Blue Demon Bulletin

September 3 - VACRAO College & Career Fair in Cafeteria (6:00 - 7:30 pm)

September 4 - Club Fair for Students in Upper/Lower Commons (During lunches)

September 7 - NO SCHOOL (Labor Day)

September 8 - Q1 INTERIM (Please check PowerSchool for updated grades)

September 8 - Underclassman Picture Day (throughout the school day)

September 9 - Senior Parent Information Meeting in Cafeteria (5:30 - 6:30 pm); NRCC/ACCE Information Meeting (6:30 - 7:30 pm)

September 14 - 16 - College App Days in Library (During school day)

September 19 - CHS Festival of the Bands at CHS Stadium (3:00 pm - 7:00 pm)

September 21 - TEACHER WORKDAY

September 25 - Q1 Club Day

September 26 - CHS Craft Fair in the Cafeteria (9:00 am - 3:00 pm)

September 29 - Hearing & Vision Screenings for 10th Grade Students (during school day)

September 15 marked the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. The celebration will continue through October 15. Americans celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by appreciating the community's history, heritage, and contributions of the ancestors of American citizens who came from Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean, and South and Central America.

September 15 is set as the starting date for the month as it is important for many reasons. It is the independence anniversary for Latin American countries El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

From there onwards, the independence days of Mexico and Chile fall on September 16 and September 18 respectively. Dia de la Raza also falls within this month on October 12

Christiansburg High School offers opportunities for students, families, and community members to follow us on various social media outlets. Please take an opportunity to review the attached flier and start following us to receive important updates about our school and students.

FOLLOW US Flier (link)

At CHS, we are placing an increased emphasis on daily attendance and are working with local businesses to honor those students who are H.E.R.O.'s (Here Everyday Ready On-Time)!!!

Take a look at our most recent winners and the local businesses that are supporting our cause!

H.E.R.O. Award Winners (link)

Some of our students are still in need of their meningitis ACWY vaccine prior to November 13, 2026. If your student is a part of this group, you will be receiving a mailed letter, caller, and email reminding you of this requirement.

Virginia state law allows schools to conditionally enroll students with vaccine deficiencies if they have written proof of at least one dose of each required vaccine and a schedule for completing the required doses within 90 days of the first day of school. However, this law requires that students who do not complete the required vaccines within the first 90 days must be excluded from school until vaccines are resumed.

The 90 day conditional enrollment will end on November 13. If you have additional questions , please feel free to contact the CHS Clinic at 540-382-5178.

BREAKFAST:

- Will be offered each morning from 7:35 - 7:58 am. Students that wish to get breakfast should report to the cafeteria upon arrival and remain in the cafeteria until the 7:58 am bell.

- For the 2026-27 school year, BREAKFAST IS FREE TO ALL STUDENTS! This one free breakfast can be served at regular breakfast or second chance, but not both. All students will still need to enter their student number at the time of receiving the meal. This does not include ala carte items. If a students wants to purchase a second breakfast or ala carte, they absolutely can do so as long as they have cash or money on their account.

SECOND CHANCE BREAKFAST:

- We will have a delayed start to "Second Chance Breakfast" for the 2026-27 school year.

- Will be offered each day at the conclusion of 1st block. If arrives to school late and did not have an opportunity to get the normal breakfast offered, this is an excellent time to pick up a "Grab and Go" style breakfast.

- Is a bagged "Grab and Go" style breakfast. Specialty drinks will not be sold during this time. These type of drinks can be purchased during regular breakfast and during lunch.

- Only students purchasing a second chance breakfast should report to the cafeteria. If a student is not purchasing a second chance breakfast, they will be re-directed to their 2nd block class.

LUNCH:

- There will be a variety of offerings during each lunch period. There will be a full lunch menu and "a la carte" items available

FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH FORMS (link):

Are available in the cafeteria, main office, or online if needed. If you or your student need assistance, please feel free to contact the grade level administrator or school counselor.

BREAKFAST & LUNCH PRICES & MENUS (link)

FOOD DELIVERY SERVICES:

Students ARE NOT permitted to leave or order delivery (DoorDash, GrubHub, etc.) for lunch or during the school day. A parent/guardian may bring a lunch to the office for their student before their designated lunch period. Students will not be called out of class to pick up a lunch delivered by their parent/guardian. If food is delivered after their lunch period, the student may pick it up at the end of the school day.

If a student attempts to order food through a delivery service, the food will turned away and not accepted from the delivery service. The student could also be subject to disciplinary action if they have food delivered to the school.

Students who attend school regularly have been shown to have higher levels of academic success. Here at CHS, promoting and encouraging regular attendance is a top focus. It is important to note that all absences (excused or unexcused) count towards your child's total absences for the school year. As we begin 2026-27, here are a few important attendance policies to be aware of:

Morning Tardiness & Late Check-Ins

• The morning tardy bell rings at 8:05 - therefore, in order for students to be considered present and on time they must be IN CLASS by 8:05. Students should set a daily goal to be in the building by 8:00 AM. Students who are just entering the building at 8:05, coming up the stairs by the gym, or in the main office hallway when the tardy bell rings must check in on the computers in the office to get a tardy slip.
• To encourage students to arrive on time, administrators will be checking students' tardiness records daily.

Checking Out Early

• If your student will be checking out early, please contact the CHS Main Office to inform our staff of the time they need to depart class. Students must still check out on the computer in the main office before they can leave the building.
• If you plan to email the main office regarding your student’s checkout, please email our Main Office at chsmainoffice@mcps.org as early as possible in the morning so we can communicate with your child and their teacher.
• If your student needs to check out unexpectedly, please call the main office to give permission for your child to leave school. Students must check out on the computer in the main office before leaving the building.
• All checkouts are considered unexcused unless a student provides a note from a doctor, dentist, therapist, etc. If the nurse sends a student home due to illness, the check-out is excused.
• Students who are 18 years old may NOT check themselves out of school. We must hear from a parent/guardian to give permission for them to check out early.

Sports & Extracurricular Activity Participation

• Students who participate in an afterschool extracurricular event, must be present in school ALL DAY or have an EXCUSED check in/out in order to be eligible to practice/play/participate in their sport or extracurricular activity for that day.
• In order for a check-in or check-out to be considered excused, students must bring a note from their doctor, dentist, therapist, etc. appointment to the main office the same day. This note may also be faxed to CHS from the doctor's office. Without a doctor's note, your child will not be eligible to practice/play/participate that day.

Daily Absences

Students who attend school regularly have been shown to have higher levels of academic success. Here at CHS, promoting and encouraging regular attendance is a top focus. It is important to note that all absences (excused or unexcused) count towards your child's total absences for the school year.

• It is required that parents/guardians contact the school (phone call, email or signed note) to document the reason for student absences. Absences will be considered unexcused (code B) if no communication/documentation from the parent/guardian is received.
• Please email the main office staff at the following addresses to ensure we are aware of your child's absence: chsmainoffice@mcps.org
• Students, (usually juniors and seniors) are allowed to take 3 excused absences for college visits. Students must show proof of their visit such as a campus brochure, email confirmation, etc. for the absence to be considered excused.
• Absences for vacations and travel for non-school-sponsored sport events (travel/club sports) are considered unexcused (code C).
• Absences due to illness are considered excused as long as you contact the main office via phone call or email. However, administrators may require a doctor’s note for 4 or more consecutive absences or for chronic absenteeism in order for the absences to be considered excused.
• Students who miss an average of (2) days a month will be on track to be "chronically absent"

Thank you for your cooperation with these important attendance policies and for helping us reach out goal of lowering our chronic absenteeism rate!

As we have grown more familiar and accustomed Cell Phone Policy, we continue to see the positive impacts it continues to have on our school, such as enhancing the learning environment and minimizing distractions throughout the school day.

Please take an opportunity to review Policy 7-3.3 to ensure both you and your student have a strong understanding of the expectations for cell phone use and possessing a cell phone. It is equally important to note that a student can possess a cell phone, but it must be "OFF AND AWAY"during the school day. The policy also addresses that other connected devices, such as earbuds, wireless headphones and smart watches, are also held to the same expectations.

Wired earbuds are ONLY allowed to be plugged into a student's Chromebook if they are being utilized during non-instructional time.

STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO KEEP EARBUDS IN THEIR EARS DURING SCHOOL OR BE ON THEIR PHONE DURING THE SCHOOL DAY.

Please review the attached flier for additional details:

Cell Phone Expectations (link)

If you would like to attend any of our Fall sporting events (Cheer, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Volleyball), please click on the following link to view all the schedules for the 2026 Fall season.

Arbiter - Christiansburg HS Athletics (link)

If you have any questions regarding the CHS Athletic Department, please contact Mike Hunter at mikehunter@mcps.org.

We are excited to see such strong support from our student section at recent home events. Your energy and encouragement make a big difference for our student-athletes, and we want to continue building a positive, spirited environment at both home and away contests.

With that in mind, we want to remind everyone of our expectations:

• Cheer for our teams and keep the focus positive.

• Do not single out opposing players or use any form of hate speech.

• Show respect for opponents while bringing high energy for CHS.

Additionally, please note that certain items are NOT PERMITTED at events: silly string, confetti poppers, aerosol/scented sprays, or any other materials that are not school-appropriate. Clothing should also meet school standards. Any prohibited items will be confiscated, and students may be asked to leave. Repeated issues could result in losing the privilege to attend events and/or losing the opportunity to utilize a student pass (if a student purchased one).

Our goal is to create a culture of respect, sportsmanship, and school spirit. Thank you for helping us uphold our core values of being RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, and CONNECTED while continuing to support Blue Demon athletics.

Important Reminder: Once a student leaves a school-sponsored event, they will not be allowed re-entry.

The Christiansburg High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) welcomes you to a new school year. We also want to invite you to our first meeting of the school year that is scheduled for September 3 at CHS. Below is a link to join PTSA for this school year and/or make payment (if you haven't already), as well as the attached form if you or your child are interested in joining. We invite all of you to become part of the CHS PTSA. Parents, students, teachers, administrators, staff and community members are all welcome to enroll. Joining the PTSA is a great way to support our school and our children. Money raised from PTSA memberships and other fundraising events goes directly to programs benefiting our school – teacher and staff appreciation events, senior graduation events and scholarships, among others. Other reasons to be part of the PTSA include:

• Find out directly from the Principal and staff what is happening at our school.
• Interact more closely with students, administrators, faculty and staff.
• Share your skills and talents with others for the benefit of our children and school.
• Meet other families to work, volunteer and celebrate together.
• WE NEED YOU!

Please spread the word to anyone interested. Forms and dues can be turned in to the front office. We hope to see all of you back for another great year.

PTSA Flier (link)

PTSA Online Membership Application (link)

PTSA Membership Form - Paper Copy (link)

On the second day of school, our administrative team met with every grade level in the CHS cafeteria to review our core values, school expectations, counseling services, attendance expectations, and much more. We wanted to ensure you also had access to these items so you could work with us to create a positive and supportive culture at CHS.

Class Meeting Slideshow - Fall 2026 (link)

Even though our 2026-27 school year has just started, we are already preparing for some very important items and dates for our Class of 2027! Please take an opportunity to review those items below:

Scholarship Information (link)

Class of 2027 Class Meeting - Scroll to Slide 35 (link)

Class of 2027 Senior Newsletter (link)

IMPORTANT DATES:

September 9 - Senior Parent Information Meeting in Auditorium (5:30 - 6:30 pm)

September 9 - Senior NRCC/ACCE Information in Auditorium (6:30 - 7:30 pm)

September 14 - 16 - College App Days (During school day)

October 5 - Jostens Senior Graduation Meeting (Graduation Orders discussed)

October 13 - Jostens Graduation Orders Due

April 15 - Jostens Graduation Order Delivery to CHS

Underclassman Picture Day will take place on Tuesday, September 8!!!

CHS will be providing vision and hearing screenings to all 10th grade students on September 29, 2026.

Following the completion of the screenings, parents and/or guardians will be notified if there are any abnormal findings. A recommendation for a follow-up with your student's physician will be made if indicated.

If you would like to "opt out" your 10th grade student, please contact the CHS Clinic at 540-382-5178.

On Thursday, September 3, CHS will be hosting its annual College Fair from 6:00 - 7:30 pm in the cafeteria. All CHS students and families are welcome to attend. We currently have over 30 colleges/universities attending with representatives present to answer any questions you might have in regards to admission or other details related to college life.

VACRAO College & Career Fair Flier (link)

Tuesday, September 8 marks the interim for the first nine week grading period. Interim report grades were updated and are available on Parent Portal (PowerSchool) for you to view your child’s grades in all classes. If you do not have access to a computer or internet, please feel free to contact CHS and request a hard copy of your child’s interim report. If you are having difficulty logging onto your parent portal account, please feel free to call the CHS Main Office for assistance.

Come out and support your CHS Marching Band at the "Festival of the Bands" on Saturday, September 19 from 3:00 - 7:00 pm at the CHS Stadium. There will be multiple schools in attendance and an opportunity to donate canned food items to the Agape Center of the New River Valley!

Admission is $8.00.

CHS Performing Arts will be hosting a "Craft Fair" in the CHS Cafeteria on Saturday, September 26 from 9:00 - 3:00 pm.

There will be a variety of crafters, numerous vendors, door prizes, concessions, and much more!

We hope to see you there!