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
A new select basketball team for sixth-grade girls is forming in the Great Falls area. The team will be coached by Jay Donegan, who believes in developing individual and team talent in a positive environment. Call Donegan, 703-406-2710, or Jim Gallagher, 703-759-3893, for additional information.
The annual James Madison High School Band citrus sale fund-raiser begins Oct. 11, with students offering Florida navel oranges, Florida red grapefruit, Sunburst tangerines and Georgia pecans through Nov. 13. Growing conditions have been ideal, and the suppliers, Florida Indian River Groves and MASCOT Pecan Shelling Co., anticipate one of the finest crops in years. The fruit and pecans will be delivered by the students in early December. Contact a Madison band member or citrus sale coordinator Paul Stiegler at 703-242-0799 or at paul.stiegler@verizon.net. Proceeds go to support the Madison Band.
The Country Day School will host an Admissions Open House on the following dates: Oct. 15 and 22, Nov. 17, 18, 24 and 25. Reservations are required. Call 703-356-9149 to reserve a space. The Country Day School is located at 6418 Georgetown Pike, McLean.
The James Madison High School Orchestra will perform its fall concert on at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 16, in the school auditorium. The concert is free.
The Langley High School Class of 1983 will reunite on Oct. 18 at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel in Herndon. For more information, visit www.greatreunions.com.
There will be a GT forum for School Board candidates at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, 6560 Braddock Road, Alexandria, on Monday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Candidates will discuss their views on educating academically gifted children and answer questions about the Fairfax County GT programs. The forum is sponsored by the Fairfax County Association for the Gifted. It is free and open to the general public. For more information, see www.fcag.org or call 703-917-7960.
Ambleside School, a Christian K-8 school in Reston, will host an Open House on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 7:30-9 p.m. All interested parents are welcome to come and learn more about Ambleside. The school is located across from Home Depot at 1700 Reston Parkway (Oakbrook Church). For more information, call 703-435-3300, or see ambleside.org.
Lorien Wood is a Christ-centered school with integral curriculum modeled after Rivendell School in Arlington. Lorien Wood will feature small, mixed-age classes, with emphasis placed on character development, community, and parental involvement. The school will open in the greater Vienna area in fall 2004 with grades kindergarten to four, expanding through grade eight over the next four years. Open houses will be Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m., and Monday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m., both at Bethel Baptist Church, 1130 Towlston Road, Great Falls. R.S.V.P. appreciated but not required, at "mailto:info@lorienwood.org" or 703-281-1807. For additional information, contact http://www.lorienwood.org.
Dominion Christian School at 10922 Vale Road in Oakton, a classical Christian school with grades K-7, will hold an Open House on Thursday, Oct. 23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, see www.dominionschool.com or contact Jan Pierce, principal, at 703-758-1055.
Great Falls Village Green Day School will host an open house on Monday, Oct. 27, from 1-3 p.m. All families interested in preschool, Montessori, child care or after-elementary-school care are invited to attend. Call the school, 703-759-4049, to R.S.V.P.
The Falls Church High School Class of 1978 25th reunion will take place Oct. 24-25, Homecoming weekend. Friday evening there is a happy hour scheduled at the Fairview Park Marriott at 7 p.m. Saturday evening there will be a party at the Marriott starting at 7:30 p.m. Contact Andrew Hendrickson at ach1959@iglide.net or Margaret Knerr at bristow3@comcast.net to register.
Starshine Theater Young Actors' Workshop will begin rehearsing an original musical drama, "The Honorable History Society Mystery," on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the School of Theatrical Dance in Great Falls. Written and directed by Patricia Budwig, the whodunit play is based on the lives of certain colorful characters found in paintings at the National Gallery of Art. The workshop is open to boys and girls 7-16. It is a full-production experience, offering a speaking role to every student, as well as lead singing, action/dance and assistant directing roles for those who are interested. A professionally produced CD soundtrack of the original musical score will include cast members' vocal talents. Performances will take place on Saturday, Jan. 31, at The Great Falls Grange. Call 703-790-9050 or e-mail StarshineTheater@aol.com for complete audition and rehearsal information.
The Civitan Club of Tysons is seeking six local high-school students to attend its annual "Leadership in Freedom" conference Nov. 20-23. The long weekend will consist of workshops and presentations emphasizing the tenets of citizenship necessary to American democracy and the elements of a free enterprise system. Through discussion and debate, participants will examine major national/international issues and their responsibilities as good citizens.
Students attending Langley, Robert E. Lee, James Madison, Marshall, George Mason, McLean, JEB Stuart and Oakton high schools are eligible and need to contact the career center at their respective schools to express interest in participating. Each school will administer the selection process, and Civitans will pay the fees. The mission of Civitan, a nonprofit organization, is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.
National Merit Scholarship Corp. (NMSC) has named 210 students in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists for 2004. The semifinalists are eligible to compete for 8,000 National Merit Scholarship awards, to be awarded in spring 2004. The National Merit Semifinalists include William Claybaugh, Mark Croce, Alexandra Gutierrez, Jonathan Holland, Peter Rawlings, Andrew Thompson, and Daniel Yang, Langley High; Colin Campbell, Madison High; Stephanie Bachula, David Golding, Helen Sim, and Michael Young, McLean High; Rita Bagai, Elizabeth Jones, Ashok Kumar and Jagannathan Venkatesh, Oakton High.
To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have a record of very high academic performance, be endorsed and recommended by his school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm his earlier qualifying test performance. The semifinalist must also submit a detailed scholarship application, including the student’s self-descriptive essay and information about his participation and leadership in school and community activities.
Long & Foster Real Estate once again offers its annual Long & Foster $150,000 Scholarship Program for well-rounded graduating high school-seniors entering an accredited four-year college or university. The Long & Foster Scholarship Program will award $1,000 to each of 150 worthy recipients throughout its seven-state region for the 2004-05 academic year. The monetary scholarship award will be made payable directly to the college or university in the student’s name. The deadline for applying is March 1, 2004, and the scholarships will be awarded beginning May 3, 2004.
Eligible high-school seniors must have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, demonstrate financial need, indicate positions of leadership they held while a student and describe in which school groups they have been involved, community organizations in which they have served, and whether they have held a part-time job while in school, to be considered well-rounded applicants. Applicants will be asked to write a short essay on either their most significant high-school experience or their expectations for college.
Applications for the Long & Foster Scholarship Program can be obtained from any of Long & Foster’s residential sales offices, from high-school guidance counselors, or via Long & Foster’s Web site at www.longandfoster.com/scholarship. Check the Long & Foster Web site for a list of service areas where applicants must reside to be eligible for the scholarship program.
A hard copy of the application and the required attachments must be mailed by March 1, 2004, to Long & Foster Corporate Headquarters at the following address: Long & Foster Scholarship Program, c/o Corporate Marketing Department, Long & Foster Real Estate Inc., 11351 Random Hills Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-6082, Attention: Colleen Park.
The Madison Band won top honors at state contests on Saturday, Oct. 4, in Charlottesville, competing against marching bands from throughout Virginia. Led by band director Michael S. Hackbarth, Madison was awarded First Place Band, First Place Color Guard, Best Musical Performance, Best Marching Performance and Best Drum Majors in additional to being the Grand Champion of the marching competition in the AAAA Division at the Charlottesville Cavalcade. Later in the day, Madison received awards for Best Marching Performance and Best General Effect (highest score in the entire competition) at the Jefferson Classic in Charlottesville.
Mai Hassan and Desmond Torkornoo of Marshall High School are among the 21 students from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) to have been named semifinalists in the 2004 National Achievement Scholarship program, an academic competition for black American high-school students, conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). The semifinalists will compete for more than 775 Achievement Scholarship awards, worth $2.7 million, to be awarded next spring. The awards will be supported by corporate organizations, professional associations, higher education institutions and funds from the NMSC. To be considered for a scholarship, semifinalists must advance to the finalist level by fulfilling additional requirements.
The Flint Hill Elementary Student Cooperative Association has begun planning its 11th Holiday Craft Fair, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the school gym. This well-advertised event is eagerly anticipated by 700-plus students and their families! Crafters to sell and exhibit handmade crafts, ornaments, clothes, gifts, pottery, etc., are being sought. Contact Mary Minkler, 703-391-2949. The cost for participating is $40 for a single table and $60 for a double. Tables are approximately 6 feet long.