 Chantilly Innovation Lab
From the Principal's Desk
What a day at CHS! We held an opening ceremony today to celebrate the opening of our new Innovation Lab. Over 120 guests--including numerous school, governmental, charitable, and business leaders--were on hand to hear speeches and take part in tours of the first facility of its kind in Fairfax County. With the help of the non-profit Asha-Jyothi, the generosity of CHS parents Sekhar and Malini Puli, and the dedication of numerous educators, we believe that our Innovation Lab will offer an unprecedented opportunity for CHS students of all backgrounds to access, explore, and develop 21st century skills in an experiential learning environment. To give you a sense of what the Innovation Lab is and how it came to be, below is an excerpt from my remarks during today’s ceremony. More information and tours of the space will be made available in the coming weeks:
“Thank you all for being here today. In my mind, today’s event is much more than the recognition of a new facility; instead, it’s a testament to what can be achieved when benevolent members of our community work in tandem with dedicated educators to transform a vision for students into reality. Working with Asha-Jyothi, Chantilly staff members, architect Mary Valadez, Elizabeth Murphy of the FCPS Education Foundation, and the many others that contributed to this project has been one of the most exciting, forward-thinking, and rewarding opportunities of my career. It all started with an email from Elizabeth Murphy in November of 2017. She wrote, “I had a call this morning from a couple who are looking to make a donation that would benefit Chantilly HS. They wanted it to be “something that leaves a lasting impact on the children, the program and the school for a long time to come.” I think I replied to her in less than 30 seconds. After communicating with Elizabeth a few more times, we learned that the potential donors were Chantilly parents and they were interested in giving $7-10 thousand dollars. We also learned that they are leaders of a non-profit named Asha-Jyothi, an organization devoted to serving the needs of the underprivileged by providing access to education and healthcare. We immediately went to work trying to identify a compelling proposal for them to consider. About this time, several Chantilly staff members and I attended the annual Virginia Society of Technology in Education conference, and a few of us went to a presentation about the growing popularity of makerspaces in schools across the United States. I remember being impressed with the idea, as makerspaces are not a class with a prescribed curriculum; rather, they give all students an opportunity to explore their own ideas in an experiential environment. Academy Principal Scott Settar, who used to implement makerspaces in elementary schools across FCPS, finally looked at me and asked, why don’t we propose to Asha-Jyothi that they sponsor the development of a technology-focused makerspace at Chantilly HS? Next, we facilitated focus groups with students and staff to vet the idea and to prioritize the skills and attributes that we hoped to develop with this initiative, and we immediately saw a direct link to the FCPS Portrait of a Graduate initiative. We soon learned that no other high school in the region is doing what we had in mind, so we conducted a day of field trips to other like-minded facilities, including the Virginia Tech Thinkabit lab in Falls Church and NOVA Labs in Reston. I also learned that we had a former computer lab in the library that was sitting empty because all of our students have laptops through the FCPSOn program. When we approached our head librarian, Robyn Singletary and her staff about the idea, they enthusiastically jumped on board. We put all our ideas together and presented our proposal to Asha-Jyothi leadership in February of 2018. We asked for a donation of $10,000 and offered to match it with a $10,000 contribution of our own. At the end of our presentation, we walked everybody down to the space so they could envision what it could become. Sekhar Puli, Malini Puli, and other Asha-Jyothi leaders seemed very pleased with the idea but remarked that the space was dull and uninspiring. Instead of repainting the room and acquiring some rudimentary furniture as we proposed, they wanted it to be state of the art and have the best of everything. I replied that while I appreciated their enthusiasm, the facility that they had in mind would be much more expensive that our collective budget would allow. Sekhar looked at me, smiled, and stated, “money is not a problem.” After many strategy meetings and a great deal of planning, the Innovation Lab is now ready to open to students and staff. Along the way, we and other schools in FCPS have built an impactful, win-win partnership with Asha-Jyothi that is improving the lives of young people here in Fairfax County and in other parts of the world. As part of our work together, we agreed to help Asha-Jyothi promote their annual 5K Run/Walk, and over 400 FCPS students, parents and staff from 7 schools took part. In recognition of their participation, Asha-Jyothi donated a total of $7,760 to participating schools to promote initiatives consistent with their mission. Chantilly HS, for example, donated all money raised and matching funds from Asha-Jyothi to Generation Yuvaa, a non-governmental social services organization in India that serves abandoned children. During the snow day earlier this week, I had a chance to reflect a bit about my experience with the Pulis, Asha-Jyothi members and all of those that have contributed to where we are today, and I came across a quote that captures what I’ve learned. It reads:
‘The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most rewards. They are simply the ones that care the most.’
I feel very grateful to have worked with so many outstanding people to make the Innovation Lab a reality for the Chantilly HS community. I cannot thank you enough.”
Scott Poole
Principal
 CHS Innovation Lab Grand Opening
Reception
News around Chantilly HS
CHS was recently awarded a grant for $4900 from Toshiba American Foundation to purchase air quality monitors and install them around the county. FCPS students will be monitoring the air quality in our communities and work on outreach programs to educate the public on air quality.
Did you realize the Purple Tie Bash is next month?
This year's event will take place on March 9, 2019 at the Marriott Fair Oaks. Buy your tickets now at this link: Purple Tie Bash Tickets!
Recognitions
 Congratulations to the Girls Volleyball Team, who were recognized by the Board of Supervisors for winning the VHSL 6A State Championship!
The Wrestling team competed in the State Wrestling Meet at Robinson with the following results:
A.J. Crews finished 3rd in the state at 113 lbs.
Andres Sagastume finished 3rd in the state at Heavyweight.
Kelly Brookshier competed in the State Gymnastics meet in the Floor Event. She finished 12th and scored a 9.25. Congratulations to Kelly!
Our AFJROTC Drill Team traveled to Battlefield High School this past Saturday and had a banner day! They took FIRST PLACE OVERALL and brought home the coveted GOLDEN BOOT award. The team was commanded by Cadet Alexis Rickard (Chantilly) and here are the results:
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR DRILL TEAM for taking FIRST PLACE OVERALL at the GOLDEN BOOT COMPETITION! Here are the final results:
1st Year Unarmed - FIRST PLACE (Commander: Cadet Andre Marsh, Westfield)
1st Year Inspection - FIRST PLACE (Commander: Cadet Ngoc-Han Le, Centreville)
1st Year Color Guard - THIRD PLACE (Commander: Cadet Adam Denner, Chantilly)
Advanced Unarmed - FIRST PLACE (Commander: Cadet James Conard, Centreville)
Advanced Armed - FIRST PLACE (Commander: Cadet Adam Denner, Chantilly)
Advanced Inspection - SECOND PLACE (Commander: Cadet Hannah Havens, Chantilly)
Advanced Color Guard - THIRD PLACE (Commander: Cadet Alexis Rickard, Chantilly)
Unarmed Exhibition - FIRST PLACE (Commander: Cadet Alexis Rickard, Chantilly)
Armed Exhibition - FIRST PLACE (Commander: Cadet Christopher Lee, Centreville)
Recent Student Successes
This is the next installment for the school year of what has become a weekly segment aimed at recognizing students for demonstrating recent improvement or achievement in academics, behavior or citizenship. At the end of each recognition, you will see the name of the nominating teacher or staff member. On a rotating basis, departments will nominate students. I meet with recognized students each week to congratulate them in person.
- I am very proud of William Goetz for working hard in Biology. Continue working hard!!!! Ms. Neelam Yadav
- Kennedy Williams simply refuses to give up and has shown progress in her understanding of physics concepts. Her confidence has improved greatly in recent weeks. 3 cheers. Mr. George Dewey
- Lauren Zarbo is the definition of a hard worker. She is dedicated to her learning, like few I have seen before. She is always on the quest for learning, not just for a grade. Ms. Michele Gates
|
