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School News

June 2, 2004 1:16 am

city schools

The seventh-grade art students are on a field trip today.

The Summer Reading Kick Off is today from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Virginia Marine Science Museum visits the fifth-grade students today.

The Virginia Young Readers Celebration is tomorrow for grades five and six from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m.

The seventh-graders will have a Career Day tomorrow.

Field Day is Friday. The fourth- and fifth-graders will go from 8:20-11:00 a.m., and the sixth- and seventh-graders will participate from 11:20 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. If it rains, the rain date will be Monday.

The seventh-graders will have their last dance Friday

D.A.R.E. graduation for fifth-graders will be Monday at 1 p.m.

The Seventh-Grade Forum takes place Tuesday at 1 p.m.

The fifth-graders are taking a field trip Tuesday.

Fourth-Grade Colonial Day will be June 9.

--Valerie L. Morgan

Summer school begins June 21 for the first semester. Second semester begins July 12. The cost of tuition will be $100 per semester for James Monroe High School students and $150 per semester for students not enrolled at James Monroe.

The June 5 SAT will not be administered at James Monroe. Online registration is available at collegeboard.com.

Exams begin Tuesday, and students will be released from school after exams. Exams for periods 1 and 2 will be on Tuesday, periods 3 and 4 will be on June 9; periods 5 and 6 will be on June 10, and period 7 will be on June 11.

Graduation will be June 11 in Dodd Auditorium at Mary Washington College.

--Heidi Miller

county schools

The school chorus performed for the Kings Dominion Choral Festival May 22. They were adjudicated by a panel of three judges and received a rating of "Good +." The chorus was directed by Patricia McGhee and accompanied by Marilla Haas. They will perform for the school concert Friday at 8:30 a.m.

--Jill Griffith

Kool Kindergarten Kids who showed respect during the fifth six weeks are Elissa Regan, Angel Melvin, Garrett Tingen, Nicholas Cook, Devin Robinson, Makayla Tingen, Matthew Amon, Leah Stanley, Xila Quillen, Garrett Ellinger, Stephen Brant, Katelyn Hartmann, Dustin Stieh, Alexis Miller, Landon Knappenberger, Katy Hoyt, Keturah Cook, Katie Statler, Haley Perry, Trevor Drinkwater and Savannah Smith.

--Cheryl Gallello

An SOL pep rally was held to help encourage and motivate third-, fourth- and fifth-graders to do their very best on the upcoming SOL tests. The Chancellor High School cheerleading team made a special appearance to do some SOL cheers for the students. Fifth-graders Amy Callaham, Cassandra Clark, Nolan DiDonato, Kate Grab, Harrison Montgomery, Ryan Passera, Stephanie Pfaff, Chad Rogers and Kenneth Szabo worked in two teams to write and act out skits for the rally to show the importance of studying and preparing for the tests to do your very best. The students also listened to songs and chants presented by Chancellor Elementary's very own Pep Band made up of faculty and staff members Laura Minor, Susan Fredo, Dianne Holmes, Amy Schwenker, Sandy Azzarelli, Danielle Cabrera, Melanie Bolas and guest musicians Steven Bolas and Chancellor Elementary graduate class of 2002, James Azzarelli.

Upcoming events include fifth-grade recognition June 10; kindergarten recognition June 11 and Head Start's Stepping Up program June 4.

A celebration will be held Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in honor of Mrs. Johnson. She has announced her retirement after working at Chancellor for 33 years. She has brought many smiles and warm hugs to children everywhere.

Third-grade teacher Dianne Holmes was selected as Chancellor Elementary School's Teacher of the Year.

--Jeanne Grab

The following students were chosen as Cardinal of the Week for the week of May 24:

First grade--Haley Ortega, Keyla Sciascia, Brooke Cornish and Jasmine Higgs.

Second grade--Alejandro DelossantosCoy, Cece Calametti, Elizabeth Riedl, Breanna Ratigan and Bryce Hall.

It has been a great year in the kindergarten at "The House." The children were visited by the Gingerbread Boy; the bee specialist, Kevin Tignor from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and a black bear. They attended productions of "The Wizard of Oz," "Alice in Wonderland," "The Secret Garden" and "The Jungle Book." Amid weekly cooking lessons, messy art projects, and science experiments, the children became physically fit with activities such as Jump Rope for Heart, The Great Train Race in downtown Fredericksburg, and P.E. Day on May 28. The children learned to care for our Earth through an Earth Day round-robin as well as for the people on Earth by collecting warm mittens and hats to donate to the Thurman Brisben Center.

All kindergartners wanting to join the fun for the 2004-05 school year are encouraged to register now.

--Susan Debus

Lee Hill Field Day is today. If there is inclement weather, the makeup day is scheduled for Friday.

The SCA and PTO will host Ice Cream Day at Lee Hill tomorrow. There will be three different flavors on the ice-cream truck for students and staff to choose from.

We are still in need of individuals to help man the new Greeters' Desk. The volunteers will work in one-hour intervals. Please contact the school office if you are interested.

The fifth-grade and kindergarten recognition ceremonies will be tomorrow. Students and staff are encouraged to wear red, white and blue today. The kindergarten assembly will begin at 9 a.m. and the fifth-grade assembly will begin at 10:15 a.m. for any family members wishing to attend.

The honor-roll students will celebrate their achievements with a "create your own ice cream sundae" party on Tuesday from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Lastly, reminders for all parents: Early dismissal, 12:30 p.m., days are June 9-11. No breakfast will be served during the last week of school, June 8-11, and all medications for students must be picked up by a parent or guardian prior to the end of the school day on June 11.

--Shelly Weaver

Each year, the fourth grade at Riverview Elementary sponsors an after-school Virginia History Club to help students review for their Virginia History SOL. Students who participate are then eligible to be in the Grand Game hosted by the principal and attended by all fourth-graders.

The Grand Game is like a game show. Each class has five representatives and they compete by answering questions about Virginia history. This year's winners are: first place, Andrew Kay; second place, Rebecca Jones; third place, Drew Shrope; fourth place, Robert Hewitt; and fifth place, Spencer Mintor.

All winners received a gift certificate to the Spotsylvania Mall.

Tomorrow is the fifth-grade D.A.R.E. graduation at 9:30 a.m.

The final award assemblies will be as follows: June 7, K and first grade at 2 p.m.; June 8, second and third at 10 a.m.; June 8, fourth and fifth at 2 p.m.

There will be early dismissal days on June 9-11 at 12:30 p.m.

June 10 will be Fifth Grade Promotion Night at 7 p.m.

Yearbook sales will run June 1-4 at the cost of $10.

The new PTO officers are President Judy McDaniel; Vice President Michelle Corthon; Secretary Darlene Grim; Parliamentarian Cynthia Perry and Treasurer Jennifer Landreth

--Nancy Burger

Fourth-grader Amanda Gayle was selected as Word Machine Champion of the Year. Amanda has made more than 1,050 words from the word machine. Jason Miles received second place for having made more than 1,000 words. Heather Jett, Faith Lauer, Justin McCullen, and Tre'okha Terrell received honorable mention for having made more than 900 words. Super spellers in Mrs. Quann's class this six weeks are Amanda Gayle, Heather Jett and Faith Lauer.

Stacey Rose's first-grade class hosted its annual Author's Tea and Breakfast Party on May 26. All 21 students wrote at least six to eight stories. Each story was then edited, rewritten and illustrated. They were then bound together as a finished story.

During the party each child chose one story to read aloud to the audience. After these presentations were complete everyone got their breakfast and ate while reading over the other completed stories. The children worked very hard for this special event. This was a huge success with more than 40 family members in attendance. The children definitely enjoyed sharing this special time with their parents.

--Rita Caruth

The following students received a Referral for Commendation from their teacher: Chelsea Cannon, Kyle Harris, Mandy Czakowski, Ruby Blackwell and Tia Mason. Congratulations to these "Paws"itive Bulldogs.

The eighth-grade picnic will be held Friday on the school's athletic facilities. Students received a letter explaining the activities. Any parent who does not want their child to attend should contact the school.

Grade level awards assemblies will be held as follows:

Sixth grade--Wednesday, June 9.

Seventh grade--Thursday, June 10.

Eighth grade--Friday, June 11.

All assemblies start at 8:30 a.m. and parents are welcome to attend.

The yearlong art students will have a reception tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the library.

--Lisa Simmermon

The school staff and students congratulate Rita Truelove, eighth-grade physical science teacher and Spotsylvania County's Teacher of the Year.

The following students were on the Distinguished Honor Roll for the fifth six weeks: Gregory Baugher, Lauren Boergert, Haylea Liggett, Christian Armstrong and Jacquelyn Briggs.

Sixth-grade art students toured Belmont yesterday. Students who took two semesters of art will be traveling to the National Gallery of Art tomorrow. They will also host an art show and reception for their parents and other patrons after returning from Washington. The reception will begin at 5 p.m. Parents, grandparents, school patrons and staff are invited to attend and view the students' art work. At that time, the large painting for the school will be unveiled in the auditorium.

On May 22, members of the seventh- and eighth-grade orchestra participated in the Paramount's Kings Dominion Festival. The students received a rating of superior and were granted the overall award of Grand Champion in their division. Students participating included Victoria Majeika, Preston Enevoldson, Courtney Wolfrey, Rebecca Carneal, Morgann Hines, Whitney Lane and Branden Moore. Mrs. Moyers is the orchestra director.

--Helen S. Cielakie

The following students received awards at the annual student awards program May 27 for outstanding achievement: Alyssa Alig, Amanda Allen, Andrew Ayers, Amanda Biemolt, Brooke Brehm, Jessica Brown, Madeleine Burevik-Tornqvi, Charles Bush, Thomas Carr, Michael Choquette, Brent Cinalli, John Clawson, Deana Cox, Casey Crooks, Lauren Dendis, Nick Dibiasi, Christina Estep, Shontell Ezzell, Amber Faulkner, Janice Ford, Brittany Gruca, Ryan Hannifan, Chris Harris, Raphael Harris, Laurie Heflin, Patrick Holland, Megan Hughes, Morgan Hughes, Stephanie Iero, Stewart Alexander King, Chris Lanzarone, Samantha Law, Jordan Leffel, Kathryn Lynn, Amber Lytton, Kristin Mahalak, Joshua Mallaber, Marc Miller, Brittany Montalvo, Amanda Moore, Mollie Murphy, Joshua Newton, Ashley Olson, Colin Ormsby, Jacob Penland, Rebekah Reed, Christopher Rodgers, Brandon Roman, Alhan Saleh, Lakeesha Salley, David Seay, Mary Sisk, Jarred Slaughter, Cierra Smith, Kelsey Sowers, Katrina Sprague, Joel Sprick, Joseph Tate, Synethia Toms, Ashley Walters, Armeta Williamson, Chelsea Williamson, Brittany Winn, William Anthony Wishard, Kathryn Yanez and Richard Alexander Young.

Physics students who participated in the Math and Science Day at Kings Dominion received second place in Tower of Cards, third place in Paper Airplane and third place in Pendulum Hurler and second Place Overall.

--Dorothy Scott

The newly elected officers of the SCA for the 2004-05 school year are: President Matt Resnick; Vice President Brooke Conn; Secretary David Feldman; Treasurer Sara Headley; and Reporter/historian Susan Hemming.

The Physics and Advanced Physics teams placed First Overall in the Kings Dominion Physics Competition against schools from Virginia and Maryland. Courtland received second place in the Pendulum Hurler with the team of Kevin Hundley, Jason Mercer, Kelly Hunt and Kacy Wampler.

Kristian Schumm, Jason Schlang, Eric Blake, Jaime Burtner and Tim Mullins placed first in the Tower, and Nick Weiss, Tristan Mandeville, Bryan Trumble, Tony Vincenzes and C.J. Moss were first in the Airplane with a paper airplane that flew an amazing 85 feet.

--Carolyn Libby

Freshman wrestler Josh Wine took first place in his weight class at the Virginia USA Wrestling Cadet Division state championships in both freestyle and Greco Roman. Wine posted a 5-0 record at the state championships held at Hopewell High School in early May. By placing first in his weight class, Josh qualified to represent Virginia in the USA Wrestling Cadet Nationals which will be held in July at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D.

Head wrestling coach Rob Prebish was recently selected to be the head coach for the Virginia USA Wrestling Greco Roman team that will compete in the USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Nationals this July at North Dakota State University in Fargo. Prebish was the head Cadet Greco Roman coach for Virginia in both 2001 and 2003.

Crystal Richardson was accepted into The College of William & Mary's Chancellor Academy, which includes research to be done at the university. She will also be attending the summer science programs sponsored by Columbia University.

Victoria Pritchett was selected to the Junior Law Cadet Program this summer which is sponsored by the American Legion. It will be held at the Virginia State Police Academy in Richmond.

The 2004-05 school year's SCA officers are: President Katie Ziegler; Vice President Crystal Richardson; Secretary Sara Mergenthal; Treasurer Brittany Koduah; Reporter/Historian Philip Pierce and Parliamentarian Whitney Hinnant.

The Growl received 24 out of the 51 awards given in the High School Division in The Free Lance-Star's Student Journalism Contest. Winners are:

In the category of editorial writing, Katie Sheckles took second place.

Alice Barnes took first place and Kate Thedford received an honorable mention for editorial cartoons.

In news story writing, Katie Thedford received first place.

Massaponax High School swept the feature story category with first place going to Jessica Verling, second place to Katie Quesenbery and third place to Katie Scheckels.

Katie Quesenbery placed second and Lauren Watkins received third place for their personality profiles.

For sport stories, Philip Pierce claimed third place.

In the category of sports column writing, first place was awarded to Nathan Strobel, third went to Philip Pierce.

Philip also stole second place for news photos.

For a feature photo/illustration, our own Doug "Danger" Smith took first and second place.

Second- and third-place awards went to Kate Thedford and the Philip Pierce/Doug Smith team, respectively, for graphic illustration.

The Growl also swept the category of best single page design with Philip Pierce and Doug Smith winning first, Laura Scott and Kate Thedford taking second, and Kate Thedford took home her fifth award with third place.

In best two-page design, Katie Quesenbery and Tyler Anderson were first and the sports junkies of Philip Pierce and Nathan Strobel placed third.

In another first-place grab, Katie Quesenbery and Jessica Verling won for their headline writing.

In the category of critical writing, Tyler Williams received third place.

The school claimed the award for Best Overall Newspaper and a check for $500 for the third year in a row.

Mr. Koch, band director at Massaponax High School has been elected to membership in Phi Beta Mu, International Bandmasters Fraternity. He was installed during the All-Virginia Band and Orchestra event in Blacksburg, held April 1-3, 2004. Phi Beta Mu is an honorary, nonpolitical nonprofit fraternity established in 1938. The membership includes band directors from throughout the United States, Canada and many foreign countries.

The school is hosting the summer volleyball league on Wednesdays, starting June 30. Any girl interested in playing in the league will need to contact Mrs. Downing, at the school as soon as possible.

Tryouts for volleyball for the 2004-05 school year will begin the week of Aug. 9.

--Melissa Schultze

private schools

The Lower School Closing Program will be held in two parts in the new auditorium of the Arts and Sciences Building tomorrow. Pre-kindergarten through second-graders will perform for their parents from 8:30-9 a.m., and the third- through fifth-graders will perform from 9:15-10:15 a.m. Classes will be dismissed for all students for this school year at 10:30 a.m. Fifth-graders will be individually recognized in the latter event.

Friday at 5:30 p.m., there will be an Honors Convocation in the new auditorium to recognize students in grades six through 12. Eighth-graders will be individually acknowledged as they prepare to enter the upper school. Other awards in the various disciplines and for outstanding achievement in a variety of areas will be given.

Saturday at 10 a.m., Commencement will be in the new auditorium. Artist and teacher Johnny Johnson will give the keynote address. There will be a reception following for the graduates and their guests.

In-service activities for faculty members will be held on Monday and Tuesday.

The summer program will begin on June 14. A few positions are still available for various weeks in the summer. Those interested should contact Program Director Darlene Kolotos at 898-0020, ext. 24.

--Liz Barnes

Donations are needed to equip the preschool department of the new Stafford campus.

Chapel will be held Friday at 8:40 a.m. with the first-grade class singing and receiving reading awards.

June 9, school will dismiss at 11:40 a.m. and June 10, school will also dismiss early following a special end-of-the-year chapel service.

Chapel is scheduled for today at 10:15 a.m.

Last school lunch day is Tuesday.

June 9, school will dismiss at noon and June 10, school will also dismiss early following a special end-of-the-year chapel service.

On Monday at 2:20 p.m., the seventh- and eighth-grade Drama Club will present a comedy, "The 30-Minute Hamlet." Parents are encouraged to join students. Classes will be on a bonus day schedule.

School lunches will be served through Tuesday, the last full day of school.

Graduation will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the high school.

2004 Fine Arts Festival Winners were as follows:

Art I Drawing Category--Best of Show, Elma Steingrimsdottir; first place, Salem Eames; second place, Arlene Smith; third place, Ruby Small; honorable mention, JoEllen Lesher.

Art I Painting Category--Best of Show, Whitney Wilkerson; first place, JoEllen Lesher; second place, Salem Eames; third place, Elma Steigrimsdottir and honorable mention, Arlene Smith.

Art II Drawing Category--Best of Show, Corey Veit; first place, Amelia Wright; second place, Matt Joyner; third place, Jed Douglas and Emily Addison and honorable mention, Erin Lubeshkoff and Ricky Robinson.

Art II Painting Category--Best of Show, Emily Addison; first place, Alex Roman; second place, Jed Douglas, Amelia Wright and Erin Lubeshkoff; third place, Corey Veit and Annapage Joseph and honorable mention, Ricky Robinson and Matt Joyner.

Art III Drawing Category--Best of Show, Eddie Williams and first place, David Toves.

Art III Painting Category--Best of Show, David Toves; first place, Alex Pettit; second place, Lauren Boyd; third place, Wesley Bouchard and honorable mention, Eddie Williams.

3-D Art Relief Sculpture--Best of Show, Samantha Brady; first place, Amelia Wright; second place, Tom Best; third place, Jared Alsop and honorable mention, Elma Steingrimsdottir.

3-D Art Sculpture "In the Round"--first place, Jeremy Duggins; second place, Matthew Wager; third place, Amelia Wright and honorable mention, Danielle Trivett.

The 2004-05 school year will begin on Aug. 26 with orientation. The first full day is Aug. 27.

--Cindy Gossett

The school will be hosting an informational meeting for parents tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Abundant Life Assembly of God on Onville Road, off State Route 610.

It is a new Christian university-model school, opening in fall 2004, for students in grades six through 10. Unique to the university-model school, classes will meet on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. A full diploma program is offered as well as supplemental home-school classes.

For more information, visit the Web site GracePrepSchool.org or contact Kristi Lisech at 286-0199.

--Amy Ingram

The following 33 students' poems will be published this year in Creative Communication's annual best seller, "Anthology of Young Poets": Michael Azzam, Christie Baer, Brandon Bautista, Christopher Caporali, John Carroll, Katelyn Craig, Catherine Darling, Emily Davis, Raphaelle Downer, Marcus Duquiatan, Erin and Audrey Dyer, Lauren Falkenberg, Jeri Hetrick, Austin Johnson, Nikki Joshi, Rob Kosky, Samantha Krejdovsky, Michael Lehman, Gabriella Mathieu, Alexandra McCarthy, Emily Mitchell, Joshua Murphy, Maranda Pepe, Lily Radolinski, Kelly Rivera, Michael Sell, Margaret Skinner, Melissa Snow, Jennifer Sposato, Dayna Tomayko, Brian Trail and Madeline Weekman. Sister Frances Carol and Nora Wiley's fourth-grade classes will also receive special recognition in this literary masterpiece for each having more than five students' poems published.

Fifth-grader Nick Savage has been accepted into the "People to People World Leadership Forum" to be held in Washington, D.C., this fall. Students who participate in this program are chosen based on their scholastic achievements, civic involvement and leadership potential.

The Catholic Business Network of Central Virginia recently presented the school with a check for $1,000.

High fives and thunderous applause to the Girls Varsity Soccer team for winning the Linton Hall Soccer Tournament last week and finishing its season undefeated. This hard-working group of girls has outscored its opponents 53-2 in nine spectacular games. Coaches Bob Beckwith and Chris Kaila are greatly appreciated for sharing their time and talents.

--Betsy Moran

The Spring Fine Arts Festival was a great success with so many parents and friends visiting to view the many works of art, listen to the children's' music and learn all they have accomplished this year in French.

This week's "Music Makers" were: Noelle Burley, K-4; Catie Nelson, K-5; Brynna Bailey, first grade; Connor Janney, second grade and Kelsey Emond, fifth grade.

French students of the week were: Maxwell Buck, K-4; Alexis Abell, K-5; Megan Wright, second grade and Kelsey Emond, fifth grade.

Art students of the week were all students in each class. They were all too wonderful to choose just one.

During Spirit Week at the school, students dressed each day to a particular theme. One student in each grade was given an award for the best costume.

Most Patriotic: Presleigh Coleman, K-4; Natalie Hanson, K-5; Ryan Stone, first grade; Shelby Karr, second grade; Ty Cooley, third grade and Courtney Karr, fifth grade.

Sport or Sport Team: Max Buck, K-4; Felipe Gaskin, K-5; Katie Mueda, first grade; Sarah Rainville, second grade; Nick Mueda, third grade and Kylie Wright, fourth grade.

Future Career: Kyle Morton, K-4, chef; Kelsie LaPore, K-5, veterinarian; Cameron Jones, first grade, race car driver; Connor Janney, second grade, minister; Hailey Smith, third grade, college graduate and Walker Janney, fourth grade, Austrian mountain climber. Every student in the school--as well as the teachers--dressed for the fun day.

Parents are reminded that there are still some openings available for fall registrations. Interested parents may call the school office to make an appointment for a visit. Registrations are also being taken for Summer Camps being held during the weeks of June 14 and June 28 for ages 4 through the sixth grade. Campers need not be registered students with the school. Call the school office at 786-4128 for more information.

--Pam Soper

The art work of six St. Patrick School students has been selected to appear in a video backdrop to a live orchestral performance by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Children's Suite for Orchestra" on June 13, at Northern Virginia Community College. Artistic creations by Shannon Hosty, Michael Harring, Sean McClure, Jessica Gowarty, Brendan Smith and Patrick Boyd were selected from a field of more than 50,000 student entries. In addition to the video backdrop, the 350 winning pieces of artwork will be on exhibit prior to the concert performance. For tickets or more information, contact the symphony at 703/548-0885.

The middle school students' rendition of "The Music Man" will be performed this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Chancellor High School auditorium. All are welcome to attend.

Our annual uniform exchange will begin Monday at 8:30 a.m. Parents interested in selling gently used uniform pieces should follow the uniform exchange instructions sent home in the communications folders. The exchange will continue through June 9, and again from June 11-16.

Eighth-graders celebrate their graduation Monday at 6 p.m.

This end-of-year yard sale fund-raiser made more than $900 for the school.

--Marcus and Theresa Vivona

home-schoolers

Liz Flint will speak about letters of intent at the next TOOL home-school support group tomorrow at Tabernacle United Methodist Church. She will discuss the letter of intent and its options, providing proof for the home-schooler, and alternatives to testing. There will be a significant amount of time provided for questions. Come join us. For more information send a message to: toolhomeschool@yahoo.com