President Margo Friedman (from left to right) of the In Hope Freedom Rings Foundation presents scholarships to students. Pictured: PhuongTam Nguyen of Fairfax High School, Dr. Jack D. Dale, Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools and Rayan Izzeldin of J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church. (Photo: Marcie Harrison)
Local Seniors Win Scholarships
Two seniors from Fairfax County High Schools, Rayan Izzeldin, a senior at JEB Stuart High School, Falls Church, and Phuong Tam Nguyen, a senior at Fairfax High School, Fairfax were each awarded $10,000 college scholarships by the In Hope Freedom Rings Foundation. Dr. Jack D. Dale, superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools presented the scholarships Monday. The recipients were selected based on financial need, academic performance, extracurricular activities and a written essay. Izzeldin, who wants to be a physician, is the senior class president and a member of the National Honor Society and National Art Honor Society. She volunteers at eight community organizations, the school newspaper and the speech and debate team, where she was named most valuable speaker. The Fairfax County School Board nominated her for its prestigious Character Award. Her counselor calls Izzeldin’s passion for service inspirational. For the past several years, she has been a volunteer at the INOVA Alexandria Hospital and last summer for RESULTS, an anti-hunger organization. Her volunteerism extends to Bailey’s Elementary School for the Arts and she has also traveled with her family to Sudan where she volunteered at an Aids clinic for low-income families. An AP scholar, Nguyen has been on the highest honor rolls for the past four years and has one of the highest grade point averages in her class. She has won the St. Miguel Award (first place in Vietnamese competition in the Greater D.C. area) for the past five years and achieved first place honors in the Chemistry Lab-Invitational Science Olympiad in 2007 and the Health Science – State Science Olympiad in 2005. Tam has an appreciation for service and every Saturday volunteers at the Fairfax Donor Center for the Red Cross. Her goal is to pursue a career in the medical field. The Foundation was started three years ago by Margo Friedman, a former school teacher and business executive, who had a dream of helping young people continue their education. Each year she solicits sponsors from local businesses which enable her to award the scholarships. One hundred percent of the donations go toward the scholarships.
High School Students Teach Future Business Leaders
Second and third grade students at Shrevewood Elementary will learn about business and economic concepts from members of the Marshall High Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter during a five-week period that began January 8 and runs through mid-February. Seventeen Marshall FBLA members will serve as facilitators for the program, which engages the younger students in interactive activities on topics such as the role of government, business creation and operation, product specialization and the banking industry.
Students Assist Katrina Victims
Fairview Elementary students are adopting Harper McCaughan Elementary in Pass Christian, Mississippi, as a sister school. That school is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast area in 2005. Students will do chores at home and for neighbors to earn money to buy batteries, art supplies, learning games, supplies for teachers, books and printer ink cartridges. This service project supports the Fairfax County School Board’s student achievement goal of responsibility to the community.
Crouse Wins Award
Floris Elementary web curator Ron Crouse has won the January 2008 Best Practices Award from the FCPS Department of Communications and Community Outreach. Crouse was cited for his adaptation of the FCPS elementary school template to the Floris site.
Top Honors for Model UN
The Model United Nations (MUN) team at Marshall High won top honors at the International Baccalaureate (IB) Mid-Atlantic Regional Consortium MUN conference, the second consecutive year that Marshall’s MUN team won the Secretary General’s award for best school. Students Anita Gougleva and Wally Al-Kakhan won a best delegate gavel for their representation of Mexico. Autumn Yu and Marion Gottleib took the gavel as delegates from Mexico and Max O’Beirne and Philip Grudier won a gavel representing the United Kingdom. Team members Allie Rosenbluth, Hannah Goldberger, Rumen Hutchinson, Domenic Scavuzzo, Frank Zhai, Jess Levine, Saera Khan, Apule Osika, Tarun Desai and Alex Blomme won outstanding delegate awards. Honorable delegate awards went to Adina Sulemane, Darice Sulemane and Julian Asbury. Four Marshall students, Tania Tajzad, Omar El-Ghazawi, Nikki Safavi and Lauren Hahm, received verbal commendations. Marshall students represented Mexico, Algeria, and Pakistan in General Assembly committee debates, as well as the United Kingdom, Italy and the U.S.S.R. in a Cold War simulation that pitted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization against the Warsaw Pact. In a simulation of the G-8 Committee of Nations, Marshall students represented India and the United Kingdom. The MUN Club at Marshall is coached by J. T. Brannan and Cheryl Gannaway.
Fairfax Emergency Weather Procedure Reminder
In the event of a weather emergency, Keep in Touch messages may take an hour or more to be delivered. E-mail should not be your first or only option for receiving emergency closing information. FCPS has several schedules set up to deal with inclement weather. These are put into effect when conditions threaten the safety of children who are walking or riding school buses to schools. These schedules are to keep schools closed, open two hours late or close two hours early. In every case of a schedule change, tune in to local radio and television stations (including cable Channel 21, a channel programmed by FCPS), which are notified as soon as a decision is made. Also visit www.fcps.edu or call the FCPS hot line at 800-839-FCPS (3277) for information. Fairfax County Public Schools' Keep in Touch (KIT) system is operated by Media Next, a company with which FCPS has contracted to provide KIT services to our subscribers. Media Next has recently been having problems properly supporting our subscribers. FCPS staff members have been working closely with Media Next representatives to solve these problems and have begun the process to contract with a new vendor.
Storck Reelected Chairman
The Fairfax County School Board has reelected Dan Storck, Mount Vernon District, as chairman and Kathy Smith, Sully District, as vice chairman for 2008. The chair and vice chair assumed office at the January 10 School Board meeting. Storck has served on the School Board since 2004. He is the founder, owner and developer of health care benefits, and insurance consulting firms. Smith is a former elementary school teacher. She has served on the School Board since March 2002 and was chairman of the Board in 2004. The chairman and vice chairman of the School Board are elected by School Board members during the first regular business meeting held in January. They each serve a one-year term. In addition to the chair and vice chair, members of the Fairfax County School Board, who were elected to four-year terms in November 2007, are Elizabeth Bradsher, Springfield District, Brad Center, Lee District, Stu Gibson, Hunter Mill District, Martina Hone, at large, Kaye Kory, Mason District, Ilryong Moon, at large, Phil Niedzielski-Eichner, Providence District, James Raney, at large, Jane Strauss, Dranesville District and Tessie Wilson, Braddock District. Bradsher, Hone and Raney are first-term Board members.
One Act Wonder
George C. Marshall High School will host the One Act Play competitions for the Liberty District on Saturday, Jan. 26 and will perform the student written play, "Everything in Essence" from 4:15 – 5 p.m. Marshall will attempt to perform 10 scenes in 35 minutes. If Marshall prevails, they will advance to the Regional Competition on Saturday, Feb. 2. Admission is free. For more information, call 703-714-5409.
