Bishop O’Connell

O’Connell holds off Ireton, 33-28, to win annual football showdown

By Dave Facinoli

Although neither high-school football team has won many games in recent seasons, the Bishop O’Connell Knights and Bishop Ireton Cardinals still play their version of a Super Bowl each fall.

The annual contest pits the longtime Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) private-school rivals each year in a regular-season clash. A victory earns 12 months of bragging rights and, usually, a berth into the WCAC Metro Division playoffs.

This season’s showdown was played at O’Connell Saturday afternoon (Oct. 11) with the Knights (2-5, 1-0) winning 33-28 over the Cardinals (1-5, 0-1) of Alexandria. O’Connell also had won last season, with Cardinals winning the 2023 matchup.

In the latest showdown, O’Connell rallied from an early 7-0 deficit.

“Falling behind fueled us a little bit, and we responded well,” O’Connell junior running back Nick Morris told ARLnow.

Morris helped lead the victory by rushing for 156 yards on 17 carries, including an 80-yard third-quarter scoring run. He also caught a pass for 13 yards.

O’Connell’s offensive line leading the way for the running attack consists of Kellen Hicks, Nolan Wible, Mateo Quiroz, Daniel Erickson and James Trotter.

“I followed the blockers,” said Morris, who has stepped up as the Knights’ top rusher as multiple others at that position were lost to injuries.

Morris has a bit more than 600 yards rushing this season, including 176 in the team’s previous game and 138 in another.

“He runs hard. It was always in the plan to have Nick in our rotation of runners, but he’s our main guy now,” O’Connell coach Nick Sabatino said.

Also in the win over Ireton, O’Connell quarterback Ryan Turpin threw three touchdown passes, two to Jacob Geisler for six and 25 yards. Geisler made nice tip-toe maneuvers to stay in the end zone on both receptions. He had three catches in the win.

Turpin completed his first six passes and ended up 12 of 20 passing for 205 yards, and was intercepted twice. His other scoring pass went for 42 yards to Jon Tyler in the fourth period for the game-clinching score.

Zander Schied caught four passes for 30 yards for O’Connell and Xavier Reid caught two. Ariston Kroeger had one catch for 35 yards. Josh Taliaferro added 30 yards rushing for the Knights.

Also scoring for O’Connell was Kian Kaboli on a 30-yard interception return. The interception was his third this season.

Mitch Czernia made three extra points for the Knights, who took the lead for good in the second quarter at 14-7.

“We were able to move the ball well and we hit some big plays in the passing game,” Sabatino said. “We came back and fought after falling behind early.”

Ireton stayed close by making some big plays, as well, including a second-half interception return and a lengthy touchdown drive. After Ireton’s final score, Eli Moran recovered an onside kick in the final seconds to secure the victory.

Also on defense for O’Connell, Taliaferro had an interception that he returned 25 yards, and Jayden Campbell had multiple tackles for losses. Other tackling leaders were Taliaferro, Kroeger, Tyler, Kaboli, Hicks, Colin Castro, Tyler McManus, Kaiden Alt and Kai Molter.

O’Connell’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 18 at 12:30 p.m. against perennial WCAC Metro Division power St. Mary’s Ryken (4-3, 1-0).

NOTE: O’Connell and Ireton have played every season but one (2009) since the 1993 campaign. O’Connell has won 25 of those contests since 1993 and Ireton six. The result of the 1995 contest during that stretch ended in a scoreless tie.

O’Connell finds challenge, if not always success, in meeting nearby football rivals

By Dave Facinoli

They haven’t won any of the games, but Bishop O’Connell’s high-school football schedule the last three seasons has included the addition of a trio of nearby opponents.

The Knights have played the Flint Hill Huskies and Potomac School Panthers for the first time ever in private-school contests, and resumed an all-Arlington rivalry with the public-school Washington-Liberty Generals.

Until they met in their 2025 season openers, O’Connell and W-L had not played for more than 40 years.

Playing those opponents makes sense, as each is in close proximity to O’Connell. Potomac School in McLean is less than four miles to the west, W-L about the same distance to the east, and Flint Hill is located in relatively close-in Oakton.

Third-year O’Connell head coach Todd Sabatino was significantly involved in adding those opponents to the Knights’ schedule. He said the games make for natural rivalries and provide good competition for the Knights.

O’Connell lost to Potomac School by scores of 28-14 this year and 9-6 in 2024. In its recent 55-22 loss to Washington-Liberty, the Knights trailed just 27-22 in the third quarter. Five turnovers helped the Generals pad the score.

Flint Hill defeated O’Connell in an initial meeting between the two in 2023, and could meet again in the future.

O’Connell’s most recent game against its new opponents was a 28-14 loss to visiting Potomac School on Oct. 4. The Knights had leads of 7-0 in the first quarter and 14-13 at halftime, but didn’t score again and fell to 1-5.

Potomac School’s two second-half touchdowns were the result of a fumbled O’Connell punt that set up a TD, then a punt return for a score. Another costly second-half O’Connell mistake was a turnover coming on a fumble into the end zone at the Panthers’ one-yard line.

Penalties also proved costly for O’Connell.

“We just can’t afford to have mistakes like that,” Sabatino said. “We were leading and could have won this game.”

The Knights were significantly shorthanded at running back because of injuries to multiple players. The one running back who did play and was productive was junior Nick Morris. He ran for 176 yards on 21 carries, including an 11-yard touchdown run.

“Nick was about the only one we had, and Nick ran hard,” Sabatino said.

O’Connell quarterback Ryan Turpin completed his first nine passes and finished 10 of 16 for 96 yards and a touchdown pass of nine yards to Jacob Geisler. Mitch Czernia kicked two extra points.

Zander Schied caught three passes and Geisler, Xavier Reid and James Fatzinger caught two each.

On defense, Jayden Campbell made nine tackles (four for losses) and recovered a fumble. Kaiden Alt also had nine tackles and Eli Moran made seven. Ariston Kroeger caused a fumble and had a tackle for a loss, as did Fatzinger, Kai Molter and Tyler McManus.

Morris had four tackles.

Another nearby opponent O’Connell has scheduled in recent years are the St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes Saints of Alexandria. The Knights have defeated the Saints in the majority of those initial meetings, winning 38-12 this season.

Next up for O’Connell is its opening Washington Catholic Athletic Conference contest of 2025 against the visiting Bishop Ireton Cardinals (1-4) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10. O’Connell defeated Ireton last season.

NOTE: In O’Connell’s previous game, Kian Kaboli had two interceptions.

Bishop O’Connell students prepare to dance 12 hours to raise money for cystic fibrosis

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Bishop O’Connell High School students will be dancing for 12 hours straight to raise money for the research and treatment of cystic fibrosis.

The nearly 50-year-old tradition, dubbed the “Superdance,” will take place on Saturday, March 11 from noon to midnight. Each year, over 95% of the student body attends the event, which has live bands, DJs and games.

“This is a beloved school tradition created in the hopes of finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and in remembrance of several members of the O’Donnell family who died from the disease,” said Lizzie Whelan, the publicity chair for the Superdance.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body and leads to an early death. A therapeutic drug approved in 2019 can help patients avoid lung failure and live longer.

But no such therapy existed in 1976, when the first 12-hour dance-a-thon was organized by Maura O’Donnell, then a senior at Bishop O’Connell. She put it together in hopes of raising enough money to find a cure after her sister Brenda died of the disease in 1975.

Maura, who also had cystic fibrosis, attended the first Superdance and graduated high school, but died from the disease while in nursing school.

She is remembered as “a vibrant young girl, who left an impact on every person that had the pleasure of meeting her,” Whelan said.

“Maura created a monumental impact on the student body that has lasted forty years and will continue to influence O’Connell students in the future,” Whelan said. “The entire Bishop O’Connell is dedicated to supporting this cause and continuing the fight that Maura so bravely started.”

Since its inception, Superdance has raised nearly $4.9 million to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis. This year, Whelan says the students aim to raise over $143,000 and pass the $5 million mark. Last year, the Superdance raised $136,000, making Bishop O’Connell is the largest high school contributor to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

An assembly previewing the event and educating students about cystic fibrosis will be held this Friday, Feb. 10. It will feature speeches from the student council, presentations from student committees, guest speakers, skits and games. At the end of the assembly, this year’s theme for Superdance will be revealed.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Post-it Notes on the office building at 1600 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, congratulating a graduating H-B Woodlawn student who’s noted for her Post-It Note art (courtesy photo)

School’s Out for Summer — Today is the last day of high school for Arlington Public Schools students. Tomorrow is the last day of middle school and Friday is the last day of elementary school. [Arlington Public Schools]

Meetings Planned for Route 1 Changes — “Two upcoming online forums will look at Virginia Department of Transportation proposals for U.S. Route 1 through the Crystal City corridor. On June 15 at 7 p.m., the Livability 22202 Route 1 Working Group and VDOT proposals will be presented and feedback sought… On June 21 at 6:30 p.m., VDOT will host a public-information meeting on the proposal.” [Sun Gazette, VDOT]

Yorktown Girls Win State Soccer Tourney — “A season that began with a loss ended with no other setbacks and a state championship for the Yorktown Patriots. The girls soccer team won the Virginia High School League Class 6 state tournament by nipping the Kellam Knights, 1-0, in the June 11 title game.” [Sun Gazette, Washington Post]

DJO Softball Wins State Title — “The [Bishop O’Connell] Knights capped a dominant campaign with their 26th Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association state title over the past 28 seasons. Katie Kutz tossed 235 strikeouts and went 17-0 while batting .482 at the plate en route to Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and VISAA player of the year nods.” [Washington Post]

Groundbreaking for Bus Maintenance Yard — “Arlington County will host a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning for its new Arlington Transit (ART) operations and maintenance facility. The public is invited to attend. The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. at the site of the future facility at 2629 Shirlington Rd. in Arlington in the Green Valley neighborhood.” [Patch]

School Board Absences — “The board, whose schedule of meetings is approved at the start of each fiscal year, has had a tough time gathering all five members on the dais at one time in recent months. Goldstein frequently has been absent, and at the May 26 meeting Priddy was gone. (On May 26, Diaz-Torres was not attending in person but did participate remotely from Puerto Rico, Kanninen said at the start of that meeting.)” [Sun Gazette]

More Bad Driving on I-395 — From Dave Statter: “This is a new one. Driver just stops at the end of the gore partially blocking the left lane until they can figure out their next move.” [Twitter]

Gov. Proposes Three-Month Gas Tax Holiday — “In Arlington, Virginia, the cost of regular gas is around $5.29. As gas prices continue to climb, CG Green says he’s pumping the brakes on unnecessary trips. ‘Look at it, it’s crazy,’ said Green. ‘It’s $5.29 for gas. I have to rethink where I’m going.’ Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin says he is in favor of temporarily suspending the commonwealth’s gas tax.” [WUSA 9]

It’s Wednesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 86 and low of 68. Sunrise at 5:44 am and sunset at 8:37 pm. [Weather.gov]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A jet takes off from Reagan National Airport at twilight (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Whiskey Bar Coming to Clarendon — “Chicken + Whiskey is branching out into Northern Virginia. The Peruvian rotisserie chicken restaurant and whiskey bar, which got its start from a smaller location in Logan Circle in 2017, has inked a deal for a new location near the Clarendon Metro in Arlington County. The 5,708-square-foot restaurant is slated to open late this year or early next at 3033 Wilson Blvd.” [Washington Business Journal]

It’s Flood Awareness Week — “Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States and it is becoming more frequent with climate change. As we head into the typical rainy season, Arlington County and Fairfax County are teaming up for Virginia Flood Awareness Week to get out key messages of being informed and prepared.” [Arlington County]

Bill to Limit Gov. Powers — “Five of Arlington’s seven-member General Assembly delegation voted in support of a measure that will limit the power of governors to act unilaterally for an indeterminate period in a crisis. Legislation sponsored by state Sen. David Suetterlein (R-Roanoke) on March 9 cleared the House of Delegates on a 91-8 vote, following earlier passage in the state Senate by a margin of 29-11. Gov. Youngkin is expected to sign the bill.” [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Kids Hold Ukraine Bake Sale — “Our boys and friends wanted to do something to help the people of #Ukraine – they decided on a bake sale. They raised $900+ today and it’s now headed to medical staff that are getting supplies to the Ukraine/Poland border. Nice job kiddos.” [Twitter]

Bishop O’Connell Swimmer Stands Out — “For Kate Bailey, her time to receive deserved recognition as a standout high-school swimmer in Arlington came this season in her final senior campaign. During past winter years, Bailey and other top local swimmers performed in the shadow of 2022 Yorktown High School graduate and Summer Olympian Torri Huske. With Huske now swimming in college at Stanford University, Bailey’s accomplishments this winter drew more attention.” [Sun Gazette]

It’s Monday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 58 and low of 31. Sunrise at 7:22 am and sunset at 7:16 pm. [Weather.gov]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

ACFD Vaxed to the Max — “Of the public safety departments surveyed by the I-Team, the Arlington County Fire Department has the most vaccinated, with 82 percent of its roughly 360 employees receiving the shot. Alexandria’s fire department, Frederick County, Maryland’s fire department and Montgomery County police are close behind, reporting about 70 percent of their members vaccinated.” [NBC 4]

Law Enforcement Memorial Day — Today starting at 8 a.m. “[t]he Arlington County Police Department and the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office will host a virtual Observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day to honor and pay tribute to the memory of Arlington’s seven fallen law enforcement officers.” [ACPD]

Covid Testing for APS Athletes — “Beginning the week of May 10, APS will begin providing daily free COVID-19 testing for student athletes. The testing is optional and will be conducted at the three comprehensive high schools with written parent/guardian consent. These efforts are put in place to prevent and mitigate transmission of COVID-19 among athletes.” [Arlington Public Schools]

DJO Grad to Kick for UNC — “Bishop O’Connell High School graduate and Great Falls resident Ethan Torres played four years of college football for Bucknell University as a place-kicker, and now will play a fifth season this coming fall for University of North Carolina at Charlotte as a graduate transfer student.” [Sun Gazette]

Runners Enjoy Rainy Crystal City 5K — “They lined up in waves, socially distanced for The Great Inflatable Race: Pacers 5k in National Landing. Only 250 runners instead of the normal 1,500… ‘This is one small step toward normalization,’ says runner Ian Squires.” [WJLA]

Jeopardy Asks Arlington Question — “We made Jeopardy! again. From last Friday. Category was A Whopp’ington’ of a City.” [Twitter]

Nearby: Mosque Knife Incident — “A Falls Church man is under arrest and faces charges after Fairfax County, Virginia, police said he pointed a knife at several people in a Seven Corners mosque.” [WTOP, Annandale Blog]

NASA Could Use Concepts from an App Local Students Coded to Navigate the Moon in 2024

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 4 p.m.) In just seven weeks, engineering whizzes at Bishop O’Connell High School developed an app that NASA may draw from as it gears up to land the first American woman and next man on the Moon, in preparation for missions to Mars.

This week, NASA recognized them as one of top 10 teams in the 2020 NASA App Development Challenge, which occurred last fall. Students crunched lunar terrain data to create an app that visualizes the South Pole region of the Moon, and NASA will be using aspects of the 10 winning apps for its own program to help astronauts communicate on and navigate the Moon’s surface.

As members of a winning team, DJO students Alex Janninck ’22, Daniel Kippenhan ’22, Elaine Ly ’21 and Claire Toia ’23, as well as Sevginaz Gurleyici ’23, from the Madeira School in McLean will be able to participate in a NASA leadership event in February.

“It takes confidence, drive and a lot of perseverance,” Bishop O’Connell STEM teacher and team advisor Melissa Pore said. “This was incredible to see them achieve this.”

Students developed the app virtually, using “Code With Me” — the Google Docs of collaborative coding — and talked via Discord, a growing communications platform that is popular among gamers and teens. At the height of the challenge, Ly recalls taking notes in class with her right hand and coding with her left.

A NASA official said during a live-stream announcement that the students “displayed great team work by maximizing each team’s strengths in completing both the coding and non-coding aspects of the challenge.”

The odds were stacked against the students: The team barely met the minimum size to participate and the school went fully virtual (due to a COVID-19 outbreak) near the tail-end of the challenge. Team members also did not have app experience, and only Janninck and Ly could code proficiently — so they mentored other members in the coding language Python, Pore said.

“What adult groups would have persevered when they had to learn a new code and train others?” she said.

NASA wants to use this technology “right now,” said Pore, adding that the app can visualize any planet and is suitable for color-blind people.

“Good for NASA to use our smartest levels of students to figure out tricks they wouldn’t have thought of,” she said. “You taught the adults some lessons.”

Ly, who wrote about the news for the school, said she “wouldn’t be half as interested in engineering if it weren’t for [Pore].”

Always learning, Pore became a licensed amateur radio operator to build satellites with her students, and is working with the International Space Station so her students can learn about and access opportunities in aerospace engineering.

A senior headed to George Washington University, Ly nominated Janninck to take charge next year.

“He’s a really good leader and programmer,” she said.

As soon as Janninck finds another interesting challenge, he is willing to try it.

“We do need to get rest from coding and working really hard,” he said.

Especially since the next challenge could be a 24-hour competition to develop a floating settlement to flee to if a meteor strikes Earth.

“No sleep — it sounds wonderful,” Janninck said.

Arlingtonians Find New Ways to Bring Each Other Holiday Hope and Cheer

By Jo DeVoe
1/9

(Updated at 6 p.m.) This year, Arlingtonians spread Christmas cheer in new ways to bring hope to people virtually or from a distance.

Choir directors at Arlington Public Schools and Bishop O’Connell High School spent hundreds of hours stitching together student videos to create virtual Christmas concerts. A troop of Brownie Scouts virtually judged a gingerbread contest for folks at a local retirement home. And Santa is making special stops in Arlington in his pickup truck, visiting with children from a distance.

Bishop O’Connell choir director Kyra Stahr burned the midnight candle to publish videos to replace the Christmas concert, which is normally the most well-attended performance, she said.

“I feel like I got more creative in how to make that excitement and cheer possible,” she said, adding that she and her students donned Christmas sweaters and watched all the performances on Zoom.

“It worked out better than I could’ve hoped for,” DJO choir student and junior Tommy Green said. “It was a nice way to exit the year.”

Fellow junior Melanie Greig said “it was almost like we were actually singing together in a concert.”

Meanwhile, Glebe Elementary student and Brownie Scout Leah Meder virtually judged a gingerbread decorating contest at the Sunrise Senior Living facility near the school, on N. Glebe Road, along with other members of Troop 60095. From 11 participants, the young judges awarded the most festive, most creative and most delicious-looking houses, and also created a special holiday greeting for the residents.

“I still felt the spark of holiday spirit when we did this online,” said Meder, who is eight years old. “Since [the residents] are living away from people they know, and can only see them a couple times a year, they can probably have more holiday spirit.”

The festivity creativity in Arlington extends to visits by the jolly one himself.

This afternoon (Wednesday), Santa is parading his sleigh — a converted pickup truck — through Arlington neighborhoods from Foxcroft Heights to Columbia Forest, the final route after two mobile Santa visits through Lyon Park and Ashton Heights.

“It’s a tough year for everybody,” said Lyon Park resident Paul Showalter, who is playing the role of Santa. “It’s really fun to see the faces of the little kids as they see Santa drive up in his sleigh.”

This morning (Wednesday), Showalter said he made a special delivery to a boy named Charlie, who had asked Santa for boxes, thread and tape for Christmas. Neighbors and Glebe Appliance donated the boxes, and Charlie will use the supplies to make a British fleet ship.

Also spreading joy is the Yorktown High School choir, which sent the musical videos it produced to faculty, friends and family, reaching an even greater audience this year.

“These videos are my Christmas gifts,” said Jocelyn Mullins, the Yorktown choir director, who directed renditions of “Holiday Road” and “The Sleigh.”

“That’s how it’s keeping my holidays alive,” she said.

(more…)

Two Schools, One Gathering: COVID Cases Also Take St. Thomas More Cathedral School Online

By Jo DeVoe

The same gathering on Oct. 31 that took Bishop O’Connell High School online until December has forced St. Thomas More Cathedral School to do the same.

Two St. Thomas More employees tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a Halloween gathering also attended by Bishop O’Connell students who tested positive and prompted the school to cancel in-person classes.

The parochial PreK-8 school in Buckingham told students and staff school would be virtual through next Monday, with in-person instruction set to resume on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

According to the school’s calendar, confirmation, which was set for Monday night, has been postponed and will be rescheduled.

“When Bishop O’Connell closed… my employees went to be tested,” Principal Cathy Davis told ARLnow on Monday morning. “The minute we heard about the positive tests, we looked at our protocols.”

The children and staff of the parochial school are divided into cohorts so that one or two classrooms can isolate if a case appears. But her team decided that the smartest thing to do was to revert to virtual, she said, adding that the transition was easy since the prep work had already been done distributing devices and setting up Google Classrooms.

Davis said administrative staff will be drafting on a report after this series of events and will see what lessons can be learned, such as whether employees have to sign certain COVID-19 commitments. Currently, the school operates on the honor system, with a pledge to prioritizing student safety.

Unlike Bishop O’Connell students, whose return is scheduled for Dec. 1, St. Thomas More students and staff, including the two who tested positive, are slated to return prior to the Thanksgiving break.

“In terms of Pre-K and second-grade children, the better way is in-person,” Davis said. “Our goal is to be in-person.”

When Davis broke the news to parents, she said she “expected unrest,” since 83% of population are dual-working parents.

“Even I have been amazed at how positive everyone is,” she said.

She predicted the school will transition right back to in-person classes.

“Certainly I wish this didn’t happen, but if it has to happen, it’s nice to know we have a strong community who gets this is our new normal,” Davis said.

In October, officials from the Arlington Public Health Division repeatedly warned against celebrating Halloween with trick-or-treating, nightlife and indoor gatherings. Cases in the county, meanwhile, are on an upswing and just reached a fresh peak since the initial spring wave.

Bishop O’Connell High School Goes Fully Virtual After Two COVID-19 Cases Reported

By Jo DeVoe

Bishop O’Connell High School went fully virtual on Friday, and will remain so until December, out of an abundance of caution after two positive cases came to administrators’ attention.

The two cases were traced to what head of school Bill Crittenberger called “an off-campus gathering” with “quite a few young people” on Halloween (Oct. 31).

The two cases, one confirmed and one presumed, were reported to the school on Wednesday. The second case was confirmed on Thursday. The two students likely came to school on Tuesday, with the 500-student cohort that comes Tuesdays and Thursday, though it’s also possible one or both were in on Wednesday, with another 500-student cohort comes in on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Given the uncertainty and the number of students at the gathering, administrators decided it made more sense to go virtual than to quarantine specific individuals.

“We felt like it’s not as simple as flipping a switch, but staff was seasoned from having done it in the spring,” Crittenberger said of moving to virtual learning. “I’m really proud of how O’Connell transitioned in less than 24 hours,” he said.

The school, in Arlington’s East Falls Church neighborhood, does not itself provide tests for students. Both families independently got tested and notified the school.

Although some schools may be more explicit about asking students to agree to COVID-19 norms, he said the expectation at DJO is that students follow Catholic social teaching and the commandment to “love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

“To be fair, some of the things that this gathering were about put folks in a spot that wasn’t ideal,” said Crittenberger.

Otherwise, everybody has been extraordinarily compliant about social-distancing and wearing masks, he said.

The students and faculty will be fully virtual for two weeks, which leads into the Thanksgiving break. Their first day back will be Dec. 1, a Tuesday.

Crittenberger said the response to the closure was fairly minimal and largely positive, with some suggesting that the virtual learning be reduced to one week.

“We’ve tried to be lockstep with the community,” he said.

Arlington public schools, meanwhile, will remain virtual for most students through the end of the year.

Photo via Facebook

Majority Of Arlington Private Schools Will Make In-Person Return

By Joseph Ramos

(Updated at 2:15 p.m.) Of Arlington’s eight private schools that offer a level of K-12 education, seven have announced plans to bring students to the classroom either five days a week or in a hybrid model.

Full Circle Montessori School is the only school that told ARLnow it is not planning on opening for in-person instruction.

All reopening schools have said they will implement plans aimed at curbing the coronavirus’ spread as cases continue to rise in Arlington. Required mask wearing, physical distancing and general compliance with Virginia’s Phase 3 guidance for schools were the most common strategies schools said they will use.

In other parts of the country, some schools that have reopened to in-person learning are already reporting coronavirus outbreaks. A recent study from South Korea found that while children under 10 are less likely to spread the disease, those ages 10-19 spread it “at least as well as adults do.”

The following list provides a brief outline of each local school’s plan. Only schools where the majority of education is at a K-12 level were included.

Full Circle Montessori School:

Full Circle has an elementary school for 1st-6th grades near Bailey’s Crossroads and Montessori schools at three locations throughout Arlington.

Tatjana Vichnevsky, head of school at Full Circle, told ARLnow in an email she is “not planning on opening Full Circle Montessori School until — at the earliest — the week of October 5.”

Vichnevsky added that her husband, an epidemiologist, is directing the school’s reopening plan using COVID-19 metrics for the D.C. region and Arlington’s population.

Our Savior Lutheran School:

Our Savior offers kindergarten through 8th grade instruction to about 120 students at its Barcroft building.

Its reopening plan is based on a modified hybrid model. Students who do not want to return in person can choose distance learning, but classroom lessons will not be available virtually and these students will instead work with an online liaison to their classroom teacher.

Only staff and students will be allowed in Our Savior’s building, and everyone will have their temperature checked upon arrival.

Students must wash their hands when they enter the classrooms and everyone in the building must wear a mask. Socially distant breaks will be provided during the day for students to be without masks.

Rivendell School:

Rivendell School, located on Lee Highway in the Yorktown neighborhood, has K-8 education for about 150 students.

A spokeswoman said Rivendell “is planning to be at school with a modified schedule and mitigation strategies.”

Parents will also have the option of keeping their students at home for distance learning.

The Sycamore School:

The Sycamore School, based in Ballston, enrolls approximately 60 students in 5th through 12th grades.

According to the school’s website, it announced on July 21 plans to resume in-person instruction five days a week in the fall.

No visitors, including parents, will be allowed in the school. The school’s meetings and community workshops will be conducted over Zoom.

Arlington’s four other K-12 private schools are under the direction of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. 

St. Agnes School, St. Ann Catholic School, and St. Thomas More Catholic School:

These three K-8 schools — with student body sizes of approximately 460, 220 and 400, respectively — will open five days a week for in-person instruction, according to Joseph Vorbach, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington.

Vorbach said the schools’ reopening plans are primarily based on Virginia’s Phase 3 school guidance. The state encourages schools to require face coverings, limit gathering sizes, restrict classes and groups of students from mixing, and mandate six foot distancing whenever possible.

(more…)

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