The Connection

Highlanders Encouraged to Do ‘Great Things’

Class of 2013 defines McLean High one last time.

The light above the original 13 colony nameplates in Constitution Hall changed from a gushing green to a Highlander red by late afternoon. Of the 521 McLean seniors who proceeded across the stage on Thursday, June 13, 21 percent of them did so with honors. Their keynote speaker, CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell, gave the Class of 2013 key principles of how to live one’s life. He told two stories about Sept. 11, 2001: the two people’s stories were Father Mychal Judge and Lieutenant Kevin P. Shaeffer.

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• By Andrew Miner/The Connection
• June 19, 2013

Operation: Ladybug at Herndon Science Center

The Children's Science Center of Herndon, at 485 Spring Park Place, Suite 500, is providing some ideas for backyard science this summer, with a call to young scientists to identify various species of ladybugs in their backyard. The challenge is part of a project, Operation: Ladybug, a collaborative effort between Cornell University’s Lost Ladybug Project and the Children’s Science Center to gather data for entomologists.

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• June 19, 2013

South County Middle Celebrates First Anniversary

The new school praised as “cornerstone of the community.”

After just one year, the South County Middle School Mustangs are already charging ahead toward a bright future: On Sept. 4, 2012, the school opened, boasting long, shiny hallways and advanced technological equipment. It recently commemorated its one-year anniversary with a ceremony involving the staff, members of the student body, members of the superintendent’s office, and members of the Board of Supervisors. Staff members donned matching polos with the school’s logo on it, and speakers wore shirts that had the school’s name and “The Only Solution” printed on the back.

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• By Eleanor Lamb
• June 19, 2013

Sunrise Valley Teacher Honored

Katie Blomquist named the 2013 Virginia History Teacher of the Year.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has named Katie Blomquist, a fourth grade teacher at Sunrise Valley Elementary School, the 2013 Virginia History Teacher of the Year.

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• By Matthew Auker
• June 19, 2013

Letter: Putting the People First

To the Editor:

Good government isn’t as hard as politicians make it out to be. It’s really about putting the people first. The IRS certainly wasn’t putting the people first when it harassed, humiliated and held up the applications of conservative groups. Nor when it held off on releasing the $125 million share owed to Virginia as part of a Medicaid fraud settlement. It did just the opposite.

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• By Natalie Johnson
• June 19, 2013