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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
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MAY 7 – 13, 2020 | PAGE 5
Caps and Gowns Distributed Friday With Video Project Airing June 10
Continued from Page 1
sels or tossing caps in the air.
With a concerted effort to reach every graduating student for this project, the videos will be compiled by a professional local videography company and aired online on the evening of June 10 at 7 p.m. for everyone to see.
The next day, the graduated students will drive by the high school again to drop off their caps and gowns and other items, like the school’s laptops, band and athletic equipment and books, and pick up their physical diplomas.
Then, in the late summer or at some point early in the fall, there will be face-to-face recognition, which may occur during halftime at a football game if possible, to cap the ceremony.
There will be a yearbook for the high school, and there is also being planned a virtual “moving up” ceremony for 8th grade graduates of Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School.
Noonan also laid out to the School Board a detailed plan for the cleaning out of all classrooms by June 7 in advance of a deep clean during the summer.
The decision on summer programs run by the City’s Department of Recreation and Parks will be made by June 1, Noonan reported.
Concerning the fall semester, Noonan said the decision will not be made before June at the earliest, in conjunction with the State Department of Education. He said there are at least six different scenarios for how the school year may begin, including sticking with the currentlyscheduled August 24 start date.
There are options for faceto-face, partial face-to-face and online, totally online and staggered schedules with options for classes beginning by mid-September or as late as Nov. 1.
He quipped that there is a lot of frustration associated with constantly including the phrase, “it depends,” in all of the deliberations. “It’s like going down a rabbit hole of ‘what if’s,” he said.
Among other things, the discussion of fall sports has included games without fans and temperature checks for all participants.
Noonan added that no one over age 65 is being allowed in school buildings and even though as much as half the staff contingents of bus drivers and cafeteria workers are over 65, nonetheless some have already been notified that they will not be allowed to work.
Board member Phil Reitinger expressed concern for the morale of the system’s teachers under the current conditions, given that earlier-approved salary increases are now off the table and distance learning is causing new challenges.
He also expressed concern for the high school seniors in the fall if a return to normal conditions is not possible, especially given the heightened stress at that time for those looking for colleges to apply for.
He also raised the question of how education may change long-term as a result of the cur
TAKING A MOMENT to show off their “Falls Church Better Together” t-shirts are members of the Falls Church School Board during their meeting Tuesday night. Donning those threads has become a trend for City officials, with city manager Wyatt Shields doing the same while speaking with the City Council Monday night. (Photo: News-Press)
rent challenges, something he identified as opportunity arising out of necessity.
Noonan spoke of the idea of staggering student schedules for example, taking into account that some students are thriving under the current conditions and others are struggling.
It was noted in passing, as well, that many Mason students were keenly aware that last weekend was supposed to be their annual spring prom.
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