city schools
Hugh Mercer Elementary
Referrals to the Gifted and Talented Program are being accepted through the first three weeks of the next grading period. Interested parents may contact their child's teacher for details.
The School Committee met Feb. 2. The agenda included a discussion of the Saxon reading program.
February is School Board Appreciation Month. On behalf of Hugh Mercer Elementary School, the following students presented board members with a token of appreciation at its meeting Feb. 6: Rynaysha Allen, Gage Allen, Matthew Small, Kelly Nguyen, Jorge Cervantes and Madison Walsh. Guidance counselors Annette Richards and DeNae Samuel gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Interactive Career Fair they held in November.
The "Reflections" art contest winners were recognized at the School Board meeting Feb. 6 for their winning entries in the following categories:
Visual Arts
Kayla Whitehead--Award of Excellence and first place, first grade
Dayna Richards--first place, first grade
Katia Jackson--first place, second grade
Kayla Manning--second place, kindergarten
Noah Broome--second place, first grade
Jaren Jackson--second place, second grade
Lauren Mickens--third place, third grade
Evan Cobey--honorable mention, third grade
Photography
Gabriel York--Award of Excellence and first place, kindergarten
Megan Lam--first, second and third place, second grade
Teagan Hicks--honorable mention, second grade
Literature
Lindsey Haberman--Award of Excellence and first place, second grade
Avise Burrell--second place, second grade
Music
Mary Wallace Baker--Award of Excellence and first place, first grade
Super spellers in first and second grades were recognized at the School Board meeting Feb. 6 for their achievement in the Spelling Bee:
First grade--Samuel Lucas, first place; Libby Walsh, second; and Mary Wallace Baker, third
Second grade--Alina Lovos, first; Taylor Griffin, second; and George Barnick and Lordina Nyarko, third.
Second-graders continued their study of Native Americans, and representatives of the George Washington Fredericksburg Foundation concluded classroom visits from Ferry Farm, which included a presentation and craft activities on the Powhatan Indians.
Friday's Spirit Day is Backward Day.
--Cindy Hurley
Lafayette Upper Elementary
Practice for fourth grade for the Variety Show is tomorrow. Practice for fifth grade is Thursday. Practice for all grade levels will be Feb. 21.
Parent conferences will be Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. Please call the counseling office at 540/310-0029 to set up an appointment with your child's teachers.
There will be a PTA meeting Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
--Valerie Morgan
Walker-Grant Middle
Orchestra students are participating in a fundraiser through Thursday to help sponsor their spring trip. Items available are various flavors of cookie dough, $8.50 per tub; a variety of cheesecakes, $16 each; and three flavors of gourmet pretzels, $10 per 3-pack. Items may be purchased from any orchestra student or from their director, James George,
Email: jgeorge@cityschools.com.
Carlos Reyes, is the new school resource officer.
Baseball tryouts begin Feb. 21. In order to tryout, students must be in grades seven or eight and have an updated sports physical on file. Questions regarding the baseball team may be directed to coach Brian Kiernan, 540/310-0029 or athletic director George Coghill, 540/372-1145.
Walker-Grant students participated with a million other American youth in the African-American Read-In Chain Feb. 6. Teachers and students in all reading and language arts classes read short stories, excerpts and articles written by African-American authors.
--Renee Embrey
county schools
Battlefield Elementary
Student Council members have begun a prescription eyeglass collection to benefit school-age children through the Glasses for Humanity program. Student council members have decorated shoes boxes for the collection and placed them throughout the school. Glasses for Humanity provides prescription eyeglasses for many school-age children who may otherwise be unable to get them. Glasses for Humanity will clean and repair the glasses before distribution. For details, call Peggy Mahoney or a student council member.
Top class earners in the accelerated reading program for the last nine weeks are: Sandy Decatur, second grade, 221.7 points; Olive Shortridge, third grade, 460.6 points; Nemisis Rodriguez, fourth grade, 729.5 points; Melinda Lernihan, fifth grade, 824.6 points.
Top students in each class are: William McLead. fifth grade; Morgan Jett, fourth grade; Chance Jett, third grade; and Lydia Mcgill, second grade. Summary points were 7,533.3 read.
Spring pictures will be taken Thursday.
Kindergarten registration begins Feb. 21. Stop by the school office to receive a registration packet.
--Patricia Spofford
Berkeley Elementary
Berkeley's January Good Citizens are as follows:
Preschool and Kindergarten--Juliet Montague, Jessica Ratcliffe and Abby Markovsky
First grade--Raymond Radford, Travis Smith and Corbin Greenhalgh
Second grade--Brandon Rutley, Nikkiann Woods and Mathew Zimmerman
Third grade--Shelby Payne, Andy McGarr and Collin Vanover Fourth grade--Daniel Rouse, Brianna Kozak and Taylor Rodgers
Fifth grade--Katelyn Diller and Robert Mason.
Second grade is studying ancient China. Students recently held a Chinese New Year celebration, trying to eat chow mein noodles and egg rolls with chopsticks. For dessert they enjoyed fortune cookies. The students even practiced counting and writing numbers from one to 10 in Chinese and had fun making traditional dragon masks.
The top individual student AR point earnings go to the following students:
Kindergarten--McKenzie Swimson, Joshua Montague and Zachary Forrest
First grade--Alex Papapetrou and Preston Pollard
Second grade--Tyler Carnohan and Aaron Petrie
Third grade--T.J. Heflin and Jeremy Mills
Fourth grade--Anthony Humphries and Jonathan Mullins Fifth grade--Matthew Smith and Julio Moreno.
The fourth- and fifth-grade SCOPE students at Berkeley are taking on a new job. The students are working together to update and create new ideas for Berkeley's online Web page. Recently, Spotsylvania County's Web curator, Michel Schilling, visited Berkeley and held a hands-on demonstration with the students on how to use Microsoft Front Page to create exciting Web pages. Hardworking Web page participants include: Heather Bowman, Hunter Bowman, Kiersten Dodson, Haylee McGuire, Katlyn Storm, Gus Whitt, Amanda Banocy, Kaitlyn Orris, Elizabeth Stephens and Christine Zimmerman.
--Tammy Jones
Chancellor Elementary
Dr. Gina Schroetter, a veterinarian from VCA Chancellor Animal hospital, visited Lynne Fultz's second-grade class. She spoke to the class about animal habitats and shared information about becoming a veterinarian.
Lynne Fultz's class read the book "Flat Stanley" and then students wrote friendly letters and sent Stanley to a special friend or relative. Stanley is starting to arrive back after visiting in different places. He was sent to Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Minnesota and Massachusetts so far. The students are locating the different locations on the map, and anticipate mail delivery of more of their traveling Stanleys.
Third-, fourth- and fifth-grade SCOPE students traveled to Washington Feb. 4. Elaine Lavelle led the students and family members on an adventurous journey to view the JASON Project show at National Geographic Museum. The students met renowned undersea explorer Robert Ballard. They also visited the National Museum of Natural History and saw the IMAX movie "The Big Five--A Safari Trip in Africa."
Our Spanish word for the week is "chaqueta," meaning "jacket" in English. Last week's word was "mochila," meaning "backpack." --Amy Clodius
Courthouse Road Elementary
The following students were chosen as Cardinal of the Week for the week of Feb. 6:
First grade--Taylor Breivik, Vanessa Campos, Olivia Catron, Chloe Conway and Leah Costello
Second grade--Brittani Booth, Nicholas Capuzzo, Colin Gates, Eleana Jordan, Brittney Morad and Cree Parris.
--Susan Debus
Courtland Elementary
The following students were Shining Stars during the week of Jan. 31: Catherine Pakes, Benjamin Broyles, Hannah Fines, Blake Motley, Tyrone Ashford, Henry Till, Sabrina Lewis, Emily Dahm, Jordan Holloway, Rebekah Whittaker, Hannah Baker, Will Garnett, Zaid Shaikh, Zachary Teeple, Hunter Woods, Caitlyn Stone, Gabby Carper, Katelyn Mix, Brittany Jerman, Annamarie Kondek, Kianna Brooks, Ben Tuck and Jonathan Milton.
Spanish Stars for the week of Jan. 31 were Cora Kindred's class, Val Williams' class, Teresa Lynch's class, Tonia Bond's class, David Morgan's class, Annette Smallwood's class, Vickie Neely's class and Billie Rae Drake's class.
Paraeducator Karen Rafferty was named Courtland's Super Star in recognition of her outstanding service to the school.
Interims will be sent home in grades three to five on Feb. 23.
Parent-teacher conferences are Feb. 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Appointments are required.
--Becky Murray
Lee Hill Elementary
The Student Council Association officials elected for the 2005-06 school year are: Elaina Farmer, president; Logan Ellis, vice president; Jonathan Garcia, secretary; and Rachel Cochrane, reporter.
Fifth-grade representatives are Amanda Day, Nathan Ferlazzo, Hannah Fogarty, Mackenzie O'Neil, Sara Wengstrom and Megan West.
Alternates are Jennifer Fisher, Taylor Foster, Kailyn Sonnenberg, Hunter Strother, Lauren Williams and Logan Young.
Fourth-grade representatives are Scott Anderson, Jared Chandler, Dominique Chin-Jones, Katharina Fernandez, Deziree Jackson, Megan Schoeman and Catira Smith.
Alternates are Emily Battleson, Taylor Berry, Heather Forrest, Eleni Johnson, Joshua Malaguti, Ashlyn Peck and Mariah Sweany.
Third-grade representatives are Kallie Buhle, Colin Butler, Cole Eastham, Itzel Gonzalez, Kelsey Huber and Danielle Martinez.
Alternates are Savannah Brown, Collin Buchanan, Annalie Douglass, Chanel Green, Cameron Jones and Brianna Schmidt.
The SCA's fundraiser this year will be peace tile murals. Ceramic tiles will be sold so students can decorate them with something that reflects their idea of peace. In partnership with Lowe's, frames will be constructed to display the tiles throughout the school.
--Lisa Ehmer
Parkside Elementary
The following students were honored during a special ceremony held Jan. 10. These students earned a perfect score of 600 on the Virginia SOL test:
Grade 3 Reading--Nicole Ochsenknech
Grade 3 Math--Josh Smith
Grade 3 History and Social Studies--Nicholas Culwell, Marissa Idol and Brandon Lithicum
Grade 3 Science--Evelyn Huggins and Blake Wood
Grade 5 Reading--Alysia Forbes, Matt Hanson and Kelly Thomas
Grade 5 Writing--Andrew Barber, Corey Berkland, Vincent Cunningham, Nicholas Dzurenda, Nicholas Furnia, Jodi Graham, Victoria Wilson, Moriah Webster, Kelly Thomas, Emily Stewart and Tyler Miller
Grade 5 Virginia History--Meredith Pugh, Eric Rector, Danielle Riley, Taylor Stempin, Christopher Yang, Joseph DeJesus, Graig Garvey, Nathan Grosskopf, Stephen Grubbs, Andrew Kelly, Aaron Kincaid, Caleb Leung, Lee Martin and Robert Morrison
Grade 5 History--Kaitlin Ingebretsen and Wesley Wiberg
Grade 5 Science--Robert Hoke.
The last Box Top Contest for the school is this week. Every box top is worth 10 cents. The class that collects the most box tops will win a party of their choice. The goal is 10,000 box tops!
Popcorn will be available for students in grades kindergarten to three on the first Friday of each month. Students in grades three to five can buy popcorn on the third Friday of each month. The cost of popcorn is 25 cents.
The following students were winners in the Campbell's Labels for Education raffle: first prize, Marisa Idol; second prize, Caleb Leung.
--Susan Sinton
Spotswood Elementary
The following fifth-graders are members of the Yearbook Club: Jessica Lee, Jordan Hildebrand, Jessica Michelback, Eve Jordan, Makenzie Quick, Sarah Miller, Ashley McAdam, Tyanna Ferguson, Madeline Lynch, Ashley Satterwhite, Tyonia Ford, Taylor Santiago, Richard Crosslin, Robert Crosslin and Kelly Taylor. They meet with art teacher Janis Gilles-pie and parent volunteer Michelle Satterwhite before school and help to take photographs, layout and design pages, draw clip art, type class lists and make photo montages for this year's book.
The following students have art work on display at the Holbert building for the month of February: Alyah Gilberry, Sydnee Hartwig, Hamya Kelly, Geremias Herrera, Camryn Allred, Scott Graninger, Alastair Burgess, Alexis Iles, John Blankenship, Christopher Bradshaw, Sarai Haberlie, Sean Conlee, Breana Brown, Alexa Stopa, Collin Garnett, Leigh Ann Johnson, Kaelyn Knott, Logan Brooks, Kiara Springs, Kristin Kim, Madeline Lynch, Abigail Acors and Hunter Moison.
--Devra Pickett
Wilderness Elementary
Fifth-graders chosen as new library aides for the second semester are Lisa Borst, Anna Mellott, Jessica Hairston, Tristan Andrews, Melissa Dudleson, Sierra Rivers and Danielle Swift.
AR Top Cats for the second nine weeks are as follows:
Kindergarten--Zachary Short, Hannah Kerns, Andrew Day and Trevor Thomas
First grade--Ty Foster, Ashley Applewhite and Gordon Lewis
Second grade--Sophia Boothby, Grayson Fusaro and Chase Miller
Third grade--Gabrielle Boothby, Michelle Winkler and Bryanna Smith
Fourth grade--Darby Kellison, Weston Gobar and Colleen Lopez
Fifth grade--Jamie Deason, David Scanlon and Chase Dolieslager.
Second-grader Matthew Kerns, a student in Linda Graninger's class, participated Jan. 15, in the Fredericksburg Elk Lodge National Hoop Shoot Contest at Walker-Grant Middle School. Matthew won first place in his age bracket, making 19 of 25 free throw shots. Matthew moves on to the district competition.
Spotsylvania has announced the county "Reflection" contest winners. The following Wilderness students placed at the county level:
Colleen Lopez--first place, Intermediate Division, Musical Competition
Todd Slunt--third place, Primary Division, Photography; and Honorable Mention, Visual Arts
Matthew Brosche--second place, Intermediate Division, Photography
Manuel Lopez--first place, Primary Division, Literature
Emily Michaelis--second place, Intermediate Division, Literature
Kayla Jurkouich--first place, Intermediate Division, Visual Arts.
Colleen and Manuel Lopez and Kayla Jurkouich will compete in the Fredericksburg district "Reflections" contest.
The January parent volunteer of the month is Lois Fisher. Lois was recognized for her work with the WEE Deliver Program and her classroom volunteer work. Lois may use the Volunteer of Month Parking Space for the month of February.
Theresa Reiman is Wilderness Elementary's Superstar for the 2005-06 school year. She was recognized by principal Lisa Richardson since she has a great impact on the students she serves because of her positive attitude and constant encouragement.
--Susan Strawn
Chancellor Middle
Student Oana Warren has been selected as a member of the Special Olympics Virginia 2006 National Games Team. She will represent Special Olympics Virginia in golf. The National Games selection is a great honor and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many athletes.
--Sue Leiss
Freedom Middle
The girls volleyball season has begun and the following students make up this year's team: Krista Anthony, Jessica Brinson, Erica Buchanan, Rachel Buchanan, Courtney Fox, Gina Kihnley, Whitney Kraning, Jill McLean, Adriana Ramos, Kelsi Smith, Catherine Wallace and Kelsey Wolfrey. The team managers are Charlotte Smith and Alicia Williams.
The seventh-grade Patriots team recently traveled to Liberty Lanes Bowling Center for a math-centered field trip organized by Stacey Heaney, the team's math teacher. The kids were challenged to keep score by hand, graph their team results on a bar graph and make a line graph to show how many pins each bowler knocked down each time they bowled . They also calculated the mean, median and mode for their team. Language arts teacher Cathy McNichols tied writing into the field trip. Each student was assigned to write a point of view essay from the perspective of the bowling ball, pins or shoes. The students produced some of the best writing pieces seen this school year. Liberty Lanes was accommodating and wonderful to partner with for this awesome math field trip.
--Debra Heckman
Ni River Middle
Students who submitted essays for the Virginia PTA-sponsored citizenship project are: Shannon Farrow, Shane Haislip, Margo Deihl, Emily Hill, Katherine Johnson, Chelsea Laclergue, Lauren Luttrell, Ashley Miller, Katherine Owens, Andy Smith, Katy Thomas and Beth Wilson. The essays allowed the students to express their views and opinions on character or citizenship.
Students who received distinguished honor roll for the second nine-week grading period are:
Sixth grade--Rebecca Anderson, Jennifer Bush, Cheyanne Christopher, Shannon Farrow, Shane Haislip, Mary Hall, Marianna Hilldrup, Samuel Lee, McKenzy Moreno, Imogen Ott, Mason Poffenbarger, Morgan Rasmussen, Zachary Seay, Bryanna Smith, Jessica Walthall and Lilly Wang
Seventh grade--Katelyn Brown, Ashley Cahall, Jeffrey Deetman, Margo Deihl, Kyle Eackles, Elizabeth Franco, Nicholas Gianforte, Lindsey Goddard, Gina Hone, Kayla Hord, Emily Huesgen, Janay Hutcheson, Nicholas Judy, Ashley Kaufman, Chelsea Laclergue, Calen Marinaro, Kenzie Marx, Lindsay Newton, Michelle Pacheco, Mackenzie Sayer, David Specht, Kaitlin Vose, Christopher Ward, Jameson Whipple, Margaret Wilder and Elizabeth Wilson
Eighth grade--Christian Bacote, Christopher Balian, John Bartasek, Parker Benton, Danielle Ennis, Eric Gasperoni, Amanda Haislip, Kinsey Hartmann, Karen Kenderes, Ashley Knappenberger, Taylor Locks, Danae Martin, Hollie Massie, Brittany Miller, Andrew Moranville, John Mullins, Sidney Mullis, Ashley Myers, Heidi Scanlon, Olivia Schulte, Hannah Shrader, Jessica Stack, Samantha Summerford and Michelle Woods.
Riverbend High School will provide an opportunity for rising ninth-graders and their parents to visit Feb. 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Further information will be sent home.
The media center is sponsoring a Scholastic Book Fair, Feb. 27-March 3. Parent volunteers are needed. Please contact David Hef-ner at 540/785-3280 if you are able to help.
--Angie Branham
Spotsylvania Middle
The Valentine Dance will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday. Tickets will be sold Feb. 14, 15 and 16 for $4. No tickets will be sold the day of the dance. Parents are asked to pick up students at 5 p.m. in the main parking lot.
Sixth-grade students on the Tiger Team have been working on an anti-bullying community service learning project with their guidance counselor, Chris Kirchgessner, and Tracy Kropp, administrative intern. The students are trying to raise awareness about bullying by creating posters, making announcements and preparing a series of skits. Their slogan, "Don't Bully Bulldogs," will be promoted in the coming weeks.
The following homerooms received certificates for outstanding attendance for the month of January:
Pat Adams' sixth grade, 96.1 percent.
Ryan Longfellow's seventh grade, 96.8 percent.
Cindy Bradley's eighth grade, 98.4 percent.
Each student in these homerooms will receive a free candy bar, courtesy of the SCA.
The Spotsylvania Middle School MathCounts Team placed in the top 10 at the recent Bull Run Chapter competition held in Prince William County. The eight students representing the middle school were among 220 students from the Northern Virginia area competing in three rounds of math problems.
Representing Spotsylvania Middle were Cory Johnson, Joshua Wise, Derek Oesterheld, Bradley Hallier, Morgan Dickens, Nikki Jenkins, Dean Makovsky and Tori Hlusko. Alison Chlebus coaches the team.
--Lisa Simmermon
Thornburg Middle
The Thornburg Middle School No-Name-Calling Anti-Bullying Poster Contest was a huge success. The following students were grade-level winners:
Sixth grade--first-place tie: a group poster by Shannon Wright, Megan Haynes, Kristen Brown, Allison Frank and Morgan VanReenen; and an individual poster by Angie Penn.
Sixth grade--second-place tie: a group poster by Lindsey Newton, Jessica McElroy and Danny Yepes; a group poster by Laurie Herbek, Leelee Roberts, Madelyn Villatoro and Taylor Rumplik; and an individual poster by Crystal Pavey.
Seventh grade--first-place tie, Kaitlyn Gohrband and Jonathan Schutt.
Seventh grade--second place, Lauren LaBelle.
Seventh grade--third-place tie, Sade Thompson and Jamica Jiggetts.
Students who participated in Thornburg Middle School's Anti-Bullying Public Service Announcements are Adam Marshall, Paul Brown, Daniel Powers, Zach Carter, Ashlie Miller, Caitlin Cummings, Amber Jackson, Shannon Minnich, Justice Treger, Chris Ducic, Linsey London and Stephanie Shields.
Students prepared scripts, took digital photographs and narrated their announcements. They were assisted in this project by Amanda Minter, creative communications teacher, and Marc Smith, Thornburg's ITRT.
The following sixth-grade students on the Bat Team met or surpassed 100 percent of their accelerated reader goal for the second grading period: Kathryn Alty, Swa'Dedra Booker, Michael Carter, Jake Christian, Brittany Dotson, Cesar Fuentes, Tyler Hamlett, Edwin Lazo and Kim Schoenborn. Brittany Dotson was the top reader of the group. She achieved 267 percent of her goal. Students received Pizza Hut certificates for a free pizza. Bat Team Teachers are Melissa Allison, Kellie Krenzer and Mike Hoburg.
The R2ATM Math Contest's winners are:
Sixth-grade top scorer--Helen Henson from Cheri Varner's class
Seventh-grade top scorers--Nick Mahin, Dustin Hicks, Maikel Powell and Monet Green from Ann Toner's class
Eighth-grade top scorers--Paula Bryant from Theresa Carr's class; and Ryan Mullins, James Harris and Douglas Landree from Toni Deale's classes
Algebra/Geometry top scorers--Casey Henderson, Meghan McConnell and Rachel Perry from Kathy Douglas' classes.
Elizabeth Pellegreen's language arts class participated in the "Your Class Can Make a Difference in the Lives of Children in Need" program sponsored by Scholastic Books. Students were challenged to read 100 books by Feb. 17. Upon reaching their goal, 100 books were donated to children who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Students reached their goal of 100 books and received recognition in the Scholastic Hall of Fame.
--Sue Coleman
Massaponax High
Peggy Fuller has been recognized as the 2005-06 Superstar for Massaponax High School. This is a special program sponsored by the division superintendent Dr. Jerry Hill to honor staff members who are truly special in their schools. Fuller has been at Massaponax since it opened in 1998, and has been an inspiration to her colleagues and students.
Alex Addison is teacher of the month for February. Claire Brown is staff member of the month for February.
Robyn L. Charles of the Special Education Department was nominated for the Disney Teacher Award for 2006.
The cast and crew of "Deliver Us Not," directed by Kimberly Kemp, placed first at the regional One Act Festival. The cast and crew are as follows: Katie Bergman, Olivia Grimm and Alex Mills. All three cast members were again selected for Best Actor. They will compete in Charlottesville at the state level March 4.
The National Art Honor Society hosted an African Mask Making Workshop Feb. 7, led by Rondall James, artist and high-school art instructor in Stafford County. Art instructors Kandra Orr, Carter Corbin and Martha Manner-Brown watched as students constructed masks decorated with sequins, beads, seeds and feathers in fantastic designs. This workshop was held to honor Black History Month.
The following freshmen and sophomores earned all A's the first semester:
Ninth grade--Maxwell Cunningham, Emily Dutton, Lauren Fortune, Kacey Hall, Derek Hickman, Stephanie Klusmann, Katherine Moore, Samantha Morrison, Joseph Nguyen, Chirag Patel, Michelle Sposato, Elizabeth Stewart and Joseph Wieland
10th grade--Nabeel Gillani, Edward Gregson, Stephanie Seller and Veronica Shipe.
--Pamela Verbeck
Spotsylvania High
Karen Pitts' art students will exhibit self-portraits at the Marshall Center in March. J.W. Weins and Janel Houlihan will show pen-and-ink drawings with watercolor washes; Alicia Fullerton, Jessica Davis, Derek Tignor, Nikki Woodell, Zach Nixon, Angela Day, Laura Wilcox, David Weinsm, Samantha Slaughter, Crystal Harris and Chris Lewis will show scratchboard self-portraits. Zach Nixon, Amber Turner, Nataly Santos, Kate Oh and Heather Martin will show pencil self-portraits.
--Deborah Todd
private schools
Fredericksburg Academy
Three Upper School students performed with the All-District Chorus in a concert at Massaponax High School on Saturday. Senior Caitlin Dungan and juniors Brett Dameron and Kristina Romines represented the FA chorus.
On Friday and Saturday, Upper School students Joel Butterworth, Josh Cooper, Brock Martin, Drew Simmelink and Raleigh Hazel competed in the Blue Crab Bowl, a marine biology competition held at Old Dominion University.
This weekend, Middle and Upper School students will showcase their talents in a production of "Into the Woods." Performances will be held in the Academy's Theater at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and the second cast will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tomorrow, students in grades nine through 12 will take part in the American Mathematics Competition. The students will take an exam, and those who receive top scores will be recognized during the awards ceremony at the end of the school year.
Middle School winter athletes will be recognized in a sports assembly Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center. The awards ceremony for varsity winter athletes and their families will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Theater.
School nurse Kathy Hunter will begin vision and hearing screenings this week. She will target students in kindergarten, third grade, seventh grade, and new students. Parents who would like to request screenings should contact her.
Parents are reminded that the Academy will be closed Feb. 27 through March 3 for Winter Break.
--Beth Hunley
Holy Cross Academy
On Feb. 3, 35 seventh- and eighth- grade students were inducted into Holy Cross Academy's chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. Inducted were: Alyssa Bornschein, Heather Burgess, Ellie Carey, Kirsten Craig, Francisco Gonzalez, Julianne Jarrell, Emilia Larach, Lauren Lehman, Luis Madrid, Rachel Perkins, Megan Pitts, Caroline Saunders, Nicholas Savage, Madeline Schuster, Matthew Smith, Claire Winkler, Jana Biever, Nathan Bilodeau, Thomas Bowen, Patrick Carroll, Kelsey Cullinan, Nicolas Doyle, Giannina Gonzalez, Charlie Halsey, James Harrop, Brandi Iorio, Ashley Jackson, Dakota Kuca, Monica Mares, Ryan McBroom, Conor Nevins, Kimberlyn Pepe, Raquel Pierre, Allyson Sims and Rebecca West.
A new club has been established at HCA for the sole purpose of praying the Rosary. Fifth-graders Elizabeth Carroll and Juliana Vossenberg are inviting all third-, fourth- and fifth-graders to join the Rosary Club on Tuesday afternoons during recess. Their interest in organizing the club was to encourage more people to recite the Rosary.
It is with great fanfare and fireworks that HCA announce that it's the grand champion of the Mall Spirit Program sponsored by Spotsylvania Towne Centre. The school had the largest dollar amount in receipts for August through December 2005 and received $1,000 for the "shop til you drop" efforts. HCA will use the money to enhance the Academic Enrichment Programs.
--Betsy Moran
St. Patrick
Students were hard at work during the second quarter of the school year, as evidenced by the lengthy honor roll list. The students earning Principal's List honors for this quarter were fourth-grader Zachary Knerr; fifth-grader Angie Crews; sixth-graders Kathleen MacIndoe and Eric Sidelko; seventh-grader Sydney Johnson; and eighth-graders Joel Elliott, John Goonan, and Tara McGinley. Forty additional students also were named to the honor roll, including fourth-graders Katie Brown, Rachel James, Heather McCaffery, David McCauley, Michael Mead, Amanda Sanders, Anna Sobus, Ryan Talley, and Drew Mueller; fifth-graders Michaela Heckman, Kara O'Keefe, Charles Riley, Kerry Wheeler, and Laura Woodhead; sixth-graders Madeline Brown, Jennifer Goonan, Jessica Gowarty, Michael Harring, Shannon Hosty, Mara Maiocco, James Massara, Sean McClure, Tori Pilkerton, Nicholas Pollnow, Natalie Ratliff, and Brendan Smith; seventh-graders Steven Abraham, Emily Barnhill, Emily Brown, Luke Cassidy, John Crews, Brian Hashim, Carl Morgans, Paris Pilkerton, Adam Sidelko, Jon Van Deusen; and eighth-graders Ashley Crosswhite, Jonathan Foster, Matthew Habib, and Samantha Pritchett.
To wrap up the schoolwide study on migration, the students recently welcomed guest speakers. The first presentation, enjoyed by the second- through eighth-grade classes, was given by a group working with USAid, a foreign assistance program that works to spread democracy and free markets as they improve the livelihood of citizens in developing countries. St. Patrick School parent Kim Hupp led the presentation, while another presenter discussed her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso, Africa. The students also were able to look at and touch various items from Africa and speak with an African citizen.
The kindergarten and second-grade classes also enjoyed a guest speaker, who shared some pictures, stories and items from her experiences in Russia. Maria Voss, also a St. Patrick parent, studied Russian language in college and, upon graduation, spent time traveling the Russian countryside.
This week marks the start of our "Spare Change = Big Change" fundraiser to benefit our Accelerated Reader program. Each classroom will have a collection bin for spare change and the class that collects the most earns a pizza party. If you are a friend of the school, feel free to drop your spare change off in the school office. Any and all spare change is greatly appreciated.
Our first Spaghetti Dinner is this Friday. Tickets are still available for the 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. seatings. The cost is $5 per single, $10 per couple, or $20 per family. For details, call 540/786-2277.
--Marcus and Theresa Vivona
Tree of Life Christian Prep School
The children were treated to a visit recently from Mary Usher and James Womack. Both of these individuals told fascinating stories of their adventures in being a part of the civil rights movement.
When Usher joined the NAACP in Montgomery, Rosa Parks was her leader-mentor. She spoke of baby-sitting the eldest of the King children. She also recounted marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Montgomery. Womack spoke of his many adventures across the United States with the civil rights movement. At one time, because his life was in danger, he rode in the trunk of a Plymouth from Jackson, Miss., to Washington, without ever getting out of the trunk.
The message both of these incredible people gave the children was: The fight for freedom and equality is an ongoing fight. It's not just about race or gender, and we must be ready to face it calmly, yet firmly.
Katrina Clopton is coordinating the school's events for Black History Month.
Preparations are continuing for the upcoming second annual open house Feb. 26, 4-7 p.m. This event is open to the community. For more information, please call 540/786-2019.
--Janet Frank