<lst>Know something that should be featured in School Notes? Awards? Special events? School fairs? Fax a brief write-up to 703-917-0991 or send an e-mail to Joy Allen at mclean@connectionnewspapers.com
The Chesapeake District of Civitans is seeking 12 candidates for $1,000 scholarships it plans to award in May 2005.
Guidelines used for making the awards will include the following: current financial aid form (FAFSA), high school transcript, grade point average, complexity of course load, two letters of recommendation, participation in extra-curricular activities and overall presentation of the materials.
The mission of CIVITAN, a non-profit organization, is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.
Students interested in applying need to contact Pat Koepsel at pkoepsel@msn.com or at 703/356-0156, no later than Feb. 9 for the application. Completed applications must be submitted to Pat Koepsel no later than Feb. 21.
The fifth annual "Coaches vs. Cancer" basketball game between Marshall ad Langley High Schools takes place Friday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m., at Marshall High School.
Every year, the boy's basketball teams from the schools raise money for the American Cancer Society through a "Coaches vs. Cancer" game. Over the last four years, Marshall and Langley have teamed up to raise over $10,000.
The Great Falls United Methodist Preschool is currently accepting applications for the 2005-2006 school year. Providing quality education in the center of Great Falls for over 50 years, the preschool offers morning and afternoon sessions for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds, with an optional "lunch bunch." The school features a low student/teacher ratio and a highly experienced staff that is nurturing and focuses on learning through play. For additional information on enrollment, call 703-759-2432 for an appointment to visit. The deadline for registration for the 2005-06 school year is noon on Friday, Feb. 11.
The Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean is celebrating its 90th Anniversary. To mark the occasion, the PTA will be producing a commemorative edition yearbook and they are looking for alumni to share their fondest memories, stories of favorite teachers and what made their years at Franklin Sherman special for them. The submission deadline is Friday, Feb. 18. Send submissions with name, address (will not be published in yearbook), and years attending, to Franklin Sherman Yearbook, 6630 Brawner St., McLean, VA 22101 or send an e-mail to franklinshermanyearbook@yahoo.com.
The Starshine Theater Young Actors' Workshop is now scheduling auditions and rehearsals for an original musical drama, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn," based on the stories of Mark Twain. Rehearsals take place in February and March at the School of Theatrical Dance in Great Falls.
Adapted and directed by Patricia Budwig, the play is open to boys and girls 8-17.
Sound engineering and additional music will be provided by Jerry Budwig; stage art and lighting design will be directed by Rodger Perry.
The workshop is a full-production experience, offering a speaking role to every student, as well as lead singing and action/dance roles for those interested. A professionally produced CD soundtrack of the original musical score will include cast members' vocal talents.
Performances will take place in mid-April at The Great Falls Grange. Call 703-790-9050, or e-mail StarshineTheater@aol.com for complete audition and rehearsal information.
McLean Youth Spring Volleyball. MYA is now conducting registration for its spring volleyball program. The program is open to boys and girls grades 4 through high school. The program will begin in late March. Go to www.myathletics.org (volleyball) and download the registration form. For further information, contact Paula Doyle at 703-893-1398.
Fairfax County Public Schools offers elementary magnet school programs at Bailey's Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences and Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences.
Applications for admission are now being accepted for students entering grades kindergarten through 5 for Bailey's and grades 1 through 6 for Hunters Woods in the 2005 -2006 school year. Applicants must be working at or above grade level in language arts and math and demonstrate positive interpersonal and school behaviors. Entering kindergarten students should have attended preschool in 2004-2005.
Applications must be postmarked by March 1 and submitted to the Office of Elementary Instruction and Administrative Services.
For more information or to apply online, visit www.fcps.edu/DIS/OEIAS/magnet.htm.
Alicia Fowler, a senior at Langley High School and president of the Langley High School National Honor Society, has been accepted for early admission to the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2009.
Educators in the area now have a new tool to help teach state government. Everyone with Internet access will be able to watch the Senate of Virginia conduct its business, live.
Senate floor sessions will be provided this year through Internet streaming and public television coverage. Sessions will broadcast in unedited format through the period of noon-2 p.m. each weekday on Channel 57 WCVW. The length of the broadcast will vary with the length of session.
Video streams are available on a first-come, first-served basis unless one subscribes to a dedicated link. To link to the video stream, visit http://sov.state.va.us/senate.htm. The link is available worldwide. For information on subscriptions, contact the Senate Clerk's Office at 804-648-7460.
Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. is once again offering Long & Foster's $200,000 Scholarship Program for well-rounded graduating high school seniors entering accredited four-year colleges or universities. The Long & Foster Scholarship Program awards $1,000 to each of 200 worthy recipients for the 2005-2006 academic year. The deadline for applying is March 1, 2005 and the scholarships will be awarded in the beginning of April 2005. The objective of the Long & Foster Scholarship Program is to help students who show potential for lifelong leadership get started in college. A selection committee made up of local members of academia will select the final scholarship winners by April 15, 2005.
Eligible high school seniors must have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, demonstrate leadership and financial need, indicate positions of leadership, and list all school groups and/or community organizations in which they have served or been involved, and any part-time job held while in school. So that the selection committee can obtain a better picture of each student, applicants are asked to write a short essay on either his or her most significant high school experience or his or her expectations for college.
Applications for the Long & Foster Scholarship Program can be obtained from any of Long & Foster's sales offices located throughout the mid-Atlantic region, from high school guidance counselors, or via Long & Foster's Web site, www.longandfoster.com/scholarship.
A hard copy of the application and the required attachments must be mailed to Long & Foster Corporate Headquarters at the following address: Long & Foster Scholarship Program, c/o Corporate Marketing Department, Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., 11351 Random Hills Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-6082, Attn: Erin Wendel. Applications are due March 1, 2005.
Oakcrest School in McLean participated in the National Geographic Society's annual National Geography Bee on Wednesday, Jan. 12. The National Bee is open to students in Grades 4-8 and consists of multiple rounds of questions in categories including physical, economic, political and social geography. The questions were difficult and led to a spirited competition among the girls vying to be school champion.
The school finalists were in Grade 8, Mollie Kelly, Elizabeth Kenis, Caitlin Roberts, Angie Kaufmann (alternate); Grade 7, Caitlin Jeffrey, Annie Kehrli, Tori Jensen, Caroline Livaudais (alternate); in Grade 6, Emily Hill, Mary Mitchell (alternate).
The third-place winner was Candice Kaplan, Grade 6. The second-place winner was Claire Yenson, Grade 8. The school champion was Katie de Alvarez, Grade 6.
Oakcrest School , an independent school for girls Grades 6-12, is located at 850 Balls Hill Road, McLean.
The McLean Citizens Association, through its Education and Youth Committee, is again sponsoring the Teen Character Award to recognize teens with exceptional ethical and compassionate character. Teenagers who have, on their own and without compensation or other formal recognition, cared for elderly relatives or younger siblings, or who have helped out in their neighborhood or community (defined as the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area), deserve to be recognized not only for themselves but as an example to others.
To nominate a teenager, pick up an application form at the McLean Community Center, Langley or McLean high schools, or Cooper or Longfellow middle schools. Nominations must be turned in to the McLean Community Center no later than Saturday, April 16. All teenagers whose nominations indicate they meet the criteria specified with the application will be notified and must be present - unless other arrangements have been made with the Committee - to receive certificates at McLean Day on Saturday, May 21. For further information, contact Mrs. Kuhn by phone, 703-734-4944.
The 2005 Miss Virginia American Coed Scholarship State Pageant, Aug. 11-14 in Richmond, is looking for contestants.
This is an "all natural" scholarship pageant for girls 3-22. The pageant emphasizes academics and volunteerism and never allows makeup on contestants under 13. For an application, e-mail contact@msvaamericancoed.com, or call 804-305-4239. Visit www.msvaamericancoed.com.
Carter B. Simpson Jr. of Great Falls, an 11th grader at Phillips Exeter Academy, has earned high honors for the fall term. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Carter B. Simpson, he is a third-year student at the independent secondary school in Exeter, N.H.
Robert Crawford of McLean will be competing in Johnson & Wales University's 16th Annual National High School Recipe Contest on Feb. 12 in Denver. He is the son of Robin and Charles Crawford and attends McLean High School.
Crawford is one of 20 students from across the nation selected as finalists out of a pool of more than 500 applicants. His recipe is "Seared Scallops with Purple Potato Puree, Corn Chutney and Red Pepper Coulis."
Each year, Johnson & Wales invites senior-year high school and vocational students to participate in the recipe contest. The contest consists of two categories: (1) a healthful family dinner for four, and (2) healthful dessert. Contestants are asked to follow the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association nutrition guidelines when planning their menu entries.
Scholarship prizes are awarded for both categories, which are judged separately on the basis of taste, cost effectiveness, ease of preparation, presentation and appearance, nutritional value, originality, calorie content and creativity. The grand-prize winner in each category will be awarded a renewable full-tuition scholarship to Johnson & Wales, valued at over $75,000. Each first runner-up will be awarded a $7,500 renewable tuition scholarship (valued at up to $30,000), and each second runner-up a $5,000 renewable tuition scholarship (valued at up to $20,000). All other finalists will receive $3,500 renewable tuition scholarships (valued at up to $14,000).
Volunteer Fairfax and the ExxonMobil Foundation have selected 60 Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. nonprofit organization participants in the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program (CSJP) for 2005.
The ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program provides full-time, undergraduate-level college students with an eight-week, paid internship to experience operations in a nonprofit community environment. ExxonMobil Foundation funds the intern salaries and Volunteer Fairfax's administrative expenses for the program. The program also trains participating organizations in how to recruit and select interns and how to organize their summer internships.
Participating interns also have the opportunity to attend developmental seminars on resume writing, interview tips, workplace ethics and etiquette, as well as to complete a group community service project.
College students interested in the ExxonMobil-funded internship may visit the Volunteer Fairfax Web site, www.volunteerfairfax.org, to obtain a list of participating local agencies, internship descriptions and agency contacts. Interested college students should apply directly to the selected agencies.
The Community Summer Jobs Program began in 1971 in New York City. Over the past decade, the program has committed more than $4.9 million to support almost 2,600 community summer internships. First offered in the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia area in 2000, the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program has funded more than 300 local internships.
Volunteer Fairfax was established thirty years ago to mobilize people and resources to meet community needs. The center is a vital community resource for volunteers and nonprofit organizations and public agencies. For more information, visit the Volunteer Fairfax Web site at www.volunteerfairfax.org or call Karla Ruiz at 703-246-3460.
Rosalind Fennell, a ninth-grade student at the Potomac School in McLean, attended an international science expedition, Jan. 31-Feb. 5, in the Louisiana bayou.
She is one of 12 Student Argonauts chosen from thousands to join the JASON Foundation for Education's JASON Expedition team (formerly JASON project). The students work with researchers to explore the formation of the wetlands, what plants and animals depend on them for survival, why the wetlands are disappearing, and what is being done to restore them. JASON Expedition is a hands-on science and math curriculum program for grades 4-9 that culminated with millions of students around the world tuning in to live, interactive broadcast feeds of researcher-led expeditions.
Sponsored by National Geographic Society in Washington, Potomac School students and area students were able to interact with Fennell and the rest of the expedition team in real time via a two-way satellite link to National Geographic Society from the expedition site. Thousands more followed RosalindÕs journey through daily journals, streaming videos and photos at www.jason.org.
The Longfellow Middle School Chess Club took home the Scholastic 1st Place Trophy at the 37th Annual Virginia Open, Jan. 28-30, in Springfield.
The team won first place among Scholastic teams at the tournament by scoring 8 1/2 points for the top four players on the team. The second place team (a high school) scored seven points.
This annual tournament is one of the most important in Virginia. In order of USCF rating, the members of the chess club are: Aryan Khojandi (3 1/2 points), Victor Nguyen (2 points), Kevin Deisz (1 point), Shaan Ahmad (2 points), Arman Carter (1 point) and Rithvik Nagaraju.
McLean teenagers who participated in the Glories/Happy Hat Program at the Old Firehouse Teen Center made a delivery of new hats to children being treated for serious illnesses at Inova Fairfax Hospital on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 10 a.m., in the lobby of the hospital. The Old Firehouse Teen Center is a satellite program of the McLean Community Center. The Happy Hats program is held at the Old Firehouse every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, between the hours of 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
Kent Gardens Elementary School second and fourth grade students assembled 1,458 sandwiches. The sandwiches were for Martha's Table, in Washington, D.C., for distribution to the homeless and low-income children and seniors. Last year the school produced 975 sandwiches. Sandwich fixings were donated by students in all the grades of the Kent Gardens. This event was sponsored by the Kent Gardens' PTA, chaired by Sherri Heile.