Student-Athletes Mark Black History Month
Herndon students commemorate 150 years since signing of Emancipation Proclamation.
Three years ago, Elise Ashby Arrington decided that she wanted her son Harrison Craddock to understand the importance of Black History Month.
Freezin’ For a Reason at Lake Anne
Area daredevils ready to freeze to help kids battling illnesses.
Individuals in crazy costumes and creative flair will take over Lake Anne Plaza in Reston once again for the 6th Annual Freezin’ for a Reason Virginia Polar Dip on Saturday, Feb. 2. The event will kick off at noon with family friendly activities and warm-up—with the dip scheduled to take place starting at 2 p.m. Last year’s event drew record crowds of both spectators and jumpers raising over $76,000. Registered participants will take a chilly full plunge or a “Chicken Dip”—to raise funds for Camp Sunshine, a national year-round retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
News Briefs
As Democratic delegates fight to keep firearms further from school property, Republican Bob Marshall (D-13) is pushing legislation to bring more guns in. Marshall is the chief patron of HB 1557, which would require every school board in the state to designate one volunteer to carry a concealed weapon on school property. Training for selected volunteers would be provided by either the Virginia Center for School Safety or the NRA, of which he is a member.

Making Schools Safer
Two Northern Virginia Democrats take part in panel to consider school security.
Do Virginia schools need more guns? That question is at the heart of a debate that’s now reaching a fever pitch in the commonwealth, especially after a man with a Bushmaster assault rifle blasted his way into a Connecticut elementary school and killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell responded to the tragedy by creating a School Safety Task Force, which is considering a proposal for every school in Virginia to have an armed school resource officer.

Pursuing Math and Science at Fox Mill Elementary
Girls at Fox Mill Elementary are pursuing their interest in math and science by joining the school’s Girls Excelling in Math and Science program (GEMS), which meets after school.
Students Get Blast From the Past
Reston Rotary tours elementaries with Thomas Jefferson re-enactor.
Students across Reston elementary schools got a blast from the past Tuesday, Jan. 8 and Wednesday, Jan. 9, courtesy of the Reston Rotary Club. Bill Barker, an actor who has played Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg since 1993, toured Forest Edge, Terraset, Dogwood, Fox Mill, Hunters Woods and Lake Anne Elementary Schools to tell the students about his life and beliefs.
Off to the Movies
Mason professor has unconventional method of teaching complex concepts.
An Arlington resident and George Mason University professor has an unconventional way of helping her students master complex concepts and evaluating their proficiency: She requires them to watch movies.

South Lakes Girls Participate in the ‘White House Codeathon’
On Monday afternoon, Dec. 17, South Lakes High School seniors Nicole Rappaport, Abby Studen, Becky Oswalt and Tatevik Markaryan went to the White House to participate in what Todd Park, assistant to the president and U.S. chief technology officer, called the “first codeathon in White House history.”

Herndon High Performs ‘Brigadoon’
Theater department puts on annual fall musical.
For many cast members in the Herndon High School Theatre Department, the musical "Brigadoon" wasn’t a familiar title to them. The story of two New Yorkers who stumble upon a mystical disappearing Scottish village features one of the young men, Tommy, who falls in love with one of the town’s residents, only to be confronted by the fact that the town only appears once every hundred years.
Schools Using Diversity for Student Benefits
Immersion, ESOL programs aim to take advantage of area cultures.
As Fairfax County has experienced massive growth in its international population, its effects have spread to its educational institutions. Forty-four percent of the Fairfax County Public Schools students come from homes that speak a language other than English, which includes 160 different languages.
Brief: Community Meetings to Help Search for Superintendent
Brief: On Sept. 22, 2011, Superintendent Jack D. Dale announced his intention to retire from Fairfax County Public Schools effective June 30, 2013.
Brief: Fox Mill Walks Raise $5,400 for Reston Interfaith
Brief: The seventh annual Fox Mill Elementary School PTA Walk for the Homeless was held Thursday, Oct. 25.

Uranium Money Spreads Across Virginia in Radioactive Debate
Upcoming General Assembly session to feature effort to lift ban on uranium mining.
The uranium deposits under the farmlands of Pittsylvania County are miles away from Northern Virginia, but the debate about what happens there is shaping up to be one of the hottest issues of the upcoming General Assembly session.

Brief: Westbriar Student Wins Thanksgiving Card Challenge
Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) teamed up with K3 Construction Group to sponsor a Thanksgiving Card Challenge among the schools participating in the GRACE Art program (formerly known as the Art in the Schools).

Robotics Team Shows Off Hardware
Herndon High School Robotics demonstrate at Udvar-Hazy Center.
The Herndon High School Robotics Team showed off its hardware at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center Saturday, Oct. 27, as part of the center’s Air and Scare event.