Op-Ed: FCPS Has a Credibility Problem

Michele Menapace, a parent advocate, questions some of the school board's budget decisions

In testimony to the Fairfax County School Board on May 15, I expressed concern that our school system has a serious credibility problem. Yes, it's easy to dismiss such a comment as out-of-touch or not consistent with the remarkable successes of our students and teachers. But ask yourself ... Do you think it's credible to approve a monitoring report (from the Department of Communications and Community Outreach) that asserts FCPS has 100% fulfillment on FOIA requests? On March 22, I asked for the details of Undelivered Orders for 2010 and 2011 to see why FCPS is spending more than 2% of its operating budget on purchases in the final two months of the fiscal year. I have sent three followups and, as of May 15, don't have that information to …

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Win a $50 Gas Card from Patch

Enter our gas card giveaway today!

Gas prices are slowly coming down, but it's still pricey to fill up the tank. Nationwide, the average gas price is about $3.72, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Regular unleaded gas in the Burke area can be $3.80 or more. Patch feels your pain and we want to help — even if it’s just a little bit. So we’re giving away a $50 gas card in the hopes that we can make one lucky reader's Memorial Day weekend excursion less expensive. Entering this contest is easy. All you have to do is post a comment below this article to tell us about one thing you’re doing differently to save money on gas (or what you're doing to save on other things so you can afford gas). There’s no need to write a lot. Just a sentence or two will do! We’ll conduct a …

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Lake Braddock's 'Arabian Nights': A Magic Carpet Ride

A Cappies review of Lake Braddock High School's "The Arabian Nights."

This Cappies review by Hattie Clougherty of Chantilly High School is of the Saturday, April 28, performance of "The Arabian Nights" at Lake Braddock Secondary School. The Cappies is a critics and awards program, "through which high school theater and journalism students are trained as critics, attend shows at other schools, write reviews, and publish those reviews in local [media]." Student critics will vote on May 13 for the awards that will be presented at a formal Cappies Gala on Sunday, June 10. Top award honorees from the U.S. and Canada participate in the Cappies International Theater at the Kennedy Center during the summer. _____ The hollow thumping from Arabic drums rhythmically ushered in four lines of brightly clad storytellers …

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WSHS's 'Oz': Energetic and Comedic

A Cappies review of West Springfield High School's 'The Wizard of Oz'

This Cappies review by Laura Cermak of Oakcrest School is of the Friday, May 4, 2012, West Springfield High School performance of "The Wizard of Oz."  The photographs are by student Catherine Ariale. The Cappies is a critics and awards program, "through which high school theater and journalism students are trained as critics, attend shows at other schools, write reviews, and publish those reviews in local [media]." Student critics will vote on May 13 for the awards that will be presented at a formal Cappies Gala on Sunday, June 10. Top award honorees from the U.S. and Canada participate in the Cappies International Theater at the Kennedy Center during the summer. _____ Over the rainbow, down the yellow brick road, to Oz!  West Springfield …

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Best Mom in Fairfax County: Rachael's Mom

Rachael's entry was selected from close to two dozen nominations.

It's hard raising one child, nevermind five. But that's what the 2012 "Best Mom in Fairfax County" is doing. Her daughter, Rachael, called her "amazing." Rachael's entry was randomly chosen from almost two dozen that Patch received. Rachael and her mother won a $50 gift card and, of course, bragging rights. See all the entries here. Congratulations and Happy Mother's Day!

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Creative Moms Deserve the Best Tech Tools

Whether your mom is a designer, a photographer, artist or moviemaker--the right tools are often the best gifts

As a mom myself, I generally don't recommend getting tech tools as Mother's Day gifts. Seriously, unless mom specifically requests a new vacuum cleaner, socket set or ironing board, she want gifts that are more personal and less task-oriented. Giving her a present that allows her to further her skills, or discovering new means of expression can be the most meaningful gift you can give. There are many non-technical tools that can help her develop her creative side, of course (flowers and a card), but as more and more artistic expression is digital, giving the right gift means looking to technology. Here are some great ideas for creatives of all sorts--mom or not. For the Photographer While a digital SLR would be an ideal gift for someone …

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CONTEST: Is Your Mom the Best in Fairfax County?

For a chance to win a $50 gift certificate, upload a photo of your mom and a note about why she rocks.

    This contest is now closed and we'll be notifying our winner shortly! Poets write about them. Strong men cry in their presence. We honor them each year with a special day punctuated by hearts and flowers, and perhaps even breakfast in bed. Don't just settle for all the customary ways to celebrate how awesome your mom is. Instead, upload a photograph of her to this article and write a caption telling us what's so great about the moms of Fairfax County.   Next Friday, May 11 at noon, we'll randomly pick a winner and call her the "Best Mom of Fairfax County."  Now that's a gift. But if that's not enough, we'll also award you a $50 gift certificate to spend any way you want on mom. (C'mon, dads, if your kids can't upload a photo of your …

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Susan Larson

9:17 am on Friday, May 11, 2012

I'll be happy if my kids just remember to send a card!   more ›

Apple Users Aren’t Immune to Malware

Be watchful: Flashback Trojan infects more than 500,000 Macs

Last September, Oracle announced that their Java plug-in had a security flaw that needed to be patched. If left un-patched, users could inadvertently install malware such as the Flashback trojan and the-just discovered trojan, Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a. Both of these seem to connect users to a botnet (a network of infected computers that can receive commands from a remote location, without the permission or knowledge of the computer owner). The number of computers infected is quite large, well over 500,000 have been infected. Russian security firm Kapersky even reported 274 computers in Cupertino, Calif., the home of Apple, had checked into the botnet servers after infection with the malware. Apple released an update for their two latest OS …

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Virginia Colin

11:33 am on Thursday, April 26, 2012

Thanks for the tip!   more ›

Tackling Technology

Are You Emotionally Attached to Your Gadgets?

How much do you love your phone?

Do you resent your work PC as being slow or “boring”? Is your cute smart phone the first thing you check in the morning and last thing you look at before sleep? Not many of us have emotional attachments to our household tools, but often we have strong feelings about the tech we use at home, work or out and about. More Than Just Hardware When Google announced changes to its privacy policies, people went online to say how much they “loved” Google and its products or how they felt “betrayed” by the business practices of a corporation that managed their interaction with the Internet, videos and email. With the latest news of Facebook buying photo app Instagram, Twitter news feeds filled up with people saying they would delete their accounts to…

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Sally Spangler

12:54 am on Saturday, April 21, 2012

Hurry Nina, by the time you are conversant with a computer, the only computer will be a laptop toy size thing with more junk on it than you will ever use. Of course, your hand held whatever it is is doing everything you would want except turn your husband over so he won't snore in your ear and change the baby. Of course it wont heat the baby bottle either. Guess there will be a few things you …   more ›

Robinson Trombone Choir Attends Prestigious Workshop

Nine Robinson musicians were invited to participate in the prestigious Eastern Trombone Workshop.

The Robinson High School Trombone Choir recently received a special invitation to participate in the Eastern Trombone Workshop, which was presented at Fort Myer by The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own". This annual event began in 1978 and has been under command of The United States Army Band since 1993. During those years, it has become one of the largest trombone workshops in the world. Directed by Gregory Freeman, the trombone choir is made up of nine young musicians, who live in Fairfax Station, Clifton, Burke and Fairfax. They include Jordan Feltcorn, T.J. Horan, Jun Huh, Allison Hunter, Natasha Penfield, Josh Schwark, Nate Smith, Nick Warmuth and Zane Xu. The Robinson Trombone Choir was one of only two high school groups in the…

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