Chantilly High junior Tawnya Ravy, 16, attended the National Young Leaders Conference March 19-24 in the District with 350 outstanding scholars from across the U.S. The NYLC is a leadership development program for high school students who have demonstrated leadership potential and scholastic merit. For six days, Tawnya interacted with key leaders and newsmakers from the three branches of government, the media and the diplomatic corps.
Highlights of the program included welcoming remarks from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and a panel discussion with prominent journalists at the National Press Club.
The daughter of Nancy and Keith Novak of Berkshire Woods in Fairfax maintains a 3.8 GPA. A transfer from Florida, Tawnya has been active in The Purple Tide, German Club, Literary Magazine and NHS.
Chantilly High School senior Colin Chapman, 18, is a national winner in a writing contest sponsored by the National Newspaper Association Foundation/Quill and Scroll, which represents 5,000 newspapers across the U.S.
Colin's sports story "America's Real Heroes" won from some 456 entries nationwide.
Colin is the son of Ralph and Janet Chapman of Chantilly. With a 3.3 GPA, Colin is involved in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, and is sports editor for the school newspaper. He was named all district for three seasons and MVP for three seasons. He hopes to study journalism at JMU where he will run cross country and track.
Kristin Cantwell of Clifton has been selected to play a chorus woman in the Mary Washington College production of "The Trojan Women." Cantwell is the daughter of John and Estelle Cantwell of Clifton and a 1999 graduate of Paul VI Catholic High School. A junior theater major, Cantwell is a recipient of the Fred Winer Scholarship for theater, the Keith Belli Scholarship for excellence in theater and is president of Women With a Voice. She has been involved with numerous past MWC theater productions, including "Baby," "Approaching Zanzibar," "Our Time: A Sondheim Revue," "Cabaret," "Falling Grace," "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You" and "Talking With."
Performances for "The Trojan Woman" will be April 4-6 and 11-13 at 8 p.m. and April 7 and 14 at 2 p.m.
The Chantilly High School Choral Music Department participated in the Fiesta-Val Music Festival in Williamsburg during Spring Break. The Select Choir earned a Superior rating in the Treble Choir Division. Both Magic Touch and Light Touch placed second in their respective Show Choir Divisions. Jazz Touch received a Superior rating and placed first in the Jazz Choir Division and earned Grand Champion Honors.
George Juliano, art and ceramics teacher at Robinson Secondary School, was named Fairfax County Public Schools Teacher of the Year for 2002. Juliano will represent the county in Virginia's Teacher of the Year competition, and the winner will be announced in fall 2002.
Juliano has also won the Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award for educational excellence, which is presented annually to a teacher from each school district in the Washington metropolitan area. The award includes a $3,000 prize, which Juliano will receive at a recognition ceremony in April.
A veteran teacher with 34 years of experience, Juliano has taught ceramics at Robinson since 1987 and is a recognized expert in raku firing and glazing procedures.
Brookfield Elementary School's PTA, along with Greenbriar West, are sponsoring their first basketball game to be held on Friday, April 5 at 7 p.m. at Chantilly High School. Games will be held between the sixth-grade girls, sixth-grade boys, and teams made up of faculty and parents. A halftime shoot-out will be held for students, as well as cheerleading squads from each of the schools. Tickets are only available at school the week of the game (April 1-5), or through Brookfield's PTA representative, Sherry Shulte. Contact her at 703-263-1480. No tickets will be sold at the door.
The Virginia Run Elementary teachers will challenge the Centre Ridge teachers to basketball on Friday, April 5 at 7 p.m. at Westfield High School. Tickets are $3/adults, $2/children.
Virginia Run Elementary School will have a Colonial Day on Friday, April 5. Students in fourth grade will dress up in Colonial costumes and rotate by attending classes of quilling, tin punch, stenciling, clothes pin dolls and dancing. The Lightowler Shelby Group, headed by David Lightowler, will set up camp both Thursday and Friday. There will be an open fire on the school grounds and firearms demonstrations.
Robinson Secondary will host Da Vinci's Notebook on Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Russell Theatre. This a cappella group — four guys with attitude — will make the audience laugh out loud. The Web site is www.davincisnotebook.com. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students. Book online at www.robinsondrama.org. Call 703 426 2123.
Westfield Bulldog and Centreville Wildcat orchestras welcome the return of Capitol Steps on Sunday, April 7 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. The auditorium doors open 30 minutes in advance of each program. The Capitol Steps will serve up a full platter of belly-busting, sauciness that leaves the audience nearly rolling in the aisles. Several area restaurants are offering diner discounts to Capitol Steps ticket holders! On April 7, show your tickets to any of the restaurants listed below for a 15 percent reduction to your bill.
* In the Chantilly Park Center at 14511 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy. — Thai Basil — Authentic Thai Cuisine, reservations recommended, 703-631-8277.
* Picante! — The Real Taco.
* In the Sully Station Shopping Center — Hunan Chef ($20 minimum purchase).
* Blue Water Grille — (specials excluded), reservations recommended, 703-803-1040.
* In the Village Center on Stone Road — Milano's — Greek-style home cooking.
Call 703-488-6363, ext. 7203.
The Clifton Elementary School PTA is conducting a spring plant sale fund-raiser. Nursery quality annuals and perennials are being shipped straight from the grower on Saturday, April 13. Proceeds from this fund-raising event will be used to provide additional computers for classroom instruction. For information and to request an order form, e-mail: cliftonplantsale@aol.com.
Students at Westfield High can win cash awards and prizes by participating in the first annual Hero Essay Contest, sponsored by the school's English Department. Entrants must choose a local hero and write an essay about that person. Essays will be judged and prizes will be awarded by grade. Students can obtain entry forms from their English teachers, and all essays are due by April 15. Contact teacher Mona Moulton at 703-488-6300.
The Deer Park Elementary School PTA will host the sixth Annual Golf Tournament at Chantilly National Golf & Country Club on Monday, April 15. Shotgun start at 11 a.m. Put together a foursome or they will provide one. The $85 entrance free includes a breakfast buffet before tee-off, driving range, green fees, shared cart, awards, prizes, refreshments and snacks. Contact Paul LaRose at 703-830-6258.
Mountain View High School's Guidance and Business departments are planning to hold a senior meeting in Digital Focus's conference room, at the Herndon office on April 24. Digital Focus, which specializes in designing and building technology-based business solutions for Global 1000 enterprises, began a relationship with Mountain View this past school year. Currently, Digital Focus employees volunteer as mentors for selected Mountain View students, and participate in the alternative high school's Learning for Transition career focus activities such as Ethics Day and Reality Store. Plans are underway to expand this school-business relationship. Some 85 Mountain View seniors are eligible for graduation this spring, with an additional 20 eligible in August.
The Chantilly Pyramid Minority Student Achievement Committee (CPMSAC) is sponsoring its 2002 Teach-In (formerly Lock-In). The event will be held on Friday and Saturday, April 26-27 at Chantilly High School. The theme of this year's event is "A Call to Commitment: High Academic Achievement." Several workshops will be held to motivate and educate children with the skills and attitudes needed to move to the "mountain top" (academic excellence, self-motivation) at school and in their personal lives. The workshops are intended for students in grades 6-12 and their parents. The cost is $5 per student with a family cap of $15. Student participants and their parents must complete and return a registration form to CPMSAC by April 18. Call Berdia Foster at 703-803-8533, or Johnny L. Nelson at 703-968-2471 in the evening.
The Institute for the Arts summer program will be held July 8 through Aug. 1 at Fairfax High School. This summer enrichment program, which runs from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, offers more than 100 fine arts courses in dance, visual arts, music and theater arts. A student may participate in one or more disciplines by taking four classes daily in his or her areas of interest. The program is open to grades 7-12 and includes study in a variety of disciplines. Go online at www.fcps.edu/DIS/OACE/summer/IFTA-2002.pdf. Registrations must be received at the summer school office, 5775 Spindle Court, Centreville, Virginia 20121 on or before April 26. Tuition and transportation costs are $570 for Fairfax County residents and $770 for nonresidents.
The second annual Westfield High 5K Race and Bulldog Dash Committee is sponsoring a logo design contest for this year's race on Saturday, May 11 at 8 a.m. The winning designer will receive a $50 cash prize, and his or her work will be displayed on all print and Web site promotions for the 5K Run including fliers, posters, entry forms and T-shirts. The design must be camera-ready or created as a high-resolution image. Logos can be in black and white or in color. Submit entries to the Westfield Art Department by Feb. 20. Contact art teacher Diane Giaccone at 703-488-6300.
The Franklin Middle School Summer Band and Orchestra Camp will take place July 1-19 at Franklin Middle School. The schedule is Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $140/student, $150 after June 7. The final concert will be July 19 at 6 p.m. for the orchestra and 7:30 p.m. for the band. The camp is for grades 3 to high school. Students will experience the following classes: full band classes for all levels of band experience, sectionals with instrumental specialist, music theory sessions, classes for elementary through high school, orchestra classes for all levels of orchestra experience, special classes for beginning band and orchestra students. Students may study the following instruments: all woodwinds, all brass, all percussion and all strings instruments. For an application, call Lawrence Walker at 703-904-5145.
NVTA, formerly known as Northern Virginia Theatre Alliance, announces its sixth annual theater scholarships for high school seniors. NVTA is a non-profit organization comprised of community theaters throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Each year NVTA offers $1,000 scholarships to talented young people who intend to pursue the dramatic arts, musical theater or technical theater in college. The technical scholarship includes the areas of set design, costuming, lighting and make-up/hair design. The application deadline is Feb. 16, 2002. Call Anne Ridgway at (703) 330-ARTS.
Chantilly High School's Class of 1992 will hold its 10-Year Reunion on July 20 at the Waterford at Fair Oaks in Fairfax. Call First-Class Reunions at 888-327-1984 or visit the Web site at www.fcreunions.com to update information.
Robinson Secondary's Class of 1992 will hold its 10-Year Reunion on Oct. 19 at the Hilton Crystal City in Arlington. Call First-Class Reunions at 888-327-1984 or visit the Web site at www.fcreunions.com to update information.
STEP — Saturday Toward Excellence Program — is in need of tutors and mentors. The program offers nonprofit tutoring and mentoring at Chantilly High School for students in elementary, middle and high school. Tutoring sessions run from 9:30-11:15 a.m. The following subjects are in need of tutors: calculus, geometry, algebra, general math, chemistry, physics, biology, general science, social studies, Spanish, French, reading, elementary math, reading and language arts. Call Barbara Tyler, STEP coordinator, at 703-830-8039.