South County SS

VHSL 6A Swimming Championship

SMILE Carnival Earns Katelyn Sparks her Gold Award

Katelyn Sparks, a South County Secondary School freshman, recently achieved the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award for something she does every day - SMILE.

South County Students Correspond with President

South County Secondary students in Janet Dower’s middle school English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes learned a big lesson about communication, when they wrote a letter to President Obama and received a response from him.

Area Schools Closing in Face of Weather Threat

Threat of flooding, high winds from Hurricane Sandy prompts decision.

Better safe than sorry. Based on that philosophy, Fairfax County Public Schools announced early Sunday afternoon that all FCPS schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday because of the continuing threat of flooding and hurricane-force winds from Hurricane Sandy, a “rare hybrid storm” expected to make landfall on Monday.

Art Competition Winners Announced

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) attends ceremony at Lorton Workhouse Arts Center.

More than 200 high school students and their parents and teachers gathered at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center last week to hear U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) and judges from across Virginia’s 11th Congressional District announce the winners of the annual Congressional Art Competition.

South County Senior Awarded Scholarship

Christian Canales will be first in his family to attend college.

For his work as a leader in the Hispanic community, South County High School senior Christian Canales has been awarded a $1,000 from the Fairfax County Hispanic Leadership Alliance. Canales will be attending James Madison University in the fall where he will study education, and plans to be a high school teacher. “I want to help others and be a teacher, and help guide kids in the right direction. I just want to do the same for others that my teacher did for me. A lot of families don’t put education first, but I believe if you’re not educated, you won’t have a successful life,” Canales said. Canales will be the first in his family to attend college, which he says is a huge deal for him. “It’s not a weight on my shoulder, but I have to set the example,” Canales said. “I think me going to school and trying to show my cousins and other family that you need to go to school. I’m like a role model to them. I want them to go by my example and continue their education.”

Homework Overload

Some educators say less can be more, stress balance when it comes to homework.

Paula DeMarco dreads one time of day the most: weekday evenings at 5:30. It’s the time she has set aside for her children begin their homework. That means no screen time, music or other distractions.