James Monroe High School Dr. Taneshia Rachal, Principal

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. School will be closed on January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. January 22 will be the last day of JAYEM AM for Term 1. First period will begin at 7:45 on January 25. Please encourage your student to be in attendance for the examination review sessions which will be conducted by all teachers. Mid-term exams for classes which meet on the A/B schedule, Final Term 1 Examinations, and end of course SOLs will be given Jan-uary 25—February 2. Please make sure that your student prepares for these very important assessments, and that he/she is aware of the exam schedule. Term 1 will end on February 2, and school will not be in session on February 3, as this is a teacher workday. The second term of the 2015-2016 school year will begin on February 4, and report cards will be sent home with students on February 9. Sign up for the Fredericksburg Alert system to receive emergency information as well as notice of weather-related closings and delays via text message and/or e-mail. You may also register to receive 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 indoor track team is back in ac-tion on January 6 at King George. The girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball teams host a double header on January 8 against Caroline High School. In the pool, the boys’ and girls’ swimming teams will resume competition on January 13 in a home meet at the University of Mary Washington. Great expectations sur-round 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 2016. Sincerely, Dr. Taneshia Rachal Principal

In this issue...

Page 2 Exam Schedule

Page 3 Fall Sports Awards

Page 4 Athletes of the Month

Page 4 FCPS+FCPD=Community

Page 5 Calendar for January

Principal’s Newsletter January 2016 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 27, 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 2015-2016 School Year is as follows: Monday, January 25, 2016—A Day—Regular Dismissal 7:45—9:05 Period 1 9:10—11:10 Period 2 and A2 Mid-Term Exam 11:15—1:20 Period 3 1:25—2:45 Period 4 Tuesday, January 26, 2016—B Day—Regular Dismissal 7:45—9:45 Period 1 and B1 Mid-Term EXAM 9:50—11:10 Period 2 11:15—1:20 Period 3 1:25—2:45 Period 4 Wednesday, January 27, 2016—A Day—Regular Dismissal 7:45—9:45 Period 1 EXAM/SOL and A1 Mid-Term Exam 9:50—11:10 Period 2 11:15—1:20 Period 3 1:25—2:45 Period 4 Thursday, January 28, 2016—B Day—Early Dismissal 1:30 7:45—9:45 Period 2 EXAM/SOL and B2 Mid-Term Exam 9:50—12:00 Period 3 12:05—1:30 Period 4 Friday, January 29, 2016—A Day—Early Dismissal 11:10 7:45—9:45 Period 3 EXAM/SOL 9:50—11:10 Period 4 Monday, February 1, 2016—B Day—Early Dismissal 9:45 7:45—9:45 Period 4 Exam/SOL and B4 Mid-Term 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, February 2, 2016—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, February 3, 2016—Teacher Workday

Principal’s Newsletter January 2016 Page 3

On December 17 James Monroe High School hon-ored the fall sports athletes with a reception in the commons area followed by an awards assembly in the auditorium. The evening was sponsored by the James Monroe Athletic Department. CHEERLEADING/FOOTBALL M.V.P. Temple Wyatt Incentive Monica Dit Coaches’ Tarah Stanley Whitney Evans J.V. Coaches’ MaKayla Swain GOLF M.V.P. Andrew Hall Marshall Wood Incentive Neill Baxter Coaches’ Matt Howard FOOTBALL M.V.P. (Offense) D.J. Weldon M.V.P. (Defense) Deonta’Nelson Incentive A.J. Felton Cord Lucas Coaches’ Brandon Martin Edwin Young J.V. Coaches’ Aaron Johnson J.V. Incentive Chris Coghill Jayvarn Cardell-Ford Ralph “Tuffy” Hicks Competitive Spirit Award & Scholarship Wade Olson Calley Farmer Memorial “Lineman Award” Tre Lucas, Ian Jeffers George Coghill “Special Teams” Award Matt Felton Dennis Johnson Memorial Award Deonta’ Nelson Mel Hunter Loyalty Award Sam Poth

Tony Franzello Award Courage Award K.J. Conaway CROSS COUNTRY (BOYS) M.V.P. Hunter Frizzell Incentive Tylik Lucas Coaches’ Jakob Reeder J.V. Coaches’ William Snead Elvis Jiminez Memorial Spirit Award Edward Hoffman CROSS COUNTRY (GIRLS) M.V.P. Leah Stinchcomb Incentive Eva Kerr Coaches’ Allison Larme J.V. Coaches’ Alina Williams FIELD HOCKEY M.V.P. Catesby Willis Incentive Caroline Wack Coaches’ Ashley Kim Defensive Player Cleo Morris Of the Year J.V. Coaches’ April Kim VOLLEYBALL M.V.P. Haley Ealy Incentive DeJaunee Nelson Coaches’ Stephanie Catlett J.V. Coaches’ Nelley Hale

Principal’s Newsletter January 2016 Page 4

Morgan Conner—Junior—Morgan is in her first year at JMHS. Besides being a starter on the basketball team, she is a member of the National Honor Society, Beta Club, Leadership Council, and the SODA men-toring program. Morgan is respectful, hard working, and a great role model for other student athletes. Coach Tracey Young

Percy Burt—Senior—Percy is an honor roll student, member of DECA, and a two-year letter winner for the Boys’ Varsity Basketball program. Percy boasts great length and versatility on the court as he can defend all five positions. He has been a major contributor as a scorer and rebounder over the past two seasons. In the fall, Percy plans to attend a four-year university on an academic/athletic scholarship. Coach Julian Bumbrey

Fredericksburg City Public Schools and the Fredericksburg City Police Department are proud to an-nounce the addition of a new School Resource Officer beginning in January 2016. The additional School Resource Officer will work with the Head Start Program, Hugh Mercer Elementary School, Lafa-yette Upper Elementary School, and Walker-Grant Middle School. James Monroe High School will con-tinue to have a full time School Resource Officer on the premises. We are very pleased that the Freder-icksburg City Police Department is working with Fredericksburg City Public Schools in helping our school communities build positive relationships with local law enforcement and to promote safety exercises and protocols with all of our students. If you have any questions about the partnership with the Fredericks-burg City Police Department, please contact Dr. John B. Gordon III, Director of Administrative Services at 540-372-1092.