Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Arlington students hit the books on Tuesday morning.
Arlington Public Schools' 22,000 students headed off Tuesday morning for their first day back to school. Faculty, teachers and student safety patrol officers helped guide students and traffic outside Key Elementary School. Arlington School Superintendant Pat Murphy welcomed back students in a video message. To see more back-to-school articles, including advice for parents, read our previous coverage. View our gallery of students going back to school at Oakridge Elementary on Arlington Patch.
Former Spanish teacher Lori Wiggins one of five new principals in Arlington Public Schools
Lori Wiggins spent the last 19 years building a career in education that led her to become the new principal at Gunston Middle School. And she spent the latter half of summer getting ready for Tuesday — the first day of the 2012-13 school year for students coming back from summer break. Wiggins made flashcards to help her memorize the school's faculty; she pored over the school's 2011-12 yearbooks to help familiarize herself with the current batch of seventh- and eighth-graders. An ice cream social last week helped her reinforce those students' names and commit some of the school's sixth-graders to memory — she makes a point of looking the student in eye, shaking their hand and repeating their name out loud. Still, learning everyone is …
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Gunston Middle School
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Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Arlington County Board chairwoman: Up to 1,500 additional students will be walking, riding a bike or riding in a car to school this year.
With more students expected to be walking or riding a bike to school, Arlington County has announced several new awareness and safety measures. Up to 1,500 additional students will be walking, riding a bike or riding in a car to school, according to a statement by County Board Chairwoman Mary Hynes. The county has added extra crossing guards at intersections and police will be monitoring driving behavior near schools, Hynes stated. Beginning today, police officers, sheriff's deputies, crossing guards and public service aides will be directing traffic in and around school zones across the county, according to a county news release. Nearly all Arlington Public School students return to classes today. The extra police coverage will be at 18 …
Arlington Public Schools gave away about 1,700 laptops last year to students in need of one.
Several efforts are under way to help bridge the digital divide in Arlington. Some, like the Comcast Internet Essentials program, are tied to a larger, industrywide effort to increase the number of low-income households — particularly those with school-age children — with broadband Internet access. Others, like Arlington Public Schools' Laptop Loaner program, are the result of homegrown efforts. In November 2011, Comcast and other major telecommunications companies announced they would begin offering low-cost high-speed access through a partnership with the Federal Communications Commission, according to multiple news reports. The $4 billion program is operated by the nonprofit Connect 2 Compete and overseen by the FCC, according to the …
Even with all the new technology, some things never change.
Most Arlington County students return to school today and for many parents, myself included, this means rebooting your schedule and preparing for the many email alerts and texts coming from your child, his or her teachers, the school, the county, the PTA, coaches and activity sponsors. The world is so wired these days and schools are trying to keep up. But for all the new technology, parents still have some of the same old school problems. Parental Involvement No matter whether we text or Skype to get the word out, there always seem to be a handful of parents doing most of the work. My son attended band camp this summer. One day when I was dropping him off for camp, a concerned mother ran to my car with a large green poster board. With my…
Monday, September 3, 2012
School start times for Arlington students.
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Monday, September 3, 2012
Arlington Public Schools students are heading back to class on Tuesday. Start times vary: Elementary schools 8 a.m. to 2:41 p.m.: Abingdon, Campbell, Carlin Springs and Claremont 8:25 a.m. to 3:06 p.m.: Arlington Traditional, Barrett, Long Branch and Randolph 9 a.m. to 3:41 p.m.: Arlington Science Focus, Ashlawn, Barcroft, Drew, Glebe, Henry, Hoffman-Boston, Jamestown, Key, McKinley, Nottingham, Oakridge, Taylor and Tuckahoe Middle schools (all) 7:50 a.m. to 2:24 p.m. High schools (all) 8:19 a.m. to 3:01 p.m. H-B Woodlawn Secondary 9:24 a.m. to 4:06 p.m. Stratford Program 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. Click here for the complete 2012-13 school year calendar.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
How stay-at-home parents fight the "empty house" rut when kids return to school.
Moms everywhere jump for joy when the stores stock up on backpacks and sharpened pencils because it means the school year is approaching and they will soon have eight hours for themselves. However, once the morning school drop-off is done or the bus pulls away, sometimes returning to an empty house is daunting. After a long summer of being at the kids' beck and call, a stay at home parents may feel a loss for what to do with all the free time, and find the silence in the usually loud house rather eerie. Not only is the stay-at-home parent relieved of child care duties for the majority of the day, but instead of being at the center of their children's world ("Mom, I'm Hungry!", "Mom, I need help!", "Mom, can we go to the pool?"), she …
Saturday, September 1, 2012
How to ease the transition back to school.
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Saturday, September 1, 2012
The Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families is offering advice for parents as children go back to school. Most Arlington County Public School students start classes on Tuesday. It all starts with a healthy breakfast, said Mary Ann Moran, Assets Liaison and founding member of APCYF. “Although you can’t make kids eat or sleep, you can create an environment and set boundaries that encourage getting enough sleep and healthy eating,” said Moran. Remember: According to a survey of 1,651 students in Arlington, only 24 percent of 8th to 10th graders report having parents involved in school. One way to participate is to have real conversations about school. “Do you have homework?’’ is not a conversation starter. Instead, parents …
Thursday, August 2, 2012
This school is the only public school in Arlington County that follows a modified school year calendar.
It may feel like summer outside, but it's back to school time for Barcroft Elementary. The elementary school, located on South Wakefield Street, follows a modified school year calendar, which means students have a shorter summer break, a two-week break in October and and a three-week break spanning the end of March and the beginning of April. Barcroft Elementary is the only public school in Arlington to follow the modified schedule. Linda Erdos, assistant superintendent for school and community relations, said the elementary school has been using this modified calendar for at least seven years. According to a school profile on the Arlington Public Schools website, "This calendar balances the school year and provides continuous learning …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
The school system is nearly finished upgrading all elementary school kitchens across the county.
An oven would seem to be an essential appliance in any kitchen — especially an industrial-sized one — but that's not always been in the case in elementary schools throughout Arlington County. For years, breakfasts and lunches for elementary school students in Arlington have been prepared in a central kitchen and delivered to the schools in boxes. It left little room for hot meals, fresh produce or variety. But that system is nearly a thing of the past. Amy Maclosky, director of food services for Arlington Public Schools, said most of the county's 22 elementary schools have undergone complete kitchen overhauls. Ovens have been added, serving lines have been set up and other equipment to warm food has been installed. The response from …
KSumm
10:13 am on Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Please send more to North 13th and Nelson! Over a dozen kids waiting on a tiny curb...and no crosswalks! My son nearly got struck by a car. more ›