May 11, 2025

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms and mother figures in our school community! 🌸

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to our "Nacho Average Teacher" Nacho Bar last week for Teacher Appreciation Week. The food was absolutely delicious, and our teachers enjoyed it immensely.

Congratulations to our 38 National Honor Society Spring Inductees and to our Boys and Girls Soccer Seniors who were celebrated this past week. Your achievements make us proud!

Our Prom is this Friday, May 16th at 7:00pm and the last day to purchase tickets is Thursday, May 15th. As a reminder:

1. Per PWCS Attendance policy, "students must attend at least half the instructional day on the day of an event". A purple early release permission form will be provided for students and parents to sign in advance so students can be released no earlier than 10:30 AM.

• Please schedule any hair/nail appointments after 10:30 AM or the day before to avoid students being unable to participate in prom due to attendance policy.

Please see below for information regarding:

• Free Prom Attire - Pop Up Shop this week
• Art Festival Winners
• Summer School Registration Information
• Graduation walks
• Athletics & Activities Updates...and more!

With SOLs starting at the beginning of the day, it's imperative that students are in school on time each day and pay close attention to changes in bell schedules.

• SOL blocks run from 7:30 - 10:30AM

• May 14: Spring Academic Awards Ceremony (Underclassmen 2:30; Seniors Awards Night 6:00pm)

• May 15: Senior Night for Baseball & Softball

• May 16: Prom at Sweeny Barn, 7:00pm -10:00pm

• May 19: Firefighting Graduation, 6:00pm at Grace Life Community Church

• May 20: Lions Soccer Cup Tournament after school; CTE Signing Day 5:00pm at Hylton Performing Arts Center

• May 22: 12th grade final exams begin

• May 26: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

• May 28: Last Day of school for Graduating Seniors, Mandatory Graduation Practice begins 9:30am immediately after 7th block exam

• May 29: Final Mandatory Graduation Practice 9:00am, Senior Sunset Picnic 6:00pm

• June 2: 11:00AM Early Dismissal for Grades 9-11, Graduation at 1:00pm at Jiffy Lube Live

Get ready to shine at your prom with our exclusive Prom Pop-Up Shop! 🎉 We're thrilled to offer FREE attire for all students, ensuring you look your best without breaking the bank.

Pop-Up Shop is located in the wrestling room in the back of the gymnasium. Whether you're looking for the perfect dress, a sharp suit, or stylish accessories, we've got you covered. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to make your prom dreams come true. See you there!

The annual PWCS All-County Arts Festival celebrates our vibrant and creative visual arts programs. The festivals highlight the artistic achievements of our exceptional artists with a diverse array of exhibits, including paintings, sculptures, digital art, mixed media, and more. Artwork is selected by each individual visual arts teacher through a formal process culminating with a juried process at the arts festivals.

Ms. Duval, the Unity Reed Department Chair for the Visual Arts, took students and their creations to the festival at the Kelly Leadership Center on April 26th so that our young artists could exhibit and share their works from this year as well as tour the art of students from other schools.

We've received word that many of our Unity Reed Artists earned recognition for their beautiful artwork. Congratulations to the following Lions on their achievements:

White Ribbon

Wendy G. Mendiola Marks, Treasure Book Box, Grade 10

Blue Ribbon

Julianna Aguayo-Cortes Grade 12, Landscape Photo

Kacey Cruz, Needle Felting, grade 09

Hafsa Fatima, Needle Felting, grade 09

Abhinandan Bajagai, Character Design, grade 12

Edwin Duque Perez, Landscape Painting, grade 11

Marcos Flores Rivas, Water Art, grade 11

Kerlin Ramos Genis, Paper Quilling, Grade 09

Eyra Castellanos Alvarez, Heroes Portrait, Grade 09

Cesar Ramos, Paper Quilling, Grade 10

Dany Maldonado Linares, Monster Mug, Grade 09

Angelina Ramirez-Benitez, Monster Mug, Grade 11

Violet Maldonado, Personal Piece Burst of the Soul, Grade 09

Alexander B. Pereyra Palet, Tunnel Book, Grade 11

Allison Luna Acosta - Blue Ribbon PWCS

Nash Labarientos - Award of Excellence

Amorae Blanco - Award of Excellence

Idania Aguilar Valle - Award of Excellence

Madelyn Rodriguez Jandres - Award of Excellence

Yellow Ribbon

Noah Bevans, Grade 9, Color Scheme Portrait

Hafsa Fatima, Portrait, grade 09

Angie M. Portillo-Rojas, Tunnel Book, Grade 11

ADVANCED ART Awards

Silver

Ashley Herrera Guevara, Grade 12

Amaya Valdez, Grade 12

Purple

Leny Salgado, Grade 12

This edition features testing dates and class period schedules for the May SOLs and June Final Exams. Please note that there will be numerous changes to our bell schedule in May and June due to testing. You can find the link to this calendar on the main page of the URHS website, under the weekly class rotation schedule.

Students in grades 9-11 who have failed a course may take up to two high school courses for repeat (recovery) credit or one 2-week SOL remediation at no cost.

Seniors who are not on track to graduate in June, but are capable of graduating in July with additional targeted support, may earn additional verified credits to satisfy diploma requirements and graduate this summer.

Students will be enrolled in the second course once they have shown completion of the first course. Students must complete the first course by July 11, 2025 to start a second course.

High school students in grades 9-11 seeking a course for first time credit can explore Virtual Prince William (VPW) for online course options. Please visit the Virtual Prince William website for more information.

Students should speak with their school counselor to determine the best course or test to register for with the available summer options.

• Please contact your child's counselor if you need assistance with registering for summer school.
• Please click here for more details about PWCS Summer School for High School Students.

If you missed the graduation meeting, please find detailed information below about what to expect leading up to the Graduation Ceremony on June 2, 2025.

Leave your mark on the school by painting a brick in the Senior Staircase!

• $5 to paint your own brick (bring our own supplies)
• $10 to have SALC paint the brick for you (you simply share the design)
• Designs must be pre-approved first. Fill out this form to get your designed approved.

Contact Ms. Miller or Ms. Kim (SALC teachers) for more info!

Scheduled graduation walks for elementary schools:

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• Piney Branch - May 27 at 3:00
• Cedar Point - May 22 at 2:15
• Victory - May 23 at 2:15
• Glenkirk - May 23 at 2:45
• T. Clay Woods - May 22 at 2:15
• Westridge Elementary - May 27th 2:15-3:15 Westridge ES registration form
• Potomac View - May 23 at 2:30 Potomac View ES registration form
• Pennington - May 27 at 2:45
• Bull Run Middle School - May 21 at 2:00
• Enterprise Elementary School - May 22 at 3:00 Enterprise Elementary School form
• Mary Williams Elementary School - May 28 at 2:00
• Westgate Elementary School - May 28 at 1:15pm West Gate Walk the Halls RSVP Form




• Ellis Elementary - *Scheduled on last day of Graduation practice - all seniors will immediately dismiss after graduation practice to walk the halls of Ellis together.

More schools to schedule. Stay tuned!

View the recent scholarship opportunities shared with URHS! Students should also use the Scholarship Search feature in Naviance for a complete list of local and other scholarships.

• Scholarship lists are also posted outside of Mrs. Nash’s office on the 3rd floor.

• If you need assistance applying, make an appointment with Ms. Jung, Mr. Lawrence, or your guidance counselor.
• Keep checking the wall for updates!
• Find more financial Aid resources for FAFSA & VASA here

Come out to support all of the Spring sports teams this season. You can monitor all of your favorite teams’ schedules at this link.

The cheapest way to get into all of the Spring games is to buy the “students only” season pass. Be on the lookout for this pass to become available this week. Buying one season pass will get you into every HOME games for $20 - that’s the price of paying for 3.5 games at regular price. It's a great deal and great way to support URHS athletics. Tickets will be loaded onto our ticket website this week - click here to purchase.

Activity buses now run Monday through Thursday at 4:30 PM to ensure students can take advantage of our daily academic support opportunities. We are dedicated to supporting the success of ALL students. Check out our daily support sessions below, and remember to check with individual teachers for any additional class-specific help after school.

The quickest ways to update your child's attendance to report an excused absence is by entering the absence in ParentVUE or emailing the respective grade-level Administrative Assistant below:

• 9th grade: Ms. Hammad-Khaleel, Hammadrh1@pwcs.edu
• 10th grade: Ms. Juarez, Juarezn@pwcs.edu
• 11th grade: Ms. Clancy, Clancycc@pwcs.edu
• 12th grade: Ms. Pryce, Prycead@pwcs.edu

You may also call the main school phone line (703-365-2900), however, please allow 24-48 hours for a response if the phone lines are backed-up. If you do not hear back or see your child's attendance has been updated within 48 hours, please email the grade-level Administrator below:

• 9th Grade last names A-L: Dr. Brooks, BrooksDR@pwcs.edu
• 9th Grade last names M-Z: Ms. Drouin, DrouinKA@pwcs.edu
• 10th Grade last names A-L: Mr. Gillespie, GillesRG@pwcs.edu
• 10th Grade last names M-Z: Ms. Mathison, MathisCC@pwcs.edu
• 11th Grade: Mr. Hintosh, HintosCR@pwcs.edu
• 12th Grade: Ms. Nash, NashSJ@pwcs.edu

Parents/Guardians should notify the school before, or at the start of, the school day when their child will be absent. Parents/Guardians must send written or electronic communication citing the reason(s) for the absence to the school no more than five school days following the date of the absence. Student attendance while participating in school-sponsored activities will be updated by the school.

Please see more information regarding PWCS Attendance Regulations here.

• Weekly LIONS’ ROAR: This will include the latest updates with pertinent information for the upcoming week and will be emailed to students and families every Sunday. This information will also be posted on our school website.

• URHS website: This will be updated more frequently so that we can share the most up to date information with you. In fact, click here to view our school website.

• School Status: This is our messaging system, and it allows staff to send text messages, emails, or make phone calls to families. When an email comes to your inbox with this system, the sender will be listed as School Status or Teacher name. A text message will include the staff member’s full name in the message but will be a random number. This system allows the recipient to respond directly to a message.

• The PRIDE Newsletter: This is a monthly newsletter where we celebrate and highlight the incredible accomplishments of our students, staff, and community at Unity Reed High School. Each month, we will showcase achievements, events, and milestones that make our school proud. Stay tuned for inspiring stories, academic successes, athletic triumphs, and much more. All this information will also be available on our school website for easy access and sharing.

I encourage you to continue to stay in touch with important updates by visiting our website. We are here to support you. Please reach out throughout the school year with any questions, concerns, or to share general feedback, and thank you for being part of our school community, as our STRENGTH is IN UNITY!

Sincerely,

Milagros Polanco
Principal, Unity Reed High School