Local Students Win Arena Stage Competition
Sarah Congress of Hayfield Secondary School and Scott Evan Anderson of George C. Marshall High School have been named winners of the Arena Stage 2009 Student Playwrights Project Ten-Minute Play Competition.
Winning playwrights are invited to participate in four playwriting master classes at Arena Stage and will work with the education staff and a dramaturge to revise their plays for production. Plays by winning playwrights will be directed by an Arena Stage director and performed by professional actors on March 2 and 3. Reservations are recommended and should be made through the Arena Stage sales office at 202-488-3300. Each winning playwright receives a cash prize. More than 500 students submitted entries for the 2009 competition.
Marshall Places 2nd at VHSL Competition
Shrevewood Elementary To Throw ‘Green Day’
The Shrevewood Elementary School community outreach cadre will sponsor a Green Day on Friday, Jan. 30, to promote going green in the community. The Student of the Month assembly will feature a skit about recycling and will also include information about how to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Thanks to generous donations by Whole Foods at Tysons Corner and Harris Teeter in Falls Church, each student will receive a reusable cloth shopping bag.
Statesmen Teachers Get Pampered
The third annual Teacher Wellness Day kicked off at George C. Marshall High School last Monday, Jan. 26, a workday for Falls Church City Public School teachers. School administrators provided healthful morning refreshments for all faculty and staff members, and wellness activities and information booths to support the staff. Activities included a group walking activity called Speed-a-Mile, vision screening, nail art, aromatherapy, natural health, weight management, acupuncture, chiropractic, yoga, blood pressure and body fat analysis and mini-massages for neck and shoulders.
Faculty and staff members were offered the opportunity to choose from the fitness and wellness activities to relax, recharge and reconnect with their colleagues while completing grades and planning for the next academic quarter.
McLean H.S. Theatre Graces Inaugural Gala
The McLean High School Theatre Department was selected among area schools to perform at the Illinois Inaugural Gala, a black-tie reception celebrating the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Students impersonated famous Illinoisans from Ulysses S. Grant to Superman at this popular sold-out event sponsored by the Illinois State Society. This honor comes on the heels of many other accolades for the department, including six Cappies Awards nominations for last year’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” and being invited to perform in Edinburgh, Scotland at the International Fringe Festival.
This weekend, the department will be putting on 10 student-directed and written One Act Plays on Thursday, Jan. 29 and Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door. For more information, e-mail Denise Perrino at denise.perrino@fcps.edu.
Marshall H.S. MUN Team Takes Top Honors
George C. Marshall High School’s Model United Nations (MUN) team won top honors at the International Baccalaureate (IB) Mid-Atlantic Regional Consortium MUN conference. For the third consecutive year, the Marshall team won the Secretary General’s award for Best School (Large Delegation). Delegates from 19 IB schools in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia competed in the conference on international issues.
Marshall delegates represented Jordan, China, Cuba, Iran and Korea and also participated in a historical crisis committee dealing with the 1979 crisis in Iran. Students Saera Khan, Max O’Beirne, Domenic Scavuzzo and Faisal Orainan won first place best delegation gavels. Matthew Martz, Patrick Walsh, Lauren Hahm, Philip Grudier, and Simrun Soni won Outstanding Delegate awards. Sara Bojo and Ashton Garriott won the Outstanding Delegation award representing Cuba in the Spanish language Organization of American States. Apule Osika, Adina Sulemane, Hannah Goldberger, and Janani Kumar received honorable mentions; Autumn Yu, Shikshya Baral, Brian Donahue, and Olivia Baskerville received verbal commendations.
Hayfield E.S. Applies Math to Real Life Scenarios
“Measured for Life,” a performance that blends the issues faced by prospective brides with math skills, will be presented by fifth-grade students at Hayfield Elementary School on Friday, Jan. 30, at 9:30 a.m. The fictitious Valley Bride, whose wedding day is getting crazier by the minute, must deal with numerous incorrect measurements, escalating costs and worries by her father, Les B. Moore. Students will wear costumes and use props as visuals.