
Fairfax County: High School Senior Addresses School Board on LGBT Issues
Board conducting community review of Family Life Education curriculum recommendations.
Bennett Shoop remembers first being bullied in second grade. He liked to dress all in black, wear weird shirts, be alternative in his outward expression.
Fairfax County: Kaine Requests Funding for School Drinking Water Testing
FCPS developing testing plan; last test was 2004.
In response to the lead contamination of drinking water of Flint, Michigan, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine joined 24 other senators asking Congress for funding to have school drinking water tested for lead and other toxins.

Fairfax County: 15th Day Prom held for students with disabilities
Students’ bodies bounced, swayed and spun on the dance floor while the Black-Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” blared from towering speakers. In another room, glamorous girls and boutonniered boys waited in line to pose for a professional photographer. It was a prom.

Fairfax County School Board members respond to Obama transgender bathroom guidance
When a student in Fairfax County Public Schools identifies as transgender and they bring it to the attention of their school staff, the school brings in the student’s parents and together they work out a tailored bathroom plan: where to use single-stall facilities on campus that will make the student feel most comfortable.

Fairfax County: Hispanic Leadership Alliance awards scholarships to 14 seniors
West Springfield High School senior Fernanda Justiniano-Rivero fought back tears as she thanked her mother for everything. “She worked three jobs, barely raised me, would come home and be so tired,” Justiniano-Rivero said. “But she still would bring me gifts, ask me if I did my homework. I used to pretend we would travel the world and it be just us, I would live in a fairy tale.”

Burke and Springfield: Girls Explore STEM Careers
Girls Scouts present innovative projects at NOVA.
Girls Scouts ventured beyond camping and cookie sales Saturday, May 7, at the Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, where they explored fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Burke: Funeral Held for Lake Braddock Teenager
A funeral service for 16-year-old Brenda Soto of Burke was held Friday April 29 at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home. Soto was a student at Lake Braddock Secondary School, where she was found unresponsive in a bathroom just before 6 p.m. on April 20. The Office of the Medical Examiner hasn’t released the cause and manner of her death.

Fairfax County 2017-2018 School Year to Begin Before Labor Day
Fairfax County Public Schools delaying their start date until after Labor Day will be a thing of the past. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the School Board decided classes will begin one week before Labor Day, rather than immediately following it, as has been the tradition.
Burke and Springfield: Robotic Team Excels, Needs Support
The West Springfield High School/Lake Braddock Secondary School FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team (RTR Robotics Team 2421) won the first regional event of the 2016 FRC season March 4-6 at Battlefield High School in Haymarket, Va

Burke and Springfield: Local Students Do Well at National Japan Bowl
Thomas Jefferson High School and Lake Braddock Secondary Take Home Awards.
Language students put their knowledge to the test at this year’s 24th annual National Japan Bowl Competition. S
Law Enforcement Classes for Teens
The Fairfax County Police Department will host two week-long programs this summer for high school students.
Summer STEM Camps at Three Area Schools
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is partnering with SySTEMic Solutions, Northern Virginia Community College's regional K-16 STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) outreach initiative, to host STEM camps at three schools this summer.

Burke: White Oaks Elementary Fourth-Graders Head Odyssey of the Mind Finals
Minah Sisco, Emma Hrabak, Katelyn Sullivan, Virginia Fife, Kasey Petrie, and Reira Erickson, fourth-graders at White Oaks Elementary in Burke, are headed to the World Finals for Odyssey of the Mind in Ames, Iowa on May 25.

Burke: Robinson Drama Presents ‘Into the Woods’
Rambunctious cast breaks a witch’s spell in dark musical.
At first glance, it seems “Be careful what you wish for” is a lesson taught by local high school students as they take their audience “Into the Woods” for two consecutive weekends May 6-14 at the Russell Theater in Robinson Secondary School.