Education

McLean’s Potomac School Gets New Leader

John Kowalik described as a wise and gifted educator.

The Potomac School in McLean will soon have a new leader at the helm. School officials announced recently that John J. Kowalik will assume the role of head of school. The announcement came in a statement from Larry Culp, chair of Potomac’s board of trustees. “John Kowalik is a wise and gifted educator, with a rare combination of inspirational leadership capabilities and exceptional management skills. He is the right leader to build on [current Head] Geoff Jones’ remarkable achievements at Potomac during the last 13 years.”

McLean High Students Present The Salon Project

Revisiting the time and a place “where ideas mattered most.”

Conversations about Newtonian science, Benjamin Franklin’s electricity, liberty and equality, diplomacy, the monarchy, free speech, free press, American independence social life and scandal were just a few of the subjects broached in the Salon Project presentation, at the Corcoran Gallery of Art last Saturday, by McLean High School students in Dean Howarth’s program.

Thinking of Young Patients on Valentine’s Day

Service learning was the focus of the February meeting of Churchill Road’s Student Council Association. SCA representatives made Valentine’s Day care packages for young patients at INOVA Children’s Hospital in Fairfax. Working with Jamie Gentille, Director of Child Life Services at INOVA Children’s Hospital, the CRS students put together packages of books, puzzles and games, along with hand-made cards, as a Valentine’s Day treat for the young patients. SCA officers J.J. Bellaschi, Izzy Schone and Whit Walter, along with SCA representative Liliana Schone and club sponsor Sharon Jones dropped the packages off at Fairfax Hospital on Valentine’s Day.

School Notes Wednesday, Feb. 20

School notes for Potomac natives.

Centreview School Notes Wednesday, Feb. 20

School notes for the Centreville and Chantilly areas.

Career & Technical Educator of the Year

Jennifer Howe, dental careers teacher at the Chantilly Academy, A Governor's STEM Academy, was recognized and honored as the Career & Technical Education "Educator of the Year."

Inventors Need Community’s Votes

Rocky Run X-BOTS team vies for innovation award.

A team of students mainly from Rocky Run Middle School is vying for an award for an app it created to help senior citizens. And area residents can help the students win by voting for their creation.

CES To Hold Parent Workshops

Centreville Elementary is holding an evening of parent workshops, Thursday, Feb. 28, and any parent in the community is welcome to attend.

Neil Simon Comedy at CHS

Theater students present “Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

If it’s a Neil Simon comedy, it’s bound to be hilarious. And that’s what Chantilly High’s presenting this week in its production of Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

Marymount Students Plan Fundraising Fashion Show

Event will raise money for needy students in Haiti and the U.S.

A group of Marymount University students are celebrating Black History month in high style, literally. The school’s African-Caribbean Student Association (ACSA) is presenting its fifth annual charity fashion show, “Voyage to Utopia.”

The No Fear in Love Race

The No Fear in Love Race will be held at Marymount's Ballston Center, 1000 North Glebe Road in Arlington, on Saturday, Feb. 23.

A Positive Reflection

Joan Brady gives foster children needed exposure.

On Monday, Sept. 10, 2001, Joan Brady of Great Falls had just started a three-month sabbatical from her job with an Internet company. Newly-married, Brady, who was 36 years old at the time, was exhausted from 80-hour work weeks in a rigid corporate environment. She wanted time that fall to contemplate what to do next with her life. The next day provided answers and a sense of urgency. It was Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks, and the moving stories of heroism and tragedy on 9/11, indelibly left their mark. Brady, like many Americans, was inspired to do something new, to take more chances, to change direction.

Healthy School Award

Marine Corps Marathon mascots Miles and Molly, MCM Director Rick Nealis, Mount Vernon Community School Principal Peter Balas, Larry McMarlin of Sodexo and U.S. Marines from Marine Corps Base Quantico gather for the presentation of the Healthy School Award to the students of Mount Vernon Community School.

Lee Social Worker Wins Outstanding Mentor Award

Marcella Fulmore connects African American high school students with Springfield Elementary mentees.

When she started college at Norfolk State University in Virginia, Marcella Fulmore was an engineering major. She loved the math, but impersonal labs and the prospect of a cold, money-driven career forced her to make a decision. When considering her transition, she remembered how in high school, people would come to her with their problems. “I just thought, ‘I could help people,’” Fulmore said. “That’s it.”

Area Roundups

Police and fire department personnel responded to the report of an apparent explosion and fire at 9504 Richmond Highway in Lorton on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at about 10:30 a.m.

The Connection