Ramish Elected as Student Representative
<bt>Andrew Ramish, a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has been elected by the countywide Student Advisory Council to serve a one-year term as student representative on the Fairfax County School Board, beginning July 1. Ramish will participate in School Board meetings as a nonvoting member, filling the position currently held by Matthew Wansley, a senior at Jefferson. Ramish will be the 33rd student representative to the School Board.
<sh>FCPS Support Employees of the Year
<bt>Cynthia Clyburn, instructional assistant at Little Run Elementary School in Fairfax and Regina Burke, business operations supervisor in the Department of Human Resources, have been named Fairfax County Public Schools Support Employees of the Year for 2003.
Clyburn, who has been employed by the school system for four years, works with early childhood special education students at Little Run Elementary. She has received accolades for her work with a child who progressed from being fed soft foods to helping feed himself solid foods. She routinely shares her knowledge of the Boardmaker program, a picture communication display device, with other instructional assistants at Little Run Elementary and used the program to help a first-grade student from France, who spoke no English, to communicate with her teacher and classmates when she arrived at the school.
Clyburn’s nomination was supported by her fellow preschool teachers and instructional assistants; the minister at her church, where she teaches special-education classes; and parents of a student. She also volunteers her time at Little Run Elementary as a mentor to at-risk students and as a contributor in the preschool autism class.
Burke has worked for the school system since graduating from high school 18 years ago, beginning as a part-time technical clerk in the benefits office of the Human Resources Department. Since that time, she has been promoted to a human resources technician and then to her current position, business operations supervisor.
She has been praised for her ability to quickly master budget and finance computer systems, along with supply ordering and petty cash systems, as well as for her ability to learn the new Human Resources Information System and to help others learn to use it, even though it wasn’t an official part of her job.
Winners will be honored at a special reception supported by the school system's Education Foundation Inc., and at a Fairfax County School Board recognition ceremony. Winners are awarded $2,000 each.
<sh>Program to Address School Bullying
<bt>"Why Are They Picking On Me?" will be the topic of the
program of CHADD (Children and Adults With
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) of Northern
Virginia, April 24, at 7 p.m., in the Multi-Purpose
Lecture Room at Fairfax High School, 3500 Old Lee
Highway, Fairfax. The session will be conducted by Joe Cabush, LCSW. The program is free and open to the public.
CHADD of Northern Virginia, nonprofit organization, also offers regular support group meetings for adults with AD/HD and for parents of children with AD/HD. For more information, call 703-641-5451, e-mail nova_chadd@hotmail.com, or visit
www.novachadd.org.
<sh>Apraxia Workshop
<bt>Parents are invited to join Fairfax County Public Schools staff members at a workshop Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, at the Quality Inn-Governor, 6650 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church. The event is sponsored by The Bruce and Patricia Hendrix Foundation, The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America, and Fairfax County Public Schools.
The two-day workshop, "Differential Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Apraxia of Speech" will focus on assessment and treatment. The speaker will be Edythe Strand, Ph.D., of the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the Mayo Medical School.
The cost is $120 for parents. For more information or to register, parents can visit the foundation's Web site at http://workshops.apraxia-kids.org/, call The Hendrix Foundation at 760.632.5020, or e-mail Workshop@hendrixfoundation.org. Parents who would like to apply for financial assistance and are members of The Autism Society of America/Northern Virginia chapter can contact them about their conference assistance fund. For more information, please call Lynne Rose Ryan at 703-495-8444.
<sh>FCPS Events Calendar
<bt>Friday, April 18
Holiday for 12-month employees.
Monday, April 21
Fourth grading period begins for modified elementary calendar Fairfax County Public Schools.
Wednesday, April 23, 7 p.m.
Fairfax County Public Schools retirement reception. Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church.
Wednesday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.
Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee meeting. Lacey Center, 3705 Crest Drive, Annandale.
Thursday, April 24, 8 a.m.
Professional Technical Studies Advisory Committee meeting. Falls Church High School, 7521 Jaguar Trail, Falls Church.
Thursday, April 24, 7:30 p.m.
School Board regular business meeting. Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church.
Monday, April 28, 8 a.m.
School Board work session, legislation; policy review; student services; instruction. Burkholder Center, 10700 Page Ave., Fairfax.