Justice High School - October 15th

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 10/15/2021 09:59 AM EDT
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Bell Game Friday!!

Attending tonight's Bell Game? See below for some important information... 

- Gates will open at 6pm - All tickets are $5.00 

- No backpacks and all bags are subject to search

-  All Signs are prohibited

-  No outside food/drinks allowed in the stadium

-  During the game and following the game... no spectators are allowed on the      track or field. 

-  After our win.. our team will come over to stands to celebrate with the Hype       Squad!

- We are encouraging everyone to arrive early to avoid big lines

- PRE-PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS ONLINE BELOW

https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/2293046/football-vsjustice-bell-game-alexandria-falls-church-high-school-athletics

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THE STORY BEHIND THE BELL GAME

Written by former teacher - Barbara Glakas

In the late 1950’s, Mr. W. Leon Mason was an assistant principal at Falls Church High School  (FCHS).  When J.E.B. Stuart High School opened in 1959, Mr. Mason was selected as principal for Stuart.  Jerry Fauls, an assistant football coach at FCHS, also came to Stuart with Mr. Mason and became the head football coach at Stuart.  Stuart’s original student body was drawn mostly from FCHS and some from Annandale High School. 

During that time period, a large percentage of the original Stuart faculty members were former or retired military personnel.  It is thought that either Capt. Rice (a former naval captain and a math teacher on the original faculty), or Col. Lander (Stuart’s first Guidance Director), obtained the bell and brought it to Stuart.  Supposedly, the bell came off of a ship, the U.S.S. JEB Stuart, but it is unclear how either man may have obtained the bell. A picture of the ship is located in the school library. The ship was originally a LASH vessel (an acronym for Lighter Aboard Ship), which was a barge-carrying ship.  The ship also spent a short period of time in the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. 

Legend has it that the wood on the walls of the original school lobby came from the U.S.S. JEB Stuart. Some documentation indicates the U.S.S. JEB Stuart may not have been launched until 1969, which is in conflict with the Bell Game tradition, which began in 1960.  One explanation for this discrepancy could be that the original ship may have been initially commissioned under another name or may have been left in dry dock and then later re-launched in 1969 under the name J.E.B. Stuart. 

The wood frame, which holds the bell, was built by one of the original shop teachers at Stuart, Jim Argentine. Attached to the frame are metal plates.  Inscribed on these plates is the name of the school that won each Bell Game for each year that the games were played.  

Since many of the original Stuart students were former FCHS students, Mr. Mason decided to use the bell to initiate a friendly rivalry and to promote good sportsmanship between Stuart and Falls Church, thus starting the Bell Game tradition.  The last Stuart vs. Falls Church football game of each season is considered the Bell Game.  Whichever school wins the game gets to keep the bell.  At the end of the Bell Game, the principals of both schools meet in the middle of the football field, exchange handshakes, and pass the bell to the principal of the winning team.  The bell is kept at the winning school for the remainder of the year, until the next Bell Game the following year.  

* (Information in this story was obtained through oral history from the following former staff members: Stuart Singer- Math teacher and coach; Dave Roylance - IB Coordinator, English teacher and coach; Roy Ferri –  Math teacher and football coach; Ron Wilson – Special Education teacher and coach; Bob Robyak – Class of 1961 and former Stuart football player; John Morris – former FCHS Assistant Athletic Director).  

In 2018 Stuart High School was renamed Justice High school. As of 2021, Justice High School holds a 35-25-1 series lead!