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 Friday, 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.
The Sully Elementary School PTO will be holding a fund-raiser at Chick-Fil-A at the Sugarland Plaza Mall Thursday, Feb. 23, from 5-8 p.m. Chick-Fil-A will donate a portion of the proceeds to Discovery Park, the planned Science Park and Playground at Sully. Everyone is invited to join us to help raise money for this community project.
Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun School Business Partnership Council are teaming with Inova Loudoun Hospital to sponsor the annual "Job for a Day" program Feb. 23. The program is an opportunity for students to "shadow" a professional and explore different health-care careers in which they have interest. Students will be able to attend meetings along with other daily activities in an effort to help them understand what a certain job entails.
Participating students have been assigned to different departments in the hospital, such as the ER, the Birthing Inn, pharmacy, surgery center, physical medicine and rehabilitation and the lab. For those students interested in becoming a physician, they will be spending time with private doctors that have privileges at Inova Loudoun Hospital.
Student participants are required to review and sign a confidentiality commitment compatible with HIPAA guidelines.
The Broad Run High School Band Boosters is hosting a live art auction Feb. 25. The event is to benefit the music education program at Broad Run High School. The auction will also feature "Lord of the Rings" memorabilia and various music and sports memorabilia. Preview of all the items will start at 7 p.m. and the actual auction will begin at 8 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Tickets are $10 each or $15 per couple and includes desserts and hors d'oeuvres. Call 703 723-2995. Tickets also sold at the door.
Hillside Elementary School PTO announces its upcoming winter carnival Feb. 25, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The carnival is the biggest fund-raising event coordinated by the Hillside PTO. Parents, students and all area families are invited to attend the carnival which will be held at Hillside Elementary School. There will be more than 30 games and activities this year including the popular cupcake walk, game walk, price is right, lobster box, baseball throw, lollipop pull and pencil pull. Concessions will also be available, including drinks, pizza, bagels, chili dogs and desserts from the bake sale table. There will be a raffle with prizes from many local partners. Also includes live entertainment. Visit the Web site, www.hillsidepto.org.
The Roar newspaper of Potomac Falls High School is offering genuine Indian River Florida citrus to area residents in a fund-raising drive. The funds will be used to pay for the newspaper printing costs and to help send the Roar staff to the National Journalism Convention in San Francisco.
Students who attend the convention will have the opportunity to meet with professionals in the journalism field and attend more than 200 workshops and one-on-one critique sessions. They will also compete in the National Write-Off competition and attend the Journalism Association National Awards ceremony.
The Roar staff members will be taking orders through Feb. 27. To order online, visit the Potomac Falls Web site and follow the link "Buy Some Florida Sunshine." The fruit will be delivered to Potomac Falls High School around March 15-17.
Belmont Ridge Middle School will hold its next family diversity dinner is planned for Feb. 27. The Belmont Ridge Step Team will perform at that dinner. The school invites the Belmont Ridge community to attend.
Dominion High School's Latin Dance Team will hold a Parents' Night Out with Latin dance classes, from 7-8 p.m., and a social dance, from 8-9:30 p.m., Friday, March 3. Partner dances such as salsa and merengue will be taught. This community event is open to singles and couples. Baby-sitting and refreshments will be provided. This event is free. Donations will be accepted, which will be used for uniforms for the Latin Dance Team. The school is located at 21326 Augusta Drive, Sterling.
Young writers in Loudoun County are being encouraged to continue using their writing skills by entering writing contests created by Community Voice Media, LLC.
The contests are as follows: February, winter or snow poem; March, personal essay; April, pet or wildlife article, nonfiction; May, essay " is my hero because É;" June, poem on any topic and July, summer humor essay. Information on additional contests will be added to the Web site regularly. The deadline for each contest is the end of that month. Each poem requires an entry fee and has certain requirements. There will be cash prizes awarded for the first-, second- and third-place entries.
All students from grades kindergarten-12 including Loudoun County Public Schools, private schools or home-schooled children are eligible to enter the contest. Submission Guidelines are available on the Community Voice Media Web site www.communityvoicemedia.com.
Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. announces the Long & Foster $200,000 Scholarship Program for well-rounded graduating high-school seniors entering an accredited four-year college or university. The program will award $1,000 each of 200 worthy recipients for the 2006-2007 academic year.
The deadline for applying is March 1 and the scholarships will be awarded in the beginning of April. The monetary scholarship award will be made payable directly to the college or university in the studentÕs name.
Applications for the program can be obtained from any of Long & Foster residential sales offices, from high-school guidance counselors or via Long & FosterÕs Web site at www.longandfoster.com/scholarship. Also visit the Web site for details on eligibility and application requirements.
Daniel Jang, an eighth-grader at River Bend Middle School, has been selected to participate in the Junior national Student Leadership Conference, a leadership development program for outstanding middle-school students. Approximately 1,500 students from across the U.S. and 45 countries worldwide will take part. During the conference, students attend workshops and classes where they study distinctions of leadership.
Route 28 Corridor Improvements LLC, consisting of Shirley Contracting Company and Clark Construction has made a donation of $3,550 to the Sully Elementary School PTO in support of Discovery Park, the new science park and playground to be built at Sully Elementary School in October 2006.
Shirley is sponsoring all of the "bridgesâ" in the park Ñ the Trampoline Bridge, Earthquake Bridge, and Bouncy Bridge as well as buying a T-shirt sponsorship for the Discovery Park T-shirts that will soon be printed up.
The check was presented to the project coordinators Peter Kronenberg and Valerie Petrey by John Harmon, vice president of Route 28 Corridor Improvements LLC. Also present were Principal Clark Bowers and Assistant Principal Michelle Walthour.
In addition to the financial support, Shirley will also provide a work crew to assist in the construction of the park during the build, which is scheduled to take place Oct. 18-22. Shirley will also assist in lining up material donations from various suppliers.
The Discovery Park coordinators would also like to acknowledge some other recent donations. Some other T-shirt sponsors are Dry Home Roofing and Siding, The Curiosity Zone, and Verizon Yellow Pages. David Mohile of Medical Engineering Services is also sponsoring the Caring Pillar Ñ one of the Six Pillars of Character. The others are Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, and Citizenship. The Loudoun County Water Authority is also sponsoring the Water Cycle Tactile Wall.
Mike Minnicino of PMR Printing donated the services of his company in designing and printing up more than 6,000 brochures for Discovery Park, which will be sent home with students and distributed throughout the community.
Del. Tom Rust (R-86) of Patton, Harris, Rust & Associates also recently completed a survey of the area where Discovery Park will be. Thanks also to Sully parent Greg Turner who helped to pinpoint the location of some of the utility lines so that they can be accurately reflected on the survey. The survey allowed the design firm, Leathers & Associates, to complete the final blueprints for Discovery Park, which are now on the way.
Shenandoah UniversityÕs Northern Virginia Campus in Leesburg is seeking nominations for its Teacher of the Year award, which recognizes quality teaching in Loudoun County. The nomination process concludes April 19. All finalists will be recognized at a reception and the winner will be announced at a Loudoun County School Board meeting in May.
To be eligible, nominees must be full-time teachers in Loudoun County in a specialized area, such as special education, art, music, physical education, drama, English as a Second Language or gifted and talented. Nominees may work at any grade level, but must have at least five years of teaching experience in Loudoun County.
A screening committee from Shenandoah will select the winner based on his or her commitment to students and teaching, subject knowledge and teaching philosophy, ability to manage and monitor student learning as well as service to the community. The screening committee is looking for nominations that demonstrate the teacherÕs impact on students. Letters of recommendation from peers, parents and students will be of particular importance in the selection process.
For information or application forms, contact RT Good, dean of the School of Continuing Education, at 540-665-1290 or Kelly Burk, chair of the Northern Virginia Advisory Council, at 703-779-0037.
Potomac Falls High School will open its doors to the community Saturday, April 22, 6-11 p.m., for its second annual "A Night at the Falls." This family-oriented event will highlight the many dimensions of PFHS and will support academic programs that directly benefit its students.
Features a donated dinner from Outback Steakhouse and a silent auction, Texas Hold ÔEm tournament, 3x3 basketball, drama and music performances by students, cake walk and the Mr. Potomac Falls pageant. A medieval theme this year brings new activities, including tricycle jousting, tug-of-war, a KnightÕs Quest and more.
Admission to the dinner and all evening activities is $25 for adults and $20 for students, seniors and children 5 and older. General admission, which does not include dinner, is $10 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and children age 5 and older.
Tickets go on sale March 1; the ticket request form will be on the Web site. To contribute or make a donation to the silent auction, contact Cheryl Marin at cynthia.c.marin@lmco.com or Doreen Hinnant at 703-450-9212. Visit the event Web site at www.nightatthefalls.com.
Dates for SAT and ACT testing for 2005-2006 have been established for Loudoun County Public Schools. The tests are administered on nationally standardized dates and require advanced registration.
Students may register online or may obtain paper registration materials from the guidance office of each high school. Registration and study information is available at www.collegeboard.org for the SAT and at www.act.org for the ACT. Students should register at least six weeks in advance of the tests.
Most colleges require SAT or ACT for college admissions. Some colleges also require certain SAT II subject tests for admissions or placement. Students should check with all of the colleges to which they plan to apply to determine which tests are required and preferred.
Students usually register for the SAT or ACT in their junior year and repeat the test in the senior year. Some students elect to take both the SAT and ACT.
The SAT test dates are:
* April 1: SAT only, Loudoun County High School.
* May 6: SAT and SAT II subject tests, Broad Run High School.
* June 3: SAT and SAT II subject tests, Park View High School.
The ACT test date is April 8, Broad Run High School.
In recognition of student volunteerism in Loudoun County, the Loudoun Volunteer Services Board has established scholarships for graduating seniors from each Loudoun County public and private high school and from the home-school community.
In support of the Student Volunteer Program, the scholarships recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the Loudoun County community through their volunteer efforts. Different from traditional scholarships, the Loudoun Volunteer Services' Student Scholarships place more emphasis on a demonstrated interest in and service to the community than on academic or athletic excellence.
It is the goal of the Loudoun Volunteer Services Board to provide opportunities and to encourage students to become active in their community through volunteer service. The Loudoun Volunteer Services' Student Scholarships are funded each year through contributions from county businesses and civic groups.
Students should submit the scholarship applications to Loudoun Volunteer Services, 1 Harrison St., S.E., P.O. Box 7000, Leesburg, VA 20177-7000, by the close of business May 1. Applications are available at each school, by visiting www.loudoun.gov/pio/student.htm or by calling 703-777-0113.
Dominion High School's second annual Project Graduation, a night-long celebration of the Class of 2006, will take place June 17, at the high school from 11 p.m.-5 a.m.
This alcohol- and drug-free event, following that morning's graduation exercises, is sponsored by ATLAS and being organized by the parents of underclassmen to provide an exciting, fun-filled, and safe celebration.
The theme will be "A Day at the Beach" and will feature a disc jockey, dancing, games and giveaways. Food is expected to include submarines sandwiches, ice slushies and a chocolate fountain. Door prizes will be drawn all night. A grand prize will be awarded at breakfast.
Many businesses and community organizations have already contributed to make this a truly memorable night for students. Businesses, organizations or individuals that would like to donate items or make a monetary donation are encouraged to contact Jane Lettmann at 703-444-5139 or e-mail Lett10s@aol.com.
The 1976 gradating class of Broad Run High School in Ashburn is holding its 30-year reunion July 22, at the Holiday Inn at Carradoc Hall in Leesburg. The class is looking for classmates and need help from friends and family of alumni. Call Ana Mallory (Miranda) at 847-797-9043 or e-mail BRHS76@comcast.net.