<lst>Know something that should be featured in School Notes? Awards? Special events? School fairs? Fax a brief write-up to 703-917-0991 or e-mail Mary Anne Weber at McLean@connectionnewspapers.com
<lst>Students at Kilmer Middle School in Vienna spent time tying over 1,000 yellow ribbons on a large plastic netting in order to show support for U.S. troops in Iraq. The netting was then wrapped around one of the trees in front of the school so that it can be seen from the road. Jeff Kovite, a history teacher and the director of this project, came up with the idea as a way for students who have relatives in the military to show their support for the men and women in uniform.
Northern Virginia Friends School in Oakton will begin enrolling third-graders this fall. Open houses is on Saturday, April 26, at 3 p.m. The location is 2854 Hunter Mill Road. Reserve at 703-281-NVFS.
Local host families are sought for French high-school students studying in the United States this summer. The International Center for Language Studies in Washington, D.C., will have 15-20 students. Families will be expected to provide room and board, help facilitate the students’ use of public transportation, and include them in weekend activities that will enhance their American experience. Incidental costs will be paid. A stipend will be given to each host family. Call 202-639-8800 to apply.
The Northern Virginia Chapter of Jack and Jill of America Inc., an organization that fosters the growth and development of children through cultural, educational, social and community service initiatives, will host a scholarship dinner/dance fund-raiser on April 25, at the Waterford at Fair Oaks, 12025 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway in Fairfax. The event is one of several activities the organization sponsors and opens to the public in an effort to raise funds to be awarded on graduation to academically talented high-school students whose families meet certain income guidelines
To purchase tickets, or to send donations, contact Denise Fox, the committee's ticket sales and publicity chair, at 703-818-6588.
The Langley High School bands will be performing on April 29 at 7:30 p.m. the Alden Theatre. All proceeds from the concert will benefit the more than 100 students who will be performing on June 9 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Tickets will be $5 per person, free for children under 10 when accompanied by a paying adult. Visit www.langleyband.org for more information about the bands.
The McLean High School Boys Basketball Team will host two sessions of Highlander Basketball Camp this summer, at Longfellow Middle School, July 7-11 and July 14-18. Camp tuition is $110 per session. Camp times are 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, contact coach Drew Murphy at 703-714-5774 or andrew.murphy@fcps.edu.
Graduating seniors residing in or near Great Falls are invited to apply for two Alexander DeFilippis scholarships being offered this Spring, sponsored by the Women's Association of St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Great Falls. The selection process places major emphasis on good character and demonstrated service to others through involvement in school, church or community projects. The students must also have a 2.5 or higher grade point average. Membership in St. Catherine of Siena Parish is not required.
Scholarship packages are available in the St. Catherine of Siena parish office at 1020 Springvale Road, Great Falls. Applications must be returned by May 15.
Great Reunions announces these confirmed dates for local high-school 2003 reunions:
McLean High School, Class of 1992, June 28 at the Doubletree Tysons Corner, Leesburg Pike;
Oakton High School, Class of 1983, July 26 at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, Vienna.
The McLean School of Ballet has announced its new online address. Information about the school and the McLean Arts Center is now available at www.msbj.org. The site provides the latest scheduling information about rehearsals and provides an opportunity for students, parents and patrons to communicate. Featured on the site are faculty, location, class schedule and the variety of movement classes offered at the McLean Arts Center.
The Flint Hill School Summer Programs, "Summer on the Hill," offers workshops, camps, trips and activities to both Flint Hill students and non-students, 5-18. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis, and Summer Programs run from June 23 to Aug. 1. Call 703-584-2392 to apply. Flint Hill School is located at 3320 Jermantown Road, Oakton.
Spring Hill Elementary's annual Kindergarten Roundup will take place on Tuesday, May 13, 9-10:15 a.m., starting in the Spring Hill Elementary cafeteria for registration and refreshments. From 9:15-10:15 a.m. parents can attend an information session as students visit classrooms. Those registering their children should bring a completed registration form, an original birth certificate and a lease or deed as proof of residency. The health form must be submitted before the child can enter school in September. These forms will be available at the Roundup.
The James Madison High School varsity field hockey team will offer a field hockey clinic for any level of player on Saturday, May 10. From 9-11 a.m., grades three-six can learn basics or practice their skills. From 11 a.m.-2 p.m., grades seven and eight will also consider playing on the high-school level. The clinic will be held on the field next to the Madison High School baseball diamond. The fee is $20 per player. Checks should be made payable to James Madison High School. Call 703-319-2360 for more information.
Chesterbrook students travel. Three times a year, Chesterbrook students in grades one through six have their passports stamped as they pass through immigration control and travel around the exciting world around them without ever leaving their classrooms.
Passport Days tap into the wealth of international experiences of the Chesterbrook families who have lived or traveled abroad. Photographs, maps, handcrafts, food and music are all part of the experience. Each child is given a passport in which to record his impressions of the country visited. When the sixth-graders graduate from Chesterbrook in June, they take their passports with them as a souvenir of the many countries they have visited. They also take with them a love and knowledge of the culturally diverse community in which they live.
Parent volunteers Susan Oriente and Jamila Thomas have organized Passport Days for five and two years, respectively. This fall, students traveled to Pakistan, Suriname, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Norway and Germany. In February and March, students visited Bosnia, Colombia, Belize, Poland, the Netherlands, Togo, Haiti and Kuwait.
James Madison High School presents "Chicago, the Musical," May 1-2 at 7 p.m., May 3 at 2 and 7 p.m., and May 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 in advance, $8 at the door. Tickets may be reserved online at madisondrama.com. For more information, call 703-319-2306 or email maddrama@cox.net.
Bannister McKenzie of Flint Hill School won third place in the print category of the 10th District Congressional Art Show, April 4, at Wakefield High School in the Plains. Students were competing for a chance to have their artwork displayed on Capitol Hill.
Students at Oakton High School, with help from Virginia Tech's Fralin Biotechnology Center, will start a special project in disease detection and control, beginning the week of April 15. Using techniques and material similar to those used by health-care professionals, as provided by the Fralin Center, students will use harmless materials standing in for disease agents to learn to test for disease presence and then track the spread of one "infected" sample through the entire population of the classroom. In addition to learning about the spread of disease, they will learn about the science of immunology. The Fralin Center loans equipment to high schools and community colleges across the state to present ideas and experiments to which their students would not otherwise be exposed.
McLean High School will kick off prom season with a fashion show on Thursday, April 24, at 11:20 a.m. and 12:20 p.m., in the school cafeteria. Over 30 students will model this year's styles. A limousine will also be parked outside during the shows.
The Cunningham Park Elementary School chorus will perform at the Vienna AARP meeting on Monday, May 19, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St., Vienna. For more information, call Emilie Larson at 703-938-1379.
The 50th Student Scholarship Competition conducted by the Women's Committee for the Arlington Symphony Association awarded area students for excellent performances in the divisions of wind, string and piano.
In the wind division, Kathryn Farenish (flute) was awarded first place, presented by Ralph Dorman of the South Arlington Lions Club. Jina Park (flute) won the second place Josephine G. Scofield Award, presented by David Scofield.
In the string division, Rena Kimura (violin) won the first place award donated and presented by Joseph T. Keiger. In-Kyung Chae (violin) won the second place Josephine G. Scofield Award, presented by David Scofield.
In the piano division, Maria Dickson won the first place Martha B. Hedges Award that has been donated by Phillip A. Bjorlo for the past 18 years. Lance Zhao won the second place Josephine G. Scofield Award, presented by David Scofield.
Jasmin Lee (piano, Kirill Romanov (cello), Brendan Shea (violin) and Sarah Todenhoft (clarinet) earned honorable mention.
All first place awards were $500. All second place awards were $250. Honorable mentions received $50, funded by Oscar and Betty Vertiz, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the competition.
Olga Khroulevitch and Joseph T. Keiger, in memory of Betty Keiger, were patrons and contributors to the competition.
Over 60 people attended the event and reception that followed.
The vocal faculty of Shenandoah Conservatory and New York vocal coach Jeanette LoVetri will host a graduate-level Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy training program this summer, July 7-11, at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. The class aims to bridge the gap between contemporary commercial music and more traditional classical vocal techniques for music teachers, students, coaches and choral directors. The intensive course is a part of the graduate degree curriculum at Shenandoah University. Highlights include LoVetri's Somatic Voicework, a body-based approach to voice training, vocal health techniques, diagnostic and corrective tools, practical applications, cross-training and problem-solving studies of the larynx.
Registration is required and space is limited to 20 participants and 30 observers. Program costs are $450 for participants with a Somatic Voicework certificate and two graduate academic credits; $350 for participants with a Somatic Voicework certificate; $300 for observers with one graduate academic credit and $250 for observers.
For more information, contact Kathryn Green at kgreen@su.edu or call Shenandoah Conservatory at 540-665-4600 or view an online brochure at www.su.edu/LoVetri%20Brochure5.pdf.
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<cl>Members of the Kent Gardens Chess Club successfully competed at the largest-ever Virginia Scholastic Chess Tournament on March 8-9, in Richmond.
<lst>The Kent Gardens Elementary School chess club sent 25 members to the Virginia Scholastic Chess Tournament, March 8-9, in Richmond. The elementary team brought home a second place trophy. The primary team won fourth place in their division.
Individual trophies for finishing in the top twenty were awarded to Arman Khojani, Adam Hood, Aryan Khojani and Cabell Sawyer.
Individual medals for ties in 22nd place were awarded to Kyle Pyne, Daniel Nothaft, Aryan Khojani, Martin Zavala and Kevin Deisz.
Also contributing to the efforts of the winning Kent Gardens teams were: Rachel Brown, Matthew Cooper, Nicholas Durham, Alex McCleary, Mary-Kate McLeary, John Nothaft, Yasmina Shields, Grant Thompson, Ethan Arkin, Noki Arur, Andrew Cooper, Scott Feit, Xavier Ferrier, Matthew McCleary, Dylan Miller and MacKenzie West.
The chess club at Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean currently has 141 members who meet every Wednesday after school for competition and instruction provided by the U.S. Chess Center.
Students from Marshall High School will compete at the National DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, beginning Saturday, April 26. Their competition categories include apparel and accessories role play, entrepreneurship franchise, fashion promotion, e-commerce, finance, retail marketing role play, sports and entertainment, hospitality marketing research, business marketing research an international business. Having finished in first or second place at the state level, the 33 students from Marshall will be joined at the competition by 10 students from Woodson High School.
Marshall High School will present its spring musical, "Sideshow," May 8-10, at 7:30 p.m. and May 11, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $8. For more information, call 703-714-5400.