4100 N. Vacation Lane
Arlington, VA 22207
703-228-6363
Fax: 703-558-0317
Saturday, May 18, 2013

Parent Communication

Parent Communication at H-B Woodlawn

Make sure you have all the latest information about H-B Woodlawn.  This page will give you an overview of how you can receive information, how you can communicate with other parents and staff members and where to look for other information.

Communicating with staff at H-B Woodlawn is easy.  Each staff member's email address is listed on our webpage under “Staff.”   All staff members can be reached by phone by calling the main office, 703-228-6363, and leaving a message.  Your calls, questions, and feedback are welcome.

Consider your child’s Teacher Advisor (TA) as your first line of communication regarding your student.  TAs monitor and track student progress and are student advocates. TAs can help students develop the confidence and skills they need to advocate for themselves and to become responsible, self-directed learners. Call either office for the name of your child’s Teacher Advisor.

APS School Talk

Have you subscribed to APS School Talk?  Sign up and receive information from Arlington Public Schools.  Once you have signed up, you can select which type of information you want to receive.  This includes emergency closings, school board meetings, and information about various schools.  Click here to subscribe or update your membership to APS School Talk.

H-B Webpage

The first place to look for information is the H-B website.  The home page lists upcoming announcements and calendar events. 

H-B Woodlawn Parent Listservs

To get the latest news and communicate with each other, parents can join several email groups.  These groups are hosted by Arlington Public Schools, but are moderated and managed by parent volunteers.

The H-B Woodlawn PAC maintains two email groups for all members of the HB community, HBW-News (hbw-news@lists.apsva.us) for announcements, and HBW-Talk (hbw-talk@lists.apsva.us) for general discussions. Look at the links on the left or click here for more information about joining HBW-News and HBW-Talk.


In addition to the PAC listservs, each grade level class has a parent listserv. Click here to subscribe or update your membership to the parent listserv for your child's class

Staff Email

You can send an email directly to your child's TA or teacher.  Names, pictures and email addresses of H-B staff can be found on the "Staff" tab of the website.

H-B Woodlawn Calendar

H-B calendars are hosed on the APS web page.  You can subscribe to the calendar and view it on your computer, phone or other device.  

Don't miss an event - subscribe to the calendar now!

Student Information Center

The Student Information Center allows parents and guardians to access student schedules, attendance information, discipline information and transcripts.

 
First Day Packet forms are available in the student information center beginning August 1!  Complete your forms online now!

Click Here to go to the Student Information Center  

Grade Portal  Online Grade Portal

 
APS Grades Online is a web-based tool that provides an additional way to communicate student progress to students and families.  Teachers add new grades to progress reports and post them, as they are available. 
 
The H-B community had a discussion about online grades access in November, 2011.  Following this discussion, a letter that provides guidelines on handling this new tool was written and passed at Town Meeting.  Click here to read the letter.
 
APS Grades Online is available 24 hours a day, on any computer with an internet connection, except during brief periods for maintenance.  
 
Login to Grade Portal - www.apsva.usAPSGradesOnline 
 
Help activating your account - Parents need to activate their account before logging in.  Here is a link to instructions for activating your account.  Complete the request form if you do not have an activation code, forgot your login information or need other technical help.
 
Help with using the Grade Portal - Here is a short one minute video that shows students and parents how to use the grade portal. The video assumes the student and parents have activated their account.  Click here to watch the video.
 
Go to the Parent Access Center webpage for more information about these and other communication services provided by APS. 
 

Blackboard

Every student has an account in Blackboard.  Courses are created for every class, but it is up to each teacher to make these courses available.  Some teachers post announcements, assignments and other information on their Blackboard courses.  You can find out at Back to School Night how your child's teachers use Blackboard.

In order to log into Blackboard, you will need to use your child's login and password.  Their username is their student ID number, and their initial password is their birthday, but they can change the password.  Parent accounts are not currently available. Speak to your child about accessing Blackboard.

In addition to grades and assignments for classes, you and your children can access these services from within Blackboard:

  • Textbooks - many of our textbook publishers have given us access to special sites, activities and resources
  • Atomic Learning - web-based software training and support using short video tutorials
  • Acorn - Search the catalog of Arlington Public Schools libraries
  • World Book, Grolier, Encylopedia Britannica and many other encyclopedias and databases

Blackboard requires a current browser, Firefox 3.0, Internet Explorer 7.0 or Safari 3. 

H-B Woodlawn Office

Main Office - 703-228-6363

Middle School Office - 703-228-6359

Assuring Two-Way Communication

Just a reminder, if you have changed your home address; your home, work, or cell phone number, or your emergency contact in the last year, please let our registrars (Ana 703-228-6354 or Christina 703-228-6359)  know.  They will update our official school records.


If you have any questions about the H-B website, Blackboard or the email groups, please contact Teri Doxsee, Instructional Technology Coordinator at teri.doxsee@apsva.us or 571-969-4821.


Last Modified on August 18, 2012