Fun Ways To Keep Learning in Summer
As summer vacation begins in a few weeks, some parents are scrambling for activities to fill the days for their children. Often that means summer vacations and trips to the pool or the park. Education experts say even in the midst of summer fun, it is important to ensure that children don’t lose the skills they’ve learned during the academic year. However, they say relaxing and having fun are equally important, and suggest a myriad of stealthy tricks that parents can employ for laid-back learning all summer long.
Unconventional Camp Ideas
Suggestions for parents still searching for summer activities
Lauralie Kennedy has been knee-deep in frantic online searches. School ends next month and the Alexandria mother has yet to enroll her 6-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter in summer camp. “I just haven’t put together a plan yet,” she said. “I have a spread sheet with all of the things I’d like for them to do, but I haven’t done anything with it. I am hoping that there will be slots open somewhere.”
Local Student to Receive Statewide Award
A Floris fifth-grader honored for excellence in math.
A Floris Elementary School fifth-grader has been selected as the Virginia recipient of the Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award by the National Association of Gifted Children.
Brief: Eight FCPS Students Honored for Writing
Eight Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students have received certificates for superior writing in the 2013 Achievement Awards in Writing by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
It’s on to The Kennedy Center
Robinson’s musical, “Hairspray,” nominated for eight Cappies.
Each year, the Cappies program honors the best in high-school theater, and Robinson Secondary’s high-octane musical, “Hairspray,” has been nominated for eight awards.
Celebrating ‘Everyday’ Heroes
Molina Healthcare honors local residents for making a difference in the community.
In the 1980s, Vienna resident John Horejsi and a “ragtag” group of social justice pioneers learned that Virginia was charging sales tax on food stamps. They discovered the sales tax boosted the state’s coffers by $9.5 million every year, money that they believed belonged to poor families for food or other necessary items.
‘Day Prom’ Celebrated
Eight high schools participate in daytime prom for special needs students.
Prom is pretty intimidating as it is: date, hair, dress, food, limo, flowers, dancing... gasp. But the annual event is also a privilege, a rite of high school passage that bonds students through shared experience for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, many students with special needs will never share that experience with their peers. Their physical or intellectual disabilities can make participating in such a large and emotional gathering overwhelming, uncomfortable, and in some cases, simply impossible.
Special Olympics Athletes Compete, Students Volunteer at George Mason Swim Meet
More than 130 swimmers, parents and friends of the Potomac Marlins USA Swimming year-round swim team volunteered April 28 to host the Northern Virginia Special Olympics Swim Meet held at George Mason. They came from all over the county for the Marlins' 17th year hosting this meet which brings together athletes throughout the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Exploring Nursing
Springfield school provides everything a person needs to start a medical field career.
Offering a two-year Virginia State Board of Nursing accredited Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) course, The Fairfax County School of Practical Nursing provides everything a person needs to begin a career in the medical field.
Discussing ‘Saturday Night in the Suburbs’
Lake Braddock seniors discuss sex, drugs and social media.
What really happens in the suburbs on Saturday nights? At an open forum at Lake Braddock Secondary School on Wednesday, May 1, community parents had the opportunity to have their fears and concerns over this question confirmed, assuaged, and in some cases, postponed. Special guests for the night were five high school seniors who had volunteered to discuss a range of topics—including illegal alcohol and marijuana use, depression and social media use—and field cross-examination from concerned parents.
Area Students Win Virginia History Day Awards
Students from three Fairfax County public schools earned awards at the 2013 Virginia History Day competition, held in Williamsburg.
South County Student Awarded Scholarship
Tyrone Simpson receives $5,000 from Northern Virginia Urban League.
The Northern Virginia Urban League awarded $50,000 in scholarships to local high school students at its annual Community Service and Scholarship Awards Dinner Friday, April 19. The organization, whose mission it is to enable disadvantaged youth to achieve economic and academic success, awarded one scholarship to South County Secondary School senior Tyrone Simpson.
‘The Music Man’ Marches Into South County High
Cast of over 50 presents the award-winning classic musical.
Katie Murray, a South County High School senior and Fairfax Station resident, remembers vividly the first time she saw a rendition of Meredith Wilson’s classic musical “The Music Man.” Her younger self was home sick, channel surfing, and stumbled upon the 2003 film remake starring Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.
Lake Braddock Theatre Revisits ‘Rashomon’
Director and fight choreographer also worked on school’s 1994 production.
Nineteen years ago, Lake Braddock drama teacher R.L. Mirabal and local choreographer Casey Kaleba worked together on “Rashomon,” the staged version of Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 dramatic film rooted in Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Japanese folkloric stories and "In a Grove."
Art Competition Winners Announced
U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) attends ceremony at Lorton Workhouse Arts Center.
More than 200 high school students and their parents and teachers gathered at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center last week to hear U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) and judges from across Virginia’s 11th Congressional District announce the winners of the annual Congressional Art Competition.