Send announcements to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454.
This free listing is reserved for activities and events that are open to the public at no or minimal cost.
Dane Cozens from Stone Bridge High School was selected to attend this summer's Governor's School for Visual & Performing Arts at the University of Richmond. The four-week program of classes, workshops, field trips and special evens is designed to encourage students' individual growth as well as to challenge them to achieve personal excellence in their fields. Applicants must participate in a statewide audition and submit teacher recommendations. Participants are selected from across the state.
Jessica Ivy O'Connor of Sterling graduated from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va., May 15 with a summa cum laude with a degree in English. O'Connor was also tapped for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, one of the oldest honorary fraternities. Election into PBK requires that a student rank in the top 20 percent of their class.
Sugarland Elementary celebrated the 69 national cultures represented by its student body when it staged a ÒChildren of the WorldÓ festival Thursday, June 9.
The day started with an official opening ceremony in the multi-purpose room and moved to the classrooms, which were decorated to represent various countries.
The full-day kindergarten classroom was decorated to represent Mexico. There was a Brazilian rain forest, a Filipino karaoke station and displays representing El Salvador, Australia, Puerto Rico, Iran, Vietnam and Algeria, among others. One classroom featured a class on how to use chopsticks. Students began by picking up Ritz Bitz before working their way down to grains of rice.
Students moved from classroom to classroom carrying a Sugarland Passport/Journal, to write down the countryÕs name, the continent it was a part of, what the country looked like, what new words the student learned from studying the country and some things the student learned during their Òvisit.Ó The last page of the passport featured the way to say goodbye in 26 languages.
The bookcases in the media center were covered with artifacts brought in by parents to represent their native country. A construction paper ÒquiltÓ with panels representing all the members of the school community was placed in the reading area.
Students and staff members displayed their country of national origin by placing a card with their name on it over a small flag in the main hallway. The day ended with a family event that included a multi-cultural fashion show.
For the second consecutive year Jane PetersonÕs seventh-grade language arts students at Belmont Ridge Middle School have authored and illustrated their own books.
This year, the culmination of this activity featured a new twist. Continuing the Belmont Ridge tradition of completing the narrative writing process by Òposting, publishing, and presenting,Ó 21 seventh-grade student authors traveled across the county to give book talks to sixth-graders at Mercer Middle. This collaboration was a natural following a presentation given by Mercer librarian Clare Tomasch last fall at the Virginia Educational Media Association Conference in Roanoke.
Local students were named to Virginia Tech's Dean's List for the spring 2005 semester. To qualify, students must attempt at least 12 credit hours graded on the A-F option and earn a 3.4 grade point average during the semester.
Ashburn students include: Wesley S. Anderson, freshman, university studies; Andrew N. Archut, junior, history; Michael C. Avery, senior, biochemistry; Thomas M. Brown, freshman, sociology; Joshua N. Burnheimer, freshman, university studies; Cassandra M. Coffman, senior, human development; Brian M. Colleran, freshman, finance; Christopher D. Edens, senior, biochemistry; Danny A. Fasold, junior, communication; Philip J. Gallo, junior, English; Jonathan H. Giguere, freshman, business; Megan C. Green, sophomore, electrical engineering; Theresa M. Hawkins, senior, wildlife sciences; Gregory E. Hess, senior, finance; Garrett S. Hols, senior, international studies; Jorden E. Holt, freshman, management; Matthews S. Jeletic, senior, chemistry; Joseph C. Kendall, sophomore, political science; Kristin E. Lamir, senior, human development; Andrew K. Landsberg, sophomore, biochemistry; Sarah K. Larkins, junior, communication; Andrew R. Lewis, sophomore, international studies; Lauren M. Matz, senior, marketing management; Julieanna C. McGuire, junior, political science; Michelle N. Meyer, senior, architecture; Robert L. Mott, senior, mechanical engineering; Jenny J. Qiu, senior, biology; David J. Rariden, senior, architecture; Christine M. Ryan, senior, communication; Bryan M. Schamus, freshman, communication; Nida Sohail, senior, marketing management; Geoffrey E. Tetteyfio, senior, marketing management; Eric M. Thiel, senior, interdisciplinary studies; Heather A. Tydings, sophomore, biology; Christina Y. Vu, sophomore, management; Colleen E. Webster, freshman, communication; John T. Wilkinson, junior, computer science.
Lansdowne students include: Virginia L. Syptak, senior, biochemistry; Ali G. Mehr, freshman, human nutrition, foods and exercise; Carol A. Olson, freshman, communication.
Potomac Falls students include: Andrew J. Augustin, freshman, general engineering; Douglas B. Brenner, freshman, general engineering; Johanna L. Gusman, senior, biology; Kenneth S. Logan, junior, mining engineering; William R. Mook, senior, human nutrition, foods and exercise; James E. Taylor, senior, marketing management; James P. Vaeth, freshman, general engineering; Victoria A. Wilson, sophomore, English.
South Riding students include: Deanna M. Askin, senior, communication; Priyanka Dua, freshman, biology; Lindsay M. McAree, junior, management; Rushabh N. Shah, junior, mining engineering; Timothy E. Wiltgen, senior, mechanical engineering; Kelvin Yuen, freshman, general engineering.
Sterling students include: Jennifer M. Balla, senior, human nutrition, food and exercise; Robert C. Bernhards, sophomore, biology; Kiernan K. Calef, senior, human nutrition, food and exercise; Robert B. Carter, senior, physics; Lambrini K. Drosos, senior, business information technology; Elizabeth L. Dye, freshman, sociology; Elizabeth L. Entsminger, senior, international studies; Nathan B. Entsminger, sophomore, history; Diane N. Ford, freshman, psychology; Jenney R. Hammett, senior, political science; Jonathan W. Hartsuiker, freshman, general engineering; David A. Hogarty, senior, computer engineering; Rebecca C. Horning, freshman, biology; Joseph C. Hussa, senior, mechanical engineering; Allison M. Jarnagin, sophomore, art (fine arts); Lisa M. Kaiser, freshman, mathematics; Samantha L. Kott, freshman, university studies; Jules F. Kroehl, senior, aerospace engineering; Peter T. Lazarevich, junior, civil engineering; John W. Linn, senior, accounting and information systems; William P. Lovely, senior, accounting and information systems; David S. Malan, junior, civil engineering; John D. Medlock, sophomore, English; Jason W. Pilchuk, junior, aerospace engineering; Erik P. Reeves, freshman, accounting and information systems; Morgan L. Rezac, sophomore, biology; Gregory J. Sagstetter, junior, philosophy; Marc A. St. Raymond, senior, mechanical engineering; Dustin O. Schleifer, freshman, civil engineering; Alexander W. Scott, sophomore, materials science and engineering; Nicole M. Shaffer, freshman, university studies; Vladimir S. Smirnov, sophomore, computer engineering; Zachary H. Snee, junior, communication; Thu Y. Soe, sophomore, general engineering; Stefanie D. Soltoff, junior, mathematics; Janna M. Steele, junior, human nutrition, foods and exercise; Jennifer E. Stroup, senior, psychology; William R. Toland, junior, secondary education (physical education); Shane J. Tucker, senior, mechanical engineering; Zachary C. Williams, freshman, business; Christian W. Zoeller, freshman, university studies.
A team from the FUTURA program at Cedar Lane Elementary finished ninth in the National WordMasters Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by 225,000 students on 710 school teams annually. This is an exercise in critical thinking, which encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words that are considerably harder then grade level, and then challenging them to use those words to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships.
There are three meets or contests students complete during the school year. At the conclusion of the first meet during the November-December time frame, the Cedar Lane FUTURA students ranked 10th in the nation.
In April and May, these students completed the third and final meet. Afterward WordMasters organization let the Cedar Lane FUTURA team know that it had won the highest honors in this yearÕs WordMasters challenge, competing in the difficult Blue Division.
The Cedar Lane FUTURA team included fourth- and fifth-grade students at both Cedar Lane and Sanders Corner elementary schools. They are supervised by FUTURA teacher Michelle Knispel. Team members include Ashley Ferguson, Christine Detweiler, Charlotte Lewis, Emily Hughes, Michael Dolan, David Choi, Caitlin Boyles, Eileen Liu, Casey Coggins, Elisabeth Athey, Kelly McDaniel and Natalie Abernethy.
Several local students at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg were named to the university's Dean's List, which recognizes outstanding academic achievement at the
university by full-time students who attain at least a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale, for the spring semester of the 2004-05 academic year.
Among them were Alice C. Irvin, 2005 graduate, Ashburn; Jessica D. Kicha, rising senior, Ashburn; Sommer L. Long, rising junior, Ashburn; Brittany L. Short, rising junior, Ashburn; Jacqueline M. Slebrch, rising junior, Ashburn; and Ashley N. Kline, rising sophomore, Sterling.
Lisa Mulloy, Park View High School, Sterling, and Gregory Mitchell, Broadlands High School, Ashburn are among the 95 junior and senior high-school students from across Virginia selected to participate in this year's Governor's School for Agriculture at Virginia Tech, July 3-30. This summer residential program for gifted students interested in agriculture and natural resources will provide hands-on, cutting edge scientific and academic instruction to future leaders and scientists.