Education

Private Schools: When Leaving Unexpectedly

Spring is time to commit to one’s school of choice.

When Ashley and Clark Leonard enrolled their son in a local independent school, they were excited about the prospect of him thriving in a new, smaller academic environment.

Arlington: Volunteers Assist REEP’s Mission To Educate

Organization helps immigrants to assimilate.

Arlington County’s English language program for immigrants and refugees will mark its 40th anniversary on April 29 with an all-American celebration — complete with cotton candy, balloon animals and a cake walk.

Arlington: Wakefield High School Welcomes French Lycée Teacher

Parlez-vous ... Arlington?

Encouraging Language Study When Katy Wheelock began teaching at Wakefield, there were seven sections of French. By the time she received the Exemplary French Program award, there were nine. Wakefield also began offering two additional higher level classes, French 5 (a pre-AP class) and Advanced Studies of French (a post-AP class which APS is hoping to offer as a dually-enrolled class in the future). Under her leadership, Wakefield: * had an active chapter of the French Honor Society the “SHF”, or Societe’ Honoraire de Francais, and took part in the Grand Concours. * had two candidates who were wait-listed for Virginia’s Summer Governor’s Academy program, * students entered the Creative Writing Contest sponsored by SHF and wrote original poetry, in French, which they read aloud for World Languages Week at a countywide public event. * has gotten involved with Sister City Arlington-Reims committee for exchange opportunities (outbound to Reims 2013, inbound 2012, 2014); * had numerous guest speakers: David Biette, director, Canada Institute, Wilson Center (Jan 2015) and Idriss Fall, reporter, Voice of America (focus on Senegal, Africa) (Feb 2015) * established pen-pals for individuals; * Skyped with a Peace Corps volunteer about her life, usage of French etc. * welcomed five French high school students into their homes; * has set up a French Club; * students travelled to Reims for Spring Break 2014; * held a Declamation Contest, a juried contest in front of nearly 600 students. Miss Virginia International, Kristyn Admire, a linguist herself, came to encourage students to continue their foreign language studies in the future. * took part in a contest sponsored by the French Embassy in Washington D.C. called “Dis-moi dix mots qui te racontent” * allowed Wheelock to go on a French Embassy sponsored “Stage Pédagogique de Courte Durée” (short term teaching course) where she was one of 10 U.S. teachers in the country selected for an teacher immersion at CAVILAM in Vichy, France. Wheelock said she hopes to be able to visit middle school French teachers and students in level 1, at least once per year, to encourage more students to continue to level 2. She would like to see more students go on to language in high school and would like to see world languages become a core subject, as it is all throughout Europe. Wheelock also hopes to establish a stronger “college link” to show students the college opportunities for language study, how successful completion of advanced classes can earn college credits, how language can lead to studying abroad, internships, and and eventually, job opportunities.

Centreville: Stone Middle Students To Visit United Kingdom

Exchange program began in 2003.

With Spring Break around the corner for Fairfax County Public Schools, 19 students from Centreville’s Ormond Stone Middle School are gearing up for the trip of a lifetime: an eight-day adventure in the United Kingdom.

Heading to Eastern Super Regionals

FTC team 6700, the X-BOTS, a Robotics team of high-school and middle-school students from Northern Virginia, is heading to the FTC Eastern Super-Regional championships in Scranton, Pa., following a successful performance at Virginia State Championship on Feb 13 where they were awarded Inspire Award (3rd place), Won Kamen Division, were Championship finalists, and Nikhil Chintada won Dean’s List finalist award to represent Virginia at World Championships.

Chantilly: Meet Westfield Principal Anthony Copeland

Decades of leadership prepared him for the job.

Westfield High Principal Anthony Copeland has a wealth of experience as a leader, both in schools and in the military. Before taking over the reins at Westfield in September 2015, he was an assistant principal at Lake Braddock Secondary and North Stafford High and an Army field artillery officer who served 20 years in the military.

Mount Vernon: 56 Graduate from Bryant alternative school at winter term ceremony.

Fifty-six students walked out of the William Cullen Bryant Auditorium on Feb. 17 as high school graduates. Bryant Alternative High School in Alexandria held its winter graduation exercises beginning at 4 p.m. that day.

Burke Historical Society begins new research education series.

When Col. Blake Meyers’ (U.S. Army, ret.) mother and grandmother died, he inherited boxes of family records that no one had ever taken the time to archive, much less even go through and organize.

Business Scholarship Calls for Applicants

Applications are now available for the 2016 Mount Vernon Lee Chamber of Commerce Education Partnership Scholarships.

Fairfax: Oak Valley Center Joins PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families

PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families, a local nonprofit helping youth with a variety of challenges and qualities succeed, will assume operations of Fairfax-based Oak Valley Center.