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DS DAR SATURDAY,OFEBRUARY 21 • 10:30AM - 12:30PM D ©G
FREE REGISTRATION*
ASHBURN^ • 45091 Research Place • 703-382-2819 LEESBURG • 601 Tavistock Drive SE • 703-334-0383
^ GoddardSchool.com *Offer valid for new Goddard families at the above location only. Some program restrictions apply. Not valid with any other offer. The Goddard Schools are operated by independent franchisees under a license agreement with Goddard Systems, Inc. Programs and ages may vary. Goddard Systems, Inc. program is AdvancED accredited. © Goddard Systems, Inc. 2015
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PINT-SIZED SCIENTISTS CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS, TURN CLASSROOM INTO LAB Leesburg-Area Preschoolers Explore the Scientific Method On Saturday, February 21, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM, preschoolers at The Goddard Schools located in Leesburg & Ashburn, Virginia will be conducting experiments at the School’s Science Fair. The 2 to 3 years old children will be exploring Technology and Chemistry and the 4 to 5 years old children will be exploring States of Matter (Solids and Liquids) and Engineering, Measurements and Wind.
“Our Science Fair supports the children in developing a strong foundation and passion for STEAM learning while developing their ‘4Cs,’” says Akhil Govil, on-site owner of The Goddard School located in Leesburg. “The ‘4Cs,’ collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking, are necessary skills no matter what career path the children choose later on in life.” “We enjoy opening our doors to the families of Ashburn & Leesburg,” says Akhil Govil. “The Science Fair is an excellent way for children and parents alike to experience first-hand a bit of our play-based learning at The Goddard School.” The Goddard Schools located at 601 Tavistock Dr. SE, Leesburg, VA and 45091 Research Place, Ashburn, VA have earned numerous accolades for their nationally-accredited curriculum & top faculty and accommodate children ages six weeks to 10 yrs. old. According to Madhu Govil, on-site owner of the Goddard School is Ashburn, “Our premier preschools include the following skills in our daily activities, lessons and learning environments: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation, Executive Function, Communication and Collaboration and Technology.” She further stated, “Talented teachers collaborate with parents to nurture children into respectful, confident and joyful learners.” The School has been selected “Best Preschool” by Northern Virginia magazine two times in a row and recipient of “2014 Best of Ashburn” Preschool Award. On-site owners, Akhil & Madhu Govil, along with their top-performing management team and faculty, which includes teachers trained and experienced in early childhood development, welcome children into this nurturing environment where the curriculum encourages learning for lifetime. The Goddard School’s AdvancED and Middle States-accredited curriculum and F.L.EX.® Learning Program, developed with early childhood education experts, provides the best childhood preparation for social and academic success. To learn more about the premier preschools, families are encouraged to please contact: Leesburg School at 703-443-6766 and Ashburn School at 703-724-0601 “Visiting our School is a great way to see our programs in action, introduce you to our teachers and answer your questions” said Akhil Govil.
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The Science Fair piques the children’s natural curiosity in STEAM learning (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) by allowing them to explore topics that they are interested in. It also teaches the children to collaborate, communicate, be creative and think critically, which are 21st century skills.
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school organization of which she is a member, and will represent Heritage as a student representative on the Loudoun County School Board ets ahead of time at http://brms.ticketleap.com/ in April. bb/. She received her Leadership Award, along with 10 other recipients from throughout Virginia, at a ceremony Feb. 12 held in a courtroom HERITAGE’S HOUNDOH of the Supreme Court of Virginia in Richmond. WINS LEADERSHIP AWARD The Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Leadership Award Program was established in 1994 as part of Ama Youna “Golda” Houndoh, a senior the late U.S. senator’s conviction that a strong at Heritage High School, has been awarded the system of public education was essential to Harry F. Byrd Jr. Leadership Award. democratic government and that cultivating A recognized leader at Heritage, Houn- leadership among young citizens advances both doh takes on rigorous classes, stars in drama education and government. productions, is an active member of clubs and Each award winner—one from each of honors societies, holds a job and volunteers at Virginia’s 11 congressional districts—receives the local hospital and retirement home. $10,000. n Houndoh has held an office in every
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cation and this is the perfect opportunity to do that,” he added. “But were not going to enter this with a 50/50 chance of failure because that only hurts the students.” Parents and teachers have worked for two years on an application to convert Hillsboro Elementary, the county’s smallest public school, into a charter school, which would operate as a public offering instructional flexibility for students who apply to attend. Their efforts were set into motion in 2013 after School Board members threatened to close the school, along with three other small western Loudoun schools, if efforts were not made to boost enrollment. While drafting a charter application, parents and teachers spread the word of their vision for a new school to families throughout Loudoun, and urged them to transfer to Hillsboro Elementary to guarantee that they would get a seat when it’s converted to a charter school. Their campaign resulted in an increase in enrollment for the first time in five years at that school, from 63 students to 81. “We’re worried we may lose that momentum if we wait a year,” Rebecca Fuller, a parent leading the charter effort, told School Board members at a recent Charter Committee meeting. “We have survey responses streaming in to show community support… Fundraisers are already taking place. We’re ready.” Fuller said organizers are taking steps to avoid repeating the same mistakes made at the Middleburg charter school. They want a
principal who is familiar with Virginia requirements, but is also excited about out-of-the-box, project-based learning. An ideal candidate would be someone who has led a Loudoun public school, Fuller added. “We plan on doing some things similar to how Middleburg has done it, but in some areas we’re benefiting from the lessons learned there, and we’re grateful to them showing us where some of the pitfalls are.” Members of the Charter Committee— School Board Vice Chairwoman Jill Turgeon (Blue Ridge), Brenda Sheridan (Sterling) and Morse—said they are concerned teachers would not have an opportunity to either opt out of the charter school or apply to teach at the school, if it were approved to open this fall, because the deadline for teachers to request transfers is Feb. 20. “My primary objective is that they are successful, and we want to give them the tools that they need to be as successful as they can,” Turgeon said. Morse assured the applicants that he would not recommend that Hillsboro Elementary be on any list of possible school closures during this budget cycle, but Sheridan said she could not make that same assurance. After taking input from school system administrators and School Board members, the charter applicants will submit a revised version of their application next week. The Charter Committee is slated to make a final recommendation on the application Monday, and the full board will likely vote on the proposal sometime in March. n
Experience the Best Childhood Preparation for Social and Academic Success.
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“In the midst of all those emotional emails, we found some real gems of ideas, and we have tried to incorporate them into some of our thinking,” Loudoun schools’ Chief of Staff Michael Richards said. “We’re going to turn around and fix this for the future.” Richards, who’s working with Assistant Superintendent of Support Services Kevin Lewis to improve snow-day procedures, wants to focus on what he called staggered decision making. In the case of the Jan. 6 snowstorm, he said the school system should have called for a two-hour delay when the weather forecast showed that the conditions might or might not improve. “That would have given us time to assess the situation,” he said. “And we’d let families know, through a phone call and our website, to be aware that we may close schools, or we may keep them open.” He also said school officials, when faced with a similar situation, can change their decision and call school off when weather conditions worsen, even after students and teachers have started to arrive at school. “I believe you can reverse a decision like this and still account for all those kids who are
already on our buses or in our buildings and get them home safely,” Richards said. “We need to err on the side of safety.” School leaders also want to increase communication ahead of nasty weather fronts to provide families updates earlier and more often. For example, a post on the Loudoun County Public Schools website for a mass phone call to families in the evening can inform them that administrators are monitoring the weather and will update them as soon as they’ve reached a decision on school the following day. That means families may be hearing more from Wayde Byard, the school system’s Public Information Officer who has become a local celebrity as the recorded voice on those mass calls. “Dr. Williams wants LCPS to have a culture of continual improvement,” Richards said of Superintendent Eric Williams, who started in July. “When a mistake is made—and one was in that case—we take a very close look at that and use systems thinking to put together all of the moving parts and figure out how we can make things better next time.” As of Tuesday, Loudoun’s public schools have logged six snow days so far this school year. Last year, bad weather closed schools 14 days. n
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