Be taken on a ride to Neverland Thursday through Saturday as Herndon High presents Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, a Fantasy in Five Acts.
Shows are Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10. Tickets are available in advance online at Herndon Drama or at the door. Herndon High is located at 700 Bennet St.
This version of the childhood favorite by J.M. Barrie, was adapted by John Caird and Trevor Nunn.
It tells the classic tale of Peter Pan (played by Nathan Burns), Wendy (Sarah Overton), and her brothers Michael (Mhairi Cameron) and John (Raleigh Hampson), on their quest to Neverland as they tangle with pirates, lost boys, mermaids, braves, and Captain Hook (Moritz Barth).
The Darling children finally return home to become adults, but Peter Pan returns for more playmates and stories.
This production will be enhanced with Flying By Foy technology, which enables the actors to fly above the stage.
Herndon High’s “Peter Pan”/Credit: Alex Burns vis HHS Drama Facebook
Three athletes from South Lakes High School and four from Herndon High signed national letters of intent this week to play Division I sports in college.
The National Letter of Intent early signing period opened on Wednesday.
South Lakes High School
Princess Aghayere, women’s basketball — University of Pennsylvania. The 6-foot-1 Aghayere led the Seahawks in rebounding, including grabbing 22 in a game against Madison,, in 2013-14.
Delaney Wickman, track and field — Northeastern University. Wickman was a state meet participant last spring, taking third with the girls 4×400 relay and fifth in both the 200 meters and 400 meters.
Brandon Kamga, men’s basketball — Northeastern University. Kamga is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who scored in double figures in every SLHS game last season.
Herndon High School
Ashley Schnarrs, softball — George Washington University. Schnarrs plays with HHS teammate Martire on the Vienna Stars travel team.
Melanie Martire — softball — St. Francis (Pa.). Martire plays catcher and third base.
Ryan McLaughlin, men’s lacrosse — High Point University. McLaughlin also passed for 14 touchdowns as quarterback of the Herndon football team this season.
Taylor Stone, field hockey — University of Louisville. Stone had 23 regular-season goals and 20 assists to lead the Hornets to an 18-2 regular-season record this fall.
Photo: SLHS basketball player Brandon Kamga signed this week to play basketball at Northeastern University next season/Credit: Seahawk Sports
Marching bands, floats and homecoming courts will flood the streets of Reston and Herndon this weekend. South Lakes High School and Herndon High School are both celebrating their annual homecoming weekends.
The festivities will kick off in Reston at 5 p.m. Friday, when a parade will begin near the Hunters Woods Plaza Safeway. The procession will move north on Colts Neck Road and head east on South Lakes Drive to South Lakes High.
The Seahawks will play Thomas Jefferson High School starting at 7:30 p.m. Students will attend the homecoming dance in the school gym Saturday night.
Herndon High School’s carnival-themed parade is set to kick off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in downtown Herndon. Participants will begin to march on Sterling Road, head east onto Elden Street, turn left onto Lynn Street and end on Center Street.
“Neighbors, families and friends are invited to line Elden Street and cheer on our home team and the whole community,” the town website reads.
Floats will be judged based on “creativity and theme interpretation,” the site says.
The Hornets will play the Edison Eagles at 1:30 p.m., and then students will attend a dance that night.
Reston Association’s A Healthy Place — Reston Association ranks No. 3 on the 2014 Washington Business Journal’s “Healthiest Employers” list. RA scored high marks for its wellness initiatives and available information for employees. [Reston Association]
Help The Homeless Walk Oct. 2 — Cornerstones’ Reston Town Center Help the Homeless Walk returns next week. The event is a lunchtime walk on a Thursday from Mayflowers at RTC to the Embry Walker Community Shelter and back. [Cornerstones]W
Hornets Pummel Seahawks — Senior quarterback Ryan McLaughlin passed for three touchdowns and ran in another one as Herndon defeated South Lakes 49-0 in football’s annual Baron Cameron Bowl. The Hornets improve to 2-1. South Lakes falls to 0-4.
Reston Planner Anthony P. DeVito Dies — Anthony P. DeVito, 89, who had a central role in the planning and design of Reston in the 1960s, died Aug. 30 at his home in Washington. He had Parkinson’s disease, said his wife, Mary Ann Hancock. DeVito was born in Brooklyn and began his career as an architect and planner in New York and New Jersey. He worked on the development of Reston from 1963 to 1965. He later participated in the planning for Columbia, Md. and worked as a Department of Housing and Urban Development Official. [Washington Post]
Jaguars on display Sunday at Celebrating Jaguars – 50th Golden Anniversary Jaguar Club Car Show/Credit: Reston Town Center
From Holly Weatherwax of the Herndon High All Night Grad Party Committee:
The Herndon High School All Night Grad Party Committee would like to extend a special thanks to all of those businesses and organizations in the Herndon/Reston community who helped us make this June 23 event such a success for the graduates of the Class of 2014.
The party was a huge success! Everyone one had fun and every attendee went home with a prize.
We encourage all of you to support the businesses and organizations in our community who support our students and our families. Working together, we can continue to provide exceptional opportunities in our community for individuals and businesses!
Thank you once again; we could not have thrown this once-in-a-lifetime party for our 2014 graduates without your support.
Click though to see the companies who donated. Read More
Mural painting. Tasting foods of the world. Basketball (outdoors). Dance off. Field Trip to Lincoln Summer Cottage. College essay workshop. Kickball.
These are a few of the more than 45 choices South Lakes High School underclassmen will have when they attend school June 23 and 24.
The partial days, along with June 25, were tacked on to the school year because Fairfax County Public Schools used 11 snow days in 2013-14. While several snow days are built into the school calendar, once the allotted days are used, the schools must make up the days.
The FCPS school board is considering eliminating early release Mondays for elementary school students as a longterm solution to the “snow days problem.” Rather than requiring students to attend 180 days, the system could opt, under state law, to have children in school 990 hours. The new system would have greater flexibility on snow days.
If the school board votes the hourly calendar into effect, it could change as early as next year.
That does not help 2013-14, though, where administrators must fill up the extra days even after teacher grade books have been completed.
SLHS Principal Kim Retzer says the administration is “excited that so many staff volunteered to offer our students a variety of learning experiences on June 23 and 24.
“We know many families have already made plans, so we are expecting a smaller number of students attending those days. At this point we are planning for several hundred [students].”
Many students will skip those final days, though. SLHS says if they are not coming, just send a note and it will be an excused absence.
If the SLHS student is going to attend, they need to sign up for their mini course by June 16. See the complete list of offerings on the school’s website.
Over at Herndon High, students will have a seminar/field day on June 23 and 24.
“This day will include a motivational speaker in the auditorium, meaningful breakout sessions around topics such as cyberbullying, college and career readiness, SAT/ACT prep, honors/AP information and Kids At Hope updates,” principal William Bates wrote in an email to HHS parents. “Students will end the morning with a field day and opportunities for service learning.”
Herndon administrators also understand that people already have plans for that week, snow days or not.
“Families are encouraged NOT to alter vacation, camp, or summer enrichment plans in order to attend our June 24 and June 25 activity days,” Bates said in his message. “These will be excused absences.”
Will your high school students stay or play? Take our poll or tell us in the comments.
Herndon High School will send more than 350 of the 529 members of the Class of 2014 to college next fall.
More than half of the college-bound students will attend colleges and universities in Virginia, according to statistics from the Herndon High counseling office.
HHS’ Class of 2014 will hold commencement on June 23 at 2 p.m. at George Mason University’s Patriot Center.
Click through to see the college list for the entire Class of 2014.
The Reston teen who was injured in a motorbike accident at Reston Parkway and Wiehle Avenue on Thursday has died from his injuries.
The driver of the motorbike, Sean Logan, a 10th grader at Herndon High School, was injured when attempting to make a left turn onto Wiehle Avenue about 3:51 p.m. on Thursday, police said.
“[He] was kind, good-natured, and an excellent student,” Herndon High School Principal William Bates said of the teen in an email to HHS families. “He will be greatly missed.”
In Thursday’s accident, two SUVs — an Acura MDX and a Lexus GX470 — were headed southbound on Reston Parkway and had the right of way, said Fairfax County Police public information officer Bud Walker.
The teen made the left turn, but then was struck by the Acura, which was in the left lane. The Acura then struck the Lexus.
Neither driver was ticketed and neither speed nor alcohol was a factor, said Walker.
Witnesses said the teen’s bike — which police describe as a “pit bike” or minibike — was on fire and he flew about eight feet in the air after the collision. They also said bystanders administered CPR until rescue crews arrived.
Principal Bates said school counselors and members of the FCPS Crisis Response Team will be available to meet with any students and staff who need support in dealing with the news of the teen’s death.
All Fairfax County Public Schools High Schools made the Washington Post’s annual list of the nation’s top high schools.
Education reporter Jay Mathews analyzes data and issues the list, which this year included 1,900 schools.
Mathews’ Challenge Index measures schools’ ability to challenge their students. A school’s ranking is determined by dividing the number of college-level tests given by a school to all its students by the number of graduates for that year. The index is designed to identify schools that challenge average students. Factors such as students living in poverty are included in the formula.
Nationally, Herndon High School was No. 254 and South Lakes High School was No. 407.
Among D.C.-area schools, Herndon was No. 29, rising two spots from No. 31 the last two years. South Lakes was No. 47, falling seven spots from 2013. See the entire local list.
Oakton was ranked the top FCPS High School, coming in at No. 12 in local ratings and 144th nationally. Thomas Jefferson’s High School for Science and Technology is not included on the list because of its status as a magnet school with extremely high SAT scores and and a high concentration of select students, Mathews says.
Read about how Mathews determines the rankings in The Washington Post.
How do you feel about your local high school? Tell us in the comments.
South Lakes High School’s DECA marketing and management students earned two first-place titles and qualified 25 students for international competition in May at last weekend’s Virginia DECA State Leadership Conference in Virginia Beach.
The 36 SLHS students tested their skills in role-play events, rebranding plans, entrepreneurship and defended marketing research and public relations campaigns.
- Individual Role Play Events: Food Marketing Top 20 — Vikky Batra; Restaurant & Food Service Management –- Finalist Gabe Davis; Social Media Top 16 — Molly Sheets.
- Team Decision Making: Travel & Tourism Marketing Team Decision — Top 20 — Cole Palley and Micky Kumbi
- Written Events: Sports & Entertainment Research Top 16 — Angela Barrale, Henning Baussus and Nik Baussus; Business Services Research Finalist — Rachel Heatherly, Paige Barlow and Ted Madden; Buying and Merchandising Research First Place Finalist — Allison LeMair, Hans Baussus and Joe Li; Entrepreneurship Written Finalist — Mallika Suri, Chance Konnor and David Logan; Entrepreneurship Written Finalist — Jasmine Shuey, Katie Wolfe and Matthew Crump; Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan Finalist — Shannon Meehan, Lindsey Cohen and Joshua Forrest; Entrepreneurship Innovation Finalist — Sneha Kuchipudi, Sweetlove Reyes and Brentan Walters.
- Chapter Events: Chapter competition requires group participation of DECA members. The event involves planning and execution of a public relation campaign and a creative marketing research project held in the business community.
- Public Relations Project: Capitol Hill campaign lobbying for campus fire safety, “Contain The Flame” — State Finalist — Kelly Carney, Virginia Bulger and Gavin Brown.
- Creative Marketing Research: Study to determine how and why residents keep their porch lights on, “Light’s ON, Crime Off”– First Place State Finalist — Tad Mich, Dania Rivas and Nicky Kandola.
- Advisor Virginia Bulger was elected to lead 14,000 Virginia DECA Members for the 2014-15 school year.
Herndon’s Mainor a future medical leader — Seara Minor, a sophomore at Herndon High, recently attended the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Washington, D.C. This honors-only program is designed for exceptional high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research, and is sponsored by the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. Mainor represented Virginia at the conference, and was nominated based on her academic achievement, leadership potential, and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine.
Hughes Student Wins NOAA Art Contest — Elizabeth Shaw, a student at Langston Hughes Middle, has been named winner of the 2014 Marine Debris Art Contest, sponsored by NOAA. Shaw’s drawing of marine debris was selected from over 400 entries across the U.S. and will appear on NOAA’s 2015 Marine Debris Planner, an annual planner used for marine debris education and outreach.
Have some Reston-area school news? Send it to [email protected].
The South Lakes boys basketball team is hitting its stride at a key moment: The Seahawks won their seventh straight game on Tuesday, topping Robinson 55-49 in a Northern Region 6A playoff game at South Lakes.
South Lakes (19-8) was led by Brandon Kamga with 15 points and Zach Pearl with 14.
The victory earns SLHS a place in the Regional Semifinals against Lake Braddock (22-3), which defeated Oakton on Tuesday. The semifinal game is 8 p.m. on Friday at Robinson High School.
Herndon also advanced in the regionals. The Hornets (22-3), paced by Dorian Johnson with 27 points, beat Hayfield 94-83 on Tuesday. In the semis, Herndon will meet W.T. Woodson Friday at 6 p.m. at Robinson.
The playoff run ended Tuesday for the South Lakes girls team. The Seahawks, ranked in the Top 20 by the Washington Post all season, fell to Centreville 64-61 Tuesday. The loss ended a seven-game winning streak for the Seahawks, which end the season 23-4.
South Lakes boys and girls basketball teams, as well as Herndon’s boys team, all advanced in North Regional 6A play on Monday.
Highlights:
Herndon (22-2), ranked No. 13 by The Washington Post, broke the 100-point barrier with a 106-52 win over Patriot. Patriot (4-20), of Prince William County, had won just one game all season before winning three straight to take its conference title.
South Lakes girls, (23-3), ranked No. 12 by the Post, were led by senior Abigail Rendle with 18 points in a 71-43 victory over Lake Braddock.
South Lakes boys (18-8), which has lost only one game since late January, continued its run with a 64-48 victory over West Potomac. Brandon Kamga scored 28 points for the Seahawks.
Regional action continues Tuesday. South Lakes girls host Centreville at 5:45 p.m., followed by the boys against Robinson at 7:30 p.m. Herndon hosts Hayfield at 7:30 p.m.
The Region semifinals and finals are Thursday and Friday at Robinson High School.
South Lakes boys and girls basketball teams both won the Liberty Conference 6 Tournament titles on Saturday, advancing to Northern Regional play.
The boys (17-8, 8-1) held off Hayfield for a 60-59 victory Saturday. Brandon Kamga scored the game-winning layup with 3.6 seconds remaining. Kamga was among four SLHS players in double figures. The win was the fifth in a row for South Lakes, which has gone 11-1 in the last month of the season.
The boys team will play West Potomac at home Monday at 7:30 p.m.
The girls team (22-3, 8-1), ranked in the top 20 by The Washington Post all season, had little trouble with Madison in the Liberty final. The Seahawks defeated the Warhawks 60-42.
Princess Aghayere led the Seahawks with 20 points and 22 rebounds. She was named tournament MVP. Senior Abigail Rendle and Aghayere were all also named to the first-team all conference team, and Rendle was named to the all-tournament team.
The girls will host Lake Braddock at 5:45 p.m. Monday in Northern Region play.
Herndon High’s boys team (21-2, 9-1) also repeated as champions of their conference. They defeated the Robinson Rams, 79-67 for the Concorde Conference 6 title.
Herndon will host Patriot High School (Prince William County) for the first round game of the Region 6A North Tournament on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Who is ready for a little Seuss?
The Herndon High School drama department opens Seussical, its fall musical, this weekend. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m and Sunday at 2 p..m.
Seussical is based on several beloved Dr. Seuess stories wrapped into a musical. The Cat in the Hat narrates the story of Horton the elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing Whos. Among them: Jojo, a Who child sent off to a military school for thinking too many “thinks.”
This is Herndon’s first performance of the musical, which debuted on Broadway in 2000. Reston Community Players performed Suessical a few years ago, and has kindly lent the school some of the whimsical costumes and set pieces.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on Herndon Drama’s website or at the door.
(Photo courtesy of Karen Harrison)
