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The Arlington Forest Citizens Association has
the distinction of having published an outstanding news bulletin
for longer than any other civic association in Arlington County.
The distinctive Arlington Forester
masthead, showing the stores and trees in the shopping center,
at Arlington Boulevard and North Park Drive, was designed in 1948 by Forester Tom Cullen (Southside). This design with only minor changes is still being used nearly 60 years later.
Source: Arlington Public Schools web site. In case of snow, ice, or other unusual conditions such as power outages and excessive heat, school officials may decide to close school, delay school opening, or send students home early. News about these decisions is communicated as soon as the decision is made in these ways:
Here is what happens in each situation when the school schedule changes:
The Arlington County Council of PTAs announced the winners of its annual PTA Reflection contest today. The annual Reflections feeds into the National PTA contest, and is designed to spur students to create works in music, literature, visual arts, photography, dance choreography, and film/video production. Students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 are eligible to enter, and more than 1,400 Arlington students submitted pieces.This year's theme was, Beauty Is … The works that received first place at the county level are entered into Northern Virginia District PTA competition. The contest continues at the state and national levels. This year's winners include:
TEACHER, iPOD and TOUCHBOARD MAKE A WINNING TEAM I teach in a K-2 special education self-contained classroom at Barrett and I am a member of the iPod Learning Professional Development Group at school. I am very excited to share the benefits of educational tools like iPod Touches and Smart Boards with teachers, parents, and administrators. I have a wide range of students with different kinds of learning challenges and disorders. The students often have weak communication and social skills, difficulty with behavior and attention, and weak sensory and fine motor skills. Last year, after I started using an iPod touch and a smart board in the classroom, I noticed instantaneous positive results. The affect of these technological tools on my student's attention and motivation has been fascinating. They all want to have a turn and be part of the lesson. Their level of participation and interest increased significantly by giving my students the power to control and manipulate their own learning and information. Now that we have a smart board and three iPod touches in the classroom, we are able to use them throughout the day and we are experiencing unexpected benefits. I hadn't imagined the many ways that having these great tools in the classroom would help decrease behavior difficulties and increase positive social interactions and fun learning experiences. Thanks to our school PTA, families, and the principal, more classrooms will soon have a smart board. I feel very lucky to have these resources and technology in my class. Martha Miranda Rising Kindergartner? — You're invited to a play date at Barrett Elementary on Saturday, March 13, from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. Incoming kindergarteners and their families as well as current Barrett families are invited. It is a great opportunity to meet neighbors, introduce your children to the school and ask questions about kindergarten and the Barrett experience. Barrett Elementary is a wonderful neighborhood school located at 4401 N. Henderson Road, 22203 just off of George Mason. Weather allowing, the play date will be held outside on the playground in the back (the blacktop). Otherwise, the play date will be in the gym. There will be a moon bounce, food, and drinks. If you have questions about the Rising Kindergartener Playdate, contact Sylvie Mortimer at 703-528-2507. For more information about K.W. Barrett Elementary School call 703-228-6288 or: Funds For Haiti — Barcroft Elementary School students celebrated the first 100 days of school on February 4th with a "100 Pennies for Haiti" Fundraiser. Students were asked to bring in 100 pennies (or more) to be used for special math activities during the day. Then the spare change was donated to the American Red Cross to assist with relief efforts in Haiti. On February 8th, Barcroft celebrated African American Read-In Day. Guest readers came to all language arts classes and read books specially selected to celebrate Black History Month. Due to their year-round schedule, Barcroft students enjoyed a five-day holiday between February 11-15 when the school closes for Parent Teacher Conferences and Presidents Day. After School Enrichment Classes resumed in February and continue through May. Classes include Yoga, Basketball, Cooking, Art Exploration, and Sports Camp. There are several upcoming PTA-sponsored events Arlington Forest neighbors are encouraged to attend:
Language arts classes will celebrate Dr. Suess Day March 4th with special guest readers and birthday cupcakes. Several teams of Barcroft students will also participate in the Odyssey of the Mind competition on March 6th. Barcroft students will also enjoy a two-week Intersession Break during the weeks of March 15-26. At this time, children who need assistance with the core curriculum can receive additional instruction. All children will be given opportunities to take up to two classes a day, including subjects such as singing and dancing, geology, invention and inventors, virtual travel to Latin America, exploring the languages/customs/foods from countries around the world, and print making. All offerings are grade-specific and tailored to state standards of learning (SOL). These classes provide a fun, pressure-free way to review math, reading and science concepts just learned. Finally, Barcroft students will enjoy a spring break holiday, and return to school on April 6th. Check Barcroft website for the latest school news
Kenmore Night of the Arts and Silent Auction — set for April 9 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The Kenmore Middle School silent auction committee is looking for volunteers to help out for an hour on April 9 or before that with preplanning. If you have something to include as an auction item — it can be cooking a meal, making desserts, providing a set of tickets to a sporting event, or donating an unused item — contact Silent Auction Chair Carolyn Carlson at 703-499-3816. She is also encouraging Foresters to consider donating a gift certificate of $25 or more to the auction. Donations are tax deductible and if you are able to donate a new item worth $25 or more, you will receive $5 in "Kenmore silent auction bucks" which can be used to bid on any other auction item or use $5 silent auction bucks in the cafeteria that night. Holiday Bazaar — December 5, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. Honors! — Washington-Lee High School principal Gregg Robertson has been named the Arlington Public Schools 2009 Principal of the Year and will be recognized as The Washington Post's Distinguished Educational Leadership Award recipient for Arlington. "Gregg is inspiring a generation of students to be thoughtful, sensitive, and responsible while he also helps them to grow, learn and achieve at school and in life," said [then] Superintendent Dr. Robert Smith. "I am very pleased that he has been chosen for this award," Smith added in the release. Robertson has been an APS administrator for 11 years. From 1999-2002 he served as assistant principal and then principal of Swanson Middle School before assuming the leadership as principal of Washington-Lee High School in 2002. Robertson graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in middle and secondary education. He received a Master of Science in adult and continuing education and an Ed.S. in educational leadership from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Fostering cooperation between the school and the community is a big part of Robertson's leadership focus. Robertson actively seeks input from all stakeholders. He maintains an open-door policy which encourages his colleagues, students, their parents, and the greater Arlington community to engage in friendly and substantive conversations. "I can sum up what makes Mr. Robertson such a great principal in two words. He listens," said senior class president Will Farley. His leadership has enabled Washington-Lee to create a successful learning community. Washington-Lee has been consistently ranked among the top high schools in the country according to Newsweek's Challenge Index. Check Washington-Lee website for the latest schools news
The School Board approved the Wakefield Conceptual Design and gave staff approval to move forward with the schematic design at the October 2 meeting. The schematic design is projected to be completed by March 2009 and tentatively scheduled for School Board approval in April 2009. The Wakefield Conceptual Design lays down basic directions and guides for actual design of the project. These include:
Check Wakefield website for the latest school news.
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