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Morning Notes

Published June 24, 2011 at 8:38AM

School’s Out for Summer — Today is the last day of school for elementary students in Arlington. High school students had their last day on Wednesday and middle school students had their last day on Thursday. [YouTube]

Man Charged With Pentagon Shootings — Alexandria resident Yonathan Melaku, 22, has been charged with destruction of property and firearm violations in five separate shootings at Northern Virginia military installations last year. Melaku was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery last Friday, authorities say, with a backpack containing a ammonium nitrate, a key component in certain explosives, and a notebook containing referencing Al Qaeda and jihad. Sources tell Fox News that Melaku was “self-radicalized through the internet,” but there’s “no indication he was planning to harm individuals.” [FBI, Fox News]

Tuckahoe Elementary Staff Lip Dubs ‘Party in the USA’

By ARLnow.com

Published June 20, 2011 at 1:25PM

The relatively recent workplace tradition of the lip dub has spread to Tuckahoe Elementary.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 20, 2011 at 8:55AM

Bomb Threat on DCA Flight — There were some tense moments at Reagan National Airport yesterday after a flight from Dayton, Ohio was sequestered and searched for explosives. Nothing was found, however. An individual who made a bomb threat at the Dayton airport ticket counter was taken into custody, the FBI said. [Bloomberg]

New Principals Named — Arlington Public Schools have named two new principals. Kenwyn Schaffner has been named the principal of Jamestown Elementary School and Bridget Loft has been named the principal of Swanson Middle School. “Ms. Loft was greeted by cheers and a standing ovation when she was introduced to the Swanson staff after the announcement of appointment,” an insider tells us. [Arlington Public Schools]

Bank Robbery on Lee Highway Prompts School Lockdowns

By ARLnow.com

Published June 16, 2011 at 2:22PM | Updated June 16, 2011 at 6:54PM

The BB&T Bank at 5515 Lee Highway was robbed around lunchtime today.

The suspect fled the bank on foot, prompting authorities to lock down at least two schools in the area. Parents of Nottingham Elementary and Williamsburg Middle School students received the following message from administrators today.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 16, 2011 at 8:38AM | Updated June 16, 2011 at 10:48AM

Ducklings Rescued from Storm Drain — Hanging upside down in a storm drain, an Arlington animal control officer managed to save nine ducklings that had become trapped in a tunnel. The ducklings and their mother were reunited and brought to the nearby Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary. [Animal Watch]

ART 45 Bus Route Expanding — The ART 45 bus route is expanding. It will now run farther down Columbia Pike while at the same time adding a stop at the Courthouse Metro station en route to Rosslyn. [Arlington Transit]

Arlington Schools Giving First-Time Substance Offenders a ‘Second Chance’

By ARLnow.com

Published June 15, 2011 at 3:07PM | Updated June 15, 2011 at 4:07PM

The so-called “Second Chance” program will allow middle and high school students caught with alcohol or marijuana to avoid school suspensions and criminal prosecution. To enter the program, students must be first-time offenders and must have the active participation of their parents or guardians.

Students referred to Second Chance by schools, police, courts or parents will attend an educational, three-day “early intervention” program, as well as a subsequent “booster session.” The time in the program will be considered an excused absence from school. Supporters say that the “second chance” allows students to avoid the negative impacts of school suspensions and other traditional forms of punishment.

Power Problems Knock Out A/C at Barrett Elementary

By ARLnow.com

Published June 13, 2011 at 3:36PM

The storms — and the resulting power outages and surges — apparently played a role in knocking out Barrett Elementary School’s air conditioning. In a letter to parents, Barrett principal Theresa Bratt says that the school’s chiller unit “completely broke down this morning” and is “beyond repair.”

The school has deployed 30 fans to keep classrooms cool while they await the arrival of a temporary rental chiller.

Undocumented Students Receive ‘Dream’ Scholarships

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 10, 2011 at 10:33AM | Updated June 10, 2011 at 10:54AM

In a ceremony at the Arlington Public Schools Education Center on N. Quincy Street, Hareth Andrade and Antonella Rodriguez-Cossio from Washington-Lee High School, Henry Mejia from Yorktown High School and Jose Vasquez from Arlington Mill High School Continuation Program received Dream Scholarships to help fund their college educations.

Although countless high school students enjoy grants and awards around this time of year, the Dream Scholarship is reserved for undocumented students — children born abroad who are not U.S. citizens or legal residents.

Groundbreaking for New Wakefield High School

By ARLnow.com

Published June 9, 2011 at 3:59PM | Updated June 9, 2011 at 4:17PM

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) School officials, County Board members and other local dignitaries donned helmets and shovels to help break ground on the new, $118 million Wakefield High School today.

Over the next 2-3 years workers will build a 380,000 square foot school to replace the existing, 60-year-old building. The new Wakefield will feature 50 classrooms, state-of-the-art science labs, a 625 seat auditorium, a media center, two new athletic fields, two gyms, two pools, a diving well and a geothermal heating and cooling plant.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 9, 2011 at 8:15AM

Wakefield Groundbreaking Today — At 9:30 this morning Arlington Public Schools officials will hold a groundbreaking for the new, $116 million Wakefield High School. Construction on the school is expected to begin next month and wrap up by fall 2013.

Planetarium Group Nears Fundraising Goal — The Friends of Arlington’s Planetarium group has raised more than $350,000 to renovate the aging David M. Brown Planetarium, which supporters helped to save from being mothballed by the school system. The Friends were given the goal of raising $402,800 by June 30, but observers expect that the current haul — plus the haul from one final fundraiser — will be “close enough.” [Sun Gazette]

Jeff Bridges and Gov. McDonnell Visit Barcroft Elementary

By ARLnow.com

Published June 7, 2011 at 3:55PM | Updated June 8, 2011 at 2:09AM

Kids, teachers, school officials, politicians, photographers and reporters crammed into the school’s auditorium to watch the hour-long event, which was part press conference and part school assembly. Bridges, McDonnell and Vilsack were joined on stage by representatives from the Federation of Virginia Food Banks and the non-profit group Share Our Strength. Also on stage were a pair of wise-cracking vegetable puppets.

“I’m surprised that broccoli is here today,” said Vilsack, gesturing to one of the puppets in front of the youthful crowd. “I just had him for lunch.”

Prom-Bound Wakefield Students Learn About DUI Risks

By ARLnow.com

Published June 2, 2011 at 3:02PM

Wakefield High School held its annual Prom Promise anti-drunk-driving event today, but it was a bit different than years past.

Instead of a large indoor assembly with PowerPoint slides, a speaker and staged demonstrations, the police department decided to take things outside. Groups of students lined up to try their hand at driving golf carts around a cone course while wearing “drunk goggles.”