March 21 - End of Q3
March 22 - Half day for students
March 23 - Maverick Miles 5K Race at DSF
March 26 - Project Maverick Showcase (6pm, all seniors)
March 29 - Spring Break
April 10 - Schools Closed (Eid al-Fitr)
April 11 - Little Feet Meet at DSF
April 12 - Senior Walk new date
April 17 – English 11 Reading SOL & World History SOLs
April 20 - Prom
April 24 – Science & VAUS History SOLs
April 24-28 - DSF Spring Musical: Footloose!
May 1 – Math SOLs
May 20-23 - Senior Exams
May 24 - 31 - Underclassmen Exams (note that exams for Freeman will start on Friday, 5/24).
May 30 - DSF Graduation (11am)
We are very excited to share that we are hosting a fundraiser at the Shops at 5807 this Wednesday! Shop between the hours of 4-7 pm, and part of the proceeds will be donated to the All Night Graduation Party! Both locations will be participating! 5807 Patterson Avenue, 23226 and 3008 Stony Point Road, 23235
Students currently in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade who did not pass one of their core academic classes will need to enroll in a credit recovery class during Summer Academy 2024. Credit recovery classes are only available to students who must repeat the course. These classes are not an option for students taking the class for initial credit (i.e., first time or for a higher grade). Transportation will be provided from local elementary schools. Students may only register for 1 credit recovery course ($300). Students in the class of 2024 may have the option to register for a maximum of 2 credit recovery courses ($450). To learn more, please see page 15 of this document. Registration will open on March 11th and close at 4:00 pm on June 4th. To register, please click here. Freeman students will attend Godwin High School for Summer Academy 2024.
Common Sense Education Lessons & Family Tips
During our Directed Study time on Wednesdays during March, students will be taking part in classroom lessons from Common Sense Education. Common Sense Education's lessons help students learn the habits and skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly in school, at home, and beyond. The lessons we will be doing will be specific to online communication, relationships, and digital drama.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO:
Common Sense Education provides resources to help you support your kid’s learning. Beginning last week, as we prepare to deliver these lessons in March, we will begin sharing weekly tips for families from Common Sense Education. You can also visit the Common Sense website at www.commonsensemedia.org for more. Working together with Common Sense Education, we can prepare today’s kids to think critically and use tech in positive, creative, and powerful ways.
Help Kids Fight Cyberbullying and Other Mean Online Behavior: Most kids will encounter mean behavior at some point in their digital lives. For some kids, this experience is a blip that's easily forgotten, while for others it can have deep, long-lasting effects. For parents, the key is staying involved in kids' lives -- both online and off -- so they can step in and offer help if necessary. With guidance from parents and educators, kids can learn how to dodge the drama and stand up for others.
WEEKLY TIP:
Take breaks: If you notice your kid getting pulled into digital drama, help them take a break. It's great if they can determine for themselves when they need to step back, but they might need some help setting limits. Putting devices to bed at a specific time, plus breaks for mealtimes and face-to-face connection, can help kids recharge.
At baccalaureate in May, the PTSA will shocase our annual senior slideshow, with photos of the senior class over the past year and, even better, from the previous 18 years. We are asking each senior to send in three photos for the senior slide show.
Details:
Please put the student's name in the subject line
no more than three photos: baby, present and one of their choice.
You send directly to this email: seniorslideshowdsf@gmail.com
Seniors and their families may review the senior exam schedule by clicking here. All seniors who plan on participating in the graduation ceremony on May 30th are required to attend both graduation practices on Tuesday May 28th and Wednesday May 29th from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon on both days. Students who miss graduation practice are not permitted to walk in the graduation ceremony. Students and families with questions or concerns should reach out to the senior administrator, Ms. Pantele (lkpantele@henrico.k12.va.us).
Thank you to those of you who were available to attend our Winter Senior Parent/Guardian meeting last week! If you weren’t able to join us, please don’t worry! Please see the two links below:
Direct Link to video recording: https://youtu.be/vkxhSfvjSLQ
Get the slides and video from All Things DSF Senior Page: https://freeman.henricoschools.us/o/freeman/page/seniors
Seniors - we are looking for performers at the Baccalaureate assembly that will be held on Tuesday, May 28th at 7pm at West End Assembly of God! You will also need to be available for the rehearsal on Thursday, May 23rd at 4 pm at the same location. Previously acts have included singers, dancers, bands, etc. Please respond below if you are possibly interested!
This is a friendly reminder to the class of 2024 to check the Scholarship Newsletter located on All Things DSF. You can access the newsletter, which is updated every two weeks by clicking here. Students can also explore scholarship opportunities through Major Clarity by clicking here. Students can log in to Major Clarity by selecting the “Sign in with Clever” option.
Henrico County Public Schools will be utilizing Virtual Virginia this summer to provide acceleration course options (NEW credit only) for middle and high school students. HCPS students can enroll in either Virtual Virginia Summer Cohorts. HCPS students can take a total of 2 courses (max) during the summer. For information and registration information, please click here.
Students may register for Driver’s Education in the summer. Space is limited and issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration opens on March 11th. For more information, see page 20 of this document. To register, please click here.
Longwood University is offering Students the opportunity to earn their high school Economics & Personal Finance credit as a dual enrollment course this summer. The course will be online and will cost $50. To learn more about this opportunity, please click here and here. Registration will open in March 2024. Students should see their school counselor with questions.
A number of CTE courses are available for rising 6th-12th graders. For more information, please see page 25 of this document.
Reminder that students are not permitted to order food to school via doordash, Uber Eats or any other food delivery service. Any food delivered via these services will be confiscated and NOT delivered to the recipient. Among other reasons, if allowed, the high volume of such deliveries in a place with 1800 students would not be sustainable and overrun our systems which are not designed to be a step in food delivery service. Our cafeteria provides food at reasonable prices or families are encouraged to plan ahead and pack a lunch. This is not a change to longstanding rules at Freeman, but a recent uptick in Doordash delivery attempts prompted this reminder.
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 returned to parents and guardians. Students may use the main office landline to inform parents that their phone was confiscated.
We need your help in ensuring that we have a safe and efficient start to your students morning each day. As a reminder, the visitors parking lot in the front of the school should not be used for student drop off; families should anticipate greater enforcement of this expectation from our security team starting this week. Students need to be dropped off by the tennis courts. The front doors for the school should only be used for students who walk to school each morning. Thank you for our cooperation in this matter so that we can get all students to their first period class in a timely manner.
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 off 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 min 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. See the picture below for clarification.
Key Resources:
NEW LOOK(!) Freeman website (with All things DSF embedded): https://freeman.henricoschools.us/
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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A Freeman Family for all, building learners and leaders who change the world.