A student representing Willow Springs School recently won highest honors in this year's WordMasters Challenge — a national language arts competition entered by 250,000 students annually. The Challenge consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year.
Competing in the difficult Gold Division, fifth-grader William Keenan earned a perfect score in the year's second meet, held in February. In the entire country, only 140 fifth-graders earned perfect scores.
Other students at the school who also achieved outstanding results in the meet were third-graders Indiana Berman, Fanstine Chau, Natalie Gehrki, and Emily Stone; fourth-graders Tim Ferrell and Zachary Seid; and fifth-graders Andrew Dilworth, Erin Lindgren, Colleen Knight, Cara Peterson, Jordan Juchel, Carrie Pickering and Alex Delvecchio. The students were coached in preparation for the Challenge by Linda Davis and their classroom teachers.
Noah Cincinnati of Fairfax was recently inducted into Beta Nu, the college's chapter of the National Classics Honorary Fraternity Eta Sigma Phi. Cincinnati is the son of Edward and Judy Cincinnati of Fairfax, and is a 2001 graduate of Chantilly High School. A sophomore majoring in history, Cincinnati has held the position of student senator and belongs to both Phi Alpha Theta, a history honor society, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He also has been named to the Dean's List.
Heather J. Carver, daughter of Bob and Dot Carver of Chantilly, was recently inducted into the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta at Lynchburg College in central Virginia. Members of Sigma Tau Delta have completed at least three semesters, earned a 3.0 or better GPA in English classes, and rank in the top 35 percent of their class. Carver, a 2000 graduate of Chantilly High School, is a junior English major at Lynchburg.
<lst>The Westfield high Speech and Debate Team came in 5th in the state on March 22. Arnab Mukherjee and Nina Walter came in 3rd place in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu; Scott Seymour took 4th in International Extemp and Omar Syed came in 6th in humorous interpretation. Diane Rogers, Kristen Blair, and Grace Milad also competed in the finals.
News from Centreville Elementary:
* Each Monday the Area Band will meet from 2:30-4 p.m.
* Each Tuesday the Homework Club will meet from 3:40-5 p.m.
* Thursday, April 10 — Passports to Nations International Night 7 p.m.
* Friday, April 11 — Report cards go home.
* April 14-18 — Spring Break. Have a fun and safe vacation!
* Monday, April 21 — Kicks off Math Awareness Week!
* Thursday, April 24 — CES Picture Day
* Saturday, April 26 — PTA Hoedown 4 p.m.
* Saturday is also Spring Clean up Day!
* Tuesday, April 29 — DEAR Time will met at 3 p.m.
* Tuesday is also Kindergarten Registration.
The PTA meets the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. in the library. If you are interested in becoming a member of the PTA, stop by the school and pick up a registration form.
* The next PTA Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 1 at 7 p.m.
Deer Park Elementary will host a discussion on Cyber Safety on Thursday, April 10 from 7-8 p.m. The keynote speakers will be the SCA officers and two student essay winners of the Child Safety: A Priceless Priority essay contest that was sponsored by Robinson Secondary School's CEDA Club. A group of Internet provider experts will end the evening by forming a panel of parents and students to discuss issues related to cyber safety.
The Westfield High School PTSA will hold a special program featuring school administrators presenting the latest information about the No Child Left Behind Act and the SOL appeals process on Thursday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the school's lecture hall. Virginia Dels. Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax), Gary Reese (R-Fairfax), and Thomas Rust (R-Fairfax) will attend the program and discuss these important policies with their constituents. The No Child Left Behind Act will impact area students and schools tremendously and will require massive funding. Parents are invited to attend the presentation and ask their elected officials questions about the state's plans to support these policies. Call Birgit Retson at 703-488-6430.
The Centreville High Class of 2004 is sponsoring a car wash at the Fair Lakes Wal-Mart Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to raise money for the After-Prom celebration. There is no fixed charge for the car wash, but donations are gratefully accepted. This year's After-prom event will be held from 1-5 a.m. on May 17 at the Chantilly Bowl America and will feature cosmic bowling, ice cream bar, hot breakfast, activities and prizes. The After-Prom event is free to students. Call Marguerite Shapalis 703-818-0283.
Virginia Run Elementary will hold its Spring Fair on Sunday, April 27 from 2-5 p.m. The fair will include a giant inflated slide, the Ultimate Obstacle Course, the Human Whirl as well as moonbounces, pony rides, and more. Rain date is Sunday, May 4.
The Westfield Athletic Booster Club is now accepting nominations for the executive board for the 2003-2004 school year. Nominations should be made by April 28. The Election will be held at the May 27 board meeting. The following positions are open for nomination: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Correspondence Secretary and Recording Secretary. There are several committees that need chairpeople as well. If you are interested in a position on the board, or would like to nominate someone, contact Kim Davidson at 703- 830-4990 or Greg Furst at 703-222-9647.
Radford University alumni in the area are invited to a networking social on Friday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. in The Deep Room of the Shark Club, in the Newgate Shopping Center. Entertainment gets underway at 8 p.m. and again at 11:30 p.m. with a performance by the band JunkFood. There is no cover charge before 9 p.m., but $5 after.
The Westfield High School 5K Race and Bulldog Dash Committee is calling for volunteers for its third annual run, which will be held on Saturday, May 10, at 8 a.m. All proceeds from the adult 5K race and children's Bulldog dash run will be used to fund scholarships for selected graduating seniors. Last year's event raised almost $10,000 for the fund. Volunteers are needed to plan the event, serve food, register runners, and serve as course marshals. Students can earn service hours for various school organizations by participating on the committee. To become a sponsor or to volunteer, contact 5K Run Committee co-chair Cathy Waldron at 703-830-6045.
Radford University alumni in the Northern Virginia area are invited to participate in the Ninth Annual Radford Athletic and Alumni Association Golf Tournament at Chantilly National Golf and Country Club in Centreville. Tournament date is Monday, May 12 with registration beginning at noon and tee-off time set for 1 p.m. An "early bird" registration fee of $399 per team is available now through April 18. After that, cost will be $440 per team and $110 per single golfer. Registration fees include greens fee, cart, range balls, a picnic dinner and beverages. Proceeds from this event benefit the athletic scholarship program for Northern Virginia students. Space is limited. Call Sandra Bond at 1-888-4RU-GRAD or e-mail: smbond@radford.edu.
A Summer Band and Orchestra Camp will be held June 30-July 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Franklin Middle School. Cost is $140/student or $150 after June 6. Students will study the following instruments: all brass, woodwinds, percussion and string instruments. The camp is offered to the following band and strings students: grades 3-10, beginning band/orchestra, cadet band/orchestra, concert band/orchestra and symphonic band/orchestra. A final concert will feature all performing ensembles July 23. For an application, go to www.fcps.edu/Franklinms or call Mr. Walker at 703-904-5145.
World Heritage is seeking local host families for high school boys and girls from Spain, France, Germany, Thailand, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico or Brazil through World Heritage International Student Exchange Program. Host families provide room, board, and guidance for a teenager living thousands of miles from home. Students are well screened and are selected based on academic performance, English proficiency, teacher recommendations and personal interviews. Couples, single parents and families with or without children in the home are encouraged to apply. The students arrive shortly before school begins in fall 2003. Call Wyndy Fredrick at 1-800-888-9040 or 703-435-8948 or visit the Web site at www.world-heritage.org.
The Children's Friendship Project for Northern Ireland is seeking local families to help with the peace and reconciliation effort in Northern Ireland. Consider hosting a pair of Protestant and Roman Catholic teens (boys or girls ages 15 to 18) in your home for four weeks this summer. To be eligible, families must provide a safe-neutral setting for the teens to get to know one another, a single bedroom for them to share, and day-long adult supervision. For more information or to obtain a host family application, contact Melinda Grochowski at 703-478-6291, or visit the Web site at www.cfpni.org.
Chantilly High School's class of 1993 is trying to locate alumni for its 10-year reunion. The date and location are still being decided. Contact First-Class Reunions at 888-327-1984 or visit the Web site at www.fcreunions.com to update information.
A Chantilly High Alumni Club is being started by Debra Weeks Alexander and her husband Joe, co-presidents of the Chantilly Athletic Booster Club. They hope to reunite Chantilly grads, as well as their parents, and get them involved in school spirit to make Chantilly a real, hometown school. Call the Chantilly Booster Hotline at 703-912-4002 and leave a message. Or call the Alexanders at 703-620-3434.
Centreville Elementary is expanding its after-school, homework/activities club for grades three through six. It'll go from one to two evenings a week, from 3:45 to 5 or 5:30 p.m. The school provides a snack and transportation home, plus homework help and various leisure activities. Some 140 children are expected to participate, but community volunteers are needed to help staff it; call Principal Jim Latt at 703- 502-3500.
The Centreville High School After-Prom Committee is selling a "Four Season Wildcat Blanket" to raise money for the After-Prom Drug/Alcohol Free Event in May, 2003. It is 56 x 70-inches, black/charcoal w/blue imprint, water-resistant nylon on one side that reverses to a cozy, non-pilling poly fleece. The hooded blanket folds up into a handy carrying bag with two pouches and a snap closure. Price is $35. Questions and orders, contact Liz Birk at 202-216-8607 or at 703-830-3513.
Fairfax County Public Schools will offer 14 high school courses online through its Online Campus for summer school 2003. The Online Campus offers regular education courses that are as challenging as in-class courses, with mandatory daily attendance, midterm and final exams, and Standards of Learning (SOL) testing. The classes are offered at no charge to FCPS students, but require the approval of the high school guidance counselor.
While it is not intended to replace the face-to-face classroom, the FCPS Online Campus offers choices for students who: are homebound or home schooled, need a class or two to graduate on time, need to catch up, or need to work but want to complete the requirements for a high school diploma. Information about the FCPS Online Campus can be found on its Web site at http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OHSICS/onlinecampus/