Sick Kids at Henley

Reader question –

Why won’t they close the school to wipe it clean?

Referencing this story at the HooK, with 23 confirmed cases of the flu.

Henley Middle School had 153 students home sick last week out of 748– 20 percent of its population

More Press on Western Albemarle’s Beer

From DC-ist:

The next logical stop is Starr Hill in Crozet. Starr Hill is now distributed by Anheuser-Busch, which means the previously regional-only beers are starting to be seen further afield. It’s unclear if the recent InBev-A/B merger will affect their distribution deal with Starr Hill.

A short drive up towards the mountains from Crozet leads to Afton, where Blue Mountain brewing is located. A gorgeous mountain view from the outside patio is the perfect complement to a Full Nelson Pale Ale or Blue Mountain Lager, and the brewers are always doing experimental batches of seasonal beers. The brewery has been open for only a couple years and is notable for also being the site of a hop farm: The Cascade hops grown on the premises are used in several of their beers.

From Afton, it’s a fun 20 minute drive into the mountains to hit up Devil’s Backbone, a ski resort brewpub that has opened last fall.

Living in Crozet just gets better and better. Mountains, hiking, great breweries and vineyards … to be honest and fair, Blue Mountain and Devil’s Backbone are in Nelson, but Blue Mountain is close enough to be considered Western Albemarle.

Be a Census Worker

I’m very curious to see how many people apply.

Cafeteria, Western Albemarle High School – 5941 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, Crozet, VA 22932, Wednesday, February 18, 6:30 p.m., Second Session at 8:00 PM if needed   

Thanks to NBC 29 for the heads up.

Crozet Library Meeting – 19 February

From Albemarle County –

Crozet Library Open House
Thursday, February 19, 2009
4:00-6:30 p.m.
Crozet United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
1156 Crozet Ave, Crozet

Please join Crozet Library Steering Committee members and Albemarle County staff for an open house on the conceptual design of the new Crozet library and an update on the Destination Downtown project, including the streetscape and stormwater projects. The public is invited to drop in at any point during the Open House to view the conceptual design and other materials, talk with staff and committee members, and provide feedback. Additional details about the Open House will be available on the Crozet Library website at www.albemarle.org/newlibrary. For more information about the Open House, call the Albemarle County Community Relations Office at 434-296-5841 or email [email protected].

Update 11 February 2009: Is the Crozet library already too small?

History of Three Chopt Road

Waldo discoveredThe Route of the Three Notch’d Road: A Preliminary Report.” (pdf)

Probably originally an Indian and game trail, various sections of which were gradually improved to the status of roads during the 1730’s as the settlers moved into the upper Piedmont. Known first as the Mountain Road, or Mountain Ridge Road, it derived its name Three Notchíd Road from a system of marks it had received by 1742 or 1743. As early as 1737 it possessed milestones or numbered trees running from west to east along its route as an aid to travellers.

For those of you unfamiliar, “Three Notch’d Road” runs right through Crozet.

Albemarle County Schools Delayed today

But only for two hours. Notice the clear (unplowed) road. For up-to-date school closings, visit WCAV and/or WVIR.

Also, from the County:

Monday and Tuesday, February 16 and 17 will be inclement weather make-up days for Albemarle County Public Schools. It will be the first make-up days the School Division must use to replace dates when schools were closed for weather-related safety reasons. On make-up days, all schools will open and operate on their regular daily schedules.

The following additional make-up days, June 8, 9 (if no primary election), 10, 11 and 12, are reserved for use if needed. Families are advised to create their summer schedules around the possibility that the last day of school could be postponed to June 12.

News From Henley Middle School

I’m going to be re-publishing parts of the Henley Middle School Newsletter, as much of their news is relevant to all residents of Crozet and Western Albemarle, not just parents and students. This is not the entire newsletter; for example, I have omitted the part about student drop-off, as that is not particularly relevant to the wider community. But … the fundraising for the schools’ solar panels certainly does impact the entire community.

Operation Snowflake – Book Collection

Operation Snowflake is a project to provide a young child with a precious gift, the joy of reading. Most of us can buy a book when we want, or at least borrow one from the school or classroom library, but many preschool children cannot do so. At the time, when it is really important for them to have books to develop as readers, they often do not have ready access to them. This is where Operation Snowflake comes to play. Between now and January 30, we will be collecting new and very gently used (no torn or wrinkled pages, pencil marks, etc) children’s books to donate to local Head Start children. The books will be distributed to kids in the Western Albemarle feeder pattern first and to other areas if we collect more than needed for our area. The project does not involve extra credit or competition for prizes. We are taking part in Operation Snowflake because we care about the children in our community, and we want them to enjoy reading and to be successful in school. If you have any books to donate please take them to Mr. Chuck Miller in Room 36 or leave them in the mailroom in his mailbox. Questions contact Mr. Miller mailto:[email protected].

Green News

Three Green Things is an effort on behalf of the Henley Environmental Club, Youth Leadership Initiative, and Student Council Association to encourage our fellow students to think of small decisions we can make each day that benefit our environment.

But we want everyone to get involved too! The plan is to pay it forward by having a small group of students invite more students to join, who will in turn take the experiment outside of our school and into the community, involving parents, siblings, family members and so on.

Your student will be bringing home pledge cards. On the back are suggestions about small environmental changes we can all make. Or you can visit our website to see an expanded list or to download additional pledge cards. Join the movement today!

Magazine Recycling is here! Many parents expressed concerns during our last Magazine Drive about the environmental impact of all those magazines. PATSO parents wisely decided that we could minimize that impact providing magazine recycling at Henley. Mr. Scott and students have built us an excellent collection box so we’re ready to go. If you have old magazines that you aren’t otherwise recycling, you can drop them off at the Henley library and we will share them with teachers who need them for class projects and our volunteers will take the rest of them to the recycling center. Note: We can only take magazines.

Henley Hoops 4 Heart Celebration

Students from Henley Middle School will be participating in a Hoops 4 Heart event during physical education classes on February 12th and 13th. During regularly scheduled classes, students will be celebrating their health and wellness by participating in fun events related to basketball skills, volleyball, speed stacking, and jumping rope. The purpose of the event is to signify the direct correlation between exercise and wellness with an added incentive to raise funds as a community for the American Heart Association. The fundraising component is optional.

We are thrilled offer this event as a school-wide community service project. All students will have the opportunity to share healthy snacks, exercise, play games, and celebrate their health while promoting the messages related to heart disease prevention.

The American Heart Association will provide thank you gifts to all participating in the fundraising option.

As an added incentive, students will be selecting “Heart Healthy Teams”, dress up in red for the day, and be eligible for bonus raffle prizes.

We are hoping to defray the cost of snacks and decorations with donations from parents and friends. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions or can help with snacks or decorations please contact:

Tessa M. Pehanick, NBCT
Lead Teacher, HPE
Henley Middle School
434-823-4393

Golf Tournament Coming

To raise funds for our solar panels we invite all to participate in our Let the Sun Shine Golf Tournament which will be held in early June at Old Trail. We are looking for interested players/teams. Also, we are looking for businesses in the community who would like to sponsor our effort in any way. If you would like to learn more about our tournament, contact Mary Beth Kooken.

Journey Through Hallowed Ground

In conjunction with the UVA Summer Enrichment Program, this is a unique course for rising 9th graders. Students will participate in a leadership immersion program that places students where pivotal decisions shaped our nation. Students will look at the consequences of these decisions and others as they hike, bike, canoe and pod along this historic JTHG trail. Students may be eligible for a full scholarship! Visit http://www.hallowedground.org/ for more details. Applications are due February 15.

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Mark Your Calendar

January 26, Monday – 7 PM – Meeting to Discuss Proposed Schedule Change – Henley Library

January 27, Tuesday – 6:30 PM – School Board Budget Public Hearing

February 2, Monday – 7 PM – PATSO Meeting

February 13, Friday – Valentine Dance 4:00 – 6:00 PM

February 16, Monday – NO SCHOOL (Make-up day #2)

February 17, Tuesday – NO SCHOOL (Make-up day #1)

February 19, Thursday – Parent Teacher Conferences

[Click here for the 2008-09 school year calendar PDF]

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Links

The Henley website

Parent Council

The School Division website