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School News

January 12, 2005 1:08 am

public schools

The Pennies for the Playground fund-raiser will continue until the end of school. All classrooms will receive a cupcake party in May. Area businesses that would like to get involved and participate should contact the school for more information. Call Ellen Burgess at 368-2559. All support is greatly appreciated.

The following program assessment PRISM meetings have been scheduled. The Program Governance PRISM will meet today at 10 a.m. Tomorrow at 11 a.m., the Human Resources PRISM will be held. Friday at 10 a.m., a Facilities PRISM is scheduled. Parents are invited to attend to provide input to help improve the program.

The Policy Council will meet 11:30 a.m. today, and the budget committee meeting will follow.

Parents are invited to attend a workshop tomorrow at 10 a.m. Subject of discussion will be Smart Money.

Students of the Week were: Tyler Phillip, Destiney Parish, Davon Olds, Alyssa Marshall, Chanise Jackson, Savannah Nicklaw, Wendell Lewis, Dustin Robertson, Zavien Pressley and Devin Pence.

--Alice Thompson

Ethan Tullah in Teresa Burden's first-grade class read all 10 of the Virginia Young Readers' books. He appeared on the school's morning announcements with Assistant Principal J.R. Raybold.

Fifth-graders Brenna Huckabone and Timmy Patton were the Athletes of the Month for December.

Students with the Bobcat Safety Patrols are Cayci Figueroa, Cierra Hawkey, Dustan Luzier, Austin Ausley, Elliot McNeely, Brady Jenkins, Kasonic Zecarius, Asia Meadows, Brenna Walsh, Kassy Upchurch, Bailee Hubert, Timmy Patton, Cameran Estes, Adam Boudaoud, Jake Boles, Tanner Wilson, Lily Thomas, Matthew Scheaffer, Te'one Poole, Nicole Burkhardt, Domi-nique Jones, Jay Morey, Aubri Hooks, Corey Oakes, Alyssa Pfannenstein, Bria Elly, Matthew Taylor, Andrew Slupek, Connor Coughlin and Sierra Fishman.

--Kimberly Scott

The Reading Center is beginning the new year again with the Book Cart. It is a great opportunity for children to trade in a "gently used" book for an equivalent book. The book must be a children's book in reasonable condition traded for a similar reading level book, such as picture book for picture book or chapter book for chapter book. Also, only one trade is allowed at a time. Just send a used book with your child on their day with the cart. The schedule is as follows: fifth grade, Tuesdays; fourth, Wednesdays; third, Fridays; second, Thursdays; first, Wednesdays; and kindergarten, to be determined. Any parent who would like to volunteer to "push" the cart as a regular or substitute, contact the reading specialist.

Denise DeSando was selected as Teacher of the Year. DeSando has a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing and a master's degree in speech pathology. She has been teaching for 23 years, of which 19 have been in Stafford County. She's been at the school for the past six year as the speech pathology specialist.

Ellen Doxey, a paraprofessional, was selected as Service Employee of the Year. She has worked at the school and in Stafford County for six years at various jobs as a paraprofessional.

--Janet Smoot

Students continue their participation in the Reading Makes a Difference program for January. This month the theme is "If We Could Read to the Animals." Students are encouraged to read books with animal themes and to collect pet food and supplies to help homeless pets. Donations will be given to the local area animal shelters.

During the winter break, the library enclosure became a reality. Although the official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be later this month, you will notice the enclosure as you come into the school's lobby. It's a great testament to the commitment and dedication of the parents, teachers, staff, students and PTO. "By closing in the library, it becomes a true self-contained instructional area. I feel like I have my own classroom now," raved librarian Linda Sholander.

--Susan Combs

The SCA and the PTA worked together to collect more than 80 pounds of items for military troops overseas. The Wawa on U.S. 17 and Target in Central Park donated phone cards.

The SCA is collecting hats, gloves, mittens, coats and sweats to be donated to local needy charities.

Anna Weisband and Mason Stutler demonstrated the Boy Town Skill of the Week on the morning announcements.

Tyrell Mason has 200 points in Reading Counts. Tommy Peterson and Vincent Hunter have 125 points. Simon Newsome, Alexis Hingle, Kristen Steele and Beth Barnes have reached the 100 point mark.

--Marilyn Thompson

Third-graders were busy preparing for SOL tests before the holiday break. They sold pies through Market Day to raise money for social studies textbooks and were able to purchase a set of books for every classroom. Brenda Ojibway's class created water-filtering systems at home and brought them to school to try out. Diane Morris' students put their economics studies to use when they created an assembly line and considered cost to make Christmas gifts for their families.

Third-graders also were busy reading. The following students made the 10 Point Club: Zohal Beg, Karla Bernuy, Demetrius Berryman, Anthony Biscardo, Edward Briel, Amanda Campisi, Drew Collinsworth, Sarah May, Jalissa McCain, Cole Metz, Logan Metzler, Ashleigh Neville, Canyon Parada, Alanna Porter, Morris Ratliff, Jadah Rogers, Rickey Shuck, Sharon Thomas and Bobi White.

Bria Coleman and Ashley Laney made the 25 Point Club, and Nickolus Marshall made the 75 Point Club.

--Kathy Beverina

Christine Primo will join the school later this month as the new principal. She will be taking the position held by Roxie Cooper, who was named principal for the new Leeland Area Elementary School. Primo was an assistant principal at Drew Middle School before her appointment.

Tim Liebe earned a perfect score in the December Wordmasters Analogy Challenge. It is almost impossible to earn a perfect score. Other high scorers in fifth grade include Sperling Frabutt, Austin Grebe, Marcus Scrum, Jordan Mlsna, Gary Sharp, Robert Ruff, Ben Jaques, Charlie Batt, Bryn Damisch, Maggie Suhling, Tempest Schaller and Tracey Blankemeyer.

Fourth-grade high scorers were: Jamison Deason and Christina Dominique (with 19 out of 20 correct), Erin Carcel, Vincent Sannicolas, Mandy Smallwood, Audrey Ramos, Arielle Allam, Sinclaire Hamilton and Nattie Moody.

The high scorers in third grade were Baylee Perry, Elise Carlson, Abby DeFeo, Larry Hall, Cory McGee, Emily Hubbard, Erin Lipson, Sam Robinson and Anthony Vaccaro. Hard work and studying paid off with the school earning excellent scores.

High scorers in a particularly difficult December Math Challenge included Austin Grebe, Jordan Mlsna and Annie Nelson earning five points while Ashley Dudek, Joey Caico, Sperling Frabutt, David Klein, Corey Schehl and Marcus Scrum earned four.

--Janice Raspen

Third-grade teacher Kim Nye is the PTO Employee of the Month.

Artists of the Week are chosen by school art teachers Don Newman and Candy Conklin. Their artwork is displayed in the front lobby of the school, and they receive a certificate. Recent Artists of the Week include: Tony Amador, Sarah Burley, Samantha Cohen, Caitlin Colie, Laine Dirnberger and Cheyenne Guerrero.

--Debbie Simmons

The Student Council School has been very active since school opened in September. During the month of December, students successfully collected food for the American Legion food drive and hats and mittens for children in Stafford County. The food drive was the second held this year. More than 900 food items were collected in December for a total of 2,000 food items this school year. The January Food Drive is in full swing. This month, the food will go to the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. Students collected more than 200 pairs of mittens and 90 hats, scarves and slippers. These were donated to Stafford County Department of Social Services. During January, the students will be writing to servicemen and women stationed overseas. They also will be working on a project to help the survivors of the tsunami that hit Asia in December.

On Jan. 31, Rocky Run will be hosting its second Family Health and Fitness Night. This event will be from 5 to 8 p.m. with an array of activities involving more than 25 different community organizations and businesses. Demonstrations will be going on throughout the evening. Door prizes will be distributed. The goal is to show Rocky Run parents and children just how many things available in our community promote healthy living and an active lifestyle. Several county sports leagues will register students for spring seasons if they bring a birth certificate and a check. And thanks to Rocky Run's PTO, we will have a Mount Peaks Obstacle Climb and Willie the Whale amusements to keep our students energized for the evening.

--Jackie Sipple

The school has its own television celebrity. Wildcats Andrew and Isabella Hergenrother's father appeared on the final show of "The Apprentice" television show. He was the mentor of the finalist and winner Kelly. Their father was asked to tell Donald Trump personal qualities Kelly had that would make him the right choice. Hergenrother was a visitor in the classroom on Veterans Day and helped students in Bonnie Cox's kindergarten class make American flag thank-you notes for veterans. The family made the trip to New York and got to experience the Big Apple event.

Parents, mark your calendars now for Back to School Nights this month. Note there are two different nights scheduled according to the grade your student is in. Kindergarten through second will be Jan. 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m, and third through fifth grade will be Jan. 27 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

--Nancy Brothers

Everyone did a wonderful job collecting coins for mitochondrial disease. A total of $1,270.40 was collected. There is no cure for mitochondrial disease, which can affect any organ in the body, including the brain, heart, liver and kidneys. The money will be sent to United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. Melissa Haase's kindergarten class collected the most money with a total of almost $300. Focus Resource Teacher Mrs. Moyer facilitated the activity. The fourth-grade Focus team of Mikey Lee, Mariah Cottongim, Kira Burnett, Matthew Grimm, Austin Newman, Jacob Underbakke and Anna Vivian created and ran the activity. Nina Burnett generously donated her time. None of this would have been possible without the deep caring and generosity of the students, staff and parents.

The new WCES Channel 7 News crew is: Andrew Bland, Drew Schmidtknecht, Emily Thomas and Courtney Anderson. The new technical crew is Adam Loop, Porter Leach and Kayla Britford.

--Kay Hiatt, with special contribution by fourth-grader Anna Vivian

The library hosted a celebration breakfast for sixth-graders who had read at least three Virginia Young Reader books. Students rewarded with a free book of their choice and encouraged to continue reading are Sonya Harrell, Madeline Lovegrove, Andrea Rowe, Miranda Romano, Clare Robinson, Samantha St. Onge, Skylar Bartley, Kristine Hernandez, Kelsey Walz, Ashley Littlejohn, Jacob Rupe, Merisa Stevens, Anna Garner, Alexis Izzo, Thomas Clark, Ashley Harding, Colby Robinson, Jenna Onks, Kim Hildebrand, Trae Stewart, Corey Rice, Olivia Silsbee, Natalee Rombough, Taylor Anderson, Samantha Durham, Devyn Jilson, Bryant Pryor, Alex Uribe, Lusiana Tokalautawa, Ashley Reed, Chris Rand, James Adams, Margaret Howe, Diamond Stephens, Adam Sawyers, Shannell Thomas and faculty members Jeannie Plummer and Cheryl Stafford. In March, students who read five titles will be eligible to vote for the state winners.

On Jan. 5, the school's final competition of the National Geographic Bee was televised to the entire school. Grade-level winners and competitors for the final round were:

Eighth grade--Brian Green, Emily Deane and Alex Stone.

Seventh grade--Jessica Goodman, Nick Larsen and Mary Ann Talbot.

Sixth grade--Brianna Johnson, Nick Sypolt and Devon Woods.

Winners were: third place, Devon Woods and Jessica Goodman; second, Brianna Johnson and first, Brian Green. Green was awarded a medal and a one-year subscription to National Geographic magazine. He will now be eligible to compete in the state competition.

--Sheryl Sinche

Eighth-grade science teacher Cindy Ward is Teacher of the Year. Ward was nominated and selected by her peers.

The following students were selected as December Citizens of the Month for kindness: Michael Bailey, Jessica Bellamy, Shelli Bond, Tara Buckley, Samantha Davis, Melissa Haslam and Casey Vicari.

--Liz Featherstone

Principal Wendy Payne enjoyed pizza with the following students who were recognized by their teachers for doing something good through the Gotcha program: Gavin Hemenway, Brooke Zink, Nathan Krebs, Caroline Spinella, Carder McNally, Judy Ingold, Melissa Gray, Jeena Dodson, Chelsea Mensir and Elizabeth Tellez. Students' names can be submitted for this privilege based on excellence in character, academics and/or citizenship.

Winners of the Bullying Prevention Poster Contest were Carrie Schiebel, Rachel Poock and Matt Laubach. The Bully Prevention Club is sponsored by eighth-grade counselor Sue Dzik-Lecroy.

Each year, students have the opportunity to compete in the Reader's Digest National Word Poser Challenge. The first two rounds include a 25 questions written test and a double elimination activity which produces the classroom champion. The classroom champions were:

Sixth grade--Charesse Silvera, Thomas Moore, Storm Capps, Maren Hunsberger, Blake Frohnapfel, Zach Carlson, Rachel Klein, Emily Schutzenhofer, Amanda Lee, Nick Platt, Tyler Womack, Jeffery Krill, Dustin Serven and Kalli Wilson.

Seventh grade--Brady Fuller, Emily Hollywood, Sarah Wallinford and Emily Eldridge.

Eighth grade--Casey Bolin, Alex Baker, Hannah Childs, Kaitlyn Arndt, Evan Dombrosky, Jacob Nelson, Caleb Brown, Brian Harper, Kim Smidt, Bianca Russo and Jessica Wood.

These students competed in a double elimination tournament in which the following students won the honor of being the Word Power Grade Level Winners:

Sixth grade--Rachel Klein.

Seventh grade--Emily Hollywood.

Eighth grade--Brian Harper.

Grade-level winners will take a written qualifying test--graded by an outside committee of judges--for a chance to advance to the state championship. State champions will advance to the National Competition which will be held in Walt Disney World and will compete for the top prizes of a $25,000, $15,000 or $10,000 scholarship. The Word Power Challenge was coordinated by media specialist Eileen Godwin.

--Stephanie Pettengill

Students achieving the all "A" Honor Roll for the second marking period were as follows:

Sixth grade--Brianna Arrington, Casey Brown, Berent Kvenlog, Alexander Michel, Kaitlin Roehl, Stephanie Rouse, Brandon St. Armour, Alyssa Wheeler and Christopher Medeiros.

Seventh grade--Chelsea Banglesdorf, Ashley Cain, Taylor Kenkel, Paige Koziuk, Alexander Skavdahl and Alexis Stones.

Eighth grade--Carley Guinn, Gregory King, Colby McLendon and Brett Stones.

Joyce Blackwell has been voted Teacher of the Year. Blackwell teaches seventh-grade language arts.

--Norma McCoy

The following students were inducted into the Steven James Snyder Chapter of the National Honor Society on Jan. 7: Chris Amland, Elizabeth Anderson, Austin Bayer, Jonathan Blackburn, Laura Bryant, Molly Butters, Annie Cantrell, Steven Cappetta, Alexandra Cata, Chelsea Chlebo, Jonathan Clancy, Jessica Clark, Jordyn Clark, Lindsay Clark, Ashley Collier, Brendan Corbett, Kacey Craiger, Jacob Easter, Sarah Ebert, Krystal Edmonds, Jessica English, Chelsea Estancona, Elizabeth Evans, Lauren Gillies, Abigail Godfrey, Bryan Gomez-Wong, Jessica Gould, George Habersetzer, Chelsey Halsey, Laura Hendrie, Heather Hennebury, Suzanna Johnson, Miriam Kala, Tyler Kitchens, Jason Knight, Brittanny Krause, Jeffrey Lamberson, Maureen Lawlor, Stephenie McHugh, Emma Martz, Krystal Mathieu, Abigail Mertz, Jennie Minteer, Melissa Newcomb, Carley Null, Alexandra Nye, James O'Hagan, Kristen Olbeter, Christine Onidi, Joseph Payne, Katelyn Procci, Kelly Reece, Stase Rodebaugh, James Serbinski, Krista Smith, Brittany Stewart, Nicholas Tulloh, Kathleen Wade, Amy Yocum and Jill Yocum.

The Key Club Charter Ceremony and Officer Induction will be held today in the auditorium from 7 to 8 p.m. with light refreshments to follow. Approximately 50 students from all grade levels are in this club.

In the near future, Key Club members will be organizing a coat drive to help the Salvation Army. Additional information will be available at a later date.

The school's Learn and Serve class will be assisting the Stafford Senior High Learn and Serve students who are organizing a drive for troops returning to Walter Reed.

On Jan. 7 and 8, All-County High School Band and String Concert was held at the school.

Midterm exams will be held Jan. 27, 28 and 31. On these three days there will be on a 2-hour early release.

Parent Conference Night is scheduled for Feb. 10 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Appointments can be made through the Guidance Department during the week of Feb. 7.

Juniors interested in attending the Academy Introduction Mission at the Coast Guard Academy must apply by April 15. The application is available at cga.edu

--Kerri McClafferty

private schools

Parents are reminded there will be no school Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Friday, the Lower School will hold an assembly in honor of King.

Juniors and their parents are reminded that their first Senior Exhibit meeting will be held at 7 p.m. tonight in the theater of the Arts and Sciences Building. Parents and students will learn about the exciting opportunity to immerse themselves in the Senior Exhibit process, a 16-month independent study program completed by all students before they graduate from the academy.

Upper School drama students will perform "Arsenic and Old Lace" at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Theater of the Arts and Sciences Building. The production is being directed by senior Ashley McNabb as part of her Senior Exhibit. There is no charge to attend, but donations are requested. Academy families and the public are encouraged to attend what is sure to be a great show.

--Beth Hunley

Homecoming is Friday. The schedule for Homecoming festivities is: girls varsity basketball game, 5:30 p.m. with JV cheerleaders at halftime; introduction of the court and crowning of the king and queen, 6:45 p.m.; boys varsity basketball game, 7:30 p.m. with varsity cheerleaders at halftime and Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsored bands to perform immediately following the game.

As you clean closets and de-clutter the house after the holidays, remember the annual school yard sale will be Feb. 26.

Basketball passes are on sale for $40 for a family, $20 for a parent and $10 for a student.

The 442-page school cookbook, "Family Favorites from FCS," is on sale in all campus offices for $15.

School will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. day.

Internet shoppers can support the school by shopping at their favorite stores online through mightyworks.com.

To learn whether school is closed or there is a delay in opening due to bad weather, call the school's hot line at 372-7032, listen to local radio stations or check fredericksburgchristian .com.

Information on donations for the March 18 auction to benefit teachers' salaries is now being collected. Forms are available from the school offices.

School directories are available at respective campuses for $3.

--Cindy Gossett

Barbara Aufiero will be assuming the teacher assistant position in Susie Lockard's third grade.

Jan. 10 was the Feast of St. Leonie Aviat, a very special feast day for the academy. With Father Louis Brisson, St. Leonie founded the Sister Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales in Troyes, France, in 1872. St. Leonie always remained faithful to the resolution she had taken at her profession, "to forget myself entirely" and the very Salesian precept, "let us work for the happiness of others." Her sole desire, she often said, was to be "God's little instrument." St. Leonie was canonized in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy, on Nov. 25, 2001. The Oblate Sisters staff three schools in the United States: Mount Aviat Academy in Childs, Md; St. Bernadette School in Drexel Hill, Pa. and Holy Cross Academy.

An article written by Kathleen McCabe Mahoney in the Arlington Catholic Herald last month enthusiastically reviewed Rosemarie Gortler and Donna Piscitelli's "The Mass Book for Children." Gortler is the proud grandmother of third-grader Grace Gallagher and the co-author, with Donna Piscitelli, of two previous publications for children, "Little Acts of Grace" in 2001 and "Just Like Mary" in 2002. All three books have been illustrated by artist Mimi Sternhagen. In light of this "Year of the Eucharist," the purpose of their writings was to introduce children to the splendor of the Eucharist in hopes that children will want to go to Mass to find meaning and to have an appreciation of the miracle of the Mass. They also want children to have a familiarity with the actions of the priest who is acting in the person of Christ. Their purpose in writing the book was to help make the Catholic faith part of everyday life, a part of the simple activities of daily living. Just as they did with their previous best sellers, the authors intend to donate much of the royalties from "The Mass Book for Children" to their three favorite charities: the Poor Clares, Birthright of Fredericksburg, Inc. and Project Rachel.

There will be no school Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

--Betsy Moran

A new month, a new year and a new season bring new excitement to Kay McVicker's junior kindergarten class. This month, students will learn about the concepts of winter, making snowmen, matching mittens and doing lots of graphing in math. Stories will include "The Mitten" by Jan Brett, "The First Snowfall" by Anne and Harlow Rockwell and "Snowballs" by Lois Ehlert. Students will also continue to work hard on letter recognition and beginning sounds. Progress reports go home Jan. 31.

With so many avid readers enrolled at the school, the "Pledge for Pages" fund-raising effort to raise money for tsunami victims should be very successful. All donations must be in by Jan. 21.

Laurie Karr's second- and third-grade students have been busy gathering sponsors for the "Pledge for Pages" campaign. They have been reading fervently to raise money for the earthquake and tsunami victims. Students have read and discussed many of the articles appearing in The Free Lance-Star that have covered the events in Sri Lanka and Sumatra, and they are anxious to help. All donations are greatly appreciated.

To assist in a better understanding of the scientific process, students have conducted a week-long investigation into the connection between the shape of a bubble wand and the shape bubble it produces. The recent nice weather has allowed much of this to take place outside. Working with partners, students compiled their data and wrote concise steps leading to good conclusions. Both classes are looking forward to their new unit of science, Life Cycles.

What do students want to talk about their first day after break? Presents, of course. A new year, however, calls for new challenges and Martha Shelby's fourth and fifth grades are challenged to see everything in greater details. That's why they're targeting greater use of adjectives, metaphors and similes in all their writing for the month of January. Students highlight adjectives in newspaper articles, "buddy conference" all sentences to target nouns needing adjectives and add all the describing details when answering questions. New challenges come with the New Year: minds and talent have no horizons.

--Anne Pickle

Grawnea McGrail's third-grade class is currently working on a football geography unit. Third-graders learn about the regions of the United States. To make this more interesting, they select one NFL team from each of the first four regions. Many teams select a name that reflects their history or geography. Students predict scores and graph the teams' win and loss records. Using lines of longitude and latitude students locate the teams' cities. The unit will conclude with a Super Bowl party complete with math problem solving, mapping, reading, cheering and art activities.

Joe Corbi pizza kit and cookie dough order forms went home Jan. 6. Orders are due with payment by Jan. 20. They will be delivered on Feb. 4 just in time for the Super Bowl. For more information contact chairperson Mitzi Biddle at 659-1577.

The PTO received a $1,035.36 check from General Mills for Box Tops for Education. This was for all of the box tops sent in through Oct. 31. Chairperson Diana Roets organized all of the bake sales and other successful activities. Keep collecting box tops. There will be another shipment in the spring.

There will be an Open House on Feb. 2. More information is available at the school's Web site, stwillschool.org.

--Kathy Walker