CITY SCHOOLS
Hugh Mercer Elementary
The following classes have been adopted through the Adopt-a-Classroom program: Jolene Murray's first-grade class by Charles Willis; Robin Bishop's kindergarten class by Diana Almy; Sandy Jones' kindergarten class by Deidre Hairston; Kelli Causin's second-grade class by Diana Almy; Katie David's first-grade class by Kelly and Pat Blosser; Ellen Campbell's second-grade class by Dave Kolar; Jaclyn Scott's first-grade class by Claire and Charlie Curcio and Matthew Austin; Jill Utz's kindergarten class by Dabney and Douglas Crooks; Courtney Hanak's first-grade class by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Beringer; and Molly Mahany's second-grade class by Doc and Cindy King.
The P.E. spirit wear runs through Oct. 23. Order forms are available through the P.E. department and in the office.
School pictures are today. The following parents volunteered to assist: Malaika Ellis, April Flath, Kathy Chadwick and Melanie Harper.
The following were chosen as students of the month for displaying good character, respect and good manners:
Kindergarten--Ryland Holland, Nataly Reyes, Leisha Colon, Dia'vion Buggs, Christian Womack, Lili Watkins, Kalana Lewis, Jasmine White, Kebin Mendez-Gonzalez, Zoey Young, Angelina Tankelwicz, Isabel Herlitz, Eva Lewis, Dexter Law, Sophia Pineda
First grade--Olivia Mickens, Kadie Wiliams, Jerel Manning, Isabella Mahar, Isaiah Washington, Georgia Jones, Tyvihon Banks, Anthony Lewis, Sam Dumont, NayShawn Fields, Jamil Peace, Morgan Issitt
Second grade--Kassandora Samuels, Talitha Muggeridge, Josh Ward, Ke'Asia Ragland, Dean Holland, Jaiscent Walker, Kaison Barnett, Evan Battista, Rinaiya Reubel, Sloane Hedgepath, Thalia Shorter, Jin Wen Xie, Connisa Samuels.
--Cindy Hurley
Walker-Grant Middle
Dominick McKay, Luke Payne and Marija Petkovic were selected by audition to the North Central Virginia Regional Honors Orchestra, which will perform at James Monroe High School Nov. 7 at 4 p.m.
The cheerleading squad is hosting Sprit Night tonight at the Central Park Chick-fil-A, 5-8 p.m.
--Renee Embrey
COUNTY SCHOOLS
Parent Resource Center
"IEP Tips for Parents" will provide parents with strategies for the development of their child's individual education program (IEP), tomorrow, 11 a.m. at the Parent Resource Center, John J. Wright Educational & Cultural Center, 7565 Courthouse Road. To register call 540/582-7583, option 5. Light breakfast included.
The session will be repeated Oct. 20 at Salem Church Library, 7-8:30 p.m.
--Peggy Dougherty
Battlefield Elementary
October Artist of the Month is Kyle Pins from Mindy Lernihan's fifth-grade class for his tissue-paper and pen owl.
First-graders are completing a unit on motion. Students will bring toys to school to sort by type of motion: circular, back and forth, or up and down.
Counselor Peggy Mahoney will offer "Helping Your Child With Homework," Friday, 2-3 p.m.
The PTO is looking for businesses to donate items to the Silent Auction at Family Fun Night Nov. 6; e-mail:
Email: bespto@live.com.
--Sandra Decatur
Berkeley Elementary
The following were Citizens of the Month for September: Alex Childress, Andrew Price, Taylor Crabtree, John Carney, Faith Laufenburg, Madison Bullock, Madison Worth, Jon Collins, Halie Bouren, Devin Dean, Isaiah Aiken, Lauren Keesecker, Hope Brooks, Robert Edenton and Trevor Pursley.
The following were Top Beavers for Sept. 29-Oct. 2: Nicole Dawson, Destiny Lewis, William Knight, Austin Little, Kevin Loveless, Justin Stewart, Kyle Embrey, Caitlynn Pittman, John Carney, Jordan Delaney, Austin Thompson, Desaray Bushur, Nick Dean-Wood, Jackson Rusk, Nathaniel Parker and Emily Motley.
The Fourth Annual Great Pumpkin Chase Race is Oct. 31 at Berkeley Elementary School beginning at 8 a.m. The 1-mile race is for ages 7-13. The -mile fun run is for ages 5-6. For information call 540/582-5141.
--Anthony Bramlett
Brock Road Elementary
Rachel Witt's kindergarten class is learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin and using pumpkins and pumpkins seeds for math activities, including following a recipe for pumpkin bars.
Jan Oliver's second-graders are learning about maps and globes. They used a double bubble thinking map to compare and contrast these two.
Kate Terney's third-grade class took part in the Scholastics Classrooms Care program. They read more than 100 books and now 100 books will be donated to children in need.
Sandi Bradley's fifth-grade class has joined Eli Manning in the Classroom Care reading challenge. They will read 100 books so needy children will get books to read.
--Melinda Dulaney
Cedar Forest Elementary
The following students have been chosen for the morning news program, "Wolves on Air":
Newscasters--Rachel Pellegreen, Rachael Kunkel, Laily Oasimi, Sabrina Jones, Makenzie Skinner, Caitlin Delong, Dylan Walton, Jordan Palomares, Adam Johnson, Brandi Chew, Katja Collins, Tony Covington, Jessica Natale, Savannah Ratcliff, Brandon Sims, Joshua Sullivan, Chayla Green, Emily Anderson, Adrian Brown, Jessica Grempler, Alexis Harrington, Bobby Harvey, Bridgett Miles, Zac Neer, Tori Smith, Florina Aliu, Anna Butler, Allison Criss, Samantha Czarnaski, Dakota Kahley, Cole Luttrell, Juan Portillo, Bretton Self, Jacob Wilkerson, Casy Butler, Ashleigh Christopher, Xavier Johnson, Brandon Kunkel, Syera McCormick, Gina Morgan, O'ceana Murphy, Joshua Washington, Jacob Wilkerson, Sarah Bostain, Jordi Garcia, Samantha Harris, Dylan Major, Jozlyn Miller, Devin Rollins, Katelyn Schultz, Skylar Strunk, Kyra Taylor, Faith Autrey, Kiona Brown, Jack Handley, Quatasha Hill, Christian Holz, Abby O'Neill, Yveline St.Louis, Kyle Wallace, Sam Brown, Grayson Bullock, Abby Carter, Gabby Cramer, Leah Howard, Calista Rieken, Dalton Rowley, Tabitha Smith, Lindsay Stynes, Brea Dobson, Jordan Hardy, Brian Michalick, Sierra Parry, Alyssa Pence, Jordan Robinson, Jade Rodriguez, Victoria Westermeyer, Kasey Baker, Eric Burley, Percy Deza, Natasha Greenwalt, Brent Kynaston, Olivia Pullen, Mikayla Purdy, Garreth Smith and Kayla Syrkes.
Each morning's live broadcast includes announcements and the pledge. The teams are meeting to plan new and exciting ways of bringing the news to students.
--Amy Lutz
Chancellor Elementary
The school store is located in front of the art room and is open 8:20-8:50 a.m.
This year's book fair theme is "Read Around the World." It will be held Oct. 19-24. The children will preview books Monday and Tuesday, and can purchase books Wednesday through Friday that week.
The following fifth-graders have met their Accelerated Reader goal and are recognized as "revved up" readers: David Berghoff, Nazam Mian, Thomas Durocher, Charles Larzelere, Katie Sabo, Michael Medlin, Bishop Ross and Lindsay Elliott.
--Amy Clodius
Courtland Elementary
This is Bridge Map week. Students will be making and discussing analogies through these graphic organizers.
CORE (Counting on Reading enrichment) is tonight, 5-7 p.m. Students may come with their parents to read, work on math activities and use the computer lab for research.
--Becky Murray
Lee Hill Elementary
The third Friday of every month is a school spirit day competition sponsored by the SCA. The class in each grade with the highest percentage of spirit wear will earn an extra 15 minutes of recess time.
Oct. 19 is the beginning of Bus Appreciation Week.
--Robin Thompson
Riverview Elementary
The Panther News Crew for Oct. 5-9 was from Rosemarie Klei's fifth-grade class. The students who presented the news and ran the camera were Adam Anema, Corbin Holladay, Jacob Galyen, Alexa Shontz, Ryan Mills, Theresa Brown and Mary Connor. The Panther News broadcast a skit last Friday portraying a bullying incident. There will be a new episode each Friday morning, written by guidance counselor Sue Dinnauer.
Third-grade teachers Barbara Brown and Missy Howard took their students outside to play the Water Cycle Game and principal Dianne Holmes joined them. Students pretended they were each a molecule of water. They rolled large cardboard dice at each station to see which of the nine different compartments of the cycle they would go to next. At each station, they received a different colored bead to put on a bracelet to represent that station. These would later be used to track each student's unique journey through the water cycle.
Ginger Carey's first-grade class made graham cracker flags with white icing, blue sugar and red licorice to coordinate with their study of the American flag.
Principal's Class of the Week was Carley Beale's kindergartners. Bus 279, driven by Shannon Blodgett, was Bus of the Week. The Thinking Map the students learned to use last week was the Brace Map, used to identify part/whole relationships.
Every Wednesday is Character Day. Wear your "Got Character" T-shirts to show school spirit and support good character traits. This month's character trait is responsibility.
--Pat Cory
Robert E. Lee Elementary
Student of the week for Sept. 28-Oct. 2 was Rachael Jent.
Perfect-attendance winners were Gabrielle Bradburn, Justice McQuillen, Aleayah Thomas, Jeremiah Morris and Nikira Curry.
The staff thanks all who participated in the Borders Book Store School of the Month Program during August. Shoppers could support the school by buying books to be donated to the school.
The estimated total is more than 1,000 books worth more than $9,500. Special thanks to Ron Burch and Chris Madison, managers at the Central Park Borders.
--Darnell Dillard
Smith Station Elementary
The Perfect Scores assembly is Thursday at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria. Fall pictures are Oct. 20.
The following students will be running the morning news this week:
Francesca Caplan--anchor
Trey Royston--anchor
Deion Atkinson--camera operator
Greg Wolfe--production assistant
Joseph Ricker--director.
Each week, each grade-level teacher chooses a Student of the Week. The following students were recognized Sept. 28:
Fifth grade--Ronnie Files, Neesha Patterson, Jake Gallello, Mauri Deihr, Matthew Augustine, Deion Atkinson
Fourth grade--Kathryn Christman, Caitlyn North, Dante Lawrence, Charity Wil-liams
Third grade--Sarah Tiller, Autumn Augustine, Lily Zeets, Sarah Stillabower, Joey Royston, Ashley Crane
Second grade--Kaelyn Gurney, Emma Graves, Taylor Smith, Madison Klump, Christopher Rossi, Ryan Baechtel
First grade--Noelle Franich, Lizbeth Valadez-Amezquita, Mikayla Colbert, Michael Anderson, Lauren Ball
Kindergarten--Nicholas Boyd, Brandon North, Ethan Bartz, Gabrielle Lazor, Ryan Kwon, Hannah Lowery.
The following students were Students of the Week on Oct. 5: Matthew Henson, Lauren Folie, Joseph Ricker, Raelyn Slaughter, Dailie Anderson, Cassandra Blizzard, Megan Mesick, Isaac Graves, Lauren Sauceda, Brandon Kwon, Tyler Czajkowski, Anastasia Cox, Keith Butler, Kyle Guija, Eleanor Smith, Emma Flowers, Jessica Harris, Jason Lomax, Teyah Driver, Cole Hudak, Eben Manning, Christian Hochstetler, Mariah Colbert, Catarina Tracy, Tyler Evans, Ethan Rehberg, Jachin Shell and Cameron Mazell.
--Cassie Stock
Wilderness Elementary
Red Ribbon Week, "Refuse to Use," is Oct. 26-30.
Tonight is Reading Night. Come and read with your child, take AR tests and have some cookies.
Oct. 24 is the Fall Carnival.
--Jennifer Eckhart
Battlefield Middle
The annual fall craft show and book fair is Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. More than 30 local crafters, all offering unique and homemade crafts, will be present. Plan to visit the book fair. Food and drinks are available and admission is $1.
School pictures will be taken during P.E. classes Thursday and Friday. Order forms were sent home with students last week.
Students interested in trying out for winter sports, must have a completed physical form turned in on the first day of tryouts. Boys basketball and wrestling tryouts begin Nov. 4. Girls volleyball tryouts begin Jan. 26.
The cast of "Beauty and the Beast" is rehearsing. Cast members include Keely Benett, Kynzie Bouches, Amanda Bray, Cameron Bruce, Danielson Bruce, Candice Coates, Jaziel Cruz, Lauren Eaton, Kristen Edmunds, Lindsey Fennell, Regina Flanders, Monica Fritz, Gabby Giannone, Victoria Glasgow, Stephany Glenn, Marisol Gonzales, Aly Gootee, Taylor Hall, Bethany Hatulan, Bethany Hayes, Sarah Holzknecht, Taylor Hubbert, Marissa Idol, James Jackson, Nick Jenni, Kelsie LaPore, Joseph Lawrence, Adam McGoff, Morgan Monroe, Shay Monroe, Abigail Morris, Theresa Officer, Bobby Ohse, Lisa Perez, Hannah Reiker, Ira-Nichole Roberts, Marlys Taliaferro, Malcolm Taylor, Kyle Weaver, Sarah Weisman, Leslie Weber, Emily Whalen, Shannon Wholey, Indiana Wright and Alaana Zaal.
--Vicki Ullrich
Ni River Middle
Thirty-three students ran for Student Council offices. The following were elected:
President--Hope Riffee, eighth grade
Vice president--Connor Grant, seventh grade
Secretary--Danielle Deiters, eighth grade
Treasurer--Meredith Bush, sixth grade
Historian--Katie Statler, sixth grade.
The Veterans Day celebration is Nov. 11. Students are asked to bring in a picture of an immediate family member who is a veteran, preferably in uniform, to Patty Dye by Nov. 6. Include dates of service and the military branch. E-mail questions to
Email: pdye@ms.scs.k12.va.us.
The PTA is accepting entries for the Reflections Contest. The theme is "Beauty is " Entries are due Oct. 20.
SOL/AYP informational session for parents is Thursday, 6:30-7 p.m. in the forum.
The SOL Perfect Score Ceremony is Thursday, 7-8 p.m. in the cafeteria. Letters will be sent to parents of students with perfect scores.
--Barbara McWhirt
Post Oak Middle
The Green Club's goal is to inspire students and adults to focus on environmental issues. Fifteen students attended the first meeting Sept. 30. Club members have decided to set up a white paper recycling program. A schoolwide classroom competition has been designed.
--Beth Constantino
Courtland High
Cat's Eye Literary Magazine is accepting submissions in all categories: poetry, prose, photography, music and video. Send submissions to Courtlandcats
Email: eye@gmail.com, or bring them to Kevin Noll in room 387. No anonymous submissions.
The PTSA's Reflections contest categories include literature, dance choreography, film production, musical composition, photography and the visual arts. All entries should focus on "Beauty is " and must be submitted by Oct. 29. Contact Benita de la Cruz at del6900@aol.com. Details and entry forms are in the front office.
The following students were winners at the Virginia State Fair: Craig Lampani's Adirondack chair won first place; Kristin Haynes' Shaker bench won second.
The Agriculture Department needs used cotton T-shirts or towels, plant containers and wood stain. Bring items to the office, and attach your name, address and e-mail address.
Jon Minor was one of 28 tenors chosen for the Virginia Senior Honors Choir.
--Angie Branham
Massaponax High
FBLA officers include:
President--Ashanti Thompson
Vice president--Patricia Waggoner
Secretary--Rachel Tighe
Historian--Brianne Strother
Social Coordinator--Michelle Thornton.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, students wore Hispanic folklore attire. First place was Daniela Rodriguez; second place was Taylor Graese ;and third place was Jackie Aparicio.
The DECA Officer Team is:
President--Matthew Kelly
Vice president--Kelsey Purcell and Morgan Barr
Secretary--Megan Kelly
Reporter--Jita Benani
Historian--Nicole Miller and Hanna Gardner
Parliamentarian--Scott Tarut
Members-at-Large--Timmy Pohanka, Laura Resio, Parascovia Wendt, Josh Kelly, Cara Aparicio.
Optimist Student of the Month for September was Kaitlin Kemp.
Nominated by their teachers or staff, students are rewarded with positive referrals for displaying respect, showing random acts of kindness, or an overall good attitude toward their fellow students, and teachers. Positive referrals for September were Colby Rice, Kayla Hord, Lauren Powell, Raphaelle Downer, Adam Bennett, Branden Quinones, Tiffany Graves, Tyler Dawkins, Amanda Vardon, Brian Via, Brittany Waller, Jeremy Gorgerosa, Ben White, Chuck Serrett, Japelle Shaw, Katie Samuels, Leah Roberts, Samantha Santucci, Daniel White, Jonathan Corey, Kayla Hall, Alejandra Ramos, Alexandra Little, Derrick Alsop, Jennifer Green and Monet Green.
--Terri Stone
Spotsylvania High
The Drama Club will present "A Knight of One-Act Plays," Oct. 28-30 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Plays will be "The Booby Trap," a drama by Ed Monk, and "The Ugly Duckling," a comedy by A.A. Milne. Tickets are $5 at the door.
"Spotsy Fest" is held Oct. 24, 5:30-7:30 p.m. A variety of children's activities will be available, including trick-or-treating, hayrides, games, face painting, a costume contest, fortune telling, crafts and more. Admission is free. Concessions will be sold. Pictures, cupcake walk and cookie decorating will be available for a small fee.
The Technology Student Association recently held its annual Mousetrap Car Competition. Justin Russell won the contest with a distance of 28 feet 6 inches. He received a remote-control airplane for taking first place. Marisa Thatcher came in second and Lisa Moskowitz came in third.
Nine DECA officers represented the school at a recent meeting held in Fredericksburg. President Bryn Huxoll guided the Spotsylvania team to a second-place finish in the teambuilding exercise.
--Deborah Todd
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Blake Farm Dayschool
In language arts, first- and second-graders recently completed reading "Animals That Live in the Mountains" and making dioramas to exhibit their learning. Third- and fourth-graders are reading about the Makah and Mohawk Indians. They will research and write about their possible Native American family ancestry and create a family totem.
Middle school students are reading "The Diary of Anne Frank," writing their own diary pages from prompts, and exploring the vocabulary of the young author.
In science, the first- and second-graders presented their electric circuits projects. Third- through eighth-graders completed projects about matter.
Latisha Stires and Clendora Davis hosted a healthy lunch to teach the students about nutrition and eating right.
Lauren Bevard's entire kindergarten class had perfect spelling-test scores three weeks in a row.
Chanthon Swart's five-day preschool class is creating a Viking village for their Great Explorers series.
This quarter's immersion topic is Literature in Action. Lateefah Muhammad's immersion class is studying Eric Carle. In addition to reading and dramatizing five of Carle's books, the children have explored paper designing, collage, textured paper art and resist painting of Carle animals. Grace Cellucci's immersion class is studying Mark Twain. The students acted out "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and are now writing storyboards about going back to a favorite time in history. Chanthon Swart's immersion class is studying Greek literature. The students recently created a Trojan horse, made clay yo-yos, sculpted mini Greek god statues, and prepared Greek foods. Laurence Smith's immersion class is studying Dr. Seuss. They made green eggs to celebrate "Green Eggs and Ham." Lauren Bevard's immersion class is studying Shel Silverstein and painted with food after reading the poem "We're Out of Paint, So "
--Julie Fuerst
Fredericksburg Christian Schools
Tenth-grade violinist Bethany Thompson was selected to participate in the North Central Virginia Regional Orchestra event Nov. 7-8. The orchestra consists of students from Spotsylvania to Northern Virginia.
The National Honor Society induction was held recently. Carolyn Jensen, NHS president, conducted the meeting and performed the induction. Rebecca Easler, vice president; Erin Storms, secretary; Amber Lockwood, treasurer; Kelvy Donovan, chaplain; Kelsey Woods, parliamentarian; and A.J. Mietus, historian, all participated in the candle-lighting ceremony. Principal Patrick Maginnis spoke to the new members about the gifts they have been given and encouraged them to be wise with their use. New members are Regina Bill, Jonathan Duggins, Rebecca Harrington, Paige Marple, Brittany McCray, Caleb Porter, Bethany Thompson, Carley Woodard, Hannah Woods, Amanda Degen, Max Fidgeon, Melissa Goodnough, Michael Gustavson, C.J. Houser, Allison Janiec, Rachel Johnson, Jennifer Lambertson, Meredith Landry, Amanda Long, Colin Maurer, Sarah Naylor, Hannah Parsons, Jessica Revely, Emma Sansone, Blake Shaw, Marshall Williams, Briana Hales, Mikenna Fidgeon and Alan Tate.
The school will hold a Christian College Fair today, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Upper School campus.
Members of the junior and senior classes will participate in Career Day on Friday. Students shadow local professionals for the day.
The middle school student government at the Stafford Campus has launched a school-wide paper recycling campaign. Boxes have been placed in kindergarten through eighth-grade classrooms. Classes will compete to see which collects the most paper.
--Jill Shigley
St. Michael the Archangel High
The Feast Day of the Arch-angels Mass was Sept. 29. Students and faculty prayed the rosary and attended a presentation on virtue and chastity, followed by a Mass and lunch with families and friends.
Student Government Association officers are Erin LaFalce, president; Luke Cassidy, vice president; Nabil Naim, secretary; and Kevin Close, treasurer.
The cross country team competed in the Quantico Invitational. The boys finished fifth out of a field of 11 teams, including three runners in the top 20--Jon Van Deusen, Nathan Woodhead and Kyle Close. Two girls placed in the top 20, Maggie VanDeusen and Laura Woodhead. The school will host its first tri-meet at home versus Fredericksburg Academy and Grace Preparatory Oct. 20.
The second installment of the Culture of Life Speaker Series is Thursday at 9:30 a.m., featuring Debi Vinnedge, founder and director of Children of God for Life. All are welcome but an RSVP is required, 540/548-8748.
The Calendar Dinner Dance is Friday. Tickets are $45 per person or $80 per couple. Contact Carol Schelke at 540/419.2858, or clsjpspms@com cast.net.
--Theresa M. Vivona
HOMESCHOOLERS
TOOL
A parent meeting will be held Nov. 17, 7-9 p.m. at Salem Fields Community Church, 11120 Gordon Road, featuring Florence Feldman and "Organized: A Different View."
Feldman is a professional organization consultant who has been helping individuals overcome disorder and live more productively for more than 25 years. Her own struggles with disorder as a young wife and mother has given her a passion for sharing the life-changing truths and techniques about getting and staying organized.
Child care is not provided; nursing moms are always welcome.
For details, go to toolhome school.org.
--Pam Holloway