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.
Karen Garza Hired as Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools
FCPS Board lauds Garza’s “openness” and “willingness to engage” community.
The Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved educator Karen Garza of Texas to be the next superintendent of the 181,000 student district at its April 18 school board meeting.
‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, RELAX!’ at Fairview Elementary Spring Family Night
Fairview Elementary School’s PTA in Fairfax Station is very excited about its first ever family recycling event being held Friday, May, 3 from 6-9 p.m. on the school’s blacktop behind the school.
Editorial: Value-added Evaluation?
TJ admissions illustrate growing gap between “haves” and “have-nots.”
More than 181,000 students attend Fairfax County Public Schools. So why do the 480 students who were accepted for next year’s freshman class at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology seem so important? Fairfax County Public Schools have a single elite magnet school, Thomas Jefferson, and TJ is frequently referred to as the top high school in the country. Dramatic disparity in the makeup of admissions at TJ is an indicator of disparity in early identification of students as gifted and talented, of access to advanced classes and enrichment, and in the basic education that the Fairfax County Public school system offers to all of its students.
Robinson Students Commit to 26 Acts of Kindness
The number 26 is in honor of the 20 students and six staffers killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Even if only 10 percent of Robinson Secondary School’s almost four thousand students accept the Student Government Association (SGA)’s 26 Acts of Kindness Challenge during the month of April, that would still mean 10,400 random acts of kindness and courtesy added to the world. Not a bad achievement.
Muslim Women Encouraged to Explore STEM
Six women share their success story at the Lorton Library.
The Nubian Benevolence Association was the official sponsor for the Muslim Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) presentation at the Lorton Community Library on Saturday, March 23, but there was little doubt that Hajjar Ahmed, daughter of the organization’s co-Founder Hossam Ahmed, was the driving force behind the event.
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