Herndon Elementary to Host Vaccine Clinic Today — The Fairfax County Health Department will provide COVID-19 vaccinations at Herndon Elementary School from 3:30-7 p.m. today (Monday), as the county urges adolescents to get vaccinated in time for the upcoming school year. Appointments can be made for individuals 12 and older through the Vaccine Administration Management System. [FCHD]

Thomas Jefferson HS PTSA Put on Probation — The Virginia Parent Teacher Association has reinstated the president of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s Parent Teacher Student Association after she was ousted by opponents of admissions changes at the magnet school. The organization stopped short of revoking the PTSA’s charter in response to parents’ complaints about its leadership. [WTOP]

Virginia Will Support Small Businesses with Relief Funds — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam wants to use $353 million of the $4.3 billion in American Rescue Plan funds available to the state to help small businesses and industries hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic…The General Assembly will oversee the allocation of the funds during a special session.” [Patch]

How Reston Residents Can Help Pollinators — Walker Nature Center manager Katie Shaw explains how bees and other pollinators support local ecosystems by fertilizing plants, but their populations are declining due to habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and invasive species. Reston property owners can host bee hives if they get approval from Reston Association. [RA/YouTube]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

General Assembly to Hold Special Session in August — “Governor Ralph Northam today [Wednesday] issued a proclamation calling the members of the General Assembly into special session on Monday, August 2. A special session is necessary to fill judicial vacancies and allocate more than $4.3 billion in federal relief funding.” [Office of the Governor]

TJ Admissions Changes Result in Increased Diversity — The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Class of 2025 will include more Black and Hispanic students, more girls, and more economically disadvantaged students than past years, according to Fairfax County Public Schools data. This is the first cohort to be admitted under a new admissions system that ditched the magnet school’s usual admissions test and $100 application fee. [The Washington Post]

Herndon Office Building Sold — The investment company Boyd Watterson Asset Management has purchased a 160,000 square-foot office building at 13651 McLearen Road for $48 million. The McLearen Center is in the same complex as the Transportation Security Administration’s Freedom Center and Nysmith School, and it counts Boeing as a long-term tenant, though the lease is set to expire in May 2022. [Washington Business Journal]

Reston Contractor Reports Medicaid Data Breach — Maximus Corp., a government health data services provider based in Reston, says a data breach that occurred between May 17 and 19 exposed the personal information of more than 334,000 Medicaid healthcare providers nationwide. The incident did not affect information about patients or Medicaid beneficiaries, according to the company. [Information Security Media Group]

Irish Rock Band Joins Arrowbrook Concert Lineup — The D.C.-based Irish rock band Scythian will perform at Arrowbrooke Centre Park in Herndon on July 17 as part of Fairfax County’s Music at Arrowbrook Centre concert series, one of several free summer concert series organized by the county park authority. [Fairfax County Park Authority]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

The Davidson Institute for Talent Development has selected a Neeyanth Kopparapu, 17, of Herndon as a 2019 Davidson Fellows Scholarship winner.

The senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is one of 20 students across the country selected for the program, which offers scholarships between $10,000 and $50,000 for developing projects that have the potential to benefit society in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, literature, and music.

Kopparapu developed what the institute said is the first diagnosis system for early-stage Parkinson’s disease using an MRI scan. The Herndon resident was inspired to create the system — which is accurate nearly 97 percent of the time — after his grandfather was diagnosed with the disease at a late stage and was unable to use commonly-prescribed medication to fight the disease.

“I am incredibly grateful to the Davidson Institute for this recognition of my work in artificial intelligence,” said Kopparapu in a statement. “I am looking forward to meeting other Fellows and becoming part of the Davidson Fellows Scholarship community.”

Siona Prasad, 18, of Vienna, was also selected for the scholarship. Her work to measure and monitor greenhouse gas emissions successfully predicted an emission inventory for Washington, DC. A reception program to honor the fellows is set for Friday, September 27 in the District.

“I am incredibly grateful to the Davidson Institute for this recognition of my work in artificial intelligence,” said Kopparapu, a rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria. “I am looking forward to meeting other Fellows and becoming part of the Davidson Fellows Scholarship community.”

Photo via Davidson Institute for Talent Development

Many of the nearly 1,500 eighth-graders who took the admission exam for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology on Saturday experienced technical difficulties and may get a do-over.

Thomas Jefferson — “TJ” — is the highly selective magnet school for Northern Virginia, drawing students from Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington and other nearby counties.

Fairfax County Public Schools spokesman John Torre said 1,496 were registered to take Saturday’s test, a semifinal round that included an essay portion. Tests were administered at 15 sites, 12 of them in Fairfax County.

The problems occurred when students tried to save their essay or the student information sheet on the computer.

“We are trying to determine the extent of the issues,” said Torre. “We will know how many students and will communicate with them by Friday with options to continue the process.”

Torre says it is not known how many students were affected by the computer issues.

Any student who was affected can also contact the TJ admissions office at 571-423-3770 or [email protected].