We admit it, we put our schools on the spot. While we understand there are a lot of interesting things going on at each of our schools, we asked our principals and school board members to choose one cool event, activity or lesson that happened in November and to pick one thing in December they wanted the community to know about. Here is what they said:
Dave Goldfarb, Fairfax High School:
November: Our school was selected as one of 20 schools nationwide to participate in a U.S. Department of Education study of promising programs to support English language learners. Visitors came to our school to observe instruction in our classrooms serving English language learners as well as hold structured interviews and focus group conversations with teachers, administrators, parents and parent liaisons.
December: Fairfax High School is proud to host the very prestigious Northern Region Wrestling Classic for twenty-three straight years on December 10-11. The "Classic" is a thirty-two team tournament that exposes student athletes to great competition from all over the state!
Scott Poole, Lanier Middle School:
November: On November 8th, a group of Lanier students participated in a live downlink at the U.S. Department of Education with Commander Mike Fossum on the International Space Station (ISS). Students were able to directly ask questions about life and science on the ISS. The event celebrated International Education Week and was broadcast live on NASA TV.
December: We are looking forward to a full schedule of holiday concerts that feature our orchestra, band and choral programs. In particular, we invited current 6th graders from our feeder elementary schools to a special Winter Invitational Concert on December 16th at our school. Our performing arts groups also took place in the Fairfax City Festival of Lights on December 3rd at Old Town Hall.
Kathy Mullenix, Daniels Run Elementary
November: Daniels Run received some wonderful news in November! Our Daniels Run Singers were chosen to perform in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in the spring. We are so proud of our students and look forward to watching them shine in the parade.
December: Our physical education teachers organize our annual Jingle Bell Walk in December. Our students look forward to this every year! The students get to start the morning with a brisk walk and expend some excitement for the holidays. Parents are welcome to join us in the cafeteria to get the best view and join in the fun. December 22 at 9:30 am.
Jesse Kraft, Providence Elementary
November: In November, PES celebrated Family Heritage Night and it was better than ever. As I told the audience for the cultural talent share, this is one of the best things we do as a school. PES has 940 students representing 49 countries of birth. Many different languages are spoken in our homes, yet at school our kids are close friends with children who look nothing like them. And the best part is it doesn't matter to them. In fact, they notice more similarities than differences. It often takes events like Family Heritage Night to highlight the special aspects of each other's cultures. And this only makes us tighter as a community. It was a great night of families trusting each other, opening up to each other, feeding each other and celebrating.
December:
I'm looking forward to our first-ever "Think Share!"on December 21. This is an event where students in grades 3-6 share their specific mental model (or, the way their unique brain makes sense) of a standard of learning they've learned about. It's an attempt to actually see each other's thinking and try to learn actually thinking strategies from each other.
Janice Miller, School Board Chairman
November: I meet with a fourth and sixth grader once a week through the elementary mentoring program and love to celebrate their successes and help them take advantage of all our schools have to offer. It's a great way to get on campus each week and such a privilege to observe the wonderful teachers, staff and students in action.
December: I look forward to the many special activities with our students as the 'stars'. Students in choral groups, band and orchestra offer holiday concerts. FHS will perform in Macbeth. Our student athletes will play basketball, wrestle, cheer and compete in swim and dive. School - K-12 - is not just about athletics, but our schools offer a wide variety of extra- and co-curricular activities. Of course, community members are invited to visit our schools!
Mitch Sutterfield, School Board Member One 'cool' thing I've learned is one of my favorite teachers, auto shop teacher Les Steger won certification from the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). The NATEF runs an accreditation process under the aegis of the American Society of Engineers. It took Les three years of courses and upgrades to get this diploma, which is essentially a Master Teacher certificate in another discipline. Under Les, FHS is the eighth school out of 17 high schools with auto-tech programs in the county, so he's a top-tier guy! | 
