Education

Loving Pi and Pie

The 16-year-old McLean resident Kira Becker created a video about why students and teachers love Pi Day.

March 14 means two important things to both students and math geeks: a time to recite the digits of pi and eat even more pie.

Linda Mitchell and her 15-year-old daughter, Alexis, say they don’t really know what to expect when Alexis sits for the SAT college admissions exam in 2016, but they’re not too worried at this point. Two years is a long time.

School Notes

Fairfax County Public Schools named 64 students to the 2014 Virginia All-State Band, and 86 FCPS students have been named to the 2014 Virginia All-State Orchestra. Both groups will perform at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at the new Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Fairfax County Public School students from 22 high and secondary schools were named to the band or orchestra. Centreville High School: Alison Dettmer, Flute; Edward Chung, Violin; Joy Kim, Violin; Yehyun Kim, Violin; Joshua Pak, Violin; Jihun Yom, Violin. Westfield High School: Chandler Comer, Tenor Trombone; Daniel Park, Violin.

Mathnasium Makes Learning Math Fun

The husband and wife team of Keni and Punam Patel has brought the Mathnasium concept of learning to Centreville area students. The Mathnasium opened in February in Centreville Square II near the Party Depot. Inside the storefront, an open area is filled with tables and games; oversized math “scribbles” decorate the walls. Keni Patel received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering from Boston University and was subsequently an Advanced Studies Research Fellow at MIT. He is currently an applied mathematician in the Advanced Technology Group at Boeing Defense in Fairfax.

Springfield Teens Support Ellie's Hats

Washington Irving Middle School eighth grade students, Alexandra Belk and Alana and seventh grader, Stephen Goodwin raised over $1300 for their Service Learning Project for Ellie's Hats. The eighth project, needed to include at least 15 hours each, and had to benefit their schools or community and they decided to choose a project that helped both.

Hayfield Secondary Teacher Wins Milken Educator Award

Elizabeth Galinis, a geosystems and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teacher at Hayfield Secondary School, has been named a winner of the Milken Educator Award by the Milken Family Foundation. Galinis is one of up to 40 educators nationwide selected to receive the award along with a $25,000 unrestricted cash prize. The announcement was made at a surprise assembly by Mike Milken, co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation, and attended by Patricia Wright, state superintendent of public instruction.

‘Proud of Our Young People at Woodson’

It was standing room only last week in Woodson High’s auditorium when some 1,100 people, mainly parents, gathered for comfort and advice in the aftermath of two student deaths.

Help Offered in the Wake of Tragedy

Organizations provide information, guidance.

Woodson parent Karen Cogan called the March 5 meeting "a good first start. A lot of us were here to band together and let everyone know we’re there for each other." "It was a great community turnout, and I appreciated the school-system support services being here to give us some guidance," she said. "They told us what’s available to parents and kids and what [comprises] a crisis team." Parents also gave written answers to questions they’d received before the meeting. They shared their ideas to better support students, plus what resources could help. Students answered similar questions.

FIRST Robotics Team Prepping for Competition

Students build robots, use passion for engineering.

Every Monday, Friday and Saturday, members of the AIM Robotics and RTR Team Robotics meet in Lorton to prepare for the upcoming Greater D.C. Regional competition on March 27. The teams, both part of FIRST Robotics, share a space provided by Shirley Contracting. Students work on parts, coding and more to prepare for the competition.

Kings’ Jesters Perform ‘Annie Jr.’

Performances are March 18-20 at Kings Glen Elementary.

Members of the Kings’ Jesters at Kings Glen Elementary School in Springfield, as well as staff and parents, have been preparing for the annual spring musical since November. Now, it’s almost time for the group of fourth through sixth graders to perform “Annie Jr.” next week, March 18-20.

Winter’s Avian Bounty at Seneca Creek

Cold winter brings more unusual birds to the Potomac River.

The 2014 “Winter of our Discontent,” has been difficult for North American waterfowl as well. Ducks, geese, swans, and grebes gather in large groups/flocks on lakes, rivers, ponds, and such to pass the winter before the spring breeding season.

Paying Tribute to Multiple Generations for Giving Back

This year’s honorees demonstrate that one’s involvement in volunteering, charity, and giving back can have a strong influence on the younger generation that may have a far reaching, sometimes unexpected, and even international, impact. Patty and Kate Moran are both devoted to the Alexandria Community, and particularly the Del Ray neighborhood.

Revealing Wonders of Science

McLean High School student Shivani Gupta started off an afternoon session of Wonders of Science at the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop on Feb. 1 with examples of bones and fossils that she collected as an 18th century natural scientist.

Understanding WWII Decisions

Yorktown High junior studies military history in Normandy and New Orleans.

“On Omaha Beach, there were bunkers everywhere. And tons of it is still there. They still have the craters.”

Third Graders Learn About Black History

Learning about Black History

Dozens of children gathered to listen to a story from Reading Is Fundamental’s newly launched Multicultural Book Collection.

The Connection