The Artists’ Reception for the 2005 Middle School Art Exhibit will be Wednesday, April 27 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Education Center's First Floor Gallery, 1426 N. Quincy St. Participating schools are Gunston, H-B Woodlawn, Jefferson, Kenmore, Swanson and Williamsburg. Call 703-228-6170.
“Taste of South Arlington” will be hosted by the PTA of Oakridge Elementary School. This fundraiser and community festival takes place Sunday, May 1 from 3–6 p.m. at the school, 1414 S. 24th St. Local restaurants will provide a sampling of their favorite menu items, and the event will feature a silent auction, a raffle, a moon bounce, a cakewalk and games. Call Allison Wolf at 703-549-8553 or visit www.arlington.k12.va.us/schools/oakridge.
Arlington public high school students will have the opportunity to purchase a gently used prom gown for $5 during the second annual “Formals for Five” on April 28 at the Arlington Career Center, 816 S. Walter Reed Drive. Bus transportation will be provided from the high schools. Funds raised will be donated to the In Support of Children fund to help APS families with food, clothing and other living needs. To donate dresses, shoes and accessories for the event, contact Donalee Rooks at drooks@arlington.k12.va.us, Ricia Weiner at rweiner@arlington.k12.va.us, or Eleanor Reed at eleanor_reed@apsva.us.
Eight Arlington Public Schools students are among the 32 Virginia students and 833 students nationwide recognized in the 81st annual National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition.
Student artist Anna Wagner from H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program received the American Vision Award for her sculpture, “Itch.” This is the top award reserved for the best pieces submitted from each of the country’s 80 Regional Scholastic Arts Awards competitions. Yorktown High School’s Mengni Zhang received a Gold Award for his drawing, “People--We Mourn Because We Had Lost.” Several other Arlington students received Silver Awards: Sarah Bentley of Yorktown for her drawing, "Confusion,” Pamela Morales of Wakefield for her painting, "Mi Patito," Tristan Potter of H-B Woodlawn for his photo, "Sheep Dog," Katherine Sejas of Wakefield for her drawing, "Feathered Friends," John-Paul Tribby of H-B Woodlawn for his digital imagery, "x-infinity," and Wilson Ward Kemp of Washington-Lee for his mixed media, "Acrostic Industry."
Top award winners Wagner and Zang, and their teachers, Nancy Kinneman of H-B Woodlawn and Denise Phalan of Yorktown, are invited to attend the national award ceremony on June 2, from 6:30-8 p.m. at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In addition, the opening reception for the national exhibit of student art from the National Scholastic competition will be held on June 17 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. From there, the art exhibit will tour the U.S. until next year.
The Arlington County PTA will host two more Candidates' Nights with the candidates for the Arlington County School Board: Bill Barker, Cecelia Espenoza, Ed Fendley and Jim Rock. The candidates will answer questions and make brief opening and closing statements on Monday, May 2 from 7:30-9 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School, 1300 N. Quincy St., and on Wednesday, May 4 from 7-8 p.m. at Gunston Middle School, 2700 S. Lang St. Free babysitting and Spanish interpretation will be provided on May 4. Call 703-536-8070.
Six students represented Arlington Public schools in the Virginia State Geography Bee in Norfolk on April 1. They included Steven Haring, a fifth-grader from Ashlawn Elementary, David Winston Duncan, a fourth-grader from Nottingham Elementary, Joshua Kovensky, a seventh-grader from Swanson Middle School, Alexander Evan Costa, an eighth-grader from Williamsburg Middle School, Michael Sloan, a sixth-grader from H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, and Joshua Richard Downes, an eighth-grader from Jefferson Middle School. The Geography Bee is open to students in grades 4-8 and sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
McKinley School fifth-grader Sarah Stephens advanced to the state level of the Reader’s Digest Word Power Challenge in Winchester.
Fifth-grader Anna Christopher from Arlington Traditional School was selected as a winner in the “May: the Month for Children in Virginia” award. She is honored for designing “Anna’s Books,” a project to collect books to share with homeless and hospitalized children. She will travel with ATS principal Holly Hawthorn and assistant principal Donna Honeywell to Richmond for a ceremony and reception on May 7 to honor the winners.
Kenmore Middle School student Margot MacDonald won first place in music for her entry in the junior division of the regional PTA-sponsored Reflections Contest for fine arts. MacDonald moves on to the state Reflections competition. Nina Stoddard of Yorktown High School took second in visual arts, senior division. Ryan Harding of Swanson Middle School took second place in junior visual arts, and Brooke Weber of Williamsburg Middle School took third in photography. In the intermediate division (grades 3-5), Emily Janson of Barrett Elementary took second in music, and Caroline Keane of Jamestown Elementary won third in literature. In the primary division (K-grade 2), Sarah Linick of Taylor Elementary won second for music, Claire Spaulding of McKinley Elementary placed second for literature, and Ari Chernoff of Jamestown won third for photography. The regional Fairfax District winners were honored in a ceremony on March 30.
Arlington's Kenmore Middle School has announced a competition for the design of a floor medallion for the lobby space of its new building which will open in September. The competition deadline is Thursday, April 28. Students who are currently enrolled at Kenmore or are former Kenmore students and currently enrolled at an Arlington high school or secondary program are eligible to enter the competition. All entries must be submitted at the Kenmore School Office, 200 S. Carlin Springs Road.
The theme for the design contest is "Capture the Spirit of Kenmore." Applications and design forms can be obtained from Kenmore Middle School at 200 S. Carlin Springs Road, the APS Arts Education office at the Arlington Education Center, 1426 N. Quincy St., 2nd floor, or from the art teachers at each high school. Entries should be submitted on an 11-by-17-inch page with the design drawn in a 10-inch circle. The student's name should not be included on this page. The student's name, grade level, phone number and school should be typed on a separate sheet and attached to the design page. For more information contact Shauna Dyer at 703-228-6793 or Dan Redding at 703-228-6774.
Barrett held its Sixth Annual Arts and Writing Fair on April 14. The evening featured a concert by the Barrett chorus, band and orchestra. Students, staff, parents and alumni viewed more than 300 examples of student artwork and composition on display in hallways. They also watched a video of Barrett’s fall 2004 musical, “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”
Hoffman-Boston fourth- and fifth-graders visited U.S. congressional offices in March as a part of the “Liberty Day Kids” project. The purpose of the project is to share information about the founding documents of the U.S. government. Prior to their visit, the students studied the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to prepare questions to use during their interviews of the U.S. senators and congressmen. Some of the offices they visited included Reps. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).
The Claremont PTA sponsored its second annual Silent Auction on March 12. The auction raised over $8,000, which will benefit the students. The event focused on community-building to bring the families and staff together. Student collaborative art pieces were hot items, with many selling for more than $200.
The Glebe School community celebrated cross-cultural learning with its annual Multicultural Night on April 6. Glebe families came together to share different aspects of their cultures. The event included performances by dancers from Ireland and Bolivia, and an opportunity by the audience to participate in salsa and merengue lessons. The students started the evening by applying for a ‘passport’ which allowed them to visit the many countries portrayed by Glebe families at booths.
Carlin Springs held “Being Bilingual is Beautiful” night on March 30. Principal Chris Sutton and assistant principal Miguel Ley spoke to the parents and children about the importance of encouraging children to maintain their native language. Students and families were treated to bilingual storytelling by Ley, librarian Barbara Olivere, teacher assistant Faustina Soria, and reading teacher Sharon Gaston using books that Gaston wrote and illustrated. The event was funded by a grant from the Arlington Community Foundation to promote bilingual literacy.
Kenmore dance students performed on April 17 in the second annual Youth Concert held at Gunston. They danced a piece titled “Sketch for Students,” which was choreographed by Lucy Bowen-McCauley as part of a Humanities Project-sponsored residency.
Nottingham students raised $20,138 in their Jump Rope for Heart event on March 14-18. The event was organized by physical education teacher Bobbie Pugh.
Hoffman-Boston reading teacher Gail Seligson presented a talk on “Use of Technology to Engage Students in Effective, Interesting Prereading Strategies,” at the annual meeting of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Orlando, Fla., in April. Her session featured multimedia examples of prereading strategies including ReQuest, Guided Imagery, and Story Impressions.
ESOL-HILT Supervisor Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez’s article, “Successful Programs and Services for Latino Students in Arlington Public Schools” appeared on the cover of the Winter II 2005 Network News, the Newsletter of the Minority Achievement Network. The article notes that between 1976 and 2004, the school district’s Latino population climbed from 4 percent to 34 percent, necessitating a number of initiatives to teach English proficiency across curriculum areas.
The Apprentice Recital-Exhibit. Arlington Public Schools Fine Arts for the Gifted presents student art, music, dance and theater in the Washington-Lee High School Auditorium at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 1. The school is located at 1300 N. Quincy St.
Ten-Star All-Star Basketball Camp. Final Applications are now being evaluated. The Camp is by invitation only. Boys and girls ages 10-19 are eligible to apply. Players from 50 states and 17 foreign countries attended the 2004 camp. College basketball scholarships are possible for players selected to the All-American Team. The nearest camp location is in Blacksburg, Va. For a free brochure call 704-373-0873.
Ashlawn Elementary School's Candy Factory Fun Fair takes place Saturday, May 7 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the school, 5950 N. 8th Road, and features a raffle, games and prizes, a moon bounce, an obstacle course, face painting, a silent auction, food and treats and more. All games, activities and food require tickets which are available in advance at Ashlawn, four for $1, or for 3 for $1 at the door. Visit www.computwins.com/funfair.
The Society of Recovering Sorority Girls (RSG), through its founders, Kristina “Morgan” Rose and Deandra “Brooksie” Brooks, announce the start of Arlington's “Project Cinderella” for the 2005 prom season. “Project Cinderella” is a formal dress donation drive that will provide high school girls in need with a dress to wear to their prom. Dresses will be collected through mid-May. The organization requests that donated dresses be in good condition and dry-cleaned. Gently used prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses and formal wear are all acceptable donations. All donors will receive income tax receipts from the Arlington County School District. To participate, contact Morgan and Brooksie at info@recoveringsororitygirls.com.