Education

Oakton Swim and Dive Wins District Titles

Oakton High School’s Varsity Swim and Dive teams won both the boys’ and girls’ Concorde District Swim & Dive Championship Saturday night, Jan. 26, at Cub Run RECenter. The girls won with 532 points over Robinson in second place with 323 points. The boys won with 464 points over Robinson (460) in second place. Oakton’s divers set the stage for an incredible night. Bennett Fagan placed third for the boys. Julia Powell and Hana Burkly placed fifth and sixth overall respectively.

Helping Children in Honduras

The Great Falls Middle School Interact Club bakes for Honduras on National Day of Service.

The Great Falls Middle School Interact Club, a youth organization of the Great Falls Rotary Club, took to the local sidewalks on the National Day of Service, Saturday, Jan. 19, and Sunday, Jan. 20, to raise money and awareness for their international youth project—helping children in Honduras.

Slavery to Reconstruction Presented in Great Falls

Professional historian Marion Dobbins discusses the role of slavery in Northern Virginia.

Marion Dobbins is a seventh-generation Virginian, born and raised in Fairfax County. As an African-American child, she sat at her grandmother’s knee listening to the rich heritage of her ancestors. Her grandmother’s stories of the past inspired her to become a professional historian.

‘They Treat Him Like One of Their Own’

Centreville High football players mean the world to Juwaan.

Juwaan Espinal, 15, was born with cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound. But that doesn’t mean he can’t live a life as full of joy and meaning as possible.

Gaining Confidence for SATs

Educators offer prep seminar.

For high-school students, a great deal rides on doing well on the SAT test. But it can be both a daunting and an intimidating experience. And that’s where Westfield High counselor Dan Harris and English teacher Gregg Greentree come in. Together, they’ve developed an SAT prep course.

Union Mill Holds Winter Concerts

Fifth and sixth grade band students from Union Mill Elementary performed in their Winter Band Concert on Wednesday, Jan. 16, led by band teacher Laura Seifried. First-year band students performed “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “Old MacDonald Had a Band,” “Ode to Joy,” and “Hard Rock Blues.” The sixth grade band students performed “Bag ‘O Blues,” and several holiday pieces including “Frosty the Snowman,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!”

Volunteering to Cheer

Special Olympics “Cheer Team” wows crowd with high-energy performance.

Like many girls, Jacquelyn Hoffmeier of Burke always wanted to be a cheerleader. The 25-year-old, born with Down Syndrome, finally got her chance to perform on Friday, Jan. 11. Hoffmeier, along with seven of her Special Olympics teammates, cheered and danced before a crowd of nearly 200 parents and students during halftime at the West Springfield High School girls’ basketball game.

Area Roundups

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will host a presentation by resiliency expert Nan Henderson, “Resiliency in Action: How Families, Schools and Communities Create ‘Bounce Back’ Kids,” on Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 7-8:30 p.m., in the Robinson Secondary School cafeteria. Robinson is at 5035 Sideburn Road in Fairfax.

Sharing People’s Stories Is Filmmaker’s Passion

Local grad Monica Zinn working on second movie.

Monica Zinn is an independent documentary filmmaker. This Burke resident already has one successful film under her belt and is hard at work on another. She graduated from Lake Braddock Secondary School in 2011, but attended the Fairfax Academy from 2009-11, and that’s where her talent began to blossom.

Miss America to Promote STEM

At a pre-Inauguration event Sunday, Jan. 20, newly crowned Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan addressed a large audience gathered at the FAA for a “Federal Open House and Program Mentoring and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).” She spoke passionately about girls and STEM education, which along with her personal issue will be the chief cause during her reign.

Making Schools Safer

Two Northern Virginia Democrats take part in panel to consider school security.

Do Virginia schools need more guns? That question is at the heart of a debate that’s now reaching a fever pitch in the commonwealth, especially after a man with a Bushmaster assault rifle blasted his way into a Connecticut elementary school and killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell responded to the tragedy by creating a School Safety Task Force, which is considering a proposal for every school in Virginia to have an armed school resource officer.

Hilarious, Mixed-Up Bedtime Stories

Chantilly High presents children’s play, Feb. 1-3.

Mixed-up tales and laughs galore are in store for those attending Chantilly High’s upcoming children’s play, “Bedtime Stories.” Show times are Friday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 2, at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door or at www.chantillyhsdrama.com.

Week in Herndon

Hutchison Elementary Receives Donation From Time Warner Cable

Students and teachers at Hutchison Elementary School will be able to purchase and use additional supplies for their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) initiatives as a result of a $70,000 donation from Time Warner Cable

Pursuing Math and Science at Fox Mill Elementary

Girls at Fox Mill Elementary are pursuing their interest in math and science by joining the school’s Girls Excelling in Math and Science program (GEMS), which meets after school.

Woods Robotics Teams Earn Awards at State Championship

On Saturday, Jan. 19, The Woods Academy Robotics teams competed against 70 other teams at the Maryland First Lego League Championship at the UMBC Retriever Activities Center in Catonsville.

The Connection