Dear Parents and Friends: Greetings and best wishes for a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year! I hope that the winter break and holiday season energize you and our students for the challenges which lay ahead. January 15 will be the last day of JAYEM AM for Term 1. First period will begin at 7:45 on January 16. School will be closed on January 19 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Please encourage your student to be in attendance for the examination review ses-sions which will be conducted by all teachers. Mid-term exams for classes which meet on the A/B schedule, Final Term 1 Exami-nations, and end of course SOLs will be given January 16—27. Please make sure that your student prepares for these very im-portant assessments, and that he/she is aware of the exam sched-ule. School will not be in session on January 28, as this is a teach-er workday. The second term of the 2014-2015 school year will begin on January 29, and report cards will be sent home with stu-dents on February 3. Sign up for the Fredericksburg Alert system to receive emergency information as well as notice of weather-related closings and de-lays via text message and/or e-mail. You may also register to re-ceive daily announcements and/or school specific alerts. Register at fredericksburgalert.com or follow this link: http://www.cityschools.com/fcpsalert/. The winter sports season is in full swing. The girls’ and boys’ var-sity and J.V. basketball teams have looked impressive in the early part of the season. In the pool, the boys’ and girls’ swimming teams will resume competition on January 9 as they travel to King George for a meet at the Y.M.C.A. Great expectations surround these teams, and you are encouraged to come out and cheer them on. On behalf of the administration, faculty, and staff, I wish you and your children the very best as we enter the year 2015. Sincerely, Dr. Taneshia Rachal Principal

In this issue...

Page 2

Exam Schedule

Page 3

Fall Sports Awards

Page 4

Senior Ad Night for the Year-

book

SCA Sells Wooden Shelf Models

Page 5

Robotics News

Page 6

Menu for January

Page 7

Calendar for January

James Monroe High School Dr. Taneshia Rachal, Principal

Principal’s Newsletter January 2015 Page 2

FINAL EXAMS AND MID-TERM EXAMS Final exams are given in every course and are designed to cover the content objectives and skills of the entire term. Each exam counts 20% of the final grade. Exam periods are two hours long. Students who are absent from examination periods will not be allowed to make up the exam unless they present a doctor’s excuse, court order, or have prior approval from Dr. Rachal. Only seniors are allowed to leave their final exam of the day as soon as they have com-pleted it. They must, however, leave the building promptly. An exam exemption ex-cuses the senior from the exam only, not from regular scheduled classes. Seniors ex-empt from an examination in a class shall meet the following criteria: They have an A in a regular course They have an A or B in an AP or Ad-

vanced course (this course must be a weighted course with an L2 designation).

ALL underclassmen must remain in the ex-amination room until the end of the examina-tion period. NO EARLY DISMISSALS WILL BE GRANTED DURING EXAMS. It is re-quested that parents not come to the school during the examination time to secure their student’s release. This practice is disruptive to the examination environment, and classes will not be disturbed for an individual stu-dent’s early release. Beginning on Wednesday, January 21, when students are not scheduled for an exam, they need not report to school.

Mid-Term exams are given in courses taught on the A/B schedule and are subject to the same rules and criteria stated above.

TERM 1/SEMESTER EXAM SCHEDULE The first semester/term exam schedule for the 2014-2015 School Year is as follows: Friday, January 16, 2015—A Day—Regular Dismissal 7:45—9:05 Period 1 9:10—11:10 Period 2 and A2 Exam 11:15—1:20 Period 3 1:25—2:45 Period 4 Monday, January 19, 2015—Martin Luther King Day—No School Tuesday, January 20, 2015—B Day—Regular Dismissal 7:45—9:45 Period 1 and B1 EXAM 9:50—11:10 Period 2 11:15—1:20 Period 3 1:25—2:45 Period 4 Wednesday, January 21, 2015—A Day—Regular Dismissal 7:45—9:45 Period 1 EXAM/SOL and A1 Exam 9:50—11:10 Period 2 11:15—1:20 Period 3 1:25—2:45 Period 4 Thursday, January 22, 2015—B Day—Early Dismissal 1:30 7:45—9:45 Period 2 EXAM/SOL and B2 Exam 9:50—12:00 Period 3 12:05—1:30 Period 4 Friday, January 23, 2015—A Day—Early Dismissal 11:10 7:45—9:45 Period 3 EXAM/SOL 9:50—11:10 Period 4 Monday, January 26, 2015—B Day—Early Dismissal 9:45 7:45—9:45 Period 4 Exam/SOL and B4 Exam 9:45—10:15 Dismissal and break for SOL Expedited Retake students 10:15—12:15 Review for Expedited Retakes 12:15—2:45 Expedited Retakes—One bus returns to pick up Expedited Retake students Tuesday, January 27, 2015—A Day—Early Dismissal 9:45 7:45—9:45 Period A4 Exam Review for Expedited Retakes 9:45—10:15 Dismissal and break for SOL Expedited Retake students 10:15—12:15 Expedited Retakes - One bus returns to pick up Expedited Retake students Wednesday, January 28, 2015—Teacher Workday

Principal’s Newsletter January 2015 Page 3

On December 17th James Monroe High School honored the fall sports athletes with a reception in the commons area followed by an awards assem-bly in the auditorium. The evening was sponsored by the James Monroe Athletic Department. CHEERLEADING/FOOTBALL M.V.P. Tara Stanley Incentive Jamilla Lewis Coaches’ Inga Gudmundsson J.V. Coaches’ Elysha Ellis GOLF M.V.P. Andrew Hall Incentive Abby Caspersen Coaches’ Baxter Cox FOOTBALL M.V.P. David Larme Incentive Deonta’ Nelson Darius Leacock Coaches’ Vincent Smith Andrew LaMarca J.V. Coaches’ Antwan Lewis-Gray Jaquarn Grant Ralph “Tuffy” Hicks Competitive Spirit Award & Scholarship Jay Scroggins Calley Farmer Memorial “Lineman Award” Wade Olson, Brandon Martin, Pete Seftas, K.J. Spears, Ian Jeffers, Kodi Kennedy-Headrick George Coghill “Special Teams” Award Brandon Lawrence, Wade Olson Dennis Johnson Memorial Award Travon Lucas, Jay Scroggins Mel Hunter Award Isaac Evans Tony Franzello Award Kendrick Wilkins

Courage Award Vincent Eura, Alexis Clark CROSS COUNTRY (BOYS) M.V.P. Hunter Frizzell Incentive Matthew Small Coaches’ Jacob Pitner J.V. Coaches’ Thomas Driscoll Elvis Jiminez Memorial Spirit Award Connor Zins, Katherine Smith CROSS COUNTRY (GIRLS) M.V.P. Emma Cobey Incentive Myani Grey Coaches’ Kayla Smith J.V. Coaches’ Jessica Conway FIELD HOCKEY M.V.P. Miranda Rigg Incentive Elizabeth Hamlett Coaches’ L.C. King J.V. Coaches’ Annie Taylor VOLLEYBALL M.V.P. Anna Katherine Bowles Incentive Samantha Festa Coaches’ Kayla Phipps J.V. Coaches’ Stephanie Catlett

Principal’s Newsletter January 2015 Page 4

The final Senior Ad Night will be held on Wednesday, January 21, from 6:00-8:00 P.M. in room 248. Celebrate your Senior’s accomplishments via a Senior ad to be placed in the back of the yearbook. Bring photos and sentiments with you, and a knowledgeable yearbook staff member will assist with creating an ad befitting your Senior. When pur-chasing an ad, the cost of the yearbook is discounted to $50.00. This is a savings of $25.00 off of the regular price. Please contact Mrs. Katie Hornung at mhornung@cityschools.com or jmhsechoad@gmail.com for any questions, concerns, or comments.

The S.C.A. is pleased to announce the creation of wooden

shelf models in the likeness of the new James Monroe High

School. Models are $20.00 and may be purchased from

an S.C.A. Advisor—372-1100 Lyman Hine (Ext. 2357)

or Emily Freed (Ext. 2322).

Principal’s Newsletter January 2015 Page 5

The RoboJackets have been involved with many exciting events. In October, the RoboJackets and their robots attended the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Innovation Festival. There they were able to interface with professionals and the public to show off what FIRST is all about. In November, the RoboJackets hosted twenty-three teams of elementary and middle school students with their LEGO robots for a FIRST LEGO League Tournament. On December 6 the RoboJackets’ FIRST Tech Challenge Team competed at the Central Virginia FTC Qualifier and earned a spot at the Virginia State FTC Championship in February. At this event the RoboJackets showed incredible teamwork both on and off the field. They were the third highest scoring team and received three awards.

The Connect Award which is given to the team that most connects with their local and engineering community. The recipient of this award is recognized for helping the community understand FIRST and the FIRST Tech Challenge. The team that wins the Connect Award aggressively seeks engineers and explores the opportunities available in the world of

engineering, science, and technology.

The Rockwell Collins Innovate Award celebrates a team that not only thinks outside the box, but also has the ingenuity and inventiveness to make their designs come to life. The award is given to the team that has the most innovative and creative robot design solution to the FIRST Tech Challenge. The competition judges said, “This award goes to a team with a consistent and reliable robot. They delivered a gripping performance on two fronts. Finally they could run circles around the competition.”

The team was awarded second place in the prestigious Inspire Award and is eligible to complete for the State Champi-onship. The Inspire Award winners are an inspiration to other teams, acting with gracious professionalism both on and off the playing field.

Upcoming FIRST Tech Challenge events include:

North Central Qualifier at Orange County High School – January 31 from 10:00 A.M.—4:00 P.M. (both JM and WG teams will compete at this event)

Virginia State Championship at St. Christopher’s School – February 28 from 10:00 A.M.—4:00 P.M. Events are free and open to the public. The Robojackets would love to have the support of friends and fans at all of our events. On January 3 the team will kick off the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) as they learn the new challenge for FRC robot. This 120 pound robot will be built from the ground up in just six and a half weeks and will compete at Virginia Common-wealth University March 19-21. If you have any questions or want to get involved in robotics, please contact Mr. Foley at pfoley@cityschools.com.