Getting Used to School Cafeteria
The first week of school was especially exciting for Churchill Road’s 100 new kindergarten students. One of the first-time experiences was eating lunch in the school cafeteria. The students learned how to make healthy food choices, pay for their meals through their lunch accounts, and compost and recycle procedures.
Launching Rockets at Churchill Road
On Friday, Sept. 13, Churchill Road sixth graders conducted a scientific experiment using the rockets they built in science class. The cardboard rockets were fueled with a mixture of Alka-Seltzer and water in their boosters (film canisters). Science teachers Chrissy Frantz and David Ericson assisted the groups of students with the rocket “fuel.” After the launch, the students measured the height each rocket traveled; then looked at the correlation between rocket weight and launch height. The students discovered that the lighter rockets gained the most height. The top rocket went more than 14 feet.
Inspired to Give
Local teens positively impact youth on a global scale.
Picture this: An impoverished young teenager sits in a hospital bed in rural India, suffering from a life-threatening cancer, opens up a tablet device filled with educational tools and apps to distract them from their daily struggles. You would probably expect the tablet to have been shipped there by a large, national non-profit run by paid staff members. Not so. It was delivered to this teen by other teens, all working toward the same goal: to connect with pediatric cancer patients around the world in order to provide them with encouragement, support and education.
It’s Back to Churchill Road in McLean
First day for girst graders, other students at Churchill Road Elementary.
On Tuesday, Sept. 3, parents, students and faculty came together at Churchill Road Elementary School in McLean for the first day of school. Danielle M. Mazurowski, a music teacher for nine years at Churchill Road was at one of the doors greeting people as they entered into the cafeteria.
McLean High 1979 Graduate Wins Best Book Award
Prof. Prasannan Parthasarathi of Boston College, a 1979 graduate of McLean High School, has won the 2012 Best Book Award from the World History Association for his book "Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not—Global Economic Divergence, 1600 to 1850."
Meet Your McLean Area Non-profits
CTFund is a completely youth-run organization dedicated to helping malnourished and impoverished children in developing countries achieve a healthy and happy start to life. CTFund staff is composed solely of teenagers who are passionate about changing the lives of children around the world who are not as fortunate as they are.
What Are the Most Exciting Changes in McLean Area Schools?
“One of the things that we’re starting this year is that we’re having a Highlander Kickoff on Aug. 27. We’re trying to find a way to welcome the community and the kids back, and make it a fun atmosphere for everybody. It is a day for students to come get their schedules, pick up their parking and uniforms, meet some coaches, and for clubs to sell some stuff and start fundraising. It’s a day for everyone to get back in the mood and get ready for school. We’ll have food, cheerleaders, and the band. It will be the first time we’ll ever be doing it. The second thing is that we’re embedding our Highlander Time, which is our intervention period, so we’ll be having intervention everyday for half an hour so kids can meet with teachers, catch up on their homework and do things to de-stress during the school day. We also have a new instructional coach at our school, Kate Stavish, and she’ll be working with our teachers and team during the school day on curriculum and different components about teaching, so we’re very excited about that too.”
A New School Year in Great Falls
Cooper encourages critical thinking; Langley revamps Saxon Time; Highlander Kickoff on Aug. 27.
“This year, Fairfax County Public Schools are upping the rigor; this doesn’t necessarily mean more work, but it will be more challenging. We’ll be asking students to think critically, look for creative solutions, and work in collaboration with one another. We’re working within the curriculum to find extensions that will bring about these skills. Of course, Cooper will also be welcoming new seventh-graders, and I advise them to come in with an open mind and take advantage of the opportunities to make new friends, because five elementary schools come together here. We will also have new Spanish, French, mathematics and band teachers. We’re looking forward to a great year.”
Brief: Giant Presents Check to McLean High
McLean Giant Food Store Manager Rick Makely (second from right) and Felis Andrade (third from right), director of marketing and external communications, Giant Food, present a check for $16,142.53 to McLean High School Principal Ellen Reilly (front row, fourth from right).
Brief: Anne Gruner Appointed to the GMU Board of Visitors
Last week, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced appointments to five boards of visitors.
A Two-time International Winner
McLean native and TJ student Joe Broom is first to win International Euphonium Institute Festival twice.
For his 16th birthday, McLean native and rising junior at TJHSST Joe Broom specifically asked his parents not to get him a car. This was because he had something better in mind: a new euphonium.
Claude Moore Colonial Farm Turns 40
Longtime friends, volunteers celebrate 40 years of colonial-style farming.
Claude Moore Colonial Farm opened its doors on July 26, 1973, with the idea to show what life was like 200 years ago. Forty years later, it still provides a glimpse of daily life for farmers in 1771. The farm welcomed friends and longtime volunteers to celebrate the last 40 years and look to the next 40 years Thursday, July 11.
McLean Orchestra Proves ‘Instrumental to Business’
When your audience expresses their wild enthusiasm, what else can you do but give them an encore?
Head of The Langley School Retires After 13 Years
This month, Doris Cottam will retire from her position as head of school at The Langley School, an independent school in McLean serving nearly 500 students in preschool to eighth grade. During her 13 years as head of school, Cottam transformed The Langley School financially, strategically, programmatically and culturally into a professional, sustainable model for the 21st century—all while embracing and maintaining the school’s community-based roots. When she retires at the end of June, she will leave behind a legacy of growth and financial stability that will successfully propel Langley into its eighth decade.
Highlanders Encouraged to Do ‘Great Things’
Class of 2013 defines McLean High one last time.
The light above the original 13 colony nameplates in Constitution Hall changed from a gushing green to a Highlander red by late afternoon. Of the 521 McLean seniors who proceeded across the stage on Thursday, June 13, 21 percent of them did so with honors. Their keynote speaker, CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell, gave the Class of 2013 key principles of how to live one’s life. He told two stories about Sept. 11, 2001: the two people’s stories were Father Mychal Judge and Lieutenant Kevin P. Shaeffer.