Public Hearing Looks at Special Education
Starting Monday, April 28, the Virginia Department of Education will be accepting written public comments regarding proposed revisions concerning the regulations governing Special Education programs for children with disabilities in Virginia. A public hearing will be held locally on Monday, June 2, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Oakton High School. A total of nine public hearings will also be held. For more information on the hearings or how to submit comments, call 804-225-2013.
Twelve Win National Merit Scholarships
Twelve Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students took home corporate-sponsored scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The students are part of a group of approximately 1,100 National Merit finalists chosen to receive scholarships financed by companies, foundations and other business organizations. Winners included Christian Eubank of Herndon High, David Tran of Marshall High, Katherine Comey of McLean High and Joseph Rampino of Woodson High.
The remaining eight students came from Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology: Hannah Chartoff, Sean Cruz, Allison Hegel, Arjun Khanna, Steven Mechner, Dustin Moore, Michelle Oresky and Benjamin Parr.
Corporate sponsors all the way from Lockheed Martin to the Unisys Corporation provide merit scholarship awards for National Merit finalists who are children of their employees or members, who are residents of communities the companies, serve, or who have career interests the sponsors want to encourage.
Students’ Literary Magazines Nationally Recognized
Five student-produced literary magazines have been cited in the National Council of Teachers of English Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines. Cited as excellent were Carson Middle School’s “Endless Currents,” Centreville High School’s “Zoic,” Franklin Middle School’s “Pearls and Diamonds,” and South County Secondary School’s “Xanthus.” Cited as above average was Lee High School’s “Troubadour.”
Out of 439 submitted entries, these five local publications made an impact in categories of content and quality, content variety, editing and proofreading, artistic quality, and front matter and pagination. The magazines were judged from the 2006-07 school year.
Time Capsule Made to Celebrate 50 Years
Glen Forest Elementary School turned 50 last week and celebrated the big 5-0 occasion with the creation of a time capsule. After the presentation of the colors, performances followed by school singing ensembles and stringed orchestras. Students have been preparing for the school’s 50th anniversary by counting down the decades, concluding with a celebration of the 1950s and a school wide sock hop.
Elementary Students Present Multicultural Musical
Fifth and sixth grade students at Floris Elementary School will present “A Small Part of the World,” a musical by Sally Albrecht, on Thursday, April 24, at 9:30 a.m. for students in grades 3-6, and at 7 p.m. for parents and members of the community. The performance will feature multicultural songs, dances and speaking parts representing Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Israel, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Little Run Kicks Off Science Fair
Student use of the scientific method will be one of the criteria used to judge science fair projects during the Little Run Elementary School annual Science Fair on Thursday, April 24, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Judges will include five staff members from the National Security Space Office, who will use a rubric to judge projects and award first, second, and third place ribbons to sixth grade projects. The annual Science Fair is part of the school’s tradition of promoting and encouraging exploration of the scientific inquiry and gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of and interest in the sciences.
Vienna to Premiere in Viking Music Festival
Vienna Elementary School students will perform in the Viking Music Festival at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, at the Patrick Henry Library. Members of the Vienna Elementary Band, Advanced Strings, Mixed Chorus and Jammers will perform. The Mixed Chorus is a select group of sixth grade students who participated in All-County Chorus or the Madison Pyramid Singers. They work during lunch and before and after school to learn choral literature. The Jammers is a percussion ensemble of students in grades 3-6 who use traditional and nontraditional percussion instruments. They perform traditional music and students’ original compositions. Limited seating is available. Call the library at 703-938-0405 to reserve a seat.
Aldrin Plants Trees to Help Environment
Between 80 and 100 trees will be planted at Aldrin Elementary with help from Fairfax ReLeaf on Saturday, April 26, beginning at 9 a.m. Parents and students will dig holes and plant the trees in two areas of the Aldrin campus. They hope to add to tree cover on campus to reduce the need for mowing, supply erosion control, and encourage the Aldrin community to understand how individual and collective actions can positively affect the local environment. They are also aiming to make the community aware of some of the groups that support the care of the environment, including Fairfax Master Naturalists, Fairfax ReLeaf, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Reston Association.
Oakton High Tops FBLA
The Oakton High Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) team finished in the top five in all six events at the FBLA State Conference held recently. Top five winners include: Sarah Parsons and Daniel Novick, second place in Business Financial Plan, Nickolas Sojka, third place in Introduction to Business, Andrew Wong, third place in Accounting II, Matt Ellis, fifth place in Economics, Peter Lee, fifth place in Computer Problem Solving, and Kelcey Stone, fifth place in Personal Finance. The Oakton FBLA also received Honor Chapter recognition.
Courtyard Turtle Makes Waves at Bailey’s
Melanie Carney’s third grade class at Bailey’s Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences has been monitoring the movements of a turtle with a transmitter throughout the school year. The turtle, who lives in the school courtyard, has worn the transmitter during the 2006-07 school year. Students have observed where the turtle goes during the day and night, where her favorite spot is, and the characteristics of that spot. The students are interested in creating other places in the courtyard similar to her frequently visited spots. They have also noted weather conditions, time of day, season and location of the turtle.
