Karen Garza Hired as Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools
FCPS Board lauds Garza’s “openness” and “willingness to engage” community.
The Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved educator Karen Garza of Texas to be the next superintendent of the 181,000 student district at its April 18 school board meeting.
Classified Advertising April 17, 2013
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Great Falls Home Sales: March, 2013
In March 2013, 26 Great Falls homes sold between $5,634,180-$425,000.
Great Falls Home Sales: March, 2013
Editorial: Value-added Evaluation?
TJ admissions illustrate growing gap between “haves” and “have-nots.”
More than 181,000 students attend Fairfax County Public Schools. So why do the 480 students who were accepted for next year’s freshman class at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology seem so important? Fairfax County Public Schools have a single elite magnet school, Thomas Jefferson, and TJ is frequently referred to as the top high school in the country. Dramatic disparity in the makeup of admissions at TJ is an indicator of disparity in early identification of students as gifted and talented, of access to advanced classes and enrichment, and in the basic education that the Fairfax County Public school system offers to all of its students.
Column: A False Sense of Security
Not that there’s anything wrong with that; in fact, as a four-year, stage IV, non-small-cell lung cancer survivor, it’s amazing to have any security, false or otherwise, whatsoever.
‘We Have Not Forgotten’
Residents rally in Vienna to support stricter gun control measures.
Less than six miles from the National Rifle Association (NRA) headquarters in Fairfax, more than 100 people gathered on the Vienna Town Green Saturday, April 13, to urge Congress to support stricter gun control measures.
Making Every Saturday ‘Special’
Great Falls Farmers Market brings community together.
The Great Falls Farmers Market is an idea that was born during the focus groups and later confirmed by the 2020 Vision Survey of what the community would like to be by the year 2020.
Letter: A Misreading of History
That a few local schools are named for Confederate generals bothers Kiran Hampton [“Alarmed by School Names,” Connection, April 11-17, 2013]. The US Army and Navy have named forts and ships after Confederate heroes. The Veterans Administration provides headstones for Confederate graves. That wouldn’t have happened if they were traitors. No Confederates were convicted of treason. Hampton’s shame that Virginia fought with the Confederacy suggests a misreading of US history.
Letter: Thinking of History In Real Time
Letter writer Kiran Hampton asks if she is "the only one alarmed by the presence of high schools named after Confederate leaders?" ["Alarmed By School Names, Connection, April10-16, 2013]. In response, I would say, "Why yes, I believe she is."
Letter: It Wasn’t ‘Good Guys Vs. Bad Guys’
In a letter regarding local schools named after Confederate generals [“Alarmed by School Names,” Connection, April 10-16, 2013] the author displays an extraordinary lack of understanding of the complexities of the issues leading to the War Between the States as well as a contempt for the courage and sacrifice of those who, often reluctantly, believed that their primary duty was to a sovereign Virginia rather than to what they believed had been conceived as a voluntary union of independent states.
Langley Hosts Relay for Life
Event will be first at school in 15 years.
Langley High School will be the site of the first Relay for Life event in more than 15 years starting Saturday, April 28. The event will be a 12-hour fundraiser walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
The Pike at 200
Great Falls Day on May 5 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the historic Georgetown Pike.
The Great Falls Historical Society is presenting Great Falls Day on Sunday, May 5, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the historic Georgetown Pike.
Dancer Captures the Moment
Isabella Tablett nominated for National PTA Award.
Isabella Tablett has been interested in dance and dance choreography since she was 4 years old. Now a fourth grader at Great Falls Elementary School, Tablett’s recent routine has won her awards at the school, cluster, district and state levels.
Editorial: Voting Again
Every year is election year in Virginia, and it’s a bit much.
The most hotly contested race for statewide office in Virginia, the Republican contest for lieutenant governor, will be decided at a statewide convention on May 18. That’s about a month from now.
New Benches at Cooper Middle
Four new benches, nine azalea shrubs and three dogwood trees have been installed in strategic locations around the Cooper Middle School campus as of Saturday, April 6.
Forestville Message: ‘Be a Buddy, Not a Bully’
Forestville Elementary students gathered together on Friday, April 12, for a pep rally to wind up a week of spirit activities designed to send the message, “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully.”
Great Falls Studios to Host Spring Art Festival, April 20-21
Twenty Great Falls Studios member artists—painters in oil, acrylic, watercolor and mixed media, potters, photographers, jewelers, a wood carver, stone cutter, layered paper artist and weaver—are participating in the Great Falls Studios Spring Art Festival, Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. both days, at the Village Green Day School, 790 Walker Road, Great Falls. Everyone is welcome and the event is free.
Great Falls Senior Center Hosts ‘Home Fit’ Workshop
The Great Falls Senior Center (GFSC) hosts the AARP “Home Fit” Workshop at its May event. Senior residents will learn how to decide those types of home adjustments needed to stay in their homes as they age.
Classified Advertising April 10, 2013
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New Home for Turtles at Riverbend
Girl Scout Natalie Gilbert builds and donates new box turtle habitat.
Young visitors to the Riverbend Park Nature Center used to have a hard time looking at the three box turtles in the turtle habitat. The old habitat featured a solid wood wall, meaning children could only look straight down at the turtles and rarely had an opportunity to see more than the tops of their shells.