Education

Fairfax County School Board Examining Later Start Times

High schools could start as late as 9:15.

Two years after the Fairfax County School Board adopted a resolution in favor of later start times, exhausted teenagers are one step closer to getting a full night’s sleep. The Children’s National Medical Center recently presented the school board with options for later start times, of which the school board selected four for public discussion. The new start times could be implemented as early as the 2015-2016 school year.

Protecting Youths Against Substance Abuse

Panel shares stories and advice.

Fairfax County's Unified Prevention Coalition sponsored a forum on the effects of substance abuse on the county's middle and high school children. The resource fair and panel discussion was led by parents, young adults and professionals from the coalition's PROTECT (Parents Reaching Out To Educate Communities Together) task force. "It's been so long, I'll still be emotional about it," said Greg Lannes about his daughter's heroin overdose in 2008. Alicia Lannes had been 19 when she died and had always been a model student with straight A's. He pointed to the lone framed photo of her on the table and asked the audience, "Does that look like a heroin addict? How did she get to that point?"

Choral Festival Fills Hayfield

More than 900 middle school sixth-graders participated in the all-Fairfax county choral festival on Saturday, April 26. The festival featured 120 schools in the county. With so many students, the auditorium at Hayfield Secondary School was filled to capacity.

For Congressional Candidates, No Common Ground on Common Core

Democrats in Virginia's 8th Congressional District divided on national education standards.

Should American schools share national standards? That's a question that divides the 10 Democrats seeking to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8), who is retiring after 24 years in the House of Representatives. During a recent candidates forum, the Democrats were asked if they support the Common Core State Standards Initiative, two candidates said they disagreed and eight candidates said they agreed.

Move Me Festival

Music, dance, theater and martial arts troupes entertained and hosted workshops at the 5th Annual Move Me Festival on Saturday afternoon, April 26, in Kenmore Middle School. The festival, organized and produced by Bowen McCauley Dance, was sponsored this year by The JBG Companies, KCI, Servant’s Heart Foundation, Arlington Community Foundation, The Shooshan Company, Washington Forrest Foundation, Dominion Foundation, Kenmore PTA, BB&T, Ballston BID and the Perfect Pointe Dance Studio.

Turbo Tutoring Awards Scholarships

Westfield High Senior receives check, from Turbo-Tutoring, to donate to children living at My Sister's Place in D.C.

17th Annual T.C. Williams Art Show

Del Ray Artisans and the T.C. Williams High School Art Department jointly present the 17th Annual Student Art Show at Del Ray Artisans gallery.

Lyles-Crouch Students Perform for the Animals

Students took the stage singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and more to benefit the animals at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria in February at Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy.

Bonilla-Galdamez Named Virginia Social Worker of Year

Ana Bonilla-Galdamez is the recipient of the 2014 Social Worker of the Year Award from the National Association of Social Workers Virginia (NASWVA) Chapter. NASWVA presents the honor to only one individual annually. Bonilla-Galdamez is a school social worker at Charles Barrett Elementary School. “Ana demonstrates strong skills and knowledge, but most of all commitment to the clients she serves,” said NASWVA Chief Executive Officer Debra Riggs in a statement.

Recycling and Earth Day

April 22 marks the 44th anniversary of Earth Day, a day specifically devised to prompt people to ask, “What can I do to make a difference for the earth?” Solving global environmental issues like climate change may be so daunting for some people that they automatically assume there is nothing they can do to help. But in reality, there are things we can each do every day that can have a big impact on our community and the environment. The simplest of these is to recycle.

Alexandria Historic Homes and Garden Tour

Celebrating the 81st anniversary of Historic Garden Week in Virginia, this year’s tour features five privately owned Old Town homes and gardens in the southeast quadrant plus free admission to local historic properties Lee-Fendall House Museum and Garden, Carlyle House Historic Park and George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Rehearsing for ‘Shrek - The Musical’

The Washington-Lee High School drama department is in rehearsals for the spring performance of "Shrek - The Musical." Performances will be Thursday, May 1- Saturday, May 3 at 7 p.m., in the school's auditorium.

Teaching Financial Skills

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and former Gov. Frank Keating, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, visited Hollin Meadows Elementary School on Friday, April 11 to teach a financial literacy lesson to the school’s fourth graders. The event was sponsored by American Bankers Association and was part of its 18th annual Teach Children To Save Day.

‘Feed Me, Seymour,’ Says the Plant

Westfield High presents “Little Shop of Horrors.”

A musical about a man-eating plant is Westfield High’s Cappies show for 2014. The curtain rises on “Little Shop of Horrors” May 2-3 and May 9-10 at 7:30 p.m. and May 4 at 2 p.m.

A Funny, Fast-Paced Screwball Comedy

Chantilly High presents “The Front Page.”

A 1930s newsroom is the setting for Chantilly High’s madcap comedy, “The Front Page.” The school’s Cappies play takes the stage Thursday-Saturday, May 1, 2, 3, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door or $8 via www.chantillyhsdrama.com.

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