School news – Lego logo

A Lego creation by professionals.

An occasional series highlighting information about Fairfax County Public Schools and programs and activities at schools in the Annandale/Mason District area. The information here is from FCPS and individual schools.

A representatives from the Lego company’s U.S. headquarters in Connecticut visited Mason Crest Elementary School Feb. 21 to present a sign featuring the school mascot, a tiger, made of Lego bricks.

Teachers in Mason Crest’s School Age Child Care program are huge fans of using Legos for all sorts of creative learning projects. A few weeks ago, they sent a package to the Lego office with letters from the kids about how much they love Legos and photos of their creations.

A Lego representative called the teachers to say how impressed they were with the students’ creativity and enthusiasm for Legos. He asked about the school’s mascot and told them to look out for something coming in the mail. A few days later, he decided that since he was heading to a meeting in Atlanta, he would make a stop on the way to present the Lego mascot sign to the students in person.

Art star

Eliza Snee, a student at Stuart High School, has completed the 2016-17 National Gallery of Art High School Seminar. The program introduces high school students from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to art history and museum careers. This competitive program accepted only 14 applicants.

Snee was sponsored by art teacher, Katherine Wallestad, She studied the theme of the Virgin Annunciate through time as seen in paintings from the 13th through the 15th centuries.


Space girls

Students in Glasgow Middle School’s STEM Impressionists after-school program are playing a role in the U.S. Department of Education’s effort to solve a national problem: the critical shortage of students with mastery of science, technology, engineering, and math skills.

Through an after-school collaboration among the U.S and Virginia departments of education and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, students are introduced to the engineering design process so they can develop solutions to real NASA challenges, such as how to land a spacecraft on Mars or grow plants in lunar habitats.

Eight female students are receiving feedback from NASA engineers and scientists as they prepare to design a lunar spaceship and learn about STEM careers.

Glasgow is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which focuses in part on providing meaningful STEM learning opportunities to students in high-need schools.

Bachpacking

Classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein will present her “Bachpacking” program to students at seven FCPS schools, including Woodburn Elementary School on March 1.

The program connects the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and other classical composers to jazz, techno, rap, and other contemporary music. Dinnerstein will present piano performances, singing, and rhythmic exercises, and will give students an opportunity to improvise short exercises at the keyboard.

The event is part of Woodburn’s partnership with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO). Following the program, students are invited to attend Dinnerstein’s concert with the FSO at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts on March 4.

Other FCPS elementary schools in Mason District slated to participate in Dinnerstein’s Bachpacking program include Bren Mar Park and Westlawn.

Teacher honored

Yezenia Cruz, who teaches English to speakers of other languages at Falls Church High School, has been recommended for membership in Delta Kappa Gamma, an organization that promotes the professional and personal growth of women educators. Cruz was honored for her work in piloting a revised developmental reading curriculum designed for ESOL students with interrupted formal education.

Robotics coaches

Annandale High School students Christopher Williams, Jae Kim, and Michael Woldeab are working with younger students to prepare them to compete in the upcoming VEX IQ robotics tournament March 2 at Poe Middle School. The Annandale students are helping teach elementary and middle school students about robotics, sharing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) principles, and walking them through the robot-building process.