School News Roundup

Long Branch Students Visit MedStar Capitals Iceplex

On Tuesday, Long Branch 5th graders attended a STEAM event with the Washington Capitals at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.  Students were able to learn about the importance of STEAM in all aspects of the NHL, from how they keep the ice cold to the amount of protein the players need in their diet each day. Capitals Head Chef Robert Wood and Olympic Gold Medalist Haley Skarupa were just some of the awesome panelist that spoke to our students!

Wakefield Student Builds Recycled Earbuds 

Wakefield’s very own entrepreneur Ela Gokcigdem, was interviewed October 7 by WJLA as she prepares to to pitch her Bluetooth “ePearl” earbuds at the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) competition. Watch the story here.

Academic Academy Staff Recognized through Kudos x 2

The Kudos x 2 award is designed to help thank and recognize a member of the Academic Academy who represents teamwork and ‘above and beyond’ service. The first recipient of the Kudos x 2 award was Shane Johnson, Special Education Resource Teacher. It is used to build a  program culture that celebrates positive actions above and beyond those regularly seen as assigned job duties. Students and staff nominate candidates who they see promoting kindness and relationship building, and one staff member is then selected each month and to receive a certificate and a gift card to a local eatery. Johnson always goes above and beyond to support and show students he cares.

Taylor Raises Money For American Heart Association 

Taylor Elementary received a plaque from the American Heart Assoc. for being the 10th highest earning school in the state of Virginia involved in the Kids Heart Challenge. The Kids Heart Challenge is a fun and exciting event where students learns about their heart while helping others by raising money for the American Heart Association. It prepares your child for success through physical and emotional well-being. The event was organized by PE Teacher Mike Smith.

Arlington Tech Capstone Launch

This year, Arlington Tech’s first group of seniors are enrolled in a year-long Capstone experience. This work-based learning opportunity places students with local businesses and/or clients and allows them to apply the skills learned during CTE courses to authentic industry settings. Seniors are interning with a variety of businesses, including: CBRE-Heery, Stantec Architecture, NOVA Web Development, Alexandria Renew, Folio Investing, and more. Students interface directly with a partner mentor and work an average of ten hours per week. This trailblazing group of students is setting a new standard for work-based learning experiences in high school.

CTE Students Shine in Elevator Pitches

During the week of Sept. 30 – Oct. 4, students in Career & Technical Education (CTE) classes at the Career Center practiced giving elevator pitches. An elevator pitch is a brief summary of your skills and experience, short enough that you could share it with someone during an elevator ride. Students in CTE courses used this concept to practice their public speaking skills in preparation for the Career Expo that will take place at the Career Center in April 2020. Students demonstrated professionalism in their eye contact and body language, handshakes, and some even dressed up to deliver theirs. ACC students showed that they are prepared to go out in the community and let employers know that they are skilled and ready for the job!

Students Bagged 100 Lunches for Veterans Group

Students in Cynthia Jones’ class was asked to partner with two Wakefield staff members, Marcus McKinney and Donnell Boyce who founded the charity Dreamers Making Dreams. The students made 100 bagged lunches on October 4 for the veterans at Veterans on the Rise in Washington, DC and several of the students will help deliver the lunches on Saturday to the veterans, with Jones, McKinney, and Boyce. The mission of Veterans on the Rise is to provide the resources and opportunities for each homeless or at-risk veteran to meet the personal and housing challenges they face in order to achieve maximum self-sufficiency. The students sealed each bag lunch with a positive affirmation; letting each Veteran who receives a lunch know the Wakefield community thanks them for their service and we are proud to support them now when they need us.

Interim Superintendent Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Drew

Interim Superintendent Cinta Johnson visited the Drew Library recently. She was one of many honorary guest readers for Drew’s celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month. Johnson shared her Hispanic Heritage with students and spoke about the value of being able to speak more than one language.

Kindness Rocks at Jamestown

Jamestown Elementary school has a new initiative this year. The Jamestown community is spreading Kindness throughout the school and neighborhood. With the help of the Jamestown art teachers, during an in-house professional development, teachers painted Kindness Rocks. This project was started by Megan Murphy from Massachusetts and can be seen here https://www.thekindnessrocksproject.com/.

Purpose:
The purpose of this activity is to spread a little cheer or inspiration to others that may need it. People go through challenges and adversity and usually keep it all bottled up inside. We all could use a pick me up once in a while to help us through tough times.

How it Works:
If you find a rock that resonates with you, simply pick it up and keep it as long as you would like. If, as time goes by, you are finished with the rock you may place it somewhere else to inspire others. If you would like, you could take a picture and tweet the rock with the #KindnessRocksJtown, which is on the back of every rock.

Goal:
Our goal is to lend strangers a helping hand when needed. Something as simple as a rock with a simple saying could go a long way.

Hopes:
Our hope is for others to join in the cause. Soon our students will be taking place in this activity. During Art class, students will see examples, watch a quick video and get to work making their own Kindness Rocks.Hope if you need a little pick me up you find one of our rocks to help you through.

If you would like to follow our rocks, search #KindessRockJtown on Twitter.