Academic Advising:
The Madison Student Services team will be launching into another year of academic advising as soon as the students get back in January. Here are some important dates to put on your student’s calendar:
January 9 Curriculum Night (virtual) for rising grades 10-12 (6:00-7:00) – will be recorded.
This informative program will review and present information for core academic class choices for students going into grades 10-12 next year. Links will be sent out prior to the event. No need for registration.
January 10 Madison school counselors will present academic advising lessons to rising 9th grade students at Thoreau MS and Kilmer MS. The date for Luther Jackson MS has not be set yet.
January 13 Schoolwide academic advising lesson presented to current grades 9-11 during Advisory period. Will be available online as well.
January 14 Rising 9th Curriculum Night 7:00-8:00
An in-person program to welcome incoming freshmen and their parents to Madison. This program will discuss curricular options as well as activities and athletics.
January 15 Curriculum/Electives Fair for current 9th -11th students during Advisory Period.
January 27-March 7 – students will meet individually with students to discuss selections for next school year.
Please be on the look out for several new course offerings for next school year including but not limited to:
AP Human Geography – open to all grade levels and can count towards a World History credit for students in grade 9 and grade 10.
AP Seminar: English 10 – will be an option for sophomores to count towards their high school English 10 credit.
AP Precalculus AB – this will be in addition to AP Precalculus BC which is currently offered at Madison. This course will steer students to a variety of options including AP Calculus AB.
Data Science – an upper level math course intended for students after Algebra 2 that will provide an introduction to the principles of data science through exposure to big data, open-source tools, and relational database concepts to tackle data-intensive computing problems that impact society.
Social Media Marketing – for grades 10-12. This course introduces students to digital and social media marketing.
Much more information will be coming soon about these new options as well as several others.
Other dates to put on calendars with more details to follow – the following Academies are having open houses in January and February:
Chantilly Academy: January 8 6:00pm-8:00pm
Edison Academy February 1 10:00am-1:00pm
Fairfax Academy February 4 6:30pm-8:00pm
Falls Church Academy January 9 6:00pm-9:00pm
Marshall Academy January 30 4:30pm-6:00pm
West Potomac Academy February 20 6:00pm-8:00pm
Wellness Screenings:
Madison High School is conducting our annual wellness screening to all 9th and 11th grade students as part of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention program. This program has been used by Madison High School and other FCPS high schools for several years. It has proven successful at increasing the number of students seeking help because they are concerned about themselves or a friend. Our 9th grade lesson was conducted through Health & PE 9 classes between November 18 – November 21 with the school counselor and PE teacher. Any students that presented any concerning results met with their school counselor for immediate follow up and parents were contacted. Our 11th graders are participating in the screening between this week December 2 – December 6 through their Advisory classes again with a school counselor. All information is confidential and only be made available to school counselors and clinicians.
The teen years are marked by a rollercoaster ride of emotions that may be difficult for teens, their parents, and educators. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil, however, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age, and the past decade has seen teen suicide rates double.
Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:
- Help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness.
- Explain that suicide is often a result of untreated or unidentified depression.
- Impress upon teens that they can help themselves or a friend by talking to a responsible adult about their concerns.
- Have students complete the Brief Screen for Adolescent Depression following the video to identify students who may need assistance.
Parents who wish to see related video clips can view them here: Signs of Suicide (SOS) for Parents
Timothy Buckley
Director of Student Services
James Madison High School
703-319-2337
(he/him)
School Website: https://madisonhs.fcps.edu/
Student Services Website – https://madisonhs.fcps.edu/student-services
Mental Health Resources and 24/7 Emergency Numbers
If you or someone you care about is in crisis or in case of a life threatening emergency, please call 911.
Additional Emergency Mental Health resources below:
· Crisis Regional Hotline – 703-527-4077
· Crisis Text – Text NEEDHELP to 85511
· Chat online with a specialist at ImAlive.org
· Call an emergency mental health center at 703-573-5679 (Merrifield Center), 703-536-2000 (Dominion Hospital), 703-289-7560 (Inova Emergency Services) or 1-844-627-4747 (Mobile Crisis Unit)
· Call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE
FCPS Mental Health Emergency Resources – https://www.fcps.edu/resources/student-safety-and-wellness/school-psychology-services/mental-health-resources-and