Madelon Brennan - Communities In Schools of NOVA

Full Circle: Reaching Back and Reaching Out

By Cathy Celestino, CIS of NOVA Outreach Coordinator If you were to find (or lose) yourself wandering the stacks of the Perry-Castañeda Library on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin, you could dig up a bound report dated 1992 and titled, “A Gang Prevention Model for Communities In Schools of Texas.” It’s hard to believe that 24 years ago that was my Professional Report, the hard-copy product of the capstone experience of the Master of Public Affairs degree at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. One of the hallmarks of the LBJ School degree programs is the emphasis on [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:32:54+00:00March 11th, 2016|0 Comments

Empowering Students through STEM & Robotics

The Robotics Club at Gunston Middle School, part of the Emerging Leaders Program through Edu-Futuro and in collaboration with the Minority Achievement Office, entered two teams in their first competition this past Saturday, February 27, at the Arlington Career Center. The Adam Nesbitt Robotics Challenge, named in honor of the late technology teacher at Gunston, included morning workshops for the students and an afternoon of completing challenges against three other Arlington schools. As the date of the competition drew closer, the two Gunston teams competing in Saturday’s Challenge dedicated every single afternoon to practicing with their robots. One seventh grade student named Tania, who [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-15T15:07:31+00:00March 4th, 2016|0 Comments

Hyatt-Regency at Crystal City Explores Career Readiness, Hospitality

CIS of NOVA is partnering with Hyatt-Regency at Crystal City this spring to explore topics in career readiness, and careers in the hospitality field. During last year’s program, students created resumes, practiced interviewing skills, and visited the Hyatt-Regency in Crystal City to see what happens behind the scenes at one of the busiest places to work in Northern Virginia. During the February 11th session, freshmen students met with representatives from Hyatt to discuss personal branding, and the basics of networking. From identifying aspects of well-known brands such as Apple and Nike, to brainstorming ways that students can present their own “brand”, the [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-03-01T15:35:21+00:00March 1st, 2016|0 Comments

Diversity within Arlington Mill High School & the Arlington Career Center

By Cristian Pineda, Arlington Mill High School CIS Site Coordinator Before the first bell rings at 8am, the Arlington Career Center is filled with over 1,000 students coming from all over Arlington County. There are students who come from other high schools to take the career and technical classes, those who stay here full-time in the special programs of the school, and there even is Arlington Mill High School based inside the Career Center. It is a buzzing bee’s hive, and while all the students are worker bees in their own respective way, their differences are what unite them as future leaders [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:32:11+00:00February 26th, 2016|0 Comments

Full Circle: The Story of a Returning Site Coordinator

By Isabel Pérez, Francis C. Hammond Middle School CIS Site Coordinator Picture this: the year is 1998; Chumbawamba's on top of the charts; Chandler, Joey, Monica, and the gang reign supreme in TV land; the internet is just hitting its stride. Then there's me, a bright-eyed, patchouli-drenched college grad ready to take on the world. I was ready, I was driven, and I wanted nothing more than to say goodbye to long, cold New England winters. So I did what every not-sure-what-to-do-with-my-life college grad does; I joined AmeriCorps Vista! I researched a few assignments and narrowed it down to a small program [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:26:35+00:00February 22nd, 2016|0 Comments

Combating Food Insecurity in the City of Alexandria

Francis C. Hammond Middle School is now one of the newest participants in the Blessings In a Backpack (BIB) program, thanks to the new partnership between Communities In School of NOVA, the United Way of the National Capital Area, ALIVE (ALexandrians InVolved Ecumenically), and the Alexandria Food Center. As the country honored the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 18th, we celebrated his legacy by launching BIB at Francis C. Hammond Middle School. Over 12 volunteers gathered at the Alexandria Food Center and worked diligently to pack 200 weekend backpacks for students at Hammond. These backpacks will be distributed to [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:26:26+00:00February 16th, 2016|0 Comments

African-American Read-In Coming To Gunston Middle School

The African-American Read-In will be held in the Gunston Middle School Library from February 17 through 19, 2016. The African-American Read-In is held during Black History Month, and there is a special focus on encouraging young people of color to read and enjoy literature. At Gunston, classes from all grades throughout the day will visit the library for a special reading by visitors, administrators, faculty, and staff. Readers can choose from a selection of books by African American authors, or choose their own book that is special to them. To make this great event even better, Gunston’s partnership with Reading Is Fundamental [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:26:15+00:00February 10th, 2016|0 Comments

Gunston’s National Geographic Bee Has A Winner

Gunston Middle School held its National Geographic Bee at the school-level the first week of February! Every grade at Gunston took an assessment during their respective social studies classes, and the top scorers from each grade were brought together on Wednesday morning for the second elimination round. Forty-five Gunston students competed at this level, and eleven made it to the final level of the competition, held on Thursday, February 4, 2016. The final competition was held in the traditional “bee” fashion, with students being asked oral questions, round by round. The final showdown was between four students, and it took a few [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-02-10T17:03:04+00:00February 7th, 2016|0 Comments

The Challenges of Rising School Enrollment

Over the next ten years, Arlington Public Schools is anticipating to add 6,655 students across all schools, exceeding the current projected capacities in nearly every school. Rising enrollments bring obvious challenges (maintaining student:teacher ratios) and not so obvious challenges (how to fit 5 lunch periods into the school day!). While school districts must focus on the logistical challenges that rising school enrollments will present, CIS of NOVA is working to ensure that each student not only receives The Five Basics, but has the opportunities to fully grow in the 40 Developmental Assets. In recent surveys conducted by the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:26:02+00:00February 5th, 2016|0 Comments

Leadership Arlington 2015 Reflection

By Dan Howard, Wakefield High School CIS Site Coordinator I recently finished the Young Professionals program through the Leadership Center for Excellence's Leadership Arlington. Over the past four months, I participated in workshops and seminars focused on developing leadership skills, learning about civic engagement in Arlington and interacting with my peers and regional leaders. On Tuesday, January 12th, I graduated from the program as a proud member of the Young Professionals Class of Fall 2015, ready to bring my new found knowledge and tools back to Wakefield High School and CIS of NOVA. One particular session focused on finding your "Why?", an idea [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:32:44+00:00January 25th, 2016|0 Comments

About Madelon Brennan