School news: Safe routes to school

Students at Weyanoke Elementary School celebrate Heritage Fest, featuring songs and dances from around the world.

An occasional series highlighting programs and activities at schools in the Annandale/Mason District area and other school news. The information and photos here are from Fairfax County Public Schools and individual schools.

Safe Routes to School – Glasgow and Poe middle schools and North Springfield Elementary School are among the 12 FCPS schools that will be added to the Safe Routes to School program this spring, thanks to a $164,000 contribution to the program from Innovation Health., a partnership between Inova and Aetna.

The program supports active transportation in a healthful and safe environment. It educates students on safe walking and bicycling and partners with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation and Fairfax County Police Department to keep students safe while walking and bicycling to school.
The funds from Innovation Health will enable FCPS to purchase bikes, helmets, and storage and make Safe Routes to Schools more sustainable.

Nine schools are already participating in the program, including Wakefield Forest and Canterbury Woods elementary schools. Holmes Middle School has its own bike sharing and bike safety program. Safe Routes to Schools is expected to increase participation in National Bike to School Day on May 9.

Farewell, Principal Chapin – Woodburn Elementary School Principal Bridget Chapin is retiring at the end of school year, after 30 years as an educator, including 14 years at Woodburn. “I will miss my Woodburn family, but am looking forward to spending time with my grandchildren, traveling, and having more time for personal interests,” Chapin wrote in an email to the community March 23.

Region 2 Assistant Superintendent Fabio Zuluaga will lead the search for a new principal and is planning to have one in place by July 1.

Third-graders at Belvedere Elementary School hold a seed sale. They decorated seed packets and served as cashiers, customer service representatives. and inventory staff.

Fast Atom – Annandale High School student Jay Pendarvis Jr. was named “Sophomore Athlete of the Year” by MileState.com. He came in first place in the 6A State Championships with a time of 34.75 in the 300 meter dash.

Art award winners – Several students from the Annandale/Mason area are among the 35 national medal winners in the 2018 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards program:

• Ashley Benitez of Falls Church High School – Gold Medal in photography. 
• Regina Martinez of Stuart High School – Gold Medal in the “future new” category. 
• Vy Nguyen Claire Phan of Frost Middle School – Silver Medals in  “future new.”
• Seita Takanashi of Stuart High School – Silver Medal for an art portfolio. 
• Emma Wright of Woodson High School – Silver Medal in painting. 

Top readers – Luther Jackson Middle School placed second in the nation in the large-school category in the Great Reading Games, an annual reading competition hosted by Learning Ally. Jackson also had the third and sixth top readers in the contest.

Among the more than 1,200 schools that participated in 2018, nine FCPS schools placed in the top 20. Poe Middle School was in 49th place.

The Great Reading Games is aimed at motivating K-12 struggling and nonreaders, such as students with a learning disability, to read and learn through audiobooks. Students develop confidence and get excited about reading as their reading comprehension, fluency, critical thinking, and vocabulary skills improve.

Winning Atoms – Four Annandale High School students scored big wins at the Future Business Leaders of America Regional Spring Competition. Han Le earned first place in client services. Ankita Bhurtel won first place in the job interview event. Kalkidan Teklie scored first place in impromptu speaking. Victor Nguyen nailed third place in accounting II.

Youths combat mental illness stigma – The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) has awarded mini-grants for 10 projects led by youths that are aimed at reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues among their peers.

Funding for the projects is from a regional suicide prevention grant from the Virginia Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services. The projects, which educate youths to recognize a mental health issue in themselves and others and empower them to seek help, will be implemented by Sept. 30.

Among the projects that were funded:

• Asian American LEAD, an organization focused on youth leadership and empowerment, will sponsor a “Stress Less Week” at Poe Middle School. Students will research, develop, and implement stress reduction activities and a “pass it forward” positivity campaign in the weeks leading up to standardized testing.

• Falls Church High School’s Our Minds Matter Club will host a “Stress Less Week” during the week between AP exams and finals. Students will lead a variety of activities to encourage students to stress less and focus on their mental health.

• Woodson High School’s Our Minds Matter Club will launch a campaign called “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something.” The campaign aims to raise awareness and remind all students how critical it is to share any information related to mental health concerns, violence to others, or suicidal thoughts with an adult.

Remka

Poetry Out Loud – Remka Nwana, a student at Woodson High School, won the state competition in the Poetry Out Loud recitation contest March 12 in Richmond. She recited “I Sit and Sew” by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson, “Negative” by Kevin Young, and “Breakfast” by Mary Lamb. Remka will represent Virginia in the national competition in April at Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Hunger Games – Glasgow Middle School has been engaged in a schoolwide service learning project about hunger on a global and local level. Students donated more than 4,000 nonperishable food items for a local food bank.

Students celebrated the conclusion of the project with grade-level pep rallies on March 23. Glasgow Principal Shawn DeRose calls the Hunger Games “a great way to build community while teaching students about ways they can positively impact a real need in our community.”

Tech equity – Fairfax County Public Schools has scheduled public meetings on the FCPSOn initiative, which promotes equity in technology by ensuring every student has access to a device for learning.

The community meeting for Region 2 (which includes most of the Annandale/Mason area) will be April 10 at Marshall High School, 7731 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, 7 p.m.