Students at Long Branch know the holidays can be a tough time for some. They decided to take time out of their own day to make Valentine gifts for students, teachers, friends and family. This was a student-driven idea that ended with some beautiful artwork. Student also plan on bringing their artwork around town to hand out in the neighborhood with the hopes to brighten someone’s day!
Yorktown’s Minority Men United Leaders hosted an informative event on Fri, Feb. 7. Terron Sims II and Darryl Hobbs spoke to the young men of MMU about their experiences navigating educational and career choices, overcoming challenges, and giving back to the community. They also shared valuable advice with the MMU members.
The Coding Prodigies from Drew Elementary competed in Arlington Public School’s First Lego League Robotics scrimmage on Sat, Feb. 8 at the Career Center. The Prodigies finished in 2nd place for the robotics portion of the competition, missing out on 1st place by only 30 points.
On Feb. 1, the 26 AFJROTC cadets from the Arlington Career Center’s VA-821 won the Glasgow High School Drill & Colors Classic Overall Championship under the leadership of CMSgt Kim Turner. They place first out of 15 schools from the east coast and it was the third straight overall championship trophy they have earned at Glasgow High School. In individual Knock Out Competition, out of almost 200 cadets, the cadets placed 3rd in the top 10, with a 2nd, 6th, and 7th place finish. Additionally, they brought home six trophies: First Place in Armed Inspection, First Place in Unarmed Color Guard, Second Place in the Academic Challenge, Second Place in Armed Inspection, Third Place in Armed Regulation Drill and Third Place in Armed Team Exhibition.
The most recent episode of the Arlington CTE – Keeping it Real podcast highlights Career and Technical Education at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Here is a link to the episode (Career and Technical Education at Thomas Jefferson Middle School) as well as a description of the episode: In this episode, you will hear first-hand from three of the Career and Technical Education teachers at Thomas Jefferson Middle school who discuss their classes, current projects, career exploration, trends in CTE, project based learning and more. This is representative of the classes offered at all of the middle schools in Arlington.
February began with our Annual African-American Storytelling event at the library. Gracious community members from Delta Sigma Theta, Reading is Fundamental, the APS School Board, APS staff, and Interim Superintendent Cintia Johnson read stories about African-American history, culture, and children’s stories. The STEAM Contributions in African-American History Door Decorating Contest, scheduled for mid-month, is designed to combine history and class creativity. Dr. Williams, Vocal/Choral Music Teacher, and students from grades 3-5 close out our month-long celebration with an African American History Month Assembly.
On Fri, Feb. 7, Juniors in Arlington Tech participated in a mock interview day to prepare for their senior year Capstone experience. Volunteers from around the county donated their time and expertise to help students develop and improve their interviewing practice. Students rose to the occasion and demonstrated professional attire, strong soft-skills, and confidence as they spoke with volunteers about their high school experience and technical skills. Thank you to our amazing volunteers for making this event possible!: Kathleen Donovan, Dr. Rosa Briceño, Michael Swisher, Adrien McDonald, Bageshri Ghate, Mollie Montague, Micaela Sanders, Sylvia O’Neal, Emily Wasserman, Jennifer Landis-Santos, and Kim Durand.
The Key School P.B.I.S. Team (Positive Behavior Implementation Support Team) successfully ran two days of “Passport to Learning Days.” This is a great tool that is used for Tier 1 implementation of P.B.I.S. Every staff member participates by stamping passports of all Key students who are caught modeling the behavior expectations set by the P.B.I.S. team. It was a fun way to remind students of our hallway, cafeteria and classroom expectations. Extended Day also participated in the event.
ATS 2nd grade teachers held a surprise performance of The Three Little Pigs to help their student learn about perspective in storytelling.
The Washington-Liberty’s Esports team was profiled by NPR’s “All Things Considered” this past week. In the 3-minute segment, Miles Carey, assistant principal and sponsor of Esports club at WL, speaks about the opportunities that Esports give to students. Students are able to be a part of something they are passionate about and already spend time on. There are also opportunities to make money depending on the different tournaments that they participate in. Mr. Carey says, “Students learn teamwork and communication, how to handle stress and overcome failure. They work to balance time spent playing against other commitments. Students are more comfortable with technology. Some of them have even learned how to build their own computers in pursuit of having the best gaming machine.” In the past 3 years, the Esports team has accomplished a lot and has given students the space to pursue their passion for gaming. The Esports Rocket League team has also made it to the Virginia High School League finals and will be faced off against Dr. Gregg Robertson’s alma mater, William Byrd High School, on January 29th.
Jefferson students participated in a Q&A panel at the start of the school’s professional development afternoon on Jan. 15. The panel, made up of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, gave teachers feedback on lesson design, how teachers help students learn, and how teachers can earn student trust and build relationships.
Second graders at Tuckahoe enjoyed a visit from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation to learn about the Powhatan Indians. They viewed various artifacts all made from deer to figure out how they were used. Students found it funny that the presenter named the deer “Walmart” because the Indians were able to get everything they needed from him. The students also learned that in the Powhatan language, Tuckahoe refers to a potato that is found at the bottom of a swamp and is bitter in taste. Powhatans only ate Tuckahoe stew as a last resort!
Colonel Timothy J. Holtan was appointed Leader and Commander of The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in December 2014 until his retirement in February 2017. He holds the distinction of being the first officer to command all three of the Army’s premier bands.10th Leader and Commander The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own.”
The Washington Capitals believe that all children can benefit from playing hockey while learning about teamwork. Their Community Grassroots program explains the basics of hockey to 2nd – 6th-grade students through examples, drills, and play. The Drew Physical Education team was appreciative of the donated equipment since it will encourage continued play among our 4th & 5th-grade students as they learn a new sport.
Jamestown first grade students and teachers were busy all week long getting ready for Valentine’s Day. They started the day off by leading an all school morning meeting. Here they kicked off our celebration of Valentine’s Day and got us ready for the 100th day of school. They gave us time to reflect on all that we accomplished the first 100 days, and gave us goals for the rest of the year. They also made Valentine’s Day cards for Sunrise of Arlington, a senior living center. The students learned about community service and bringing a smile to people’s faces.
