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Four new schools to open as scheduled
The bulldozers lurch around the driveway, graders are hard at work on the lawns and contractors patrol the halls.
But Loudoun's four newest schools -- Sycolin Creek, Rosa Lee Carter and Arcola elementary schools, and Stone Hill Middle School -- are ready for students to come trooping through their doors Sept. 4.
Sycolin Creek Principal Sharon Keegan-Coppels opened Dominion Trail Elementary School in Ashburn 10 years ago – then, she got the keys in mid-July and had more than a month to get ready.
This time, she and her teachers finally got permission to move into Sycolin Creek Aug. 23, with just two weeks before school starts.
She and her office staff have been meeting for weeks, the PTA is off and running with a full year's worth of programs scheduled, and one parent has already hosted a get-acquainted party for students, parents, staff and faculty .
Third- and fourth-graders who were assigned to Sycolin voted last winter for their new colors (blue and green) and the Sycolin Creek mascot (salamander). Salamander dolls, posters and jewelry already proliferate.
Judi Bullion said she wants her classroom to be "pleasing but not cluttered." Civil service work with military officers taught her the value of order, she said. "I want the room to create a 'teachable moment.'"
Bullion, who comes to Sycolin Creek from a third-grade classroom at Forest Grove in Sterling – the move saves her 40 miles of commuting a day – is the third-grade team leader. She will attend faculty meetings and share information with other third-grade teachers.
She will also mentor Brenna Becker, who will be stepping into a classroom for the first time. Becker brings a degree in elementary education and psychology and a master's in reading to the task, but no classroom experience
She chose Loudoun schools in part at least because of the mentoring program – matching new teachers with more experienced -- and the emphasis on professional development .
A new teacher has to buy a lot of things for the room, she said, and she has been haunting the local Dollar Store for bargains on posters and note paper and handy teaching aids.
"I know a lot of the research, all the journal articles, now I've got the real kids," Becker said. She's been turning to her new colleagues for the "practical stuff. Everyone has been great, they share ideas and materials and everyone has to put a classroom together in a new school.
"It's really exciting."
Contact the reporter at ssollinger@timespapers.com
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