Monday, May 20, 2013
Ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday behind current school building.
Alexandria is breaking ground on its new Jefferson-Houston School at 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 21 at 1501 Cameron Street and the public is invited to attend the event. City Council approved a $44-million proposal to rebuild Jefferson-Houston School in December 2012. Alexandria City Public Schools cited rising maintenance costs, student population growth and a need for modern learning facilities as reasons to rebuild the struggling school, which serves pre-K through 8th grade and has been marked as one of six chronically failing schools in Virginia. Governor Bob McDonnell plans to create a body in July that would have the ability to intervene in the state’s lowest performing schools. Neighborhoods including Old Town, Del Ray and the new Potomac …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Iesha Kenney, a 15-year-old at Minnie Howard, earned victory in international boxing tournament in Finland on May 4.
Minnie Howard student Iesha Kenney was recognized at City Hall Tuesday night for her victory in an international boxing tournament earlier this month in Finland with the USA Junior World Team. Kenney, who is a straight-A student at Minnie Howard and also plays violin in the orchestra, won a unanimous decision over Elizabeth Dillion of England on May 4 in Pirkka, Finland, while representing the United States. “I was in Finland for three days,” the 15-year-old said. “The competition was two days. Prior to that, I was in training camp [in Colorado Spring, Colo.] for a few weeks. ... In the tournament, I was in one bout and won 5-0.” Kenney, who boxes in the 132-pound weight class, got involved at the boxing program at Charles Houston …
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Public art will be displayed outside the Russell Road elementary school through May 15.
Maury Elementary School fifth-graders painted more than 50 panels now on display along Russell Road and W. Masonic View Avenue inspired by the quilts of the Underground Railroad. The public art display is timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The work honors the courage of slaves who risked their lives to escape to freedom. Students studied the Underground Railroad quilt codes in Bettye Stroud’s “The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom.” Students learned the meaning of different patterns—which offered warnings and hints along the way—before selecting a pattern that was meaningful to them. The paintings will hang through May 15. The paint used was purchased through a grant from the Maury PTA.
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-77.06452
Matthew Maury Elementary School
600 Russell Rd, Alexandria, VA
/articles/maury-fifth-graders-honor-underground-railroad
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Alexandria City Public Schools offers a full-day program to four year olds who have not had a formal preschool experience.
Alexandria City Public Schools offers a pre-kindergarten, full-day program to four year olds who have not yet been in formal preschool setting. Children who are four years old by Sept. 30, 2013, and whose families are income eligible through the Campagna Center may participate in the program. Certified teachers with degrees in early childhood education provide appropriate instruction, according to the ACPS daily digest. The program takes place from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Sept. 5, 2013 through June 18, 2014 at Jefferson-Houston School and John Adams, Patrick Henry and William Ramsay elementary schools. Register through the Campagna Center, 418 S. Washington St. Call Leslie, 703-549-0111 x107 to schedule an appointment. …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Actor Mark Wahlberg talks to T.C. Williams students about the importance of hard work and finding a passion in life.
Actor Mark Wahlberg visited T.C. Williams High School on Wednesday morning for an assembly presented by Get Schooled, a nonprofit that aims to engage high school students in an effort to improve graduation rates and empower more students to achieve in college. Slouched in a chair wearing a Los Angeles Clippers T-shirt and blue jeans, Wahlberg, whose new film “Pain and Gain” hits theaters on Friday, talked to students about how he turned his life around, the importance of working hard in school and pursuing passions. “I had to work really hard to get where I’m at,” Wahlberg said. “And I don’t mind working really hard to try and maintain it. It’s through hard work that I’ve been able to achieve this kind of success.” A high school dropout, …
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-77.085189
T.C. Williams High School
3330 King St, Alexandria, VA
/articles/photo-gallery-mark-wahlberg-visits-t-c-williams-high-school
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Monday, April 22, 2013
The event is part of a cultural exchange program with Yew Chung International School.
Alexandria City Public Schools is hosting 32 7th grade students from across China. The students are visiting from three of the Yew Chung International School campuses as part of a 10-day visit in the Washington, DC area. On Monday, the students will visit Francis Hammond Middle School and George Washington Middle School. During the visit, ACPS and YCIS students will take part in a language exchange, create art and eat lunch together. Interested in signing up for the Old Town Alexandria Patch daily email newsletter? Find out more here. Middle school students who are currently studying Mandarin Chinese will have the opportunity to test their language skills. Alexandria nonprofit Get Out and Give Back arranged the event through a partnership …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
In annual Washington Post Challenge Index that ranks difficulty of high schools locally and nationally, Alexandria's high school is in the top half.
T.C. Williams High School is ranked 74th among 176 Washington-area high schools on an annual "Challenge Index," according to Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews. Alexandria's public high school ranked higher in Virginia than it did among regional counterparts: T.C. Williams was ranked 44th when compared to 100 other high schools in Virginia. On the national list, T.C. Williams was ranked 634 out of 1,925 ranked high schools. To see the full list, click here. Since 1998, Mathews has ranked Washington-area public high schools using the Challenge Index, his measure of how effectively a school prepares its students for college. The formula: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level…
Friday, April 12, 2013
Tennis teams currently can't practice at the high school.
Alexandria City Public Schools has plans to build six tennis courts on the campus of T.C. Williams High School, with construction expected to begin in spring 2014. Monica Szczepaniec with Alexandria City Public Schools’ educational facilities office told members of the Seminary Hill Association on Thursday that athletic department officials requested the courts. “Currently students are being bused to other jurisdictions around Virginia to practice and play competitively,” Szczepaniec said. “This cuts into their study time.” A community meeting with students and school neighbors was held in October 2012 at T.C. Williams. The school district analyzed building courts either in the northwest corner of the school property, adjacent to King …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
State lawmakers rejected amendments requested by Virginia's governor.
The General Assembly has rejected Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s changes to an education bill affecting Alexandria's Jefferson-Houston School. “This leaves him with the option of signing a very problematic bill and hoping the General Assembly will fix it next year,” said Del. Rob Krupicka (D-45th). He hopes the governor will veto the bill. “I’d like to see the governor veto this bill and put in a place a commission to develop a proposal for the next General Assembly session for the best way to help these schools,” Krupicka said. He highlighted that the General Assembly convening in January will “have one more crack at this before any takeover can happen,” he said. McDonnell signed legislation creating the Opportunity Educational Institution…
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Traditional schools will start Sept. 3 while modified calendar schools will start Aug. 1.
Alexandria City Public Schools has released its calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. For traditional calendar schools, the year begins Tuesday, Sept. 3 – the day after the Labor Day holiday. The kindergarten prep program for rising kindergartners will be held Aug. 12-16. The school year is slated for students to attend 183 days, with the last day June 20, a half-day. Modified calendar schools – Mount Vernon Community School and Samuel Tucker Elementary – begin their school year Aug. 1 and end June 20. See the calendars (PDFs) attached to this article for the full schedule, including teacher work days and student breaks. For the quickest updates, Like Old Town Alexandria Patch on Facebook and Follow @alexandriapatch on Twitter.
RJ
1:01 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Sounds like standard end of year accounting....This isn't a surprised and explained in the memo. "This net increase includes $9.39 million from recognizing the full fund balance carried forward from the FY 2012 designated items as shown on Attachment 1. The remaining revenue changes amount to a net increase of $0.97 million compared to FY 2013 Final Budget. This is a result of projected year-end … more ›