<lst>Lee Betancourt, editor-in-chief of McLean High School’s Highlander, won second place in an annual statewide contest for the the best student journalists sponsored by the Journalism Education Association. To qualify for the competition, applicants had to have a grade point average of at least 3.0, have been involved with a publication for at least two years and submit a portfolio.
Chesterbrook Elementary School is planning its 100th anniversary celebration and is looking for alumni, former faculty and staff members, and community residents who have memories to share about the school or the McLean community.
An open house birthday celebration is planned for June. Alumni, former faculty or staff members, or community members with memories or photos of the school are asked to send their information to Chesterbrook Elementary School, 1753 Kirby Road, McLean, VA 22101, attention: Amy Hill.
The school is using its 100th anniversary to make history come alive for current students, using the event to teach what life was like in the early 20th century. Daily Centennial Moments are included on the school’s morning newscast, featuring fun facts from each of the last 100 years.
Learning Fun Day School offers an enrichment program to supplement half-day kindergarten. Curriculum includes phonics, reading, writing, math, social studies, science and art projects. German, Hindi, Japanese and Spanish offered. There is also an on-site music and language teacher. Three-hour morning and afternoon sessions are offered with three-, four- and five-day options. Accepting students ages 4 and up. Transportation to Great Falls schools is available.
The school also offers weekend Hindi classes for ages 5 and up. Minimum requirement is basic understanding of English phonics. Specifically designed for kids with no previous experience. Integration of phonic sounds into Devanagari (Hindi) script, flashcards and verbal techniques are used. The school also offers German language instruction for children ages 7-12. Small group classes promote interaction and practice in an informal setting. Classes will be held twice-a-week and will last for an hour.
Located on Georgetown Pike near the Village Center. Call 703-757-9560 or visit www.learningfunkindergarten.com.
Summer Art Camp 2006. The Great Falls Art Center is now taking registration for classes which will be held through July and August for ages 6 to teen. Campers attend Monday -Friday from 10-3 p.m. For applications call 703 759-3867 or email greatfallsart@yahoo.com.
The Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) Educational Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications from Virginia college and university students for the 2006-2007 academic year. The application deadline is April 17. The foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting business and accounting education.
VSCPA offers undergraduate, minority undergraduate and graduate scholarships. To qualify for an undergraduate scholarship, recipients must have completed a minimum of three hours of accounting course work, be enrolled in three additional accounting credit hours and have an accounting GPA of 3.0. Graduate scholarship applicants must be currently enrolled or have been accepted in a graduate accounting program at an accredited Virginia college or university. The Foundation also offers the Goodman and Company Annual Scholarship to a junior or senior accounting major enrolled at a Virginia college or university who demonstrates academic excellence and financial need to pursue a career in public accounting.
Other selection criteria for all awards includes overall academic performance, entry essay, faculty recommendation(s), and community and/or extracurricular activities. For more information on these scholarships, including a downloadable application, or to make a tax-deductible contribution to the foundation, visit www.VSCPAFoundation.com, e-mail foundation@vscpa.com or call 800-733-8272.
Wheat's Lawn & Landscape is offering a $1,000 scholarship to one high school senior that is dedicated to serving the community in the McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Oakton, North Arlington and Falls Church areas.
Wheat's Lawn & Landscape's 2006 Student Volunteer Scholarship will be granted to a student that has a proven record of volunteer service. The purpose of the scholarship is to reward students for their volunteer service in an effort to promote youth volunteerism. Application forms can be obtained at www.wheats.com or by calling 703-641-4790. The deadline for accepting scholarship nominations is April 1, 2006. Send nominations to: Wheat's Lawn & Landscape's 2006 Student Volunteer Scholarship, Attn: Mike Wheat, PO Box 6152 McLean, VA 22106.
Starshine Theater Summer Drama Camps will again be offered at The Langley School Summer Studio in McLean this June and July for student actors ages 3-17. For ages 8-17: "The Adventures of Zorro," an original musical drama written and directed by Patricia Budwig, will premier this summer. This full-production play includes a speaking character role for every student, with action/dance roles and singing leads on the professionally produced CD soundtrack for those interested. Rehearsals take place from July 10-22, with gala evening performance on Saturday, July 22. For Ages 5-9 (Starshine Young Actors) and 3-5 (Starshine Little Theater): Starshine camps will be offered in June; each student will have the opportunity to perform as their favorite character in the original play they will create and perform together. Call 703-790-9050 or visit StarshineTheater@aol.com.
Thirty Langley High School students from the Robotics Team recently went to Richmond for a three-day Regional Robotics Competition. The team crated and shipped Otto III, their custom-designed robot last week according to competition regulations. Langley Robotics Team is a member of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Langley Robotics Team will compete against 63 teams from the U.S. and Canada at the Richmond Regional.
Students had just six weeks to design, build and test their robots to solve the season's challenge. Weighing in at 118 pounds, Langley's robot, Otto III, can pick up balls, see colored targets and throw balls at varying trajectories.
Twelve Longfellow Middle students qualified to take the American Invitational Math Exam, including sixth-grade student Seungin Sohn, a Spring Hill Elementary student taking advanced math; seventh-grade students In Young Cho and Adam Hood; and eighth grade students James Clark, Luke Cheng, Aviv Cukierman, Lawrence Diao, Nora Gayer, Luke Knepper, Greyson Lewis, Sam Rush and Renjie You.
Winners of the 2005 McLean and Great Falls Celebrate Virginia Essay Contest were Megan Mann, 9, a student at Haycock Elementary, for "The History of Jamestown;" Priyal Ganghi, 10, a student at Dominion Trail Elementary, for "The Start of the U.S.A.;" Alexander Holtbert, 11, a student at Great Falls Elementary, for "My Jamestown Experience;" and Abigail Xu, 12, a student at Longfellow Middle School, for "Jamestown."
Colvin Run Elementary School is one of five Fairfax County schools named as winners of the sixth annual Best of the Web contest, sponsored by the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Office of Community Relations. The school's Web site is www.fcps.edu/colvinrunes. The winners were judged on the quality of Web-based communication between each school and the community it serves. Web sites were assessed for the usefulness of content, clarity of design, frequency of updates, ease of navigation and adherence to FCPS Web policies. Three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school are selected for the annual awards. Winners will be recognized at a reception on April 7 at Falls Church High School.
Village Green Day School, 790 Walker Road in Great Falls, has openings in their Kinder Club enrichment program. Structured to challenge young minds, this program is for morning kindergarten-age students who are looking to extend their half-day public school experience. The Kinder Club meets from noon- 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with transportation offered from local elementary schools. Subjects include: mathmatics, science, geography, reading, art and Spanish. Call 703-759-4049 or visit www.villagegreendayschool.com.