October 5th - Student and Teacher Holiday
October 12th- PSAT &Senior Convocation (10am)
October 24th - Student and Teacher Holiday
October 28/29th - Homecoming Weekend
November 3rd - End of First Quarter
November 7 & 8th - Schools closed
November 8th (AM) - Teacher Conferences
November 10th* (PM) - Teacher Conferences
*correction
Reminder that this Wednesday, 10/5, is a school holiday for both students and teachers. Thank you!
Each year, our College Funding Coach Team partners with Freeman’s PTSA to teach our free workshop called “Little-Known Secrets of Paying for College”. Parents who have attended our workshop in the past have expressed how useful and invaluable the information we share is, so we’ve always made sure to visit Freeman each fall.
This year, we will be hosting our workshop virtually again. On Wednesday, October 19th at 6:30pm we will be streaming our free workshop as a webinar. The webinar will run approximately 1 hour. In order to attend the workshop all you need to do is register using this link!
We look forward to having the opportunity to present this information to you.
See you on October 19th!
Senior Families - You are invited to our kick off to graduation event, Convocation! We hope to see you there.
HCPS LifeReady Expo
Please see the flyer below about a wonderful opportunity for our students:
DSF All Night Graduation Party (ANGP)
SENIOR FAMILIES, the All Night Graduation Party (ANGP) Class of 2023 needs your help! We are looking for one or two parents to co-chair
the event with one of last year’s co-chairs, Valerie Hendricks. We are also looking for volunteers for the following committees - food, activities, decorating, prizes and fundraising. ANGP is a Freeman tradition that has been happening for over 30 years, and is a fantastic way for the graduates to celebrate graduation in a supervised, alcohol-free and drug-free environment. Please contact Valerie at dsfangp2023@gmail.com to learn more about how you can volunteer at ANGP this year!
Henrico County Public Schools Strategic Plan, Destination 2025, includes strategies for providing all students with opportunities to engage in rigorous learning experiences. Towards this effort, a partnership has been established with Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) to support the school division’s efforts to increase student enrollment in rigorous courses, including Advanced Placement (AP), Dual Enrollment (DE), and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes.
To support this work, your high school child will be asked to participate in a voluntary EOS School Culture Survey, which will be administered between October 10 - 21, 2022. The survey will be taken at school and will take approximately 40-50 minutes. Surveys will ask students about their self view, learning mindset, sense of belonging, school climate, and advanced coursework enrollment and support. Results generated from the survey will provide schools with data and trends on information, expectations, and belonging in accelerated coursework. Student responses will not be anonymous to school administrators, but will remain confidential. School teams will use this data to surface student potential, interests, and perspectives on school and course offerings.
If for any reason you do not want your child to take the survey, please complete this opt out form by October 10th to opt your child out of the survey.
If you have any questions, please contact Cara Jean O’Neal, (cloneal@henrico.k12.va.us) Freeman Assistant Principal.
Consider a Donation to the
FREEMAN FUND
The PTSA Freeman Fund is Freeman High School’s ONLY Academic Fundraiser
Donations support our teachers, students and staff!
After BTSN, we are getting closer to our goal of $10,000! Thank you to the families who have donated!
Please give now and support Freeman during the 2022-2023 school year.
Every dollar counts!
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2 Easy ways to donate:
Online at www.freemanptsa.org or use the QR code below
Send Cash or a Check in an envelope marked PTSA and ask your student to drop it off in the Freeman office
Please give now and support Freeman during the 2022-2023 school year.
Every dollar counts!
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!
Questions? Contact Annette Doll at annettedoll@verizon.net
AP Exam ordering is now live. If your student plans to take an AP Exam, a minimum $40 deposit (per exam) must be paid no later than November 8th, 2022. The cost of each AP Exam is $101. For detailed information, including the AP Exam schedule, please click here. To order AP Exam(s), please visit: https://user.totalregistration.net/AP/471850
Important note: Late exams will only be approved in the instance of illness (with a note from the doctor), two AP exams in the same testing block, or HCPS sponsored athletic/academic events. Late exams will not be ordered for any other reason.
Seniors may stop by the library during Freeman Focus next week on Monday October 3, Tuesday October 4, Thursday October 6, and Friday October 7 for drop-in college application help sessions. School counselors will be available to answer your questions, help with Parchment, or help with any college application related questions you may have! Students should check-in with their Freeman Focus teacher and will be required to sign in/out of the library.
We have a fully staffed (and growing) school counseling team. Please see the chart below which indicates your child's school counselor and building administrator for this school year.
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.
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
PSAT Information - October 12th, 2022
9th and 10th grade students are automatically registered to take the PSAT 8/9 (9th grade) and the PSAT/NMSQT (10th grade) tests on Wednesday, October 12th. The county pays for the tests so 9th and 10th graders take it free of charge!
11th grade students can sign up to take the OPTIONAL PSAT/NMSQT test on the same day by registering AND paying the $18.00 fee. Juniors can qualify for college scholarships or the national merit program based on their scores.
Register here: www.tinyurl.com/DSFPSAT22
Pay online here: https://osp.osmsinc.com/HenricoVA/login.aspx?ReturnURL=Payment.aspx OR via cash/check (made payable to Freeman HS) which you can turn into the main office by Sept 12th.
11th grade students must register and pay by Monday, September 12th! NO LATE REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
The HCPS official PSAT letter can be found HERE.
Any questions? Email Mrs. Reilly, DSF Testing Coordinator, csreilly@henrico.k12.va.us
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.
We are strongly encouraging all forms and fees to be completed online. Fees can be paid in the Online School Payments system (linked on atdsf.com) and Forms can be submitted through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. I am proud to announce that our division has waived the Laptop fee and several other required items for every student this school year. With that news, we have moved on from the traditional and terribly-named “fee nights” and are encouraging all families to pay the minor required fees online:
Use this link as a one-stop shop for online HCPS services: https://henricoschools.us/online-services/
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)
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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