Celebrating the Best of 2024 in FCPS
Students across the division honored veterans and active members of the military at Veterans Day events in November. At Hayfield Secondary School (above), students arranged American flags on the school lawn.
January
Columbia Elementary School Principal Michael Astudillo plays with some of his students in the snow. Watch a reel of their snowball fight on Instagram.
February
Building a Sense of Belonging
At Hayfield Elementary School, we got to know Nina Long, a new student who started the school year a little reserved. But due to a program to have teachers connect with students to increase their sense of belonging, Nina now feels eager to learn and like part of a family.
Annandale High School Music Teacher Wins Grammy
In early February, Orchestra Director Annie Ray learned she had won the prestigious GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year Award. Annie learned she had won watching CBS Mornings’s national television show with her school community. A few days later, she was rubbing elbows with some notable musicians and celebrities at the award ceremony.
You can learn more about Ray’s extraordinary work by reading the FCPS feature, It's Never Too Late: Parent Orchestra Teaches New Skills and Brings Families Closer Together.
March
Making a Masterpiece: South Lakes Students Find Their Language in Inclusive Fine Arts Class
It’s just after 8 a.m. on a Friday at South Lakes High School, and Matt Ravenstahl’s art classroom is buzzing with creative energy. At one table, a student is tying brightly colored pieces of yarn onto a wire grid. Another student is painting small clay sculptures molded in plastic cups. Across the room, students are working in their sketchbooks, drawing anime characters and a lifelike cityscape. Set to light background music from a Bluetooth speaker, the classroom is a calming place to start the day. It’s the perfect setting for a unique and inspiring class: Inclusive Fine Arts.
In its first year, the class features a mixture of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) and neurotypical students. Ravenstahl says it stemmed from a desire to accommodate many students with intellectual disabilities in the art department. Read more about this inclusive art class.
April
Colin Powell Elementary School Teacher Named 2024 Washington Post Teacher of the Year
Laura Senturia, a fourth-grade teacher at Colin Powell Elementary School, has been named the 2024 Washington Post Teacher of the Year. This recognition is for educators who have exemplified excellence in their profession by inspiring learning, encouraging individual growth, demonstrating subject matter expertise, fostering collaboration, and leading by example. She was selected from a group of 19 finalists who teach at schools in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
Senturia has taught at Powell Elementary School since it first opened its doors in 2003 and is known for fostering a welcoming, collaborative environment inside and outside of the classroom. Read more about Senturia.
Bearded Dragon Helps Everyone Feel Welcome at Katherine Johnson Library
In many ways, the library at Katherine Johnson Middle School is the center of the school. Walking into the building, it’s directly in front of visitors, and contains doors on both ends so many people use it as a pass-through.
Many of those who were using the library as a shortcut previously are now stopping to greet the library’s newest resident — Lady Bartholemew, Destroyer of Worlds. Read more about Lady Bart.
May
A Gift for Liam: Chantilly Academy Seniors Help Student with Disabilities Return to Class
With days to go before graduation, seniors at Chantilly Academy scrambled to finish an important final project. Inside Michael Piccione’s Engineering classroom, students darted across the room, grabbing supplies and tools to make last-minute adjustments.
Minutes later, the students rolled their project across the hall to the Physical and Occupational Therapy (PT/OT) classroom. Students there spent the year collaborating with the Engineering students on the project: a mobile, adjustable, and customizable medical bed. Here, both classrooms faced their final test — getting feedback from the student who plans to use the bed when he starts at Chantilly High School in the fall. Read more about this collaborative project.
June
Lake Braddock Secondary School senior Daniel Belloni visited Kings Glen Elementary School to recreate this photo taken of him nearly nine years earlier. Watch the Instagram reel of the taking of the photo, which is our second-most-liked Instagram post since 2019.
My First Year
Over the 2023-24 school year, we followed Ms. Vivi, a third-grade teacher at Shrevewood Elementary School. Through a series of eight vlogs, Ms. Vivi shared the experience of a first-year teacher at FCPS. View Ms.Vivi’s first year.
July
Students at Herndon Elementary School participate in summer learning during a Glow in the Dark Music class. See more summer learning in this Instagram reel.
August
Heman Bekele, a sophomore at Woodson High School was named TIME Kid of the Year. The Facebook post announcing his achievement was our sixth most-liked post on Facebook this year.
The first day of school is always a positive day for students and staff on social media! See some of the highlights by clicking on these screenshots.
September
New School Year Brings Varsity Boys Volleyball, Varsity Girls Wrestling to FCPS High Schools
For West Springfield High School senior Logan Eaton, volleyball isn’t just a sport — it’s a way of life.
A new school year brought two new sports to FCPS high schools: boys volleyball and girls wrestling. Read about how boys volleyball became a varsity sport in Fairfax County.
Following a popular trend at the time, this Annandale High School Instagram reel became FCPS’ second most-shared video on Instagram since 2022.
October
Touchdown! West Springfield Football, Cheer Team Tackle Literacy
At West Springfield High School in October, Friday Night Lights took a backseat to morning sunshine and books on the 50-yard line.
Cardinal Forest Elementary School first-graders took a class field trip to their future high school’s football field. The first graders met up with West Springfield’s varsity football players and cheerleaders, ran a high-five gauntlet, picked out books of their choice, and then approached the much bigger student athletes to choose one to sit down next to them to read. Read about the event. Watch the Instagram reel about the literacy event.
November
FCPS Teacher Draws on Native American Roots Over 23 Years of Instruction
During Native American History Month, students at Wakefield Forest Elementary School were lucky to learn about the heritage of Native Americans from Tony Gray, a member of Haudenosaunee’s Bear Clan. Read more about Gray’s background and how he was inspired to become a teacher.
December
Cunningham Park Student Develops Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program
Sixth graders are helping out first graders in English and math at Cunningham Park Elementary thanks to an idea sparked by Ruth Gaffiney (pictured above). Read about how she was inspired, imagined the program, and implemented it in only a few short months.
The Girls Enter the Ring: FCPS Adds Varsity Girls Wrestling as a New Winter Sport
Girls wrestling kicked off at high schools in December. Read about the girls wrestling program at Justice High School.
