IB & AP AWARDS
All Stonewall students and their families are invited to the eighth annual IB/AP Awards presentation on Tuesday evening, January 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Stonewall auditorium. Students who earned the IB Diploma or a 4 or higher on IB exams, or a 3 or higher on AP exams will receive awards. Invitations have been sent to those students who will be recognized at the presentation.

IB Diplomas will be conferred upon forty-four graduates of the Class of 2004. Other students in the Classes of 2003, 2004 and 2005 who sat for IB and AP exams in May 2003 will receive IB certificates and AP academic excellence awards.

The guest speaker for celebration will be Amit Sinha, a graduate of the Class of 2000 and an IB Diploma recipient. Amit has received his undergraduate degree and is currently in Medical School at Virginia Commonwealth University.

A reception to celebrate the awards will follow the ceremony.

IB INFO SESSION
The second annual Stonewall Jackson High School IB information session for rising freshmen and their families will be held on Tuesday, January 6, at 7:30 in the evening in the auditorium. An overview of the International Baccalaureate program will be given and students will be present to answer questions. Call Connie Giorgio, IB Coordinator, at 703-365-2900 if you have any questions.

IB APPLICATIONS OF INTENT FOR RISING 9th GRADERS
The date for present 8th graders to submit Applications of Intent to the IB program at Stonewall Jackson High School is February 15, 2004. All rising freshmen who plan to enroll in one or more than one Pre-IB course must apply to the program even if Stonewall is their base high school. Applications will be available at the January 13 information session at Stonewall, from middle school guidance departments, from Connie Giorgio, IB Coordinator at Stonewall, or online at www.raiders.org. Applications must be returned to Connie Giorgio at SJHS, 8820 Rixlew Lane, Manassas, VA 20109. applications may also be faxed to Mrs. Giorgio at 703-365-6987. Call Mrs. Giorgio at 703-365-2900 if you have any questions.

IB Biology: Papers 1 and 2

Requests the honor of your presence

At

The Eighth Annual

DIPLOMA AND AWARDS PRESENTATION

for

THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMME

and

ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES

SJHS Classes of 2003, 2004 and 2005

Tuesday the sixth of January
In the year 2004

At seven-thirty in the evening

STONEWALL JACKSON HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

Refreshments to follow ceremony

"Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."

The main research emphasis now in the library is with the social studies department. Students are locating information on such topics as Supreme Court cases and debates. Other departments are using biographies, researching diseases, researching the culture of foreign countries and reading various interpretations of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Student Assistants
The library is fortunate to have a total of eleven library assistants, at least one for every block of the school day. Additions during the past month are Alicia Beaty, Robert Morgan, Latoya Puckerin, Christopher Smith and Christine Wilkinson. We are greatly appreciative of their help in serving the Stonewall students and staff.

New Equipment/Resources
The word-processing center of the library has, with the support of the Stonewall Administration and the assistance of Pat Ferris, been updated with twelve new computers using Microsoft XP and a networked printer. Students are now better able to type those research papers, particularly during lunch or before and after school.

We are extremely grateful to Target for the monetary donation through a program based on your patronage and to Capstone Press which gave us a special discount. The library now has over one hundred new titles as a result of this generosity. Many of them will be helpful to students as they master the English language.

Special Features
Our featured author this month for young adults is M. E. Kerr. Primary issues in her work are the development, function, and description of relationships between her characters. Her books include Deliver Us From Evie, I Stay Near You: a Saga of Three Generations, Slap Your Sides: a novel, and Him She Loves? Visit the library to learn of other titles.

The other display features the ten 2003-2004 Virginia Young Readers selections. The purposes of these are (1) to encourage young readers to become better acquainted with contemporary books with outstanding literary appeal, (2) to broaden students' awareness of literature as a life-long pleasure, (3) to encourage reading aloud in classrooms as a means of introducing reading for pleasure and (4) to honor favorite young adult books and their authors.

Holiday Reading
Why not spend some time this holiday season unwinding with a good book? Check out your local bookstore or public library to see what fascinating adventures await you.

Students are reminded that the guidance department requests 10 days to process college applications. It is important that students turn their applications in well before the deadline.

JUNIOR NEWS

It is time for juniors to start thinking about college/career choices. During the month of November we conducted classroom guidance lessons with juniors. At this time we explained the college search process and conducted career exploration activities. Parents of Juniors should keep in mind the following:

• Spring break is a great time to visit potential colleges. Call ahead and make an appointment to have a guided tour of the college or university.
  
• Students interested in beginning the college search process now should make an appointment to see their Guidance Counselor and Mr. Lawrence, Career Counselor. The SJHS Career Center has tons of great information! Students can conduct college searches on the computer using the CHOICES software. Parents too, are welcome to make appointments with Mr. Lawrence.

NIGHT SCHOOL

Night School registration forms for the 2nd semester will be available in the Guidance office beginning January 5, 2004. It is important that students pick up this form and get the appropriate signatures. The Night School registration session will be held on January 29, 2004 here at SJHS from 6:00-10:00pm. STUDENTS SHOULD ARRIVE EARLY TO REGISTER. ONCE THE CLASSES ARE FULL THERE IS A CHANCE THAT YOU MAY NOT GET A SEAT!!

THANK YOU
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Stonewall families who I have been blessed to work with over the past seven years. I will be leaving Stonewall in January to become the Director of Guidance at Freedom High School in Woodbridge. This is a wonderful school and a wonderful community. You will all be missed.

Bekah Wight
Director of Guidance

Scheduling 2004-2005
We will begin the scheduling process for the 2004-2005 school year during the month of February. Students will come to guidance during their English class on a designated day. At this time students will discuss their course choices for the 2004-2005 school year. Students should come to this session having already decided on most of their course choices. All students will receive a pre-scheduling information packet mid-January. This packet contains information about all new courses for the 2004-2005 school year, elective choices and diploma types. Approximate schedule dates are as follows:

Juniors February 3-7
Sophomores February 10-17
Freshmen February 18- February 28

How can parents get involved in the scheduling process?

• Talk about your student's career plans and help him/her choose elective choices that will allow career exploration in different areas.
• Discuss after high school plans. Many colleges require certain courses to even be considered for acceptance. Set up a meeting with your student and his/her counselor to map out a four-year plan.
• Encourage your student to take challenging courses. Often, students have fulfilled most of their course requirements by the time they reach their senior year. Talk to your senior about electives that they can take to enhance many of the skills they already have. We have advanced levels of many computer and drawing classes.
• Discuss course prerequisites when planning for the 2004-2005 school year. When your student schedules with his/her counselor you might find that we have placed them back in a course that they are currently taking. We do this so students realize that they must successfully complete a course before advancing on to the next course. In all academic areas it is important that students retain and learn all of the concepts in order to be successful in the next level.
• Talk to your student about teacher recommendations. All Science, Math, and Foreign Language teachers will complete course recommendations for your student. Counselors will use these recommendations in placing students in the correct course. If you disagree with a teacher recommendation you may indicate that when you sign your student's scheduling form.
• Sign the completed scheduling form. Students will bring home their completed scheduling form for your signature. Please make sure to sign it and have your student return to his/her counselor. We will not enter your student's course choices into our database until we receive a signed scheduling form. Many popular elective courses are on a first come first serve basis so it is important that you return these forms as soon as possible.
  If you have any questions about the scheduling process please feel free to contact your student's counselors at 365-2992 or e-mail at the following addresses:
  Mrs. Pugh - Counselor A-Can pughc@pwcs.edu
  Mr. Deabler - Counselor Car- Fer deablegm@pwcs.edu
  Ms. Secrist - Counselor Few-Ivy secriscr@pwcs.edu
  Mrs. Gipson - Counselor Jac-Max gipsonmd@pwcs.edu
  Dr. Stower - Counselor May-Pon stowercj@pwcs.edu
  Mrs. Ludacer - Counselor Por-Spe ludacetm@pwcs.edu
  Mrs. Charland - Counselor Spi-Z charlaaj@pwcs.edu
  Mr. Lawrence - Career Counselor lawrenmx@pwcs.edu

The Prince William County School Division does not discriminate in employment or in its education programs and activities against qualified individuals with disabilities, nor on the basis of age, gender, race, color, religion or national origin.