Annandale Students, Families, and Community:

As we close another incredible school year, I want to thank the people who make Annandale High School such a special place: our dedicated staff, our talented students, and our supportive families and community. Together, they are what change lives.

Dedicated Staff: Every day, I have the privilege of witnessing amazing things happening throughout our building. I see teachers and staff who arrive early, stay late, and consistently go above and beyond to support students academically, socially, and emotionally. Whether in classrooms, offices, athletic fields, performance spaces, cafeterias, or hallways, our staff's commitment to students is evident in everything they do.

Talented Students: I am equally inspired by our students. This year, they challenged themselves academically, excelled in athletics and activities, showcased their talents through the arts, served our community, and did not give up in the face of challenges. They earned awards, broke records, achieved personal goals, and supported one another along the way. Most importantly, they continued to demonstrate the values of empathy, determination, and safety that define what it means to be an Atom.

Supportive Parents and Community: None of this would be possible without the support of our parents, families, alumni, business partners, volunteers, and community organizations. Your partnership strengthens our school and enriches the experience for our students. Whether you cheered for our students at performances and athletic events, volunteered your time, supported the PTSA, mentored students, or simply encouraged your student each day, your involvement has made a meaningful difference.

Thank you for an outstanding school year. I hope you find time this summer to relax, recharge, and enjoy time with family and friends. I look forward to sharing updates throughout the summer and welcoming everyone back in August for another great year at Annandale High School. Go Atoms!\

Have a great summer, Atom Nation. As always, reach out with any questions.

Shawn DeRose, Principal

Important Dates

June 22 - Annandale Summer Camps Begin
June 22 - July 2 - Summer Meals at Annandale High School
July 3 - Fourth of July Holiday (Offices Closed)
July 6-24 – FCPS Summer School Credit Recovery
August 7-9 - Virginia’s Sales Tax Holiday
August 3 - Fall Sports Tryouts Begin
August 10-13 - New Teacher Orientation
August 14 - First Day for Teachers
August 20 - New Student Orientation & Open House
August 24 - First Day of School for Students
September 4 & 7 - Labor Day Holiday (No School)
September 21 - Yom Kippur (No School)

June 22 - Annandale Summer Camps Begin: Looking for fun activities for your child this summer? Annandale High School is offering a variety of summer camps this year for current elementary and middle school students led by our own Annandale coaches. Help spread the word to friends, family and neighbors! Registration for all camps can be found here. See descriptions of the various camps below. Campers can bring their lunch or purchase lunch at camp, and they should bring a snack and a water bottle each day. Cash or checks are accepted. Checks should be made out to “Annandale Athletic Boosters.”

June 22 - July 2 - Summer Meals at Annandale High School: Free breakfast and lunch will be served to all children ages 18 and under at Annandale High School from June 22 through July 2, Monday through Friday. Breakfast will be available from 9:00am to 10:00am, and lunch will be served from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Meals are first come, first served, and children must remain on site while eating. If you have any questions regarding the Summer 2026 meal service, please contact us at SummerMeals@fcps.edu or at 703-813-4800. For more information and additional meal service sites, visit the FCPS Food and Nutrition Services webpage.

July 6-24 - FCPS Summer School Credit Recovery: As the school year came to a close, counselors had conversations with students about possible summer learning opportunities. For students needing credit recovery, classes will be in-person at West Potomac from July 6-24. Attendance is mandatory and is tracked by the minute (300 minutes per day). If a student misses over 600 minutes, they will be removed from the program. The registration deadline is June 22. Communicate with your student’s counselor if there are questions.

August 3 - Start of Fall Season: Mark your calendars for Fall 2026 sports tryout dates. Sports include golf, football, cheer, field hockey, cross-country & volleyball. Note: Golf tryouts begin July 27.

August 7-9 - Virginia Sales Tax Holiday: Save on School Supplies! Mark your calendars! Virginia’s annual 3-day Sales Tax Holiday kicks off on Friday, August 7 at 12:01am and runs through Sunday, August 9 at 11:59pm. This is a great opportunity for families to save on back-to-school essentials and more. For more details and a full list of eligible items, visit the Virginia Department of Taxation website.

August 24 - First Day of School: Monday, August 24 is the first day of school for the 2026-27 school year. View the 2026-27 school year calendar.

Awesome Atoms

Awesome Atoms: Celebrating Our Staff! Last week we came together as a staff to celebrate one of the things that makes Annandale so special—our incredible staff. The celebration featured our annual Fred Awards. A Fred Award is based on the book The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn and is given to staff members who “make the ordinary, extraordinary.” 

Staff members nominate their colleagues who make the ordinary, extraordinary. We received over 400 Fred Award nominations! Congratulations again to our 2026 Fred Award winners: Sara Kugler, Mariam Aburdeineh and Nashita Zaman.

Congrats to the Class of 2026!

Class of 2026 Farewell Message: Congrats to the Class of 2026. Check out the farewell message in the final Class of 2026 Newsletter. 

Class of 2026 Video: Annandale Senior Anibal Escobar-Chanez created a special surprise video for the Class of 2026 that was shown on the big screen just before the graduation ceremony. The video featured memories, photos, and moments from the senior class's journey through high school, providing graduates and families with a chance to reflect before the celebration began. Thank you to Anibal for sharing his creativity and helping make graduation even more memorable. Check out the video here.

Important Information

Summer Office Hours: The Annandale Main Office will be open on weekdays from 8:00am-2:00pm this summer. The office will be closed on Friday, July 3.

SOL Scores Posted in SIS ParentVUE: Families can find Standards of Learning (SOL) reports for spring testing in the SIS ParentVUE Documents section on or before the last day of school. Log in to your ParentVUE account to access the official SOL Score Report with overall and reporting category performance for all spring tests. Visit the FCPS website for additional information about spring assessment reporting practices and timelines. Need help creating a SIS ParentVUE account? This video walks through the steps. Find out more about SIS ParentVUE.

Summer Assignments: All FCPS middle school and high schools will not give summer assignments. Instead, schools may recommend optional enrichment activities that are not for a grade. At Annandale, we highly encourage students to select texts or books to read over the summer.

Updated FCPS Cellphone Policy Starts July 1: Under a new Virginia cellphone law (SB108) and the updated FCPS Cellphone Policy, high school students at FCPS will no longer be able to use cellphones and other smart devices during lunch time, starting July 1. This includes watches that serve a dual purpose, such as smart watches, as well as earbuds, headsets, smart glasses, and other items connected to the internet. During the school day, including during lunch time, high school students will have to keep cellphones and other smart devices off and stored in a locker, backpack, pouch, purse, etc. This policy does not apply to school-issued devices. Visit the FCPS Cellphone Policy webpage for more information.

Required Immunizations for Rising Seniors: Additional immunizations are required for students entering grade 12. All students entering 12th grade are to receive one dose of Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) prior to the beginning of school. To meet the MenACWY 12th grade requirement, the vaccination must be administered at age 16 or older. Please consider getting your child’s immunizations early so that they can attend school in the fall. Summer is a busy time for families and healthcare providers. Additional resources are available on the FCPS Immunization Resources webpage and the Fairfax County Health Department. 

Underclassmen Keep Their Laptops Over The Summer! Beginning this year, Annandale High School will only be collecting devices from graduating seniors and students who are withdrawing. All other students will keep their assigned devices over the summer. This change is intended to help students maintain access to educational resources, summer learning opportunities, and school-related activities.

As a reminder, students are responsible for properly caring for and securing the device over the summer. Devices must return with the student at the start of the next school year in good working condition. Students and families remain responsible for any obligations, fees, or fines related to lost, stolen, or damaged devices and accessories. If there are any concerns about keeping the device over the summer, students may turn in their device June 11-16 in room 328 after they have completed final exams.

Summer Learning Resources for Families: FCPS Summer Learning Resources are now available for students and families. Resources are organized by grade level and provide opportunities for students to review previously taught concepts, practice skills, and explore new ideas throughout the summer. Families can access the resources at any time as one of many ways to support continued learning and engagement over the summer.

Secondary Math Basal Resource Review: Fairfax County Public Schools is inviting staff, families, and community members to review and provide feedback on proposed secondary mathematics instructional resources. Community input will help inform the selection process. Visit the FCPS website for review materials and feedback opportunities.

New from the AHS PTSA Pantry

Message from Norma Foti, Founder and AHS PTSA Pantry Coordinator: I am so proud of what we have accomplished together. Thank you everyone who has been a thread in the AHS PTSA Pantry’s fabric this school year. Especially our volunteers, community partners, donors and school administrators and staff.

We fulfilled our pantry’s mission by supporting our students and their families who are food insecure and raised awareness around food insecurity in our community.

Data for 2025-2026 school year:
   - 20 Distributions
   - 30 Hours opened for distributions
   - 50+ Volunteers comprised for students, community members and AHS staff
   - 54.4 - visits per hour opened
   - 82 - average number of visits per distribution
   - 1632 - total number of pantry visits
   - 7706 - total number of family members supported through pantry distributions

As we say in the pantry, “The fabric of our community is stronger when we weave together.”

Summer Distribution Opportunities: There are several opportunities for families to recieve groceries over the summer.

• Every Sunday: Fresh produce is available at Braddock Elementary School 3:00pm
• Tuesday, July 21 9:00-11:00am: AHS PTSA Pantry Summer Distribution
• Pantry Reopens: The AHS Pantry  for the New School Year Wednesday, August 26 3:30-5:00pm

Red Bag Donation Opportunities: Thank you to our Food for Neighbors Red Bag Donors! If you aren't a FFN Red Bag Donor please sign up. Collections are picked up 5 times a year from your door. Donations are used to fill our grab and go student snack stations at school. This past school year we had 111 AHS Red Bag Donors and received 195 bins of snacks to distribute. To learn more and to sign up please click here.

Opportunities

Is Your Student Ready to Drive? If you have logged hours behind the wheel, have your Virginia Learner’s Permit, and have earned your pink card, then you may be ready to obtain your license! Consider enrolling in Behind the Wheel through ACE. Conveniently, you can meet instructor and the car at Annandale HS on various dates throughout the summer. Check out the many sessions offered and enroll here: Driver Education Behind the Wheel at Annandale HS. If you have any questions, email Lizzie McManus.

Summer 2026 Inspire Immunization Events for All FCPS Students: Inspire Health Alliance, in partnership with FCPS, will be providing school-required immunizations during Summer 2026. Immunizations will be provided at no out-of-pocket cost to students or families. Registering families will be required to provide insurance information, if applicable, but students without insurance may still participate. Summer 2026 event dates are available on our FCPS and Inspire Health Alliance Student Immunization Events | Fairfax County Public Schools webpage. Additional event dates will be made available throughout the upcoming school year, 4 - 5 weeks before the event, on the public webpage. Additional immunization resources are also available.

Free Bus Passes Available: All Fairfax County middle and high school students can get a Student Bus Pass SmarTrip card to ride the Fairfax Connector and Fairfax CUE buses for free! With the pass, fares are free from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, all year. Learn more about the Student Pass and access the application, which can be returned to the front office. Additionally, our students can ride Metrobus for free. Visit the Fairfax County website for details and approved Metrobus routes and to access the application. Children 12 and younger ride for free on the Fairfax Connector with a paying adult. It’s not just for kids! Fairfax Connector’s Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP) provides 50% off fares for low-income residents ages 18-65. Learn more about the TRIP program and how to apply.

News from Students Services

Report Cards Mailed - Week of June 22: Report cards will be mailed out the week of June 22. For questions about a specific progress report or grade you can login into your SIS ParentVUE Account to find detailed grade book information.

No-Cost Virtual Therapy for High School Students: Virtual therapy sessions are available to FCPS high school students at no cost to provide a safe space to address concerns such as: Mood/behavior changes, motivation, grief/loss; Anxiety, worry, fears; Social skills, bullying, peer and family relationships; Academic stress.

Students can be referred by a guardian or designated school staff member. You may refer your child by calling 571-749-2940 or by contacting our school counselor, social worker, psychologist, or director of Student Services. Visit the FCPS Teletherapy webpage for more information.

SAT School Day and PSAT/NMSQT 2026: SAT School Day and PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) exams for the 2026-27 school year will be held at each high school on Wednesday, October 7, at no cost to families. The digital SAT School Day exam is offered to 12th grade students, and the digital PSAT/NMSQT exam is provided to 10th and 11th grade students. 

Because these exams are operated by the College Board, students do not automatically receive testing accommodations or multilingual learner (ML) supports. If you have a student with disabilities entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, please review the accommodations request process and return forms to the high school by Monday, August 3, to request new or updated College Board testing accommodations. 

If you have a multilingual learner entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, please review the ML support request process and return forms by Thursday, August 27, if you wish to request ML supports for the October 2026 PSAT/NMSQT or SAT School Day. Find out more about SAT and PSAT assessments in FCPS.