Eighth-grader Nikita Ramakrishnan bested 86 spellers to win the Fairfax County Spelling Bee March 23.
Ramakrishnan, a student at Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, claimed the title after spelling “xanthic,” an adjective of Greek origin meaning “colored with some tint of yellow – used of a flower.”
A dish inspired by one gathering among friends will now be served in schools across Fairfax County.
With a “Creamy Dream” gnocchi soup complemented by sides of whole wheat garlic soup dippers and a Zesty Sunshine Salad, four students from Herndon High School won the competitive lunch category at the 13th annual Culinary Challenge, held this year at Hayfield Secondary School (7630 Telegraph Road) on March 8.
A staff proposal to restrict future sales of cigarettes and vapes near Fairfax County schools and child-care facilities has drawn a mixed reaction from county supervisors.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed staff in December to study options for regulating tobacco, nicotine and hemp products after the Virginia General Assembly adopted a law last year allowing localities to restrict sales from new businesses within 1,000 feet of a school or child care facility.
For students looking to freshen up their look for an upcoming school dance, Reston Community Center (RCC) has you covered.
The community center will bring back its annual Diva Central Formal and Prom Dress Giveaway for a 23rd year on Saturday, March 22. The one-day-only event at RCC Lake Anne (1609-A Washington Plaza North) offers students an opportunity to pick out formal clothes and accessories for free.
Fairfax County students again dominated the 2025 Virginia Aviation Art Contest.
Youth from McLean, Herndon and Chantilly swept first-place honors in all three age categories, the Virginia Department of Aviation announced on Feb. 19. A total of eight students from the local area will move on to national competition, with an opportunity to potentially compete internationally.
The students of McLean will take center stage in two new arts exhibitions set to open next month.
To celebrate Youth Art Month, which is typically held every March, the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) is bringing back its annual youth art shows, which showcase work by students in elementary through high school in the McLean and Langley pyramids.
Fairfax County transportation planners are considering enabling more secondary schools to participate in a program giving students free Metrobus rides in Northern Virginia.
Five schools have been identified as potential expansion sites to the program, which already is in place at Justice, Annandale, Falls Church and George C. Marshall high schools and the Davis Center.
Fairfax County School Board members are mulling whether to increase the number of student representatives on the body.
The proposal, currently in the exploratory stage, is part of a broader push toward more direct engagement with the 180,000-plus students enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools.
At its final meeting of 2024, the Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved a policy revision that it hopes will lead to more consistent grading policies countywide.
The measure represents “a huge improvement from what was there before,” according to Mason District School Board Representative Ricardy Anderson.
A Fairfax County School Board member’s desire to affirm the defined rights of student journalists in the wake of the Hayfield Secondary School athlete-transfer uproar died on a 9-3 vote at the Dec. 5 board meeting.
At-large board member Ryan McElveen introduced the measure as part of a broader discussion of the Hayfield athletics matter. He said it was in reaction to allegations, which have not been independently confirmed, of student journalists at Hayfield having their work on the issue censored.
