Falls Church School News & Notes

Oak Street Odyssey of the Mind Needs Help

A team of Oak Street Elementary 3rd and 4th graders has advanced to the World Finals of Odyssey of the Mind, an academic problem-solving and creativity competition, for the first time in almost twenty years. They will represent FCCPS in East Lansing, Michigan, at Michigan State University from May 24-27, 2023. Please help their team offset the $3000 competition registration cost and get them to Worlds with their GoFundMe page: www. gofundme.com/f/oak-street-teamto-odyssey-of-the-mind-worlds.

Meridian Childhood Cancer Fundraiser

Susan Rotherham, a junior at Meridian, is hosting the “Ice Skate Against Childhood Cancer” fundraiser event on Friday, May 19. Thanks to the generous FCCPS community, the event was a huge success last year, raising over $2,500 to support families in their fights against pediatric cancer. The turnout from Meridian students and families was a big part of the success.

MHS IB Music Featured on Vermont Radio

Four Meridian IB Music composers’ electronic music were featured on Vermont Radio, on Thursday, May 9th, from 5:00 to 5:30 pm in a radio broadcast called Big Heavy World. IB music students created electronic music pieces using digital audio workstation software and sound design as part of their curriculum.

School Board Chairs to Host Office Hours

FCCPS School Board Chair

Laura Downs and Vice-Chair Tate Gould will hold “office hours” at Harvey’s (513 W Broad St) on Wednesday, May 24 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Parents, students, teachers, staff, and community members may drop by (no registration required) to ask questions and offer feedback in a casual environment. As this will not be a private setting, community members who prefer to have a private exchange with the School Board can locate members’ email addresses at: https://www.fccps.org/ page/school-board.

Dozens Recognized at Celebration of Excellence

Monday afternoon, after a reception with elegant food provided by FCCPS Food Services, the presentations began at the Learning Stairs at Meridian HS. Recognitions started with a large group of teachers and staff who had received a wide variety of awards and honors this year. The FCEF recognitions for nominees and the awards for the winners followed with Dee Dee Etheridge and Michael Gilroy honored as Support Staff of the Year; Technology specialist Steve Knight recognized as Professional Specialist of the Year, and the event culminated with the FCEF Teacher of the Year award to Mt Daniel’s first-grade teacher, Julia Noble. A friendly crowd of peers, family, nominators, and friends were on hand to share in the celebrations.

administration has made his work possible, and given life to the bare walls of the newly built school.

“Everyone always wanted art installations in the school,” Robarge said.

While Robarge was creating Through the Looking Glass, two English teachers alerted him to a John Updike poem that uses bird murmuration imagery to convey connection with nature, with the concluding line of the poem referencing a scarf.

“Scarf-like flow was one of my initial inspirations for the installation so I thought it was perfect,” he says. “I wanted this to be a cross curricular project.” Hardy says Robarge’s return has been “wonderful for our school community.”

“Every single piece of feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said.

IB Leaders Visit Belvedere

Belvedere Elementary School received a visit from top leaders of the International Baccalaureate program last week. Members of the IB Board, including Director General of the IB, were in town to celebrate the opening of its new North American headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Belvedere has participated in the Primary Years Program (PYP) for eleven years. Principal Cecilia Vanderhye said, “the visit allowed school staff to provide a window into an American, Title I PYP public [school].”

The IB is an international aca- demic program in over 5,600 schools across 159 countries that promotes inquiry based learning to create a better, more peaceful world.

Coffee Cart at MHS Teaches Life Skills

The Meridian Education for Employment class offers a mobile Coffee Cart to staff and students. This activity is to help their investigation into budgeting and workrelated experiences. On Mondays or Tuesdays, they deliver coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to classrooms that have pre-ordered a beverage. They charge $1.50 for the drinks, and Rare Bird donates coffee.