones must be off and away during instructional time. This year at DSF, students may be asked to place their phone in a designated location in most classes during class time. Students who do not and whose phone is out without permission during class time will have that device confiscated and turned into the main office.
Phones will be retuned to parents and guardians. Students may use the main office landline to inform parents that their phone was confiscated.
The Henrico County Code of Conduct mandates a dress code to ensure a proper learning environment. Students are expected to review that policy prior to choosing clothing and those not adhering to dress-code will be asked to change. Those who repeatedly violate this Code of Conduct policy will be subject to disciplinary action. Please help us avoid that situation by speaking with your student about the dress code.
Student drop-off and pick-up locations are in the student parking lot behind the Baseball field, off of Camden Drive. Parents are asked to pull into the main student parking lot when picking up students at dismissal. Parents should not use the visitor's parking lot in front of the school to drop off or pick up students during the start of the school day (8:30 to 9:15 a.m.) or at dismissal (3:30 to 4:15 p.m.). Please note that it is extremely unsafe, at any time of the day, to drop students off on the curb in front of the school. The Drivers’ Education Lot across Camden Drive is ONLY for buses. Let’s ensure the safety of our young drivers by following this request.
Now more than ever, staying connected with the school and your child’s teachers is important to your child’s success in school. Henrico parents can create accounts to view grades and attendance information through PowerSchool, access assignment information through Schoology, and receive communications through the SchoolMessenger App. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to set up your access to these tools. If you need assistance, please reach out to our Innovative Learning Coach, Jessica Ciokan (jkciokan@henrico.k12.va.us).
PowerSchool Parent Portal - click here then choose “Create Account” tab
Schoology - click here for directions
SchoolMessenger App - click here to sign up to receive school and teacher communications in one place. (click here to learn more)
We are excited to welcome representatives from numerous colleges into our school this year to lead informational sessions during Freeman Focus. Students are required to sign up ahead of time and will not be permitted to attend without pre-registering. To see a list of visits and sign-up, please click here.
Key Resources:
All Things DSF Website (AKA: “at dsf”): www.atdsf.com
Freeman PTSA Website: www.freemanptsa.org
DSF Athletics Calendar (always up to date): www.colonialdistrictva.org
Mr. Marshall on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@dsfMrMarshall
Freeman Official Instagram: www.instagram.com/freemanhighschool.official
Freeman Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreemanHighSchool.official/
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