The Chantilly Pyramid Minority Student Achievement Committee (CPMSAC) and Centreville High School PTSA will present the 11th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Festival on Sunday, Jan. 16, from 4-6 p.m. The snow makeup date is Jan. 23. The event will be held at Centreville High School Auditorium, 6001 Union Mill Road, Clifton. The King Festival is a day of remembrance that showcases the talents of Fairfax County Public School students and community organizations. Performers will include student volunteers of all races, national origins and backgrounds attending Fairfax County Public Schools, local area churches, community groups and more.
The Festival is free and open to the public. Call Ella Thomas at 703-815-1985 or log onto CPMSAC's Web site at www.cpmsac.org.
The Chantilly Drama Department Children's Theatre presents "Little Red Riding Hood (and the Power Mutants)," a children's show for the whole family. The show is Jan. 28 at 7 p.m.; Jan. 29 at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $4 at the door. Little Red tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood, although these days she's running a gourmet home delivery service. As she struggles to deliver her basket of high-priced goodies, she is threatened by a band of wolves. Actually, those would be the wolves from Oswald's School for Wolves (or OSW for short). Oswald is in the business of training people who want exciting new careers as wolves. Only this class isn't exactly his best. But don't worry about Little Red, for The Power Mutants have come to protect. The Power Mutants are an elite band of crime fighters, whose mutant powers are unfortunately, rather silly. Nerf Man, Rubber Chicken Girl and The Burper just weren't cool enough to get into the X-Men, but they are trying their hardest to be super heroes. Oh, and there are also two hunters after the wolves and two forest rangers after the hunters. It's all a little confusing but also a lot of fun. For further information, log onto www.chantillyhsdrama.com or call 703-222-8182.
Chantilly High School will present its 27th annual Science Fair Feb. 2-3. The guest speaker at the awards presentation will be Dr. Charles E. McQueary, the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security. Dr. McQueary's professional experience includes serving as president for General Dynamics Advanced Technology, and he has served the community on the boards of various philanthropic organizations and institutes of higher learning.
Wednesday, Feb. 2, will be devoted to project presentation and judging. Chantilly High School is fortunate to have a community of professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to support the students and evaluate their research. The support of parents, administration, staff, and the P.T.S.A. have contributed to the enduring success of the fair and its participants. The public is invited to view projects on Thursday, Feb. 3, from 6-7 p.m., and attend the presentation of awards at 7 p.m. First-place projects at Chantilly's fair may be selected to compete in the Fairfax County Regional Science Fair, whose grand prize winners will compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held in Phoenix, Ariz., from May 8-14.
Clifton Children's Academy will be holding registration open houses for kindergarten and morning and afternoon preschool classes on Sunday, Jan. 23 and Sunday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is for registration for Fall 2005. There will also be limited registration available for this Spring of 2005. The school is located at 14315 Compton Road in Centreville. Call 703-968-8455 or visit www.childrensacademy.com.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has scheduled two teacher job fairs to recruit teachers for the 2005-06 school year. The job fair for elementary school teachers will be held on Saturday, Jan. 29, and the job fair for secondary school teachers will be held on Saturday, Feb. 26. Both job fairs are scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Oakton High School, 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna.
Preregistration is required of all candidates and can be completed by calling 703-750-8533 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Registration for the job fair for elementary school teachers runs from Jan. 6-24. Registration for the job fair for secondary school teachers will run from Feb. 7-22.
Teachers who specialize in critical-field subjects and who are identified through a rigorous selection process may be offered early contracts and $1,000 signing bonuses. Critical fields for the 2005-06 school year include chemistry, elementary school language immersion, family and consumer sciences, industrial technology, mathematics, physics, Spanish, and special education (all areas).
A substance-abuse seminar for parents of Stone Middle and Westfield High students is held Mondays, at 6:30 p.m., in the Westfield High library. School Resource Specialist Leslie Churn, a substance-abuse counselor who works out of Westfield High, runs the free sessions and provides facts that every parent should know about teen-agers and drugs. Call her at 703-961-5474. The next dates are Jan. 24 and Feb. 7. There are no seminars when schools are closed for holidays, breaks or snow days.
Beginning in the fall of 2005, The Boyd School, Westfields Campus will introduce a Middle School program for grades 7 and 8. The 3,000 square foot space which will include a galley kitchen, science lab, boys and girls shower facilities, individual study rooms, and lots of natural lighting. The Boyd School is a full affiliate school with the American Montessori Society, licensed by the Virginia Department of Social Services and maintains many affiliations with Montessori and academic organizations throughout the area.
Open House at all of The Boyd School campuses is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. For more information on Montessori and The Boyd School, visit http://www.theboydschool.com or contact their Westfields campus by phone at 571-321-0364 or email at westfieldsadmin@theboydschool.com.
Centreville High School PTSA meetings throughout the winter and spring will feature special speakers on topics that parents care about:
On Jan. 18, Vivian Wisda from the CVHS Clinic will give a brief talk about available health services.
On Feb. 15, P.D. O'Keefe, Information Specialist in the FCPS Safe and Drug-Free Youth Section, will give an overview of gang activity in our area and measures we can take as a community to prevent and mitigate the problem.
On March 15, School Board members Kathy Smith (chair) of the Sully District and Cathy Belter of the Springfield District will be on hand to talk about school board decisions and issues and take questions from parents about their concerns.
On April 19, Dr. Michael Filak will discuss health issues for college students and what parents can do to help their kids prepare for new germs and new living conditions.
On May 17, Michele Turead, an alcohol and drug specialist with FCPS, will talk about trends in alcohol and drug use among teens and how parents can step up awareness and vigilance, both in general and especially for the prom/graduation/beach week season.
PTSA meetings are held regularly on the third Tuesday of the month. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. in the CVHS Media Center. Speakers will appear first on the agenda at 7:30, and the regular PTSA meeting will begin after the special presentations.
PTSA meetings are always open to all and the whole CVHS community is welcome.